FINALLY. Part 3 XD
sorry for the long wait! I had a lot more planned for this entry, but after some discussion with other members, I realised I had to postpone some of the events I wanted to take place coughheartfeltreunioncough and had to come up with something else to fill up my entry.
Honestly, nothing much happens here. You just see a little more into Nodin and his father's relationship and Nodin finally learns the truth. Sorry it's not that long or greatttt but hopefully it wraps up this Can of Worms saga in a mediocre bow.
Please note that I haven't read any of the entries after Can of Worms Part 2 (whoops sorry!) I'll be sure to catch up when I get the time. :) If there's any inaccuracies, I'll be sure to correct them! There's not much interaction with the other characters though, so hopefully this won't mess up anything that has happened so far.
---------------------------
NODIN
I have yet to make any contribution, any ounce of difference from the time I joined the club. My questioning of my purpose seems to be the only thing that defines my existence. I have been performing moderate exercise, and I am not nearly as lanky as before, but I am nowhere near the level of fitness I need to at least protect myself. Building muscle takes consistent exercise and training. I'd like to consider myself pretty fast, but I lack stamina and get worn out easily. If only I could control my powers...find some way to utilize them without risking any lives.
A tap on my shoulder startled me from my thoughts. Beside me stood Charlie.
"Hey there. Let me show you to your room."
My own room? Is this special treatment? From what I could recall, I thought I heard that every member could just pick a place to settle, as we did in the mansion. I was familiar with the Corners family, but that's it. Family and best friends deserve their own rooms. Did Charlie feel obligated to give me a room just because he knew me? That seems unfair to him. I don't want him to feel obligated to show me kindness. Despite my wandering thoughts, I obediently followed Charlie through the halls.
Compact and conventional, the room had only the bare necessities: a twin sized bed, a lamp, and a minimalist dresser. The room perfectly fit with my tastes, but up above, I saw the true reason for my room assignment. Exact replicas of the vents I had seen in mother's lab decorated the ceiling.
"Hannah requested them." Charlie said as I gazed at the ceiling. "She wanted it to finish her research on you, but preventing contamination fits our purpose. If any of your breath happens to seep out, those vents will take care of it. Until everyone gets their trackers out, we can't get a lot of fresh air, and the size of the place doesn't help with air circulation. I hope you don't mind."
I shook my head, and Charlie gave a nod. "Unlike the mansion, not every bedroom gets a bathroom. The ones here are like public stalls, but I assure you they are a lot nicer and cleaner. So if you need to do some business, it's about two doors down to your left."
The dank air along with the heavy machinery surrounding my room made it uncomfortably hot. Push-ups and squats were hard enough as is for me, but with the conditions of my environment, I could barely get through my simple workout. I rested on the floor (which I thoroughly cleaned beforehand) exhausted after doing a measly set of ten pushups. Granted, it was a great improvement from being sore after only three, I still felt it was pathetic compared to the strength of the other members.
"Exercising was never your strong suit." I quickly turned around. A weak but friendly smile graced my dad's face. "Even as a kid you weren't very active."
I quickly bounced from the floor, ignoring my exhaustion, and I embraced him. "Whoa whoa whoa when'd you learn how to do that?" I simply hugged him tighter, which Vi usually does when someone hesitates. He finally chuckled and gave in, hugging back. "When did you get so pathetic? Geeze I'm gonna get soft with all this affection in this room." It wasn't until I backed away to nod did I realize my father's drastically different appearance and awfully pungent odor. He looked almost as sick as I used to be. Sunken in eyes, drooping lids, messy hair-- it was clear he hadn't slept or bathed in days. His facial hair was unkept, crawling down his neck and engulfing his hallow cheeks.
"Sorry that I'm not much to look at." He sighed, "been real busy lately."
He noticed that my eyes wandered behind him, searching; his face grew pale and sorrowful.
"Sorry...She's not with me."
His words sent me into a whirlpool of panic, pulling me into darker and more terrible thoughts. She's not with him? Is she in another laboratory? Did they transfer her? Was she alive when he got there? What if she died from overexposure to the chemicals? What if she died on the way here? Maybe Dad saved her but then XL ambushed them? What if they started experimenting on mother? What if we have to fight her? What if we have to hurt her too?
Dad noticed my distress and snapped me out of my trance by violently shaking me."Nodin...NODIN! Calm down! Get a hold of yourself!"
While he had my attention, he quickly explained himself; “Your mother is fine as far as I know. I told Charlie already, but I'll need a lot more help to break her out. XL bumped up security big time, probably because of you guys."
I looked at him puzzled, unable to understand. He's a powerful demon, should he be able to bypass all the XL's security gimmicks? Wait a minute... Or is he an XL experiment too? Even then, he should have some kind of power, unless he reversed it like Charlie had. Hmm... But then again a singlehanded rescue mission would be difficult, so I can understand why he would need our help. Isn't Mother in one of the major XL laboratories though? Why would someone take on that mission by themselves? Then again they could track all of us, so we won't be any help until we get rid of the chips. Not only that, but a larger group of people would just draw more attention. I guess it makes sense. Yeah, that makes sense.
"Uhmm...hello?" Whoops did it again. Dad gave another subtle smile. "Haha same old Nodin. You haven't changed one bit, though I am real glad you're not coughing everywhere anymore."
He repeated the explanation he began while I was zoned out. He explained how Mother got involved with XL, how she saved him from addiction, why she's imprisoned, why I have my powers, and why they had to lie to me.
It was strange seeing my father with this new information. His frequent visits, his secrecy, his scars, they all made sense now. It was saddening to find out my parents were in on the scheme, that they had fed me lies all these years. I was disappointed in my father's addiction. All I've heard were its devastating effects, and I could never imagine why one would do that to themselves. At first I appalled, disgusted. However, I realized, in the end, none of that mattered. He never left and abandoned us. He's always been here, like a guardian angel.
I understood and respected my parents' struggle. They're making so many sacrifices to keep us together, to keep this family alive. I felt my chest tighten up as I thought more about their struggling and how they've always been looking out for me. It wasn't until Dad started shaking me again did I realize tears were streaming down my face. Why am I crying? It's only natural for a parent to watch out for their kids right?
"I know it must be hard to hear all this at once. I'm sorry we lied to you, but we'll always love you, Daniel. Me and your mom will always love you. Now quit your crying or else I'm gonna tear up too."
As I closed my eyes to wipe away my tears, I felt a sensational warmth. At that moment it felt that it wasn't just my father's, but also my mother's arms around me. Our family may be separated, but never broken. We still have a long journey ahead of us, but I know we'll keep fighting, keep getting stronger, and keep persevering.
Then one day, we'll be together again.
----------
