MAXIM: A New Type of Human (Oddily Series #2) (30 page)

“It’s done—it’s over!” He assured her.

Oddily lifted her head and glanced around the empty lab. “Where is Nero?”

“He left with Nexa.”

“Oh, now I remember. I gave her a hug.”

Oddily sat up; but when she saw her claw-like fingernails, she flopped back down. “I thought you said that Nero healed me.”

“Nero didn’t, but someone else did.”

Maxim encouraged Oddily to sit up again to take a look at her legs. “See! They are the same length now.”

After staring at her limbs, Oddily’s attention went to the area where her breasts used to be. “That’s not all that returned to normal.”

Maxim ran his hand through his hair. “I know and I don’t care.”

“Yes you do!” She disagreed. “You only touch your hair when you’re nervous or upset.”

“It’s you’re fingernails.” He admitted. “They are a painful reminder of what I wish I could forget.”

“Well, maybe there’s a pair of scissors around here.”

Oddily had a point. Maxim began to search inside the cabinets while listening to her next question. “Who ended up healing me?”

“A member from the High Council came and was able to return your body to the way it was.”

Oddily’s delicately arched eyebrows furrowed together. “Then why am I feeling so weird?”

Maxim found what he was searching for, and then headed back over to Oddily. “Tell me what you mean. Explain weird to me.”

While Maxim began to snip off the excess length of her fingernails, Oddily answered him. “I don’t know. It kind of feels as though I took a breath of fresh air and can’t seem to let it back out.”

“Is the sensation uncomfortable?”

“
Ummm
, it actually feels kind of exhilarating!”

“There! That will be good enough for now. Tomorrow you can get a professional manicure and have your hair done at the same time.”

“Do you want me to cut my hair too?” Oddily gazed at him curiously.

“If I asked you to cut it…would you?”

“I probably wouldn’t!” Oddily’s crooked grin unexpectedly brought her features to life. “I’ll just tell the kids at school that I got extensions.”

Maxim smiled at her in return. “You’ll have plenty of time to think it over; but for now, I want to take you home.”

After a long pause from Oddily, Maxim’s heart dropped. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Well…it’s just that we still need to talk about what happened in the meadow.”

Maxim became suspicious. “All right, go ahead and ask me anything you want.”

“Will you do something for me first?”

Maxim remained wary but agreed to do whatever she wanted.

“
Ummm
…I want you to disappear in front of me, and then come right back.”

“Are you serious?” Maxim was visibly stunned.

“I just want to make sure I can handle it before…!”

“No…not now!” He shook his head. “You’ve been through enough for one night.”

“Please my love! I need to know how I will react.”

Oddily was being persistent so Maxim created a distraction. “You just called me your love. Is that going to be my pet name?”

Oddily gave him a sheepish grin. “I thought I would try it out but it sounds kind of corny.”

When another long silence followed Oddily’s last comment, Maxim had to ask, “Why are you suddenly so quiet?”

“I’m waiting for you to go poof and disappear.”

Maxim’s typically straight posture began to slouch. “Are you sure you want me to do this?”

Oddily didn’t need to answer. After hearing her private thoughts, Maxim knew what he had to do. He stepped away from Oddily to give her a good view and began to flicker and fade like a dying light bulb. The last thing he saw was her face. She was gulping for air.

Oddily stared at the empty space where Maxim had been standing while she tried to regulate her breathing. The shock of seeing him disappear was nearly as intense as the first time, but she was able to keep her wits about her. By the time Maxim reappeared she felt the natural instinct to run, but she stayed.

Maxim kept his distance from her while waiting for some kind of a response. He finally got one when she slid off the table and slowly came to him. She reached out and touched his arm.

“You really are a time traveler.” She whispered.

“Oddily, it’s true but I have no desires to follow in my father’s footsteps. I want to stay right here with you.”

“Then Nero truly is your father?”

“Yes.”

“But why does he look like a teenager?”

“Nero is from the future. In his timeline, aging no longer exists for him…or for you.”

“What do you mean?” Oddily took a step back. She didn’t mean to back up, but her body seemed to have a mind of its own.

The one who healed you has left a small fragment of his essence inside you. He did this to prevent your body from any further mutation. One of the main side affects is that you won’t age anymore.”

“Oh!” Oddily’s mouth gaped open. “You mean I…I will look young for the rest of my life?”

“This is true.”

“Wow!” She moved back over to the table. “Okay…I’m ready. Go ahead and disappear again.”

Maxim wasn’t sure what was happening inside Oddily’s head. He had tried to read her mind again but her thoughts were muddled together in a chaotic dance. All he could do was give her what she asked for and disappear into a shimmering light.

When Maxim rematerialized, Oddily was no where to be seen. The grief that followed brought Maxim to his knees along with the heart wrenching sense of defeat. He had lost her! Oddily wasn’t able to accept him for what he was after all.

Without warning, Oddily jumped out from behind the table where she had been hiding. She was ready to make a silly comment about disappearing too, but she lost her train of thought when she saw the love of her life on the ground.

Instead, she rushed over and wrapped her arms around him. “What happened? Are you okay?”

For perhaps the first time in his life, Maxim didn’t fight back his tears and allowed them to fall.

“I’m sorry.” Oddily tried to cradle him, but he reached around and pulled her into his lap. “I was nervous so I was trying to cover it up by playing a little joke on you. Now I can see that under the circumstances, it was a stupid thing to do.”

Maxim kissed her cheek. “Please, don’t let this stop you from joking with me in the future…okay?”

“I won’t.”

Maxim dried his eyes on his shirtsleeve. “I’m assuming that it wasn’t as difficult for you to watch my third disappearance.”

“Oh yes! It was much easier this time.”

“I’m glad; but I refuse to vanish in front of you again, so don’t ask me to do it anymore.”

Suddenly Maxim cupped his hand over her mouth and whispered, “Did you hear that?”

With wide eyes, Oddily nodded as she stared up at the numerous crevices above, but both remained quiet until the noise stopped.

“What was that?”

“It must be Nero and Nexa. They are searching for Willa.”

Oddily climbed out of Maxim’s lap and stood up. “Is she lost?”

Maxim stood up as well. “I’m not sure what’s going on. Nexa seems to think that she short-circuited somewhere inside the cavern.”

“Oh, how terrible! I hope Willa will be okay!”

“Please, you mustn’t worry about her. Nero will take care of the situation.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. Come on. Let me take you home so you can have a good night’s sleep.”

“But I feel so…alive!”

Without warning, Oddily darted over to the opening that led to the underground tunnel.

“Slow down!” Maxim went after her. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“I’m not sure,” she shrugged, “and it doesn’t seem to matter.”

“Wait a minute!” Maxim grabbed Oddily’s arm and spun her around. “Try to describe what is going on with you. What are you feeling?”

“Maxim, I already told you.”

“Yes, I know. You said you feel alive, but in what way?”

Oddily lowered her lashes. “I…I know this will sound crazy, but I have an urge to run through the woods. It’s like my body is suddenly craving to feel the night air.”

Despite Maxim’s doubts concerning Oddily’s unusual desire, he found himself smiling. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

34

Oddily ran into the night, her only light coming from the moon. She felt exhilarated by the chill of the air against her face and laughed at the feel of her long hair whipping around her head. Periodically, her luminous eyes would look over her shoulder to see if Maxim was still following; and each time, he was a stones through away.

“I love you!” Her voice rang out happily.

Oddily continued to run towards Maxim’s home, but then veered off in another direction. She was now heading for the spot in the woods like no other in the forest. She had stared at the strange ethereal plant life from Maxim’s bedroom window and now she wished to surround herself with its beauty.

Strange noises lurked everywhere, but Oddily ignored them all when she got a glimpse of the iridescent lights glowing up ahead. As she drew closer, the unusual plants began to crowd around her, illuminating her skin with rich shades of purple, blue, and greens.

Oddily’s emotional reaction to her late night run had finally caught up with her. When she stopped to catch her breath, she stared at the flickering insects. Were they fireflies? Whatever they were, they made a humming sound as they flitted from flower to flower.

An owl hooted and Oddily glanced up to see where the sound came from. She searched the canopy above until she got a glimpse of two yellow eyes staring at her from the limb of a tree. The not so typical looking owl reminded her of a parrot because of its bright colorful feathers. Maybe it was one of Nero’s genetically altered creations.

Then a whisper of movement came from behind her and Oddily remembered, with a start, that she wasn’t alone. “Maxim…I almost forgot that you were here with me.”

Smiling, Maxim reached to brush a windblown strand of hair from her cheek and suddenly his expression changed. His hand lingered and tenderly caressed her face.

“Are you still feeling all right?” he said softly, huskily, almost as though it worried him to ask. The tips of his fingers strayed across her features and moved lightly upon her lips.

Then, without warning, Oddily grabbed him by the neck and pulled his handsome face close to hers. “Is it true that I will never grow old, or is this just a dream?”