Mutation

Chapter 14: Threats and the Earthquake

Hazel

My heart sunk when I saw Dr. Evansby's face on the large screen at the front of the cafeteria. I knew this wasn't planned, because Dr. Baker was frantically trying to turn off the projector on the wall. Somehow, Dr. Evansby hacked into the projector and was able to project himself on our screen. There was nothing we could do to stop him. Whatever he wants to have to go to such extreme measures to communicate with us, isn't good.

"Hello, there. Nice to see you all again," Dr. Evansby says, grinning. I realized he could see us like we could see him, since he was staring straight at me. The whole cafeteria is as silent as nighttime.

"What gives you the right to hack into our system, Charles?" Dr. Baker snaps, her face red with rage. She charges up to the screen, as if Dr. Evansby was standing up there and she could punch him. Her anger causes him to laugh, of course.

"Calm yourself, Sharon. I'm only here to ask for a favor," he says, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. He seemed unusually calm for such a crazy man. I glanced at Leo, who stared up at the screen blankly. His eyes met mine, and I knew we were both expecting the worst. What on earth could this man want from us?

"What favor? I'm not playing your silly games, if that's what you're doing," she snaps, clearly irritated. I don't blame her. Just looking at Dr. Evansby makes you want to punch him in the nose.

"No, no games. Actually this is more of a deal than a favor," He pauses dramatically, followed by another smug smile. I clenched my jaw to avoid opening my mouth and yelling unpleasant things at him. "For my experiment I'm working on, I need one of the most powerful mutants available. And you have that one mutant living in your colony. In exchange for that one mutant, I will leave your colony in peace, and we can put this little feud of ours behind us. Deal?"

I feel a pang of fear in my chest, and I can't help but hear "I need one of the most powerful mutants available. And you have that one mutant living in your colony," over and over again. He wants one of us to be one of his experiments. One of us must sacrifice our precious safety in the colony, to live with a lunatic. Then I remembered what Dr. Baker said about me and Leo, and how powerful we both were. I know what he wants. He wants me or Leo.

"Absolutely no deal! How dare you even think of such a thing!" Dr. Baker yells at him, her hands bundling into fists. I notice that my hands are now shaking.

I feel a sudden tug on my shirt, and I turn around and see Leo gesturing me for him to follow him over away from the tables. I follow him, my whole body still shaking from the fear. Leo looks like he knows what's going on too.

"Hazel, do you know what this means?" Leo whispers, his eyes fixed on the screen across the cafeteria. I'm scared to look too, in case Dr. Evansby is looking at us.

"Yes, I do," I whisper back to him. "Which one of us is going to go?"

His eyes widen and he stares at me. "What? No, Hazel, neither of us can possibly go. He'll kill us. We have to stay here and keep hidden from him." I only stare back at him, not saying anything. Part of me agrees, while the other feels like one of us has to go. It could save to colony from war or possibly extinction.

I hear Dr. Evansby's voice again, this time, louder with frustration. I guess while me and Leo were talking, him and Dr. Baker were arguing with each other. He clears his throat and continues talking, this time much calmer. "I understand your uncertainty about my deal. I'm only doing this strictly because of science."

Dr. Baker snorts. "My uncertainty? Please, I am certain that all you intend to do is kill any mutant who might have a chance of being more powerful than you."

This makes Dr. Evansby shut up. Now I understand his plan. He wants to kill me and Leo so we won't be more powerful than him. It makes sense, but it's insane. All the man wants is to be better than everyone else, and he'll do anything to make sure he has the most power. Even if that means murdering.

Finally, Dr. Evansby says, "You've always been good at judging character, Sharon. Although what you just said about me us true, there is one thing you left out. If I decided to kill Hazel or Leo, your two most powerful mutants, then I wouldn't have their powers anymore. Any mutant I kill that I share the same power with will take that ability of the deceased mutant away from me. So I do not intend to kill anyone. Only capture."

Dr. Evansby had mine and Leo's powers. That explains why he had to same ability as us during the fight in the forest yesterday. He defeated us with our own powers. So if we died, then he would lose our power. He just wants to keep is imprisoned and do experiments on us.

"I'll never accept your deal, Charles. Just give up already," Dr. Baker tells him. His expression immediately turned from calmness to anger, which was caused by not getting what he wanted.

"I expected you to say no. Very well then. Each time you deny my deal, I will cause a disruption to your colony. In case your wondering how I am able to have access to your system, I have a spy living among your mutants," He pauses and grins. Immediately, people all around the cafeteria look at each other, thinking they can find the spy. "That spy will help me cause the disruptions, creating destruction to the place. I always get what I want, Sharon. And I intend to get it, even if that means destroying your precious colony."

Suddenly, the screen goes dark, as well as the projector light, and Dr. Evansby's face disappears from the screen. I stand still, expecting something to happen at any moment. Everyone does the same. This man was capable of doing anything he wanted to the colony. And he was willing to destroy it.

I began to feel a shake beneath my feet. At first, I thought I was imagining it, then it got stronger. Everyone else begins to feel it too, and they panic. Tiles and dust starts to fall from the ceiling, sending everyone under the tables for protection from it. I stand frozen in place, too stunned to know what to do. Earthquakes don't happen in Canada.

I hear a low, crumbling sound. I look up and see the ceiling above me beginning to crack. A large chunk of it came loose, and started to break off. I didn't know why, but I couldn't move away from where I was standing. I was in shock, and everything was happening too fast. I didn't have time to move before the large portion of the ceiling was hurtling down towards me.