He sat there in stunned silence, his jaw slack and his eyes glazed over.
You killed him. There was something about the was she had said it. Like it happened all the time. Maybe it did. What about the guy he had punched after getting his with the rocket? Was he even still alive? Sure, he was about to hurt Curtis, but the idea of killing someone disgusted Kaz enough to make him want to hurl.
"W-…." a ball of emotion lodged itself in his throat, making it almost impossible to speak. "Was that the only time?"
Eden hesitated. He looked so bothered by the news that it made her feel conflicted. He did care. What? That wasn't the Kaz she knew. The Kaz she knew didn't give a crap about whether or not people who messed with him lived or died.
But this Kaz– amnesia-stricken confused Kaz– cared. He seemed to give a crap. He seemed to give a lot of craps.
Eden didn't want to lie to him, but she didn't want to tell him the truth, either. "Only a few times, " she responded finally, after carefully thinking it through. "You always had a reason, though."
Even if that reason was stupid, you always had one.
"That…..don't really make it better," he mumbled to the floor, staring at the floor beneath his feet as he tried to repress the urge to throw up.
God, I was a monster, he thought. Am a monster.
He looked over to Curtis to gauge his reaction to the shocking news.
@PrettyLittlePyro, if you would like to do a separate one-on-one with me, we can, and if not, that's also fine. ^u^ I just wanted to let you know I'm not neglecting or ignoring you.
(You're fine lol. Sure, we can do a separate one.)
Curtis was, honestly, surprised. His new friend who had saved him? A killer? No. No. Not likely.
"How do we know she's not lying?" he asked suddenly, fueled by the faith he had in Kaz. "And even if it were true, you saved me. Whatever you did before is in the past, right? Besides, maybe they were really evil people and you didn't have much choice."
Eden bit her lip, staying quiet.
The reassurances did nothing to help, but it brought a small smile to his face anyways.
"Taking a life isn't right either way," he said softly. "And I trust her. If she wanted to kill us, she would've told those guys to back there."
Eden smiled a bit, although a bit of sympathetic sadness for Kaz refused to leave. "Thank you, Kaz." She glanced down at the floor, amazed at how different he was– and a bit sad that she was afraid it wouldn't last. Soon, he'll revert to his old memories– and his old self.
"For what it's worth, you're one of the best people I've ever met, and I've known you for less than an hour." Curtis offered a bit of a smile, but his distrust towards Eden lingered a bit.
"I appreciate that, man. I really do," Kaz said, giving his friend a light pat on the shoulder. He made sure to not be too rough, afraid of causing Curtis physical harm. He turned back over to Eden, a slight frown on his face. "How long until we get where we're going?"
"Not long. I would estimate about… Mmm… ten minutes," Eden responded, her bright eyes staring down at an expensive (and technologically-advanced) watch strapped firmly around her rather small wrist. "Getting antsy?"
"Not really," Kaz said, looking don at his clothes once again. "I would just like to be properly covered again. What happens when we get there?"
"Good question," Eden replied. "We'll get you come clothes, probably check on your injury to see how severe it is, maybe run a few more tests…" Her voice trailed. "Honestly, I don't know for sure. We'll fine out when we get there I guess. And we're almost there."
The vehicle hit a few bumps, nearly sending Curtis out of his seat.
Kaz reached out and caught Curtis by the collar of his shirt before he reached the ground, surprised how fast his reaction time was.
"So….what am I?" Kaz asked after pulling Curtis back into the seat. "I….I can't be human. No human can survive the stuff I did."
There was a moment of hesitation in Eden's response. "You are human," she said. "You're just special."
"Thanks, man," Curtis said, re positioning himself in his seat. He glanced at Eden doubtfully. He didn't trust her– at all. The tiny speck of faith he had in her was only because of his now-permanent respect for Kaz and his internal oath to stick with Kaz no matter what.
"You hesitated," Kaz pointed out, scowling slightly. "Tell my why I can do these things, then. Why can I pick up grown men like they're toddlers? Why can I survive rockets and guns and freaking buildings falling on me?"
"Look," Eden began, obviously trying to think carefully about her response. "It's really complicated, and it sounds dumb. I'm sure you'll remember soon enough, and then– then it'll all make sense. Besides, you've been through a lot in the past hour and you need to rest. You don't need a bunch of information dumped on you just yet."
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down into his lap, scrunching up his nose. "Whatever."
Why am I getting so mad at this? Kaz thought, I should be grateful for what she's done for me, not complaining about what she hasn't.
Once again, he looked over at Curtis and gave him a what do you think? look.
Curtis's eyebrows were raised; he wasn't even hiding the fact that he was skeptical about all of this. "This is wack," he said finally, reading Kaz's expression. "Real wack."
"Wack?" Eden inquired, arching an eyebrow.
Curtis nodded, unafraid to voice his opinion; the only thing he wanted to avoid was angering Kaz. "I'm just not sure about all of this, I'm not gonna lie."
His confidence was bolstered by Curtis's statement, so he voiced his own.
"I find it really hard to trust someone who won't even tell me what I really am," he admitted, looking over at Eden again.
Double-empowered knowing that Kaz agreed, Curtis threw in a "Yeah!"
"It's not that I won't tell you," Eden retorted. "It's just that I don't think now is the best time to tell you. What? So do you want to leave, then? Want me to throw you out and let the gangs ravage your little friend? Maybe you won't get hurt, but if twenty guys storm you, you can't shield what's-his-face forever." She paused, then sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to keep you from being overwhelmed. Besides, we're here now anyways."
Kaz gave her a hard stare, something flashing in his eyes. The fact that she had just threatened Curtis made him like her even less.
"You know what?" he said slowly, sounding as close to his old self as he had all day. "I think I might risk it. Open up the doors."
Curtis was a bit surprised, but he was fine– pleased, even– with this plan. (Although the possibility of dying still remained a concern.)
"Don't," Eden said, although it was more pleading– concerned, it seemed– than commanding. "You'll regret it. Please."
"Then quit dancing around the question and tell me what I am," he said fiercely, almost snarling at her. "I appreciate your concern for my mental health but that is no reason to not tell me."
"You… are a human," Eden said slowly, carefully and clearly speaking each word. "But you were… created." She cleared her throat. "The reason you withstand so much is because you were made to. Hear me out. Using the genes of many impressive individuals, some scientists managed to create a man with incredible skill and unnatural qualities such as being practically indestructible. That man is you, Kaz."
"The heck–"
His face portrayed no emotions, but inside his brain was causing a riot.
Does that even count as human? it asked.
Shut up, he responded to it. This isn't how a brain should work. You don't get to talk.
She looks scared of you, it pressed on. Probably because you aren't a real person.
Shut. Up.
Curtis looks ready to pee his pants. It didn't even sound like his own voice anymore. Your only friend is n-
"Shut up!" Kaz yelled out loud, clutching the side of his head. "Why is there a voice in my freaking head?"
(I'm thinking it was just a communicator chip put into his head)
((Whoever is on the other end is great then, even if they're not a good person per se, because all I can think of are the conversations he's had with his mind. XD))
"Calm down," Eden said, holding her composure well. She grabbed his wrists gently but firmly and tried to pull them away from his head. "There's a chip in your brain. It was placed there so that you could be tracked and so that information and orders could be given to you via the chip."
Curtis looked… well, pretty freaked out to say the least. None of that can be true. But, wait– what else explains the building and rocket not killing him? I don't understand! What do I even believe?!
"I don't– That doesn't seem real," was all he could say, his eyes wide with shock and confusion.
