Chương 21: The Truth
Lucas was going to kill Janice.
Or at least that's what she believed. When she told him about disintegrative reconstruction, that look in Lucas' eye. It was that of something inhuman.
Janice turned to Stella. Stella was just confused. She didn't understand the greater context behind their conversation.
(Janice: "Hey, Stella. Have you noticed anything strange about Lucas?")
(Stella: "Not really. Why?")
(Janice: "Well… I don't know. But I think he's lying to us. Say, you told me that you don't know when he sleeps, if ever. Right?")
(Stella: "Yes. I remember.")
(Janice: "Do you know if he eats?")
Stella pondered. She thought back on all the time she spent with Lucas. And in all that time, she has not seen him eat anything. Not even once. Stella shook her head.
(Janice: "Have you ever seen him injured. Any wounds, any cuts, anything?")
(Stella: "When I met him… well… he looked horrible. But not injured.")
(Janice: "Surely you must've come across some apostles. Have you ever seen him fight one?")
(Stella: "Yes, actually. I've let him use my crossbow.")
(Janice: "No, have you ever seen him fight one. Like up close?")
Stella pondered once again. The fight in the store came to mind, but she didn't see the fight. She just saw the spider on top of him. And of course, he came out of that encounter just fine.
(Stella: "No. I haven't.")
Janice sat back in her seat. She contemplated the information. One more question came to mind.
(Janice: "Has he ever told you where he came from? His age? Anything about his family?")
(Stella: "No… he hasn't. But-! I never really bothered to ask.")
(Janice: "You don't need to defend him. This isn't a court. But don't you find it strange? All these strange happenings? You've never seen him actually fight an apostle, you've never seen him injured, and he's never even told you anything about his past.")
(Stella: "He's not obligated to tell me anything. He's leaving soon anyway.")
Janice's eyebrow perked up at Stella's words.
(Janice: "Leaving? Where to?")
(Stella: "I don't know. All he said is that he needs to find something. Whatever it is, it's beyond me.")
What would an apostle like Lucas be looking for? What could possibly draw him away from here? This was a perfect safe house where he could live as a human until it no longer suited him.
Unless… that wasn't his true intentions. Janice's brain hurt. This was the most thought she'd put into anything for a long time.
What if Lucas wasn't trying to be human? What if he was only being human to bring Stella here safely? It made sense, mostly. She still didn't know why Lucas wasn't aggressive like every other existing apostle.
He took pity on a human with a child and decided to bring her to safety. To gain her trust, he disguised himself as a human. But there was still the dilemma of Lucas wanting to kill Janice.
Nevertheless, Janice was convinced that she had solved the puzzle, she was sure of it. In her mind, Lucas was the most interesting apostle she has studied. If only she could get a closer look.
Lucas was sitting on the couch. He stared into the ceiling, wondering how things could've gone so far south. He still didn't have a solid plan, nothing that could possibly convince Janice, a damned biologist, that he was human. If anyone could figure out Lucas wasn't who he said he was, it would be her, no doubt about it.
This pissed Lucas off. It would be so easy just to twist her head until he heard her neck snap, yet the consequences afterward would be too hard to handle. He didn't want to be a killer. He's never taken a life of a human, and that wasn't going to change over a stupid game of gotcha.
Suddenly, the front door opened. Stella walked into the entrance and stood there, letting the door shut behind her. She held the baby in her arms as she stared at Lucas.
(Stella: "I figured it out.")
Lucas' heart dropped. She… figured it out? No… No! NO! It wasn't possible. How? That bastard Janice told her! He shouldn't have left Stella alone with her. He should've stayed, or dragged Stella along with him back to the room. How could he be so stupid? Why didn't he just use his head?!
Lucas covered his mouth with his hands and slumped over on the couch. He couldn't believe it. He was caught. His lies were unraveling. She knew he wasn't human. Lucas wished he could've gone back in time and prevented this all from happening. He wished he could die in that moment and not come back.
They stared at each other for many seconds. And although it was only seconds, it felt like hours.
(Lucas: "Did she tell you?")
(Stella: "No. But I could piece it all together.")
(Lucas: "Jesus…")
(Stella: "That necklace.")
She pointed at the heart-shaped charm on the golden necklace around his neck. Lucas was confused. What did his necklace have to do with anything?
(Stella: "You… it's shaped like a heart. You have a wife, don't you? Or at least a lover. That's who you're trying to find.")
Lucas' mouth was wide open. His eyes darted around the rooms. He fixed his posture and played along.
(Lucas: "Okay... You got me. Are you happy now?")
(Stella: "No! I'm not happy! Why didn't you tell me?")
(Lucas: "I never needed to tell you! Our deal was that I would get you to safety and I leave.")
(Stella: "Who cares about the deal? I care about all the lies you've told to me. You could've told me about this when I asked why you were leaving.")
(Lucas: "Okay, okay, I'm sorry about that. But it was never relevant.")
(Stella: "I think it was pretty damn relevant.")
(Lucas: "There was never an appropriate opportunity to tell you.")
(Stella: "There's no time like the present! Plus, it's not just about that. If you wouldn't tell me that you were looking for your damn wife, then what else didn't you tell me? Are you actually from California? Or was that another lie?")
Lucas was defeated. He exhaled and leaned forward, perching his arms onto his legs.
(Lucas: "It… was a lie. I'm not from California. I'm from Missouri.")
(Stella: "Why did you lie?")
(Lucas: "I didn't want to. It… the truth is too suspicious to be believable. The truth is, I have no idea how I got to California. All I know is that one day I was in Missouri, and another I was in California. But I couldn't just say that. I have no explanation for it. Janice is smart. She's too smart to blindly believe my dubious story about how I just randomly got transported halfway across the country. I was afraid she'd think I wasn't human or something. Maybe she'd experiment on me like I was one of her apostle… test subjects. It's stupid, I know, but my best bet was to just get you here and get out as soon as possible. And my lies have probably convinced her even more that I'm not human, so… I've kind of backed myself into a corner here.")
Stella was stone-faced for the first couple seconds after he said all of that. But then, she started laughing.
(Stella: "You thought she'd think you weren't human? Hah!")
Lucas felt a weight being relieved from his shoulders. She believed him. His charade continued on, but he didn't know how much longer he could keep this lie going. He needed to convince Janice, before she unveiled the full truth about him.
Stella sat down next to Lucas, still giggling about his silly belief.
(Stella: "You are the most human person I know. You're actually the only person I know, other than Janice, but she barely counts.")
(Lucas: "What about Jonas?")
(Stella: "He's too young. He's not a person quite yet. Maybe give him another year or so. At least until he can walk.")
Lucas laughed. He was relieved. He was still human, but he could feel the thread about to snap.
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