He was looking forward to telling his mom and Robbie. They had known for a while that Danni hadn’t been the most conscious of mind, and now with two NaUs, there would be double the damage, if not more.
And besides, Matt didn’t like the way he had left things with the two of them. Last time they had all been together, Matt hadn’t exactly been very happy and forgiving of what Becca did.
Time had cooled his anger, and he wanted to be a part of the family again.
But when he got home that night, it was to an empty house.
He couldn’t feel them anywhere, and when he opened the door, he wasn’t sure what he would find. Why would they leave? Had something happened? Had the police caught on to what happened to Nigel, and they had to leave in a hurry. If that was the case, then why didn’t they call him? Why not let him in on the plan. They were supposed to be a team. There was a cure on the way, and all of them were trying to figure out a way to rid themselves of these curses, or at least the bad parts. Matt didn’t like dying, but he really liked not having to sit in a chair all the time and to finally be able to do stuff by himself, without having to rely on other people.
The only sign of them in the house was a letter on the dining room table. It was addressed to him.
I’m sorry, Matt, it started, all of it in his mother’s clear as day handwriting.
Robbie and I have decided it would be best if we left for the time being. I wish I could tell you more, or where we are going. But we don’t trust you anymore.
Rebecca is your sister, and I’m sorry, but I have to choose one child over the other. There is no cure. The relocating, as Robbie calls it, is only temporary. Even as I write this, the tumors that plagued my head are starting to reappear. If I allow the NaU to run through my veins again, it will only speed up the process.
You were and are nothing like your father, and so I hope that you don’t try to find us. There is no cure. I’m sorry that all of this happened to you, and that I couldn’t give you a better life.
Love, Mom
Matt had read the letter a few times over, each time disbelieving it only the more.
They had left him, but that wasn’t what hurt him most.
Instead, it was the empty house, the tone his mother had used throughout the letter—the entire atmosphere.
They were afraid of him, afraid of what he might do. The people that were supposed to love him unconditionally, his mother, Robbie, and even Becca, were afraid of him. He thought about doing nothing, but he couldn’t. His family had abandoned him, and why would they do that? Why would they do all of that?
Becca.
All of the pieces clicked together in his mind right then and there. He was so angry that he almost ripped that house to shreds.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he levitated to the door and out into the open air. There was snow falling, and perhaps a blizzard on the horizon. He looked forward to the cold darkness. If they were going to make him the bad guy, then he might as well be what they thought he was. There wasn’t a chance in hell that he was going to lay down and die for them, that he would go away and be quiet so as to not disturb them. They had started something. Robbie had started something, had dragged them all into eternal domination, and now he wanted to claim that he was the victim, that Becca was the hero?
Matt had called his friends then, and they came up with a plan. They broke Kent out of the Argyle Research Laboratory. By then, the boy was without arms and legs, but Matt carried him. Besides, they would need him if they wanted to find the McCarthys.
But that was a few days ago.
In the present, Matt levitated out into the open field next to the rest stop.
The snow fell all around him, and he felt the flakes around him, all of their originalities and beauty.
Rage, hot and more powerful than any NaU, raced through his veins. He felt it coming then. His veins turned blue as his mother’s NaU coursed through him.
He exhaled.
A bright light shot out into the sky, burning and melting the snowflakes it came across. The light was like a beacon in the darkness, turning all of the other snowflakes blue. The sky above them cleared, but only slightly.
He kept the blast up for as long as he could until it was gone, and he was screaming. He fell to the snow on the ground below him and felt all of it. He felt everything. But all he wanted to feel was why this had happened to him? Why could nothing turn out right?
He felt a few tears start to run down his cheeks, and he welcomed them.
I’m sorry, Matt, the letter had said.
Well, I’m sorry too, he thought, feeling all of the snowflakes around him fall in their intrigue ways.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough.”
Chapter Nine
Jolie was next to Carol when the NaU was released. This doesn’t seem to have affected her NaU, though. Her powers are strong, but all of them are powerful in their own right. I have wondered what the girl told Carol that night. My wife says she gained full access to her memory, but whenever I try to bring it up, Carol only shakes her head and walks into another room. Does it have something to do with the fact that there is no cure? The relocating was only a temporary measure.
What would make my wife cry?
-Robbie’s Journal
Jolie watched Matt
