Chapter 5
Mitch looked into his large silver eye and said, “Even with all their questions, there’s still something missing from it all.”
“And what might that be?”
“Where do you fit into all this?”
Marcus was surprised at his own ignorance. He did not think to tell them of his own origins. From what Liz told the men, Marcus could have been a dragon all his life. Marcus looked back at Mitch and said, “Right at the dark heart of it all. I was part of the team that created the cure for cancer; it is what you would call the undead plague. We sealed it away-”
“And it got out before you could make a cure.”
“Well, not exactly. We created fail-safes for ourselves, an old super-soldier project that left our control, but that was because we were the only ones in the lab at the time. We never expected an explosion to rip the lab apart.”
“Aint it your job to expect the unexpected?”
Marcus could not disagree, but he said in return, “Nobody could have seen it coming. We did what protocol told us to do and one of us used his fail-safe. Sadly, it was untested. Jonas is probably dead; I still don’t know if Bronx made it out. And Isaac is most certainly alive, but I don’t know where he is. Karen was away for a few days, but she is probably dead, as her failsafe was in the lab.”
“What exactly did the fail-safes do?”
“They replaced the user’s cells with metallic super-cells that were practically indestructible and self powered. Four out of the eight of us have used them.”
“And you’re one of those four?”
“I’ll let you guess that one.”
Mitch was quiet for a few minutes. He stared into the fire and tried to contemplate what he was just told; that humanity was ending, that he may never see his family again, and that he was in a conversation with the creature that caused it all. Marcus wondered how close he was to that realization, and broke the silence by saying, “If you are here for my sake, or for the fire’s sake, then you can go. We will keep each other company.”
“You consider fire good company?”
“Yes, I love how it changes with just a breath. It is powerful enough to wreak havoc on an entire country, and yet it can be destroyed in seconds. Fire is knowledge; cooked food is the reason humans were able to evolve. I find fire to be much more interesting than people.”
“You would rather sleep with fire than talk with me?”
“Yes. I am not telling you to leave; I am simply stating that you do not need to stay here if you do not want to.”
Mitch left Marcus for his bed, but Marcus was not alone. He meant every word of what he said, and he really did enjoy the company of fire more than anything else. Liz, however, was the sole exception.
Marcus lifted his head off the ground and listened to the silent prayers of the island people. He could hear crying, praying, arguing, and more than once, something breaking. Marcus felt sad that some of the men chose to go against his request and told their lovers about the world’s fate.
From his high perch, Marcus could see some of the people looking out of their house windows at him. When he focused his attention on them, the windows closed with a bang. Marcus was on his fifth when he heard a twig snap near him. He pressed his head into the foliage and a young boy not older than eight fell out. Marcus decided to play with the child and dropped his tail on the boy’s escape rout. He let the boy run around it and placed in his wing instead. The boy almost ran into Marcus’s mouth, but he moved so the boy would run into the clearing, where he could see him. When he was in clear view, Marcus moved his head closer to the boy and licked him. His tongue could easily rip a car in half, but he was gentle.
The boy said, “You’re not gonna eat me?”
Marcus scowled and said in as light a tone as he could, “You humans taste like rats mixed with mold.”
The boy laughed and must have guessed that he was an imaginary friend, because he showed a lot of trust when he walked closer to Marcus’s front-right claw and sat on it. He said, “My name is Jack, were you with the angel that I saw?”
“Yes. Liz is her name. She is my sister.”
“Your sister is an angel?”
“Sure. I am her chosen guardian.”
The boy was silent, and Marcus had no idea what he was thinking. He said, “I has a question.”
“Ask away.”
“Why are you here? Did you come for me?”
“No, we came because fate had us come here.”
Marcus had no illusion that they were there because of shit luck, but he wanted the boy to be happy. He did not make the same mistake he made with Steven and did not let his impatience show. He said, “I can tell you our whole story, but I want to tell it to everyone. Come back in the morning; until then, go home and get some sleep.”
“Ok,” the boy said before he curled up in a ball between two of Marcus’s fingers. Marcus decided to let him stay there. He placed his head on the ground and closed his eyes. He stayed alert, as he had other visitors, but he kept his eyes closed until they approached.
“And what might that be?”
“Where do you fit into all this?”
Marcus was surprised at his own ignorance. He did not think to tell them of his own origins. From what Liz told the men, Marcus could have been a dragon all his life. Marcus looked back at Mitch and said, “Right at the dark heart of it all. I was part of the team that created the cure for cancer; it is what you would call the undead plague. We sealed it away-”
“And it got out before you could make a cure.”
“Well, not exactly. We created fail-safes for ourselves, an old super-soldier project that left our control, but that was because we were the only ones in the lab at the time. We never expected an explosion to rip the lab apart.”
“Aint it your job to expect the unexpected?”
Marcus could not disagree, but he said in return, “Nobody could have seen it coming. We did what protocol told us to do and one of us used his fail-safe. Sadly, it was untested. Jonas is probably dead; I still don’t know if Bronx made it out. And Isaac is most certainly alive, but I don’t know where he is. Karen was away for a few days, but she is probably dead, as her failsafe was in the lab.”
“What exactly did the fail-safes do?”
“They replaced the user’s cells with metallic super-cells that were practically indestructible and self powered. Four out of the eight of us have used them.”
“And you’re one of those four?”
“I’ll let you guess that one.”
Mitch was quiet for a few minutes. He stared into the fire and tried to contemplate what he was just told; that humanity was ending, that he may never see his family again, and that he was in a conversation with the creature that caused it all. Marcus wondered how close he was to that realization, and broke the silence by saying, “If you are here for my sake, or for the fire’s sake, then you can go. We will keep each other company.”
“You consider fire good company?”
“Yes, I love how it changes with just a breath. It is powerful enough to wreak havoc on an entire country, and yet it can be destroyed in seconds. Fire is knowledge; cooked food is the reason humans were able to evolve. I find fire to be much more interesting than people.”
“You would rather sleep with fire than talk with me?”
“Yes. I am not telling you to leave; I am simply stating that you do not need to stay here if you do not want to.”
Mitch left Marcus for his bed, but Marcus was not alone. He meant every word of what he said, and he really did enjoy the company of fire more than anything else. Liz, however, was the sole exception.
Marcus lifted his head off the ground and listened to the silent prayers of the island people. He could hear crying, praying, arguing, and more than once, something breaking. Marcus felt sad that some of the men chose to go against his request and told their lovers about the world’s fate.
From his high perch, Marcus could see some of the people looking out of their house windows at him. When he focused his attention on them, the windows closed with a bang. Marcus was on his fifth when he heard a twig snap near him. He pressed his head into the foliage and a young boy not older than eight fell out. Marcus decided to play with the child and dropped his tail on the boy’s escape rout. He let the boy run around it and placed in his wing instead. The boy almost ran into Marcus’s mouth, but he moved so the boy would run into the clearing, where he could see him. When he was in clear view, Marcus moved his head closer to the boy and licked him. His tongue could easily rip a car in half, but he was gentle.
The boy said, “You’re not gonna eat me?”
Marcus scowled and said in as light a tone as he could, “You humans taste like rats mixed with mold.”
The boy laughed and must have guessed that he was an imaginary friend, because he showed a lot of trust when he walked closer to Marcus’s front-right claw and sat on it. He said, “My name is Jack, were you with the angel that I saw?”
“Yes. Liz is her name. She is my sister.”
“Your sister is an angel?”
“Sure. I am her chosen guardian.”
The boy was silent, and Marcus had no idea what he was thinking. He said, “I has a question.”
“Ask away.”
“Why are you here? Did you come for me?”
“No, we came because fate had us come here.”
Marcus had no illusion that they were there because of shit luck, but he wanted the boy to be happy. He did not make the same mistake he made with Steven and did not let his impatience show. He said, “I can tell you our whole story, but I want to tell it to everyone. Come back in the morning; until then, go home and get some sleep.”
“Ok,” the boy said before he curled up in a ball between two of Marcus’s fingers. Marcus decided to let him stay there. He placed his head on the ground and closed his eyes. He stayed alert, as he had other visitors, but he kept his eyes closed until they approached.