Chapter 985 The Beginning of the End (4)
"Get outta here!" A man in a cook's outfit pushed a woman out of the diner. The woman was dressed as a waitress. She had coffee stains on her apron and it looked like bits of breakfast were left on her as if thrown. The man waved his crooked finger at the woman. "Don't ever come back!" The man turned around and entered the restaurant.
The woman slowly stood up and looked at her outfit. She wiped her cheeks and turned away from the restaurant. People looked at her from the large glass window as she walked away. She knew they were probably talking about her.
The woman kept her arms folded together. She didn't want anyone to see her arms. Anyone who looked at her, only saw how thin she was. It was the middle of winter and the woman didn't seem cold. Like all curious people, they noticed how sad she was, but didn't ask her what was wrong.
The woman could feel it coming on. Her arms started to twitch and a trickle of fear grew in her eyes. She entered one of the closest alleyways and tried to find the darkest spot. She glanced at her arms. The light tan color was turning gray. She could feel her body shifting.
"Not again." The woman whispered. "C'mon, Mai… Hold it together." The woman clutched herself, squeezing her eyes shut. Footsteps approached her and Mai ignored them. She continued to whisper to herself, "hold it together."
The set of footsteps came to her right. They stopped a couple feet away. Mai knew they would probably see her and saw something but they didn't say anything. Mai got a hold of herself and let out a shaky breath. She looked over at the person and noticed it was a tall man dressed appropriately for winter. He wore sunglasses, a business suit and shiny leather shoes.
"Here you are." The man spoke with a small smile. "I finally found you, Mai." Mai shrunk away from the man. "C'mon, don't be like that. We're on the same side, Mai. We're both… changed from what the Doctor did to us."
"Get away from me, freak." Mai turned to look at him. She had a look of disgust on her face. The man pushed his sunglasses up and frowned.
"Don't be like that. It's not right to call people names, Mai. Didn't anyone teach you manners? Come back with me. You're safer there than here."
"I will not go back with you!" Mai began to turn and the man appeared in front of her. He grabbed Mai's arm and held it up. Mai tried to pull away, but the man simply held her there. Through the sunglasses, she could see his red eyes looking at him.
"Get away from me, freak! I'm never going back there! Let me live my life!" Mai screamed. The man raised his hand to block her mouth. He looked to the exits of the alleyway, checking if anyone was paying attention.
"Mai, the Doctor already told you. You can't live a normal life. There's too many… factors involved that would get us ostracized. The government will come after you. You'll turn into a monster quicker than anyone else and—"
"Enough!" Mai ordered. The man stopped and pulled away, obeying her order. Mai's entire form shifted for a moment. Tendrils, gray skin and purple eyes. "Go back and tell your favorite doctor I want nothing to do with him."
"But I can't. You know that." The man snapped out of his order. He stuck his hands in his pocket and pulled out a vial. He lifted it to his face and smiled. "It'll stop the transformations for a while." Mai reached for it but the man stepped back. "But you need to stay under the Doctor's watch. Take it or leave it… C'mon, Mai, don't think so long. Someone may see you in your… wonderful form."
Mai snatched the vial and uncorked it. She downed the tiny liquid and her form shifted back to her human-self. She let out a sigh of relief as if the form had weighed down on her too much. She tossed the vial to the side and turned away from the man.
"I'm not going back, Jim. I'll visit as much as I can, but I want to live my life until I die." Mai stopped herself at the end of the sentence, not wanting to fully soak in her reality. The reality most of the experiments would succumb to. "Even if it's painful… Even if I have to buy it off with the money the horrible monster gave me… I want to live my life the way I want to. It's my right."
Jeremy nodded and shifted his sunglasses. He looked up at the sky. The alleyway bricks went all the way up, showing a sliver of clouds. He sucked in the refreshing air and lowered his head to say his goodbyes to Mai, but she wasn't there anymore.
"Silent as ever." Jeremy sighed. He dug for his phone and flipped it. He scrolled for the Doctor's contact and clicked call. It rang for a while until someone picked up.
"Hello?" The Doctor's voice came through the phone.
"She says she'll come when she pleases. I can't convince her, sir," said Jeremy. The Doctor sighed.
"Keep an eye on her. That's your job after all."
"Yes, sir." Jeremy hung the phone up and stuffed it in his pocket. "Where are you going now? Home?" He began to exit the alleyway when something caught his eye. He looked behind his shoulder and noticed a spectral Lee Seng standing there. "Who are you? I don't think we've had the pleasure." Jeremy turned around and Lee Seng's form grew visible.
"I thought this was some sort of memory sequence." Lee Seng spoke. Jeremy cocked his head in confusion. The young man in front of him didn't speak similarly to everyone else. He was dressed oddly, too. Flowy shirt, pants and sneakers.
"Aren't you cold?" Jeremy asked. Lee Seng shrugged.
"That's what you want to ask me? You sent me here, yourself. What am I supposed to do? Kill Mai in her own memories? It's so real."
"Ah…" Jeremy nodded. Jeremy blinked forward, trying to pressure Lee Seng. Lee Seng didn't flinch. He bit his nail as two tails appeared behind him. Jeremy's eyes widened and he stopped. "You! I've seen you before!"
"Seen me before? How so?"
"Strange dreams. You must be him… our savior."
Lee Seng looked up at Jeremy and cocked his head to the side in confusion. Jeremy reached for Lee Seng and wrapped his arm around his neck. He squeezed him tight and chuckled.
"I can't believe it! You're here! I must've done something right then if you're here! Tell me, what's your name?" Jeremy asked.
"Lee Seng. What's your name?"
"I'm Jeremy. Are you some sort of experiment of the Doctor, too?"
'He sounds exactly like the man who possessed me earlier…' Lee Seng thought. He bit his lip and pulled away from Jeremy.
"If you can somehow see the future… No, I shouldn't tell you. It could ruin the time balance. Wait, am I back in time or am I in a memory…? Aren't I in Mai's memory?" Lee Seng whispered.
"Ah, that." Jeremy nodded. "My dreams are coming true… I guess you thought you came for Mai, but you actually are seeing me instead."
"Strange… I thought I was given Mai's dream because we touched… her." Lee Seng whispered.
"Hm?"
"Nothing." Lee Seng shook his head. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you. If everything you said was right, you won't be here soon." Lee Seng shifted in his spot and wiggled his tails. "I'm not an experiment. I'm the results of the Failed Ones - experiments of the Biohuman serum." Jeremy's eyes widened. He paced around, soaking the information in. "I'm here because Mai survives the tests and breaks out of her soon-to-be jail. I need to figure out a way to inject something in her. Something lethal."
"You're going to kill her?" Jeremy asked. Lee Seng nodded. "Well, I'm still piecing it together with my prophetic dreams."
"Future sight." Lee Seng corrected.
"Huh?"
"You have future sight. A very rare ability for Biohumans. I can't believe someone of your… status has one." Lee Seng motioned at Jeremy. Jeremy looked confused. He didn't know whether or not to take it as a compliment or an offensive remark. "That's not the point. That's… small details. I thought I'd show up in Brood Mother's head so I could inject her with the serum, but I'm in your memories. What do I do to get out of here?"
"You can't leave until everything I need to show you plays out." Jeremy immediately responded.
"What… do you mean by that?" Lee Seng asked. He studied Jeremy and noticed a strange energy growing from Jeremy's eyes. It was playing a soft melody that reminded Lee Seng of a sleeping melody.
"In order to make the prophecy come true, one must understand pain."
The alleyway and busy streets started to fade. Jeremy stared blankly at Lee Seng, lifting his hand towards him. Lee Seng stared at Jeremy's hand in confusion and watched Jeremy grab him. The two of them blinked, reappearing in Old Town.
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