Destroyer of Time: Pyrokinesis

Chapter Fourteen: Curiosity Kills The Cat

There was a time in my life that I thought my father was a robot. To be more specific, I imagined that there was a night when he was captured by an unidentified flying object and replaced with a clone. However, the clone malfunctioned during the exchange, and they sent Satan's perfect copy instead. In my little head, it explained why he was always distant and emotionless. As I grew up, I slowly lost that idea from my head until eventually, I just saw him as an emotionless and cold-hearted bastard. He wasn't some creature brought by different beings. He was just a shitty father. 

Just a few days had passed since my dad dropped the bomb on me—the surprise Hey-I-want-to-be-your-father-please-let-me-try moment. I was still reeling because all the ideas and feelings I'd had about him since I was a kid suddenly were compressed into these big question marks. Could I forgive him? Was I wrong about him all along? Was I capable of completely forgetting the past nineteen years without him being there for me? 

Ultimately, the answer to all those questions was a big "Yes." However, just because we'd decided to reconcile didn't mean that I just forgot everything. There were moments still that when I looked at him, I saw the coldness in his eyes—the indifference in his attitude. I would never admit it to him, but I was still raw from the emotional rollercoaster I'd apparently jumped on. Despite that, I was putting my best effort not to let it show because I could see that he was genuinely trying to be a better father. I wanted to make it easier for him to open up to me because I believed it would heal our relationship faster if we were honest.

Yet, seeing him smile and hearing his laughter still caught me off guard at times. To see joy and concern passed through his face was a brand new experience. It was strange since I was so used to him being so dismissive and reserved. I knew that eventually, I would get used to seeing this version of him, but that would take time. 

As he was howling with laughter, I couldn't help the tightness in my chest on seeing him so carefree. This had been the kind of father I'd been waiting for my whole life. I was glad that I found him. 

Something must have shown in my face because when he caught sight of me, his laughter slowly tapered off until we were in a small stare down. He raised a brow at me. "Something in my face?" 

I frowned and shook my head, scanning his face quickly to check if there was something there. "No. Nothing I could see. Why?"

     "Well, you were looking funny at me. I thought there must have been something in my face." 

I scratched the back of my head, feeling a bit shy. I considered not telling him about the real reason I was staring, but I thought that it would be better if he knew. "It's just weird, you know?"

     "What's weird?" 

I hesitated. "You see, I've been staring at your face since I was young. I've grown up thinking that you're only capable of that one look."

His forehead scrunched together in question. "What look?"

     "It's like this." I proceeded to copy his patented cold stare. He burst out laughing after seeing my face. 

     "Yeah. I probably didn't do that look the justice it deserves, but it's that. I thought you only knew how to do that expression." 

"I'm sorry." He looked a bit lonely hearing my words, and I questioned myself if it was the right decision to tell him for a second before realizing that it was better for him to know how I truly felt. So he could avoid those things. 

I wagged a finger at him. "What did we say about apologies, Dad? Besides, I didn't really say that to make you feel bad. I had a different point."

"That point being?"

     "Well, watching you do that my entire life, seeing you laughing or smiling just surprises me sometimes. I'm not used to it." 

He got a serious look in his face. "Should I not do that then?"

     "No, no. That's not what I meant. I'm just saying. It's a bit shocking right now, but I'll get used to it. So you better keep doing it, so I do. Deal?" I put my hand out without thinking, being used to doing it with Nick. Whenever we tried to promise something to each other, we always sealed it with a fistbump. 

My father confusedly looked at the hand out for a second, and I started pulling it away, feeling a bit embarrassed and awkward for the habit. However, his hand grabbed my wrist to stop me while the other free one made a fist and slowly bumped it with mine. It would sound incredibly stupid to feel emotional over a gesture, but I did. I blamed the fever for making me lose my self-control. 

     "Deal," he said firmly, before letting my hand go and pulling away. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat, averting my eyes from his. I didn't want him to think that I just cry about everything. To be honest, not much made me cry. Even when I was young, I wasn't a very dramatic child. I could count on one hand the number of times I'd shed tears throughout my life. Most of them happened in the last couple of days. 

     "So, you were asking me something." It wasn't a question, but I nodded when I caught his gaze. 

He looked thoughtful for a bit. "Let me answer the first question first since that's probably more concerning to you considering it happened to someone you know." 

     "So, you guys were really talking about our neighbors then?" I could've slapped myself for my lack of control over my thoughts. 

Dad just gave me a small smile. "As you probably heard from my conversation earlier with your uncle—which I didn't expect you to hear since I thought you were bedridden. That's the reason I was laughing when you asked those questions. Anyway, as I told your uncle, I have some ideas on who might be responsible for these heinous crimes."

     "And? Who are they?" I prodded when he stopped talking. 

He rubbed the back of his neck and frowned. "Well, I'm mostly positive about the involvement of a certain person from my past." 

     "From your past? So, you know this person?"

     "Let's just say that our paths have crossed many times before." His response was brief and not truly what I was looking for. 

     "Who is it, then, Dad?"

His frown became even more profound. I could tell that there were a lot of things running inside his mind. My father had always been incredibly intelligent. Probably even more than me.

He shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry, son. I'm not sure if I can tell you right now. I'm not completely certain at this moment if my suspicions are right. I could be wrong, and it could be a different person altogether. So right at this second, I will have to apologize, and yes, I know the rule, but this is an exception, but no, I can't tell you who it is yet. I hope you understand, son." 

The regret in his face told me that he genuinely didn't like not giving me the answer I was searching for, and even though I was still full of curiosity, I also understood his position. If I were in his shoes, I probably would also withhold this person's identity until I was confident it was him. 

     "Dad, I get that. Really." He looked relieved. "But, Dad, don't you think it would be better if you tell the cops about this person so they could check him out or something?" 

I didn't mind him not revealing this suspect's identity to me, but I seriously thought that it would at least be wise to consider letting the cops investigate this person to find more about them. 

     "I've thought of that. But then I realized that I could just ask your uncle to do it. That's one of the reasons that he's here." 

     "Uncle Road?"

He nodded. "Yeah. He's a detective, of some sort."   

I pictured my uncle in my head. He did look the type. I would've guessed that his profession involved a lot of physical stuff considering how massive and muscular he was. Then he got the tough-as-nail-look patted down. Being in the field of security made a lot of sense. 

     "He brought some people with him, and I think they're already on the lookout now."

     "Oh. That's good then." 

I couldn't think of anything else to say about the matter. Uncle Road and his "friends" were already on the case, and my father seemed confident in leaving it to their hands, so I should also trust them to figure this case out soon. My uncle didn't seem the type to dawdle around.   

     "Now, about your second question." 

Dad didn't get to finish whatever he was about to say because my Uncle suddenly came running into the room. I swore I felt the house shook in response to his movements. Both dad and I stared at him in surprise.

     "Ron! We found him!" he yelled out. 

My dad quickly stood up. "Seriously? How?" 

     "Charlie sniffed him out."

I wasn't sure who Charlie was, but my heart beat faster by just hearing that they found whoever they were looking for. I thought Uncle Road would be happy to hear the news, but the angry expression in his face told a different story.

     "We need to go there now. We're not sure how long before they notice that they're getting tailed. So, we need to catch them and confront them." Uncle Road glanced at his phone and started typing. 

Dad nodded at him. "Right. We should do that." He quickly turned to me, and I saw the frown in his face, identical to Uncle Road's. "Son, we gotta go for now. Do you think you'd be fine being alone for now?"

I shifted towards the side of the bed and put my feet down. "Wait, Dad. Isn't that dangerous? Confronting them like that?" 

My dad tried to respond, but Uncle Road stepped beside him. "We got no time to explain everything to you right now, son. All you gotta know is that I will keep your dad safe and return him in one piece to you. But right now, we really gotta go." 

He didn't leave any room for an argument in the way he spoke, so I just ended up nodding. With that affirmation, Uncle Road gave me a brief nod and strode out of the room, already typing in his phone with his mammoth digits. I was unsure how he managed to work the phone out, considering the size of his fingers.

My puzzlement got interrupted by my dad placing his hand on my shoulder. "I'll try to be quick. Alright?"

"Dad, I'll be fine. Just keep yourself safe." 

He also gave me a brief nod and turned to the door. "Keep Uncle Road safe too!" I called out at the last second. 

He glanced back and smiled. "Will do." 

There was a loud slam downstairs, followed by silence. I thought about the things my father revealed to me. It wasn't much and only raised more questions than answered them. Hopefully, when they come back, they could tell me to sate my curiosity finally. 

I was about to lay down again when my phone started ringing on top of my bedside table. I picked it up and saw Nick's name on the screen. 

I answered. "Hey, what's up?" 

There was a loud clattering on the other side of the line. I pulled the phone away from my ear for a second, and then I heard his voice. "Hunter? Dude? Are you there?"

I put the phone back on my ear. "Nick, I'm here. Sorry. What was that loud sound?"

     "Oh. My bad, bro. I dropped my fork. That's probably what you heard."

     "Ah, makes sense."

     "What are you doing right now, dude?" 

I stood up slowly and made my way across the room to the bathroom. "Nothing at the moment. I'm actually just recovering from a fever. It hit me yesterday."

There was coughing on the other line. "Wait a minute. Did you say you have a fever?"

     "Well, yeah, but I'm feeling a bit better now."

     "But dude, you never get sick. Aren't you, Mr. Superhuman?"

I chuckled after hearing the occasional nickname Nick called me. I put the phone in speaker and turned on the faucet to wash my hands. "Apparently not. Anyway, what are you up to right now?"

     "I'm hanging out at our usual spot. Do you feel well enough to come down?" 

I glanced at the mirror and saw that I didn't look that terrible. I thought that I would look awful because I was sick, but it wasn't the case. "I guess I can come down. I feel like I've slept all day, and I feel better now. Holy s**t!" 

I just saw the time, and I didn't realize that I slept the entire day. "What happened?" I heard Nick's voice loudly asking.

     "Nothing. I just saw the time. How the hell is it eight p.m. already?"

     "Hmm. Not sure. I woke up late too. I ended up watching some documentary last night till early morning. So by the time I woke up, the day was already gone." 

I made my way to my closet and started looking for clothes. "Well, at least you weren't sick."

Nick snorted. "True. Anyway, are you coming?"

     "Yeah. I'll head down there. I just need to shower quickly and then I'll make my way over there. Sounds good?" 

     "Alright, dude. I'll be waiting." He disconnected the call. 

Feeling my energy returning, I picked my clothes and took a shower. Fifteen minutes later, I walked down the stairs and checked my pocket for my keys and wallet. Satisfied that I had everything, I checked my phone for any messages and found none. I stopped for a second before I pulled my dad's contact information. 

If they came back and found me missing, I didn't want them to panic, so I sent a quick message to my dad. I just let him know that I was going to meet Nick in the pizza place down at Martin Avenue and not to worry about me. I didn't expect him to respond since I had a feeling he was busy dealing with the critical matter he had with Uncle Road, so I pocketed my phone back and headed outside. 

I switched on the car and drove off, thinking if I was going to share these new revelations with Nick or not. They were pretty personal, but at the same time, he was my best friend. 

Driving through the cold and quiet night with all these deep thoughts, I felt a soft pounding in my head. Hopefully, it wasn't another fever.