The Money Making Superhero

Chapter 4

Time breezed by. Moved so fast. It was already Christmas Eve and my job was almost over. Time moves fast when you're busy making money. I guess I had made over a hundred thousand dollars. My light speed movement helped me serve lots of organizations in record time. My price went up from steady recommendations. From 30 dollars a day to up to 500 for companies that could afford me. Also got lots of tips from satisfied clients and their clients. It was like magic. Once I start doing the Santa Claus thing at your place, I become a major attraction. Your business patronage and sales hit roof top level. Every business wanted me. I was the kiddie’s favorite. Was on the news too. Got lot of requests for TV interviews. I had to shun all that. Didn't need the publicity or more scrutiny.

I just had to find a way to live a low-key life and reduce the scrutiny in full public glare. Not an easy life to live. But worth it as my pockets got fatter.

So, it's 24th December and the smoky creature said I had till a day after Christmas which is the 26th. He didn't say much so not sure what was to happen to me on the 26th. Will I transform back to the good old me? Good old Iyke. Or will I be relocating to the North Pole? Time will tell. But if I go to the North Pole, what will happen to all the money I had made? Certainly not an option. It's 7pm and time to step out for my volunteer night work. Just a few houses left to be covered. I had magical instincts that make me know which houses had kids in them.

Took a flight and stopped midair to get an aerial view of the city. From my view, I observed a house I hadn’t been to with a kid inside. The house looked hidden from the rest. Alone on the street surrounded by trees. There was something queer about the house. It had worn out roofs. Roof had a few holes and patched up areas. Walls were dark ash in color but had faded over the years revealing the inner screeding in some areas. The house had a fairly large expanse of land around it. There was a large red gate locked from inside and outside. That seemed absurd. “Locked from inside most likely means someone is inside. Locked from outside and inside could mean someone outside doesn’t want the people or person inside to get outside.

Strange!”, I thought, sensing danger. I need to thread with caution.

As I fly closer to the windows, I hear voices. “Tell them if they don’t bring the ransom today, we are going to double it”, one man shouted. Another male voice said “Okay Sir. We are running out of cash. We can’t keep feeding her. She is becoming a liability. They just have to pay today”. Phone rings. The first man picks “We are coming”, he says to the person on the other side of the line. “I hope nobody followed you”, he adds, walking away.

I am closer now and can see their faces. The man walking away had a shabby black suit on and a large red hat. His face was round and fat with deep-set and cold eyes. He was heavily bearded. He was holding a g*n. The second man was tall, huge and muscular. He looked like a body builder. He had a thick moustache that hid a mouth that looked thin and ugly. I hear the main entrance door of the house opening. The first man comes out and strolls towards the gate. Another man opens the gate lock from the outside while the first man opens from the inside. The third man outside enters the building. The third man was very dark and about 5 feet tall. He wore a black T-shirt and a dirty faded blue jean. He was carrying a small bag in his hands.

I swiftly move round the house to be certain of the number of occupants. At the rear room, there is a little girl seated alone on the floor. She should be about 9 to 11 years old. I remember the story of the missing girl on the news some days back. She perfectly fits the description. The house has 3 men and a girl inside. It’s getting obvious I have a kidnap case on my hands. I need to act fast but first let us have a conversation. I wait till the 3 men are all in one room. Entering locked houses was no big deal to me. I found a way to squeeze through the front window. My new body had some kind of elastic properties. I could squeeze through the tightest of spaces. I get in and stroll casually to the room where the 3 men are and open the door.

“Hello guys,” I said, stepped inside the room and shut the door. The men looked at me shocked. They hurriedly brought out their guns. “Who the hell are you? How did you get in here?”, the first man said, obviously shocked to his bones. “Are you crazy or what?”, he added, waving the g*n to my chest. “He is certainly some kind of nut case”, the second man said with a wryly smile. “Let us quickly kill him. We don’t need any distractions right now”, the third man said, moving swiftly towards me. “Don’t make any sudden moves,” he added and lifted his g*n. “No one around here will hear or bother about the sound of a g*n, and I will be glad to use it on you”.

He certainly wouldn’t miss me at this range and these guys don’t seem to be bluffing so I had to move fast. In a flash, I kicked him on his ribs. I kicked him so hard that I heard the sound of his ribs c***k. I hit the g*n off his hands in the process and smoothly filtered it into my coat pocket. Moving with light speed, I hit the guns off the hands of the other two men, drilled the bullets out and got them inside my large coat pockets. In a split second, I had all the guns.

The men were dazed. They acted like they had just had an encounter with a ghost. They sat on the floor speechless and in pains. I remembered seeing some thick ropes on my way in. I swiftly moved out, got the ropes and in less than 10 minutes had all the men tied up.

Next, I moved to get the girl. She stood up once I opened the door. She looked pale and scared. She was also shivering. Though the windows were shut, the room was quite cold. “You’re in safe hands now,” I said, lifting her up. “Let me take you home. Merry Christmas”. I called the cops, gave them all the necessary details and address of the building. Then found my way out with the girl. Didn’t want to frighten her more so I decided not to fly. I got a cab. She was quite exhausted and sleepy but was able to give the cab driver a good description of where she lived before dozing off. We got to the house. House was in a high brow area of town. Affluence was written all over the building. No wonder about the ransom talk. The stakes must have been high. k********g for ransom was becoming a trend in these parts.

It was quite late, past midnight. The Christmas day had finally come. This was a perfect Christmas surprise for a heartbroken family. They had lost all hope of ever seeing her again. All hope of spending the Christmas together as a family. I woke her up, walked her to the gate, gave her loads of Santa gifts and moved to take my leave. “Thank you,” she said, looking quite confused. I guess she was trying to figure me out…my “real look” costume and gestures. After a long-confused gaze and a touch of excitement in her voice, she asked “Who are you?”. “Father Christmas,” I whispered to her and swiftly walked away. My response was rather an obvious one. As I moved away, she stood there dumbfounded, and I could feel her long stare as I disappeared into the dark night.

Into the air I went, flying higher and higher trying to enjoy my probable last day as a superhero. Then it happened. I didn’t see a large flock of birds coming my direction. They were probably hundreds of them, large-sized birds. I ran into the flock. They were flying fast. The first one hit me, then the second, the third, fourth, fifth and it went on and on till I got hit by hundreds of them. Suddenly I stopped flying and saw myself falling through layers of the atmosphere. I don’t know how and why it happened, but I just couldn’t fly anymore. Down and down I went. Then I passed out.

I woke up to that nauseating familiar hospital odour, that antiseptic kind of smell with undertones of the artificial fragrance contained in soaps. Up is a white ceiling fan running at its maximum speed. There is a drip inserted into my veins. I am on a bed with side rails that can be raised or lowered and a mattress base in three jointed sections. Never liked hospital environments. I look at them as “places of doom”. I sit up and seated by my side is Lucy. I realize that my body is back to normal. No bulgy tummy, no freaky body colorings and features, no voices in my head. I am back to my old self. Good old Iyke. Or so I thought?

Lucy looks up worried. “How are you feeling? You have been asleep for days. The doctor said you were in a coma.”, she said sounding relieved. “What happened?”, I asked, taking a quick glance round the room.

“You got hit by a car on Conware street, a few meters from my restaurant. Driver didn’t wait, sped off after the hit. Lucky enough, there were lots of good Samaritans around who helped bring you here.”, Lucy responded. She seemed quite happy to hear my voice again.

This got me thinking. “Now wait a minute”. Was this all a dream? I checked my pockets for my dollars bills. Pockets all empty. Sad! Still broke and still alive. My big break was all a dream. A quite long and interesting dream. But it looked so real. I managed to stand up and walk to the hospital window, dragging the drip stand with every step. I stood by the window confused, gazing into the clouds and reminiscing my flying experiences. All a dream? Oh no! Then suddenly, the smoky ghost like creature with a human form and eerie bulgy eyes appears in the clouds and looks directly at me and in a trance like state, I hear the same loud eerie laugher “Hahahahahahaha. Hohohohohohoho". “Merry Christmas”, “Merry Christmas” “Merry Christmas”.