The Power of Pride
by Holly Braendlein (age 17)
Beatrix opened her eyes and tried to adjust to the surrounding darkness. She sat up in pain, her temple throbbing. She lifted a hand to her head and felt dried blood sticking to her red hair.
Why, oh why, was she always faced with defeat when she responded to an Enemy Alert? She had hoped that she could prove herself worthy of graduation in two years by getting enough of these calls on her own, but the only option she could see working right now was to call for backup. She hated admitting defeat, though.
Beatrix thought back to how all of this had begun right after lunch hour …
✰
“Today, you get to see your test results for how well you defeated an enemy,” said Teacher Marstaff to the students before her. “Either by yourself or with a partner.” She handed a sheet of paper to each student.
Beatrix sucked in her breath audibly as she sat on the desk beside Frederick.
“I’m afraid to look,” said Beatrix.
Frederick chuckled. “Let’s reveal in three, two, one, go!”
Beatrix groaned as she looked at her paper. “Six missions in one month, and only two of those by myself. It’s like I need babysitting.”
Frederick and Beatrix got up and left with the other students. “It’s fine to ask for help.”
“Easy for you to say, Mr Does-Every-Mission-By-Himself,” said Beatrix sardonically.
Frederick held up his hands in defense. “Hey there, before you start calling names, I’ll have you know I recruited two fellow superheroes on my last mission. So will you retract my title?”
“Nope,” said Beatrix resolutely. “The title stays.” Both friends chuckled, and Beatrix already felt better.
As she dropped her papers into her locker, her Enemy Alert around her wrist started beeping. Beatrix clicked on it to show the location. Earth. She dumped her backpack in the locker and slammed it shut.
“Well, let’s see if I can accomplish this one all by myself,” Beatrix said.
“Yeah, right!” Frederick said, rolling his eyes. “You’ll never win the title Does-Every-Mission-By-Herself, not in my book!”
Beatrix laughed and then visited the girls’ room to change into her blue super suit. She pressed her watch and disappeared instantaneously into thin air.
✰
Beatrix reappeared in a paved driveway leading up to a couple of warehouses. The lawn bordering the property was picture perfect, every gardener’s dream. Beatrix scaled the security fence by making an ice staircase, and hopping down on the other side, proceeded into one of the side entrances, out of sight of the afternoon sun.
Beatrix looked around, her eyes adjusting to the dim light cast by a couple of lightbulbs hanging overhead. She tiptoed quietly around the crates and packing supplies scattered all about the garage space.
Beatrix opened a door leading into a hallway and tripped suddenly, crashing to the floor. She whirled around to see what she had stumbled over, and gasped in horror as she saw a dead body before her, with a swollen head and black streaks spreading steadily across his throat and face. Beatrix ventured closer to inspect. There was a clear syringe sticking out of his neck. She yanked it out and found that it had a barb on the other side. The syringe was the size of a dart. Beatrix stood up. I’ll have to be extra careful, she thought.
Down the hallway, there was a metal door at the other end. Another dead man had been hurriedly shoved into a broom closet a little ways away, and the security padlock to the metal door had been destroyed. With a gentle push, the door creaked open on its hinges, and Beatrix stepped in.
She was in the file room. There were iron rows of tall shelves gracing the room, and most of the boxes therein had the stamp “Top Secret” on them. Beatrix ventured down the aisles and peered around each row.
Suddenly, the rustle of a coat, a grunt, and a dart whizzed past her ear, narrowly missing her.
“You can’t possibly throw a dart at me and not think that I’ll catch on,” said Beatrix loudly. “You might as well show yourself, seeing as I know you’re here.”
There was a slow chuckling sound, and then a man stepped into the aisle Beatrix was in. He was dressed in a black leather overcoat, jeans, and a black beanie. He was unshaven, sporting a grin that displayed his yellow teeth. He raised his hands in mock terror.
“Oh, oh!” He said in a high voice. “I’m so frightened! I’m being captured by …” He paused and lowered his hands. “… A little girl.” He grinned fiendishly.
Beatrix played along. “Shall I introduce myself? I am Beatrix, and I’m here to stop you.”
“How very nice,” the man said, in a mocking voice. “I am Kazimir, and I won’t let you stop me.” He whirled around and retreated into one of the rows of shelves.
Beatrix ran after him. Kazimir weaved in and out of rows, and Beatrix found it hard to catch up. Every time she prepared to blast him with ice, he rounded a corner just in time. Beatrix finally slowed down to catch her breath. Kazimir laughed from somewhere in the room.
“Can’t keep up, eh? It just goes to show that one doesn’t need powers to be ahead in the game.”
After regaining her breath, Beatrix huffed in frustration, looked up at the ceiling, and got an idea. She stepped onto the shelves and climbed to the very tallest level. She had a good view of the room from where she was perched, and was able to spot the little black beanie that Kazimir wore. She straightened and took one giant leap into the air, onto the next shelf, and shot forth an icy blast at Kazimir as he ran away. The ice hit his head, and he grunted and fell on the ground, stunned. By the time Beatrix could scale the next shelf, Kazimir had recovered and was on his feet. He quickly grabbed a dart from inside his boot and wrenched it towards Beatrix, who froze it to pieces in midair. She landed with a thump! on the hard floor, and prepared to give him a deft blow to the head.
Unfortunately, Kazimir had the same idea. He bared his fists, and with a CRACK! sent Beatrix sprawling to the ground, unconscious.
✰
Beatrix looked up at the darkened ceiling and groaned.
“Lord,” she said aloud. “Take away my pride. Help me to complete this mission, and to call for help when I need it. I admit defeat, and I also admit to hating weakness. Forgive me, Lord. Amen.” She lowered her head and sighed in relief, a feeling she always got whenever she turned to God for help.
Beatrix lifted her wrist and pressed her watch, calling Frederick. “Hey, Beatrix,” he said from the other end. “Are you alright?”
Beatrix sighed. “I’m fine, really. It’s just that … I need help. Again.”
There was a pause, and then, “You sure you’re okay, Ginger Locks?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” replied Beatrix. “Just broken pride. I realize that it’s okay that I ask for help, and I’m praying God will take away my pride.”
A flash of light, and Frederick stepped through the portal into the small room, saying, “Well, I’m proud of you.” He offered her a hand, and she took it, smiling weakly.
She brushed herself off and said, “Thanks for coming. The man, Kazimir, is not a mutant, merely a human with a lot of intelligence. He’s concocted a formula of poison in barbed darts. It’s deadly, so be careful.”
Frederick looked her in the eyes and replied, “I will. You too.”
Beatrix’s body warmed under his thoughtful, protective gaze. “I will.”
✰
Beatrix led the way to the filing room and stepped gingerly inside, Frederick right behind her. They crept about the room quietly, ears on the alert, as well as their eyes. They heard a rustling of paper on the opposite side of the room. Beatrix put a finger to her lips and beckoned for Frederick to corner Kazimir on the other side of the aisle where the noise was coming from. Frederick nodded and tiptoed away. Beatrix occupied the other side of the stall. Beatrix lifted her fingers. One, two, three!
Both friends jumped into the stall, and Kazimir dropped the box of files, reaching a hand in his boot for a dart. Beatrix emitted a blast of ice and cemented his boots to the ground. As Frederick ran toward him, Kazimir landed a blow to his head, which sent Frederick sprawling on the ground, clutching his bloody nose. This allowed Kazimir enough time for the ice about his boots to thaw, and for him to make a mad dash over Frederick, who was still on the ground moaning. Beatrix ran over to his side.
“Come on, Frederick!” Beatrix exclaimed in exasperation, offering him a hand.
“Ibe comig, ibe comig,” replied Frederick, clutching the side of his nose. Beatrix sighed and waved her hands in the air, and handed him a cold poultice. She rushed off to follow Kazimir.
She burst out of the file room and sped down the hall, leapt over the two dead bodies of the guards, and ran into the garage space, where she heard the muffled stomps of her prey. She crept behind some crates and searched frantically in the dim light. Kazimir darted toward the exit. Beatrix jumped onto the top of the crate and summoned all her strength and shot forth a huge barrier of ice over the exit door, just in time as Kazimir slammed into the ice, cursing loudly to himself.
“We won’t let you leave, you know,” said Beatrix loud enough for Kazimir to hear.
Kazimir turned wild eyes toward Beatrix and scowled, panting slightly. “Yeah? Well, we’ll see about that!” He drew a dart from his pocket and threw it towards her. Beatrix watched as it hurtled through the air, and splintered it to pieces with her ice, but she wasn’t prepared to see the second one he had thrown immediately afterwards. Beatrix had nowhere to turn. She gasped and ducked as the dart aimed right at …
A flash of light, and Frederick was before her. The dart pierced his throat, and he stood there, dazed, before falling off the crate onto the cement floor, unconscious. Beatrix screamed. Kazimir laughed, and disappeared to find another exit. Beatrix hurriedly jumped off the crate and landed beside Frederick, whose face was already starting to swell.
“Frederick! No!” cried Beatrix desperately, holding his head in her lap. “Please, don’t go! Please! Stay with me!” She looked around wildly and pushed the button on her watch, making them both disappear into thin air.
✰
Beatrix was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, twiddling her thumbs nervously and playing with her long, red hair. After what seemed like a century, a woman in a hospital gown stepped into the waiting room and called her name. Beatrix got up a little too quickly and followed the nurse down the hallway and into the room where Frederick was lying.
Beatrix walked into the room and closed the door. There, on the bed, was Frederick, with tubes up his nose for breathing, and other tubes attached here and there for monitoring him. Beatrix’s eyes welled with tears. Frederick looked at her through his eyelids, and showed her that cocky smirk he always used. Beatrix broke down in tears.
“What’s with the … the waterworks, Miss Ginger Locks?” Frederick said in a hoarse whisper.
Beatrix sniffed. “Oh, Frederick, I was so afraid that I’d lose you,” she gasped out. “I shouldn’t have asked you for help.”
Frederick closed his eyes and shook his head ever so slightly. “No regrets … Good for you to ask.” He took a deep, labored breath.
Beatrix knelt by his bed and laid her head on his lap as he gently stroked her luscious, red hair.
About the Author
Holly Braendlein is a Christian seventeen-year-old based in the Pacific Northwest. She loves to write, sew, quilt, and generally goof off and make trouble. The Lord above always has His hands full with this redhead.
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