Mrs. Smith opened her mouth in total bewilderment, she turned back toward Rachael and her husband.
"Did you hear that?" she asked, her question diverting toward the two. "I've never heard my son sneeze like that before, or have you?"
"I don't understand what you're saying, darling," Mr. Smith said. "Are sneezes labeled or what?"
"You can't even recognize your own son's sneeze, can you?" Mrs. Smith rolled her eyes and hissed. "Can you honestly call yourself a good father?"
"Let's forget about sneezing, it's hard for me to recognize your own problems," Mr. Smith replied. "So, how do you expect me to..."
"Oh! I get it now," Mrs. Smith cut in.
"Get what?" Rachael asked.
Mrs. Smith stood up, her finger pointing accusingly at Stefan. "It's him," she said. "He doesn't smell like my son."
Fear sent Stefan's pulse racing, and he couldn't control himself from sneezing again. The sound sent shivers down Rachael's spine, making her entrails crawl.
Mrs. Smith stared at Stefan again for a moment. Then, she turned to Rachael. "Did he use his friend's perfume?" she inquired.
"Pro...pro...probably!" Rachael stuttered, her legs struggling to keep her standing. She stole several nervous glances at her mother, wondering what the suspicious woman was thinking.
Moreover, Mrs. Smith's curiosity had reached a boiling point, and she could no longer resist the urge to feed it. She stretched her hand forward, her fingers grasping for the edge of the blanket that covered Stefan.
And just as she was about to pull it back, her husband intervened. He strode toward her, his arm wrapping around her waist, gently but firmly guiding her away from the bed.
"Let's leave him be, dear," he said, his voice low and soothing. "He needs his rest."
Mrs. Smith hesitated, her eyes fixed on Stefan's back, but eventually, she relented, allowing her husband to lead her out of the room.
As they disappeared into the corridor and their receding footsteps grew fainter with each passing moment, Rachael let out a deep sigh of relief, her shoulders easing as the tension in the room began to dissipate.
She advanced toward the bed and sat beside Stefan. "Are you okay, Stefan?" she asked almost in a whisper. "You almost sent us to our creator a few minutes ago."
But instead of a response, Stefan's relentless snores filled the room, the croaking sound overwhelming the atmosphere that had pervaded the space just moments before.
"Dammit!"
*****
Christina finally got home and went in, trying as much as possible to get into her room without being detected.
However, as she was about to climb up the stairs, a familiar voice veered toward her. "Where are you coming from at this time, Christina?"
She swiveled to locate where the voice came from, and then she saw her father sitting at the dining table. The light in the room flicked on, illuminating the room and revealing Christina and her father's faces.
"Um…my friend's place, of course; I branched there after school," Christina replied.
"Did you say school?" Dr. Idris quizzed. He removed his eyeglasses, placed them on the table, and folded his arms. "According to what I heard from your teacher when I called, you haven't stepped into the school gate for the past two days."
"What!?" Emily, Christina's stepmother, exclaimed. She was just coming from upstairs and happened to stumble upon their conversation.
"I intentionally asked my driver to take you to school this morning, but you sneaked out, didn't you?" Dr. Idris continued. "I'll go straight to the point now. On whose order and help did you sneak into my lab this morning and rescue the alien?"
"What are you talking about darling?" Emily asked, struggling in the dark to understand what was going on. "What alien?"
"The CCTV cameras were tampered so we're unable to see how you guys get into the facility," Dr. Idris said, ignoring his wife. "However, I saw you guys coming back to get your uniforms in the garage."
Christina shrugged and said nothing, her face downcast.
"Did the boy's friend and sister put you up for this?" Dr. Idris asked.
"Don't drag them into it! They have nothing to do with it!" Christina shouted. "The alien you captured also has a daughter like me waiting for him on his planet. And all you could think of is your ridiculous experiment."
She raised her head and glared at her father, whose frustration was clearly visible in his countenance.
"I rescued him because he's the only one that could protect my friend," she added.
"You mean your bat boyfriend?" Dr. Idris inferrably said.
"Whatever! You knew that and yet you shot him! You almost killed someone, and for what!?"
"I did that to save you!"
"You didn't save me!" Christina retorted. "In fact, you almost got me killed with your reckless…"
"You're talking to your father, Christina! Show some respect!" Emily cut in, decreasing the tension for a moment.
However, Christina began, ignoring her. "Djuma, who you captured, was the one who saved my life. Did you forget? Shooting my friend was a huge mistake you shouldn't have made, it almost cost me my life!"
"What are you guys talking about for fuck' sake!" Emily shouted in exasperation, but no one cared. It was as though she was invisible.
"Do you remember what the Anthropter holding me hostage did when he saw Mike falling?" Christina asked her father.
"He fucking dropped me to save Mike! I would've been dead if not for Djuma, and you say what? You did it to save me?" She took a step up the staircase and leaned forward over the railing. "Do you think I would've been spared had Mike died from that gunshot?"
Dr. Idris' eyes widened in disbelief. "He's alive?" he inquired, also leaning forward.
"I can't believe you asked that question!" Christina snapped. "You really expected him to die? So that gunshot was a shot to kill?"
"None of that would've happened had you not involved yourself with those kids in the first place!" Dr. Idris retorted. "You wouldn't have witnessed something like that had you not gotten entangled in those weird kids' affairs!"
"Says someone who tried to hold him hostage when he was still struggling with his sight!" Christina said.
"I should've taken more action then, and all of this wouldn't be happening," Dr. Idris said, his voice low and introspective.
"Stay away from my friends now that I'm asking you," Christina shouted. "If you don't want to risk losing your only child!" She shot him one last gawk before hurrying upstairs.
Dr. Idris sat frozen, lost in thought as he contemplated the drastic changes that had taken place in Christina over the past few days.
Her newfound friendships had seemingly empowered her, granting her the courage to stand up to her parents in a way that was both astonishing and unsettling.
The realization sent a shiver down his spine as he struggled to come to terms with the fact that his daughter was no longer the timid, obedient child he once knew.
"What's all this about, darling?" Emily's voice shattered the silence, pulling him out of his introspection.
Dr. Idris raised his head to meet her questioning gaze. For a moment, he hesitated, unsure of how to respond.
"Why am I the only one in the dark?" Emily insisted. "Won't you fill me in on the situation?"
Dr. Idris let out a shallow sigh and rose to his feet. "It's not something you can understand, Emily," he replied. "Trust me, you wouldn't want to hear something you'd be skeptical about."
As he spoke, his hand slipped into his pocket, his fingers closing around his ringing phone. He hesitated for a moment, debating whether to answer the call or ignore it.
The ringing grew more insistent, and finally, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and glanced at it. When he saw the caller's ID, his expression changed, and he quickly picked up the call, raising the phone to his ear.
He listened for a moment before replying to the caller. "It was my mistake, sir. I grossly underestimated the alien," he said. "He's capable of much more than I imagined, but rest assured, sir, we'll get our hands on something bigger very soon."
He waited for the person on the other end of the line to finish speaking before he continued. "Absolutely, sir, trust me as you've always been doing, I'll never disappoint you. And something like today would never repeat itself again."
The conversation continued for a few more minutes, with Dr. Idris listening intently to the caller.
"I'll see you at my office tonight. We got some DNA and blood samples of the alien, so our experiments are still going on," he said, now relaxed, before ending the call with a final tap on the screen.
Dr. Idris turned to his wife, who was staring dagger at him. "This is about work, knowing about it would do you no good," he said to her. "The way you can help both of us is to bury your curiosity. Please. Okay?"
"Suit yourself!" Emily blurted, before stomping upstairs.
Dr. Idris let out a deep sigh. He knew that he had to keep his work a secret, not just from his wife, but from the rest of the world.
He grabbed his suit hanging on the chair next to him and he left the house, making his way to his office.