Chapter 568 - Vanish (1/2)
”This neighborhood looks so...” Anna whispered to Nik as the three students walked along the side path while gazing at the houses with personal backyards. Spacious structures, to be precise. Of course, Anna's whisper didn't go unregistered by Cindy with her recently enhanced senses as she scoffed, ”Peaceful?” She completed Anna's wondering mumble, ”There is nothing peaceful about these pretentious neighbors. Privatized education, high, unreasonable expectations of their children... telling them who to meet, whom to avoid as if they own us.” She breathed roughly, her voice increasing by a note, ”They all are just... so stuck in their own thoughts...” As Cindy picked up the speed, Nik and Anna looked at each other with the same thought— Good thing Mary wasn't the way Cindy described her parents.
”We're here!” Cindy exclaimed and instantly walked up to one of the many similar houses and rung the bell, her breathing turning shaky by the second as she looked back again, gazing at the relatively calm Anna and Nik as they raised their eyebrows. Chuckling, Nik inquired in a slight whisper, ”What's the matter? Getting cold feet? I mean, this is going to be quite a big revelation that their daughter is well... no longer a daddy's little girl.”
”When you put it that way—” Cindy pulled a sour expression when the door of the house clicked open, revealing a bespectacled asian man, as tall as Cindy and quite shaken as shown from his expression. The moment he laid his eyes on Cindy, the man instantly pulled Cindy into a hug and muttered something in mandarin which Nik translated as— Thank the seven existences. ”Cindy!” the man whispered, ”You're safe! Thank god, you are safe! Your mother and I... we didn't—” Cindy's father choked on his tears as Cindy's muffled sobs rang, making Nik and Anna look away. ”Ugh, so awkward!” Asmodeus complained within Nik's head, making his expression bleak, ”Then don't watch the show,” snorting internally, Nik casually looked to his left, finding a man gazing at their direction. He was too far away with what looked like a pair of binoculars but when Nik concentrated, simply using his enhanced vision to observe the man, he instantly slipped away as if he had already realized his exposure.
'Wow, wasn't suspicious at all.' Nik looked back towards the daughter-father duo as their moment of emotional exchange was interrupted by the man's pained coughing, making Cindy realize her lack of control as she instantly backed away, tears still streaming down her cheeks, her eyes red and her nose sniveling. ”Come in,” The man smiled warmly at Cindy and gazed at Anna and Nik, ”Please excuse my earlier lack of behavior. I am Albert, Cindy's father.”
”Oh, you don't look like her brother, so we assumed, right?” Anna looked towards Nik, making the apostle smile towards Albert speechlessly before mumbling weakly, ”I don't know... Cindy's father looks pretty... young... I am Nik. She is Anna, my girlfriend.” Nik looked at Anna as she shook her head and leaned closer to Nik's ear and hissed, ”What are you doing? Didn't Cindy say that her parents are a control freak? No need to be polite with them. We need to help our girl here.”
”Em,” Cindy turned back and held Anna's hand, leading her while smiling, ”Let me introduce everyone to you, Anna. And...” while using the sleeves to clean her face, Cindy whispered, ”Don't go on saying my parents are a control freak in front of them. I was just... venting, you know.” With her lips opening slightly and a look of realization flashing on her face, Anna nodded, ”Oh... sorry about that. I hope your dad doesn't mind it... and yeah, he looks quite young to have a what? 17-year-old daughter?” Behind them, Nik walked alongside Albert as the made their way towards the living room where a young, 6-year-old boy entertained himself with a handheld videogame console.
”Junior!” Cindy would definitely throw her brother under the bus for discovering p.o.r.n this young in his life but not at the moment as she squeaked and made her way towards her young brother who sported a lighter skin tone than her sister and hugged him tightly while easily pulling him up from the couch. His console fell, something the boy cared about more as he shouted, ”I am playing Contra! The ds fell! It fell! Let me go or I'll call mom right now!” He commanded and much to his pleasant surprise in these six years of his life, his elder sister listened to him for once and helped him back on the couch. ”Whatever!” he pouted and hurriedly took his game from the floor, ”Mum is angry for you webbing us. Why would you flex your powers like that? Oh, and can you show all of that to Jack? The jerk said that I am lying!”
”Yeah, I did not miss you,” Cindy raised her brow calmly and looked back at Anna and Nik, ”This is my family. He's my little brother, Junior.”
”Albert Moon Junior,” The young boy scoffed and corrected his sister, ”The favorite child, let me add that, too.” His words making Cindy roll her eyes as Albert behind Nik coughed and instructed his son, ”Junior. What did we talk about not telling anyone about your sister?”
”Tell her that,” Junior muttered, ”She tied all of us, remember?”
”Cin!” A woman's voice pulled Cindy's attention as she turned back, finding a dark-skinned woman in her casuals but her face wasn't as dolled up as usual. Tear stains all too apparent on her face as she took a deep breath, ”It's alright, Cin. Just take a seat, let me prepare something for you—”
”Mom... we need to talk...” Cindy whispered, her eyes turning misty once again as her lips trembled. While taking a seat as her mother introduced herself as Nari Moon to Nik and Anna before sitting in front of Cindy. Once again flanking Cindy, Anna and Nik now waited for Cindy to open up to her parents with her younger brother already sent up to his room. ”I... everything started when a spider bit me on the trip. I am now stronger, really stronger. I can create spider's web from my fingertips and yesterday when I accidentally webbed all of you... I ran to Hector's place.” The moment she said that, Nari took a deep breath. Her fists clenched as Cindy whispered, ”I don't what happened there. When I reached there, the whole place was blasted and torn apart. Hector is kidnapped and... the girl he was with fell out of the apartment, falling to her death.”
'Falling to her death... that actually fits the description but why is the news reported as a s.e.x.u.a.l assault gone awry?' Nik thought to himself while Cindy continued, pointing at Nik, ”Nik... he saved me during the monster attack on the school and after what happened at Hector's place, I felt that I needed to find him. He... and his girlfriend, helped get rid of the bloodied clothes and... well, I am here.” Cindy tilted her gaze up, stealing a glance of her mother's face before looking away. ”Child...” Nari whimpered with tears once again leaking, ”I am just glad that you are safe. I am sorry for the things I said to you yesterday. I...” choking, Nari closed her mouth and looked away, her hands wiping the tears away continuously, ”We need to get your statement to the police and leave the city,” Nari stated firmly, her decision in agreement with Albert's as he nodded silently.
”What?” Cindy stood up, her expression confused, ”What about Hector? There's a high chance that Hector might be hurt because of me! We need to find him!” Cindy stomped as Nik leaned towards Anna and whispered, ”I really think we should have just waited outside.” Nodding, Anna took a deep breath and scooched closer to Nik as the two gazed at a furious Cindy glaring at Nari, ”And for once, I thought that you wouldn't pull me away. Not force me to hide it out again.”
”It is for your safety, Cindy!” Albert spoke up, ”It's not about your relationship with Hector anymore. It's about you. If something would have happened to you back at Hector's—”
”What about Hector's family, hmm?” Cindy snapped, ”He only has a father. Do you think I will be happy knowing that I didn't even help and do everything I can to find him—”
*Thud*
The table suddenly trembled extremely lightly. Not even worth noticing with Cindy stomping her foot but Nik's mutation and power up had been tweaked with his senses and physical strength far higher than Cindy's in absence for the spider-like abilities. And he smelled something awful. Extremely so. ”Cindy,” Nik interrupted with a smile and looked at Albert, ”Sir, I think we would need your car... to help us escape, of course.” Taking Anna by her hand, he spoke to the Moon family, ”Call your junior down. We really need to get out of here. And oh,” Nik looked at the telephone and calmly dialed 911. ”Yes, hello. I would like to report a mutated... organism walking up our neighborhood. Yes, please write the address... yeah, thank you.”
By now, the intensity of the tremors had grown by a lot of margin while the loud metallic crash made everyone jump in their skins as Nik opened the door leading to the backyard and gazed towards his left, seeing a 4 meter tall, yellow-skinned monster with his obese body wrapped into what looked like a custom-made grey bodysuit with his face and ends of limbs exposed, showing the crooked face and large claw-like nails. In fact, such a detailed sight was only visible to Cindy and Nik but most surprisingly, the monster stopped seven houses away and rammed his fist into the house, blasting through the wooden structure as he pushed his other hand and ripped the ceiling of the house apart.
”W-what is that thing doing?” Anna inquired Nik with a hushed whisper as the monster slowly grabbed a shrieking old man and left the place with a road trembling jog. ”Ugh... that thing just picked an old man and ran away. Maybe a new taxi service...” Nik muttered while thinking for a moment and opening the local news live from his smartphone.
”A yellow monster is terrorizing the suburbs of the city! Four police vehicles are smashed and three of the finest people of the city are dead—”