THE TRUTH COMES OUT
1117 Words
Francis stood frozen between his wife and the agents. Emma peeked out from behind Sarah's legs, confused and scared.
"Sarah, take Emma inside. Please." Francis kept his eyes on Mitchell.
"No." Sarah's voice was firm. "Not until you tell me what's happening."
"Mrs. Reed, your husband may have been exposed to a dangerous substance," Agent Park said. "For your safety and your daughter's, we need to run some tests."
"Tests?" Sarah's hand tightened on Emma's shoulder. "What kind of tests?"
"Mommy, I'm scared," Emma whispered.
That broke something in Francis. His little girl was afraid. In her own home. Because of him.
"Everyone just calm down," Francis said. "Sarah, Emma—go inside. I'll handle this."
"Handle what?" Sarah demanded. "Francis, what did you do in Russia?"
"He stole government property," Mitchell said before Francis could answer. "A classified biological weapon. And he used it on himself."
Sarah's face went white. "What? Francis, is that true?"
"It's not that simple—"
"Yes or no! Did you take something?"
Francis looked at his wife. The mother of his child. The woman he'd loved for eight years. He couldn't lie to her anymore.
"Yes."
Sarah stumbled backward like he'd hit her. "Oh my God."
"I was dying, Sarah. Bleeding out in a hole in the middle of Siberia. I found this vial and I—"
"You injected yourself with a Russian bioweapon?" Her voice rose. "Are you insane?"
"I didn't know what it was! I just knew I was dying and I wanted to come home to you and Emma!"
"Daddy?" Emma started crying. "Why are you yelling?"
"We're not yelling, baby," Sarah said, picking Emma up. But her eyes stayed locked on Francis. "We're just... talking."
"Mrs. Reed, we need to take your husband for evaluation," Mitchell said. "The substance he took could be dangerous. To himself. To others."
"I'm not dangerous," Francis said.
"No? Then why did three Russian soldiers end up in the hospital? One with a broken spine?"
Sarah gasped. "Francis, you didn't..."
"They were trying to kill me! I defended myself!"
"With superhuman strength," Park added. "According to the report, you moved faster than they could see. Disarmed trained soldiers like they were children."
Sarah set Emma down and turned to her. "Baby, go to your room. Now."
"But Mommy—"
"Now, Emma!"
Emma ran inside, sobbing. Francis's heart shattered.
The moment she was gone, Sarah whirled on him. "Show me."
"What?"
"Show me what you can do. Prove they're lying."
Francis looked at his hands. "Sarah, I—"
"Show me!"
He picked up the concrete bag from beside the garage. Fifty pounds. He lifted it with two fingers like it was made of foam. Then he crushed it, the bag exploding in a cloud of gray powder.
Sarah backed away from him. "Oh God. Oh God, it's real."
"Sarah, please—"
"What are you?" She had tears in her eyes. "What did you turn yourself into?"
"I'm still me. I'm still Francis. Still your husband. Still Emma's dad."
"Are you?" Sarah's voice broke. "Because my husband was human. My husband could get hurt. Could die. Could grow old with me. But you... you're something else now."
The words cut deeper than any knife.
"We need to take him, Mrs. Reed," Mitchell said quietly. "For everyone's safety."
"No." The word came out before Francis could think. "I'm not going anywhere."
"That's not your choice, Sergeant."
Francis's hands curled into fists. "You want to take me? Try it."
Mitchell pulled his jacket back, revealing a g*n. Park did the same.
"Don't make this difficult," Mitchell warned. "We have authorization to use force if necessary."
"You pull those guns in front of my house, where my daughter can see, and I'll make you eat them."
"Francis!" Sarah stepped between them. "Stop. Just... stop." She turned to the agents. "How long would you need him?"
"Sarah, what are you doing?"
"How long?" she repeated.
"A few days. Maybe a week. Just tests. Nothing invasive. We need to understand what the serum did to him."
Sarah looked at Francis. He could see the fear in her eyes. Fear of him. Of what he'd become.
"If he goes with you," she said slowly, "do you promise to bring him back? No black sites. No disappearing. He comes home."
"We can't guarantee—"
"Then he's not going." Sarah's voice turned hard. "My husband is a decorated soldier who served his country. He made a mistake. A desperate mistake to survive. But he's not a criminal. And I won't let you treat him like one."
Mitchell studied her for a long moment. Then he sighed.
"Fine. One week. Full cooperation from Sergeant Reed. Medical tests, interviews, the works. Then he comes home. Deal?"
Sarah looked at Francis. The question was in her eyes: Can I trust you?
"Deal," Francis said quietly.
"No weapons. No violence. You come peacefully."
Francis nodded.
"Okay." Mitchell pulled out his phone. "We'll send a team tomorrow morning. Eight AM sharp. Be ready."
The agents got back in their SUV and drove away.
Francis and Sarah stood in the driveway, three feet apart. It might as well have been miles.
"Sarah—"
"Don't." She held up her hand. "I need time to process this. To figure out what this means for us. For Emma."
"I'm still me."
"Are you?" She looked at him with eyes full of pain. "The man I married would have told me the truth. Would have trusted me. But you lied, Francis. For days, you looked me in the eye and lied."
"I was trying to protect you."
"From what? The truth? From yourself?" Sarah shook her head. "I don't know what you are anymore. But I know you're not the man who left for Russia three months ago."
She turned and walked into the house, closing the door behind her.
Francis stood alone in the driveway as the sun set. Through the window, he could see Emma's room. His little girl was probably still crying. Scared. Confused.
And there was nothing he could do about it.
This was the price of immortality, he realized. Not just living forever. But watching everyone you love pull away from you. Watching them fear you.
Watching them realize you're not human anymore.
Francis looked at his hands. Strong. Unbreakable. Inhuman.
"What have I done?" he whispered to the empty street.
Somewhere in the house, Emma cried for her daddy. But Sarah didn't call him inside.
For the first time since taking the serum, Francis Reed wished he had died in that hole in Russia.
At least then, his family would have remembered him as a hero.
Not a monster.
- Writer
