The Creeps (Sequel to The Weirdos)

76

Before the end of the night, they took shelter at an old motel. Skins got them a room with two beds, a pull out couch, then had a cot brought in. Everyone got comfortable for the night and climbed into their beds. Roderick and Freak shared one, Skins got the other. Books and Nicholas took up the couch, leaving Snow with the cot. He stared up at the ceiling for the longest time, trying to count sheep or anything to get his mind off of everything, enough for him to get some rest. It wasn't working... He turned onto his side and stared at the wall. He turned onto his other side and looked at the others, all of them seemingly already asleep and some even dreaming. How lucky they were... He sighed and turned back onto his other side, facing the wall. How could he sleep at a time like this? The mutant world riding on his shoulders... People were dying. His friend and many other mutants... Being forced into war. He had to stay positive, but it was hard when everything was hell right then. He shook his head and closed his eyes.

Sleep, just sleep. Stop thinking. He thought. And eventually, he did. He stopped thinking and drifted to sleep.

-

The next morning, he awoke to the smell of coffee and food being laid out on the counters and table.

"So tell me again."

Books was saying to Skins.

"I need to get this all straight, so tell me again, but go slower."

Skins sighed.

"Shouldn't you already know all this? I mean you were the brains there."

"I didn't hear anything about this before now."

Skins shook her head.

"Fine. It starts with the mutant abilities. All abilities can be categorized into four areas with blanket terms. And each of the four areas have sections within them. Also with blanket terms. Category one is the Mind abilities."

"Mind abilities... Right. Like Narcolepse and me."

"Yes. And there are four sections within the Mind abilities. First we have the Pranksters. Prankster abilities can trick your mind into seeing or thinking specific things. For example, they could put something in your hands and convince you that you can't let go of it. And you won't be able to. Or they could make you see things that aren't really there, things that aren't really happening."

"Mhm. What's the other three?"

Snow watched Books as he sipped his coffee and wrote on a small hotel notepad. Skins was seated with a cup of tea at the table.

"I was getting to it. The second one is the Oracles. Like Narcolepse, they can see into the past, present, or future. They can predict things and so on. Then the third is called Boosters. Boosters can... Well, boost you. Boost your abilities, help you run faster, help you jump higher, things like that. They only last about half an hour before burning out, though. They can also cause harmful boostings to other people. Like slowing you down or making you feel so heavy that you can no longer move."

"I didn't know about any of this..."

Snow mumbled. Skins and Books looked at him.

"Well, listen closely, then. I'm not repeating this a fifth time."

Skins said.

"Anyway, the fourth section in the Mind abilities is simple to explain. They're geniuses. Like you, Books."

"Ah. Got it."

"The next one is Physical abilities. It has three sections. Number one, we have infinites. They have something that comes out of their bodies like this one man I knew who had a mohawk made from daggers. Every time he pulls out one dagger, another takes its place. And he can infinitely pull the blades from his body. And then we have Morphers. People like me, who can take on different forms. Or those like Freak who naturally look different. The third is called Transformers. They can absorb objects into their body like a piece of metal and turn their arm or leg or whatever into a weapon using the metal they've absorbed. That's just one example, but there are other things that Transformers can do. Like uh... Making themselves look like certain objects in order to hide among those other objects."

"They sound really cool."
Snow said. Skins smiled.

"Yeah, the Physical abilities make up the majority of the mutant population. Continuing on, we have Elementals, which you know all about, Snow."

"Mhm."

"And lastly, we've got the... Nightmare abilities. These ones are the most frightening of all the mutants and they come in three sections. Creatures, Humanoids, and Mists. They use both physical and mind abilities to make your nightmares come to life. Creatures take on inhuman forms. Humanoids take on a human-like appearance but have something that sets them apart from people. And the mists take on the form of things you cannot grasp. They can turn invisible, they can be some form of mist like poisonous gasses or dust... Some are liquid."

"How do you know all this?"

"I learned a lot during my imprisonment."

Skins looked around the room at all the boys.

"There's a reason all this information was collected. And my prison was only one of four..."

"What?"

Snow said, getting out of the cot.

"Do they have one for each category?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Skins shuddered.

"They're deciding what to do with us, learning about us, deciding if we'll eventually be useful for their mission assignments. We're nothing more than lab rats in cages, waiting to be used."

"That's awful."

"Yes. And that's why I set the whole prison free."

Books spit out his drink and gawked.

"You did what?!"

Snow smirked and picked up an orange while Skins started wiping up the liquid Books had spewed with tissues from the desk.

"I want to set all four of the prison's prisoners free. Well, eventually I'd like that to get done. But my first priority is making sure you boys are safe. Understand?"

The boys nodded.