"Cold. A heart colder than most yet wants to feel the warm feeling of release. To heal others, instead of harming them. It's supposed to be easy to change, to grow to be a better person. Then why. . . Why do I feel like I'm only hurting more people?" She thought. The library held an almost dead feeling as they looked around. The old wooden shelves are on the brink of breaking.
The three of them walked down the silent corridor, as their footsteps echoed throughout the large building.
"Alright you two, where should we start first?" Micheal asked.
John turned around to face the two as he pointed behind him. "I'm going to check out the world history section. You two head to the Nonfiction section." He insisted.
They split off, their footsteps becoming harder to hear over time. "I'm guessing by your appearance that you're deceased?" Micheal muttered. Charlotte raised an eyebrow, her gaze still looking forward. "That question sounds very racially motivated, but alas, I'll bite. Yes, I am deceased, if you couldn't tell by my horn, or my tail, or the burn marks on my face." She said, her voice uninterested in the topic.
"So, tell me this. . . Who made you deceased?" He asked, his eyes locking onto her expression, as he held a book in his hand. Silence came out of Charlotte's mouth as she paused.
Her eyes twitched a little at the question as she muttered. "Why would you assume I died from unnatural causes?" She asked. Micheal smirked at her question as he closed the book. "The average life span of a woman is around 84 years old; you look to be around your late 40s to early 50s, meaning you either were a very unhealthy woman during your time here. . . Or someone killed you."
"Why does my personal life even matter to you?" She asked with her voice having a defensive manner.
Micheal smirked as he picked up another book, his eyes skimming through it as he flipped through the pages. "If it wasn't right, you wouldn't have gotten so mad over it just now." He spoke.
Charlotte's face frowned as she blew air out of her mouth. With a small feeling of annoyance, she couldn't help but blur out something. "Fine. If you wanna know so badly, you must make a deal with me." She grunts. With a confident smirk, Micheal put the book he had back in its position as he crossed his arms. "I'm listening." He speaks. With a swipe across her face and an exaggerated groan, she sticks out her charred hand.
"If I tell you everything you want to know, you'll give your reason for helping to take out the Governor." She asks. Without a second thought, Micheal shook her hand as his smile slowly faded to a hollower tone.
"Deal" He muttered.
Meanwhile.
Books surrounded John as he sat there and pondered. Why, oh why him? The powerless nobody is the one with the random magic particle stuff that has never been seen before. It was annoying, to say the least. What would it mean about all his ranting about how different he is if it was all for nothing, that he was just like everyone else in a different way? The special person is surrounded by other special people. It would be ironic.
He covered his face, his large palms keeping him in the dark as he felt his body ache. He wanted to scream at this life-changing information he would soon discover. Just as he stood up, he felt a buzz in his pocket, a quick distraction from his heavy mind.
"He digs into his small pocket to pull out his phone, only to see his mother calling. His finger lingered over the answer button as a hint of uneasiness crawled down his spine, yet his mind couldn't seem to find a reason for this fear. Maybe it was her opinion he was afraid of. The memories of her just accepting that he was different from others, always meant struggling in a world that wants to choke you until you're dead. He had to gasp for air at just the thought of her disappointment.
It was like a cork being lodged into his throat, making it hard to breathe and speak. With a shaky sigh, he answered, his body unstill. "Hello?" He asked, the sound of his word high pitch.
"John. . . I need you to get up." She said, her voice monotone. John paused for a moment at her sudden words as he stammered on what to say. "W- What are you talking about? I'm standing upright no-"
"John. Get up." She said again, this time with more emphasis on his name. With another gasp of air, he stood up, his legs shaking. "I-I'm up. . .What do you want?" He asked. "You need to fight this feeling John; you can't let it overcome you, burn out your drive." She claims, her voice clearer.
John scoffed at her words as he shook her head. "And what gives you the right to say that? You aren't the one who was looked down upon your whole life, quite the opposite. You've been praised for your unique place in the world. We both might've been special, but you can't relate to me in any format!" He quietly yelled.
Lisa let out a sigh as the phone statics the noise slightly. "John, that's not what I'm trying to say. You have struggled your whole life because you are different. You evening the playing field won't change what life has made you out to be. The countless years of you fighting to keep up with people who natural have the advantage, the pain carved into your heart, the fear that the world has forged onto your mind. Gaining something you've been owed won't change you, unless you allow it to. If you choose to allow yourself to forget all your pain, simply because you became like everyone else, then your going to change. . . But I don't think you will. Your strong John, you've done things most wouldn't dare to do with powers, and you did it with your bare hands!"
"You aren't some egotistical man who gains the slightest bit of power and lets it make up their whole personality. . . You are my son, and I know your heart better than most. I won't change you for the better or worse, I'll support you throughout the deepest pit of hell and the apocalypse. Just remember. . . I will always love you." She said, a sorrowful croak in between words.
With a heavy sigh, John took a deep breath, his nerves still rattling slightly, but he was managing a little bit better than before. "T-thank you." He muttered; his voice teary as he gasped for air quietly.
"It's nothing, just doing what any parent should do. Now. . . You'll find what you're looking for on the shelf behind you on the bottom left shelf, look in the m section and you'll find it. . . Remember what I said. . . Okay? She asked, her tone holding a faint feeling of worry.
"O-Okay. . ." John claims as he sighs, turning around and looks at the section his mother claimed the book was in.
A soft hum came from the phone as the next few words warmed John's heart. It was a melody he heard when he was younger, yet it still eased his soul each time he heard it.
"Good. Love you, be careful and don't forget."
"I will never leave you. . . No matter what."