Chương 213: B4. 12.1 - Date with a Mad Scientist

As soon as I woke up, I checked if time had stopped. The digital clock on the table beside my bed kept blinking. 5: 16 A. M. The display just changed to the next minute, 5: 17 A. M. For good measure, I waved my arms and legs in the air. I didn't seem to move in slow motion.

"Okay, I'm not in Spooky Erind's place," I mumbled, getting off on the right side of the bed as per Rule #15. After the bloody road trip, I thought Spooky Erind, and maybe Glowy Erind as well, would show up. The dead frat boys wouldn't interest Spooky Erind, but I expected she'd have something to say about the crystals on my palm. Cecilia's lore drop was pretty significant. Could also be that Spooky Erind would rather avoid discussing it.

Shuffling to the window, I pulled back the curtains and gazed at the vehicles below, pretending that I was a ruler observing my kingdom. This must be why penthouses were so expenses. Rich people having that feeling of lording over peasants. Traffic wasn't super heavy, though it was starting to clog up, like the arteries of someone with borderline high cholesterol. I stood there with blank thoughts for a couple of minutes before turning around to look for my bag—I hadn't finished unpacking.

"My corkboard…" I stared at its empty face. I couldn't leave this at my place in La Esperanza. If Dario suspected we were betraying him, he might ransack my room and find this. Yet, I still wanted to have a corkboard. My brilliant idea was to invite Deen and Cecilia to fill it up with me. It'd be a group project thing, plotting out our plans and stuff. This way, I didn't need to hide it from them. I folded my clothes and arranged them in my cabinet. Felt a bit wrong doing mundane stuff.

The entire time, I had a big smile on my face, recalling the successful movie shoot last night. I should try my hand at directing. The gentle ringtone of my phone disrupted my directorial fantasies.

"Mom…" I scrunched my nose, wondering if I had the energy to be a dutiful daughter this early in the morning. She knew that I was already awake at this hour. I should answer this before she thinks something is wrong.

"Hi, Mom! How's your trip?"

"Good morning, dear." Mom's energetic voice made it sound like she was on loudspeaker.

"It was a rare flight with no delays whatsoever. How are you girls over there? Are you in Vegas now?"

"Yep, yep. Deen's sleeping in your room, by the way. I didn't want her sleeping in mine, and I also wasn't going to make her sleep in the living room." I didn't add that we had an additional guest. Mom would disapprove of a mad scientist crashing on our couch. Mom chuckled. I could hear the keyboard taps from her end—she was working while calling me.

"Did you give Deen your lecture about your room as a sanctuary?"

"I did. That's a standard introduction when entering my place. And I also told Deen you won't mind her sleeping on your bed." I had to literally push Deen into Mom's room with superstrength. My best friend was insistent on sleeping in my room with me. She kept saying that she was worried I'd have nightmares, that I'd be plagued with guilt after what we've done to the frat boys. She even tried to hint that my Adumbrae side could take over, and that was while Cecilia was within hearing range.

I knew Deen's real intention. It was none of the reasons she had given. She wanted an actual sleepover experience, something she was denied in her childhood. Deen's childhood issues weren't my job to fix.

"Make your friend feel at home," Mom said.

"Did you clean our unit? I don't want her mentioning to others that the Hartwells' residence wasn't maintained. I should have had cleaning services—""Don't worry, Mom," I said, frowning. Such a 'mom thing' to care about the impression of others.

"The place looks the way we left it last December. But I'll get to cleaning later. We arrived late last night because we had some stops along the way. Had some sightseeing and tourist stuff to make our long road trip fun." As expected, Mom lectured me about the dangers of driving late at night. Accidents. Dangerous men. There could also be Adumbrae that had fled La Esperanza. A monumental struggle to stop myself chuckling. I couldn't wait to check the news if there was something about the frat boys.

Have the police already found the burnt bodies? We'd be super lucky if no one had reported the fire at that abandoned gas station last night. Would buy us a few more days before investigations would start. In any case, the police would never consider my cute self to be a murderer. That was the huge advantage of looking like a high-schooler.

"I don't want you to be stranded in the middle of the desert at night," Mom said.

"Remind Deen to check her car if—""Mom, don't perpetuate the stereotype that women are bad with cars. Deen's blonde to boot. That's double stereotyping. But, yeah. I'm going to remind her about car maintenance and stuff." I couldn't really argue with Mom because of Rule #13.

"I'm not joking. I'm worried about you. And also, Deen. The world is becoming more dangerous by the day. I watched the news over lunch, and the situation in La Esperanza isn't looking good. People are rioting."

"Rioting more, you mean? Already lots of riots when we left. Good thing we're here in Vegas."

"Don't return to La Esperanza until the government says it's safe. How are your studies?" Mom went on with the usual 'mom questions' about my life. She even floated the idea that I should transfer law schools, or I could drop law school altogether. Mom offered to help me get a job in this or that company. Nepotism and connections, a tale as old as time. The thought of quitting law school made me pause.

It wasn't like I wanted to be a lawyer—I had interned at a big law firm and knew that junior associates were some of the lowest forms of corporate slaves. Working fifteen hours a day, even sleeping in the office, was normal fare. Worst was getting sandwiched between their bosses and their clients—essentially, the junior associates had multiple bosses, all of whom were pressingly demanding different things. However, I wanted to know the law. I was playing the game of life.

Would be super helpful to know the rules of the game to bend them. And, as I correctly predicted, it'd be fun interacting with law professors and students. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Mom, the Corebrings are here," I said.

"This Adumbrae mess will be over very soon, and everything will return to normal." That last part wasn't true. I'd never be a normal human again. Even if I were granted the opportunity, maybe Cecilia would finally succeed in developing a cure, I'd still refuse it. My experience with the frat boys was another confirmation that being a monster was entertaining. I had the most fun moments in my life after becoming an Adumbrae.

"Erind, are you listening?" Mom asked after I hadn't responded for several seconds. My mind was too busy reliving last night's events.

"Yeah, be safe and all that." How do I end the call?

"Don't go out at night. Las Vegas isn't that safe a city either. Your friend, Deen, might want to party at a club. Refuse her. And don't bring any boys in our unit."

"How will I give you a grandchild if you won't let me meet guys?" I asked, giggling.

"Just kidding, Mom. I'll be a complete nun with my vow of chastity. Or was it celibacy? Anyway, you know that I barely have the energy for social activities."

"Keep safe and keep the unit clean. Be a good host to your friend, okay? I'll leave you to your day. Love you, sweetie."

"Okay, Mom. Goodbye." I paused for a few seconds.

"I love you, too," I added. I stared at the phone's screen. The call had ended. I didn't know if she heard my last sentence. I kind of missed her even though it hadn't been a day since we left her at the airport. Wearing the face of a dutiful daughter was growing on me, which was weird given that I had no plans of being a normal person. Speaking of being a normal person… I took off my clothes in front of the mirror. No more purplish patches, not even on my neck.

No white hair strands either—this would be difficult to explain to Deen. This was proof my white hair wasn't genetic; it was a manifestation of seeding, as she suspected. Pretending that I had dyed my hair probably wouldn't work. Just don't resist getting scolded later … I had taken one of the Professor's pills before going to bed. Five pills left. Since Cecilia was also staying here, it'd be too much of a hassle hiding clues that I was an Adumbrae. How long would the pill hold back the changes?

The crystals on my hand, however… Pills could only reduce the crystals and the golden threads, but not completely turn my palm back to normal again. A mistake on my part, showing Cecilia that crystal. Now, I had to hide my right palm or else she'd know that the crystal came from my body. No one ever said that foresight was my strong suit. My plans rarely worked! My only option was committing to the glove covering my hand. So, what if I had an unconventional style?

Cecilia, a mad scientist changing bodies, had no right to criticize me. I stepped out of my room to greet the new day. In front of me, across the narrow hallway, was the door of Mom's room. Deen wasn't awake yet.

"I don't think we have any food here." To my left was the pantry. It should be empty, and so was our freezer. Mom and I didn't stay here, so we didn't stock the place. Mom told me to be a good host. That meant feeding my guests. Erind, the dutiful daughter, needed to go out and buy stuff.

"Good morning, Cecilia." I walked out of the five-foot-long hallway and onto the unseen border between the kitchen to my left and the living room to my right.

"I hope you're not mixing some poison for us." Cecilia had laid out her little chemistry set on the kitchen counter and was doing an early morning experiment.

"This isn't for you," she said, raising a tiny vial containing fizzy liquid.

"This is for me."

"Don't tell me you're going to—? Oh, you are drinking it." Cecilia downed the liquid in one gulp.

"Ah… Burns the throat," she drawled, shivering.

"However, it brings much energy to my being. Seventy-one percent efficiency." I looked her over.

"Huh, you do look better. And don't make up numbers." Cecilia's new body appeared to be around mid-thirties; her starved state aging her more. Not sure why she didn't choose to be younger. I could see some resemblance to her previous body. Must be the same DNA or something. She had pronounced eyebags cradling roundish eyes that peered behind a curtain of unkempt dark brown hair. There was more color to her sunken cheeks compared to yesterday, though her skin still had a pasty appearance.

Reminders to buy her new clothes because she'd look conspicuous walking around in Barstow merchandise.

"Did that—" I pointed at the empty vial "—contain spinal fluid?"

"Among other things," Cecilia said.

"It'll hold off my body's degradation. For now. We have time to find Adumbrae flesh and return to my lab."

"When can we meet your contact?" I asked.

"Late in the afternoon, when the sun is low. We'll look for him." I sighed. This woman was such a headache.

"He's not really your contact, is he? We probably need to squeeze him for info. You're not even sure where he is?"

"Nothing in life is constant, dear," Cecilia said, reminding me of Mom also calling me 'dear'. Would've been a nightmare to have Cecilia as a mother.

"There are places he frequents. Dangerous places. But I'll have no problem with two superhumans as my bodyguards. We'll check each location until we find him."

"You're relying on us now," I said.

"Once you get your body back, you'll poof away."

"Nonsense. I need you to protect me from Euphonia. And you need me to find a cure for seeding, don't you?" Cecilia stopped arranging her chemistry set and looked me in the eye.

"For our friend, Kelsey, yeah…" Was she hinting that I needed the cure?

"Ah, I'll go out and buy breakfast. Finish your weird drink."

"I'll come with you."

"Wha-? Uh, are you sure?"

"You should force me to come with you," said Cecilia, "so that I won't be alone with your sleeping friend. Who knows what I'll do to her?" I snorted.

"If you had any thoughts of betrayal, you would've done something while Deen and I were both asleep."

"The fresh air will do my health good. I can think of many other reasons if you want something more substantive than the desire to stretch my legs."

"Fine… Just wait here." I carefully opened the door of Mom's room and tiptoed inside. There was a sound I didn't expect to hear. Is Deen snoring? I discovered an imperfection of hers! Too bad I didn't have my phone with me to record this. Was her Guardian Angel also asleep, or how did their whole thing work? Would it wake her up if there was danger? Was getting knocked out and sleeping the same thing for the Guardian Angel's mechanics? I was tempted to punch sleeping Deen to test her powers.

She definitely deserved a good batch of knuckles to her face. But I relented—I should be a good host.

"This looks like it can fit Cecilia," I whispered, picking a dark blue blouse out of Mom's closet. She wouldn't mind if a mad scientist wore her clothes, would she? Exiting Mom's room, I went to my room to write a message to Deen on a sticky note. I posted the note on my door so Deen would see it. Who knows what she'd do if she panicked that Cecilia and I were missing?

"Wear this," I said, tossing Cecilia the blouse. Her pants had to do for now. I also let her borrow Mom's slippers on the rack by the door. We walked out into the busy and gratingly noisy street outside. Rush hour was in full swing. Now, to find breakfast. Sweet breakfast.