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When the girls finished yelling at Bobby, he found Lizbeth. She escorted him and Hank to the cafeteria, where they sat and talked about Gary. In the last few minutes, he'd told them about their first meeting, their relationship, how they'd agreed to go to the same college because they were in love—or so Liz hoped.
"How much do you love him?" Bobby asked, catching Hank's eye.
"Space invasion also applies to Bobby's questions," he said.
"It's okay, I love him so much, we both lost our virginities. They don't normally take his virginity like this, I know something's wrong and I know it can't have anything to do with me. Tell me the truth, because he might never tell me: is he a mutant?" Lizbeth asked.
Hank thought about what Charles had said, about how anonymity was a mutant's greatest defense. Gary deserved to be safe, deserved to live free from persecution. But if he and Lizbeth had such a strong relationship, she deserved to know. He had to tell her sooner or later, and if they lived happily without him telling her, it wouldn't be fair to her. There were small lies and omissions in relationships, but there were certain things people needed to know. Lizbeth needed to know, and she was anxious for Gary to be ready, or something terrible would happen.
"Gary is a mutant, he manifested himself a few days ago, which is probably why he's been so distracted and preoccupied," Hank said.
"Are you with the MRD?" Liz asked.
"We're more of a private organization, but our intentions are similar: to keep people safe, but also to help mutants cope and learn to control their abilities. Do you know where Gary is?" Bobby asked.
"He was supposed to meet me earlier, that's why I'm so worried, he's not usually a latecomer," Liz said.
Both boys understood her concern perfectly. They were about to ask more about Gary when a commotion arose at the back of the cafeteria. Liz got up from her chair and walked with Hank and Bobby to where a crowd had gathered. She saw Harry and Mary, the newcomers, standing near the center of the crowd.
"Harry, Mary, what's wrong?" he asked.
"I'm Gary," Harry said.
Bobby and Hank exchanged glances and made their way through the crowd. As they reached the end, they saw Gary, his skin glowing and healthy, eating a lot of food. He was eating faster than he should have and also downing a large amount of milkshakes. Liz reached the end of the crowd and stepped back a little when she saw Gary eating something he didn't usually eat: processed meat from the cafeteria.
"Hey babe," he said, grinning from ear to ear.
Bobby turned away in disgust as the others cheered. Hank, however, squinted at Gary. He was probably the only one who noticed that Gary's food broke down differently in his mouth. The food dissolved into a grayish bile that slid down Gary's throat, allowing him to eat faster than usual. He also noticed the subtle dilation of his pupils.
Gary was having a drink.
Sven was onto something.
After the disaster that was his visit to Ravencroft , Sven decided to go to an address he had in his notebook. It was in the Harlem area, and Sven had arrived without any major incidents. The warehouse was deserted and in disrepair; there was construction machinery outside, including a bulldozer. But there were still people on the streets and no equipment in sight. Climbing inside was easy; searching the warehouse from top to bottom took time. Luckily, Sven had time, time to check every corner, every pillar. He looked back at the notebook, concentrating on a half-faded detail.
"Find the symbol," he repeated out loud in his head.
There was something strange about the wall he was staring at. The place was supposed to be deserted, but while it wasn't fresh, the wall had been repainted. Sven took a piece of glass from the nearby window and began scraping at the paint. However, he accidentally cut himself on the glass, leading him to use his handkerchief as a makeshift bandage. He dropped the glass and clenched his right fist, soaking the cloth with blood. Scraping away the remaining paint with his fingernails, he began to see the faint outline of a symbol.
"Look for the symbol; it looks as good as any," Sven said, turning a page in the book. "A bird on a shield, possibly a safe or storage room." He tapped the wall; it was hollow inside, and there was plenty of room on the other side.
Taking a deep breath, Sven took a few steps back and ran toward the wall. He took several painful hits, but finally managed to break through. Dust filled his lungs, making him cough and squint as it invaded his eyes as well. He got to his knees, waited to recover, and peered into the hidden room. It was small, probably the equivalent of an office cleanroom, with just enough space for a bucket, a mop, and some disinfectant spray. However, there were no chemicals, bucket, or mop in the room. One computer had a broken hard drive, and there were empty shelves.
According to the neighborhood, the building had been one of many places hit by the Cataclysm storm. But there was a pattern: nothing indicated what kind of damage had been caused. There were scorch marks and charring , internal detonations. Obviously, the place had been damaged when the Cataclysm struck, or something had happened that forced it to be abandoned. Either someone was afraid that the Cataclysm would steal what they were working on, exposing them, or they had succeeded and used it as a convenient way to hide their tracks. A disaster that was a nice coincidence for them, but annoying for Sven.
"Why keep the room intact?" Sven wondered.
He sat on the floor, scratching the back of his neck. That's when he noticed something on the floor. Sven stood up and felt the sponginess of the floor with his foot. Then he stamped his foot, breaking off a loose board. As he tore off the rest, Sven saw a rolled-up bundle inside. It was sheets of tissue paper wrapped around a disc, offering only minimal protection from the dust.
"Finally, results," Sven thought, putting the disc in his pocket and preparing to leave.
That's when he felt the room shake. Then the whole building. He looked toward the back wall; it was a shovel from one of the demolition trucks outside. It ripped through it, tearing it out and crumbling it. Sven squinted at the machine and blinked, confused.
On the front of the blade were the bright yellow lines of a pair of eyes.
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Hello everyone, what did you think of the chapter? Please let me know in the comments. If you want to download the full book, it's available on my KO-FI page. The link is here. 👉
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