Incidental Superhero Part 11 We shuffle through dimly lit passageways, Sonya taking the lead, myself following closely behind, my left arm hanging loosely by my side. The dank service tunnel is much deeper and more intricate than I would have guessed, and as Sonya takes turn after turn it begins… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 11
Incidental Superhero Part 10 My own wracking cough wakes me. I hack away in pitch blackness, everything around me completely obscured. The last thing I remember is falling off a bridge into the passenger seat of a car. “Hhrg…” I croak. I would trade a great deal for a sip… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 10
Incidental Superhero Part 9 “Three!” I pull the trigger and hold it for a beat, sending a burst of three bullets downrange, let go, slightly adjust the stock on my shoulder, and pull again. Rinse and repeat, just like my father taught me, shooting his rickety AK47 in the field… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 9
Incidental Superhero Part 8 One second I am beginning the plummet toward a messy impact with the pavement, my worst nightmare coming true, the next I am back on top of the suspension tower, my back flat against the chill of the steel. From my perspective the transition is instantaneous,… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 8
Incidental Superhero Part 7 My heart is palpitating. The live nuclear weapon we are about to blow up is part of it, but so is the sight of the Hudson River, the sharp peaks of its threatening eddies frozen in time a skyscraper’s distance underfoot. We each have two high… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 7
Incidental Superhero Part 6 Gently, we remove the driver from a nearby van and leave him on the sidewalk in an absurd rigor mortis pose of driving a car. He sits there, fixed in place, looking like a world class mime. We drive the van back to the loading dock… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 6
Incidental Superhero Part 5 Before the evacuation started, I had a morbid curiosity about nuclear weapons. I’ve soaked up all the Wikipedia pages and free online resources about ICBMs – that’s intercontinental ballistic missiles for the uninitiated – and I know a thing or two about them that might not… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 5
Incidental Superhero Part 4 My father used to have this saying. I say ‘used too’ as if he were dead. Of course, he isn’t. In fact he has not measurably changed in what has been, for me, the four years since I last saw him, frozen at the edge of… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 4
Incidental Superhero Part 3 It’s amazing what companionship can do for your spirits. I was in month 17 of the slow motion, one man evacuation of New York City. 17 months without so much as a word from anyone. It was really beginning to grate on me. Truthfully, I was… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 3
Incidental Superhero Part 2 17 months is a long time to be alone. Not alone exactly. Actually I’ve met more people than I’d ever thought I’d meet. OK, not met exactly, more like I’ve “briefly encountered and then dollied onto a tractor trailer” more people than I’d ever thought I’d… Read More »Incidental Superhero – Part 2