Yesterday's Gone (Season 5): Episodes 25-30 Read Online Free Page B

lifeguard whistled again as if it would bring Luca down, then followed with a stern, “Get down, now.”
    Luca cried out, “They tried to drown me!”
    Luca saw Rose approaching the lifeguard and Monobrow.
    The Darkness spoke in Luca’s ear: Go to the diving board, now.
    Luca wasn’t sure of Its intention, but he listened, stepping away from the ladder, onto the platform, then out to the diving board.
    Below, Luca heard Rose ask, “What the hell is going on here?” playing her Adult Card with perfect pitch.
    She’s buying you time, The Darkness said.
    For what?
    To do what must be done.
    What?
    Look down.
    Luca looked down and saw the pool crowded with kids, surrounding Shovel Face, looking at him like a car wreck. Some were asking if he could walk, and a couple offered to help him out.
    The Darkness spoke: Now is your chance.
    Chance to do what?
    To do what you wanted. Kill him.
    Kill him? No. I don’t want to get in trouble. I want to go home.
    You broke his kneecap. Sometimes the only way out of trouble is to plow through it.
    Luca felt an odd vibration coming from the pool. With it the sound of static. No, not static, but the voices — no, thoughts — of every swimmer in the pool. 
    I’m connected to all of them? How?
    Suddenly, there was nothing but silence below, save for Shovel Face crying.
    Look down, The Darkness said.
    Luca looked down. Everyone in the pool — ranging from young children to adults — was staring up at him blankly.
    They’re awaiting your command.
    Luca looked down and saw that even Rose was staring, as if he’d somehow frozen time and hypnotized the world. 
    Shovel Face looked around and screamed, “What the hell is going on? What did you do?” 
    Luca smiled at the jerk’s confusion. Even though Shovel Face was a Neanderthal, he could sense that Luca was somehow responsible for whatever was happening. Luca could taste his fear, palpable, sweet like sugar from ten feet above.
    Luca stood on the diving board’s edge, no longer paralyzed. He wasn’t afraid of heights, he was enlivened by his position above them all.
    Luca yelled, “I’m gonna give you to the count of five to get out of the pool.”
    Shovel Face looked up and laughed, though he couldn’t mask his fear or confusion.
    “One.” Luca said.
    “Fuck you, freak!” Shovel Face yelled.
    “Two.”
    “You don’t scare me.”
    “Three.”
    “Whatcha gonna do? There’s one of you and hundreds of us!”
    “Four.”
    Shovel Face cried out, “Fuck you!”
    “Five,” Luca said as a smile crossed his lips.
    Go.
    As soon as Luca thought what to do, everyone in the pool acted, en masse, closing in around Shovel Face.
    “What the fuck?” he yelled, turning, hopping on his one leg as people crept closer, bumping into him. 
    Someone hit him in the back of the head.
    Shovel Face screamed, spinning around to face his attacker.
    A woman jumped on his back, opened her mouth wide, and bit down hard on the side of the Neanderthal’s cheek, ripping the skin from his Shovel Face. 
    He screamed as he tried to throw her off.
    He went under.
    Many more piled on, keeping Shovel Face under, drowning him as they hit, kicked, gouged, and bit into his flesh.
    Luca smiled then turned to find Monobrow, standing beside the lifeguard, still staring up at Luca as if awaiting instruction.
    Luca turned his attention at the lifeguard, and inserted thoughts into his head.
    Go.
    The lifeguard snapped into action, kicking Monobrow’s feet out from under him and slamming him to the ground before he knew what was happening. The back of Monobrow’s skull hit the concrete with a sickening thud.
    Though he was dead in an instant, Luca directed the lifeguard to grab both sides of the fat kid’s head and repeatedly smash it into the concrete, turning the soup of splashed-up water into ruby goo.
    Luca wasn’t sure where the Hispanic kid had gone off to, so he searched.
    No loose ends.
    From below, Rose called out, “Stop!”
    All at once,