Chapter 41: Man in the Mirror

Will sat on his bike with one foot on the seat and the other foot on the ground. The cigarette held between his index finger and middle finger did nothing to help him calm down. His whole being was as tense as when he first left the room.

He threw the half-burnt cigarette on the ground with force. Immediately, he reached for a new cigarette and secured it between his lips. When he tried lighting it up, his lighter wasn’t really cooperating. It’s like adding salt to his injury. Frustrated, he tried a few more times before hurling the lighter to the ground. It bounced from the force. “Fuck!” He cursed through gritted teeth. It broke from the impact. Still, it did nothing to calm his frustration.

‘Click!’ He was instantly greeted with the sound of fire burning and the smell of smoke. He turned to the source. Zalen was lighting up his own cigarette. Seeing that he got Will’s attention, he offered the lighter with a gesture.

Will calmed down a little. He took the lighter from Zalen and lit the new cigarette. He sighed as he took a puff from it. There was a momentary silence as they smoked in peace.

“You’ll have to face it sooner or later,” Zalen broke the silence. Will gave no response. “I know,” he replied after a while. “We’re actively looking for him now,” Zalen broke the news to him, although he was unsure whether it was anything new.

Seeing that Will was deep in thought. Zalen let him be. He needed some time to calm down and sort his thoughts.

“How’s Cecilia?” Will asked suddenly. His mood lifted a little. “She was petrified. You really did a number on her,” Zalen replied, his tone light. Hearing that, Will tensed up a little. “Never knew you had that in you,” Zalen went on, not realizing his shift of mood. “They heard her crying after we left,” he added.

Only then did he realize that Will was back to being tense again. “It wasn’t me,” his voice came out harsh. “It was that man,” he sounded pained as he said those words. He was simply trying to tell her to eat something. Such a simple action went south really quickly. He didn’t even realize the exact time he started acting like the man he hated. He acted so naturally. He was even enjoying it as he saw her reaction. It made him want to continue - to see how far he could go before she broke down. It happened so naturally, it scared him so much he couldn’t put the feelings into words.

“It’s in the genes,” he whispered in desperation.

“You’re not him,” Zalen assured, “you’re both different, Will. Stop beating yourself up.” Will took another puff of his cigarette. “I know,” he said. He knew. He always knew. However, he felt helpless. They are two different people, alright. He should do everything he can in order to prevent these two different individuals from becoming the same - a source of toxic to the world. However, the more he told himself that he shouldn’t be like that man, the more he saw him in himself.”

“You won’t be like him. You’re way better than that,” Zalen said as he patted Will’s shoulder and left. Will was left alone again with his thoughts. He looked at the night sky. “Am I?”

The door opened to reveal the figure of a man. It was dark and the only source of light came from behind the figure, making it hard to see his face. Cecilia squinted at him. Her condition was even worse than when they first saw her.

Chad lit the candle in his hand. The light illuminated the space and the door closed behind him. He studied his surroundings. The plate of food laid untouched at the corner. Cecilia was exactly where she was hours ago where they left her. She was curled up in the same position. Her hair was a mess and he could see tear stains on her cheeks.

“You haven’t had your meal,” Chad stated the fact casually. Her eyes swept over the plate before landing back on the ground in front of her.

Chad sighed. He reached over to grab the plate and came back to where she was. He squatted down in front of her like how Will did. Only this time, he didn’t maintain eye contact for long. He tore a small piece from the slice of bread on the plate. He looked to check if her attention was still on him before swallowing the food. “There’s no poison. Go on and get something into your system,” he said as he placed the plate on the floor, pushing it towards her.

She eyed the plate in front of her. It was hard to motivate herself to move. She neither had an appetite nor the will to act. She was so hungry, she couldn’t feel the hunger anymore. She was really scared but all she felt right then was numbness.

“Go on,” Chad encouraged. She was pulled out from her daze as she focused on Chad’s face. His expression was nothing but kind. It was as if he was talking to a scared animal.

Slowly, she reached out for the food. Still, she didn’t have the appetite. She took a small bite and chewed slowly. Once she swallowed the first bite, hunger hit her hard. It was as if her body was screaming for more as she was starved for too long.

All the food on the plate soon disappeared. She almost forgot that Chad was there as she swallowed greedily, stopping only when all the food was gone.

“Do you want more?” Chad’s voice once again pulled her back to reality. She looked like she was in a dilemma. Finally, she shook her head. Chad chuckled as he went to the door to ask the guard to bring more food.

He came back and sat casually at the other side of the room. “I’ve asked them to bring more,” he said.

His statement was met with silence. She went back to staring at the ground in front of her.

“Will told me everything he knew about you.” Her attention snapped back to him. That got a prideful smile out of him. It was, however, so subtle that she failed to notice. “While we wait for the food, would you tell me what happened that night?”