Sidekick by Carl Stubblefield (10 best novels of all time .txt) 📗

of everyone else. All the way down the chain, from supers to regs, people are just in survival mode.”

Gus looked down at the next super with contempt, his rugged and handsome features irritating Gus all the more. He spoke the next words accusingly at the unconscious man.

“Always trying to maintain power once you have it, or taking advantage of someone else to get a little bit ahead. I’m tired of it. The Factions have done a piss-poor job of making any changes either. Their agendas come first and the rest get the scraps.”

Gus loaded up two more supers, one on each shoulder, and continued his angry march. His Leech of these two was a little less aggressive as his emotions began to ebb. He took a little more care in setting these supers down as he had a realization.

“Why am I making this my problem? Who says I ever have to leave this island? Why should I even worry about all those selfish bastards out there? They’ve made their choices, right? Do they even deserve any of my efforts which are probably going to get thrown in my face, just like this? Why do I feel like I owe them anything?”

The more Gus thought of it as he continued his labor of moving the supers to the courtyard and leeching their powers, the surer he became.

“Just so stupid.”

“Talking to yourself is a sign of impending mental collapse,” Nick interjected.

“You too, huh?”

“Are you okay, chief? I never took you for someone who’d rage quit.”

“It doesn’t matter what I do or what anyone thinks, Nick. I’m not doing this to impress anyone. I’ve wasted way too much of my life trying to be something or do something to earn some kind of appreciation or recognition.”

“Screw those jerks,” Nick encouraged.

“I’m not going to let them decide what I do—that seems like letting them win. I still haven’t decided what I want. Whether I stay here or go home. But I will tell you this, Nick: I’ll be damned if I let someone else tell me what I can and can’t do. Let them be selfish and petty, I’m through with changing who I am to accommodate their smallness.”

“Can I get an aaaaamen!” Nick said in a rising tone.

“I know I don’t have all the answers on how, but I do feel that I’ve found out what I need to be working towards. I just have to believe there will be others out there that are like-minded, and stay strong when people try to tear me down. If you won’t help, stay the hell out of the way!”

“Preach, brother!” Nick exulted and Gus hung his head, put his hands on his hips, and he finally gave in to a tired chuckle.

He flicked off some sweat from his brow and looked up at the manor. The budding attraction Gus had been feeling for Aurora had been stamped out. Extinguished by the sudden change in her demeanor, and the realization that he didn’t know her like he had thought he did. The excitement and feelings of limerence gone with the conflict.

“What was I thinking, Nick? Just because she’s hot, I automatically assumed that she was as good on the inside as she looks on the outside. When people show you their true self, believe them.”

Who said that to me recently? Had it been her? Was it Dave? I don’t remember.

“I guess it doesn’t matter. She obviously doesn’t think much of me, and as such, to hell with her.” They could collaborate on this mission and go their separate ways. “Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned around and offered Purple Faction a chance at the manor, deeming them more worthy stewards of the property in her eyes.” He stopped and asked Nick, “Hell’s bells. Am I getting paranoid now?”

“It’s just a part of your mental collapse,” Nick said with the right amount of sarcasm to lighten the mood.

Gus stood there, having brought all the supers to the lawn. From there, he began the work of bringing them to the brig.

“I’ll tell you this: Let them come. Purple Faction or any other arrogant, self-serving person or group, and I will put them in their place, and take their powers to boot. I am only going to get stronger. Even if I have to fight the whole damn world, I’m going to go down swinging. And they’ll be sorry they ever underestimated me.”

Gus kept stewing in intense emotion as he placed all the attackers in the brig. The physical exertion of moving the supers had given him some time to cool down and a lot of his anger had burned away, but the whole situation with Aurora had left him emotionally raw and irritated. He knew if he saw her right now, he wouldn’t hold anything back this time, regardless of what mood she was in. Better to keep some distance for a bit.

At least it was getting late. Gus got takeout from the cafeteria, not wanting to see Aurora if she stopped by to eat, and went to his room. He ate and stared out at the majestic view from his balcony but was unaffected by the beauty before him. Finishing his day with a long shower, he relaxed enough to make it into a fitful sleep.

Chapter Thirty

Close to the Edge

Aurora slammed the door to her room, cooling down a bit now that she was in her own space. She had startled herself with how she had reacted and tried to figure out why she was so edgy. She sat on the edge of her bed and then laid back, looking at the ceiling. She knew why but, like most of the painful things in her life, she walled them off, putting them far back in her mind and never revisiting them. Despite not wanting to, the memory came back from her academy days, loud and clear, as if it had just happened yesterday…

“You can’t just ignore your problems; they won’t go