The Power Store: The Owner

By Valerie Erickson

Jay, Cody and Nick were heading home from high school, when they came across this advertisement.

"Have you ever wished you had powers? Have you ever wanted to be able to do things that others couldn't do? To feel special and set apart? To be, a hero?

"I'm the Manager. I want to welcome you to my store, where we have more

• Language: English
• Publisher: AnewPress
• Release date: Nov 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781970109283

Valerie Erickson

Valerie Erickson loves reading, sewing, playing games and spending time with her husband and one-year old daughter. She gets her inspiration and motivation for her writing from her junior high students.

Book preview

Prologue

The Owner reclined in his black leather chair.

He was slowly petting his cat, which sat on the right armrest. In front of him was a wall full of screens, each displaying one person in a cell.

Each cell contained a bot, which was forcing the person to use his or her Power. You could hear their groans and cries echoing in the background.

The Owner’s eyes gazed over each screen. He stood up and looked intently at one.

Yes, he said ominously. You will be a fine addition to my collection.

chapter 1

graduation

In conclusion, my esteemed colleagues, aim for the stars and hope that you don’t run into the moon. Congratulations, Class of 2018! There was loud applause for Cody’s Valedictorian speech, partly because he had it memorized, but mostly because he had made an effort to include some jokes.

Although Cody and I were excited for school to be over, nobody had seen or heard anything about Nick. His own family didn’t remember who he was. This definitely put a cloud over our graduation.

The announcer started reading through students’ names, and graduates came up to receive their diplomas. Cody was lucky because his name was near the front of the alphabet. I sat low in my chair, tuning everything out.

Nick Carr, Ms. James said. Both Cody and I sat up. Someone quickly walked over to our teacher and whispered something in her ear.

My apologies, ladies and gentlemen. I misread that last name. Natalie Carter.

We were stunned. She had READ his name.

Even though it was an accident, it still meant that someone must know something about him! Cody glanced back at me. We shared a subtle nod. We would find our friend.

Cody Clay. There was another huge round of applause for the Valedictorian. Cody, who was never very popular, took his time to walk across the stage. After taking his diploma, he bowed to the students. We all laughed and cheered even more. Finally, Mr. Morgan, our principal, gestured for him to leave the stage.

As the announcer continued to announce the graduates, I tried to think about who we could approach. All of our teachers must know something.

Jason Holden. I could hear my parents cheering from the handicapped section. I smiled as I approached Mr. Morgan to receive my diploma. As I shook Mr. Morgan’s hand, he gave me a meaningful glance. I quickly looked down at my diploma and saw him nod.

Maybe Mr. Morgan would be able to help us.

What seemed like hours later, the final student,

Edgar Zambrano, was called.

Congratulations, students! Go change the world! Mr. Morgan and all the staff clapped for us.

There was a wave of blue as we stood and threw our caps in the air. A bunch of students popped confetti poppers. As the cheering died down, I opened my diploma and found a note.

It said, Nick isn’t safe. None of us are. Be in my office tomorrow at 10am.

Nick wasn’t safe? None of us are? What did that mean?

I finally found Cody and shared the note with him. Cody memorized it and I ripped it to shreds. We finally rejoined our families who smothered us with hugs and congratulations.

We left for dinner at our favorite restaurant, Palace of China.

As the waitress brought our food, I noticed she had a watch like ours. Cody noticed it as well.

Nice watch, I said to her.

She looked up at me, startled. But when she saw mine, she simply replied, Thanks.

Maybe she’s someone we could talk to, I whispered to Cody.

You’re so right, he replied.

After we got home, I felt tired from all the festivities but could not sleep. There were so many questions running through my mind.

What was the principal going to tell us? Did anyone know anything about the disappearances?

Where was Nick? There was still the note the Manager gave me that said, Find HIM. Who’s HIM? My head was all jumbled but I finally fell asleep.

chapter 2

the principal's office

The next morning, I went over to Cody’s house early, but he was already awake. We walked toward school, the one place I did NOT want to visit the day after graduation.

When we arrived, we knocked on the principal’s door.

Come in, Mr. Morgan said.

We walked in and sat down, waiting for him to start.

I’m sorry to be so secretive, boys. Here’s the problem. You know that all clients of the Power Store are tracked. I, myself, am being followed. Was Mr. Malcolm the one who invited you to the training facility? He has been trying to recruit me.

Recruit you? Cody asked. What for?

Well, I know that the Owner has plans to use the clients for his own purposes.

How would he do that?

I believe he may be trying to take over the government.

What do you mean, take over? I asked cautiously.

Just that, Jay. The Owner has been gathering clients for years and will soon make his move to take over the United States. No army would be able to stand against him and the Powers of his followers.

But, the Manager said that the Owner wanted to change the world! I interrupted.

There are different ways to change the world, Jay.

I briefly pondered that.

Have you ever wondered why nobody knows what it means to be in debt? Mr. Morgan continued. Cody and I nodded.

"When the green bars turn red, that is when you become in debt. The Owner puts a freeze on