The Mutatio Disease

Sector Three

- - - - Sector Three - - - -
- - - - Part One - - - -
Nothing Makes Sense at This Point

"You're wrong," I said flatly. "I'm rational, I don't have powers, and I'm not unstoppable. Nice try."

The boy sighed and tried to pry my hands off of him. "Could you let me go? I'm sorry for attacking you, but I'm fine. You woke me up."

"Woke you up?" I shot a glance at Lyra, debating whether or not to let him go. She was eyeing him.

"Yeah," he mumbled, suddenly subdued. "When I touched you and the rash didn't show up, it startled me so bad that it broke the haze. I've been stuck in it since I got infected."

For some reason I didn't know, that convinced me. I let him go, stepping between him and Lyra just in case.

"What are you doing here?" He asked us curiously, rubbing his head where the gun had been. "No one's been here for months. At least, as far as I can tell. My memories are kinda fuzzy."

"We're looting," Lyra spoke.

"Oh." The boy glanced at me. "You're going to want some gloves. Your touch will infect any human instantly."

I scowled, "I already figured that out. But I'm not a Mortem."

He shook his head at me, "Only Mortems or infected people can infect another. And you've survived the virus, so that leaves one option."

"Kid, I'm not repeating myself."

He shrugged with a roll of his eyes. "Meh, you'll figure it out later. You guys know any place I could go? I can't really hang around people, but I don't wanna be alone."

I looked at Lyra, who was still studying the boy. "We don't know," she finally said. "You're on your own."

"Whatever." He looked around. "I guess I better see if there are any other Mortems around. Maybe I can wake 'em up or somethin'." He waved at me, about to leave, but I stopped him.

"What's your name, kid?"

He paused, giving me a wary glance before speaking. "Logan Huff."

I nodded. "'Kay."

Without another second, the boy vanished into a puff of smoke. Lyra stared at the spot where'd he'd disappeared for a second. "So it's true. You can wake up Mortems and make them rational. I can't believe it."

I glanced at her, slightly off-put. "What do you think about what he said? About me?"

Lyra glanced over and hesitated. "I don't know. You did touch him and not get infected, but you're rational. Wouldn't you have woken up, hazed, like he said? It doesn't add up."

I sighed.

"Nothing really makes sense at this point."

~

I studied the new gloves on my hands. They were a nice find, colored shining silver and went up to nearly my elbows. They fit my hands nicely, and I was happy that I found them. All of the other ones in the store had been heavy-duty, but these were perfect. A bit too flashy, but I'd take it. Now there was less of a chance that I'd infect Lyra. That was as much as I could ask for.

Lyra was driving this time, and we hadn't found much food. My stomach was rumbling, and I always seemed to be hungry after I got infected with the Mutatio Disease. "We should get there by mid-morning tomorrow," I told her, recognizing the lush tree landscape and the mountains.

She nodded, turning us on the winding road. I'd stolen her phone to read the news, and everything still amazed me.

"That Inferno guy showed up again," I said, noting the headlines. "The guy showed up and scared off some more Mortems from a camping site. There was at least two hundred people camped there and he managed to keep each one from getting infected."