I let out a startled cry as I crashed headfirst into the wire fence.

“NOOOOOO!”

I bounced off the fence and staggered backward, struggling to keep my balance. Pain shot through my body.

Jackson hit the fence with a loud clannnnng. He bounced off and tumbled onto his butt.

He kept blinking his eyes. He looked totally stunned.

“Sorry,” I said. I shook off the pain and ran over to him. “Sorry. I lost it for a moment. I thought I was flying. But I wasn’t.”

“Just help me up,” Jackson said with a groan.

I pulled him to his feet. His Windbreaker had a long smear of dirt down one sleeve.

“Okay, so we can’t fly,” Jackson said. “Cross that one off the list.”

“What’s next?” I asked. “Oh. I know. Superstrength. Maybe we have amazing superstrength.” I gazed around the tennis court. “How can we test it?”

Jackson rubbed at the dirt smear on his sleeve. “Let me try to pick you up,” he said. “That’s a good test.”

I gave him a hard shove. “Huh? Why? Because I’m so superheavy? I weigh almost the same as you, Jackson!”

Jackson grinned. “I’ll try to pick you up with one hand. Is that good?”

I made a disgusted face. “Well … okay.”

He stepped toward me. He wrapped his right arm around my waist. And tried to pick me up.

I laughed. “Not happening,” I said.

He tried one more time. No way.

“Let me try with two hands,” he said. He grabbed me by the waist with both hands and struggled and strained. Finally, he lifted me a couple of inches off the ground for a few seconds.

“Forget superstrength,” I said. “Cross that one off the list, too.”

Jackson let go of me and took a step back. He totally froze.

“What’s your problem?” I asked.

He wasn’t looking at me. He was gazing past me. His eyes were wide with surprise.

I spun around — and saw someone standing in the shadows by the fence.

Who was it? How long had he been watching us?

He stepped slowly out of the shadows.

“It’s a kid,” Jackson whispered.

A boy. He moved slowly across the court.

And as he stepped into the pale light from the moon, Jackson and I both opened our mouths in screams of horror.