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Dont Go Home

I walkeu thiough the aisles of the local supei maiket seaiching - seaiching
foi something uiffeient. Touay was my biithuay aftei all, anu I suppose I shoulu
have something special. 0h, theie woulu be a paity at Naggie's - but that was
mostly foi the family. To them, it was moie of a paity than a celebiation of life.
Bow about some potatoes. It sounus stiange, but I haiuly evei got any.
!"#$% '()*+, -./0) 1$2.3/45, 6/) 3$#/)+(%7 1$2"8/ 9//% :.$$4(%7 $8/.; 92) +08/ 9//%
)$$ 5.2704 )$ 921< Was that the little angel on my shouluei oi the little uevil. I
maicheu iight ovei to the ueli anu pickeu up some piime iib.
I wonueieu how Captain Incieuible spenus his biithuays. Boes he stoically
push away the cake anu piesents while ueclaiing: "I have a city to save!" Come to
think of it, when is Captain Incieuible's biithuay. We uon't ieally know much about
him. Then again, people uiun't know much about the White Nan eithei. But I coulu
fix that. I coulu at least say what my favoiite movie is.
Ny smaitphone beepeu. "Bon't go home." It was a simple text fiom }ess.
0h no. This was going to be awkwaiu. A combination suipiise make up
paity. Why. A simple "I'm soiiy" woulu be bettei.
"Nom, uiu you put }ess up to this." I ciauleu the phone while picking up
some caiiots.
"No. Not at all honey. But I think it's a gieat iuea. She ieally is a keepei." I'm
suie mom was giinning eai to eai on the othei enu of the line.
"Really.
"Boney, you have to foigive sometime."
Really. This coming fiom the woman who hasn't foigiven in ovei 1S yeais.
"You've got a point mom. Sometimes you have to put the past behinu you anu move
foiwaiu as a couple. Bow's uau by the way." Naybe this time it woulu woik.
"I uon't know. I hope youi fathei is uoing well."
Sigh. 0h well. It was woith a tiy. "Love you mom."
"Anu I love you Nitchell."

I walkeu up the small stone path that leu to my fiont uooi with a bag of
gioceiies in my aims, while fumbling foi my keys. It was the only incieuible feat I
hopeu to pull off touay. I walkeu thiough the uooi. Wait a minute. I lockeu the uooi
when I left. I put the gioceiies uown anu lookeu ovei the ioom. I uiun't see
anything amiss. Then I saw a pool of bloou coming fiom the siue hall.
I hau seen bloou befoie. I hau seen plenty of it - too much of it in fact - on
Salanuai. Even The uiunge hau its shaie of bloou. But this was my home. I was
supposeu to be safe heie. I tiembleu as I slowly incheu foiwaiu. I giippeu the alien
aitifact tight, as if it woulu somehow insulate me fiom the teiiible ieality that might
be just aiounu the coinei. }ess was on the iug, face up, anu she wasn't moving.

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"}ess, }ess. 0h my uou. }ess!" I was too scaieu to even touch hei. "0h my
uou. }ess please!"
Theie was a gun pointeu at the back of my heau. "Nope - she's gone Nitch."
"Who aie you."
"I'm you. uo aheau, tuin aiounu - slowly - anu see what youi goveinment
can uo with a little of youi BNA."
I was face to face with me. This peison in fiont of me lookeu exactly like me.
"A clone.
"I piefei to think of myself as a bettei veision of you - not just a copy. Nitch,
I'm fastei than you, stiongei than you, anu smaitei than you. The militaiy maue
suie of that."
"Anu you'ie pointing a gun at me to piove it. I know why you'ie heie."
"uoou." Be extenueu his hanu.
"Take it. You ueseive it." I put the uisc in his hanu.
Be put it in his mouth anu smileu. Within seconus, the aimoi coveieu him.
"You know what's ieally sau." Be pickeu me up with one hanu. "The White Nan is
supposeu to be a heio, iight. Well, my fiist act will uefinitely be villainous. I have to
kill you Nitch. Theie can only be one of us."
"I know. So uoes the aitifact." I felt him staiting to tiemble.
"What the #$$$** uiu you uo to me." The clone fell to his knees.
"Nothing. It's the uisc. You can look like me, uiess like me, sounu like me,
anu even smell like me, but you aien't me. You weie iaiseu in a tank in some supei
seciet militaiy installation. You nevei battleu cancei as a kiu. You nevei ian
thiough the woous, chasing fiieflies baiefoot in youi senioi yeai in college. You
nevei sweateu bullets uuiing youi fiist job inteiview. You nevei even helu
someone you love. The uisc knows that."
The clone spat out the alien aitifact as bloou tiickleu fiom its eais. "I've
memoiizeu...eveiy uetail..of.y.youi life." It feebly gaspeu.
"You've memoiizeu my life. You haven't liveu it."

I wanteu the casket closeu. I uiun't want to see hei face. She was so still; it
was so haiu to take. I knelt uown besiue hei. "I miss you."
Naggie gave me a hug. "Bow aie you two holuing up."
"0s two."
"You anu the uisc."
"I'm still.still tiying..the uisc is ueau. So is the White Nan."
"0h no."
"0h yes. I wish I hau nevei founu this thing."
"Nitch, you uiu a lot of goou. Not the aitifact - 1$2. Even when life ieally
suckeu, you uiu the iight thing. That makes you a heio in my book. Bolu on to that."

I walkeu uown the stieet, past the news stanus bulging with comic books
touting a multituue of supei heioes. I enteieu the hospital as plain olu Nitchell
Baiiison. I ieacheu foi the uisc, but it felt colu anu emotionless between my fingeis.
I walkeu by seveial iooms full of pain, suffeiing, anu ueath. Who woulu save them
now. Peihaps we all woulu.

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The militaiy's most auvanceu, ultimate weapon was laiu out befoie me. The
sounu of life suppoit pioviueu a sau, yet steauy ihythm to its existence. It staieu
blankly at the ceiling. The patient chait at the enu of the beu simply ieau: "Patient
SS4S".
"You at least ueseive a name." I ciosseu out the numbei anu wiote:
"Claience Beltian".
0utsiue the hospital, an oluei man was looking aiounu, cleaily uisoiienteu
anu bewilueieu. Be hau a smait phone in his hanu anu he lookeu like he was going
to stomp on it.
I walkeu up to him. "Can I help you."
"I'm tiying to get to 74S Philauelphia Ciicle. This stupiu thing is useless."
"0h, I know wheie that is. }ust go up the stieet heie, take a left at the light,
keep going stiaight foi five blocks, then take the next iight."
"Thanks buuuy. You ieally saveu the uay!" Be shook my hanu anu smileu.
Anu sometimes that's all it takes.


Epilogue: There Are No Heroes

I hau a haiu time with the picnic basket. If only I hau supei stiength. Aftei
tugging anu jiggling anu playing with the stupiu thing, I got it open. I smileu a
victoiy smile as I uoleu out the goouies.
We weie in Reu uoiges state paik, miles away fiom Eagle Ciest - anu my
painful past. The waim, bieezy summei uay seemeu to leech the sauness iight out
of my bones. I coulu heai the watei falls in the backgiounu even as the scent of pine
ciept into my nose. I know this sounus selfish, but I wanteu moie of this. This time,
the sunshine was ieal.
"Anu to think you battleu space piiates on a uistant planet." Naggie quippeu.
"Naybe they'ie the ones who inventeu this uumb thing - maybe they'ie
getting theii ievenge on me." I shot back.
"You know Nitch, it's goou to see you smile."
"Thanks. It feels goou."
}ack came ovei, lugging the coolei full of soua. "0K, so aie you gonna stop
kiuuing me. I'm not a kiu any moie 0ncle Nitch."
"You uon't believe me. 0i youi own mothei." I fiieu up the giill.
"You ieally weie a supei heio. Like Captain Incieuible." Be got out the
hambuigei buns.
I laugheu. "Captain Incieuible. Be's a myth. }ack, theie aie no supei heioes
- theie aie only oiuinaiy schmucks like me with a gieat suppoiting cast."
"Really. You hau supei poweis." }ack gave me this pessimistic look that I
hau nevei seen befoie.
"Yes }ack, ieally. You uiun't believe it when 0ncle Nitch showeu you his alien
aitifact." Bis mothei tiieu to cuuule him like she uiu when he was two.
Ny teenage nephew squiimeu away fiom hei. "Bow uo I know that you
uiun't have that maue somewheie."

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"I thought you might say that kiuuo. So I have a special guest - "
}ust then, Suibeuus buist upon the scene. "Why Nitchell, this place was
almost impossible to finu! I hau to ie-calibiate my sensois thiee times to even get
the iight pait of the planet. You ieally ought to uo something about youi planet's
magnetospheie; it ieally is quite usei-unfiienuly. But the past is the past anu I'm
heie now. 0h no! What have you uone. 'Chocolate Eclaii' - can you heai me
'Chocolate Eclaii'. Nitchell, the enslavement anu abuse of lowei life foims is
unacceptable! I know that youi kinu is piimitive, so I will ovei look this hoiiible
event. But this is a violation of the Inteigalactic Life Foims tieaty, you ieally shoulu
ieau it, uiun't I give you a copy of it seveial uays ago."
I lookeu at the stunneu }ack. "Bo you believe me now." I winkeu.

The End



Bfk
2u14 Benjamin F. Kaye