Shadow Mutation (Book Seven) [UNDER MAJOR EDITING]

Chapter 35: Trying to Help Her

"You're getting better at finding me, Hockey Puck," she teases, winking.

"I'll have you know, Casey Jones has special abilities for this kind of thing," he retorts.

She arches an eyebrow. "Oh really now?"

"Uh...no."

She laughs shortly, noticing his smile swiftly fall. Hers does the same as she moves closer to him.

"Hey...what's up with you?" she wonders.

He lets out a sigh. "I tried to convince Don and Sarina to make you retro-mutagen...you know, so you could go home. They shot me down so fast, it's not even funny."

She watches for a moment, a long breath leaving her as she shrugs her shoulders. "Just give it up, Casey."

His lips part in surprise as his hands retreat from his pockets. "What?"

"I'm stuck like this...even if he made the retro-mutagen, it wouldn't be able to touch me," she continues. "I'm going to be a shadow forever. There's nothing you can do."

He shakes his head rapidly, his hair becoming slightly messier with the movement. "No, you're not doing this again. Don't go only seeing the negative things all over again." He steps closer to her, wanting to grasp her wrists and hold her in place but forcing his hands to stay separate from her cold skin. "Donnie and Sarina can do it, they just need more mutagen and more time. They found a retro-mutagen for this kid named Timothy and made him human, they made this awesome antidote for brain worms and freed their big sister, Karai...I just know they can make a cure for you."

The shadow girl's face doesn't change, her eyes still holding a deep sense of longing. "If they succeed, I'll do it...but that doesn't mean that I don't doubt the chances of it happening."

He goes to retort, but a yawn interrupts him before he can speak. Zilla frowns, reaching out to him hesitantly.

"Are you alright?" she asks, visible concern etched across her face.

He nods, his movements slow. "Yeah, I just-" He yawns again. "I just haven't slept yet since the battle. I'm sorta wiped."

"Alright, come on. You need to go home and sleep," she orders. "And I mean it. Go home."

He flashes a tired grin and salutes. "Fine. Want to walk back with me?"

She laughs incredulously as she floats to his side. "And you call me weird, Hockey Puck."

As they head back towards Casey's house, more questions beg to be answered in the back of his mind. The battle today ended so abruptly, just like the Necromancer's death. Zilla was the only one with him when he shot himself, and he can't help but wonder whether she was the one who convinced him to do it.

They remain silent the whole way back to his apartment. She hides in his shadow when he goes inside, only reappearing once he gets inside. She looks around the place, noting the pictures.

"Bed, Casey," she orders.

He shakes his hands towards her, yawning again. "Yeah yeah, I got it, Shadow."

He stumbles to his room, nearly ramming into the walls a few times as Zilla floats along behind him. He collapses face down on his mattress, her still standing there watching him.

"Hey Zilla?" he mumbles, turning his head as he blinks sleepily.

She glides to his bedside and drops to his eye level, watching him. "Yes?"

"Why do you think the Necromancer shot himself?" he asks.

She doesn't answer right away, his eyes fluttering shut as he exhales heavily. She sighs, shrugging her shoulders as she looks around his room.

"He was too broken to be fixed," she whispers. "He simply needed an escape...and in his mind, death was the only way. I tried to talk him down, but he saw the terrible truth in my logic. He may have been sick with grief, but he was still a genius. I guess he didn't see any good in the future."

There's silence as Casey's eyes open up a crack, his face pressed against his mattress.

"Zilla?"

"Yes?"

"Do you see good in your future...or are you like Wallace?" He coughs a little as he grunts. "Cause...I don't want to see you become him."

A sad smile flickers across her shadowy face as she brushes the tips of her fingertips along his forehead, giving him a pleasant cooling feeling along his skin.

"I think you know the answer to that already," she murmurs.

He nods, his eyes drifting shut again. She pulls her hand back, wanting nothing more than to brush his dark bangs from his eyes and kiss his forehead, but her mutation holds her back once again.

"Goodnight, Hockey Puck."

I love you.