Utopia: An X-Men Story

Chapter 8

The simulation rooms sat in the lower levels of the museum, nestled under the waves of the ocean, outstretched under the Utopian plate. Fish swam past the glass in small schools, their colors flickering. I met Bastian out in the hall.

“Hey, wheres Alex and Abrielle?” I walked over and sat next to him. He was scrolling through Kedrew's phone

“They are in a simulation. Alex is feeling much better.”

“That's good. Are you having fun catfishing?”

He sighed and looked over at me. “Mon cher, can you keep a secret, s'il vous plaît?”

I nodded. “Sure what's up?”

“I don't need to catfish him.” He handed me the phone and I began to scroll through the text messages. It was a conversation between Jennifer and him.

Kedrew: Babe I can promise everything is going to be okay

Jennifer: I don't know :/

Kedrew: I love you! Don't you believe me?

Jennifer: We'll talk about this later

“What's so wrong with this?” I looked at Bastian and set the phone down.

“Keep reading. That interaction was about a month and a half ago.”

“So what's so special about this?”

“Just keep reading.”

I continued reading.

Jennifer: Kedrew, oh my gosh I'm scared!

Kedrew: it will be fine.

Kedrew: I've got lots of money

Kedrew: Everything will be fine. I love you!

Jennifer: How do I tell my family?

Kedrew: You just do.

Kedrew: You'll make a beautiful mom.

“Oh my gosh! Bastian, is she-” He nodded and took the phone back.

“I had to tell someone. Abrielle's a motor mouth and she would lose it. And Alex is just as fiery. I don't know where Nathaniel went, so I'm left with you.”

I nodded. Pregnant. Jennifer Gray-Summers was pregnant. At nineteen. With a boy she barely knew. She wasn't even legally an adult. “I knew she was stupid, but really?”

He nodded and we sat in silence. I looked at the water and closed my eyes. “I'm not excited for today. It's already been a bit great day.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Nathaniel's an idiot.”

“Tell me something I don't know.”

“I like him, I think.”

“Again, tell me something I don't know.”

“Look, can we not talk about this?” I felt my face turn red. “Are you waiting for an available room?”

He shook his head. “You're welcome to go. As cool as these things are, I don't much care. It's always the same old thing.”

“Alright.” I stood and stretched. “You look tired. You should probably take a break from all this.”

“Merci beaucoup, Kyrany. Have fun.”

I rolled my eyes and walked down the hall. “I will try.”

He smiled and went back to scrolling through the phone. There were six simulation rooms in this particular corridor. An older man paced the rooms and nodded at me. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” I followed him to an empty room and the doors slid open. “The name is Creed.”

“Creed?” The man smiled a bit and sighed. “Victor Creed, Graydon Creed, Victor Creed, Graydon Creed. Do you care who you see?”

“Yeah, not Graydon. And I know how to work the system so there is no need to bother or anything.”

“Fifteen minutes. Got it?”

“Yeah. I've got it.”

The man shut the door behind me as I stepped into the darkness and I saw and heard nothing.

A small light flicked on the middle of the small room and the inner gears of the system began to awaken. The walls shuddered, paneling turning to trees and flooring flooding with snow. I closed my eyes and listened, walking into the small grove. The snow crunched softly under my feet. I stopped and the crunching continued.

“It's been a long time, kid. A year about, am I right?”

“We have this same conversation every time I see you.” I turned around and opened my eyes. Victor's face was in front of mine a few inches away. His breath was hot on my face. The condensation rose in the air and I felt the chill.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.” He walked around me, shoulders hunched and eyes wild.

“You are so interesting. I can tell you're holding back. That's not good.” He chuckled darkly. “Let that wild animal inside of you take control. It's freeing.”

“No, it's not.”

He growled. “You're feral. Act like it! I can smell your frustration.”

“I'm fine.”

“Are you?” He grabbed my hair and ran it through his fingers. He thought for a minute, smirking. “And how's that frail boy you love? The normal one?”

“Don't even start!” I smacked his hand away, fangs bared. The snow crunched some more as I took a step back. The sky darkened slightly and little fluffy flakes began to fall from the sky.

“Let me guess,” Victor laughed. He sauntered through the snow, his steps slow and concise. “He can't stand you “

“No!”

“He thinks you're a mess.”

“No!”

“A selfish jerk.

“Shut up!”

“An animal-”

“Shut! Up!” The roar echoed through the woods. My claws twitched and my heart began to race. I could feel my blood pulsing through my body quickly, the heat rising in my face. My vision started to turn red.

“Embrace it!” He chuckled as he stepped backwards, arms outstretched. “If you don't, no one will! We're monsters, Kyrany, it's in our blood. Try to repress it and it will only come back stronger.”

“I need you to go away!” I held my head and could feel tear welling up in my eyes.

Victor chuckled darkly and leaned against a tree. “You control the system, sweetheart. Say it.”

“Computer!” The sky lightened up a bit. Victor looked at it and held his hand out, snow melting on his palm. “Load Anthony Creed.”

Victor smirked. “Until we meet again, kid, and we will meet again.”

I looked at him, tears in my eyes, and watched as he disappeared in the woods and the sky grew dark. I wiped my eyes and watched the paneling grow dark and shift into my childhood room. I could hear the soft scratchy sound of the stereo playing out in the living room. The wind blew at the curtains and moonlight danced on the carpet. I could smell alcohol in the air and my father at the neck of the bottle. He was singing.

“You can try to save the soul of animal,” his voice carried through the house, low and slow. I sat on the floor and leaned against the door, closing my eyes. I knew these words- this moment- too well
“You can try and you can beg and plead.” I began to mouth the words
“But at the end of the day, if you don't do what they say, they're gonna leave you to die and bleed.”

Tears dripped down my face as the music cracked and his voice faded. “At the end of the day, if you don't do what they say, they're gonna leave you to die and…”

“Bleed.”

The simulation ended and I was left alone to my thoughts.