“I’m so sorry it had to end that way,” Uncle John said. “You have to know I mean that.”
“What I know is that you’re scum,” Zach said. “Don’t talk to me, ever again, don’t come near me, don’t come near my mother.”
“You can’t afford to be that way, Zachary. The whole world knows about you now. You need me more than ever. The Bads will be coming. They’re going to try to turn you into one of them.”
“The way they did you?” Zach shot back.
No denials there, either.
“You’ve got to listen to me, Zachary. Really listen. There’s a lot you don’t know about this world yet.”
“I know one thing,” Zach said. “I finally know what the devil looks like. He’s the one you trust and then betrays you.”
“You don’t know what you’re up against. The bullets today? They were nothing. They were just the beginning. I know these people. You don’t know what power they have. The way you can’t even begin to know the powers
you’re
going to have.”
Zach heard Kate’s voice in his head. It made him smile.
“Bring it,” he said.
“What?”
“I said, ‘bring it.’”
Then Zach Harriman turned and walked out. Through the door, down the elevator, across Central Park West and into the park. Feeling something new inside. A calm strength. A confidence. This was his life now.
And he was ready.
Zach began to run. Not flying this time, just running. Pumping his arms and legs and running into the heart of the park, toward whatever lay ahead.
Zach Harriman was home. Not worried about watching his back now. Just thinking that the Bads better watch theirs. He wasn’t worried about them chasing him, not anymore.
From now on, he was chasing them.