Pacific Station Vigilante (Book 2): The Negative Man [Stormfall] Read Free Page B

before the gun went off.  Then silence.
    **Jericho**
    I picked up our order and headed home.  It was Taco Tuesday and my adopted dad gave me the green light to order as many as I wanted.  Two dozen later, I was nearly there.  As I opened the door to our building, I heard a gunshot.  Panic hit me.  “No, no, no!”
    Running as fast as I could, I got to our apartment to see the door was kicked open.  In the middle of the living room, the greatest man I ever knew, Dr. Ellison Staley was dead.  I dropped to my knees and cradled his head, crying.  “Dad, no dad, please don’t be dead!”
    There was no denying the fact he was gone.  His lifeless face looked surprisingly at peace.  With blood all over the floor and me, I ran over to the window to see if I could spot his murderer.  Across the street, getting into a black SUV was Dr. Leonard Cooper.  He saw me from my window and smiled.  With a roar, I shattered the glass between us with as much power as I could muster.

Project Jericho 8 –
    20 Years Old
     
    “Much like you hunted me and Dr. Staley down, I’ve hunted you down, Cooper.”  I enjoyed watching the man struggle against the rope binding him in place.  He tried to muffle out a few words, but the rag stuffed in his mouth kept it shut.  “I’ve got no reasons to listen to your lies.”
    It was night over Capital City.  I enjoyed the night more than the day as the sun was too harsh and bright for my eyes.  This was the perfect setting for the end of this saga.  “I’ve judged you guilty, Cooper, guilty for the murder of my father Ellison Staley.”  I gave him a punch to the gut.  “Guilty for turning me into this monster, full of rage and hate.”  Another punch to the gut.
    This close I could see how the years of trying to kill me had taken their toll.  This was a man who looked at least ten years older than what he probably was.  I hope he enjoyed every single year he lived; this was his last.
    “Got a letter today, saying I’ve been accepted to the Master’s program at National University.  Pretty cool huh?”  I pulled the letter of acceptance out and zapped it into ash.  “What I realized is I need some me time, to really get to know what I’m capable of.”
    He struggled against the rag in his mouth, trying to speak.  It sounded like some gibberish, ‘warm ball’ or whatever.  I stuffed it back in even further.  “Guilty people get no final words.  Nope, the last thing you’ll remember is the rebirth of poor Jericho Staley into the man I was destined to become.”
    The fear in his eyes powered me.  I brought my hands up, all the negative energy inside me filling them with blue-white electricity.  “Goodbye Cooper.  Where you’re going, you won’t be able to apologize to Ellison.”  I brought my hands up to his temple and fried the man.  My anger raged on until his head exploded, leaving no doubt that Dr. Leonard Cooper was no longer a threat to me.  His lifeless body hung there like a first place trophy.
    I walked over and picked up my bags.  I had a train early in the morning to catch to head out west.  It was time to start a new beginning.
    End of Transcription

 
     
     
    Your Featured Story:
     
    The Negative Man:
    Stormfall

Chapter 1 –
    Monday Night; St. James Cathedral
     
    “Forgive me father, for I have sinned.”
    I was sitting in the confessional, the smell of the wood filling my senses.  A year ago, this would’ve been the last place on Earth you would’ve found me, but times change.  People change.  Pacific Station was on the verge of a rebirth – so why was I in a confessional?  That’s a good question.
    I looked over at the slot; still unopened.  I knew Father Reigart was on the other side, making me wait patiently.  He was the reason I was here.  He came to the city just after the death of The Dark Lion and took over this old parish.  Originally I was investigating rumors that he might be a super.  Apparently in his last