Watchers in the Woods

Chapter 7: The truth

wait what?

I just stood there like a dumb dog.

You know how you picture when the prodigal son( or in this case, father) returns, they sweep each other in a never ending hug, smiling and tears of joy ripping down their faces? Yea, this was not that.

Sean's face of shock, dissolved into furrowed brows and pursed lips.

"where were you..."

Sean spoke in a tone I have never heard before. It was harsh and cold, a different side of him that I have never seen before, even after the occurrence of this epidemic.

"Son I-"

"Forget the apologies or what not John, just tell us where'd you get this map from" I could sense the thick intense tension in the air. I knew much better than to interrupt this father son thing that was happening, so i just stepped aside and let Sean deal with this.

"your father and I" ,he started off as he glanced at me, " we were this close to finally formulating the perfect formula"

Why couldn't our dads just be normal dads and do normal dad stuffs and not be mad scientists trying to save the world but ends up speeding the apocalypse?

I sighed, aloud. oops

" One day, your dad accidentally mistook chemical X for the formula" He continued coarsely with coughs in between.

"chemical X?" Sean blurted out, still with that stern look in his face as if he was talking to a criminal rather than his dad.

"It's a concentrated DNA sample that was collated from all sorts of animals that we had experimented on previously. Hawks, Chameleons, Cheetahs, Parrots, Lions, Ants..."

He went on to list out quite a lot of animals.

" So what happened to these animals?" I found myself being brave enough to intrude to ask a question.

" They're dead"

why am i not surprised...

I just stood there staring at nothing. His response was expected but what shocked me was how remorseful he sounded, as if those animals were not meant to die.

"So what happened to the chemical X that Richard mistook?" Sean asked to break off the silence from my inability to respond.

"We were in the midst of a trial experiment with Alpha" He looked directly at me when he said "Alpha".

oh no, what'd he do to him!

"Richard got hold of chemical X and injected it in to alpha..."

My ears perked and I stood straighter.

"He went nuts!"

and it's your fault asshole I thought silently as I shot him a dirty glare.

"what happened then?" Sean asked as he looked at me with those tender blue eyes as if saying "calm down", well, that did the trick.

"First few days, he was normal. Then he started to shed his black fur and white fur replaced almost immediately. He started showing signs of ageing and a day after that, he started growling and barking and everyone."

Sean and I exchanged worried looks almost immediately. Alpha may be aggressive, but he was only aggressive when he senses someone, or something provocative.

"your dad tried going near him to coax him, but that thing almost ripped his hand off?"

What? No, Alpha would NEVER do that. Especially not to my dad...

We realised after Alpha started acting strange, that the other subjects started acting weird too.

He was eyeing the journal that was still in my hands when he said, " that book contains the unique traits of each subject WHEN we had them in our control"

"oh right, now they're out there and we don't know how many there are and what they might be capable of now. Thanks to you and my dad." I braved myself to say that last sentence.

Initially his eyes hardened, they were looming with anger as if wanting to rebut, then it dissolved into softness and weakness. "I'm sorry... Really and i would do anything to help solve this. ANYTHING AT ALL" he screamed in desperation.

"Give us a moment" Sean's low husky voice commanded.

Sean put a hand at the small of my back and led me to a corner of the room.

"I don't trust him"

"wha-"

"Look Rach, he's a compulsive liar. Always have and always will be. That man is nothing but a liar."

"He's your dad Sean" I cupped his face making him look straight at me as I try to put a little sense into him.

He pushed my hands away and turned his back towards me. His back was hunched to the height where I know he's in a real dilemma and he's freaking out and does not know what to do. yes i know him THAT well.

I went over and casually rubbed his back up and down to comfort him. He tensed a little but reaxed afterwards. "Look Sean, yes, he may not have won the best dad award, but he IS your dad and right now, he's the only other person who knows about the reverse formula and we may need his help more than u can think"

He furrowed his brows even more which made him look sexy and manly and then he stood straight and puffed his chest a little. He had a built of a body builder. Even though he has not been working out in the gym for a couple of years now, they were all destroyed, he was still buff... and hot.

He began to ease and gave me a reassuring nod.

"After we make him help us, and after we clean up this mess he made, i'm gonna make that asshole pay for what he did." He said that in a really deep assertive voice and with a rasp that could literally make any girl fall for him with just the opening of his mouth.

I laughed and then I did something I have not done in a long time, I smiled.

"atta girl!"

He half laughed, half smiled.

"you should do smile more often, you look sexier when you smile" he woos with a wink.

" What a slut. Sorry Sean it doesn't sound sexy when it comes from you " I said with a voice that meant the total opposite. I was feeling all gooey and soft on the inside. Oh god, what has this boy got me into. I thought as iImentally rolled my eyes.

He pouted for a moment and I shrugged him aside. Damn he looked so cute when he did that.

We were having a moment when we realised that we were not the only ones in the room.

"Are you two like a thing or a coupl-"

"NO" we both answered in unison. I flushed immediately, so did sean...I think.

"so what will it be son?"

"Here's what we're gonna do John. You tell us everything you know about the lab and how to break inside to get the reverse formula BUT, if u dare double cross us or try to get the formula yourself, i will rip you into pieces and feed them to the wolves you hear me?"

That was one thing about him that turned me on the most. His voice and confidence. He could say everything and anything at the right time and at the right tone. Soft and sweet then hard and assertive to playful and cocky.

"yea okay" i could hear the shiver in the man's voice.

"okay, we need a plan" I finally said. "A really good one"