November part one

After a long nap, I woke up and we continued our journey. We’ve lost a lot of time—we should’ve arrived back in October, maybe even late September. Thanks to my uselessness, we’ll be late.

But the twins don’t seem to mind. In fact, I think they’re afraid of arriving. Afraid of what, though? Meeting their mother for the first time? That she won’t be what they expected?

…Or are they afraid that I’ll leave?

The truth is, I’d like to stay. But that all depends on Clara—their mother—who’s never exactly enjoyed having me around. So I doubt she wants to spend the last days of her life with me anywhere near her.

As for Paul—what was he after when he approached us?

Supposedly, he and Santos were on our side. At first, I thought Paul had come to protect us. But after he mutated, he lost his mind.

That theory, however, has already been discarded.

Because the boys remembered a phrase he said right before attacking them:

“I suppose Santos won’t mind if I eat one of you.”

Santos and Paul were up to something. 

Watching us?

But why?

What do they want from us?

With that question stuck in my mind, I started being more cautious about our movements. We entered a swamp and began using the environment to adapt. I used the stealth training I picked up during my time with the Incredible Jerks.

We crawled through the mud. The boys complained about getting dirty—especially Andrew, who didn’t want his father’s old lab coat to be ruined beyond recognition.

“Sorry, Andrew, but you don’t want another monster chasing us, do you?”

A shiver ran through Andrew as he remembered his experience with Paul. He swallowed hard, took off the coat, and held it in his hands to keep it clean.

Once we finished crawling through the mud, I pressed my hand to the ground and looked up.

There, a mysterious figure stood before us. A long black leather jacket covered their body, and it wore a Hannya demon mask.

“Uh… hi?” I said calmly.

The figure didn’t respond—just shoved me back into the mud. I leapt up quickly and tried to stab it. But as my blade went for it's heart, it vanished into thin air.

An ultra. Invisible, maybe?

No—worse.

Teleportation.

She reappeared instantly behind my nephews, holding them with a dagger in her hand.

“What are you doing here, Jason?” she asked with a distorted voice.

“You know me?” I said, raising my hands.

“Unfortunately.”

Shit—did Santos find us this fast?

Who is this? Paul’s replacement?

“Look, I don’t know what Santos wants, but maybe you can just tell me, and we can work something out.”

I tried to cooperate, tossing my weapons to the ground in a sign of surrender.

“Who’s Santos?”

To my surprise, this person wasn’t tied to that mysterious man.

Then how did she know me?

There are very few people left in this world who do. Far too few, I’m sad to say.
My friends either died on the battlefield or stopped talking to me after I flirted with their girlfriends—or wives.

So this had to be an old rival.

Someone I’d never settled things with.

“Uh… sorry, I think I made a mistake. Wrong enemy. Mind reminding me who you are?”

“First, answer the question. What are you doing here?” she said, bringing the dagger closer and closer to my nephews’ necks.

“Alright, alright! I’ll tell you. I’m looking for someone. Someone important to those two.”

“Who?” she demanded, this time pointing the dagger at me.

“Their mother. My sister-in-law.”

I finally clarified.

“Clara Carson…” I said—my voice becoming more normal as I began to recognize hers.

The question of how she knew Clara kept echoing in my head—until it was answered the moment the figure removed her mask.

A woman. Violet-dyed hair tied in a ponytail, piercings in her ears and one on her eyebrow, dark eyes, pale skin. I knew that face.

She unzipped her jacket slightly, revealing a bit of a generously shaped neckline.

And I knew that figure too—one I might’ve shared a bit of history with.

“Melanie?” I said, surprised.

“Jason.”

She finally let go of my nephews. They rushed to me and stood behind.

“You know her, uncle?” Andrew asked, eyeing her sideways.

“Is she… Mom?” Rick tryed to guess.

“No, your mom’s not this tough, and she usually doesn’t get her hands dirty by almost stabbing kids. Allow me to introduce you to Melanie—she used to work with me at PowerMax. She’s a spy.”

“Member of the intelligence unit. Not the same thing,” she corrected.

“If you want to call it that.”

Who would have thought that I would meet again the coldest and most ruthless woman I have ever met in my life? 

She lit a cigarette and looked at me, pointing a gun in my direction. 

“I thought the interrogation was over.”

“Not until I say it is. You—you still working for PowerMax?” she asked what was troubling her mind from the start.

“Nope. They stopped paying me a long time ago. I could ask you the same.”

“I was… until they forced me to take their pills. The power was great—until I started mutating. I couldn’t stop teleporting all over the place. I was afraid I’d end up in the middle of the ocean… or space.”

She shuddered. I couldn’t even imagine that kind of suffering.

But something strange stood out...

“You look really healthy to me,” Andrew said, stealing the words right out of my mouth.

“Well, of course. Her mother healed me. Speaking of which—she never told me she had kids with Johan. Where is he? I doubt she’d leave them with their irresponsible uncle.”

The boys lowered their heads. Their sadness was so obvious, even Melanie—who had zero emotional tact—noticed.

“Oh… I see.”

She swallowed her words, but I still had too many questions.

“Wait, wait. Back up. Did you say Clara healed you? How? And where is she?”

“Don’t tell me you came all this way without knowing about HealingCamp,” she said, disappointed.

“What the hell is HealingCamp? And why does everyone name their bases like theme parks? I just followed the coordinates Johan gave me. But we’re still two weeks away.”

“Then I’d better show you.”

She extended her hands.

The boys grabbed hers without hesitation. Then she looked at me.

“What are you waiting for? Don’t tell me you’d rather touch another part of me.”

“Well… yes, but my concern is whether you’re leading us into a PowerMax death trap. Our little fling already failed once because you were really commited to one of your missions. I’d rather not relive that.”

“That was then. I’m different now. And I’m your only chance if you want to reach your destination faster.”

“Uncle, remember rule number two: Trust your instincts,” Rick reminded me.

He was right. My instincts told me she wasn’t lying. And this could be a good way to shake off Santos—who was probably watching us from a distance.

“You’re still sticking to that dumb code?” she said smugly.

“Shut up, ugly.”

I grabbed her hand—and with that, the swamp vanished around us.

We reappeared in the middle of a rocky, arid terrain. At the heart of an open-air camp with no visible defenses. A huge crowd moved around us—people coming and going from dozens of tents.

But I couldn’t enjoy the view. A wave of nausea hit me hard, and I staggered to the ground. My nephews too.

“Sorry—it takes some getting used to,” Melanie admitted. Something she probably should’ve mentioned earlier.

“Damn it. If we’d found you from the start, we could’ve made it here in a heartbeat instead of dragging out an 11-month journey,” I muttered, frustrated by how casually she’d undone everything we’d suffered through.

Suddenly, footsteps. Impossible not to recognize. The kind that raise goosebumps. The kind that made the nausea disappear.

I looked up—and there she was.

That woman with short dark hair and a gray headband, a sharp gaze, a beauty mark under her left eye, and dressed in a military medic uniform.

“I thought I made it clear that I never wanted to see your face—or your bloody weapons—again,” she said coldly, towering over me.

And just like that, we came face-to-face with the whole purpose of our journey: the ill-tempered Clara Carson, who didn’t even recognize her own children standing behind me.