Superhero
an excerpt

“This energy source you discovered had better be worth the trek into open terrain because our current reserves won’t even last us a quartex like this.”
“Don’t say that Santis. You know I have the best nose for these old power reactors.”
A handful of tightly wrapped warriors climbed over the crags carefully and swiftly. Who knew who, or what, could be watching them. It was already a big risk to come out to this sector of the state. The fact that the small group had come out in such large numbers never failed to give rise to some new few in the hearts of these men.
Perhaps warrior would be too great a statement for the men crawling around in the dust with their eyes darting every which way in the hopes of seeing… nothing. They were closer to wandering vagabonds or escaped convicts. They wore the dust colored cloaks that all men and women wore above ground and might easily have been mistaken for some Islamic procession through the deserted and torn landscape.
Only there were no prisons to have escaped from. This was no Islamic procession. This was only the faraway desert land of Arizona in the United States of America. And these men weren’t looking out for other men. No. If there were other men nearby, they would be dead already. This rag-tag group was on the lookout for the creatures. The creatures that creeped and crawled, slithered and slid, floated on the winds, and raced along the plains. In this distant culture, it was the animal who did the hunting, and the man who tried to hide.
“Up here!” the youngest of the group pointed excitedly up the hill he was already grasping about and continued his climb. The others followed.
Further up the hill the youth stopped and waited for his companions. He wondered when men like he was normally lost their stamina like the men below him. The youth hoped never. He hoped the men below had given theirs up in exchange for something else. A bad exchange he decided. He would rather be able to climb a hundred such hills than have the things the older men had.
“Boy, wait until you reach my age. Then we’ll see you move so swiftly.”
The boy grinned. The speaker was his uncle but they treated each other as father and son.
“Now where is this new source you told us about?” one of the middle aged men reached the boy’s level. “Is it something we can bring back with us?”
“Well…”
“Would it be better to take it under cover of darkness?” a fourth man joined them.
“Actually it’s-“
“Let’s let him show us himself.” Said the boy’s uncle. “Stop pestering him. You waste our precious time. Do you want to meet one of the monsters?”
The other members of the group grew silent. One of the number held out his hand for the boy to lead them.
“Now I’ll show you Dale’s secret place.” The boy said and led them on.