Stupendous Chris Jay

By David J. Roberts

Chris Jay centers on a foster care child who is adopted by his aunt and uncle in Logan Heights, Chicago. After being a victim of a freak accident at a corporate testing site, Christopher's body is genetically altered, giving him uncommon abilities. To his surprise, Christopher will discover and master his abilities, which will enable him to overcome powerful enemies and genetically altered villains. Throughout his journey, he will rely heavily on his friends and the things that he learned during his time in the foster care system.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098346096

Book preview

children.

Introduction

Christopher has never known stability. After the tragic deaths of his parents, he was plagued with the burden of moving from family-to-family in the state foster care system, relying solely on proxy guardians to provide food, shelter, clothing, and an assimilated family. Like a resilient seed springing up out of dry ground, Christopher developed a keen sense of independence that enabled him to survive the turbulence he endured early on. To his surprise after four long years, his struggles would soon be over after being adopted by his aunt and uncle and relocated to Logan Heights. Upon arrival, everything seemed so surreal; he went from sharing his living space with other adopted kids to having his own room, bed, closet, and a window to view the neighborhood park. Christopher was on his way to normalcy until tragedy struck him again. During a school trip, he endured a freak accident that gave him uncommon abilities. To his surprise, he will discover that his destiny will be predicated on how well he masters his abilities to overcome both powerful enemies and obstacles. Throughout his adventures, he will rely heavily on things he learned and experienced in foster care, from teachers, his family, and his closest friends to overcome various challenges.

Chapter 1: Struck

Christopher Miller Jackson, the orphan son of Marian and Henry Jackson, spent most his life bouncing from family to family in the foster care system after the deaths of his parents. For a duration of four years, Christopher endured three family alterations and four elementary school changes before he was identified by close relatives. To his surprise, Aunt Karen and Uncle Howard found him after years of research and solicitations to the state. Chris! Auntie Karen screamed with tears in her eyes. OMG, it’s so good to finally find you. We have been looking for you for over a year. Losing your mom and dad was hard on all of us. After the funeral, things began to move quickly, and the state took you away. Nevertheless, we found you and we’re here to take you home.

With his arms wrapped around Christopher, his uncle Howard calmly said, It’s good to see you, nephew. Now let’s get out of here.

After Howard signed the appropriate documentation, Christopher, the new addition to the Jackson family, hopped into the family car and headed home to Logan Heights, a subdivision in Northwest Chicago. It was the beginning of summer, right after the scheduled school year, and everyone was out and about enjoying the company of their families at various events. After a 40-minute drive, Uncle Howard pulled up to the house and began to point out different landmarks and fun things to do around the neighborhood.

Wow, what’s that? Christopher shouted.

It’s the Illinois Center Monument. It was built in the early 1900s to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Illinois’ statehood, Uncle Howard explained.

Oh, I have never seen anything like that before. Can we go over there and check it out sometime?

Sure, anytime you want, Chris, Uncle Howard replied. Now Uncle Howard is a 32-year-old detective working for the Chicago Police Department. His wife, Aunt Karen, is a 30-year-old journalist working for the Chicago Sun-Times, and his little cousin, Toni, is 6 years old and wants to become a princess (like the one she adores from the movie, The Princess and the Frog).

As the summer progressed, Christopher spent a lot of time in the house while his aunt and uncle commuted back and forth to work. In the belief that Christopher had enough time to cope on his own, Aunt Karen enrolled him into District 3 Heart of the Brave Middle School, which was a couple of blocks from his little cousin’s elementary school (Luther Elementary).

The first night before school, Christopher experiences a scary but strange nightmare. In the dream, a dark figure haunts and stalks him wherever he goes. As the dream progresses, it advances towards him to capture and kill him. In fear, Christopher wakes up, with his heart racing. Surprisingly, he hears a knock at the door. Christopher, it’s time to wake up, buddy, Karen says.

Oh yeah, okay, I-I’m up, Auntie Karen. I’ll be right out, he says, as he wipes the sweat off his forehead.

Okay, good. You have a big day today, Chris, Karen adds as she walks back downstairs. Christopher sighs. In the meantime, the rest of the Jackson family is eating breakfast at the breakfast table.

So, Howard, Auntie Karen begins, my boss wants me to write about the Turbine that’s supposed to be activated in a couple weeks. Everyone at my job is talking about it.

Yeah-Yeah-Yeah, that’s what everyone says about anything big, but something always goes wrong; it may not happen now, but years from now something will go wrong, Howard answers as he eats his pancakes.

You know you’re the only one that thinks like that. You’re so negative.

No, not negative; just realistic, Howard smartly answers. Dang it, Toni! All that syrup! Howard shouts.

Sorry, Toni says, while putting the syrup down.

Bam!

What was that? Toni asks as the noise startled her.

That’s a good question, Howard replies. Karen, you woke up Christopher, right?

Yeah, he should be up, Karen says.

Let me go and check on him to see if he’s dressed, Howard says while wiping his mouth with a napkin.

Upstairs, Christopher buttons up his blue polo shirt, puts on his black jacket, and drapes his bookbag on his back. With a glance out the window, Christopher notices a girl walking to the bus stop, the same girl over the summer whom he has been watching periodically. As she waits on the bus, he watches her in admiration, and sighs in delight.

Christopher, you dressed, boy? Howard shouts as he walks towards the door.

Christopher quickly rushes to the door and opens it fully dressed. Yeah, I’m ready, Unck.

Okay, good. Hey, we put you on the number 4 bus, but if you want, I can drop you off today for your first day, Howard suggests.

No, I’m good, Christopher replies as he walks by his uncle.

As he rushes out the door in excitement, Howard yells, Hey, you don’t have to go so fast. Take your time, son, and your collar isn’t straight…come here so I can fix it before you go.

In the other room Karen and Toni are gathering their things and making their way towards the front door. Yeah, Chris, no need to rush, Karen states. Your eyes are a little red. Was it a nightmare again, baby?

No, I’m fine, Auntie, I’m just ready to get this day started.

Wait, hold on, here’s the slip you will need in order to get on the bus. Give it to the bus driver so he’ll know you’re a new student riding on his route, Karen adds as she hands him the slip.

Okay, thank you, Auntie, I’ll make sure he gets it, Christopher responds.

May I call you Auntie, Momma? Toni asks while licking her fingers.

No, you may not, Karen replies. Christopher is your cousin, which makes me his auntie, so he calls me Aunt Karen. You call me Momma because I’m your Momma. Karen chuckles.

Christopher finally leaves the house and proceeds down the stairs towards the bus stop. Immediately, he zones in on the girl he had admired from his bedroom window standing at the bus stop talking to her friends as they wait for the school bus to arrive. No, my lunch is my lunch! If you are hungry, get your own food from Subway or the pizza place down the street, a boy shouts in the distance. Chamberlain, the serial bully on the block, chuckles. Oh, that’s how you feel, little Martin?

Hey, calm down, Chamberlain. The bus is almost here. We don’t want any more trouble this week, Antonio says, as he moves towards Chamberlain and Martin.

What! No more trouble? Well, yeah … you’re right, I guess we don’t need any more attention, as he goes through Martin’s jacket pockets.

Christopher runs over to the bus stop where they are. Hey, why don’t you guys back off!

Back off, and who are you supposed to be, dude? Antonio replies.

Christopher squints his eyes and balls his fist, then in the distance the bus pulls up to the stop. Don’t worry, it’s all good, little dudes. Come on, guys, let’s dip before there’s any more trouble, Chamberlain says to his boys. All tension deflates, and everyone begins to load the school bus behind the girls.

Christopher walks towards the bus, and Martin catches up to him. Hey, thanks, man. They get on my nerves! I stood up for myself today, but he didn’t stop. I appreciate what you did back there.

It’s cool, bro, don’t mention it. I can’t stand bullies. I dealt with a lot of that when I was in- growing up. I learned how to take care of myself. No one is going to get bullied, especially when I’m around, Christopher replies.

Wow you must be the toughest of tough, Martin scoffs in disbelief. Well, I’m Martin Dash by the way, as he extends his hand towards Christopher.

Cool, I’m Christopher, he says while entering the bus, leaving Martin’s hand extended.

At the top of the stairs, Christopher sees Bus Driver Willis. Morning. Here is my slip. My aunt told me to give this to you.

A new kid. Okay, great, it’s always good to have a new face on my route, Willis responds. From the front to the back of the bus, everyone is staring at Christopher, sizing him up because he is the new kid. Everything looks good, Christopher. Go ahead and find a seat, so we can get out of here.

Christopher begins to walk towards the back of the bus, as the kids stare at him. Newbie! a kid shouts.

What the heck? Christopher whispers with an annoyed look on his face. I’ve been the new guy all my life. This bus is nothing, Christopher says to encourage himself.

Hey, lil dude, come back here and sit with us, Chamberlain shouts with a chuckle.

Zoey takes a glance at Christopher as she pulls her headphones out of her bookbag. With most of the seats filled, Martin moves his bookbag over so Christopher can sit next to him.

This dude is really going to sit next to Martin? Chamberlain says with disappointment.

Oh, so Chamberlain is jealous, Zoey replies with a smirk.

Hush up, Zoey! Chamberlain shouts, slamming his hands on the back of the seat in front of him. The bus finally pulls off and heads down the street to its destination—Heart of the Brave Middle School.

Chris, did you hear about the Turbine turning on tomorrow? Martin asks to spark conversation.

Turbine…what’s that? No, but tell me later, Christopher replies as he puts his headphones on.

Okay, maybe later then. Martin sighs.

Ring, Ring, Ring. Hello, good morning, Safe Haven Corporation, Mr. Bowman’s office. How may I help you? the receptionist answers.

Yes, this is the office of the President of the United States. The president would like to have a word with Mr. Bowman ahead of Turbine launch tomorrow, the Chief of Staff replies.

Yes, sir, right away, I will patch you through to Mr. Bowman.

Behind tall cherry oak doors is Mr. Bowman’s office: it is housed in the tallest and most advanced building in the world, overlooking Lake Michigan. Mr. Bowman is currently reviewing his notes for tomorrow’s presentation while listening to his favorite composer, Beethoven. Bing! Mr. Bowman, I have the President on line 1, sir.

Which one, Mira? Hugo replies.

Our president, The President of the United States, Mira replies.

Okay, great, patch him through on my secure line and thank you.

Hugo Bowman, I see you’re changing history once again. You’re about to be the man that saves our planet and pushes mankind to the next frontier, President West exhorts.

Thank you, thank you! We have come a long way here at Safe Haven to grow this company, and now we’re the forerunner in eco-technology, representing the United States. It’s a pleasure, sir. I also heard rumors that you are running for a second term. Is that true?

President West chuckles. We’ll see, we’ll see, Hugo. Okay, good talk, I’ll leave you to your preparations and I’ll see you in the morning at the launch.

Okay, Mr. President. Thanks for the call. Goodbye, Hugo replies. Hugo gets back to his presentation and finalizing his speech.

It’s now 2031, and we’ve discovered that the Earth is losing most of its energy provided by the Sun. This imbalance in the Earth’s atmosphere has caused uncommon weather in diverse places. We’ve seen hurricanes, blizzards, floods, and record-breaking tsunamis across the planet, killing thousands of people and livestock. This issue is bigger than politics and business. It is a mankind issue and a state of emergency for the entire planet. It’s time that we come together and implement this strategy to mitigate the imbalance plaguing us today. What I propose, is the implementation of the Energy Turbine. When placed strategically around the Earth, the Energy Turbine will harness kinetic and dormant energy produced from human and animal movement. That harnessed energy is repurposed and distributed into the atmosphere to provide a shield against depleting energy atoms. The remaining energy stored in the Turbine can be used by the host nation anyway they see fit; it’s eco-friendly, clean, and unlimited.

Okay, I think that’s a good start, Hugo contemplates.

In sub-levels below Safe Haven Headquarters, scientists work on the Turbine in preparation for its big opening day. Mrs. Nova, we’ve run the tests several times before, there’s no need to run it again. Everything is working according to design, Mr. Brown says.

I don’t care if we’ve run it one hundred times before, run it again. I want to ensure nothing, and I mean nothing, goes wrong, Nova sternly replies. This is a major step for all of our careers; keep up the good work and let’s make history, Nova exhorts.

Yes, ma’am, the group of scientists reply. After she leaves the room, Mr. Brown, the electronic lead scientist, walks over to the team, and works his mischievous plan. "You guys