I pushed the pills way to the back of the drawer this time and closed it. I almost reached for the drawer again, but remembered David was waiting for me downstairs. It was dumb to even consider looking at the flat compact again. I started my dolling up process.
The shift from adolescence to young adulthood brought on so many responsibilities and choices. In two months I’d be turning eighteen and of legal age. I’d be considered an adult even though the number was still suggestive of adolescence with its ending in “teen”. I felt older than that somehow.
I suppose the experiences I had with my mom and dad had made me mature a little faster. And now… the experiences I had lived with David and his family had opened my eyes to a whole new world. It was a reality that one would write about in a fictional book to hide the truth from human kind. It was my world now—my reality.
Alezzander’s face grew uneasy as I walked into the living room. I wondered if it would always be this way, this awkward.
“Afternoon, Isis,” his thunderous voice bounced off the living room walls. He set his coffee cup on the table and stood to greet me in their usual manner. I didn’t expect him to kiss my cheeks, but he did.
“I am truly surprised to see you here.” Alezzander offered me a seat. “I am very unsettled about my reaction toward you yesterday. Believe me when I say, that is not the man I am. I am ashamed and disgusted by my behavior.”
“You don’t have to apologize again. I realize you were only looking after the safety of your family.”
“Thank you. It sets my conscious at ease to know this.”
“Father,” David said as Alezzander took a seat across from me, “Isis has some news regarding her biological father she’d like to share.”
“Do speak, dear girl. What have you to say?” Alezzander scooted to the edge of his seat.
Nyx and Gemini joined us in the living room shortly after my account started. I delivered the entire story of my mother’s rendezvous with the man that was my biological father. Then I showed them both letters.
“It’s anonymous,” Nyx stated, as she finished reading the letter. She turned to view Alezzander. “Why would he send a letter stating he is the child’s father and keep his identity unrevealed? I would assume he would present himself to her fully so that she is aware that he is sincere in his attempt to contact her.”
“I, too, would do the same being in his shoes,” Eryx said, taking the letter from Nyx. “Surely he must be concerned that the Council will discover the Creatur…” He paused, glanced at me and corrected himself, “ . . . that the council will somehow discover Isis’ existence as well as his violation of the laws.”
“But why would he try to contact me now? He had a perfect opportunity when my father, Hector, passed on. He could have enclosed a note or something along with the first letter addressed to my mother.” I tried to query them for answers I knew they wouldn’t know.
“He knows you are Creatura.” Alezzander placed his hand on my shoulder. “He may have an idea that the age of your maturity will arrive soon and with it your transmutation.”
I lowered my head and shuddered. What was I? Uncertainty and fright had the best of me. And to make matters worse, David was going to become whatever thing I would turn into.
“I don’t want to be a monster.” I looked at David with pleading eyes. “I don’t want to be another species. I just want us to be normal.”
David pulled me close to him.
Nyx brushed my hair with her fingers. “The transformation will be internal, my dear.” She reassured me. “Keep calm. I will be monitoring your progression.”
“Mother, and if something should arise? A malformation?” David grew concerned.
My head quickly swiveled to view Nyx.
“We will deal.” Galen placed an arm over his twin’s shoulder. “We will deal,” he reaffirmed.
Eryx bobbed his head in approval of his brother’s words. “We are here for you, my brother… and Isis.”
Alezzander tugged at his chin. “I had not contemplated the percentage of an undesirable trait until now. The percentage—calculating by my previous experiences with Creatura—is variable.”
David’s brow creased. “What would the probabilities be?”
“Seeing as she is in human form, I would estimate between thirty-three and sixty-five percent.”
“Sixty-five percent?!” I gasped. “What types of internal malformations are we talking about?”
“I can only give you examples,” Alezzander explained. “The traits could vary from personality changes, such as, impairment of your better judgment or inflicting physical harm with but a glance or a touch.”
“Impairment of my judgment? Like going insane?” I tried to understand what he meant.
“Or…” Galen began, “a cold-blooded murderer. A homicidal genius. A psychotic killer…”
“I think you’ve made your point,” David interrupted Galen with a scornful look. “Thank you for causing her more distress than necessary.”
“She should be aware,” Galen argued. “She must be able to point out changes in moods or thoughts in case we fail to notice them.”
“He’s right,” I sighed. “I just don’t understand how you can fix a lunatic.”
Eryx explained the process. “We are able to control the chemical imbalances that cause the thought or desire to kill. The process must be done at the beginning before the brain has completely converted the personality of the subject into a savage murderer.”
“It doesn’t mean this will happen to us.” David turned my head to view him directly. “We are just discussing the possible outcomes. Nothing is definite. For all we know, we may remain as you are now.”
“Oh that Deus might hear you, my son.” Alezzander shut his eyes and clenched his fist. “May He keep you as you are—free of defects such as those we are discussing.”
I turned to Nyx. “Can you sense any changes in us yet?” I was of course referring to David and myself.
“Give me your hands.” She reached for me. “I don’t want to skip over any minute changes in your emotional or physical state.”
Nyx closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her head slightly tilted back. She remained in this position for a couple of minutes. I eagerly awaited her prognosis.
“Has your temper changed? Have you become more aggressive?” Nyx asked.
“Not that I’ve noticed.”
“There’s no indication of change. You’re perfectly fine.”
I sighed in relief. “That means David is fine also, right?”
“He shows no sign of transformation other than the closing of the lesion in his torso, but that is normal.”
“When will he begin to lose his abilities?” I wondered.
Everyone in the Chios family exchanged glances. I had touched a subject of concern.
“The changes in me will be slow,” David reminded me. “They may not be in congruence with yours. The interesting thing is that there should already be some noticeable pattern of metamorphosis.”
“Such as?” I asked for further details.
“For example, lapses in my strength and in the inability to fly. We don’t understand why there isn’t an absence of these.”
They were as clueless of the changes that would come for David and me as I was. It was the blind leading the blind.
“I have to find him,” I stated. “I have to find my real father.”
“
We
have to find him,” Alezzander corrected me.
I needed air. Dealing with this was giving me a headache and an anxiety attack. David suggested a stroll along the nature trail.
The day was cloudy and humid. There was a fine mist coming down. As much as I hated to smell like moisture, I knew the tranquility of the forest would calm me.
We took refuge under a tree branch from the drizzle that started falling overhead. David reassured me that we would not turn into freaks of nature.
“My brothers will keep their promise of aiding us if worse should come to worse; my mother will stand by to see it done correctly.”
His embrace reassured me, but didn’t make the worry disappear.
“Is there any remote possibility that I might turn into what you are and not the other way around?” I held on to the last shred of hope left in me.
“My lovely, please, let this go for today. Consider another topic for your own sanity.”
Obviously, the answer was not what I would want to hear. I bobbed my head in agreement, though the thought would remain embedded in my mind as the day dragged along.
I felt the vibration of my phone on my hip pocket and reached for it. It was Andy calling. She would most probably want to hang out later, but I wasn’t in the mood.
“Are you home?” she asked in a panic just as I hit the answer key on the phone.
“No, I’m at David’s. What’s up?”
“I was on my way to your house with Bill to pick you up. Stay where you are until I call you back,” she sounded concerned.
“What? Why?” I was confused.
“It’s Gabriel. He pulled us over on Henderson Road and asked where you were. We assumed you were at your house, but we told him we didn’t know. He was angry and he had the gun in his hand. He pointed it at Bill and me and demanded that we tell him where you were.
“Bill tried to calm him down, but he said he knew you were with
him.
We guessed he was talking about David. He said he was gonna find you and deal with you two. He kept talking to someone behind him, but there was no one there. He was acting like he was nuts again.
“Isis, I’m still shaking. We have to call the police,” Andy sniffed. “I just saw your mom’s car at the courthouse. I’m so glad you guys aren’t home.”
I felt my body start to shake.
“Isis?” David noticed my reaction.
“Gabriel…” I said with widened eyes. “He’s looking for us… for you and me. He threatened Bill and Andy with a gun.”
David took the phone from my hand.
“Hello?” he said into the handset and paused for a few seconds. “Andy, are you or Bill hurt?” He paused again. “I can’t understand what you’re saying over your crying, my dear. Calm down. We will resolve this.”
I clenched my hands together and started to pace.
“Andrea, may I please speak to Bill? I don’t understand what you’re saying.” David held one hand on his forehead as he spoke.
David instructed Bill to meet at the estate. We walked briskly toward the house and advised the family of the threat that Gabriel posed and that Andy and Bill were on their way.
“Call the authorities,” Alezzander requested when I was finished with the details of the phone call.
“Not yet, Father,” Eryx opposed. “It must be William and Andrea that must give a statement to the police.”
“But will they want to press charged against the boy?” Galen wondered. “After all, he is their friend, is he not?”
“Not anymore. Not after that,” I assured Galen. “Andy definitely wants to contact the police.”
“She’s very upset,” David remarked.
As if I didn’t have enough to deal with on my plate, now the Gabriel problem was back. I was on the verge of a meltdown. A seventeen year-old shouldn’t have to deal with so much stress in life. I wasn’t emotionally ready to handle so much at once. I was just coming into the realization that my life would never be the same and now this?
We quietly waited for the doorbell to ring. Everyone was getting anxious.
David walked to the front door and opened it. I stood with him on the porch biting my nails waiting for Bill’s car to drive up.
“Dammit!” I hit my thigh with my fist. “Where are they?!” I was getting worried that Gabriel might have stopped them, or even worse, followed them. They had more than enough time to reach the estate already.
“There.” David pointed to the red car making its way up the driveway.
“Oh, thank God,” I sighed in relief.
“I was beginning to worry, myself.” David’s mouth pulled to one side.
We walked to meet Andy and Bill in the driveway. Bill opened the door and stepped out of the car. He looked like he was in shock—pale in the face and nervous.
Andy remained in the car with her head lowered. I ran to the passenger door, opened it and hugged Andy as hard as I could. She was shaking and in tears.
“He… put… the gun… on Bill’s head.” Andy spoke in pauses as she gasped for air. “I thought he was going to pull the trigger,” she sniffed clinging on to me. “I shouted at him to stop, and then he pointed the gun at me.”
She pulled away from me and wiped her tears. “I’m so scared for all of us.” She started gasping again.
Bill and David were behind me listening.
“What took you so long to get here? I was about to go looking for you.” I heard David ask Bill.
“Sorry about that, man. She was hysterical. I had to pull over,” Bill explained.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” David’s hand touched my shoulder.
I pulled Andy out of the car. “C’mon, girlie. We’re going to be okay.” I tried to soothe her.
“Why didn’t you go straight to the police?” David asked Bill as Bill embraced Andy. She softly sobbed on Bill’s shoulder.