Secret Service Gorilla

By Austin Reece (Brandon's Courage) with permission from FIBITA©2009

It had been a hard couple of weeks for Matt Donahue. He was skating over to his friends Halloween party which normally would be a fun thing, but his mind was on other things. Normally one of his parents would drive him, but he didn't even think his mom had noticed that he had left. He had just turned ten a couple of weeks ago, and his parents had decided to get a divorce in the same week. They had been stomping around and yelling at the top of their lungs for the entire time leading up to his birthday. Two days before his birthday his father had moved out. This had caused yet another fight. They had screamed at each other for almost an hour as they argued about where he was going to have his birthday party.

He hated it. He didn't want to be with either of them while they were acting like this. Tears were flowing down his face. You couldn't see them unless you got close. His mask covered his face from view. He paused outside the entrance to his friends home. He collected himself and made for the front gate. The gate was open and a man wearing a black three-piece suit and an ear-piece was standing guard outside the door. Matt was used to this. When you lived in a suburb of Washington DC, security was just a part of the every day. Matt recognized the guard. He worked for his dad. So he came to a stop, kicked the board into his hand, and said hi.

"Hi, Mr. Thorn. Here's my invitation."

"Matt how many times do I have to tell you. It's Bobby. Mr. Thorn was my dad. You're trying to make me old before my time kiddo."

Matt smiled at Bobby. He liked the man. He was always straightforward, and he really listened to you when you talked. Not like most adults. Not like his parents, who never really listened. Well, they used to listen. They used to sit around the dinner table and talk to each other. God, he missed that.

"Earth to Matt."

"Huh?" Was Matt's confused response.

"You seemed to be spacing out there for a moment kiddo." Bobby gave Matt a compassionate look. He knew that the kid's parents were going through a nasty divorce, and fighting like wildcats.

"Sorry... Uhm... It's just..." Matt found he couldn't put it into words.

"Hey. I know. It's tough when your parents behave like they are. Mine separated when I was a kid too. It was pretty hard on me, but it eventually worked out. I think my parents were better apart anyway, but you need to give it time."

"Uhm. Yeah. Whatever." Was all Matt could get out.

"Look kiddo. You can always come and talk to me, or call me. You know my number. I will always listen to you. Right now you have a party to go to. Try and have a good time."

Matt smiled at Bobby. He was the only really cool adult he knew. He didn't do much. He just listened, but to Matt, that was a lot. It wasn't like the wild Uncle that let you get away with things that your parents wouldn't. He was an adult who was really a friend. He wasn't an adult who treated you like a nonperson the way most of the adults around him did.

Matt made his way up to the house. It was set a good way back from the gate. The property was huge, around 150 or more acres. The yard around the house was about a quarter of the property, so there were plenty of places to do things. As he neared the entrance to the house he saw a sign with a creepy looking hand pointing to the side of the house. Matt made his way around.

As he got closer to the corner of the house he heard a sound that he knew very well. It was a skateboard racing down a half pipe! As he rounded the corner, he found it was more than just a half pipe. They had set up an entire skate park in the side parking lot of the mansion. This was way cool.

There were eight "Launches," four "Pyramids," two "HalfPipes," two "Hips," a dozen or more rails of various types. It was skating heaven. Suddenly he was brought up short. What caught his attention and left him stunned was a "Roll-In" that led to a large twenty-five foot long seven-foot high ramp that landed you, via a long rail, into a large "Halfpipe." He couldn't believe his luck. It was just the type of ramp that he had been talking about at school. He had run a wicked skate park in California when he had gone to visit his Uncle for the entire summer.

His Uncle owned a skate shop and sponsored a professional team. He had worked in the shop and skated with the team all summer. They had won quite a few competitions. His Uncle had competed in the last three X-games and even medaled in several events. So he had been able to get into the park when they were closed to the public and skate it. His Uncle had taught him some awesome moves. He had wiped out on that ramp a couple dozen times before he had finally stuck a landing.

With the resiliency of youth, he forgot his troubles for a while. He threw himself into the skate park. After all, it is what he liked to do more than anything else in the world. He was already considered a pro. He had done a photo spread while he was with his Uncle after he won four 12 and under competitions in a row. He had made some good money too. His gear was all custom made at his Uncles shop. He made straight for the big ramp.

He found himself stopped by a real nasty acting security guard.

"Boy! Just where do you think you're going?"

"Huh... wha... I'm gunna do a "Laser Flip" off the ramp with a "Sausage Grind" down the rail and finish with a "McTwist" in the Halfpipe." It was the move he and his Uncle had come up with that won him two of the competitions that summer. He wanted to show it to everyone.

"Well, you aint gunna do none of that here. This ramp is for the Pro they hired. No one else is goin' near it! You understand me son?"

"Yeah. Whatever man." He was disappointed. He could still enjoy the rest of the skate park. Besides, he hadn't even said hello to John, and it was his party after all. Matt dropped his board to the ground and took off in search of John. He found himself dodging the other kids as they wiped out left and right. He saw the kid he was looking for take a bad tumble off of a rail. Almost faster than he could blink he was surrounded by men wearing black suits and earpieces.

"Jeez, guys. Chill. I know he's the President's kid and all, but when you skate, you wipe out. That's just the way it is. Nice party dude!" Matt knew they were overprotective. John, the president's son, had complained to Matt about it enough times. One of the men glanced up and made a rude gesture to him. Matt smiled. Well at least one of them wasn't a stick in the mud.

John pushed the hands away jumped on his board and took off like a shot for Matt. "Yo Matt. How's it hangin' dude!"

Matt looked down at his feet. He was not sure what to say. Finally, he managed to get out, "Alright, I uh, guess."

John realized right away what he had said. He tried to be supportive. "Sorry man. The 'rents being stupid again?"

John was three years older, but they had been friends for the last five years since John's father had become President. They had hit it off the first time they met, because they both loved to skate. John was pretty good too. He could be better, but the Secret Service is just too protective. They won't let him work on anything hard, so he can't really improve. They are too afraid that he will get hurt. It has to kinda suck to be the President's son.

"Yeah... Well you know... It's... I mean. You know?"

John nodded in understanding at Bobby's eloquent explanation of his home life. It was the type of shortcut that only kids seemed to get. This was plain to see in the confused faces of the adults who overheard the conversation.

"I want it to go back to the way it used to be. Things are just a hassle now." Matt said.

"I hear you, dude. Rents can be such a pain in the butt, but what can you do about it?" John said well shaking his head and looking kinda sad. His Dracula costume kinda made it look sinister. If it wasn't for the downer of a conversation, a Gorilla talking to Dracula would be totally hilarious.

The boys soon lost themselves in the skate park. They were moving through the ramps like they owned them. Well, John did actually own them, but that is not the point. They had a large group of kids and parents gathered cheering them on. Finally, John convinced Matt to really show off in the half-pipe. He was catching wicked air as he moved back and forth. The gorilla costume was hilarious.

On the other end of the makeshift skatepark, Toby Mosier was relaxing in his trailer. He was going to do an exhibition for the Presidents son. It was a cool gig. He had his friend Tommy with him, so they could record the event. He had permission to post it and use it in promotional material after the Secret Service had the chance to look at it and make sure that nothing on it could compromise security. Also, they had paid him enough to finance his competition circuits for the next year. It really was a sweet deal.

He was relaxing on a couch playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. He didn't have to go on for another couple of hours, so he was just chilin'. He kept wiping out on the game. He just couldn't keep his concentration. Every time he'd start to get into the game he was distracted by loud cheers from outside. Finally, after the sixth or seventh time, he decided to look. What he saw made him laugh his butt off at first.

Some kid in a gorilla suit was shredding the half-pipe. He was getting amazing air. Damn this kid should be doing competitions was his thought before he decided that he had to check it out. He made his way over to where the kid in the gorilla suit was pulling off some sick air. There was something about the way the kid skated that looked familiar. He was sure he'd seen him skate somewhere before. Toby decided he would have a bit of fun and join the kid in the half-pipe, and see what he was really made of. He dropped his board and was off with a kick.

Several kids saw him coming and recognized him. He wasn't mega famous or anything like that but he had medaled in the X-games. Skaters knew who he was, especially after that gnarly wipe out on the mega ramp in the previous X-games. That had cost him a couple of months out of the circuit, but it had gotten him top coverage in the news. A path to the half-pipe was made. He stopped and called out to the kid.

"Yo, little dude. I gots to give you props. You got like some mad skills there. You wanna do a session with me while I shred this little park?"

Matt grinned to himself and gave him the hang loose sign with his hand, kicked off and headed over to Toby. He threw his arms around him and gave him a bear hug, then he stepped back and told the stunned skater who he was.

"Bro. It's me, Matt."

"Dag, little dude. I knew that I have seen that skating before. What you doin' here?" "The 'rents live near here. Me and John been bro's since I was like five and stuff." "Dude."

"Yeah, bro."

"Little dude, you wanna show all these dudes your tricktionary on the big ramp?"

"You know it bro, but some chode told me it was for the pro... Dude lets tear it up" Matt realized that Toby was the pro, so the security guard would have nothing to say about it.

Several minutes later a crowd had gathered to watch as Toby and Matt argued with the stubborn security guard.

"There is no way I am letting any little kid go near that ramp."

"Old dude. Listen. I skate with little bro here. He's been thrashin' stuff like this for a year now. I am telling you it's all cool."

The security guards face began to turn red when Toby called him "Old Dude." By the time he was finished the guy was sputtering and looked like he had a hemorrhoid.

"Woa, Old Dude. You need to mellow out. You're going to cause something to go pop in your head like that."

Matt saw it coming. The guard had reached for his stun gun. Matt slammed his board into the guy's hand and knocked it out of his hand. The man grabbed his hand and let out a yelp of pain. "Why you little..." and with that, he lunged toward Matt.

He never made it though. He found himself slammed face first into the pavement and surrounded by Secret Service agents. They didn't even give the man time to say anything before they hustled him off somewhere.

"Thanks, Agent Marshall. You guys are the best." Matt smiled at the Secret Service agent.

"No problem Matt. You are family after all." He smiled at the boy in the gorilla suit.

Moments later the agents had disappeared just as quickly as they had arrived. They really were good at their job. Toby just stood there with his mouth hanging open and stared after the security guard for a moment.

"Hey, dude. Earth to the Tobster."

"Wha... Oh yeah. Let's do this little dude!"

A few minutes later Matt was at the top of the mega ramp for his third run. He and Toby had been sheddin' sick for the crowd. Matt decided it was time to turn up the heat on Toby. It was time to show off and pull out his move, a "Laser Flip" off the ramp with a "Sausage Grind" down the rail and finish with a "McTwist" in the Halfpipe.

"Yo bro. See if ya can hang with this one?"

Toby shook his head. He knew what was coming and he was going to have to pull out all the stops to keep up. He was thinking to himself that the kid was a natural competitor. He had the mindset down. He was always pushing himself to do better and he pushed those that skated with him too. Skater all the way.

Just as Matt left the ramp the sky filled with an eerie pale purple light. Suddenly there was a flash and a large meteor landed just a few hundred feet from the half-pipe. It threw Matt's concentration off. He knew he was going to bail. He was coming down hard. He knew this one was gunna leave him totally schralped. But a strange thing happened then. He grabbed hold of his board with his toes, twisted in midair, grabbed on to the rail, and very effortlessly swung himself around. His foot pitched the skateboard up and he caught it with his hand. A hand that was attached to a long hair arm that was not his.

Matt tried to say something but all that would come out were grunts and ape shrieks. The confusion and panic that ensued was understandable. Everyone in costume had become their costume. Ghosts, ghouls, pirates, fairies, cows, you name it. But it didn't compare to what happened next.

From the spot that meteor had landed in a light appeared. Something rose out of the light. It looked a bit like a cross between a cabbage patch kid, and an octopus. It started to speak, and there was a little delay before it was translated into English.

"We are the Vraal, your new overlords. At this event are the sons and daughters of the most influential and powerful individuals in the United States. If they ever want to see their children returned to normal they will surrender this country and ultimately help us to secure the rest of this backwater planet. You have fifteen minutes to comply."

Matt couldn't believe what was happening. He had seen some things in his short life. His father was in charge of the Secret Service. You couldn't help but see some things, especially when you were curious and nosy like Matt.

Matt wasn't sure where it came from but he suddenly found himself hurtling forward at the alien. It was a threat to his group and he was going to take care of it. The alien had not expected anything like this and was completely unprepared for the furious onslaught of a preteen boy who was now as stronger than any adult human. All the pent-up frustration and rage of the last couple of weeks came to the surface.

Matt delivered a tremendous blow to the side of the alien's head and knocked him to the ground. He screamed at the alien to undo what he'd done as he slammed him repeatedly into the craft in which it had arrived. Of course, all that the alien could hear was grunts, bellows, and screams coming from Matt.

Not too far away, John found himself turned into Dracula. He was the king of all vampires and he could feel the power within himself. He was enthralled with new senses. He could smell life. Everywhere around him he could sense it and it called to him like a moth to a flame. Suddenly he could sense the anger and rage emanating from his friend.

The alien was now terrified. This was not part of the plan. Things had never gone like this before. The boss always seemed to have all the details worked out in advance. He would never betray the boss. That would mean more than just his slow painful death. It would mean the slow painful death of every family member no matter what age they were. Such was the way of organizations like this. The alien was trying desperately to calm Matt down, but his translator had been broken during the furious assault. All that Matt heard from the alien was a strange gurgle and hiss.

Strangely, as he hurried to help his friend, John also found he could understand Matt even though he couldn't speak. All the grunts, bellows, and screams made perfect sense to him. He couldn't believe the language that Matt was using. It was a good thing that the adults around couldn't understand him. Then it hit him out of the blue. Everything the aliens had planned. It was like he had been there to hear it himself. Just as suddenly, a plan formed in his head. He grabbed one of Matt's furry arms and pulled him away from the alien. Matt bellowed at John, but it didn't even phase him.

"Yo bro. Let it go. The Secret Service guys can take care of it. We have to talk. Now!"

Matt let the alien drop to the ground. The Secret Service agents had collected themselves and were moving for the alien with guns drawn. Matt also spotted John's personal protection heading for them.

"A'right bro. Let's run for it."

With that said Matt and John took off on their skateboards. They made for the garage at the other end of the property. They often used it to hide from everyone. Once they got there, Matt sat heavily.

"Ok, John. What's the damage?"

"Well when you were beating the Hamster out of that alien, a weird thing happened. I suddenly knew everything they were planning. They aren't part of any invasion. They are criminals constantly on the run from the law. This is what they do. They find a planet that is technologically primitive compared to themselves and they set up shop. They use the planet until the law catches up with them, and then they haul ass somewhere else. They are some kinda mafia."

Bobby was shocked. Interstellar mafia, it was a lot to take in. But he recognized the look in his friend's eyes, even if the eyes were not the eyes his friend had possessed just ten minutes ago. John was plotting, and John's plots were always good. They usually got both of them in trouble but they were good plans. It is just hard to get away with anything when you are being watched by a dozen or more agents every minute of your day.

For the next five or so minutes they made their plans and prepared. They quickly grabbed a couple of backpacks to carry the things they would need. They were working against time here. If they weren't out of there in moments the Secret Service would find them and then all bets were off. It was only the confusion, and the fact that John no longer looked like himself that had allowed them this time.

Matt easily climbed the drain pipe up the side of the building. He was starting to get the hang of being a gorilla. It sucked though that while he knew how to speak, he couldn't. John was simply floating up beside him. He had discovered this by jumping and going over the edge of a house on their way here. He had just stopped falling, then floated in the air. He had discovered that he didn't need to even walk. He just kinda glided.

Ditching the Secret Service guys had been a good idea. They had been dressed as Secret Service agents so that is what they had stayed. They would have really slowed things down. Besides, they would never have approved of what they were planning to do. It was dangerous. They could get seriously hurt, maybe even dead. But they knew that someone had to stop this. People had been seriously hurt because of turning into things like light bulbs or cars. It had been cool at first, but after a while, it had become very scary.

They were about to reach the top of the building. It looked like no one had noticed them yet. Matt still had his skateboard in the backpack. He could use it to make a fast getaway. Besides the skateboard, he could do some way cool things now that he was a gorilla. His body strength was off the chain and his ability to grasp things with his feet allowed him to do maneuvers on and off the board that no human could hope to accomplish.

John for his part was enjoying his ability to move silently and float away. He had not had real freedom since his dad had run for the Senate when he was four years old. He was always being watched, even at friends homes. Now that his dad was the President it was worse than ever. It really pissed him off sometimes. He could really get into being like this.

Matt was concentrating on the task at hand. His senses were so keen. He could tell there was a guard on the other side of the roof that couldn't see them because of the doorway on top of the roof obscuring them from sight. John tapped his shoulder and Matt nodded. They had also noticed the cameras. When you live in the world of surveillance you get real good at catching these things. It was one of the things that his mom and dad fought about. She was tired of always being watched. Matt felt a stab of pain. He wanted to cry. He just wanted it to be like it used to be. His family used to have fun.

John floated along the edge of the building, careful to not be seen by the guard. He had discovered that he didn't have a reflection, and did not show up on cameras. Matt remained where he was. His dark fur making him almost invisible in the shadows. The guard never knew what hit him. John drained him and then made him a minion. He stayed at his post, and no one saw it happen. He was completely invisible to the cameras. John felt no remorse for the man he had turned into a lifeless shell. He had sold out the human race to aliens.

Things proceeded very smoothly from there. The security on the top of the building was minimal because the top of the building was practically impenetrable. Everything was sealed off with iron bars. This was no problem, however, because John simply became a mist and got inside. He made his way to the security room. One of the guards choked on a donut he was eating when this mist swirled into the room and he found himself face to face with Dracula. It didn't take John long to dispatch the guards. His speed and strength had increased to incredible proportions since he had drained the guard on the roof. He thumbed the door lock to let Matt inside.

Soon the boys found themselves outside the room that contained the key to returning everyone to normal. John carefully hovered to the window above the door and peeked inside. Sure enough. The crystal they were looking for was hovering between to small posts with glowing balls on the end. All they had to do was switch the polarity of the posts and the crystal would do the rest.

Then something unexpected happened. The alien turned and said in a loud voice, "Welcome boys. I have been expecting something like this since I lost touch with AS!@$$@ %FG$%^."

John was taken aback by this. Matt took it in stride. He was already formulating a strategy. Of course, it all depended on the hope that the alien didn't realize that John would be able to read him. Matt opened the door and walked in. John soon realized that his friend had something up his sleeve and followed him.

"Well, boys. Did you think you could defeat a technologically superior invasion force all on your own? You have been watching too many movies."

Matt for his part was praying that John would read this alien just like the other, and he wasn't disappointed. He heard John in his head. They knew that the alien was planning to kill them. John also realized that what had happened to cause everyone to change, was not the expected result of the aliens technology. Their intention had been to turn everyone into something manageable like sheep, but something unexpected had happened. The sheer amount of imagination had altered the results.

John, realized that this alien was just a foot soldier, and had no real knowledge when it came to the technology that had changed them. Also, he was ignorant about what a vampire was. There was no way for him to see it coming when John simply turned into mist. It was a total shock to the alien and all the distraction that Matt needed. He quickly swung the backpack with his skateboard and the tools at the aliens head.

Matt was on top of the alien moments latter. He wrapped his hand around what he guessed to be its throat, and was rewarded with strangling sounds. This alien, however, was much stronger than the other one. It put up much more of a fight, but in the end Matt was able to slam it against the wall until it stopped moving.

They hurried themselves to the task at hand and rewired the conducting rods surrounding the crystal. It would take a few minutes for the charge in the crystal to reverse. All they had to do was wait.

Suddenly John realized that the alien was no longer unconscious on the floor. It was furiously tapping away at a control panel. Suddenly it came to John in a flash. The creature had set a self-destruct device. They literally had minutes until the device exploded. Rage flared inside John. He turned to mist again and flowed inside the alien's body. Then he expanded himself and ripped it to sheds from the inside out.

He had to move quickly. They had almost no time left. He grabbed Matt and literally flew into the alien's escape pod. The door slammed shut just as the crystal switched it's frequencies and began radiating the energy waves that would restore everyone to normal. Moments after that the self-destruct detonated and sent the escape pod flying through the air. Matt was knocked unconscious as they tumbled through the air. John seemed unaffected though.

Once the pod stopped rolling, John busied himself with getting them out. He quickly realized where they were. It was only a few blocks from his house. He gathered his friend and floated down the road. They had failed. They were still the same, but at least the alien's had been stopped. Then John noticed something. People were once again wearing costumes. Why hadn't they changed back too? It had to be the escape pod. It must have shielded them from more than just the explosion.

John began to cry. He would never be able to go back to his life now, and what about the sun. Would it kill him? He wasn't about to find out. He would drop Matt off with someone and disappear. Suddenly his mood picked up. One word came to his mind. Freedom. He could have real freedom now. No more Secret Service agents right there to wipe your butt for you when you took a...

With a sense of purpose, he hurled up the street toward his former home. He found an agent he knew out front. It was Bobby. John knew Bobby would do the right thing for Matt. He quickly dumped him in front of the startled man and looked him in the eye. Bobby suddenly found he could not move.

"Bobby. It's me John, and that gorilla is Matt. We didn't get changed back..."

He explained what happened and told him that he was going to disappear, and that Bobby should forget that he had been there at all. John released his hold on Bobby.

"Hey, John. I have just one question for you."

"What's that Bobby?"

"What is Matt going to do now?"

John smiled after he thought a moment.

"Well, Bobby. I guess he can just be a Secret Service Gorilla like the rest of you." Bobby chuckled to himself as he watched John fly off into the night.

The End