Of Monsters and Humanity: The Genesis

Chapter 36 - Terra

Thirty-two days before....

My grandpa knew that there was something wrong as soon as I walked in the door.

I tried to walk past him and pretend that I wasn't totally crushed, but he saw my puffy eyes and caught my arm.

"Abigail, what's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, putting his other hand under my chin. "You look like you've been crying up a storm."

Thanks, grandpa.

"I'm fine," I lied, wiggling out of his grip to adjust my hair and attempt to look better than I actually felt.

"I know you're not fine. Everyday after you come home from work you're either crying or screaming. I don't know if I want you going back there," he said sternly, blocking my way to my bedroom. His withered seafoam green eyes looked down at me worriedly.

"I really am fine," I lied again and tried to get past him but he put his arm up against the wall to prevent me from walking past him.

"Your grandma is sleeping right now," he answered in a hushed tone. "You can tell me anything. I know you tiptoe around details when you talk to her, but we're both really worried about you, Abbie. You never eat and you don't spend time with us anymore. We know you're busy with school and work, but you seem so emotionally drained that you fall asleep as soon as you see us."

I bit my lip. Yeah, he's right.

"So talk to me, Abbie," he urged, his hand falling from the wall and to his side.

"You know that I can't say a lot," I whispered almost too quiet for his old ears to pick up, but I was scared. Just the warning leaving my mouth felt dangerous enough.

"They can't have you working on completely classified stuff, can they?" he asked.

My grandparents were so oblivious to the entirety of my life. They never had to deal with medical school or classified government operations, and I was flung to the center of it. I couldn't tell him about Dr. Balcom or Project X or Xander or SWAT officers or any of that part of my life. I had to keep saying that I couldn't speak of any of the things that were tearing me apart.

"I can't tell you that, either," I sighed.

"Oh, Abbie, you can tell your old man anything," my grandpa disagreed, waving his wrinkled hand.

"I really can't," I whispered, then bit my lip, suppressing the tears that I felt growing in my eyes.

"Come on, let's go over to the couch," he said as he noticed my face. He guided me to the old beige sofa in the living room. I found a soft, dark blue blanket and wrapped it around myself, needing comfort and especially from something that couldn't talk.

"Now, why are you so upset today?" he asked, rubbing his greying moustache in thought. His blue eyes still held the worry.

At first, I was going to say that I really couldn't talk about it, but then I realized that I could. He knew of Damian, and he knew my entire backstory because he lived it with me. For once in the past few weeks of horror, I could finally tell one of my grandparents something about my life that bothered me outside of superhumans and Project X.

"You remember Damian, right?" I asked, getting more comfortable in my seat.

"You never let me meet the boy, but, yes. I think I remember your grandma mentioning him," he answered. "Wasn't he the one who took you to that dance or something?"

I would have normally laughed but that night started the Grand Prix of nightmares that never ended. "He took me to a gala for the...thing...that I'm working on right now," I said, tiptoeing around the words that I wanted to use.