Trial X6

Power of Persuasion

  At my locker in Jam Pony, I reached up to pull out my backpack only to cringe and grab my side. By now, almost all my wounds had healed, but the wound from White's bullet was still there. And because I kept moving around and not resting, it kept reopening, so it was taking longer to heal.

  Turning towards the wall, I lifted my shirt just high enough to see the bandage. With a delicate hand, I pulled the bandage down a bit to check on the wound. Sure enough, it was bleeding again but only slightly.

  Looking at it also confirmed it would be gone in a few more days. It was still a little bruised around the outside, but it only hurt because of the tissue in the area being sore and still reconstructing.

  Dropping my shirt, I went back to my locker and reached out with my other hand. Going over to Normal to get my first package for the day, I went by Sketchy and Alec.

  "Yo, Shadow! Going to Crash tonight?"

  "I don't know, Sketchy. I'll see how my day plays out." Looking at Normal, I leaned on the counter slightly. "Ready to work, Sir."

  "Ooh, so you're the soldier of this place! There's always that one that's so serious." A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a bright smile was standing next to Normal. "Here you go!" She handed me a box. Glancing at Normal, he raised a brow at me.

  "Yes, ma'am. I'll get right on it." I said before leaving. She must be a new hire....but she didn't smell right.

~

  I ended up going to Crash with Max and Original Cindy, drinking with them until they started talking about Logan. I got up and went to the bar, sighing as I sat down.

  "Bartender, mind giving me another shot?" I raised my empty glass. He nodded his head and came over with the glass bottle that had a weird, skinny, metal tip on it. "Thanks."

  My nose twitched, and I noticed the woman beside me. She was the same brunette who had been by Normal earlier that day. Listening, I heard her asking questions about Max and Logan. Glancing over, I saw that she was talking to Alec. Logan then walked up, and the two turned towards him.

  "Hi, I'm Mia." The woman said.

  "I'm Logan. It's nice to meet you."

  "Logan, I think there's something Alec wants to say to you." She said while looking at the transgenic male. He unblinkingly stared at her for a second, then turned to Logan.

  "Yeah," He paused. "Logan, I just, uh, wanted to say that I know why Max admires you so much. Sometimes I wish I had more of a purpose in life." I set my glass down on the bar.

  "Logan, is there something you want to say to Alec?" Mia asked.

  "Well, it's just that.... I don't know, sometimes I just wish I was more of a free spirit and....it must be nice to be a happy-go-lucky sociopath." They laughed. "I kind of envy you."

  "Aww, group hug!" Mia was smiling at the two men, and what happened next raised my suspicions quite high of this Mia woman because that's exactly what they did. Logan and Alec hugged. When they let go of each other, I could feel the gears turning in my head.

  Mia started asking questions of Logan, and he was answering them as if he had no idea what was coming out of his mouth. Quietly standing up, I went over to Max. Grabbing her shirt sleeve, I gently tugged a few times to get her attention.

  "What is it, Shadow?"

  "Something's off about Mia."

  "Ain't that the truth." And she went back to drinking.