ALEXiThymiA: Chapter 11: Progenitor

Chapter 11

Progenitor

“I have reason to believe that someone in your community might be infected with the Lykanthropy virus at this very moment…” Bullford said, then paused as he looked around the gymnasium of so many students.

Most let out gasps. He had them, they were all still. Most twitched imperceptibly to his vastly heightened senses. This twitching was a common occurrence Bullford found, when dealing with humans who learned that an apex predator was in their midst.

This was why the actions of the one girl in the Sophomore section were so odd. Rather it wasn’t her actions, but her lack of reaction. She didn’t even seem frightened. He made a mental note of her and decided to continue with his speech before his spell over the crowd abated.

“This could be anyone you know. A loved one, a family member who recently cut their arm. An older sister who might be more irritable than usual. We are here for two reasons. First to give a general assessment of the person from your community who we believe was turned. Also, to give a warning.”

A pause, as he let the group of students shift with the knowledge of what was happening. Again, that one girl made no motion, if he didn’t know any better Bullford would swear she wasn’t even breathing. Also, she was powerful, especially for a student.

“The description of the person we are looking for is as follows. We are looking for a female with long black hair, powerful. This person was strong enough to fight a ravenous werewolf barehanded. We project her strength and class to be at least mid to late twenties with a rare class. Please, if you know anyone like that who is exhibiting wild mood swings or anger issues, please let us know.”

“That was the first major news. The second, is that the location of the attack and reason why we are here today. This all occurred at Lambert Park.”

Gasps.

“The body was found late Sunday evening, but we depict the time of the assault to have happened somewhere close to midnight on Saturday the 28th.” Bullford continued to speak over the crowd. Once again everyone was anxious and looking to those around them. Everyone but the girl. The girl on the other hand had a laser focus on him, as if her eyes could pierce through his very soul. Seeing the girl react so calmly, staring at him, made his wolf cower in fear for a second.

This was odd as Bullford’s wolf never made a sound. Not since he conquered the alien spirit of energy that had tried to conquer his mind. That was the mark of a Progenitor, the true mark of a Progenitor at least. Someone who had been infected with the Lykanthropy virus and managed to squash the alien consciousness into submission. It had been years, decades even, since Bullford last felt his wolf spirit. The fact that it came alive now, while looking at that girl, the same one that he had made a mental note to watch. The same one who made no reaction to either the announcement of the werewolf loose in their neighborhood, or the location of the attack. All of this spoke to his analytical side and screamed that he pay attention.

“If you have any information about this, let me know.” Bullford said. Then he paused and let the crowd of students begin to converse with each other.

While Principal Summers came over to take the microphone and once again take control of this impromptu gathering, Bullford watched the young girl.

The boy next to her, someone that would almost have to be a blood relative given the hair and the similar features and complexion spoke animatedly to the girl.

“Thank you, Mr. Bullford, for coming here today to let us know about what we…” Principal Summers began, but was cut off, by a large paw of a hand placed on his shoulder. With that the Principal looked up and over, to see that Bullford was still eying a spot in the Sophomore section.

“That girl with the black hair and the blond birthmark on the top of her head, who is she?” Bullford asked.

Principal summers knew already but did the courtesy look just to make sure there was no other female in the sophomore section who looked exactly like her. Once he laid eyes on the person in question, his suspicions were confirmed.

“That is Alexa Thyme, she is…”

“I need to speak with her.” Bullford said, never taking his eyes off the girl.

“After the assembly?” Summers asked.

“Immediately.”

“R, right.” Summers stammered out. Then bringing up the microphone again, he began speaking to the gathered students.

“The boy too.” Bullford said, eying the way the boy next to her was looking around nervously and still talking to the girl in question with clearly guilty expressions. Well not guilty expressions, but the look of someone who knows something.

“That is all for today. Thank you all for attending. You may now head back to your regularly scheduled periods.” A slight pause, before he continued, “Alexa and Luke, we would like to have a word with the two of you, before you go.”

With that everyone got up and began to move around.

The girl on the other hand just stared at Bullford.

Shiver.

A chill ran down his spine as he locked gazes with her. The two made their way, well the boy got up and immediately began fighting his way down the lines of students who were all trying to exit the gymnasium with a well-rehearsed frenzy. The scene reminded Bullford of ants. If ants could give off angry vibes while marching in their uniform lines down the colony.

Once the boy was out, he turned to look up at Alexa who was just sitting coldly staring at Bullford. The look on her face said she was being inconvenienced at best by this delay. Honestly, he didn’t quite know what to think of the girl, other than she might be his first lead.

Finally, once enough people left the area, the female, this Alexa, made her way down.

Only once she arrived did her brother continue his trek forward. It was clear that he was protective of her, a cousin perhaps?

“Mr. Bullford, this is Luke and Alexa Thyme. They are the top students for their grade, and overall, all stars in multiple different sports. Students, this is Mr. Bullford from the Tri-State Investigation team. I must warn you that he is here on official capacity, which means that he can and will likely ask you questions related to the investigation. Remember, any misleading or lies that are given here could be prosecuted, as it would be seen as a direct attempt to impede an active investigation.” Principal Summers said.

At that, Mr. Bullford’s eyebrow rose slightly. This was a man who protected his students. Nowhere in the statement did he tell them to answer, but he did stress that if they did in fact answer, that they should do so truthfully as this was part of an ongoing investigation.

“Wha, what seems to be the issue?” Luke asked. Again, clearly demonstrating protective characteristics, though if Bullford had to guess, he would place the female as being far more powerful than the boy.

“What Mr. Thyme likely means is that he would like to know why you asked to see both him and his twin sister Alexa Thyme.” Principal Summers said.

Bullford nodded his thanks to the principal for helping streamline a few of the questions he had. Also, the protective nature of the male now made sense if he was protecting his sister. Still, something was off about their whole dynamic. Even now, the boy was clearly reacting to Bullford’s progenitor status. This was a subconscious effect that all people had when interacting with a progenitor, everyone except the girl.

“Right, I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I just happened to notice that during the session you,” Bullford began and pointed a large finger at Alexa. “You didn’t react when I mentioned the werewolf being out.”

“You didn’t say to.” The female responded.

“What?” Of all the responses, that was not the one he had been expecting.

“You did not say that we were to react. From my understanding, at the time, it was your intention to keep us all quiet while you provided your details.” The woman said in a tone that was so cold it could have been spoken in the arctic.

Bullford blinked, not quite understanding what had just happened.

“You must excuse Ms. Thyme. She suffers from a condition that makes it so she cannot feel or express emotions normally.” Mr. Summers again stepped into provide clarity. That was a fine line, as it bordered close to disclosing too much personal information.

Bullford looked at the girl, who even now defiantly stared him down. No, not stared him down. Instead, with this new insight, he realized the stare for what it was, this was the apathetic gaze of a monster. Suddenly the boy’s protective nature also made sense. He had likely grown up looking out for his twin sister, one who couldn’t react. Had he been wrong about all of this? Had he been trying to grasp at straws? That seemed likely, given the context. But he had to know for certain. So he pressed on with his questions.

“At the end, when I mentioned Lambert Park, you had a reaction.” Bullford said, shifting his attention away from the female and instead looking towards the brother.

“Yeah, you said it was Lambert Park at around midnight on Saturday, right?” Luke said.

Bullford watched the way the boy looked anxious, but not overly so. He knew something.

“Yes. That is the time window we are looking into.” Bullford admitted.

At that, the boy nodded. “Saturday evening is when I dropped Alexa off in that same park. She had just come out of a double dungeon run and went there to work out.”

Bullford held up a finger to pause the conversation.

“Wait, you went on a double dungeon run, and then went to the park to exercise?” He asked, something about this statement made no sense. Dungeons were tiring. The sheer force of mana beating on your psyche was enough to make most people crack.

“Yes, we did the Trap Dungeon in North.” Alexa answered.

“We? So you two?” Bullford asked, pointing his finger at the two.

“Gods no. I would never go on a run with her. No, she went on her date consultation with that Johnny kid. What’s his name, Johnny Mitchel?” Luke said.

“Date consultation?” Bullford asked.

“Yes, it is this service we came up with. Mainly as a way to keep guys from constantly trying to get with Alexa. Instead, they come pay a consultation fee, she goes out with them. Then she grades them on how they did…”

Bullford held up his whole hand this time. “Stop. Just stop.”

A pause, as Bullford gathered his thoughts.

“So, you went on this double trap dungeon run, then you went to the park?” Bullford asked.

Alexa nodded. “To meditate.”

“To meditate. When did you leave?”

“I don’t really know the exact time. Though I know I managed to get home well before midnight.” Alexa said.

“I can confirm this.” Luke added, I remember because the game just ended when she got in.

Bullford nodded, thinking that the boy likely meant the double overtime game that ended at 23:44 on Saturday.

Still, this was a lead.

“Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary?” Bullford asked.

“No.” Nothing, reading her was like trying to read a well-used book written in braille, nothing jumped up at you to help you get a true read of the situation.

“You know the person we are looking for would look an awful lot like you? Perhaps an older sister that went looking for you?” Bullford pressed, noticing that the characteristics of the person they were looking for and this unawakened girl were undeniable. Well in so far as female with long dark hair, and powerful went.

“Are you suggesting that I am the one who might be infected with Lykanthropy?” The girl asked, coldly.

Sniff!

Bullford sniffed deeply at that. Then just as he took it all in, he shook his head. There was something there, a faint trace of lupine, likely picked up from her having been at the park. But no, there was nothing about her that screamed her being infected with Lykanthropy.

“No, I would be able to smell it on you.” Bullford admitted.

With that the girl nodded, though exactly what she was nodding at Bullford had no clue.

“Is there anything else?” Alexa asked, after a few moments of silence.

Bullford wanted to comment on her statement, to make this last longer just to waste her time. But then he thought better of it, besides he might need their cooperation later. Opting to end on a cordial note, he shook his head and pulled out two cards from his pocket.

“Here is my card. Give me a call if either of you remember anything about that night or incident.”

The two took the offered cards. The boy just shoved it in his jeans pocket. The girl on the other hand smelled the card?

She sniffed it, then looked at the card oddly for a second like it had come alive.

“You have a high Perception?” Bullford asked.

Alexa nodded.

“Yeah, that smell is your senses telling you that you are near a predator. With senses that high, are you certain you didn’t smell a lupine on Saturday?” He asked.

The girl paused.

“I might have smelled something, but it wasn’t like this.” She said, holding out the card.

Laughter.

Bullford laughed at the comment. “No, I doubt a recently turned lupine would give off that powerful of a scent.”

A pause.

Finally, Mr. Summers chimed in. “Well, you two will need to get along to your classes here.”

With that the twins both nodded. Only the boy waved, the girl, she just stared at the card again, before putting it in her back pocket.

Once they were gone, Bullford turned to the principal. “Those are some interesting kids.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Mr. Summers responded.

At that, Bullford could only nod in agreement as he watched the two leave the gym, his eyes lingering on the female a little longer.

“Perhaps you are right about that.”