Chapter 146: Whispers and goodbyes.
Sunshine puckered her lips, acting pretentious like she could not hear the meaning of his words. The air between them was playful and yet beneath it, something else stirred.
Hades laughed as he opened the door of the car for her. Before she could get in, he blocked her path and looked at her with a naughty smile. "Lest I forget, you have left two of your novels open on the dressing table." He leaned down like he was investigating her face, "It is never novels about crime, they are always romance novels. The forbidden lover’s kind with slow-burn tension. You always put them next to your tools, knowing fully well that I will pack them away for you. Are you hinting at something?"
Sunshine gasped and laughed. "Do you think that I am trying to seduce you with good literature?"
Hades raised his eyebrows. "Good literature, really! Do not try to pass it off as educational notes. I think you are trying to seduce me with longing."
She made a "hmph" and poked him on the chest. "And you....you keep walking around shirtless and doing press ups before getting into bed every night."
"That’s not seduction. I take off my shirt when I feel hot, I used to sleep mostly naked until you came along. And doing press ups is me simply working out. Blame Jo-Stride, he makes the training rules."
The robot leg was very quick to raise objections to being falsely accused but Sunshine could not hear it, and Hades did not care.
She ducked under his arm, brushing her body against his as she made her way into the car.
He turned back and smiled at her; a hint of a smirk mixed in the smile. Did she really want to act like she had not deliberately brushed up against him?
"Before you accuse me of anything, that was a survival. I was simply squeezing my way into the car because you did not leave me with much of a choice." Sunshine said and laughed.
Hades nodded, laughing softly. Then he closed the door, went around and entered the car as well, taking the wheel.
As they drove back to the first wall, she said, "Oh, I have to mention the soft gray shirts--the ones that fit too well and ride up every time you raise your hands to get something from the kitchen cabinet when I am cooking."
Hades glanced her. "You are tall enough to reach the cabinets and yet whenever you know I will be around, your height is equal to Castiel’s. You jump up and down until I step in to help you and your fingers linger when I hand you what you want."
She huffed and turned her head towards the window.
He laughed loudly.
Their battle of subtle seduction would continue until it boiled over.
****
By the late afternoon, fortress four hummed with a different kind of energy. One that was uneasy, brittle like glass ready to be shattered.
Word had spread faster than fire on dry grass: A superhuman had awakened within the base. And although the rumors carried no name, everyone seemed to know.
Whispers clung to the Kirkland family like a curse led by Frank and Molly Gadriel who prowled the lanes with sharpened tongues, feeding the fear.
"The boy is dangerous," Molly said to anyone had would care to listen. "Who knows what he will do."
We all know him to be the reckless kind, a disobedient child to his parents! Who will keep him under control?" Frank added darker predictions, painting pictures vivid enough to root in people’s minds.
By the time the sun dipped low, and night market came to life, the Kirkland land home was surrounded. Some came out of curiosity, their faces taut with intrigue, eyes hungry for the boy who was had awakened after being bitten by the mutated sheep.
Others came with condemnation already heavy on their lips, seeking to drive Tommy out of the base.
"He should not be here among us."
"Keep your children close."
"I cannot believe that the Quinns are letting them stay."
"Leave! We do not want you here."
The words cut deep into the stoned walls of the small house, carried easily to the ears inside.
Clive Kirkland stood at the window; his fists pressed hard against the sill. His face was marked by anger, jaw clenched tight. The crowd looked less than the friendly neighbors that he had come to know and more like vultures circling a meal.
Behind him, his sister folded clothes into a small suitcase with trembling hands. "Clive, they will never stop bothering us or Tommy even if we move to the first wall."
"Maybe not but at least we will be safer from their condemning words there." He said simply.
Tommy sat slouched at the edge of the sofa, staring at the floor. His discharge papers still sat folded in his lap. He felt like a fugitive in hiding, A dull ache gnawed at his chest, an ache that worsened when a voice pierced through the crowd outside.
"Tommy!"
It was Ursula, his girlfriend.
A woman’s loud voice shouted at Ursula. "Go back to the house. The boy is dangerous; I have told you many times to stay away from him."
It was Ursula’s mother. Tommy recognized her voice and the words she said were no different from what she said about him usually. She never liked him when he was human Tommy. As superhuman Tommy, her dislike for him had no doubt intensified.
Ursula’s cries only got louder, carrying over the mutters of condemnation.
Tommy shot up from his seat. "Father..."
Clive turned sharply. "Stay where you are until they come fetch us. I have told you cut off all your friends especially that girl starting from today. It is what’s best for yourself and them."
The patrol vehicle pulled up dispersing the crowd. The people gasped and murmured when the Kirkland’s stepped out of the house.
Tommy who was wearing a black hoodie pulled away from his father and dashed towards Ursula, his face pale but set with determination. Ursula pulled away from her mother and threw herself at him, sobbing so hard her breath came in shudders. Tommy did not hug her back; he kept his hands to himself.
"Are you really leaving the base? That is what people are saying." She cried.
"No," Tommy whispered, his forehead pressing down on hers. "I am not leaving the base, just this section of the wall. I’ll still see you every day."
She shook her head, sobbing harder, but his words anchored her just enough. Her fingers dug into him like she could hold him forever.
"Tommy get back here." Clive called again, his voice sharp.
Ursula’s mother pulled her away from Tommy as she glared daggers at the teenager as if he was a demon.
A soldier pulled Tommy. His body left but his eyes remained locked with Ursula’s until the last possible second. The soldiers escorted him to the vehicle, where his aunt was waiting with a worried look on her face.
"I hope that you are satisfied now that you bade her goodbye." She said to him. "Listen to your father and stay away from her. Your life is going to change Tommy; you are special now."
Tommy did not feel special, he felt cursed.
He bowed his head and covered his face with his gloved hands. Bitter tears dripped from his eyes.