Subject 15

CHAPTER 27 - Seth

I went into the kitchen, and I saw Samantha and her mother cooking eggs, the toast in a new laser-toaster, crisping it to a perfect golden brown. A smile flickered across my face, and Samantha turned to me, saying in a singsong voice, "Morning sleepy-head!"

I nodded, and replied groggily, "Morning." Samantha smiled at me and asked, "Do you know where the butter is?" I shook my head, and Samantha pointed to a door that I remembered led to the refrigerated pantry. "Could you get it for me?" I nodded, and with a smile opened the door, the room filling with light, and I found myself stepping into a maze of shelves and foods. "Hey!" I called back to Samantha. "How am I going to find it in here!" With a laugh, Samantha simply said, "It's right beside the rice, down to the left!" I chuckled and silently thought to myself, And a few months ago I could never imagine there was this much food in one place.... When I was done, I stepped back into the kitchen, and Samantha said, "Your eggs are ready!"

I smiled, taking the plate from Samantha while handing her the butter, and replied, "Thank you very much."

She replied in the same high-spirited voice, "No problem! But you'll want to eat those quick. The bus arrives at 8:00, and we need to walk a little to the bus stop."

I nodded, taking my plate to the large dining room table and sitting down in a plush velvet chair. I knocked on both the table and the chair before eating, confirming that they were both made out of real wood. I sighed as I started to eat my food, the Demon's words still hissing into my brain, "Remember your fate! Remember your destiny! Remember your mission!"

What mission?! What is my destiny? Who made me, and for what purpose? Was the Demon right, and that my emotions had blinded and confused me?

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the chair beside me scraping against the floor, and Samantha sat beside me. I turned to her as she set down her plate of eggs and toast, and she asked, "You had that look again. What are you thinking about this time?" I shrugged, and took a bite of my eggs, the yolks perfectly cooked, before replying, "It's... not pretty."

"What do you mean?" asked Samantha, still eating her eggs but looking at me with curiosity and concern. "What happened?"

I turned back to my eggs, eating another bite, before stating slowly, "I had... a dream... and I don't know what to make of it."

"What happened, Seth?" asked Samantha, truly concerned.

I sighed, and after taking a few bites of my food, told her the dream. I told her everything, even the parts that made my blood run cold, but I told her everything.

Well... almost everything. I didn't tell her about Raven.

I told her I saw her instead. But what was the difference? Both were people I cared about... but maybe the Demon was trying to show me something else....

When I was finished, I voiced my thoughts and I said, "Sam... who am I? What was I made for? Why was I made? Have I... have I lost sight of something great, and have I let my emotions–"

Samantha put her hand on mine, and turned my head so that I was looking at her. Passion and mixed emotions were in her eyes as she said, "Seth.... Those are questions you will inevitably have to answer yourself. Remember, this is what the Demon is telling you: it can't be the full truth, if it's true at all! If you discover what you were really made for, you will then have a choice... conform to it... or fight it."

Samantha stood up and came to sit on one of my legs as she hugged me tightly, saying, "Seth, from what I've seen, you're a good man, who will do the right thing."

Samantha took my head in her hands and looked me in the eyes and said with emotion coating her voice, "Seth... your emotions, and your morals, are part of what makes you who you are... and they are part of the reason of why I..." Samantha paused for a moment, casting her eyes down with a small blush before looking back into my eyes and finishing, "Why I love you, Seth.... So, don't let anyone tell you what your fate, or destiny, or mission is."

Samantha put her hand on my chest, right over my heart, and she said, "Seth, I know you have a lot of secrets, and I know that you have things that you hide... but deep inside, I know you are a good person, and I know that, in the end, you will do what's right.... That's why you saved Rebecca, right?"

I nodded slowly, raw emotions threatening to boil over, and Samantha finished with a small tear in her eye, "Then don't let anyone mislead you about doing what is right! You choose what you do, and you should do it without a doubt in your mind that you're doing the right thing..." She paused for a second and said, "Be the hero that I know you are... or don't. Whatever you are, that is your choice... because you don't owe me, or the world, or your creators, or anyone, anything."

Samantha lifted my chin and said, "You are free... don't let anyone convince you otherwise."

I nodded slowly, and pressed my forehead against Samantha's and whispered, "Ok, Sam.... Thank you..."

Sam smiled and said softly, "Come on, tough guy... we got to get ready for school.... Be ready in 20 minutes, ok?"

I nodded my agreement, standing up and gently setting Samantha down, taking the plates and silverware to the dishwasher and loading them. After doing so, I returned to the basement to get my Mask. I picked it up off of the couch, placed it in my pocket for the time being, and then brushed my teeth in the small half-bathroom tucked away under the stairs. When I was finished, I met up with Samantha, who had changed into her uniform, at the front door. She smiled, asking, "Are you ready?"

I smiled back, and replied with confidence, "Into battle." She laughed, then told her mother and father goodbye, them calling back from the distant rooms, and she opened the door and gestured for me to walk out of it. I nodded my head, slightly muttering, "Thank you," and I pulled my Mask out of my pocket, placing it on my face. I made sure that it was firmly attached (another wonder, since the Mask didn't use strings – it used microscopic suction cups, small enough that they wouldn't leave any marks or make your face look older sooner, but strong enough to keep the Mask attached unless it was removed by deliberate force, keeping it from falling off when you were running), and then turned to Samantha.

She had dawned her own Mask, but she shook her head slightly and said, "You look better without it." I laughed and replied, "Maybe, but still." I smiled as I held out my arm, almost as if I was asking her to a dance, and I questioned, "Shall we?"

Samantha smiled, then grabbed my hand in hers and said, "Yes, we shall."

"Then lead on, o fearless leader," I joked, and Samantha laughed, pulling on my arm and said, "Then hurry up slow poke!"

I smiled, and followed Samantha as she led us to the bus stop.