Mutation

Chapter 23: Linus's Story

Linus

About 12 hours earlier...

"Linus! LINUS! Get in here, boy!" Dr. Evansby screamed from his office.

I darted into my boss's office as fast as I could, nearly knocking down everything in my path. It was bad enough that I sneaked away from the colony to his secret hideout for the hundredth time, almost blowing my cover. Now I was probably going to get yelled at again by the boss, Evansby. He hates not getting what he wants. And since he had more abilities than any mutant alive, his powers were frighteningly strong.

Every day, I contemplate if I'm really doing the right thing. That's really how it's been all my life. I've been to juvy twice because I beat up a kid and tried to steal some cigarettes at a gas station, which was a major downfall in my life. I don't mean to do bad things. I just do them. People have always expected me to be this perfect child, just like my sister Maxine. Sadly, that's not the case with me.

When the mutant outbreak happened, I was pretty disappointed that it didn't affect me like it did to other kids. My sister developed her mutation within the first week of it, and became a freaky genius that was considered illegal to be around. Even my friends at school became mutants. My mom said it was a blessing for me, because I had a greater chance of not being hunted down and killed. Maxine was forced to stay home so she wouldn't be found by the cops when they started rounding up the mutants.

Usually, I'd be the one trying to blend in with the crowd. I hated that I wasn't a mutant with special powers like everyone else, and I really hated the fact that I got teased for it. My breaking point came eventually, and I decided to run away. Maxine caught me while I was packing, before I left, and threatened to tell mom I was running away if I didn't let her tag along with me. I guess she was tired of hiding from the cops and wanted to escape. I didn't want to risk getting in trouble with the cops for smuggling a mutant with me, but I couldn't say no to my sister.

So that night, we set off. Together, we hitchhiked about 1,500 miles from our home in Oregon, and ended up somewhere in New York.

That's where we met Charles Evansby.

I've definitely benefited from meeting Evansby. One night while Maxine and I were still on the run in New York, it was my turn to keep watch of our shelter in the woods. I remember that night clearly. I was close to falling asleep when I heard a noise from the trees. My heart stopped at that moment, and I thought the cops had found us and Maxine and I were done for. We'd been through so much on our journey, and I thought it was over...

Then I heard a chuckle. It was as though it was funny that they almost gave me a heart attack by sneaking up on me at night in the woods. The footsteps started getting farther away, and something told me to follow it. No, literally. Someone actually whispered, "Follow me," in my head.

The voice stopped calling me when I reached a clearing. I looked around, but saw no one. At that moment, I thought I was just imagining things due to being in hiding with my sister so long. I saw things like that happen to people on those survival TV shows. Then, a faint poof came behind me.

"Hello," he said. I spun around and saw him. Dr. Evansby.

At the time, he looked like a homeless man. He was creepy, but he assured me that he wasn't going to hurt me. Yet, I was really freaked out because he was stated his name and the fact that he was an invincible super mutant to me telepathically. He was a mutant. And I remember I asked myself: What does he want with me? The NON-mutant?

"I've been following you and your sister along on your journey, Linus," Dr. Evansby said.

"Oh, um, really?" I tried to not sound as freaked out as I really was. He was following us? I just wondered how long, but I never asked him.

He chuckled again. Wow, he was happy for a homeless-looking guy. "Like I said, I'm a mutant, and I can read your thoughts. You want to be a mutant too. You're tired of being a nobody, which is something I struggled with before the outbreak. And Linus, I can help you with that. I have the ability to transform you into an extraordinary super mutant, like me. Together, we can rule the new society I've created."

He CREATED the world we live in? I thought. I couldn't help but be interested in his offer though.

I accepted his offer without any hesitation, and he invited me to hitchhike with him to his hideout in Canada. But I couldn't leave Maxine alone. So, Dr. Evansby suggested we leave a map he made for her to get somewhere safe. I didn't ask where that place was, because I trusted him. Even today, I'm still asking myself if I made the right choice.

It took about a week for Dr. Evansby to transform me into a mutant. He told me it usually was about a year long process, but he would manage to give me my powers in 7 days. The process was extremely painful. It was so bad, I was in a coma for a week until I finally woke up, and I was able to create illusions for my enemies. I was pleased with my results, and immediately felt more important as a person, and like I could do anything.

But I had to do something for Evansby. He didn't tell me he had a deal for me, which was pretty sneaky of him. I agreed to his deal, since I was so grateful that he gave me my powers. He told me I was to become his spy and go to the Mutant Colony, where apparently a lot more mutants live in one place. My assignment was to keep an eye on some mutants named Hazel and Leo. Of course I accepted, since I was kind of scared of him from then on when he threatened to kill me.

That's when I arrived at the colony and found Maxine, thankfully. I kept an eye on Hazel and Leo, as I was told, and managed to keep my cover for a few months. Evansby and I continued to communicate secretly through letters and telepathically. In one letter, he threatened to kill me if I didn't find a way to sabotage the colony. This caused more chaos than I expected.

At first, I didn't know that Evansby was that dark. He wanted to destroy Hazel and Leo so much, just because he was power hungry. I thought that was a bit selfish, but then again, I was selfish because of power too. My powers changed me and I became deadly. Innocent people have died because of me. What really struck me was how I caused Zoe Crista's death, by scaring her so much that she ended up overheating and burning herself alive.

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain coming from the inside of my brain, snapping me out of my thoughts, that made me nearly faint. Dr. Evansby was beside me, staring at me with an intense glare. I didn't know how he did it, but he had the ability to create a pain in your body that felt like you were being stabbed from the inside. Right now, he was impatient with me, his way of punishing me was to invisibly slice my brain in pieces. It wasn't something I liked to feel on a daily basis whenever Evansby was always angry.

"Why are you keeping me waiting, Linus Taylor? You know I hate not getting my way. I've done my waiting for the past YEAR," Evansby snarled, pressing the invisible blade he somehow kept inside my skull closer to my brain. I was kneeling on the floor, clenching my teeth together to keep from screaming. I hated the other mutant recruits of Evansby hearing me scream in pain like I was weak.

"I-I'm sorry! Please-AHH! Stop!" I begged, now on my knees. The pain was unbearable. And I was trying my best to follow his orders, but I still got hurt.

Finally, he grunted and broke his concentration. The invisible blade inside my head was gone, and the searing pain subsided. I let out a huge sigh, and that's when I started crying. I hadn't cried for as long as I could remember.

Evansby kicked me hard in my side. My ribs were already bruised enough from him. "Get up and prepare for battle. We're invading at daylight."

And that was all Evansby said to me before he grasped my arm and transported me back to the woods just outside of the Mutant Colony. The battle was starting in the morning, and many were about to die. The thing that scared me the most was that I didn't care who died. I'd be glad to do some of the killing myself.