(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter Five p.1 - What Is A Mutant

RILEY

LUC PACED AROUND his living room, a hand stroking his chin.

"And this started right after we took care of the Wanderers?"

"I didn't think anything of it at first. I was used to seeing you guys do crazy stuff and I didn't realize it was me."

He judged me up and down like I was a silly putz, which raised my hackles. "And when you did, you still didn't come to us."

"Well, you didn't exactly come to me either, did you?" I shot back testily.

In the midst of all this, Luc was so absorbed in his thoughts the rebuttal didn't reach him. He gazed out the large window facing the forest, a brow furrowed. The mellow light of the setting sun surrounded him and filled the room with a soft hue, reflecting off the shiny coffee table.

"What does this mean?" I asked. I'd hoped he knew what was going on, and that it could be fixed.

"Sunshine... There's something you should know." He looked conflicted when he faced me, his shoulders wired tight. "I couldn't tell at first, but it's obvious now."

"What's obvious now?" 

"You might want to sit down for this one," he warned and gestured at the couch. "In case you don't believe what I'm about to tell you, know that there's no other possibility. Remember that."

I plopped down, fingers curling at the edges of the cushion. "I'm listening..."

Luc folded his arms across his chest and his eyes latched onto mine.

"Emma's reaction to the venom from the bite was typical. That's not what happened with you." He paused to make sure I followed, which I was. "But there are only us mutants who are immune to its worst effects. Our DNA is somewhat similar to the Wanderers' which means we're able to get away with just being dizzy if we receive enough of it. I didn't assume anything when I saw your injury, but that's when I really started suspecting you might be different."

I stiffened, all beliefs balking in my conscience like dust stilling midair. My voice came out rough and foreign. "What are you trying to say?"

"Think about it. Why were the Wanderers addicted to tracking you? There is nothing more alluring than a defenseless, unaware mutant in their grasp. In their primal mindset, that's worth going insane over."

Did he just call me defenseless and unaware? I dismissed my inner voice knowing that should be the least of my worries. He was telling me I wasn't freaking human, and that couldn't possibly be right. I'd been normal my entire life. Something wasn't adding up. I would have known... would have felt something if deep down I was like them. There had to be another explanation and Luc made a mistake. 

"No," I snapped, rising to legs that felt weak. "You're wrong. It's impossible, Luc."

"Is it really? You're telling me you're doing things without even moving. That's proof right there." Luc stepped forward and stopped in front of me. "Oh, and let me guess. You've been getting headaches lately? Mood swings here and there, maybe even bursts of aggressiveness?"

The headaches had multiplied since moving here, indeed, but I've always attributed that to lack of sleep and stress—which I'd been having plenty of at the time. And... yes, I felt moodier on certain days and it showed easily when Luc or Devin tested my patience. But again, those things could also be stress. How did he know about that?

"That's just a coincidence," I whispered, averting my gaze.

"It's what comes before the abilities start to show. We've all been through it. I'm also going to guess that you've never been sick and above average in sports?"

It was so spot on that I ran out of things to say. I felt like I'd been pushed off a cliff, and that I was falling endlessly.

"Then how do you explain the fact that I've never gotten any of this before and only after I met you guys?"

"I don't know," he admitted, lowering his head. "But we ought to find out. There was always something different about you, I could never put my finger on it. There had been those other signs."

It was one of those horrifying moments where you didn't want to dig deeper and twist the blade further, but at the same time you couldn't help it, like gawking at a bleeding wound or picking at a scab. "What signs?"

Luc's unreal stare leveled mine. "Remember the night of the party when you found yourself in the clearing? You were on the ground. Before I even reached you, a light pulse pushed you away from the Wanderers. I thought I'd reacted faster than my thoughts because I couldn't believe otherwise, but that's just not how I work. You did that on your own. It's clear now."

I thought of when the Wanderer chased me through the school, of the locked classroom door. Had I done that, too? Time seemed to slow down yet my mind spiraled faster than ever. I didn't want to believe it. 

I wordlessly fell onto the couch, staring at a blank point on the wall to compute this. My entire world was collapsing in a defeaning silence.

Weeks ago, Luc had been pleasantly surprised at how I'd accepted his true nature without a mental breakdown. Now, I wasn't sure I'd be taking this one so well. An instruction manual on how to deal with a supernatural existential crisis didn't exist, but I wished I'd had something to hold on to, something to ground me. My lower lip trembled as my arms wrapped around my waist.

I didn't want to be one of them...

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