Damn It!

"Dad!"

That call was like a bolt out of the blue for Davis as he whipped his head toward the sound of the voice that he longed to hear over the past 48 hours but mostly so after hearing what Dev said.

When his sight found her, he felt himself release a sigh that he didn't know he held in and spread his arms out to the girl who already started sprinting towards him with a relieved smile on his face.

Penny on the other hand had been itching to get to Davis's side since she laid her eyes on him. Her emotions have been on a hell of a rollercoaster ride and coupled with her splitting headache and wavering vision, she was beginning to feel something slipping out of her hands, she couldn't quite place her finger on it but she could feel it.

So, much to Cyrus's dismay, she broke free from his hold when he was slightly distracted, ran out of the path, and yelled for her dad.

She was so happy to see him in one piece and also surprised because she saw him -in one piece. There was no single thing out of place well except for his slightly unshaven face, you wouldn't think that he was locked up somewhere, at least that's what she thought happened to him.

Locking eyes with her dad who appeared to have walked out of a set that advertised products for unshaven men, Penny ran towards him eager to bask in the protection his arms provided her which she's been craving for because she knew beneath the indifference and firmness she showed to her friends, she was scared. Very scared.

Scared of the unknown, the safety of her dad, the fate of herself and her friends, the safety of Platinum Valleys, the safety of- Eh? Why did she suddenly feel herself slowing down?

Suddenly, black dots began to taint Penny's vision, she shook her head once, twice and like a virus it clouded her whole vision till she gave up to the power-sucking her life force and fainted.

"Penny!", Davis yelled.

Davis immediately super-speed towards Penny and caught her in time, before she fell face-flat on the forest grounds-preventing a serious accident. The rest of the quad ran out of the corner path and surrounded Davis with a worried look on their faces.

Why did she suddenly faint? they all thought.

Running his gaze through her body, Davis noticed her very pale lips and skin, extremely weak pulse and he didn't need anyone to tell him that she must be having a serious raging fever internally.

Yes internally, a fever that won't show itself on the outside, deceiving the owner of the body that all was well, till disaster struck. These were all signs of the first stage of mutation taking place. The stage that decided the life or death of the mutant.

"Damn it!" he muttered before he disappeared from everyone's line of view along with Penny leaving the dismayed Thomas behind- again.

Thomas who was left behind for the second time in a row: -_-

He still didn't have a clue about Penny's mutation so he didn't get why Davis was panicking so much, the girl must have fainted from over-exhaustion or lack of food, why did he have to disappear on him like that again.

"Let's get you guys back to Winters, that's the only accommodating place for now." he sighed with a shake of his head but almost flung S6 that was in his arms to a tree in anger when saying the last part.

However, remembering that he had to keep his gentleman-like image in front of the kids, he withdrew his hand, making S6 land in a very awkward and unique position with his butt sticking up in the air.

But if Thomas knew that Penny was undergoing the after-effects of a mutation experiment, he would fling, spin, slam, and probably wring S6 and his pathetic minions into different trees without remembering anything about his image.

S6 didn't like how he was placed but there was nothing he could do about it. Not forgetting, he almost got his mind manipulated but was saved by that brat. Who knows why she fainted, probably out of joy. Scrawny little brats! He thought as he rolled his eyes at least he tried to.

Raising his hands, Thomas was about to round the intruders up and assign tasks to the rest of the quad who looked worn-out and now downcast due to the state of their friend, when they saw an eight-seater buggy approaching them.

Sensing the presence of others, the rest of the quad heightened their defenses, the adrenaline coursing through their bodies triggering a flight or fight response in them. Well, in this case, fight.

Cyrus's silvery eyes sharpened as he slowly reached for the knife carefully placed in his belt strap, Timmy grabbed the gun recently used by S8 from the forest grounds and corked it while Avi quickly went towards a palm tree and hit the bark with force causing two large coconuts to land with a thud on the ground.

She picked and balanced the coconuts on her palms ready to aim them at the enemy's head. It wasn't that all they knew to do was run and run from the mutants without putting up a good fight but they had to! They've never met mutants before nor had any training sessions with them and the only thing they knew about them was their crazy abilities.

Abilities normal humans like them couldn't dare to go against that's why they tried to outwit them but that wasn't entirely possible either and if it wasn't for the forest's unique quality they'd have ended up in their hands already. But Thomas's presence gave them a boost and they were ready to fight to their last breath if need be.

When the buggy finally made its way to them, the adrenaline coursing through their veins went out like a poof when they saw the two people seated at the front.

Meanwhile, S6, 7 & 8 including Thomas were stumped for words when they saw Avi punch the tree with her dainty fists just like that. They couldn't believe the 'tiny' girl had such power in her. S8 especially couldn't believe his eyes, he truly underestimated the brats. Just what are they feeding these kids? he thought.

"Sir T"

Turning his head around to the sound of the voice that called out to him, he noticed that Lani and Gabriel had arrived. He knew about their presence cause he sent a message to Lani from his tablet on his way to Azure forest.

So, he decided to drop the case of Avi's unimaginable strength for later, thinking that he could just ask Jeremy about it.

Walking towards the duo that just arrived, he asked in a low voice, "Have you seen Vonna?"

"No sir", answered Gabriel. "We've checked each room in the laboratory and the tunnels all to no avail, the search teams are presently searching for her on the grounds of Platinum Valleys but no news so far.", he continued as he reported respectfully with a serious tone.

"Hmm..and Winters?" Thomas inquired again.

"The situation at Winters has been assuaged. My team is presently on call waiting for further commands on what to do next."

"I see. Anyways, gather those fools in silver shirts together and dump them in the cart. I really don't know why Mateo and the others aren't here yet." Thomas said as he grabbed the tablet he let go of previously when he wanted to play the hero. Tapping a few buttons, he tried to discern Mateo, Kiel, and Ralph's whereabouts.

On Thomas's words, Lani and Gabriel shifted their eyes to the 'fools in silver shirts' and found six of them, three sprawled on the floor and the other three standing next to Thomas.

But on a closer look, they realized that the fools they were interested in were the ones on the floor, and judging by their demeanor, they knew Thomas had a hand in their predicament.

Lani's eyes shone with mirth as she observed the trio that looked fatigued. She didn't know how they made it out here wearing the intruder's silver shirts, but seeing how they were still standing albeit exhausted, she was very proud of them.

So as Gabriel went to apprehend S6, 7 & 8, Lani closed in on the trio with a warm smile on her face and hugged them rubbing their backs to release the tension and nervousness they've felt over the past two days.

Cyrus and Timmy didn't show it, but one could see the anxiety and tension leave their shoulders. Avi particularly, trembled silently in Lani's arms after she dropped the coconuts on the forest floors, no matter how strong she was, she was still a sixteen-year-old girl, one that didn't have to experience the bitter side of life.

However, that's how life is, catching people off guard no matter their age or status.

They could be days, months, or years old, no one is too small to experience the two sides of life in all of its entirety. It's what we signed up for when we came into this world.

Lani could tell that the stress was taking a toll on the kids, so she pulled back from the hug and guided them towards the buggy. After making sure that they were comfortable, she raised her head just in time to see Mateo, Kiel, and Ralph running towards them.