(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter Fifteen - Suspicious Dad

RILEY

I'D WALKED INTO Chemistry class, debating whether I should keep my head down or glare at Spencer. I was so angry the second option tempted me like hell, but the tiny, reasonable corner of my mind won. After all, what good would it do? Reluctantly, I'd lowered my head as I passed by his desk and settled in my spot. There was nothing else to do, and it infuriated me.

Adam had smiled, and all my worries remerged, which he noticed.

I'd shaken my head. "Just tired, sorry."

I was now in Luc's backyard with Tony, practicing on the bracelet. I'd been able to move it inches further and quicker since the first try. I'd remembered Luc's goading and tapped into that anger. I dragged the leather cuff across the snow for a certain distance before exhausting myself. Tony was happy with the progress. He said it was more than he anticipated since the first meeting.

After an hour and a half of testing on bigger and heavier objects, we called a break and I hopped on the terrace. Devin, who was hanging out at the cabin today—I didn't know why exactly—followed me inside.

"I can't believe I still have an hour and a half to go," I moaned, rubbing my temples.

"Ha, wait until the mood swings kick in. They'll ruin your week and they're much worse than headaches, I promise you." Devin strutted in the kitchen. A cupboard door swung open, and a crumpled paper flew to her palm. She handed over a candy bar. "Eat this. You'll feel better."

"Well, I wouldn't say no to chocolate," I said as I unwrapped it.

Outside, Tony and Luc paced in the yard. They discussed something but it was muffled by the glass door.

I bit into the candy bar, eyeing the darts around my wrists. They'd dulled, but they were still obvious against my skin which had long lost its tan. Everyone told me it'd heal faster once the numbing agent faded. On its own, mercury was painful even at the surface, and they said we accumulated it before flushing it out, but it wasn't deadly under a certain amount. 

Except for that flaming new gun, what else was lethal?

I asked Devin, and she shrugged.

"Most things that would kill a normal human work, except more... drastic. We regenerate faster, so it's harder to die. For example, it would take more blood loss for us than it would take for a human," she said. "More bullets, more time without oxygen... You get the idea."

"So, no silver bullets or wooden stakes?"

She scowled. "No, idiot. Our bodies have vital needs, too."

I gazed out the window. The mercury chains, the frequencies... they were all designed to hold mutants down until they delivered the final blow. If it was harder to kill one, then this supergun must be a game-changer. Who could make something like that?

"What was Lauren like?" My question jumped out of the blue, stilling Devin by the countertop extension. "If you don't mind. I barely know anything about her."

She studied the ceiling and covered the rest of the kitchen, seeing something brief that eluded me. "Not quite as strong as Luc, but not someone you wanted to cross on a bad day. Whatever she lacked in power, she compensated with brains. She was a straight-A student, way above her grade in some topics. But she was a little too cool with outsiders."

"Ben's cool. We don't talk about him like that."

"You can't compare the two." Devin stretched a tight coil of hair only for it to spring back. "She sought human company in every way possible. We constantly warned her. She did try to stay away as hunters showed up, but she worried they might find Emma and wanted to keep track of things. I know she was also worried about other mutants who could decide to... end it behind her back."