Hero Rising Read online

  “I don’t know what it is about you, Josiah, but you always seem to have adventure around you.” Sion brought me a drink and I sat back, thinking. Yes, for some reason I had always been mixing it up. I guess it was just my destiny.

  However, I wanted to talk to Sion about my plans. “Sion,” I asked, “can you do me a favor?”

  Sion turned to me, his eyes curious. “Sure, Josiah. Whatever you need. What can I do for you?”

  “Well, you know I’m not that much of a techie,” I started, “and I need some help on the Internet.”

  Sion looked interested now and leaned forward. “I can help you with whatever you need.”

  “You know I love being on the island with Lena and the boys, but I’m getting a little stir-crazy by being here all the time. I want to help others.”

  “So, how can I help you?” Sion’s intentions were sincere.

  “I was thinking that if I set up a Facebook page, I could announce that I am available to help people.”

  “Tandra?”

  “Yeah.”

  Sion thought about this, and nodded. “I can do that, no problem.”

  “The thing is, I don’t want anyone to be able to trace it back to here.”

  “To Helena?” Sion asked.

  “Right. Not to Helena, and not to me,” I answered.

  “That won’t be a problem. It’s simple to do.” I was grateful for Sion’s intellect. Sion knew all about science and technology—those were his special gifts.

  Sion said he would set me up with a Facebook account and I said I would come back the next day to see what he came up with. I sat with him, shooting the breeze on the patio, watching the moon over the sea for an hour or so and then I went home to my castle.

  When I told Lena what I had asked of Sion, she was a little bit hesitant, but I reassured her that Sion knew what he was doing.

  “He won’t compromise us,” I said. “Sion is a master at this stuff.”

  “No one will know where you are?” I could tell Lena was concerned about the safety of our family. She always had the kids’ well-being in mind. As well as mine.

  “I promise you, Lena, Sion will do a good job. I just want to make myself available for help in the world. And who knows what will come up? I might have my pick of what I want to do, who I want to help and when. The sky’s the limit.”

  Lena just sighed. “I know, Josiah. We’ve already been through this before. You gave me your promise and I trust you to keep it.”

  “Thank you, Lena,” I said quietly.

  “So, Sion’s going to set up all this…Facebook stuff for you?”

  “Yeah. He’s coming over tomorrow to show me what he’s set up for me.”

  True to his word, Sion came the next evening with his laptop and showed me the Facebook account he set up for me. It had a different name, “Superhero name, to be revealed later,” and he wrote a nice announcement about what I wanted to do.

  “Check it out, bro,” he said as he loaded it up. “You’ve already got about a hundred requests for help.”

  As I looked over all the comments of praise and the requests for help, I was overwhelmed. People from all over the world had heard of me by now and it seemed that everyone needed help in some way. There were the occasional scams, as I’d anticipated. Some asked just for money. Some asked for funds for business. But this wasn’t about money or business for me. I wanted to be someone that helped real people in real situations.

  “Look at all this,” I said, amazed. “There are so many requests.”

  “I knew this would happen,” Sion replied. “You’re going to have to pick and choose, my friend.”

  Lena was leaning over my shoulder, looking at all the comments, too. “Josiah, you remember you said you weren’t going to take on the world.”

  “I know, Lena. I promised you and I will keep my word. Just let me think on it a little while, okay?”

  Lena kissed my cheek and went to take care of the boys.

  Still, it was a little much. I knew I was internationally known as Sion had said, but the amount of these requests were staggering.

  Sion saw the frustration on my face. “Take your time, bro,” he said gently. “There’s always going to be a need for help. Ease yourself into this. Take a look, and take your time. You need to decide what you can do and who you can best help.”

  Sion was right. I didn’t have to decide right now. I would look over all the requests and figure out what would be best for me to do next.

  “Thank you, Sion,” I said. “You’re sure this is untraceable?”

  “I set up your login to Facebook using an anonymous proxy site that doesn’t allow the IP address to be traced,” Sion answered confidently. “It’s like you’re invisible to Facebook’s admin. Have I ever let you down before?”

  “No, never. Good man.” I thanked Sion again, and he left.

  I left Lena in her nook of privacy that night. I had to think hard about all the pleas for help and how I wanted to start this whole superhero business. I went to sleep. I tossed and turned the whole night about what my next move would be.

  Chapter Ten

  It turned out I didn’t have to think too long. Sion was, of course, monitoring my Facebook page and he came to my house about an hour before dawn, even though we had just seen each other hours before.

  I answered the front door, my hair in disarray and with a five-o’clock shadow. Sion was all flustered and at first, he couldn’t get his words out.

  “Sion, come in, sit down,” I urged. “What’s going on?” I asked. I could tell something was seriously wrong.

  “Haven’t you been checking your Facebook through the special log-in I set up for you?” he asked me.

  “I’ve been sleeping on it, if you haven’t noticed.” I was slightly irritated but I knew Sion wouldn’t come knocking at my door at this hour if he didn’t have a good reason.

  “There’s a serious request,” Sion said as I poured us both a glass of my best wine. Lena had been awakened as well and came into the living room in her nightgown. I poured her a glass of her “mommy drink.”

  “What is it?” I asked simply.

  “It’s about Hector,” Sion said. He was rubbing his temples and pushing his glasses up and this told me he was really worried.

  “What about Hector?” Lena asked as she sat on the couch next to us.

  “There are some people who say…” Sion couldn’t finish. He rarely drank wine but he drained half of his glass.

  I was instantly concerned. Hector was one of my best friends and a good friend of Tommy’s, as well. If there was something wrong with Hector, I would help him in a heartbeat.

  “What’s wrong with Hector?” I asked.

  Sion took a minute to gather his thoughts. Lena and I waited, and she took my hand and held it tightly.

  “There’s a group of vampires that posted a private message to your Facebook account. They say they have taken Hector and are holding him hostage.”

  The words sank in like concrete. Hector was kidnapped?

  “Hector’s in trouble, Josiah.” Sion was very concerned. “I wouldn’t have come up here in the middle of the night if I didn’t think this was for real.”

  “Show me,” I said, simply.

  Sion flipped open his laptop that he had brought with him and logged on to my Facebook account. “Look,” he pointed to the private message. “I’m not sure if they’re for real or not, but how would they know about your friendship with Hector and also how rich he is? And also, how do they know this is your page?”

  I looked at the message. It said, “To the mysterious man who wears a red mask. I guarantee you will want to read what I have to say. We have a friend of yours. You may know him: Hector. Our sources say he was once a prince of a very rich nation and we are certain his net worth is well over 100 million dollars. He is alive for now. For now, only. He’s signed his bank accounts over to you. So, Mr. Superhero, or should I say Vampire Superhero. If you want him to stay alive, you
will withdraw his bank accounts in order to ransom his life from us. Further directions will be sent shortly.”

  I was stunned. Hector? Held for ransom? How could this be? Who could do this, and did they know who they were fucking with? Even Hector knew the superhero guy was me.

  Sion read my mind, as he did so often. “It’s like this, Josiah. Everybody and their mother knows about you now. The Mani obviously know that you are also a vampire. Not only do they know it, but they are already trying to use it against you and exploit it by using Hector to bring you out into the open.”

  Lena had tears in her eyes. “How could someone do this to Hector?” she pleaded. “And who are these vampires??”

  “I don’t know yet,” I said in a cold tone, “but I’ll find out. Sion, are you sure this is for real?”

  “I’m sure,” Sion answered truthfully, “but if it makes you feel any better, I’ll check it out some more.”

  I nodded. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Hector’s number. No answer. “I’ll keep calling him,” I said. “Sion, you get on this. Try to find out who and where they are. If this is for real, I guess I know what my next superhero mission will be.”

  The room deepened with silence as we all took this in. But dawn was coming, and Sion had to get back home.

  “Keep me posted,” I said. It was the closest to a command I could come up with at the moment. But Sion understood that this was a priority.

  “I will,” he said, and I knew Sion understood this was a serious matter. He rose to go, and kissed Lena on the cheek as he always did. It was a sign of respect.

  This was really troubling me. It looked like my job wasn’t just to help the Tandra. It was also to help Mani in need. In this case, the Mani was one of my best friends and had shown more loyalty to me than I ever could have asked a person to do. “Sion,” I said. “If this is true, we have to act fast.”

  “I know, Josiah. Try to get some sleep. If you can.”

  I didn’t get any sleep. I called Hector’s cell a dozen times and he never picked up. This was highly unusual for him. Hector always picked up my calls. This only deepened my worry about him.

  Lena did her best to calm me, but it didn’t help much. I kept going onto the Facebook message and tried to read into it, trying to see if there were any clues in the message. Sadly, code breaking was not my strong suit. All I could think of was that my good friend, Hector, was in trouble—I would go to any lengths to save him. These men who were holding Hector had just awakened a sleeping giant. Me.

  Chapter Eleven

  The next day, I flew into the nearest town and bought another cell phone under a phony name. I wanted to be in contact with these people but I couldn’t compromise my true identity, even if they had an idea who I was. I responded to the private message on Facebook and gave them my new cell number.

  Within a couple of hours, I got a call.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Is this the new superhero?” asked a mysterious voice.

  No one had this number except for my dearest and most trustworthy friends. For Hector to give these pieces of crap my information must mean he was in dire straits and he needed help…pronto.

  The man repeated. “Is this our little superhero friend?”

  “That depends,” I said. “Who is this?

  “This is the one who might not kill your friend.”

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. If you even lay a finger on him, I will hunt you down like a dog and there would be no superhero ending where you’d be delivered to the authorities. No, my friend. After my hunt, I would take pleasure in killing each one of you individually. And slowly.”

  My indignation surprised the hell out of the guy on the other line. It flustered him to no end.

  “Are you willing to negotiate? Yes or no!” The man was now irate.

  Apparently, that little diatribe of mine put a little bit of fear in them. So, I decided to take another approach. “Negotiations go both ways.” I said, “What do you want from me?”

  “Hector has several accounts in different banks. We know the two of you are close and we know you don’t want him to die a terrible slow, agonizing death.”

  I was at a loss for words. These were indeed vampires I was dealing with. How else could they have put this all together? They had to know who I was, and they had to know enough about me to know Hector and I were good friends, and they had to know, somehow, that Hector had big money.

  “I understand,” I said. I understood more than they knew. I understood that my good friend was in trouble and that I would find a way to get him out of this, one way or another.

  “Good, Vampire Superhero,” the voice said. “We’re in New York. Your friend is here with us. You need to come here if you want him to live.”

  I thought fast. “How do I know you really have him?” I asked.

  Then I heard Hector. “Friend,” he said, and I knew he was trying to keep my true name out of this situation. “I’m okay. I don’t think they’ll—” and then his voice was gone. But I knew it was him, and I came to the realization that this was really going down.

  Then the other voice came on the phone. “You’ve heard that he’s alive,” the voice said. “Now, if you want to keep him alive, you be in New York within twenty-four hours. Keep this phone number, and we will call you with further instructions.”

  They hung up. I stared at the phone like it was some kind of alien space object.

  This is for real, I thought. Someone had Hector and I had to fly to New York to save him. I could be in New York within twenty-four hours, easy. And I had another idea, too. Yes, I was a superhero, but the stakes were so high that it never hurt to have some back up.

  Chapter Twelve

  I punched in Tommy’s number. It was like an unspoken oath between us that we would always help each other.

  “Hey, Josiah, how’s it going?” Tommy asked. He recognized my new number and I could tell from the background noise that he was watching some kind of sports game on TV.

  “I need your help, Tommy. I have some harsh news.” My tone was serious and I heard Tommy immediately turn off the television.

  “What is it, Josiah?” Tommy asked me.

  “It’s about Hector.”

  “What’s wrong with Hector?” I could hear the concern in Tommy’s voice, too.

  “First, let me ask you.” I said, “When was the last time you saw him or talked with him?”

  “I don’t know, a couple of weeks ago , maybe. Tell me what’s going on, Josiah; you’re making me a little nervous.”

  “He’s been kidnapped,” I answered.

  “What? How could someone kidnap Hector? Hector is practically indestructible.”

  “Not against a group of vampires,” I said.

  “Hector got kidnapped by vampires?” Tommy was feeling like I did, that this could never happen. Or at least it shouldn’t have happened. Especially not to Hector. Hector was one of the most giving, most loyal friends Tommy and I had.

  “Yeah, I’ve got to go to New York and get him out of there,” I said. “I could use a partner, if you’re willing.”

  “Of course, I’m willing.” Tommy was getting angry already. “But how did this happen? Tell me what happened.”

  “You know how we talked about me setting up a Facebook account, so people could ask for help if they needed it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, someone messaged me privately. Sion was monitoring the Facebook page and he saw it. He’s convinced this is for real. I’ve talked to them on the phone and to Hector, too. They are holding him for ransom and they threatened to kill him.”

  “Ransom?”

  “Yeah, they want me to empty all of his bank accounts and give them the money or they said they would kill him.”

  Tommy took in what I said for a moment and made a few noises. “Okay, whatever you need, bro. I’m on board.”

  “I need for you to fly out to New York. Fly into LaGuardia airpor
t. We need to meet up in the next 24 hours.”

  “Next 24 hours?” Tommy asked. Wasn’t sure if he thought that was too long or too soon. I didn’t ask. I had things to do. “You want me to meet you in New York?”

  “Yes. You’ll need to get the first flight, non-stop. I’ll be there before you, so call me when you get there and I’ll let you know where I’m staying.”

  “You got it. I’m looking up flights as we speak.”

  “Good. I gotta get going,” I said, realizing I was furious about this. I couldn’t sit still a moment longer. However, I did have one last thought. “Oh, and Tommy?”

  “What?”

  “Let’s keep this on the down-low,” I said.

  “Sure, Josiah, whatever you say, but do you mind if I ask why? Lots of Mani know Hector and would be willing to help. We could go in there like an army. Like the old days.”

  “I know, but that’s just it,” I replied. “We don’t know exactly who we’re dealing with here and I don’t want Hector to get caught in any crossfire. Are they fallen Mani? Part of some radical group? I’ve got to get some more information before I let the word out. So, it’s just you and me, going in there very quietly, and getting Hector the hell out of there.”

  “Good idea. I know you’re itching to get out of there, so I’ll call you from New York.”

  “Thanks, Tommy. I knew I could count on you.”

  “No problem. We’ll get them all, whoever they are. And we’ll get Hector back safely.”

  “Right.” I ended the call.

  Lena had been listening. She wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose; she was just in the room and had heard the conversation. Now she came to me and hugged me tightly. “You promise you’ll be careful?” She understood perfectly that I had to do this—I had to save Hector. But she looked up at me with those beautiful eyes and I knew she would worry the whole time I was gone.

  I pushed away my anger for a minute and kissed her softly. “I promise I’ll be careful. But I’m also going to do whatever it takes, Lena.”