Don crept out of the window and onto the small roof. Jumping down onto the ground and meeting with Nancy and Peter.
"Jesus, Nancy, don't you ever get tired of wearing sweaters."
"Why don't you worry about how look." Nancy snapped.
The walk to Saddlebrook was long, longer than it should've been. Maybe because they had to stop every few minutes, so Peter could catch his breath.
Don gently bumped the sign that led into Saddlebrook, looking at the small words at the bottom of the sign, "Whites Only After Dark - Others Will Be Exiled!".
Don frowned and looked at his watch, 6:15 Pm.
As Don walked past the sign, a feeling of dread grabbed him, "Where are we going." He asked sternly.
Peter looked back and pulled out a small newspaper clipping from his pocket. "They got this carnival going on, my mom said I could go but to be back in an hour or so" Peter said as he looked at his own watch, "We got forty-five minutes, so we have to try everything no exceptions."
Don frowned as he looked around.
A group of white women had gathered around the corner, and they were staring.
Nancy nudged Don, "I think we should leave."
As they rounded a street corner, the streetlights flickered off and on before coming to life with a loud hum.
"Peter lets go." Don said.
"What? We just got here."
"Peter, come on, let's go."
More people were staring, Don looked nervously, it was not his own safety he feared for.
A long shadow loomed over them and they stopped. A police officer twirled his baton while he stared at them.
"Where are you going."
Peter opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Don, "We were just leaving."
"No w-"
Don wrapped his hand around Peter's mouth and squeezed.
"The exit for town is that way." the officer said.
"We got turned around...sorry, sir."
The officer glared at them before stepping aside and allowing them to pass.
Don, with his hand still on Peter's mouth, began to drag him along.
Peter struggled under the vice-like grip before Don finally released him. The sun was behind the trees and the sky was now a dark orange.
"What are you doing w--"
"Shut up. What were you thinking?, why did you bring us here?." Don snapped as he pointed to the sign.
"I didn't know it was that kind of town, no one ev--"
"Did your mom not know di--"
A pickup truck suddenly drove by, a hand reaching out and attempting to grab Peter, but only grazing him and causing him to stumble.
The truck came to a screeching halt, pausing for a minute on the beat road before the engine revved, and the truck began making its way towards them. "Run...run!" Don said as he gently pushed Nancy.
She and Peter broke into a sprint into the nearby forest, Don took flight, to the men in the truck it appeared as if he had vanished.
The men jumped out of the truck and began chasing Nancy and peter, rifles in hand, one of them stayed behind and began finding the way to the other side of the forest.
The man looked out of the left window, nothing but trees.
He sped up a little bit.
He looked back, adjusting the rearview mirror, before he kept driving.
The man looked back to the left window.
A second later, a red - eyed don shattered the window and rammed into the truck, causing it to swerve.
The truck came to a bubbling halt, "Ah, what the hell!"
The man knocked the glass off himself and began his attempt at starting the car. "Come on.!, come on!, come on!, come on you stupid piece of shit!."
He looked up, Don hovered off the ground a few feet in front of him.
"What on earth?!, come on!"
"Come--"
The truck began to groan as Don picked it up, carrying it several hundred feet into the air before throwing it on the ground.
He listened to the loud crunch as the truck flattened like a tin can.
Don watched the blood flow from the truck before flying off into the forest.
Peter and Nancy hid in a few bushes and watched as the men ran by, Nancy looked over at Peter, "Okay look, we'll break off. I'll run straight, you run the direction we came from, find Don and get help. Okay?"
Peter nodded and they both jumped out of the bushes and ran their separate ways.
Peter made his way back onto the road and looked left and then right, the truck was now a compressed mess.
"Don!."
Don looked back, his x-ray vision tearing through the trees and landing on the road. Peter was looking around frantically, Don silently cursed before turning around.
Nancy stumbled as she broke out of the forest and onto an area much further down the road.
"Shoot."
Peter stopped yelling and looked back as the leaves rustled slightly. "Don?!"
Peter yelled.
BLAM.
Peter's leg gave way as he fell on his butt, he had been shot.
The men emerged from the woods breathing heavily, "I got 'im" one said as he wiped his brow.
Pete held his bleeding leg, the bullet had torn clean through his quad.
"Help me tie 'im up."
"Where the hell is Ed, don't tell me he went home."
Peter backed away, "Don't touch me."
"Oh, we'll touch you...we'll touch you good."
One of them reached out to grab him, his hand only inches from Peter before he was violently grabbed and dragged for several meters down the road. By the time he stopped, he was nothing more than a mangled mess, "What the hell was--"
The other one was quickly picked up and dragged away, back into the forest.
Exploding violently against a tree, Don covered his eyes and took a deep breath.
He grabbed the guy's rifle and fired a few rounds into the air. Throwing the rifle aside and rolling around in the mud and leaves before stepping out of the forest.
"Oh my god, Petey, are you alright."
Peter looked at his leg, "No...no, im pretty far from alright."
Don quickly found Nancy with his x-ray vision, she helped him carry Peter back home.
When Don came through the front door at 8:30 and saw his father and mother sitting in the living room, TV off, he knew he was done for.
"Where have you been?" Franklin asked.
"I was in Saddlebrook..." Don said simply
Franklin's shoulders slumped, and he sighed before standing up, "Are you out of your mind?."
"We were there for an hour at most, and most of that hour was spe--"
"You think that just because you got these powers, you can go around doing whatever?, what would've happened to Nancy and Peter or god forbid you."
Franklin stopped and looked at the state of his son, covered head to toe in mud and blood. "What the hell happened?."
"A couple of guys tried to get us and..."
Franklin put his hands on his head, plopping down on the sofa. Diane stood up, "Go to your room, Don...just give us time to talk."
She watched as Don walked upstairs. "What was he thinking, what was he thinking. Why would--" Franklin began, but was stopped by Diane.
"It'll be fine...we will be fine."
"How can you say that?, we--"
"Look...what he did was stupid, yes I agree, but if you're worried about physical harm then put those worries to bed."
"I'm not worried about just him, I'm worried about us, I'm worried about Nancy and Peter, im worried about their families, what about the other towns folk. I mean--"
"Look, when that time comes in sure he'll be ready, but he's just a kid, you know how kids are"
Don unwillingly listened with his superhuman hearing. His brow furrowing as he looked at his door.
"Family and friends in danger..."
Tomorrow was Saturday. And he had a plan