Hero Rising Read Free Page A

downtown. The newsmen were interviewing a lot of the people I’d saved. The cameramen had managed to film that older man when he kissed my cheek, and they interviewed him.
    He just said the same thing that he had said to me. “I always believed in a man that was superhuman, all my life,” he said happily. “I knew if I kept believing, I would see him one day.” Then the old man looked straight into the camera and said, “Mr. Superhero Man, or whatever you call yourself, if you’re watching, thank you. I knew you’d come for me.”
    Tommy laughed, but I just smiled. That old man warmed my heart. They had all kinds of interviews, and the ones I enjoyed most were from the kids. Their eyes were lit up and they were really excited. They described what it felt like to fly with me, saying they were a little nervous at first but they knew I wouldn’t drop them and it was great. The mothers who were interviewed were in tears of joy that their children were alive and unharmed because of me.
    “Dude, tell me what happened,” Tommy said after a few minutes.
    “I don’t know, I was just going to come to your house, but something told me to go to San Bernardino first,” I said.
    “Your old gut feeling?”
    “Yeah, I guess. Tommy, I saw that burning building and I knew I didn’t have a choice but to help those poor people.”
    “Well, you know that what you did changes everything.”
    “I know.”
    “The Mani will know it was you for sure,” Tommy was saying. “What do you think they will say about you interfering in the Tandra world?”
    “Say?” I repeated. “They can’t say anything. I do what I need to do and I always have. You know that.”
    “Yes, Josiah, I know that. But they also trust you, and especially they trust that you will always protect them. Word about the Mani cannot get out. If the Tandra even knew of the existence of Mani, all hell would break loose.”
    I thought about this. “But no one knows who I am. I didn’t let anyone see my face. The only people that will know it’s me are the Mani. And we’ve been keeping our identity a secret for years.”
    “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Tommy answered a little doubtfully. Then he changed the subject. “Let’s see if you’re on YouTube,” he suggested.
    Tommy flipped open his laptop that was on the coffee table and went online. Sure enough, there were already clips of “Man Flying” and “A Superhero Lives Among Us!” They already had thousands of views.
    We watched them one by one, and even as we watched, more were popping up. There were at least a dozen of them. I had to admit, I felt some pride in the fact that I was the center of attention. The clip of the old man saying he had always believed in me was one of my favorites. There was another clip with a kid who I’d saved. The kid was imitating me flying and he described the whole ordeal.
    “You’re famous,” Tommy announced.
    “I guess I am. I wanted to do something with my talents, but I never dreamed this would happen.”
    “I bet you didn’t,” Tommy said. “Would you have done it if you knew this was going to happen?” He gestured to the YouTube videos.
    “Yeah, I would have,” I said. “There’s no way I could have let all those people die. Especially in a fire.” I did have a great feeling of satisfaction.
    “Well, bro, I know you gotta do what you gotta do.” Tommy sat back and sipped his soda.
    “I really didn’t mean to become so famous,” I said, “But like I said, I had to do it.”
    Tommy grinned and shook his head. “Josiah, you always go balls out. I know you have a big heart, and I know you had to save those people.”
    “Thanks. I mean, I’m glad you understand.”
    “Of course I understand,” he said. “Is your fifteen minutes of fame over now?”
    “I guess so.”
    “Okay, bro, let’s watch the Lakers!”
    Later, I sat back in Tommy’s living room chair as we watched the end of the Lakers game. He and I were huge Los Angeles Lakers