The Result of a Change

Zoey

I blink twice, thrice, not believing what my eyes are witnessing. I can’t process it. All of a sudden Jimmy, Mrs. Emma and some random man, come running at us while guards appear a mere seconds later.

“Surrender,” they order, “Now!” I startle at the sudden yell but, quickly recompose myself.

“What do you want from them?” I call out to the guards ignoring the look Jimmy gave me before mouthing “I can handle it” to me.

Still stubborn, I look at them waiting for an answer. “They are prisoners!” The one who’s leading them I assume, exclaimed in a harsh tone.

“Not anymore,” I point out confidently, “Leave them alone, they’re my friends.” I continue.

“You’re no one to order us around young lady!”

I smirk, “Well, if you capture them, again, I’ll leave this place and my deal with Jonathan will be forgotten.” I pause looking at their faces as realization hits them, “What do you say now?”

I didn’t need to say any more for they gave half-hearted nods and backed away slowly, some even stealing glances at us. I let out a sigh of relief once they’re completely gone and sit back on the chair facing the three of them.

“What deal?” Jimmy questions in confusion.

“That’s a long story,” I reply, “Who’s that?” I ask as my eyes stare at the unknown man.

“Gerald,” he answers instead, pulling out his hand for a shake. I accept it readily with a smile.

Not really satisfied, I look back at Jimmy waiting for more information. “Fine.” He mutters before rolling his eyes, “It’s your uncle. I didn’t want to be the one to break this to you though.” He continues pointing at Peter. We all turn our gazes to him, only to see a dumbfounded look on his face but then, he did the unexpected thing. He chuckled and now, he’s laughing. We narrow our eyes at him, even Gerald does.

“Man, are you okay?” Edward asks him. He shakes his head and turns all serious again.

“Is that a joke? Really Jimmy?” he scolds behind gritted teeth while Jimmy pathetically shakes his head.

“He’s saying the truth.” Mrs. Emma interrupts the conversation.

His eyes lock with hers, “He died, long ago, he’s dead.” He states.

“Then what am I, Pete?” Mr. Gerald snaps. With that, Peter stiffens in his place, not really knowing what to do. I think something made him sure it’s true but, what is it? Soon after, Edward answers my question.

“No one calls you that but him. It’s him Peter, he’s alive.” Edward assures him as Peter stands fixed with his mouth dropped.

Not waiting for any response, Mr. Gerald comes closer, pulling Peter in a hug. At first Peter was shocked but then, he hugged him back even tighter.

Mr. Gerald releases him from his hold and gives him a sincere grin. “You have grown up into a man, Pete. Look at you.” He points out as he ruffles his hair.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. Where were you all this time?”

“That’s a long story, Emma will explain everything to you later. Right, Emma?” she nods giving both of them a warm smile.

“Okay then, now what do we do?” he asks now turning back into our conversation before the sudden interruption.

“I don’t know, really, but I’m sure he meant something.”

“Well,” Edward says, “I think you shouldn’t trust him and break off the deal. I don’t feel good about him.”

“Me neither.” Peter says shrugging.

Since I overheard Jonathan’s talk with Harold, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I’ve been drinking my coffee quickly, spilling it on my hand twice, bothering the guys with the topic and pacing around the kitchen. It might not seem much, mostly I would think I’m overreacting or something, but this time I feel a bad thing is awaiting for us. I don’t feel good either, but I have to take the risk and continue.

“I know, but we have no other choice than trust him.” I let out as I resume my pacing.

“May I know who’s the ‘him’?” Jimmy asks.

“It’s Jonathan, Marcilus’s brother.”

“What!” Mr. Gerald exclaims making me suddenly stop moving and turn my gaze to him.

“What’s the matter?” I question not really sure what made him get surprised.

“Nothing.” He replies shaking his head, “What’s your deal with him?”

I started telling him everything from getting kidnapped to checking the progress of multiplying the serum amount and of course, what I heard.

He furrows his eyebrows, “You made a mistake trusting him.” He states frowning.

“What? Why?”

He shrugs, “He betrayed his parents, killed them you may say, besides the fact that he’s the one who came up with the idea of the attack. Why in your right mind will you believe he’ll actually back up if you just go with him?”

I stand there speechless, not finding the reason why I did believe him in the first place. I should’ve thought of it this way, but I didn’t and took a hasty choice without thinking it through. He’s right, totally right. I would’ve never believed him when he told me I have the ability to do more if, my grandpa didn’t tell me the same thing. So, I guess my curiosity to find out more is the reason why I’m stuck here watching everything burn. I take a breath and take a seat across from the kitchen stool by Edward.

“I don’t know, I don’t know anything. Do you think I should break it off?” I reply in a mumble.

He shakes his head, “I’m afraid it’s too late, my dear. He must’ve started putting whatever he planned for in action already. I suggest you wait until you get the amount of the serum you want and then, we can think of a plan.” He murmurs in a consoling tone while I nod to him.

“You’re right.” I let out a breath, “Thank you.”

“No problem, dearie.”

Peter scoffs after hearing the nickname his uncle gave me.

“What?” he asks innocently.

“Don’t tell me you still call kids of my age by ‘dearie’.” Peter utters laughing slightly and, I can feel how hoping he is, that the answer is ‘no’.

“Yeah, so what? They are just like my own children.”

“Yes, yes, but why?” he asks in a begging tone.

His uncle laughs, “Because, why not?” he answers smiling.

Why not? That’s really something to consider. I’ve never met someone who thinks this way. For him, it’s never a ‘Why?’, it’s a ‘Why not?’. I’ve got to say that’s really impressive. I guess Peter got the meaning behind the phrase too, I can tell from the sincere proud smile that’s stretching on his face.

“Tha-” he gets interrupted by the loud thud that rings in all our ears.

Our heads snap to the direction of the source, out of the kitchen door. I walk out, to check who caused it, with all the others following behind. My eyes widen at the scene.

“I’m sorry, I just tripped.” She says apologetically as she tries helping herself up.

“Here, let me help you.” I say offering her my hand.

Smiling, she takes it readily and gets back up on her feet, after stumbling and nearly falling again. Luckily, I could catch her before collapsing once more.

“Thank you so much.” She says articulately.

“No worries.” I reply smiling.

She walks away slowly and, I sigh in relief hoping she heard nothing of what we said. She looks polite and really nice though, unlike her race. Her skin colour is a bright pink, close enough to the simple white skin tone of humans. With black hair, wide blue eyes and a moderate height, she might be the most beautiful of them.

She stops mid-way and walks back to me.

“My bad! I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Roxy, one of the members of the Control Team.” She says sticking her hand out.

I accept it eagerly. “Nice to meet you,” I utter, “I’m Zoey, Zoey Anderson. Would you mind me asking what the Control Team is?”

“Nice to meet you too, Zoey. I can’t unless I exactly know the reason why are you here.” She says releasing her hand from our grip.

“Well, I’m just on a deal with Jonathan. That’s it.” She smiles knowingly, “For now.” I add.

She stares at me confusingly but shrugs it off quickly, putting back her welcoming smile.

“I’m sorry, then. You’re not eligible to know but, just because I feel how nice you are, I’ll tell you a general fact about the team. We simply control everything, understand the rest. I know you’re smart.” She says winking before waking away and disappearing in a dark corridor.

Everything? The thought itself is diminishing.