Chapter 5

At school the next day, people I didn't even know came up to clap me on the back. I suppose it was meant as a gesture of respect; hail the conquering hero and all that. I still didn't feel like a hero. I felt like a heel.

Mark came to school sporting two black eyes and a more elaborate brace on his nose than what David and Bart got away with. I couldn't even look at him.

Unfortunately, that made me an even bigger hero in many eyes. Most people would have been bragging about how they'd kicked the shit out of three guys. That I didn't made me seem noble or something. I sure didn't feel noble.

What was worse was that I couldn't tell anyone. I wanted so badly to talk to someone, to have them tell me that what I had done was okay. I was seeking absolution but there was no one to give it to me. I couldn't trust anyone with this because if I did, if my secret got out, and the wrong people heard of it, they'd lock me up forever doing who knows what with me. Just because I was fast, just because I was a speed demon, didn't make me invulnerable. In fact, it might make me even more vulnerable.

Even if I was invincible, though, my family wasn't. All anyone would have to do to get to me would be to attack my family and it would be game over. I'd do anything, go through anything, for them.

It wasn't until nearly lunch time that the idea came to me. Absolution. I was looking for absolution but I wasn't thinking clearly enough to find it. There was one type of man that could grant me the absolution I was seeking; one type of man who could listen to me and could absolutely not discuss what he'd heard. It was perfect and I was almost ashamed I hadn't thought of it sooner.

A priest. Under the auspices of confession, a priest could listen to me and would not be able to say anything to anyone. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it immediately. Both my mother and father were descendants of the Emerald Isle; while we didn't go to mass every week, we didn't miss all that often.

At lunch time, I sped myself up and walked out of school. When I got to the park across the street, I sped myself up even more. It was only partially an experiment; I did it as I was walking just to make sure I could do it without stopping. I knew I'd gone a little far – I knew there would be a sonic boom – but I didn't even care. I was going to finally have someone to talk to about this.

I ran all the way to our church; St. Francis Catholic Church. I stuck mostly to the road because I was a little afraid I might hurt someone by accidentally hitting them while I was running. As fast as I was going, even a gentle tap might be enough to kill. That thought frightened me even more. All this time I'd been playing; it wasn't until that moment that I realized that my actions could have very serious side effects.

I pulled into a hallway, looked around carefully to be sure I was unobserved and then slowed back to normal speed. I still wasn't tired; I wasn't even sweating and the church had to have been 6 miles from the school or more.

I walked through the vestibule and into the nave at normal speed. It was just my luck but the church was empty; not a priest in sight. I wandered around, looking for anyone who might help me find a priest. I was just starting to head back to the vestibule in defeat when a voice called to me.

"Reece?" the young priest called to me. "Reece Cavenaugh? Is that you?"

I turned and sighed in relief. There were only a few priests for this church but Father John was definitely my favorite. Of course, I'm not sure that God would be too happy about me having favorites like that but I'd hope he'd understand.

"Father John," I smiled, relieved.

"What are you doing out of school, son?" he asked with a smile. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, of course, but school is important as well."

"I was wondering if you could hear my confession, Father," I said, the smile slipping from my face.

Father John's eyebrows rose. "Well, we usually hold that Sacrament on Saturday, not Wednesday – well, except for Lent, of course." He looked at me and saw my face fall. "However, this sounds like a special occasion so why don't we go ahead. Let's use that confessional over there."

I walked into the confessional and waited for Father John to open the door, then I knelt down and bowed my head. "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been two weeks since my last confession."

"Please my son, empty your heart of sin that you might be forgiven," Father John replied. It was a variation of what he was supposed to say; Father John wasn't very formal.

"Does that mean that we're under the protection of the confessional now, Father?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, of course, my son," he replied.

"And you can't tell anyone what you've heard in confession, right?" I asked more urgently.

"No, Reece, what you say here remains confidential between you, me and our heavenly Father for whom I am merely a surrogate."

"Good," I said with some relief. Then, I spilled my guts. I told him everything, starting with Andwynn accepting the date with David right up until the fight last night. I left nothing out, not even spying on the girl's locker room thought I did feel completely embarrassed about that.

"Reece, the confessional is a sacred sacrament," Father John said as I finished. "I'm disappointed you'd tarnish it with such a wild story."

"I can prove it Father," I said. "Is the confessional sacred or can we continue my confession in the church itself."

He didn't say anything for a moment. "No, the confessional isn't sacred ... just the sacrament. We can continue this in the nave."

I got up and stepped outside and waited for Father John to exit. "Now, Reece, what is all this about."

"I'm going to give you proof Father," I replied determinedly. "Proof that I'm not crazy and I'm not making up stories." I looked around. The church was laid out in the shape of a cross with the confessionals laid out around the North and South transepts. About 20 feet away was the crossing, just in front of the altar and maybe a dozen or so pews back. There was a small table in the center of the crossing with three unlit candles sitting on the table. It wasn't far, but it would have to do for now.

"Stand right here and look at the middle candle on that table, Father," I said quietly. "Don't take your eyes off of that middle candle, whatever you do. Don't even blink. Now, tell me when you're ready."

"Okay," he said but as soon as he started the sound I was speeding up and moving. It was odd as I did it; his voice stretched and grew deeper until it faded away entirely.

I had sped up only slightly faster than my run on the freeway; walking, I was moving about half the speed of sound. It wouldn't do to hurt Father John with a sonic boom. That got me to wondering if sonic booms actually hurt or whether they were just noise. I'd have to look that up to see what I could find.

I grabbed the candle and walked back stopping at Father John's side and moving back into the normal speed zone.

"I'm ready ... what?" He looked from the table to the candle in my hand and back. "How ... how'd you do that?"

His surprise didn't interest me; I'd been expecting surprise. Heck, I'd been expecting more than surprise. What surprised me was the look on his face for a few seconds after my 'return'. His eyes were glassy and his jaw went slack. He looked completely and totally out of it; almost as if he were on drugs. It was the exact same look as Andwynn's yesterday. On Andwynn, it had appeared fairly cute. The look on Father John's face and the subsequent blush seemed much more ... sinister.

"I told you, Father," I said quietly. "I'm not sure how or why but I can move fast ... really fast ... insanely fast. Faster than the speed of sound, though I didn't go that fast this time. I didn't want to scare or hurt you with the sonic boom."

"Yes, you moved really fast," he agreed, his face flitting with the glassy stare again. Then it passed and Father John shook his head. "Okay, you moved really fast. I believe you. But how did you do it? What's the trick, Reece?"