Mighty Wendy

Chapter 1

                Life for Wendy did not begin too promising. The younger of two girls, the earliest memories Weendy possesed were of her mother being beaten by her father, the constant presense of bruises on Mom, and the constant tenseness and unpleasantness that existed in her house. She remembers when Dad got drunk, how he would beat Mom, and how he would yell at herself and Stephanie, her older sister. This went on until that final day when Dad flew into a rage (she did not remember the reason. Dad rarely required one) and how,after hitting Mom, he came into our room where we were trying to play, but we were only going through the motions. How could two little kids play with that terrible noise going on? Dad came in, ordered us to shut up, and for whatever reason drove him, he came at me with his hand raised to strike. Stephanie stepped in between us trying to protect me. This enraged him, so he slapped Steph hard, sending her against the closet door. She lay there, stunned. He stopped, maybe even he was shocked to see what he had done. He left the room, and Wendy went over to Steph and cradled her in her arms. Wendy grabbed a kleenex and put it to Stephs nose to stop the bleeding, then they both crawled into the closet, covered themselves with a blanket, and cried until they finally fell asleep.

                Later that night, Mom came into the room, found them in the closet, and grabbed them both, picking them up. She was bruised on the face badly. She carried us out the door into the night air, and put us both in the back seat of the car. From there we drove the night and part of the next day until we reached Grandma and Grandpa' place. As soon as we got through the door, Grandpa gave us a big hug, and so did Grandma. Grams took us into the kitchen, but as she looked over her shoulder, Wendy could see Mom collapse crying into Gramdpa's arms.He tried to comfort her, but she was sobbing greatly. Grams said to come with her and she would get us some cookies. After that, we just dropped from exhaustion.

                Grams and Grandpa tried to make us all comfortable, but they lived in a small trailer, and space was tight. Add to that was the fact that Grandpa was tethered to an oxygen bottle, and tired very quickly. Mom went out and got a job, with the hopes of getting a place of our own. But Mom had a bad habit it seemed of finding the wrong guys to meet, and before long she was seeing someone from work. The familiar bruises appeared shorty afterward. Wendy overheard Grampa telling Mom that she did not deserve this kind of treatment, but it seemed to go on that way for a while longer.

                Then Mom met Dave.

                Dave was a huge man, standing over Mom so much that Mom's head only came up to the middle of his chest. When Mom first Introduced Dave to the girls, both Wendy and Stephanie were immediately afraid of him. But there was something in his voice that was different. The way he spoke with respect to Mom, to Grandma and Grandpa, something was different about him. Mom saw Dave some more, and one day both of them came to the girls and asked them if they would like to spend a day at the zoo. Steph reluctantly said yes, but Wendy just hid behind her older sister. Dave crouched down on his feet, and asked the girls himself if they would like to go, and reassured them that the decision was theirs. (Wendy learned later that Mom had filled him in on the treatment their father had given them, and they did fear men because of that.) There was something in his voice again that was reassuring, so they both (reluctant still) said yes.

                A nice day at the zoo everyone had. At the lion's domain, it was very crowded, and one could not see the animals. Dave asked the girls if they would like to sit on his shoulder to see. Wendy just hid behind Mom, but Steph sheepishly agreed. Dave reassured her, again asking her permission and assuring her the decision was hers to make. No pressure. This did seem to reassure her and after a quick glance up at Mom, she agreed. He hoisted her up on his shoulder, and later she told Wendy it was like sitting on a giant. She could see everything. When he put Steph down, he turned to Wendy and asked her, but she said no. Mom gave a bit of a frustrated look, but Dave said 'no pressure' and that was the end of it.

                Mom continued to see Dave, and after a short time, both girls could start to see Mom do something she had not done in a long time. She started to smile. After only a few months, Dave asked Mom to marry him, and Mom said yes. Dave asked the girls in front of Mom and Grandma and Grandpa, and he did so in an almost pleading manner. He said that without the permission of both of them, it would not work, and he would not pressure them at all. He did reassure them that he loved their mother, and he wanted the chance to love them both like his own daughters. Steph had warmed up to Dave fairly well, so she agreed, but Wendy held back. Dave crouched down in front of her, to be at her level, and in that soft reassuring voice of his, said again the chioce must be unanimous, and he would not pressure her. After sheepishly looking up at Mom and over at Steph, something said that it might finally be O.K., so she softly said yes. All were overjoyed, but Dave softly told Wendy (with a tear in his eye) 'thank you'.

                The wedding was small, but hat was the way Mom and Dave wanted it, and so they all moved into Dave's house and started a new life. Things went along OK for awhile. Mom went back to school, and Dave switched to the night shift so someone could be with the kids at all time. Stephanie started school that fall, and Mom would take her to school on the way to her own school. Dave got home about an hour before Mom had ta go off to school, so they had a little time together in the morning as a family.This went on for several months, until......

                The fateful day began normal. Dave got home at the regular time, Mom was getting ready to get off to school, so she was in a hurry. The normal routine was for Dave to make breakfast when he got home, and get Steph ready to go to school. This day was no exception. Mom was ready to leave, Steph headed out to the car, and Mom and Dave kissed before she went off to school. Dave always watched them drive down the street until they were out of sight, and then  he would normally read to Wendy some, then do a little housework before heading off to sleep. Wendy knew to be quiet when Dave was asleep, so she generally played in her room. Dave finished the dishes, and said he was heading off to sleep, when he heard a knock at the door. When he opened the door, Wendy could see from across the room that it was two police officers in uniform. She couldn't hear what exactly was being said, but after a couple of moments Dave sytarted to say over and over "NO NO NO".He collapsed against the wall. and buried his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably. The female officer at the door steadied him, and after a few minutes he removed his face from his hands. The male officer looked over at Wendy , and Wendy heard him ask Dave, 'Do you want us to tell your daghter?' Dave steadied himself, and said  'No. This is something I have to do." Dave walked over to Wendy, thee officers waited at the door. He crouched down in front of her, like he had done so often, and started to say ''Mom and Steph, well, there was an accident, and.....'' He started to sob again. The officers walked over, and the woman put her hand on Dave's sholder, sort of in a comforting fashion. Wendy was always a bright  girl, so before anyone else said anything, she said "moms not coming back, is she?" Dave looked at her,and though he was still sobbing, he managed to get the words out that Mom and Steph were killed in an auto accident, by someone who ran a red light. Maybe it didn't fully sink in at the moment, but Wendy just stood there looking at Dave, but Dave reached out and hugged her, and started to cry again.

Mighty Wendy

Chapter 2

                The funeral was emotional. Dave tried to be strong for Wendy's sake, but all through the service, tears rolled down his cheeks. After the service ended, Grandma and Grandpa tried to be as reassuring as they could, but they were grieving themselves over the loss of their daughter and granddaughter. Dave reassured them the best he could, and then walked over to the car. He opened Wendys door for her, but before she got in, she looked up at him and said, "are you going to leave me,too?'' Dave crouched down, and took her hand softly into his massive hands, and said softly "Kid, I will never leave you. I will never hurt you. And I will raise you to the best of my ability. I promise you that." With that, he hugged her, and after she got in the car, he closed the door for her. As he walked around the back of ther car, he softly said again to himself "I promise you that."

                When they got home, well, the place did not seem right without Mom and Steph, and Dave just collapsed into the big chair and sat there. Wendy watched him for a few minutes, and then asked him if he wanted her to make something to eat. Dave just said yes, without thinking. She was not old enough to be handling a stove, but she wanted to help, and after all, she watched both Mom and Dave cook. She thought she could do something.  She went into the kitchen, and spied a bag of rice on the counter. Since she was still too short to reach up there, she pulled the stool over to the counter and pulled the bag to her. She lost her footing on the stool, and as she fell she grabbed the bag of rice and flung it all over the kitchen floor. She fell to the floor with a thud. Dave walked up to the door, just looking at her and the mess she just created. At that moment, all the memories of her Dad came flooding in, and how now neither Mom or Stephanie were there to protect her. As Dave took a step toward her, she just closed her eyes, tensed up her body, and waited to be hit or slapped, or yelled at in some uncontrollable way.  She waited, and waited, and........ Finally she felt.......a soft brush on her left cheek. She opened her eyes to see Dave crouched before her, softly brushing away her tears with his left thumb. He clasped his hands in front of him and softly said......"Oh , Hon......" He paused, then he continued slowly   "Hon, I know your early life was rough, but I didn't realise how deep the scars were. I want you to listen to me, very carefully. You may not understand all of what I am about to tell you right now, but one day soon, you will. " He bowed his head, almost in  a reverential manner, and continued. "The day I met your Mother,  it was the blessing in my life that I waited for. When she agreed to marry me, it was the happiest day of my life. " He looked up at her. There was a tear rolling down his right cheek, but he continued..." I loved your mother deeply. The day she died, a part of me died with her. I loved Stephanie dearly too, as my own daughter. With her went a part of me, too. " His voice was trembling, but he continued, "And kid, I love you too. You are all that keeps me going now. Remember what I told you at the car?" She nodded yes.  He reached over, took her right hand, cradled it between his massive hands, and said  "I tell you this again, I will never hurt you, and I will raise you to the best of my ability. And, and, I will never leave you. I promise." Now he looked over at the kitchen floor, strewn with rice, and he let out a little sigh, and said, "My fault."   Wendy said "but....." Dave stopped her, and putting his hands on her shoulders, he gently stood her up, and turned her in the direction of the mess. His voice cleared and changed tone. No more trembling, he said to her  "You tried to do a good thing here, didn't you?"   She softly said  "Yes, I guess so."  He continued  "did you try your best?"  Again she said " Yes."  Then I am proud of you. As long as you do your best, even if things don't work out the way you want them to, just as long as you try your best, then I will be proud of you. Do you understand?"  She again said "I think so."  He said "Good."  and then, as he was standing up, he kissed her softly on the top of her head, and then walked over to the wall. Taking the cordless phone off the wall, he handed it to Wendy, and said, " Why don't you order us in a pizza for tonight, while I clean up this mess?"  As Wendy took the phone, he lifted one eyebrow and said, "Please, no anchovies."  Wendy smiled a little. Something told her that things might actually be alright from then on.

                Life was not real easy, mind you. Dave was a sadder man, to be sure. She would sometimes catch him sitting at the kitchen table, softly talking to a picture of Mom, telling it of my latest accomplishments, or saying how much he missed her. One night Wendy heard him sobbing from her room. She went downstairs, saw him crying at the table, she just walked over and gave him a big hug. He hugged her back, and through his red eyes, he said " Thank you, kid. I needed that."

                As she grew, he lived up to his promise. When she needed a computer for school, even she knew they could not afford one, but he got her one. She got good at using it, and he would comment about how he wished he could catch onto things as fast as she did. When he had what should have been the Mother-Daughter talk with her, he was so nervous that sweat was just rolling off his forehead. He used one of her Barbie dolls to explain where  no one, not even him, was allowed to touch her, and again he was so nervous and his hands shaking so hard that he dropped the doll several times.  But throughout her life growing up, she knew his saying would always be "I'm proud of my little girl." When she brought home her first 'B' (A straight A student up to that point,) she sheepishly showed Dave her report card, expecting t o get some kind of reprimand. Instead, he asked her "Did you do your best?"  she could honestly answer him "yes" and his answer was "then I'm proud of you. As long as you do your best, I'll always be proud of you."

                And so she grew, finally finishing high school, with college coming in the fall. Wendy decided she wanted to be a doctor, more specifically a surgeon. She had the grades, the smarts, and the drive. Dave encouraged her too, so this was going to be the last summer at home. She received a scholarship from the State university the next state to the west, so she would not be too far from home, family, and friends. Dave was the only family left, however, as both grandparents had passed away several years ago. But Dave was all for her move. "No, I won't get to see you that often, but don't pass up anb opportunity like this on my account." This is what he told her, and this is what he meant. "Enjoy this last summer at home. To become a doctor will require a lot of hard work, but i know you can do it."

                Little did she or Dave or anyone else know how much her life, and everyone elses would change over the summer.

Mighty Wendy

Chapter 3

                Wendy's friends were having a party of sorts at the park. Pot luck, so she brought some food like everyone else did. She opened the hatchback of her car and took out the food she brought and walked over to the crowd, comepletely oblivious of the fact she left her lights on. It was a warm late July evening in the city, New Alanis, and even through the wash of all the city lights, she looked up to the clear skies with some stars shining through. She was dressed for a warm evening, only wearing her ribbed short sleeve sweater and her (somewhat) tight jeans. She had a set of athletic shoes on, even though she preferred heels, but this was a park, and heels would be awkward. Wendy topped out at five feet four, and she really did not feel short. Next to Dave anyway if she was six foot, she would have still been short, byt to Dave, she was 'his little girl' and size made no difference. She just liked heels.

                The party lasted well into the evening, as most of her friends were college bound, they compared notes on colleges, or just plain told stories. Finally the party was winding down (a few had just a little too much to drink) so it was finally time to go. After the goodbyes, Wendy grabbed her dish, cleaned out, and headed back across the park toward her car. As she walked up to it, she saw the last faint glow of her headlights as the battery died. "Nuts!" she grumbled. Oh, well, it was a clear, warm night, and home was only two miles away. She could walk home and Dave could bring back some jumper cables. She looked around to see if she could catch a ride with anyone, but the only ones left were just a little too tipsy to be trusting with a car. She put the dish in the car and locked it , and started off for home. 'I'll cut through the center of the park' she thought. It was a very large park, and there was a large stand of cottonwoods at the center, but it would cut her walk by a third. So she set out acrooss the park. Wendy looked up at the stars again  'How beautiful' she again thought. The golden glow of the city did not douse the majesty of the night sky. "I wonder if..." her voice trailed off as something caught her eye. A shooting star was making it's way accross the sky. "How beautiful" she thought. As she watched it, she noticed something odd about it. It really was not moving, but it was getting larger. "It's coming right at me!" Before she could react. the meteor impacted not more than 200 feet from her. She covered her face with her arms, and she felt the sting of ground and gravel hit her. When she lowered her arms, she could see the impact crater.  She ran over to it. "Not very large" she thought. In fact, it was only about eight feet in diameter, and only a few feet deep. "Must have been one small meteor" she thought. As the dust stttled, she noticed a small red glowing object at the center, only the size of a small marble. Peculiar, she thought. It should not have survived impact. At that moment the small red object in the crater flared to a brilliant red blinding light. Wendy covered her face again with her arms. She felt something go through her. Heat, and not heat. Solid, and not solid. Even though she faced the object, she could feel the sensation all the way through her body. The lighht and heat penetrated her arms to touch her face. And just as quickly as the flare began, it died back down. She lowered her arms slowly, just in time to see the last of the red glow die from the object. I t turned completely black, then crumbled to dust. The reality was slowly starting to settle in on her. "OH, NO" she thought to herself. "I just took a massive dose of radiation."  She had a strange sensation, several actually. Every nerve in her body was on fire. She was experiencing vertigo.  As she was trying to take it all in, she heard someone yell behind her  "Over here. It landed over here!" She swung around to see several people approaching rapidly. The first two arrived, and one of them panting hard, asked her "Did you see it hit?" Still reeling, she answered yes, but......several more people approached. She said a few disoriented words, but she noticed that they were not looking at the impact crater. They were looking firmly as her. "What are you staring at?" she inquired. No one answered. She asked again "What?" The look of alarm on their faces bothered her, as well as her own sick stomach. Radiation, she thought. Finally, one of them, a smaller Asian guy, slowly said to her, "Miss, you're....... you're glowing. Glowwing RED!" Wendy lifted her arms slowly. He was right. Her arms glowed a definite red. A taller sandy haired man said "We better get you to a hospital. Who knows.............." His voice trailed off. Wendy was awash with a new sensation. The tingling sensation was intensifying, and now she felt some kind of floating or flying sensation. She tried to focus her eyes. It was true! She was starting to float above the other people there. She was above their heads! Just then, she lost her balance and stumbled a little bit, but then righted herself. But the thoughts were racing through her head. She looked down at her feet. They were still attached to the earth. She looked back up at the people. She was defineately over their heads. The realization hit her fast. SHE WAS GROWING!

                She tried to comprehend what was going on. Tried to take in her surroundings. Her nerves were on fire. She was dizzy. Sensations of vertigo. She had the presense to look around her. The people were scattering. Some were just plain running away from her. Others were backing up more slowly, watching her as they moved away.  She tried to do some quick calculations, but the world around her was spinning. She looked down at her body. What ever was happening to her, her clothes were expanding at the same rate as her body. 'How can that be?' she thought to herself? She looked up just in time to see that she was topping the stand of trees that she was in. In only a moment,she was looking over them, out onto the city lights of New Alanis. She tried to put some comprehensive thought into it all, but the sensations were overwhelming. She was fighting just to keep her balance. None of this seemed real. How could this be? I'm growing to giganic size. I AM BECOMING A GIANT! That really did not sound real to her. I have to be dreaming, or someone slipped me something, or.........And then the sensation started to subside. Her ears popped. The dizziness faded. The vertigo, no that was still with her. Her nerves ceased to tingle.  Slowly, her senses came back to her, and the reaization hit her hard. She looked around. It was like standing on top of a very tall skyscraper. But she looked down. Those were her feet planted firmly on the ground. She looked more closely. Her feet had snapped or mowed down a large number of the trees in the stand.  She looked out accross the city. Everything was below her. Nearby, MacArthur Boulevard ran by, and to her it looked like a bunch of matchbox cars moving by. This was a strange sensation.  Her senses were rushing back on her at an alarming speed. This was a lot to take in so quickly. The thought crossed her mind; " How will everyone receive me? How will I be percieved?" The answer came sooner than she realized.

Mighty Wendy

Chapter 4

                Wendy looked below her, found the largest, most open grassy area of the park. "No people there' she thought. She lifted her foot and took a step, into the open area. A couple of picnic tables were in the way. She crushed them underfoot, and her weight sank her into the grass some.  'At this size, how can I even stand, much less walk?' she thought to herself.  She did not have any real time to ponder the mysteries that had just been thrust upon her. The grassy area gave her a chance to see what was around her feet, but unfortuneately, it brought her much closer to MacArthur. A major thouroughfare, even at this hour it was flowing with traffic. Or, it WAS flowing with traffic. Obviously, she had been spotted. Traffic was careening into each other. Accidents were too numerous to count, and every passing second brought a new one. People were running, no doubt screaming with panic at the sight of her, but she was just too large and tall to hear anything clearly at strees level. She looked out over the city. Her senses were clearing now. She could not help but think to herself that all she had to do was start walking, and cars, buildings, people,...... she stopped herself. Yes, people would become victims. She looked down at the city that lay at her feet. People were running madly away from her. Like some kind of monster movie. But this is real! And she is the monster! She picked out one person running, a man. She tried to mentally trade places with him. Her eyes followed him. What if it was him up here, and that was me running for my life? Would I know what kind of person he was? Would he just start stepping onto this city at his feet like some kind of toys to be crushed......she shuddered. It would be all too easy to fall into that train of thought. She looked closer to her feet. There were the houses and residential area between herself and MacArthur. Only a few blocks, but still peoples homes. They looked like small versions of her dollhouses. Wendy focused her eyes on two people. They were obviously elderly. The woman was walking with great difficulty, and her husband would not leave her side, but he would look up at her. Even from her height, she could see the terror in his eyes. Just then, another person, a younger man who also had his eyes fixed on her, and not watching where he was going, ran right into this couple, slamming them to the ground. He got back up and started running again, leaving the elderly couple lying on the street. "That's it!" she muttered to herself . The feelings of immense power were overpowered by feelings of sympathy and remorse. She muttered under her breath "I will not become history's worst mass murderer!" She also thought to herself  'I've got to stop this panic somehow.'  She crouched dowm on her feet, and she reached out her hand and extended her index finger, placing it in the path of the fellow who just knocked down the elderly people. He froze where he stood. "You. look up here." He didn't move a muscle. She pondered her next move from his vantage point. A finger larger than a semi truck just blocked his path. What would I do? How would I react? She softened her voice and said "Please?"  He slowly turned and looked up at her. Again, even at her size, from her vantage point, she could see that he was trembling, almost uncontrollably. With the softest, most reassuring voice she could muster, she said "First, I am not going to hurt you.  Do you  understand?" He did not move. Again she said, "I won't harm you. Do you understand?" Slowly he nodded in the affirmative. "Good. Now, do you see the elderly couple at the other end of the block? The ones you ran into ?" Again, he nodded yes. "Good. Go back and help them." She withdrew her hand, hoping that  not blocking his exit might put him a little more at ease. He started walking back towards the elderly couple, but he kept his eyes fixed on Wendy, maybe assuming she would still hurt or kill him. Wendy looked at the elderly couple now. The man was looking up at Wendy, fear in his eyes. Wendy spoke softly to him , "Your wife, is she hurt?" He nodded yes. Wendy's heart sank. She spoke again, "Do you live here? In one of these houses?" She pointed at some homes closer to her feet. He nodded yes. By then the young man hag come back to them. "First, this nice guy is going to apologise for knocking you both to the ground. "   She did not chastise him. Who could know how anyone would react if confronted with a giant, a creature up until now confined to stories and mythology. "Next, he will help you both back to your home, so she can be taken care of.  " The three of them looked up at her. the woman in pain, and all three had fear written across their faces. "I won't pretend that I  know what I must look like from your vantage point down there." she tried to make her voice as soft and friendly sounding as she could, "but please believe me. I am not going to hurt you. I will not smash your houses, or destroy your neighborhood. " The text did not even sound real to her.?  'Smash your houses?'  Surreal. She continued, "I have to stop this panic. Your home is the safest place to be . Please go back. I will not harm you." The two men picked up the woman by the arms, and slowly made their way towards a house that was very near Wendys right foot . No wonder they took off. Her giant foot was practically across the street from their house. She looked around.  Car wrecks were everywhere. People were running panic-stricken away from her. Some how, she had to stop this, or a lot of people were going. To ger hurt. But how?  At that she looked off to her left.  Police cars were making their way toward her. 'At last, '  she thought to herself.  'Maybe now we can get the situation under control, and I can convince the city that I am not a threat.