Page 63 of After the Fall

Is that what he was? A sasquatch? He didn’t look anything like Wyatt or the others, but he also didn’t look like the creature with red eyes that sometimes haunted my dreams. Whatever he was, my dad’s oversized body was stuffed into a cheap-looking suit, his hair puffing out around the collar of the shirt. It was almost comical that my sasquatch father had been able to mingle amongst Seattle’s elite, without any of them knowing the truth.

I should have been scared. Wyatt had given me plenty of reason to be afraid, and the memory of my dad straining against rope flashed through my memory. But I wasn’t.

Standing next to the door, his muscles were tense and his stance wide, as if he hadn’t yet decided if he would fight or flee if danger came flying through the door.

“Dad?” I spoke gently, and rested my hand on his bicep, while I took off the butterfly mask. Door number ten had led to an empty concrete stairwell. Alone, there was no need to hide, no need to pretend. It was just the two of us. A father and daughter.

My father hadn’t been a tall man, so it felt strange to be have to stand on my tiptoes, even in heels, just to meet his eyes. They reminded me of Wyatt’s – golden.

“Sunbeam,” he whispered in disbelief. “You’re really here. I… wasn’t sure...” His voice trailed off.

“It took me a while to crack your code. I guess I’m a little rusty.”

“You have questions, I’m sure. I’ll do my best to answer what I can, in the time that we have.”

“Time?” I frowned. It felt like time had stopped, like there was no before or after. Justnow.

He shook his head. “We don’t have long. It’s too risky. We both took a big chance coming here.”

It dawned on me. “Your stutter,” I gasped. His voice was lower and raspier than I remembered from my childhood, but unlike at the mansion, he was communicating in full sentences.

“I broke back into my old lab and took what I needed....”

I waited for more, but after a minute of silence, gave up. “Where have you been all these years?”

“I—” He exhaled a deep grunt. “It’s complicated.”

“I’m pretty used to complicated,” I said, smiling sadly. “I’ve been taking care of Mom on my own for the last ten years, remember?”

The grunt was back. “If I could go back in time, I would. I hate what I did to you and your mother; what my choices have caused. I’m…” he shuffled his stance, “scared that what I have to tell you is going to make you hate me. Even more than you already do.”

I reached for his hand, which was covered in a black glove that matched his blazer. I wondered if underneath the glove, his hand would feel safe like Wyatt’s. “I don’t hate you. I’m here now, aren’t I?”

He gave my hand a firm squeeze. “You are,” he sighed. “I… guess the best place to start is your thirteenth birthday. You remember how Mom started showing symptoms that day?” It wasn’t something I could ever forget, and I stared blankly into space, consumed by memories of that fateful evening ten years ago. “Harper?”

He was a sasquatch, not a mind reader, so I nodded. “I remember, Dad. They came out of nowhere.”

“That’s the thing. It wasn’t exactly…” his voice lowered, and with it, I could hear ten years of pain coming through, “out of nowhere. Harper, it’s time you know the truth about my research, and what happened at Genocorp.”

THIRTY-TWO

Glancing over his shoulder,Joe hit the transfer button, watching the timer click down on his desktop screen. In just a few minutes, his life’s work would be backed up on the hard drive. Then he could delete its existence from the Genocorp network. And not a moment too soon.

Maximus was a monster, he knew that now. And he would rather die than let that evil man get his cold, bony hands on his research.

He tapped his foot anxiously, watching the bar slowly fill the screen, crawling along at a tortoise-like speed. Once it had successfully transferred, he scrubbed every ounce of data from his desktop computer and from the Genocorp network. If asked about it, he would tell Maximus his final test had failed, that he’d deleted everything in a fit of rage. All those wasted hours for nothing, he’d whine. Maximus would be angry, but with time, he’d forget. And Joe could start again. Only this time, he’d stay far away from the cryptothelys.

The Carders could never know the fern’s true abilities. It was far too dangerous.

He shoved the small drive into his briefcase, and turned off his desktop. Yellow hair reflected back at him from the darkness of the screen.

“M-Mrs. Carder,” he mumbled, turning around to face his boss’s wife. He hadn’t had many dealings with Michelle Carder, but the consensus amongst the Genocorp employees was that Michelle was the true mastermind of the Carder empire.

She eyed the stacks of files on his messy desk and frowned. “We should be on a first name basis by now, don’t you think, Joe?”

Joe snuck a glance at his briefcase. The hard drive was thankfully tucked out of sight. “I was about to take off for the day. It’s my daughter’s birthday. Is there something you wanted?” With her frozen facial features, it was hard to decipher her mood and reason for visiting his lab.

“Ah, yes. Harper, is that right? She’s, what, thirteen today?”

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