章節 15: "His Unpredictable Behavior"

"What happened to you?" Gem said as she saw Lia's condition.

It was nine in the evening and Lovely and Gem had just arrived at their room in the East Wing building. Lia was lying on the pod bed, with her foot bandaged and raised over two, thick pillows.

"I lost my balance, twisted my ankle and fell from one of the lofts," Lia answered, giving them a smile. "But my mutant saved me."

"Oh dear, it's just our second day," Lovely uttered and closed the door. "What if… something worse happens to us?"

"No, no, don't think like that, Lovely," Lia replied, assuring her. "It was all my fault. I was just too careless."

"You should rest, okay? Trust me, you'll recover faster," said Gem, while brushing her pink apple cut hair. "I was an athlete, so..."

"Ohhh, that's so cool! What sport?" Lovely asked.

With that question, Gem gave a faint smile and replied, "Surfing."

"Wow!" Lovely exclaimed, and Lia clapped her hands in amazement.

"I'll shower first, okay?" Gem said. She then crouched down to get her new pajamas in her big bag. Gem hurriedly went to the bathroom. She suddenly went emotional; it was such a sensitive topic for her.

Lovely sat on the other pod bed, facing Lia. "Have you eaten dinner?"

"Yes, I was given lunch and dinner by Ms. Sanya," Lia replied. "She said that the expenses will be covered by D.M. Cadre since this happened during working hours."

Lia suddenly remembered that she left Aesop hungry. She thought that maybe, he was still blaming himself for what happened, and maybe, he might feel bad about himself. She couldn't do anything in her current situation. She can only hope to become better as soon as possible, to check on Aesop.

Meanwhile, in the security office where all CCTV camera footage is found, Sanya started reviewing the video when Lia fell. She played the scene where Lia touched Aesop's wings and fell. She realized how fast Aesop responded and that was why he managed to save Lia. "His reflex was really something. I need to write a report about this." Sanya thought while she took down notes on her observations.

It has been so long since Sanya took notice of the vulture mutant. He showed a new side of him, instead of the usual no reaction and indifferent replies.

She remembered the story of her colleague Dior Svenkin when he and other scientists took Aesop to one of the examination rooms, two years ago. Aesop was brought to the seventh floor, the Mutant Psychology Center. There was an examination room that was enclosed with one-way, laminated safety glass. While Aesop was inside that room, he was shown a lot of different videos on a very large screen, at the same time the scientists were outside observing his facial expressions and behavior. To have a more accurate study on his feelings, they attached a wireless stethoscope in his chest.

Dior showed him a video of the beach wherein the beach waves were heard loudly. Aesop stared at the video blankly and there was no change in his heartbeat or his facial expression. The next video was a POV video of an airplane gliding in the sky. It showed the view of the sea and the clouds from the skies. Aesop's eyebrows moved up and there was excitement felt from his heartbeat. It means that he liked the video. Dior wasn't sure if it was because he's a vulture mutant so he likes the sky, because even Dior himself felt the excitement in the video. He decided to play the next one which was a video of a naked woman asking for help. The woman in the video was lost in a forest, and she was facing the camera as if talking to Aesop. Because the woman was pretty, Dior thought, "If I were him, I'd help her and I might have a fast heartbeat..." Then, he continued staring at the numbers on their monitors which showed Aesop's heartbeat speed.

Aesop stayed oddly calm.

"Man… I really don't understand this guy," Dior thought. That was Aesop's last visit to the Mutant Psychology Center because he showed inconsistent and little responses in the tests.

Sanya continued watching Aesop's and Lia's video, up to the time when Aesop landed. She zoomed in the scene where Aesop held Lia's waist when she stumbled. She zoomed in Aesop's face and saw an expression she had never seen before.

Aesop looked worried and he had furrowed his eyebrows. Sanya also saw how Aesop wanted Lia to look into him in the eye, based on his body language. "He's interacting with his caretaker. I must let Mr. Svenkin see this. He will be surprised."

The next day, Sanya showed the video to Dior. He was shocked to see Aesop's unusual facial expressions and actions. He analyzed the situation.

"He might have felt responsible, that's why he acted like that," Dior explained. "I think he's a good guy."

"You think so? Even if he doesn't cooperate with us that much?" Sanya asked.

Dior scratched the back of his head, finding words on how to explain things to the young scientist. "Sanya, all disobedient mutants have their reasons why they don't trust us. In my opinion, we should try to understand them."

Sanya thought deeply about Dior's explanation. She did not consider Aesop's feelings because he was her only disobedient mutant. Even if she had been telling new caretakers to consider the mutants as humans too and they should be kind and respectful to them, she herself did not follow those rules on a vulture mutant under her care. She thought to herself, "I'm a hypocrite."

Dr. Ryzer Brown swiftly walked inside their office, bringing a cup of coffee and a bag of potato chips. He sat down in his chair comfortably. He sipped his black coffee, then said, "Sanya Mayheart, I have good news for you."

Sanya sweated a little. When Dr. Brown says something like that, it was not really good news. "What is it, sir?"

Dr. Brown ate the crunchy potato chips, and some of its crumbs fell down to the floor. She smirked at Sanya and said, "You can have a chance to become promoted, but�� they won't promote you if you cannot propose a new experiment for the vulture mutant."

Sanya knew that Dr. Brown probably said some things to the personnel selection board. Every scientist knew that the vulture mutant is very uncooperative. She knew that Dr. Brown intended to put her in a trap, to prevent her promotion. She wanted to prove to him that whatever problems he would give in the future, she would always find the solution because she's a capable assistant scientist. She flashed a smile on her face and gave him an affirmative look.

Dr. Brown raised his eyebrows and looked at Sanya. "Submit a proposal tomorrow evening." He said, and then continued eating his crispy potato chips.