His eyes didn't seem to relax, which also kept me from relaxing. Instinctively, I went into alert mode, ready to run as fast as I could back to the kitchen where I hoped Nanny could help me if needed.
-Oh, what's wrong with you? - she said mockingly. - We just wanted to talk to you, and you're already ready to run away? Such a toxic attitude, you won't make many friends like that. -
She was definitely annoying, and seeing that I was bothered, she just smiled, knowing her provocations were working.
- Hey, - Sleepy said, - Nanny told you not to keep bothering the newbies. -
- Bother? Me? - she said, pretending to be indignant. - I was just trying to talk to our new friend and tell him a few things he might want to know. -
At this last part, Sleepy's eyes widened. He seemed like he wanted to say something but was struggling with the words.
- You're late; we almost finished the tour, - I said, still tense. - Who are you? -
According to house rules, they must tell me their names and powers if I ask who they are. I thought maybe if I knew their powers, I could decide better how to deal with them.
- Well, you can speak English after all. I thought maybe you were mute, - she said smiling. - My name is Eye, and my power is the same sense; basically, it works like this -
Saying that, everything went dark, darker than a normal night, truly nothing could be seen, not even a shadow. I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or closed, and though I tried to speak, no sound came out, nor could I breathe apparently. After about five seconds, everything returned to normal.
- What did you think? - she said with a huge satisfied smile.
- What the hell…? - I asked as air returned to me.
- My name is Strong, - the intimidating guy interrupted. - My power is unstoppable strength. Better keep your distance if you don't want to get hurt. -
His tone was irritated.
- My name is…- I started to say, but she interrupted.
- We know; you're the newbie, toxiloco, the toxic-ex, the poisonous boy. We know more about you than you think, actually, things you don't even know yourself. -
They gave me a bad vibe—their powers showed we probably weren't on the same level, and their knowledge about my powers only told me that if they wanted trouble with me, it's because they thought they could win.
While I thought this, a loud voice echoed through the room.
- I think that's enough, Eye. - A man entered the room; with him was the guy who looked like a vagabond and two other boys I hadn't seen before. - If you're done teasing my patient, he and I have some matters to attend to. -
The man appeared older; his hair was white, but he had no mustache or beard. His eyes were sharp blue, and the way he walked and spoke with authority showed he was used to being in charge. He wore a black suit with a white coat over it.
- Of course, Doctor, - Eye said, for the first time removing that mocking smile and showing respect.
- Sorry, Doctor, - Sleepy said. - I couldn't do anything. -
- It's okay, kid, I don't blame you, but the tour ends here, - his voice was rough from age. - Alright Rookie, follow me and better remember the way I'm going to show you because I'm not going to stop a lot. -
- One thing before you go, - Eye said almost shouting as we walked away. - Why don't you ask what CP means? -
I stopped seeing them as we turned down the hallway. I think it might be better that way.
I tried to pay as much attention as possible to the path and also tried to see if I could spot any other CP in the house as we walked, but I didn't find many. The house was really big and could be confusing, but it wasn't very different from a school, so the route wasn't too complicated if you focused.
We reached a room with a dark blue door, down a hallway far from the main corridors. At some point, the wall colors changed from warm tones to a bluer shade. Given the space we had traveled, I thought we might no longer be in the same building.
Throughout the journey, I thought to talk to the Doctor, but he didn't seem interested in talking or at least didn't try, so I decided maybe it was best to say nothing.
Finally, he stopped in front of a door that looked metallic. He took a card from his pocket, swiped it on the door reader, and it opened. The Doctor entered and turned on the light before inviting me in with his authoritative voice.
- Go ahead, - he said calmly. -Come in, but don't touch anything yet. -
I did as he said. Inside, it looked like a medical office or something similar, which I expected from someone called "the Doctor." There were several cabinets, a desk, some chairs, a stool, white machines ready to be used, and a cushioned examination table like those in medical offices.
- Alright - he said.
He finally looked me in the eyes. As expected, those sharp eyes were examining me completely. I didn't feel comfortable. Before, the Colonel had looked at me with cautious eyes, like someone facing a potentially aggressive person, but the Doctor's eyes seemed different. He looked like he was trying to decipher what was on my mind, trying to analyze my next move. Those were the eyes of someone facing a problem close to being solved.
- My name is confidential, not because I shouldn't say it, but because I'm not interested in telling you, - he said, speaking not to me but like a memorized monologue. - You can call me Doctor. Normally, I'll come 2 or 3 times a week to check your progress and help as much as possible. If something happens that requires my services, you can talk to Nanny, and she can call me. -
He stopped looking at me as he spoke, took a computer from one of the drawers, turned it on, placed it on the desk, and started typing. Then he looked at me again.
- Could you tell me how you feel right now? -
I hesitated to tell the truth—I really didn't feel well. That night I hadn't slept at all; I still felt tired, the burning on my body only got worse, and I had started itching, which only made the burning worse if I scratched. My eyes burned for a while, but because of the helmet, I couldn't rub them, and my body felt really weak. All this had been troubling me for a while, but I hadn't wanted to say anything because the last thing I wanted was for others to think I was weak from day one.
- Go ahead, you don't have to hide your ailments. I'm really a doctor, - he said, still looking at me. - Everything you say won't leave this room, and to avoid curious ears, nothing said here can be heard outside, so don't be afraid. -
I hesitated again but finally decided to tell him what was happening.
- My skin has been burning for several days, and I feel very sick, - I said slowly. - Last night I couldn't sleep at all. -
As I spoke, he wrote at amazing speed on the computer without taking his eyes off me.
- Just as I expected, - he said calmly. - Would you do me a favor and take off the suit? Don't worry; I have another one here. -
Once again, I wasn't sure if taking off the suit was the right idea since I was completely naked underneath. But it seemed I had no choice. I knew it would hurt, so I clenched my teeth, ready to feel that horrible sensation of skin peeling off my body.
But to my surprise, the suit didn't cause that reaction. Instead, it slid off easily. The air on my skin felt cold here and relatively good. The Doctor approached, took a sample of the suit and one from my body with a gun-like machine, and stored them in a case. Then he looked me in the eyes and said,
- I'll analyze these samples, and in a few days, I should have a better suit for you, one that fits your needs better. - He said this looking me up and down. - I suppose your throat and eyes burn or at least hurt, right? -
- Yes, they do burn, - I was surprised he said that without me mentioning it.
- Tell me, have you ever eaten a cherry lollipop? -
- Yes, I've had some. -
- Very well, - he said, throwing me a lollipop he took from a container in a cupboard. - Eat it. -
His expression told me he was serious, so I unwrapped the lollipop and ate it. It didn't taste like a normal lollipop; it actually tasted more like cherry-flavored medicine.
- This isn't a cherry lollipop, right? - I said pulling it out of my mouth.
He nodded and wrote something else on the computer. Then he threw me a suit identical to the one I wore. He wasn't lying about having one here, although I couldn't see where he took it from. I put it on quickly.
- Very well, - he said as I put on the suit again. - This is the hardest part of my job. Please, have a seat. -
I sat down, not really understanding what he meant and thinking the worst.
- What's wrong, Doctor? What do I have? -
- It's part of your power, - he said seriously but without changing much the tone he had used so far. - Your power is a toxin that spreads to everything you touch and seems very lethal. But it seems this toxin is so strong that even your own body isn't immune to it. -
- Are you saying I'm going to die? - I said, scared.
That had to be a joke. Not only is it a useless power, but it's killing me. They might as well shoot me now.
- No, that's not it, - he said dismissing my words as nothing. - If you let me finish before interrupting, that'd be better. –
-Your body isn't immune, but if it could kill you, you'd already be showing more obvious symptoms, symptoms more like what your poison can produce. Your body is weak to certain parts of the toxin that seem to activate only after prolonged exposure and don't appear truly lethal. -
I let out a slight sigh; I was relieved to know I wasn't dying.
- But the quantity is the problem. Your skin is secreting that toxin all the time. So far, the effects seem to be that every surface it touches suffers constant damage. Since you don't have vision problems, it seems it can't penetrate very deeply, and you also don't have stomach issues, so I assume you're better adapted internally. - He spoke very fast, so I barely understood. - Your taste problem is due to the same toxin, which must be altering the taste of your saliva and thus everything you eat. I can't guarantee to solve your problem completely, but I'll try to help you suffer less pain. -
- So, I'm going to be okay? - I said, still doubtful.
- In summary, you'll be better than in the last few days, - he said, a bit annoyed.
He went to a cupboard and started looking for something. After a while, he took out a box of pills and gave me one in the glove of the suit. He also gave me a bottle of water.
- Take this pill. Don't worry about the dose since it's not permanent, but after a while, you should feel better. -
He had already stopped looking at me and was putting things away in his case. He really seemed like he didn't want to stay long—not that he was in a hurry, but rather like he preferred to be somewhere else, something I understood perfectly.
- Doctor… - I said, thinking of asking him a question.
- I can't answer that; it's classified, and you should have been told already, - he said, anticipating my question about what that girl had said.
- Why is it so classified that they don't want to mention it? - I said, changing my question. - Are you really just a simple doctor? -
He sighed with some resignation, stopped packing, and put his hands on the desk.
- You don't know this house completely yet, but there are many reasons for those initials to be kept secret, - he said without looking off the desk. - I won't answer more than that. As for me, I can assure you I'm the most qualified doctor here and the only one experienced enough to deal with the CP. -
- That can't be everything about you, or can it? Why then do the others listen to you? -
- Because they know very well it's thanks to me that they're still alive, - he said, now much angrier as if insulted by my question. - Believe me, if it were up to me, there's no point in keeping the CP alive, but the director has other ideas, and I just cooperate for reasons I'm not willing to discuss with a kid who just realized he knows absolutely nothing about what he thought he knew. -
He slammed the case shut after finishing his sentence, and the aggression in his tone scared me, like when a teacher scolds you for the first time, and his eyes looked at me with an anger I didn't expect a doctor to direct at his patient.
After this, he finished packing, left the room, and I followed him. The door closed behind us. He continued down the halls without speaking to me, and once we returned to a place I recognized, I stopped following.
She had set a trap for me, I thought to myself.
That was all I could think; that bitch knew those questions would annoy the doctor and put them in my head to get me into trouble. I shouldn't have listened to her.
Despite everything, I couldn't stop thinking they were hiding something from me, and it wasn't hard to notice. For example, they didn't show me the gym because someone was using it? More likely, it's because whoever was using it wasn't the type of person they wanted me to meet.
Actually, after walking around the mansion, I hadn't found many people, and the few I encountered weren't very friendly. The boy having breakfast, whose name I couldn't remember, got mad at me, and the other two threatened me and set a trap. Basically, the only two people relatively kind to me were Sleepy, who gave me the tour, Nanny, who I already knew, and the guy who sleeps in the armchair, who I honestly doubt is even a CP.
I decided to go back to my room and only go out when it was time to eat or dinner. Or at least that was the plan. But when I got to my room, the last person I wanted to see was waiting outside.
- Tell me, - she said with THAT smile on her face. - What did the doctor say? -
I really hated seeing her there, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it.
- What makes you think I asked him? - I said irritably.
- I saw the doctor leave, so I noticed he was upset, - she squinted one eye while leaning on the opposite wall of my room. - What did you tell him? -
- Very funny, - I said tiredly. - Did you enjoy imagining how he scolded me? -
- Yes, - she said with that smile I was tired of seeing, - but tell me, do you want to know what those initials mean? -
- Actually, I don't want more trouble, - I said as calmly as I could despite my anger. - I just want to go into my room and stay there. -
Whatever she was planning with me couldn't be anything but another joke where I'd end up the victim. I didn't want her to drag me into something again where she'd just laugh at me. Besides, there's no way Eye knows that kind of stuff anyway.
No one had really bothered me before. Maybe at school they treated me like less, but it never went beyond that, so I really didn't know how to handle a situation like this. Should I ignore her until she gets bored and leaves? Or confront her so she sees I won't be pushed around? Or maybe accuse her so some authority deals with it? I didn't know what to do.
- Relax, newbie, this time I just want to talk. -
Her expression said maybe she was serious, but maybe she was just good at pretending.
- Do you want me to tell you or not? - she said as she slowly walked away. - Because if you don't, I can just leave. -
I really would like to know what those initials mean, but there's no way she knows, right? Anyway, what could go wrong with a simple chat? Worst case, it's just a stupid joke.
-Alright, - I finally said. - Tell me what CP means, if you really know. -
I said the last part trying to sound indifferent.
- Oh, is that a challenge? Fine, I'll tell you, but first I'm going to show you something so you can understand it better. -
So that was it—I definitely wasn't going anywhere with her.
- Sorry, but I'll pass, - I said as calmly as I could.
- What's wrong? Are you scared of the truth? -
I stayed silent for a moment thinking how to respond, and then I couldn't think of a way to get out of it. If I backed out, she'd probably get mad and I'd fall into her game. I had to find an excuse.
- It's just that the doctor told me to rest as much as I could, so I was planning to sleep a bit. - I wasn't completely lying; I still felt exhausted.
She laughed sarcastically and then said,
- You couldn't have told a worse lie, - she said. - So, you really are scared. Don't worry, this isn't a joke or a trap; it's the simple truth. -
- Then tell me where you're planning to take me, and I'll decide if I want to come. -
- It's a room on the second floor. I hope you don't mind that. -
- I thought I wasn't allowed upstairs yet. -
- You're not, that's why we have to be quick. - Saying this, she gave me a conspiratorial look.