Generation Next: A Superhero Adventure (The Pantheon Saga Book 3) by C.C. Ekeke

Author:C.C. Ekeke [Ekeke, C.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ShatterHouse Press
Published: 2019-05-22T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

“Alright,” Hugo wheezed in growing discomfort. “That doesn’t feel great.”

He was on all fours like some muscle-bound table. Burnt wood and ash flooded his nostrils. Everything around him was cracked stone and twisted metal. His hearing caught flames devouring what remained of the library. Outside, the librarians and students Hugo had saved were screaming. Beyond that, chaos consumed Paso Robles High. Terrified teenagers getting ushered outside while panicked teachers barked orders.

Hugo’s arms and legs quivered under tons of wreckage burying him and Brie. Concrete slabs, pipes and metal generators from the roof, all resting on his back. Before the ceiling collapsed, Hugo had hesitated a second too long, stuck on if running through the flames would roast Brie alive. People cargo alters every decision, Lady Liberty had taught. That indecision had only left Hugo time to shield Brie before she got crushed. Lying under his makeshift body tent, she looked asleep and peaceful. Hugo’s panic hiked. Any dislike harbored for Brie vanished. Please don’t die.

Hugo tried pushing up in this awkward table position, back protesting. But the debris on his back and shoulders was unstable, slight movements causing groans and wobbling.

Hugo slumped to all fours, cursing his sloppiness. One wrong move could trap him and kill Brie.

He pushed upward again, growling in exertion. Now the debris wouldn’t budge.

Despite his superstrength, Hugo was helpless. The awareness was more embarrassing than the beating from Vincent Van Violence.

“Help!” he cried in urgency. Briseis couldn’t last as long as him under here. “Somebody HELP!” The weight pressing into his back made talking a struggle. And a sonic shout with Brie so close was a no-go. “We’re in here…please help!”

No reply. No one outside the library could hear over the raging fire and collapsing rubble.

Some superhero… Despair pulled Hugo under with startling force. He’d failed to stop this bombing, like he’d failed as Lady Liberty’s sidekick. Hugo couldn’t even free himself from this rubble…

He looked down at Briseis underneath him, still as a corpse. Too still.

Her heartbeat was gradually slowing. And her breaths grew frightening shallow. Hugo inhaled deep, tasting thin and dirty air.

She’ll die before anyone finds us. Hugo knew that for certain. More people would die if Hugo didn’t stop Mister Quiet. That couldn’t happen trapped under this wreckage.

In that moment, Hugo’s despair retreated. San Miguel needed him. So did Brie. Titan found him worthy of these powers. Now Hugo had to prove that to himself.

“C’mon, Bogota. C’mon…move!” He pushed himself upward. The debris wouldn’t move.

Hugo kept pushing, muscles aching with strain. The debris shifted a little.

Hugo’s elation surged through him. He rose high enough to crouch. Everything trembled, threatening to collapse. Smoke leaked through packed rubble seams. Brie was barely breathing—dying. Hugo clenched his teeth, reaching deeper, pushing his hands under the debris with full arm strength. He rose slowly yet steadily. Tons of unstable debris sent tremors through his knees but wasn’t impossible like he’d believed earlier.

Now completely vertical, Hugo hurled that immense debris away with a shout.

The concrete slabs and generators struck burning remains.

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