Laser Kid Experiment

Chapter Six- Home

"Not much," he admitted. "Other than kids being tested on, and it was shut down, no one really talked about it." Baxis frowned.

"I suppose that's for the best." he sighed, his eyes following the train as it pulled into the station. The doors opened, and the other students began filing into the seats. Baxis followed, but Logan lingered behind, unsure. Baxis turned to face him as he stepped up into the train, looking at him curiously. "Are you coming with ?" they asked, holding the door. Logan wasn't sure. He didn't really trust Baxis, he just got too many bad vibes from him, but his curiosity was stronger than his fear. "You want answers, don't you?" Baxis continued, solidifying Logan's decision. He stepped up after him, taking a seat next to the window. The doors closed, and the train reared forward.

Silence stretched between them for a while, as the first stop a few people left, Baxis remained seated.

"Where are we going?" Logan asked nervously at the second stop.

"The last stop is where I get off. Where we live." he said simply, staring out the window. Logan leaned over slightly to look at the side of his face.

"We?" he questioned, thinking how strange the whole situation was. He was going home with someone he barely knew, and he was afraid, but he didn't understand anything, and he loved to learn. He wanted to understand Baxis, to know why he was like that, to know why he brought up the experiment, why he was so secluded and strange.

"Yes." Baxis nodded curly, causing frustration to bubble within Logan. He was being so vague. The train announced that it was the last stop, and most people had already left the train. Baxis stood, and Logan copied his actions. He followed him out of the train onto the platform, and his fear increased tenfold. Even with the bright shine of the sun, the place still looked dark. There were no buildings nor houses that could be seen nearby, and no other people seemed to be around. He gulped, staying a slight distance away from Baxis. "My building is just down here, you can't miss it.'' Logan bit his tongue, refraining from asking questions until they got to this 'building' as he called it. They crossed a road, then down a passageway in between trees. In the distance he saw what Baxis had meant, and he had to resist his instinct to turn tail and run. It was an apartment complex, the crumbling walls looked as if the only thing holding it up were the vines and weeds. The windows had been boarded up, and there was a fence around the whole thing that created a sort of garden, making the building in the middle look more like a dog house. "Baxis. What the hell is this." Logan gasped, not taking a step closer. Baxis paused in a gap in the fence.

"The home for the laser kids." he said simply, then continued to walk through. Logan felt dread coursing through his body. He looked behind him, thinking he could just go back, get the train home and forget everything. But he came this far already, he decided to press on. He jogged up to Baxis until he was walking beside him. "Watch your step though, there may be a rattle snake here somewhere. Totally not my fault, of course." he chirped, his eyes focused ahead. Logan winced.

"That makes me think you had something to do with it..."

Baxis chuckled, waving his hand. "We rescued it from a circus thing, turns out rattlesnakes aren't great pets." Logan chuckled nervously, watching as Baxis walked toward a window.

"Uh, isn't the door that way?" Logan asked, a slight edge in his voice. He stood awkwardly behind the stranger, rubbing his forearm as a way to soothe his nerves. It wasn't really working. 

"We need to get in through the window, the door is broken. Also not my fault."

Logan frowned, still very sceptical of everything he was being told. 

Baxis lifted himself up onto the window ledge, using their elbow to push it open further as he swung his legs over and into the room. From what he heard the floor sounded old. It creeped and cracked under him as he landed. Logan watched, glancing back to where they came from one last time. He followed his lead, struggling slightly as he pulled himself up and over, landing clumsily on his knees. He quickly stood up, dusting himself off with an embarrassed grin. Baxis didn't seem to notice however, as he glanced around almost nervously. 

They were in what seemed to be a lobby, or a living room, but the paint on the walls was peeling and the lights were dim. The sound of a girls voice made him jump. "Yo Bax, who's the kid?" 

That's when Logan noticed the other people. There were more people than there should be in that size of a room, a lot of them were teens, no older than nineteen. They were sat in groups, some playing board games, drinking, or talking amongst each other in hushed tones. Logan noticed the girl who had spoken up. She was eyeing Logan up with an intent gaze, her dark hair flowing over her face when she stood up to face him. Logan shrunk back as he realised how tall she was, a whole foot over him. He gave her a nervous smile, but Baxis quickly stood in front of him protectively. "Nothing of your concern, Rim." he says coldly, then turns to the rest of the people in the room who had stopped their own activities to watch them. "Nothing to see, ignore us!" he demands, earning a few chuckles and scoffs from the others. The girl, Rim, squinted her eyes, a small smirk on her face as she stepped closer to Baxis, clearly trying to intimidate him. He flinched slightly, but didn't back down, glancing behind him to check on Logan. Logan looked up at him with a look to say 'wtf is going on?' 

"Aw cmon, share with the class." Rim teased, poking his shoulder. Noticing his deadpan expression, she sighed, backing off slightly. "You know Slen will kill you both if he finds out." she warned, her tone softening. Baxis pushed Logan by his shoulders out the room, calling for his shoulder to her. 

"Which is why no one will tell him!" he heard Rim sigh, but she didn't protest or argue as Logan was led up the stairs with a million questions flooding his mind.