If you’d like to start reading from the beginning, check out A Grave Mistake: Chapter 1

Practice, practice, practice. That’s what magic requires. But how are you supposed to get better when they lock you up inside? 

KAIDEN HART
Day 3, 3:30 pm

Kaiden kept telling Jack that he needed to be careful when he was out in public. He’d read enough super hero comics to know that when you get a superpower you always make sure you keep your identity a secret. But it was okay that he knew Jack’s secret. They’d been best friends since they were two years old and besides, every super hero needed a sidekick to help them.

Jack needed his help. Ever since it first started happening, Jack couldn’t keep his feet on the ground. He didn’t so much fly as float. Jack described it as, “swimming through the air.” He could propel himself to the ground by “swimming” down to it, but he just couldn’t stay there. He kept floating back up again.

Kaiden was the one who figured out that they could fill Jack’s jacket pockets with heavy rocks. That way, it would weigh him down enough that he didn’t float up, but if he needed to use his super power in an emergency, he just had to take his coat off and BAM! he was a superhero. It got a bit hot, though, when he was at school, so they used one of his sister’s skipping ropes tie him to his chair. He was always doing weird things like that so the teacher didn’t even notice until the end of the day. When she saw, she just rolled her eyes and kept reading from the book she was reading to the class.

Jack and Kaiden were excited to test out what Jack’s ability. After school today they were going back out to the woods where Jack could fly without anyone seeing him. Well, except for Harold. But Harold was ok. He had his own superpower so he wasn’t going to tell anyone. Plus, he was really nice and invited them over for hot chocolate and cookies after they’d met yesterday.

Since the snow had mostly melted off the roads, they decided to ride their bikes which was tricky for Jack because he was wearing a heavy jacket that kept throwing his balance off and because his feet kept floating up off the pedals. They finally had to stop so they could tie his shoes to the pedals but they made sure his shoes were kind of loose so he could slip them on and off when he needed to.

As soon as they got to their spot, Jack immediately took off his coat and started “swimming” up past the tree tops.

“Not so high!” Kaiden shouted. “That’s how Harold saw you, remember! Someone else might see you too!”

Jack dove back down and, moving his arms and legs like a frog to go faster, he “swam” straight towards Kaiden who had to dive to the side to get out of the way.

“Hey!” he shouted! “Not so close!”

Jack laughed. He twisted around and around in circles like a corkscrew, climbing higher and higher again. This time he didn’t go past the treetops.

“You’re getting better!” Kaiden said, when Jack “swam” back down and fly by him. Kaiden had his phone out and was shooting video for Jack to watch later. “Try doing a flip.”

Jack rose back up in the air and propelled himself forward, kicking his legs out behind him and flipping in the air.

Kaiden whooped from the ground. “Try doing two in a row!”

Jack rose up even higher this time. He flipped around, once, twice, and even a third time before “swimming” back up to the treetops. Jack continued to practice and eventually Kaiden grew tired of filming and sat down on the ground leaning against the base of a tree. It was cool at first, but he was getting hungry and bored. He thought maybe Harold might join them again, but then he remembered that Harold was going to visit his grandson today. Kaiden kicked at a small scuff of snow with his shoe as his stomach growled loudly.

“C’mon, Jack!” he shouted. “I want to go home and eat.”

It took a few more times, but Jack finally came down and they hopped back on their bikes. They were halfway to Kaiden’s house when suddenly a van pulled up beside them. The side door opened and a man reached out and yanked Jack off his bike. His feet slid easily out of the shoes they’d purposed left loose in case he fell. Jack’s bike and shoes went flying behind them. The door slammed shut blocking Jack’s shocked face from view. Then, the van sped up and veered around the corner.

Kaiden tried to chase it, but it was long gone. He hesitated for a second trying to think of what he should do, before he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called the police.

* * *

It was a few hours later and he’d answered all of the questions the police had. Jack’s parents were crying and worried sick. He wished there was something else he could do. Then he remembered Harold. Maybe Harold could use his power to take them to Jack.

He snuck out through the back door and grabbed his bike. It only took him 10 minutes to get there. He raced up the driveway, jumped off his bike while it was still moving. It landed with a crash, but he didn’t care. He rang the doorbell and started pounding against the door. Then he remembered: Harold had gone to visit his grandson for the day. He was about to go back to his bike when he saw the same black van from this afternoon slowly driving down the street. He quickly dove into the bushes against the front of the house. What if they were coming for him next?

The van drove up the driveway and three men got out. Two walked up to the door and rang the bell, while another stayed behind, leaning against the hood of the van. When no one responded, they began to pick the lock. It took them about 30 seconds. Kaiden barely dared to breath. They were only a couple of meters away and he was sure at any moment they would see him peeking through the bushes.

Once they were inside, Kaiden stayed put hoping none of them saw him. He could hear furniture scraping along the hardwood and tipping over with a crash. Books and knickknacks crashed to the ground as they stomped about the house.

It felt like forever, but finally they either found what they were looking for, or they gave up and left, leaving the front door open unlocked and slightly ajar. After the van pulled out of the driveway, Kaiden snuck into the house and hid behind an overturned armchair and waited for Harold to reappear.

Chapter 9 coming soon 🙂