This is impossible, it can't be, what kind of cruel joke is the universe playing on me, wishing for something my whole life only for it to become a curse for me and everyone else the moment I get it.
"You are no longer human" those words echoed in my head. What does that mean?
- What do you mean by that? - I said desperately as I got out of bed.
The sudden movement caused Commander Baxter to jump back as he drew his gun and pointed it at me.
- I need you to calm down right now - he said in a strong voice that left no room for interpretation. If I didn't listen to him, he was going to shoot me.
- Please, I need both of you to calm down - Nanny said in an authoritative tone.
I sat back down while the commander put his gun back in its holster.
-Thank you very much, - said Nanny cheerfully. - If you want proof, please look at the goldfish. –
I had been holding the fish the whole time without even thinking about it. I turned to look at it as she asked me to. It was dead. At some point during the conversation, the fish had died.
- What happened to the fish? - I asked, a little fear in my voice. Had I really done something to it?
- That's your power, lethal toxin, - she said. - Your body secretes a constant amount of toxin that makes anything you touch toxic, and whatever it touches will die in a matter of seconds or minutes. –
I stared at the fish body in disbelief. My power was a weapon; I had truly become a monster.
-How do I deactivate it? - I asked. I knew of hundreds of powers with similar abilities, but they never posed a problem because those who possessed them never used them.
- That's the point, - replied the commander this time. - You can't deactivate it, which is why we asked you not to move from the bed or touch the door. -
So it's true, I'm a monster and I can't control myself, my life is over.
-Heroes have another function that almost no one knows about, and that is to fight against any CP that may arise, in order to ensure the well-being of both humans and PPs. - Once again, she spoke up. - In the past, every CP that appeared had to be eliminated and every trace of them covered up so that no one would find out, but a few years ago, an idea arose, to create a place where CP could live, the House, which is where you will soon be going, but don't worry, I will go with you.
After saying that, they left, leaving me in that almost empty room, just me, the bed, and a dead fish in a fish tank.
The trip to the house was a very long one, lasting around four days. I rode in a kind of truck box that had a camera, a speaker, a bed, a trash bag, and a small toilet. Every so often, the commander would open the door and give me a disposable plate of food. Nanny didn't show up again during the entire trip, and I spent as much time as possible sleeping. I felt mentally exhausted, and the burning sensation on my skin only got worse little by little.
Finally, on the fourth day, the truck stopped as usual, but this time something was different. The commander spoke to me through the loudspeaker and said
-We're here, kid. - His usual commander's tone sounded as much like an order as it did a warning.
He opened the door for me, and with him was Nanny, still as beautiful as the last time, but now wearing a green shirt and a white skirt that reached her knees. In her hands she held a transparent bag with yellow clothes inside.
-How was your trip, sweetheart? I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable, - she said with his usual smile and sweet tone. Those words served to alleviate some of the heaviness of the trip and lift my spirits a little. -Before you get off, I'm going to need you to put on this suit and take off all the clothes you're wearing. -
She handed me the bag and then the commander closed the box. I changed as instructed. First, I took off my clothes, which was a painful experience. It felt like part of my skin had stuck to them and came off like a burn. I could feel the painful sensation as it slowly peeled off, burning even more than before. I wasn't exactly silent about it. I let out a groan as I finished taking off my clothes, although it took me quite a long time because of this.
Once naked, I looked at my body. The skin all over my body was red. It literally looked like I had been sunbathing for hours without any kind of sunscreen. It burned terribly, and the more I looked at it, the more pain I felt and the more I wanted to throw up, so I decided it was better to stop looking.
I opened the plastic bag and inside was a suit that looked like a disease containment suit, but it was covered on the inside with some kind of cream. I slowly put it on and a slight feeling of relief ran through my body as the cream spread over my newly exposed parts. I could still feel the burning and pain, but now I also felt a sensation of cold or coolness similar to when you eat a mint, but all over my body. There was also a helmet with a transparent visor that I didn't know if I was supposed to put on, but I did.
-I'm ready, - I shouted so they could hear me.
They opened the door for me, and finally, after four days, I got off the truck. In front of me was a night sky, a cool breeze, and a retaining wall 10 meters high and 3 meters thick with huge dark metal doors just as big.
-Welcome home, - she said with a smile on her face, showing me those huge walls as if they were a five-star hotel.
-This is... just as I expected it to be, - I said seriously, discouraged. Somewhere inside me, I really hoped it wouldn't be like this.
I already assumed that the place called "The House" wasn't going to be a house and that it would be like a prison, but this exceeds my expectations. Those doors told me that once I walked through them, I would never see the outside world again.
-Don't worry, this is just the exterior, - Nanny assured me with a smile on her face, as if she could read my thoughts.
The door seemed to have a small sliding door inside, which was the door Nanny opened and motioned for me to enter. Before crossing, I turned to look at Commander Baxter.
-Thank you for keeping me company, Commander Baxter. I hope we meet again, - I said, looking at him, not with gratitude but with a kind of fear, because once he was gone, it would mean that my fate was sealed.
-I hope that's not the case, - said the commander without even looking at me.
After these words, he turned around, walked around the truck, and climbed into the passenger seat. The driver was nowhere to be seen. The truck started up and drove away, leaving only two figures in the middle of the night.
-Come in, - said Nanny kindly.
She took my hand and led me inside through those heavy dark metal doors, but to my surprise, what was on the other side was not what I had imagined. What stood before me was a giant field showing me just how immense the wall surrounding this large courtyard really is, as big as a football stadium, with various trees, although none were even remotely as tall as the walls, and in the center was a building of at least three stories with two other buildings on either side.
The building did not look like a prison; it looked more like a school or hospital from the outside. The lights in many windows were on, but there were no bars or grilles to be seen. In fact, there were no guards or people in general to be found in the surrounding area. Despite this, a kind of watchtower could be seen protruding from the building.
My confused expression must have been obvious because after a short while she let out a brief laugh and said to me
- What's wrong, isn't it how you expected it to be? –
I wasn't sure how to respond. The truth is that, based on the description given earlier, this place seemed to me like some kind of maximum-security prison where the most dangerous monsters were kept.
-What you're seeing was once an orphanage where children with powers who lost their families during the wars were placed, - she said as we walked toward the building.
-But over time, the number of orphans decreased and the place became too big to afford to have so few children. Finally, they moved the orphanage to another smaller building and left this place abandoned, - she continued. -Now it's 'the house' where the rest of the CP live and where you will live from now on. -
We finally reached the doors of the building. Once again, it had huge doors like a church and a smaller door through which we entered. Most of the lights were off, so it was difficult to make out anything in particular.
-I apologize that there is no one here to welcome you, but I assure you that this is normal, as at night it is less likely that anyone will see the new residents entering the house. -
As she said this, she guided me through a living room, where I was very careful not to touch anything, and down a hallway to a room. She opened the room and motioned for me to enter.
-This will be your room, - she said as he turned on the light. -It's temporary, so don't get too comfortable. Your things may take a few days to arrive, but try to make yourself comfortable tonight and get as much sleep as possible. Tomorrow, we'll show you around the house. -
She said the last part as he made my bed. I took advantage of this time to look around the room. It really looked like a hotel room. There was a small dresser next to the bed with a lamp on it. There was also a desk across from the bed with another lamp, a wardrobe, a window, and an armchair.
-Before you go to sleep, do you need to use the bathroom? - It seemed she had finished making the bed for me to sleep in.
-No, I went in the truck shortly before we arrived, - I said simply. I was really tired.
-Perfect, - she said, smiling at me. -Just one last thing, for your own safety, don't leave this room until tomorrow morning. -