Chapter 51. Nina, the fast food worker.
The smell of oil and grease filled his nose as soon as he pushed the glass door open. The soda dispenser was on in the corner, a few people sitting in booths eating burgers.
A simple fast food joint for people to enjoy a meal.
It wasn’t that crowded at this time, just an hour before lunch. He walked further in, towards the front counter where a cashier was manning the register, taking an order from the three people in front of him.
Silas looked at the menu on the wall. His eyes scanning over the meal options. Kathy’s favorite was number six. The triple cheese burger with bacon, lettuce and a special sauce that tasted a little sweet. Liz liked the classic number two with its plain cheeseburger and fries. Vic on the other hand liked the chicken sandwich, number five.
His favorite was also five. Chicken sandwiches were just too good. He wanted to treat them today for lunch as a thank you for the sandwich and laughs. Taking out his phone, he texted his group chat.
'Lunch together after classes? My treat.'
He hit send.
A few seconds passed.
The cashier was finished and Silas was up, he put his phone down and ordered four meal combos, a smile on his lips as he waited for his food. The food was made fast and it was put into a plastic bag.
“Is that all sir?” the teenage girl at the register asked.
Her glasses had an ordinary sticker of a cat on it and an ordinary magic rune that concealed her real appearance.
“No. Why don’t you sit with me and take a break?” Silas asked.
She froze, her hand paused on the screen as her eyes darted to the bag of food, to the exit and back to him. Then she glanced over at the manager who was wiping down a booth.
Finally she nodded and went to the kitchen to tell her coworker to take over for a while, before walking to a booth with him. They sat across from each other and he put the food bag next to him. His pink bag was on his lap, his arm resting on it.
“Sir why am I here?” Her voice was quiet, a bit shaky. The girl was nervous.
The air in the room felt thick for her and her body was tense. She kept looking around the room, her hands in her lap. Silas listened to her heart as he did with everyone he met. He could hear the rapid beats and the way her breath hitched. Four. There were four heartbeats.
A small smile appeared on his lips.
“You have four hearts. That is very unique.” His tone was calm and friendly.
The girl, Nina, swallowed, her hands clutching each other tightly.
She knew what this meant. Silas was not here just to eat.
“I assume you were also abused by Haden and Lucas.” He stated it as a fact, there was no need to beat around the bush here.
Her eyes went to the window where people passed by. She was thinking of her options. It would be stupid to lie to him.
“I was.” She didn’t look at him. Her jaw was tight and her heart beats were speeding up.
He hummed.
“They’re both dead now.” Silas pulled the paper bag closer to himself, opening it to take out one of the sodas, the smell of the fries was strong in the air.
He sipped the coke and watched the girl. She was frozen. Not moving a muscle and just looking at the window.
“The woman who killed them is currently on trial. The trial will conclude with a guilty verdict,” he continued. His voice low and smooth.
Finally her gaze left the window, her eyes meeting his.
“You are with Henry? Are you going to take me back to that place?” Her voice had fear in it.
Silas shook his head.
“No. Well yes I am here to take you somewhere.” He paused, drinking more of the soda, feeling the carbonated liquid going down his throat.
She didn’t move. Just waited for the worst.
“I am going to reveal your true self to the Judge.” He watched the blood drain from her face.
Shaking her head, her eyes became teary.
“Please...I just want to live a normal life. Please don’t,” she begged. The sound of her voice tugged at his heart but he wasn’t going to let Evelyn rot in jail.
Reaching his hand across the table, Silas patted the girl’s shoulder.
“Relax Nina. You know who I am right? I assume you’ve learned of this world’s history and heard my name,” he asked softly. A single tear fell from her eye.
She nodded.
“So would you rather have Henry or me as your warden?” The choice was obvious.
Her bottom lip trembled as she made eye contact with him. There was a desperate look on her face, her glasses slipping down her nose a little.
“You won’t experiment on me or...?” Her voice was just a whisper, barely audible.
He smiled. Patting her shoulder again.
“I will. I’ll do my best not to hurt you. Besides I am sure my experiments would pale in comparison to Project Ark.” His hand slipped from her shoulder and she closed her eyes for a second, breathing in and out to calm her nerves. Then she wiped her eyes with her sleeve and sat up straight.
“Alright,” she said with resignation.
His purple mana enveloped her and in a blink of an eye they were both gone. The booth was empty. On an asteroid in space, there were two people, one wearing a pink bag on his shoulder and the other standing awkwardly in her fast food employee uniform.
Nina looked around the gray empty space of the asteroid. The sun was shining on her face from behind the blue and green planet Earth.
“Wow,” was all she could say.
Silas put down the food and grabbed her glasses, removing them from her face and letting the runes fade, her real appearance coming to the surface.
“Wait!” she said and tried to get her glasses back, but Silas held her wrists. Her blonde hair covered half her face, the brown roots visible.
Four arms emerged from her back, moving in every direction. They had sharp claws at the end. Her eyes were not human eyes anymore, the pupils were reptilian-like, her iris a golden color and her skin turned blue.
Her four hearts were beating faster than normal.
His eyes on the other hand were looking at her features and noting every detail. There were some scales on her face and her canines were sharp. A small lizard tongue came out to lick her dry lips. She was still breathing hard.
“Please stop staring,” Nina whispered and tried to free her wrists. She was not strong enough to move his hands.
“Interesting.” Silas hummed. Then he let her go.
She tried to move away but without gravity she just floated up. A laugh escaped him as she struggled to control herself.
Silas checked her body with his mana, letting it wrap around her. More specifically the core inside her. It was different than human and yet similar. He found her mana pathways, they were strange, going in every direction instead of following her nervous system.
“What magic do you have?” he asked.
Nina had finally caught the edge of the asteroid and pulled herself to the ground, sitting down on it, her extra arms moving awkwardly behind her.
“Webbing and poison. My saliva has a venomous compound.” She didn’t look at him as she said that.
Her core wasn’t showing any signs of that.
He tilted his head, a hand on his chin.
The girl fiddled with her hands.
“If you are done, can I please go back to my shift? My manager will fire me if I am late and my rent is due soon,” she pleaded.
He nodded, putting her glasses back on her face. With a snap, they were in an empty alley next to the fast food place.
“I’ll teleport you again on Thursday. For your court appearance.” Silas told her.
Nina sighed.
“Alright. Goodbye sir.” She pushed her glasses up and walked away.
He grabbed the food and put the bag over his shoulder again, teleporting away to Aethelgard. His mind full of thoughts of Nina and her anatomy.