Chapter 4 – The Truth Comes Out
A/N: Hey everyone. I've been pretty busy these past few weeks, so a shorter chapter than usual.
Heads up, this is where the plot picks up.
Enjoy!
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Waking up that morning, Sam had felt a rush of anxiety and excitement at the thought of this being his first day at his job. It was a job at a store, according to Finn's dad. It didn't give a lot, but he agreed regardless, simply happy to find somewhere that accepted him.
But now as he stared at Martin and his bike outside the house, he began having second thoughts.
"So, what do ya think? Cool, right?"
"Maybe it's better if I walked. You can tell me where to find the place."
Martin shrugged. "That'll be easier but can't have you getting lost on your first day. Min won't let me hear the end of it. Now just one more thing." The other man pulled out a silver ring. "Your hair's too messy. I could give you another haircut, but it grows back too fast. This will help keep it together."
"Ow! You carry stuff like that on you?" Sam winced when Martin got behind him and tugged at his hair.
"Gotta look my best," Martin winked and backed away. "Nice!"
Sam tugged lightly at his ponytail experimentally.
The man then went over and put on a red helmet. He tossed him a blue helmet with yellow stars that he felt a little embarrassed about wearing. "Hurry up, pal. We don't have all day."
Knowing there was no way out of this now, he put on the helmet and tugged at the strap of his backpack. He couldn't leave the crown at home, so he found a way to carry it without drawing attention to himself. He got on behind him.
"Hold on tight!" Martin pressed a button that got the bike roaring to life.
"Why do you even have a second helmet?" Sam mumbled, tremors shooting through him.
Martin glanced back and grinned. "Don't tell, but one time Finn insisted on letting him ride along. I sort of gave in."
Sam gaped. "You let a kid ride with you-Ahhhhh!" Anything else on his mind vanished once the wind was blowing against his face and houses shot by them in a blur. He could hardly hear Martin laughing over his own screaming. Soon looming buildings and blaring cars surrounded them, but Sam kept his eyes squeezed and his grip even tighter.
"You can let go now, gramps. We're here."
Eyes snapping open, he glanced over to the store. It looked simple with a glowing blue sign, and he could make out aisles stacked with products through the window.
Martin snorted. "I'm pretty sure everyone in the whole city heard us coming."
Sam huffed and got off, legs wobbly and face burning. "You were going too fast!" Any lethargy from rising early was long gone as his nerves felt on fire.
"Yeah, you never rode a bike before, have you?"
"Doubt it."
"Anyway, the store owner is a cool guy. Kinda. I think." He rubbed the back of his neck. "The point being, if anyone asks, just say you're wearing a costume or something. I'll be back to pick you up in a few hours."
Sam wasn't looking forward to that but forced a smile and waved. Turning to face the store, he took a deep breath and marched on. He was going to make the best of this.
A jingle came from somewhere when he stepped inside, and he couldn't help jerking back a little at the large man standing behind the counter. The store owner looked up from his phone. "Can I help you?"
Seizing up, he breathed and composed himself. "I'm Sam. I'm here for the, uh, assistant job?"
"Oh, you're with Mertens, then?"
He was starting to pick up on the tone everyone used when they spoke that name. "Yup, that's me." He laughed nervously. "Thanks for giving me this job."
"I had to so he would leave me alone," he grumbled and tilted his head. "Nice helmet."
Sam blushed and hid the childish-looking thing behind him. The store owner rose and came over to him, towering over him. He ended up feebly shielding himself with the helmet.
"Here."
Sam blinked at the black and white shirt being held out to him. "Go to the restroom and change. Your job is to restock the shelves and help customers out if they need anything. Don't break anything and we should be good. Got it?"
"Y-yes!" Sam grabbed the shirt and scrambled to change.
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As nerve-racking and exhausting as his first day was, Sam was surprised when his boss told him his shift was over and that he expected him back at the same time tomorrow. Beaming with relief, he didn't feel too bad when Martin drove them home.
He grew more comfortable going there as days passed. There was the occasional mix-up or rude customer, but other than that he was doing fine. Even his stoic boss seemed to ease up on him compared to his wary glares when they first met.
When he got his first pay two weeks later, Sam decided this was worth celebrating. He bought some snacks and a few soda cans before heading back home where he surprised the family.
As they sat in the living room, Sam yelped when Martin pulled him to his side and raised his juice can. "To gramps, who survived way longer out there than I expected!"
He blushed at the bright flash that came after and saw Minerva coming over with a camera, smiling with a raised brow. "You mean longer than you have in your first job?"
Finn laughed. "Oooooh!"
"Oh, come on, Min! That was supposed to be between us."
She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I don't know what you expected when you kept swiping food from the shelves."
"Eh, I got hungry," Marin said, taking a sip from his drink.
Sam grinned, watching Finn slip a few candy bars into his pocket without his mother noticing. He knew it wasn't much, but in a way, he wanted to give something back to them.
After dinner, Finn insisted on them watching a movie.
"Fine, just one. You have school tomorrow," was his mother's condition.
An hour later into the movie, Sam was sitting on the carpet cross-legged. The couple sat comfortably on the couch behind them, with Finn and Martin fighting over the popcorn bowl. Out of the large library of movies the family had, they settled on a bad one and occasionally burst into laughter at the terrible acting and a rather cheesy plot.
"These never get old," Martin said, wiping a tear. When a knock came from the door, he groaned. "Could they have picked a worse time?"
"I'll get it," Minerva went over to open the door. "Oh, hello! How may I help you?" She sounded a little surprised. Sam peeked over the couch and froze when he saw the two Seekers in the doorway.
"Can we come in?" the Seeker with the ponytail said.
"Yes, Kara," the doctor said and the two stepped in.
"Hey, it's you!" Finn eyed the blonde Seeker in surprise.
"Hey, kid," she said, but her smile looked forced, and her eyes kept drifting away. Worried, Sam inched closer to the family.
Kara pressed a button on her bracelet and a hologram of a familiar woman appeared. "Good evening, Dr. Campbell. I hope I'm not disturbing you."
Minerva smiled. "Not at all. Did something come up at the hospital?"
"No, our visit concerns your guest, actually," she said, and his heart plummeted.
"Sam?" Minerva looked between them. "What about him?"
"My Seekers have been searching through his bunker for the past few weeks and I've been working on deciphering the notes they found. I came to realize something's off," she explained. "When he was unconscious in your hospital, I recall you telling me your son found him inside a cryonic pod or something of that sort, yet we found no trace of any technology that could fulfill that purpose. Not even pipes in the walls pumping freezing gas. His hideout only held basic supplies and messily written notes in a language we don't know."
Sam swallowed when the educator's searching stare fell on him.
"That left us wondering how he managed to stay frozen for so long," Dr. Gross said. "The only explanation we have points right back at him."
"I don't understand. What are you implying?" Minerva said, but Sam already figured out where this was going.
"Dr. Campbell, according to the notes you've taken while he was at the hospital, your patient's body temperature is unnaturally low, so low that no ordinary person should be able to survive it. It can't be a coincidence, can it?"
Sam recalled how the cold was never an issue for him and how he had no problem handling the frozen foods in the fridge. The labyrinth of icy mirrors reared into his mind, and he shivered.
Kara stepped forward. "I'm afraid you've been keeping a mutant under your roof this whole time, doctor."
"What?" Finn and Martin muttered.
Minerva kept her face firm. "That's impossible. I've done several examinations in the hospital and found no sign of mutagenic energy on him."
"But the machines you used are made for basic checkups and can't pick up on the subtler forms of mutation. The equipment in my lab, however, is designed specifically to detect even the faintest traces of it. We simply can't risk having a mutant on our island when he's perfectly capable of causing harm, or worse, infecting others, can we?" Dr. Gross said. "My Seekers will safely escort him to my lab. I assure you we'll send him back if there's nothing wrong."
Finn snapped. "What's the point? Sam isn't bad!"
"Y-yes, my son is right. Sam has been kind and polite since we met him," the doctor said. "He is no threat to anybody."
"I want to believe you, Dr. Campbell, I really do, but according to witnesses, your friend had picked on a child and got into a fight with someone in a shop. Your husband and son were seen there with him."
"That can't be true," Minerva turned to them for answers only to be met with their silence.
Dr. Gross went on. "And he also went around posing as one of Mr. Mertens' relatives."
Martin's jaw dropped. "You what?"
"I was the one who told people that! They asked me about Sam, and I didn't know what to say," Finn quickly said.
"Yet he didn't correct you and went along with it. I don't know. Something about a stranger posing as one of the island's citizens doesn't sit right with me," Dr. Gross said with a hand to her chin.
Sam grimaced. All their previous mistakes came back to haunt them.
"Look, let's just get this over with," the second Seeker said, his patience thinning. "You're gonna have to come with us, old man."
Sam looked helplessly at his family and bit his lip. "Can they come with me? Please?"
Dr. Gross shook her head. "Sorry, but my private lab isn't meant for anyone. Only people who have business there are allowed in."
The thought of being torn away from his family terrified him more than anything. "I'm not going!" he finally said, trying to push an assertive bite into his voice, yet the large man kept approaching. His shaking hand edged toward the crown.
"Leave him alone!" Finn jumped between them, furious tears in his eyes. "You can't make him go if he doesn't want to!"
"Kid, step aside-"
"No, go away! I hate you!"
Minerva stepped in, holding her son. "Finn, stop."
"But mom!"
She turned to the Seekers and the hologram. "Dr. Gross, please give us some time to sort this out. I don't anyone in my family hurting over this."
The educator's face dipped a little in disappointment then she smiled. "Of course. We'll be seeing you first thing in the morning. Enjoy the rest of your evening!"
With that, the hologram flickered away. The two Seekers turned away, with Kara sending them an uncertain glance before heading out.
"That could've gone better," Martin said with a nervous laugh. Minerva, however, scowled at her husband.
"You three never told me about this 'fight' Sam apparently was involved in!"
"It wasn't as bad as she made it out to be!" Martin argued. "He just went all amnesiac on us for a second. I smoothed things out myself."
"Mom, dad. You can't let them take Sam away. He doesn't wanna go!" Finn insisted.
Minerva sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Finn, I'm just a doctor. I don't have any control over the Seekers."
"And last time I got in their way, they broke my legs!" Martin added with a shudder.
"Besides, you all overreacted. Dr. Gross just wanted to run a few tests. It's perfectly fine for her to do so," Minerva said, frowning.
Her husband rubbed his neck. "I don't know, Min. I didn't like the looks on their faces when she talked about these 'tests'."
"Martin!"
"I'm just saying!"
Sam had been quiet the entire time, staring down at the floor absently. He then found himself muttering. "What if I am what they think?"
All heads turned to him.
Minerva looked at a loss and forced a smile. "Don't say that. I'm sure there is an explanation for everything."
"But I still don't remember anything about who I am. I'm not really 'Sam'. That's just what you guys call me," he murmured.
"Who cares about any of that?" Finn said. "No matter what we find out, you'll still be my friend!"
While he could see his parents exchanging looks at that, the child's words made Sam's chest tighten and brought him to tears. "Thanks, little guy," he said, ruffling his hair. A worrying thought then came to him. "But what if they stay suspicious of me? What's going to happen to me then?"
The doctor's silence gave him all the confirmation he needed. He left their side and trudged blindly to the attic. The first thing that greeted him was his living space, surrounded by books, souvenirs from trips to the city with the family, and much else. He made his way over there, a lump in his throat. It had only been three weeks since he came out of the bunker and somehow found himself a place amongst this strange yet welcoming family, but now that woman and her Seekers are planning to take him away to some lab. Would he get the chance to see them again?
"Sam?" In the dimness, he glanced over to see the child climb up and rub his shoulder. "Can I come up here?"
Despite everything, the old man smiled. "Of course." He patted the space next to him. The little boy came over and hugged him instead.
"I'm sorry. I got you into so much trouble," Finn murmured tearfully.
"Don't say that. None of us saw this coming."
"I won't let them, okay? I won't let them take you. I promise," he said faintly, wiping the tears from his face. Warmth filled Sam's chest. Funny how things turned out. When he first began spending time with this boy, he thought his job will be to look after him, yet here was the child doing everything he could to reassure and protect him.
"I know." He pulled away eventually and went to the window to clear his mind only to catch a glimpse of something that sent warning bells ringing in his head. "Seekers."
"What?"
Sam narrowed his eyes. The Seeker was trying to be discreet, but her gaze would drift every now and then to their house. He noticed another patrolling the sidewalk. "They're everywhere."
"What do we do?"
Sam pulled away, not wanting them to catch him staring and figuring out where he stayed in the house. This was far bigger than what they led Dr. Minerva into believing. They wouldn't send this many people to keep an eye on their house just for a few 'check-ups'. They wanted to make sure he didn't try to escape without them knowing, and then capture him the first chance he got.
After hundreds of years of being hidden away in that bunker, he refused to be a prisoner of any kind again. "I need to get away from here."
Finn frowned. "Okay, but how?"
Reaching for the crown strapped to his waist, he held it in his hands and could have sworn a splash of frost spread over the glass window. He supposed the answer to many of his questions had always been staring at him, but he had been too afraid to confront it.
He no longer was.
"I'm going to fly."
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A/N: Thanks for reading! Simon is no longer afraid of the crown, so things are about to take a turn in the next chapter.