The Substitutes: Contract

Web of Doubt

And so life went on, albeit mildly enhanced by the rumour mill spinning wildly over the mysterious black stain that had appeared around the rear of the school at the same time the hordes evacuated the skies. However, with no other evidence than a vague correlation that was quickly swept under the rug by the facility the student body could only speculate at what the hooded figure briefly glimpsed on the school's cameras had done after he'd taken a shortcut across the grounds and dived into the woods. Strangely enough, Kyu was nowhere to be seen in the few blurry pictures being passed around from phone to phone, but as Sam's face was equally obscured he couldn't find it within himself to be concerned. Not that he would have been recognised even if it had been a pixel-perfect head shot of him, as only his form teacher addressed his absence with a cheerful welcome and then it was right back to being a ghost at the back of the classroom.

For once however, social isolation was a blessing in disguise, as anyone who cared enough to notice his time off coinciding with the end of the swarms might have pointed out that he had no previous insect allergies to speak of yet had suffered an anaphylactic shock from being stung by, to any outsider's view, a regular insect. That, and he had worn the same black branded hoodie the pictured figure was donning just two months ago on a school trip into London.

"Oi, Sam."

Overthinking for the sake of others was going to be the death of him, as his worries had pulled Chris Masters into his personal space. Between the two, Chris was closer to the label of man, a head taller than Sam and twice as bulky from his time on the rugby team. He held his phone out with causal ease, thrusting the hooded stranger at the unhooded classmate slowly paling in surprise.

"I don't suppose you have any idea who this is, do you? I want to meet this glorious man and shake his hand."

"C-C-Can't say that I do. I've been kind of out of the loop thanks to getting bitten and all. Why the interest?"

Chris looked like a child deprived of the only toy they wanted for Christmas, scratching at his dark curls in frustration.

"Aw man, that sucks. Both that you don't know anything and that you got sick and all. Cause I got a theory. You know how we've had all these huge swarms recently?"

"It's been a little hard to miss them." Sam said as sarcastically as he dared. No need to earn the ire of the class by insulting one of the well-liked members, even if he had just forgotten about his injury via the subject they were discussing. He wondered if it was worth bothering holding back, as it flew over Chris' head without comment.

"See, I usually come into school via the back way, which I haven't been able to do for the last week cause it's a 'safety hazard' or some other crap. But as it's all cleared up now, I was able to take my usual route past the woods out back. And as I was walking past, I happened to see some guys in those bright jackets throwing a ton of burnt wood into the back of a truck. As I was about to move on, two of them come out holding onto this stinking lump of mush, and I swear on me mum's life that it was dropping crispy bugs as they went, big as my hand. So, here's what I think; this guy- "

He tapped the back of phone Sam's hooded head.

"He's gone and saved us from some kind of super bugs that were trying to take over. Maybe like a government experiment or something!"

If Sam had assumed himself pale before, he must have been see-through as Chris finished his theory. It wasn't a bullseye shot but it had come close enough, and the last thing he wanted was anyone else butting into his alien hunting business. Thankfully, the stunned silence left as he tried to come up with an alternative explanation was broken before it could drag out into awkwardness as the class burst out into laughter. The unsettling feeling of being mocked sent a rush of colour back into his cheeks right up until another boy came along and clapped a hand on Chris' shoulder.