It's been seven days since this family took him in. As comfortable as it was here, Sylvester quickly realized there were stifling "rules" the family expected him to follow. Five days ago, everyone expected him to change his clothes every day rather than keep wearing them until they stink. That rule included changing into sleeping clothes, different from going-out clothes.
Two days ago, he went for a late-night excursion by going out the window, only for loud, flashy vehicles with uniformed people to take him back in. He couldn't understand why everyone was yelling at him, including the man and woman, but they certainly weren't happy about going out at night without permission. He learned a few words that night such as "curfew" and "police."
When the excursion failed, he yelled back at them, "Hwa brev çozi-vun retun?! Li-yol heer ik mag!" ("Why do I have to go through any more of this?! I can fly off anytime!") When words didn't work, he took out his wings to prove his point. Immediately after, someone shot a weird droplet that struck his cheek. The sky swirled until it went out of control, and the last thing he remembered before falling asleep was his body slumping to the ground.
Hours later, Sylvester woke up in the bedroom the family had assigned to him.
He just allowed himself into a prison, didn't he? And even if he gets out, what would he do next? Keep running and flying away from them until he couldn't go on anymore? Rage singed his eye, and a few tears spilled. Maybe he could escape if he plans it out super carefully, but who knows?
No big regrets. That was the promise he made way back when to Chance.
Sylvester smacked his own forehead. How could he be so blind? An escape plan may be difficult since the authorities likely know him well, but he doesn't know them. For now, he'll just look for opportunities and other good things with this lifestyle. He'll have to stay vigilant.
When he woke up again, he headed to the not-quite-a-bathhouse with a bundle of secondhand clothes in his arms.
Not all his experiences were entirely bad. Here, the colorful containers secrete different slimes that bubble when mixed with water. He even made up a silly story about Mecead, the water goddess, and the smaller leaders of bubbly waters.
In this world, The Lady of Pink Waters got jealous of the Green Slippery Sea because the Green Slippery Sea made more beautiful seafoam during tides. So she asked Mecead for help since she too controls reproduction. More bubble creatures came to life with Mecead's magic. The Green Sea, upon seeing this, wiped out half of her creatures.
Would that story be blasphemous to Mecead? Perhaps, but she won't listen in and yell at him immediately. Too bad the slimes' flavor didn't match their fragrances.
***
On the eighth day's morning, Horace, the man, walks with him to a "general store" with obnoxiously bright lights and equally bright walls. Like in that other building, its strange glass door slides open within a short distance before them. Many miscellaneous items are neatly stacked on shelves all around the store, and Horace grabs an egg-yolk yellow cart among a line of others.
Sylvester studies the apparatus with some interest. It's pretty smart to have a handle in front to keep control of it, and the wheels don't just spin back and forth but also vertically to steer well.
(Sometimes, Chance and he would make prototypes of boxes with wheels, but none of the wheeled boxes had yet to reach the sturdiness and capability of this cart.)
As he looks around, he realizes that the aisles are sorted out by the type of items they have. One has packaged food, and the one to its right has stationery he saw on the parents' desks. And there are more categories ...
The variety and abundance of things are almost dizzying. What could everything in here be? His fingers tingle at the thought of opening every bottle, box, and bag in here, but after that admonishment, he refrains from further havoc.
***
Horace picks up a bottle of fever medicine. At the bottom left corner of the label is the logo of the medicine's parent company, Efkazy Inc.
He does notice how Marla makes sure not to buy anything from them lately. Whether or not she suspects something or participates in an investigation against them is beyond his expertise. Even if she wanted to tell him, she can't.
His duty is to check on the boy's potential in the meantime.
Horace puts the bottle back on the shelf. After looking around, he beckons Sylvester, who keeps walking around with wonder at the most mundane things. It's like he's never seen a general store before. His behavior almost reminds him of Lucy when she was a toddler, wandering and staring at everything with wide eyes. It's kind of endearing.
If only Lucy is willing to see more of him. Sylvester being withdrawn most of the time didn't help their relationship either.
The two of them come out of the store with a few bags with Sylvester helping to carry one. Instead of heading home, Horace takes him to a nondescript office building a block from the store.
He waves and nods at his coworkers up at the front, occasionally chit-chatting with a few.
Sylvester tenses up whenever someone looks in his direction, and although his identity as the "demigod boy" is an open secret at the military base, fewer people know why the Craig family took him in.
Horace and Sylvester reach an elevator, and like before, a mix of fascination and fear shows on Sylvester's face when the elevator closes and descends. His hands grip tight to a rail most of the way.
Several floors down, the elevator opens up with a small chime. They arrive at the military base's underground laboratory.
Comments (0)
See all