Children of a Lesser God

Chapter 120: The Nap That Wasn't Meant To Be

Reggie looked expectantly at Laz for a response that wasn't going to be coming anytime soon. Laz just stared at Reggie for a minute, looking at that youthful face that seemed full of life and energy. He then turned over and laid down, totally ignoring Reggie.

It wasn't like Laz was trying to be mean, but he didn't want to get caught up with Reggie. In Reggie, he could see a bit of what he would have been had things not happened as they did. There are times in everyone's life where they make an important decision, one that effects and shapes the path going forward, a path that would be completely different had they made a different choice. Laz was already walking this path, a path full of loss and regret. Over the past year and a half, he had dragged himself out of that quagmire of despair more times then he wanted to count. Well, with a bit of help from Vivi of course. He didn't want to drag others into it.

Even though him and Reggie were the same age, Laz felt much older. Although he didn't know why there were here, just hearing the question was enough for Laz to understand that Reggie was looking for more people like himself and that girl Dee. Gathering together wasn't a good move at this current time.

Laz had seen the websites, ones that were akin to terrorist gathering points for those with powers. Most of them were catering to those who were 'sick' since the ones who weren't sick didn't have any reason to hide. The wanted their rights protected and they would fight for it if they had too. Not that Laz disagreed with that, but how did you know that by joining one of these groups, you weren't walking into a trap? There was far to much risk involved. As for those who had been 'chosen' to get powers while not being sick, Laz got a bad feeling about those people whenever he thought back to that time with Tommy. He got the nagging feeling that those 'chosen' were going to be a different type of problem.

Monster attacks.

The 'infected' ones.

And now these chosen.

Every time Laz thought about these things, he got a headache. To make matters worse, the government was encouraging people who had gotten powers and didn't feel sick to come forward to register as one of those special humans, offering a whole host of benefits for them. This was obviously a trap as no one who had changed would feel sick in the slightest. If Laz hadn't previously interacted with Tommy, he would wonder if these 'chosen' even existed.

So because of all this, Laz felt it was better to lay low and not draw attention to himself. Or to join a group that would draw attention to themselves. Sadly, Reggie seemed to be sure of himself and wasn't going to take the subtle hint to go away.

"Hey, come on. I know you are. I felt it the other day when you looked at me..."

"Reggie, you should word that differently, it sounds like you have a crush on him," Dee interjected from the side where she was still playing with Vivi.

"Dammit, Dee. I told you to call me R-Dawg," Reggie shot back. He had wanted to introduce himself by his chosen title so that it would start to become a thing. After all, the more you spread something, the more real it would become.

"And I already told you there is no way in hell that was going to happen," Dee responded back with a smile.

"UHH... Um... anyway. My name is Reggie and this is Danielle, but everyone calls her Dee." Reggie finally introduced himself and Dee, although it was to Laz's back.

"So... I was just wondering, you know, if you know anything about them?" Reggie muttered, somewhat unsure of what to say. He had wanted to meet and talk with someone else since so far he could only talk to Dee and his sister. He didn't feel like he was sick and all of them felt tempted to go and register as those special people since they would then basically be taken care of for the rest of their lives. Dee and him both thought it was a good idea but his sister had her doubts. He knew the risks as well and since he didn't know which category he would fall into, he held himself back.

Laz heard the hesitation in Reggie's voice and had a pretty good idea what he was thinking. Support money, a job, free healthcare, retirement, basically all the things a person could want for the rest of their lives, just so long as you had powers but weren't infected. It was a trap disguised as a tempting offer. Although Laz didn't want to personally involve himself in this, he knew that if he did nothing and something happened to these kids, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life.

Sigh.

"Do you care about her?" Laz turned over and pointed at Dee. Reggie blanked for a moment since he wasn't expecting this.

"Um... were not like..." Reggie wanted to explain his and Dee's relationship, but the words were getting mixed up.

"I don't care if you're childhood friends or fuck buddies, I'm just asking if you care about her?" Laz wanted to make a point.

"Yes?" Reggie was a bit stumped as to what this had to do with what he had asked..

"Then I can only assume she cares about you too," Laz concluded while sitting up.

"So let me ask you this, is it worth losing her for the chance to live an easy life?" Laz continued. Reggie, hearing the question, turned around and looked at Dee who was also looking at him. Only they knew what they were thinking about, but both of them seemed to understand what Laz was implying.

"No, it's not," Reggie finally answered. They might only be friends, but he knew he felt more than that towards her. He just didn't know if she felt the same.

*These two are so stupid it hurts,* Vivi commented while looking back and forth between them. Even she could feel the sexua tension between them and yet they both seemed ignorant of it.

"Then there's your answer, huh?" Laz asked while looking at Reggie in the eyes, as though daring him to have a different thought.

"Then how do we know what we are? Infected or chosen?" Dee asked, knowing that Reggie was starting to chicken out again.

"You're both infected. Sorry. You lost this lotto," Laz answered honestly. He was able to hide his energy and resonance, but neither of them were able to. He was curious if they knew that part of their feelings were based on this resonance, but he wasn't going to ask. That wasn't his place.

"How do you know?" Reggie was shocked since this was the first time someone had come out and openly said it. Even though he didn't like the verdict, or even know if it was true, he had the feeling that it was.

'Why am I doing this,' Laz sighed to himself as he leaned back to get more comfortable. As though she could tell what he was thinking, Vivi answered his question for him.

*Because you miss the company of people your own age and because you're a good human, no matter how much you try to think otherwise.*

Laz just glared at Vivi but didn't respond back. He couldn't say anything because he knew in his heart that she was right. The past year and a half on the run had been rather lonely.

"Because I'm quite a bit more powerful than either of you. You can sense the weird feeling that you get when you are around each other right? That's part of your connection. The infection that they call it is just a gathering of energy in your bodies that makes your blood seem different that normal people. The feeling is nothing more that your energies clashing with each other. It's not dangerous or harmful, it's just what it is since you are two different people. Basically, it's normal. The reason you don't sense it from me is because I'm quite a few stages higher than either of you, but it's really easy for me to sense it on you," Laz finished his explanation and just waited for their responses.

"You are? How much stronger?" Dee was the first one to recover her wits and ask what was on her mind.

Laz didn't answer right away and instead looked around while sending out his spiritual sense. Noticing that no one was near by, he was once again thankful that he took a lot in the trailer park that was a ways away from everyone else. After he was sure he wouldn't be noticed, Laz stopped restraining his energy and let it roll out of him in waves.

Vivi was fine since she was around the same level, but Reggie and Dee both backed up several steps as though they had encountered something frightening. The power that was coming off of Laz made them feel like some sort a monster was standing right next to them. A monster that was so strong, they would both be killed the instant he made a move. This was the result of a year and a half of running away and fighting the demon beasts with Vivi. Laz had just entered into the late stage of the condensing realm. That was part of the reason they were taking some time off from hunting.

After having scared them both enough, Laz controlled his energy again and settled down his source essence, causing his monster like aura to disappear. It was only after it was gone that both Dee and Reggie were finally able to relax.

You're in the upper level of the mid stage of the awakening realm while this guy just entered the mid stage. I'm already way past that point." Laz pointed to Dee and then Reggie while he explained. He wasn't going to give them too much info since he didn't know what they knew. Doing that would only confuse them.

"Awakening realm and stages? What?" Reggie finally got his voice back after his heart stopped beating loud enough to drown out every other sound.

"It's complicated and would take a while to explain. Let's put that off for now. What you need to know is simply this, the whole register and be tested to prove you're a chosen is nothing but a trap. Neither of you feels sick, because you aren't. The changes in your blood has to do with you awakening your source essence. Some people go a bit wild when that happens, don't take it slowly and become like the freaks you hear on the news. Luckily, neither of you were one of them." Laz got out the rest of what he wanted to say. At this point, they knew the basics and the dangers. Anything else would lead them on a path that was hard to get off of.

"So, what do we do now?" Reggie asked, looking for advice. Now that he knew that he and Dee were the infected that the government wanted to find, he started to get even more worried than he was before.

"Go home, enjoy your life, never try to use your power again and pray to whatever god you believe in that you never have to get tested." Laz laid out what his plan would be but neither of them seemed to be listening. They both had this moment where they were lost in their own worlds. It was a common occurrence when bad stuff happens. Denial was the first way to cope. Even Dee had stopped petting Vivi while thoughts and worry raced through her head. Vivi, noticing the issue, looked towards Laz.

*Do something human. You basically destroyed their entire lives going forward so you should at least try to encourage them or something?* Vivi wasn't too good with human emotions since, in her own words, human's worried too much. Therefore, she could only make Laz do something.

"Alright, alright. Look. It's not so bad ok? You're young. You've got time. You should focus on the here and now." Laz patted Reggie's shoulder as though trying to comfort him while Vivi did the same for Dee. He had totally forgotten that he and Reggie were around the same age.

"Besides, you've got a cute friend like that to go through things with, right? Don't be a puss and make a move before some other guy snatches her up, even if it's just dinner. Start slow and you'll graduate from being a virgin in no time!" Laz wasn't really a social person by nature so his attempts to try to improve Reggie's mood ended up going off the deep end. He just wanted to get a laugh out of him but it turned out Dee had heard him too. She had actually turned a bit red at the suggestion.

"What are you talking about you albino pervert? Besides, Reggie's already not a virgin!"

"Albino pervert? My hair is black and my eyes are blue thank you. I won't fight you on the pervert part though," Laz shot back at Dee with a smile.

"And way to go man, I didn't realize you two were already so close. Good job on making the move first," Laz patted Reggie on the shoulder more.

"I didn't mean me," Dee corrected him while looking a bit angry. Laz caught the look and suddenly felt like he understood.

'She wasn't his first, but it seemed like she wanted to be, poor girl.' Laz turned towards Reggie who seemed floored by where this conversation had gone.

"Well, we all make mistakes. Can't let it hold us back. You need to make it up to her if you're a man. Let her know that she is your number one, even if she wasn't the number one," Laz just started spewing whatever came to mind since it seemed like he was just making things worse and he didn't know how to fix it. Dee kept looking more and more angry while Laz kept talking until Reggie couldn't stand it anymore.

"ENOUGH. I'M STILL A VIRGIN, OK? I JUST SAID THAT TO MAKE YOU THINK I WASN'T A LOSER. THE ONLY THING I'VE HAD SEX WITH IS MY RIGHT HAND," Reggie yelled out in frustration, causing Dee to suddenly stiffen up while Vivi froze with her jaw open. Even Laz didn't know how to respond.

Of course, that didn't stop him from trying.

"You know what they say? One in the hand is better than two in the bush. At least you won't have to worry about the bush getting pregnant. Right?" Dee and Reggie both looked at Laz like he was an idiot, completely forgetting about how much he had scared the shit out of both of them earlier. The couldn't help but start laughing at his nonsense statement.

"Glad to know you're still a virgin. Hello Dee. Who's the idiot?" A cold but rather sweet sounding voice suddenly came from the front of Laz's trailer. As he turned over to look while grumbling about the nap he was never going to get to take, he saw the owner of the voice. She was wearing a tight pair of jean shorts over her rather bubbly butt that only came down to her upper thigh along with a white tank top that seemed to glow against her light brown skin. It did nothing to hide her fairly healthy mounds. Her dark brown hair was tied up in a bun and she was carrying several books in her arms while looking a bit annoyed.

"Sister!" Both Reggie and Dee cried out in shock.