Chapter 188 - 187 - Blame

Crap...what do I do? Should I admit it? Or continue playing dumb? Because, uh, he doesn't seem to have any doubts whatsoever... 

"I really don't know what you're talking about, and besides, all that happened a while ago, so why bring it up now?" I replied, deciding to try and play innocent a bit more, even though I knew that it was probably futile... 

"Actually, I figured it out a couple of weeks later. I was just confused and taken aback for a few days, since every single one of my classmates had fallen into comas and showed no signs of regaining consciousness. I was also nervous and paranoid about someone coming after me...but, then, no one did. Once I calmed down and thought it through, you were the only person who fit the bill, none of the other known Anomalies' powers could have pulled off what you did," He surmised confidently. 

"I'll humor you for a second, let's assume that I am the person who you're talking about...why wait so long before confronting me?" I responded with a raised eyebrow. 

"Simple, I figured that you would probably not want anyone to hear what I had to say to you, so I was waiting for an opportunity to talk to you alone, but you were always with one or more of your classmates at the Academy. And texting you out of the blue seemed kinda rude...but I happened to spot you just now, and it didn't seem like you were with anyone, so yeah," He replied with a shrug. 

Huh? That's really why he didn't approach me till more than two months later!? He doesn't seem to be lying, and he's definitely sure that I'm the one who he encountered back then. There's no point in denying it, and this definitely isn't worth the risk of using Save/Load. Looks like I don't really have a choice... 

"Alright, fine...yeah, I'm the one who restrained you in that bathroom back then and took your detonator. You haven't told anyone else, have you?" I inquired, as I reluctantly relented. 

"I fucking knew it!" He exclaimed in a loud, triumphant whisper, before adding, "No, of course I haven't told anyone. Why would I confess to a crime-...one that I didn't technically commit, sure...-but one that I definitely intended on committing?" 

"True, you've got a point there, I suppose. But why confront me in the first place?" I asked him. 

"Oh, uh...dunno, I didn't really think it through," He responded sheepishly, "I guess I mostly just wanted to confirm whether or not my deduction was correct. And I guess another part of it is that I wanted to thank you...so, yeah, thanks a lot for what you did back then." 

"Sure, uh, you're welcome...but I'm pretty sure you already thanked me back then," I recalled uncertainly. 

"Yeah, but you suddenly disappeared, so I wasn't sure about whether you left before or after hearing me," He shrugged, before adding, "And besides, I didn't quite realize the magnitude of what you did for me back then, it didn't sink in for quite a while."

"Well, I think I mentioned this before too, but it just didn't sit right with me for someone to be labeled a criminal just because they got back at people who bullied them...I could sympathize with your situation, so I helped out. So you really don't need to thank me, it was little more than an impulsive whim on my part," I admitted honestly. 

"I can understand and appreciate that, actually...it's better than living by a fixed set of morals, that's for sure. Like 'killing is wrong' sounds like an obvious statement, but depending on the person or situation, I don't think it's all that cut and dry, you know?" He replied with a grin. 

"Yeah...I think I get exactly what you're trying to say, and I agree."

"Oh, by the way, whatever happened with the detonator? It couldn't have been easy to get rid of it unnoticed," He remarked curiously. 

"It was in my room, actually...before I dismantled into about a hundred tiny pieces and flushed it away," I informed him. 

Yeah, I used Cut on that thing several times over until it was chopped up beyond recognition, and then I flushed the tiny pieces down the toilet. And with that, the evidence was gone. 

"Wow, didn't expect that...cool, I was kinda worried that you might not have been able to get rid of it, but I guess I was worried for nothing. Well, anyway, glad I could finally get all this off my chest...I'm gonna go now, sorry for bothering you out of the blue like this. I'll see you around," He said, before turning around and heading off with a slight wave. 

"Yeah, uh, sure...see ya around," I replied as he left, feeling kinda bemused. 

Okay, uh...well, that was weird. I think I'll go back home after all, I can just watch a movie or something on my laptop to kill some time...I probably should have done that in the first place. I couldn't help it though, my craving for some desserts from Delectables was too strong. 

And now that that craving has been sated, I can't think of anything else to do out here, so home it is. Oh, maybe I should get some small, bite-sized sweets to take back and eat while I watch something...mm, maybe some mini brownies or churros will do the trick. 

Ooh, but there's also their fudge cubes, chocolate-coated wafers, and caramel crisps, which are thin, dried chips of caramel that have a super satisfying crunch when you bite into them...oh, and there's also...! 

...

This was probably a mistake...I, uh, ended up getting a little bit of everything I just mentioned, plus a couple of other bite-sized desserts too. I was back home, with two large boxes of sweets. 

"<Activate Anomaly, Tier Two: Paste>," I sighed, bringing out the boxes onto my desk, as I shut my door and locked it. 

I then took off my jacket and changed into more comfortable, loose-fitting clothes, before flopping onto my bed with a lazy groan, burying my face in the pillow. There's still almost three and a half hours before my sister's supposed to show up, so enough time for two movies, assuming one of them is on the shorter side. 

Hm, or maybe I could go with one movie plus random episodes from shows or anime? Eh, I'll decide on the fly, I'm more interested in snacking on the sweets I brought along. Okay, then, what should I watch first? 

I don't feel like watching a serious movie, so guess I'll go with a comedy. Should I rewatch something I've already seen, or go for something I haven't seen before? Oh, I know, I'll look up some of the comedies I really enjoyed before and then search for any movies by like the same director or starring the same actors. 

After about twenty minutes of going through several options, I finally ended up looking up movies by the guy from Borat...and picked one called Brothers Grimsby. 

I then opened up one of the boxes of desserts as I played the movie, picking up a caramel crisp as it began. I bit into the chip, a loud crunch echoing out as I did, the caramel melting in my mouth and coating my tastebuds in a rich, syrupy sweetness, the sides of the inside of my mouth tingling as I let out a content sigh. Doesn't matter what kind of movie this is, because I'm in heaven right now... 

... 

I would like to take back part of my last statement...it, uh, definitely matters what kind of movie this is. I...I feel kinda sick. And not just because I've eaten way more sugar today than any one person should...no, it was because of the movie. 

What the...what the actual hell kind of movie is this!? I mean, normally, this type of humor would probably make me laugh, but this is absolutely not the kind of movie you want to watch while eating. I can never look at elephants the same way again. 

Huh, actually, now that I think about it, I've never actually seen an elephant in real life. They do still exist, there's a couple of zoos in the Sanctuary, and they have elephants, but I've never actually been to one of them. 

Hundreds, if not thousands, of animal species went extinct after WWIII, and while the Sanctuary mainly focused on bringing in animals that were classified as livestock, like hens, cows, pigs, fish, and so on, they were able to secure a bunch of other animals in the remaining time they had before nuclear warfare broke out in earnest, managing to bring in a handful of other species too. 

It's actually pretty impressive, they managed to save over two hundred species...but of course, that's a miniscule percentage of the grand total number of species that existed before WWIII. 

Huh, maybe I should go visit one of the zoos sometime, I certainly don't dislike animals...but, uh, I think I'll have to wait till I get over the traumatic images that this movie burned into my retinas, because I feel so nauseous right now that I can't even finish off all of the desserts I bought. 

I only managed to finish one and a half out of the two boxes, meaning than half an entire box still remained. But I...I just can't eat anymore, not without puking. And that's definitely the movie's fault, there are absolutely no other factors to blame for my current nausea...

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