Ten

The squeaks and steps of the feet were the only sound my ears were focused on. What if they—basing from the unsynchronized sounds of footsteps—walk to our direction and saw us? 'Leib!" Came a harsh whisper. 'Are we in the wrong room?" Another softly said. My heart was already thundering and it nearly jumped out of my mouth when lights turned on behind me. 'Scott, we're here." My brother answered from somewhere at the back. 'And close the door will you?" Not long after, blinding light pointed at my face. 'Kat." I paused, even my nervous heart paused. Was that Les? When the light finally was taken out of my face, I confirmed that it was indeed my best friend that arrived with her boyfriend. 'What is this, am I your fifth wheel?" Is this some freaky, thrill double date? 'Your brother called us to meet him in the science lab." Her facial expression was probably poker with how she monotonously delivered her remarks. 'What is he planning on doing here, drugs?" What? 'They got my blood—" 'Les, help Kat pack those up, will you? Be sure nothing is left behind." It was Leib. They were moving franticly, and the gush of water from the faucet sink could be heard once in a while. They must be washing the things they used earlier. Scott came and took the test tubes and the microscope. He told us to stuff everything else in the plastic bag that he handed Les. 'Check if everything is in order." Leib instructed. 'Don't throw anything in the trash can, take it with you and then we'll take care of it later." Destroying and hiding evidences, my brother really thought all these through. I remained in where I was as my friends and brother got busy moving about in the flashlight-lit room. When everything was checked—two or three times—and cleaned, the door of the laboratory was soundlessly shut. We creeped as fast and silent as we could while all aware that we could get caught by the security people any minute. The taps and squeaks of our shoes echoed in the empty corridors making them sound louder than they did. Words weren't said by any of us when we climbed up the wall and into our respective cars. My brother and Scotty stayed outside and talked. I couldn't see their faces even if I tried to squint through the glass, but after a few minutes, Leib entered and started the car. We got away with no hindrance and my heart wasn't able to calm as we drove away. The thrill I've experienced creeping in the school hallways and getting sneaky remained with me while I watched the street lights pass us by. Still confused as to why my brother did all this, as well as his theory that he never revealed to me, I held my mouth from asking them for a few more moments. Fifteen minutes was a very long time, it felt like hours as seconds passed behind the driver's seat. 'Is it okay for you guys to talk now that we're far from school?" Honestly, I had been holding myself back firing them reasonable questions because I was still waiting for them to tell me themselves. 'What did you guys talked about back there?" Nothing. Not even a vowel from the two people seating in front of me. Finally, we reached our house! And our parents were there in the driveway, standing, and for sure waiting for us. 'We are dead." I told them. 'Tell them you went to look for me ‘cause you were bored in the house." Wow. My truth-abiding brother was teaching me how to lie. That's new. Leib righted the car and like reprimanded kids—well, soon to be—we slowly got out of the vehicle. And mom was on me the second. 'Sweetie, we were so worried." She rushed. 'Where did you go, did your brother found you? Did you have another episode again?" 'Mom, I'm fine." I reassured her. 'I was bored so I went to find Leib." Mom didn't reply after that, she just looked at me with such sad eyes. 'Where did you go to get home this late?" I heard my dad asking Leib on the other side of the car. 'We went to school." My brother replied. Scotty and Les soon came, witnessing us standing in front of the house. ●●●●● We were all in my room five minutes or so later, after explaining—and making lies—about me leaving the house when I was not supposed to, to our parents. I witnessed how Leib can conjure a lie straight out of the bucket and I, myself, almost believed them if I didn't know better. Going back to my earlier dilemma, 'Can anyone explain to me what just happened back there?" Silence. Les, who was lounging on my bed playing with the glitter globe didn't even bother making eye contact with me when I landed a look on her. Scott shrugged his shoulders and was seated beside my door just probably waiting for things to be explained like me. 'It's better if Leib's the one to tell you." It was April who was sitting on my desk chair spoke and her expression was unreadable which was new because...because she's April Mabry she was always expressive! At least she was in my head. And she freaking knew something, did Leib confide to her about the unnatural events that were happening to me? As if on cue, my brother walked in carrying his laptop and his microscope—yes, he owns one. 'Leib, bro you gotta tell us what's going on, all this being mysterious jazz is spooky, dude." Scott and my brother were in the same year, just different classes and sports. 'Scott close the door, please." And he set his thing down on my sunny-side-up carpet. 'So, you guys already know that Kat stayed in the hospital for quite a while, right?" There was an unspoken agreement as we closed in on the screen to look. 'Well, before that, we think that she was taken by some people," I gasped, wasn't that supposed to be our secret? Why was he blabbering about it now? I didn't interrupt though because he side-eyed me. 'After I found her at the park, weird things started happening to her." He looked at me as if asking for permission. I shrugged. Up to you, I mean you already told them about my kidnapping and me being weird and all. 'I think she was experimented on, and these people purposely let her go to observe her exposure to the open." For some reason, goosebumps started prickling my skin. It was like my body was agreeing with my brother. Nothing was going on in my mind, it only echoed Leib's words like an empty cavern. He connected his phone to his computer and went through his folders and files. I wasn't able to distinguish the picture that popped up on his screen next. 'That's my theory." It was slightly blurry like the hand holding the camera moved before it even finish capturing the image. We waited for more of his explanation but Leib remained silent, typing on his laptop. 'And?" I asked. He shouldn't just leave us hanging like that. 'And then, this," Another image popped on his screen, this one I know, blood cells. A microscopic view of red blood cells. 'This is a typical appearance of a human RBC, biconcave, and has a larger surface area than other spherical cells." 'While this," The previous picture appeared again, 'Is Kat's red blood cells." Leib posted them side by side. Aside from the purple stain nothing else was the same. Mine looked like needles with dark dots in the middle of them. 'Cells lose their nucleus as they mature, but with Kat's, these are clearly mature RBC's but their nucleus are very prominent." He paused, the light of his computer's screen further brightening his frowning face. 'The shape clearly indicates that there's something wrong with them but none of the books that I read explained these forms." 'And?" This came from Scotty. 'The little experiment we did earlier confirmed that something was really done to her that had her cells mutating." Mutating? Am I going to turn into Hulk or some web shooting human-insect sooner or later? 'Are you for real, dude? Like, your sister's becoming something else?" Scott humorlessly chuckled. 'Where are we, in a Sci-Fi movie?" He added. 'I knew something was up, but not this big." Les talked next. I wouldn't blame them though, anyone in their right mind would think that the person telling them impossible things might—or must—be crazy. 'Les, did your parents agree with you staying here for the night?" Leib asked and my best friend nodded. He looked at Scotty next, 'You, Scott?" 'Yeah, but are we going to sleep all in this room?" 'No, you're going to sleep in my room, I'll take April home later." 'What are we gonna do with Kat's case then?" Les spoke. I could see the frown and indecision on Leib's face. 'I don't know yet." He unstrapped the wire of his microscope and plugged it in the nearest socket on the wall. 'The one thing I'm focused on right now is to find out what's happening to Kat." He pressed something on the device and the stand lit up. 'I kept the specimen just in case." I watched Leib grab something in the front pocket of his jeans and expertly slotted it on the stage of the microscope. It took a few seconds of my brother turning the knobs on the side of the device before stilling his hands. And we just sat there looking at his form. I have no clue as to why he told practically everyone what happened to me. Was it just making things worse by letting them know? There was also a big chance that something bad might happen to them. 'Kat," Leib called not taking his eyes off the eye piece. I moved closer to him and he adjusted to the side, centering me towards the microscope. 'Look at it." Okay. I did what I was told. 'What am I looking at?" 'That's was the blood taken from you a while ago." His words made me rear back and looked at him. My face must've been utter shock and questioning that Leib just nodded. 'How—" could this be? I wasn't able to finish what I was about to say because my tongue seemed to have hardened. I saw the pictures Leib showed us, but the one in the microscope is very different, very, very different.