The third-grade class of West Brooke Elementary was still required to wear their uniforms on their museum field trip, but it didn’t stop Abigail Turner from tying her bath towel cape around her neck. Mrs. Kincade had promised if the class behaved during the tour through America’s Natural History, then they could visit the superhero wing after lunch.
Abigail accepted her mission with extreme diligence and kept a watchful eye on her classmates to ensure they wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see the three decades worth of memorabilia of their city’s very own Thunderbolt. Abigail had already been to the exhibit three times, but knew she had more to see. She had only read half of the archived news articles and was determined to read the rest. And study the stitching changes between Thunderbolt’s third and fourth-series costumes. And take a picture with the wax model of Thunderbolt. And buy a T-shirt from the gift shop with her saved birthday money. And practice her Thunderbolt Shot in the power simulator. And—
“Do you think she’ll be there?” asked Collin, seated next to Abigail on the bus. He kept to the dress code and his timely homework assignments assured Abigail he wouldn’t be a problem on her mission. His Thunderbolt socks also assured he’d make a good sidekick if Abigail needed one today.
“I hope so,” Abigail answered. “There wasn’t any news this morning about her, so it’s a good sign she could.”
On the luckiest of days at the museum, Thunderbolt visited the superhero wing and took actual pictures, and signed real autographs. Abigail dreamed of meeting the hero for as long as she could remember. Although a picture or autograph would be the best thing to happen, Abigail knew if she ever met the hero, she’d use her time to ask one question.
Abigail rehearsed her question every night before bed, so she wouldn’t mess it up if she ever had the chance to ask about it.
“My dad said she’s required to visit the museum so many days a month,” Collin added. “Since they pay her to be there or something.”
Abigail gasped. “That’s a lie. Thunderbolt visits because she loves us. If you were a hero, wouldn’t you want to know the people you’re protecting?”
Collin shook his head. “I don’t know Abby, there are a lot of people out there. I don’t even know everyone in our school! What would you do?”
Abigail smiled and adjusted her cape so it stopped wrinkling against the window. “If I were a hero, I’d do whatever it took to save people.”
Another boy laughed in the seat behind them. He raised up on his tiptoes to leer over the seat. “You don’t even have any powers. What makes you think you’d ever be a hero?”
Abigail crossed her arms. “Sit down Jeremy. You know you shouldn’t stand up on the bus.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Jeremy blew a raspberry at her before rubbing his knuckles atop Collin’s head. “Better save him, hero.”
Abigail slapped Jeremy’s hand away and shoved him back into his seat. “Leave him alone.”
“It’s okay,” Collin said softly, rubbing his hand over the spot Jeremy had harassed.
“No, it’s not,” Abigail said to her friend, then leaned over the seat to stare at Jeremy. “Don’t touch my friend or else.”
“Or else what?” Jeremy challenged, standing back up to meet Abigail’s glare.
“Kids!” Mrs. Kincade scolded from her seat near the front. “Stay in your seats. Abigail, you know better.”
Abigail flushed as red as a firetruck and ducked into her seat. She heard Jeremy snicker behind her. She took a deep breath and tried counting back from ten. A hero shouldn’t be embarrassed about doing what was right, but she needed to keep everyone safe. Unfortunately, picking fights with Jeremy did not keep anyone safe. Last month he tried sneaking firecrackers into the classroom turtle tank. Abigail discovered the dastardly plot before anyone was hurt. She knew if anyone was going to ruin her chance at seeing Thunderbolt today, it would be him.
The bus rumbled up an interstate on-ramp and merged into a line of traffic waiting to cross the eastern bridge to take them downtown. Car exhaust mixed with the hazy air baking off the city and clouded the sky. One kid in the back slammed their window shut before any of the smelly air permeated the inside of the bus. Chatter bounced around the interior as the excitement grew. Abigail watched the city crawl by through the window. Collin pulled a tattered book from his bag and read silently beside her.
A long cry of a car horn sounded ahead, and the bus slammed on its brakes rocking everyone forward. All the chatter stopped. Mrs. Kincade looked around, catching Abigail’s gaze as she scanned the bus. Another horn honked and the bus rumbled forward. Mrs. Kincade settled back into her seat. Abigail sighed. It was just normal bridge traffic, not a villain attack. She still tightened her cape, just in case.
The vehicles lurched forward and picked up speed as the end of the bridge neared. Abigail never understood how there was so much traffic when everyone was going in the same direction. As a new lane opened on her left, some trucks merged out of the way and others merged into the way. A shiny black car raced in between moving vehicles and slammed on its brakes in front of the bus.
Abigail didn’t have any time to brace for impact as the bus narrowly missed the car but crashed into the side of a trailer. Her head slammed against the seat back. Collin’s book sailed out of his hands. A classmate screamed somewhere behind her. Mrs. Kincade leaped out of her seat and shouted instructions.
Abigail’s class stared at their teacher in shock, unmoving in their seats, as smoke oozed from the engine. Abigail shook Collin until he looked at her. He gave her a tiny nod that still knocked his glasses askew, and she scrambled over him into the aisle.
“This way!” she called out. “Single file to the back. I’ve got this Mrs. Kincade.”
Abigail ran to the back and shoved the emergency exit door open. She helped the classmate seated next to the door up and out of the bus. His seatmate was quicker to act and leapt out the door, landing painfully on his knees.
“Collin!” Abigail summoned her sidekick. He stuck his head over their seat. “I need your help out here.”
Collin tumbled out of the seat and approached her.
“Can you help them jump down?” Abigail asked.
“Yeah.” Collin carefully slid out of the bus and extended his hand to help the next kid.
Abigail went seat by seat to help everyone get to the exit door until she reached aisle 6.
According to their bus evacuation trainings, anyone seated before aisle 6 should exit through the main door which Mrs. Kincade had operated. Abigail was about to turn back and exit herself when a tingle ran down her spine. Something didn’t feel right and so she checked the next rows of seats.
“Jeremy?” Abigail dropped to her knees to look Jeremy in the eyes, where he curled up beneath a seat. “Are you okay?”
He shook his head. Dirt and dust stuck to the blood blotting his scraped forehead.
Abigail grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Come on, we needed to get out of here. Can you walk?”
Slowly, Jeremy stretched out of his curled position and, with the help of Abigail pulling him forward, crawled out from under the seat. While he stood up, Abigail looked him over. Beside his head wound, he seemed okay. At the front of the bus, something heavy fell atop the engine hood. Jeremy shrieked and turned to Abigail, tangling his hands in her cape. She draped part of it over his shoulders and walked them to the exit.
Mrs. Kincade frantically counted the students outside the bus. Her bun had come undone, and she kept restarting her count when she didn’t like the outcome.
“Mrs. Kincade!” Collin shouted, pointing at the bus. “There they are!”
The teacher rushed to the exit door and helped lower Jeremy to the ground. Abigail surveyed the area.
“Mrs. Kincade,” Abigail asked, “Where’s Mr. Dolland?”
“He’s still inside,” her teacher answered about the bus driver. She examined Jeremy’s forehead. “We have to wait for paramedics, he’s—Abigail!”
Abigail was already halfway down the bus aisle. She couldn’t leave Mr. Dolland. Especially while the engine kept smoking. Mrs. Kincade kept shouting after her, but Abigail couldn’t stop running.
A hero saves people.
Abigail slid to a stop. She had been too late to save Mr. Dolland herself.
Thunderbolt stood at the front of the bus, holding Mr. Dolland in her arms.
“Thunderbolt,” Abigail stuttered, all her rehearsing thrown out the window.
She was even more super than any picture, or action figure Abigail had. Thunderbolt was so tall; it was amazing she even fit inside the bus. The new lightning bolt print on her blue and white series five costume glowed in the smokey light. A blue domino mask hid her identity, but her eyes observed Abigail; taking in the student as she took in the hero.
Abigail’s bath towel cape suddenly felt very dingy.
Thunderbolt smiled. “Will you lead the way out of here?”
Abigail nodded wildly and escorted Thunderbolt to the emergency exit in the back. The lights of an ambulance’ greeted them.
Once Abigail was out of the bus, Mrs. Kincade ambushed her. Checking her over for any injuries and scolding her for not listening. She didn’t thank Abigail for her heroic duty, but Abigail wasn’t a hero for the praise. She did it to save people.
“Is Jeremy okay?” Abigail asked when Mrs. Kincade took a breath.
Her teacher blinked. “He’ll be okay. Just a scratch.”
“And Mr. Dolland?”
“A broken arm, but he’ll be treated at the hospital,” Thunderbolt answered behind Abigail.
Abigail turned and gaped at the hero.
“Your bus is out of commission, sadly,” Thunderbolt spoke to Mrs. Kincade. “I’ve already radioed the city and they’re sending a nearby city bus to pick you all up and take you back to school.”
“Thank you, Thunderbolt,” Mrs. Kincade said.
“Don’t thank me,” Thunderbolt smiled. “You should give all the credit to this young hero here.” Thunderbolt placed a hand on Abigail’s shoulder. “I don’t know if I could’ve found my way out of there without you.”
Abigail blushed. “It was just a school bus.”
“She got us all out of there!” Jeremy said, pushing his way to stand beside her. A large band-aid covered his forehead. “I would’ve died if you didn’t find me, Abby. You really are a hero.”
This made Abigail blush even more.
Thunderbolt kneeled to look Abigail in the eyes. “Do you want to be a hero?”
“More than anything.” Abigail was glad to find her voice without any of her earlier stuttering.
“When you turn 21, come try out for my team, okay?”
“Okay!” Abigail roared, then quickly sobered. “Wait, Thunderbolt, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Abigail leaned in before sharing her secret. “What if I don’t have any powers? Can I still be a hero?”
Thunderbolt smiled. “You didn’t need any powers when you saved your friend, did you?”
Abigail shook her head.
“You’re already a hero,” Thunderbolt said. “The only power a hero really needs is bravery. If you’ve got that, you can do anything.”
Comments