Mercy, Chapter 3

Matt asked her mother, “Should I go, mom? I mean, he killed you!”

“Yes. hon. You remember what I always told you about mercy?”

“Show mercy so you will be shown mercy. Carrying a grudge only means you carry a weight.”

“Good girl.”

Matt said to Mrs. Carson, “Okay, I’ll go see him.”

Mrs. Carson said “One thing before we go. I would like to avoid any issues with the MCO. Will you do the honors?”

Talia nodded, and she shimmered. A moment later she was dressed as an MCO officer.

“Cool power.” Matt said.

“Well, its not like magic wings, but it comes in handy.”

“Let’s go.” Mrs. Carson said.

“Yeah, come on, Mattie” Talia said.

“Actually ... would you mind calling me ... Faith?”

“Sure, but why that name?”

“It was my mom’s middle name.”

“I’m honored, hon.” her mother said in her head.

“Okay. We better go, Faith.” Mrs. Carson said.

The three of them left the hospital, and got into a cab.

“It’s a pity they didnt send him to the hospital I was in.” Faith said.

“Yours has a pediatric wing. Plus, they have a reputation of being very decent to mutant patients.”

“Did you arrange me going there? How did you know about me?”

“Sort of. A student with the ability to dream of the future saw you. and some disaster that would happen if you weren’t found and protected. That’s why I want this visit to be as short as you can make it, so we can get you to Whately, where you will be safe.”

“Wow. What kind of disaster?”

“That part wasn’t clear, other than we should avoid it.”

“I wonder ... I had so many questions about what happened that day. My dad wasn’t like the person who the police said he was.”

Talia asked, “You wanna talk about it. It might help you understand.”

“Well ... I got detention, so I was late coming home. When I got there, the place looked like a tornado hit it, and mom ... I held her as she died, which must have been when my abilities kicked in to save a copy of mom’s mind.”

“Speaking of your mom, why don’t you ask her what she remembers?”

“What about it, mom. Can you shed any light on this?”

“Your father was on medication to control his temper. I cant imagine why he would have stopped taking it, but what happened that day was what he had been like before the meds.”

“Mom said dad was on some kind of medication.” Faith said to Talia and Mrs. Carson.

Mrs. Carson said, “That fits with the police report I saw. They said he was a mutant, what they call a rager, on medication to keep him from getting dangerous.”

“Maybe dad can tell me why he stopped taking the meds.’

“It's worth asking him.” Talia said.

The three of them fell silent.

Once at the hospital, the three of them went to Faith’s father’s room, where a bored looking prison guard was at the door.

Mrs. Carson said to the guard, “We have a visitor for your prisoner. here is the authorization.”

The guard looked at the paper Mrs. Carson handed him, and then stood aside. “Don’t be long.” He said.

Mrs. Carson said, “Talia and I will wait out here.’

Faith entered the room. The lights had been dimmed, and she heard her father’s raspy breathing over the soft hum of machines.

She carefully touched her father’s arm, and said, “Dad?”

“M ... Matt? is that you?” Her father whispered.

“K.. kind of, Dad. I ... changed. I ... turned into a girl.”

Faith’s father managed to open up his eyes, and looked.

“You ... you look like your mother.”

“I do.”

“What ... what do you call yourself now.”

“I chose the name Faith.”

“Good choice. Listen, I ... dont have a lot of time, I just wanted you to know I’m sorry.”

Faith found herself crying, and said, “Why dad? Why did you stop taking your meds?’

“I ... I didn’t. They said I did, but I always took my pills. I dont understand why they didn’t work. Please believe me.”

Faith gently touched his mind with her power, and saw he was sincere.

“I believe you dad.”

“Good. I didn’t want to go with you hating me.”

“Dad ... I can save you, kinda. I did it with mom. I have a copy of her mind in my head.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking, I’m offering. Let me save you.”

She reached to touch her father, but before she could, the door burst open, and Mrs. Carson came in. “Faith, I’m sorry, but we have to go, now.”

“Just a moment, please!”

“I’m sorry, but something really bad is gonna happen if we don’t get you safe. I’ve got a teleport set up in the hallway.”

She grabbed Faith by the arm, and pulled her out of the room. Talia was waiting by the teleport, waving. “Hurry!” she said.

The three of them stepped into the port “window” and vanished.

No sooner had the teleport vanished a shadow appeared in the hallway. It pooled like liquid, growing and taking shape.

Finally the shadow looked like a large dog, with three heads. It sniffed the spot where the teleport had been, and growled in frustration ....

To be continued ...