Nora's message read:
–Hey Rob–
–When can we meet today?–
'I don't need any distractions right now,' Rob thought. But before he could respond, he heard someone call his name.
"Rob!"
Nora waved excitedly from a distance, her entire face lighting up the moment she spotted him. She was with two other people, Edmond and another girl. As she waved, her gestures made them look in Rob's direction.
'Hey, is that...?' Rob recognized the other girl.
"Yo." Edmond greeted casually.
Rob waved back, but his attention was on the other girl, whose expression shifted to pure shock. "No way," she muttered under her breath.
Before Rob could say anything, Nora took off running toward him.
"Hey, Nora—"
He barely got the words out before she ambushed him with a tight hug.
"I so missed you," she murmured, squeezing him a little tighter before letting go.
"Missed me? We met a few days ago." Rob raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I know, but we just got back together." She beamed.
"Your choice of words is questionable."
"Got back together? Nora, you didn't tell us you were taking us to meet your boyfriend," the other girl teased, smirking.
Nora's face turned bright red. "Wha—?! That's not what I meant!" She laughed nervously, quickly glancing at Rob to see if he was reacting. He wasn't.
"What she means by 'got back together' is they haven't met in a long time and just recently reconnected," Edmond clarified.
"Yeah, what he said," Nora quickly added, though her flustered expression betrayed her.
Rob, completely missing her reaction, turned to the other girl. "Fancy meeting you here, Lina."
"Likewise, Rob. Who would've thought you knew my best friend?" Lina replied, crossing her arms.
Edmond and Nora looked between them, confused. "You two know each other?" they said in unison.
"Oh yeah, we met recently," Rob answered.
"Oh, yeah, we go way back," Lina said at the same time.
Their words contradicted each other, making Edmond and Nora even more confused.
Rob quickly corrected, "We met not too long ago, but not too recently either."
"Um, okay..." Nora said, still uncertain. Then, as if suddenly remembering something important, she lit up again. "Then I guess I can skip introductions—come on, Rob! Let me show you around the school!"
She quickly looped her arm around his and started pulling him away, grinning ear to ear.
'I was going to ask her if she knew anyone I could questiion about Benjamen Lawson, but knowing my way around this school would be beneficial, I can ask her about it after the tour.'
Rob felt a hand grab his other arm. He turned to see Lina holding onto him.
"Hey, Nora, I have to steal Rob for a moment to ask him something in private," Lina said casually.
Nora narrowed her eyes. "What could you possibly want to ask him?"
"Uhh... it's kind of a secret." Lina smirked.
Rob glanced at Nora apologetically. "Give us a sec." He gently freed himself from her grip and followed Lina a short distance away.
Nora let out a soft sigh, crossing her arms. "What do you think they're whispering about?" Edmond asked, noticing her reaction.
"I wish I knew," Nora muttered, clearly not thrilled about being left out.
Meanwhile, away from them, Lina lowered her voice. "I take it Nora doesn't know about your abilities?"
"Yeah, she doesn't. And I take it she doesn't know about yours either?" Rob replied.
"Yup."
Edmond watched them curiously. "They sure seem suspicious."
Back with Lina and Rob, Lina leaned in slightly. "I did some research on you. Why didn't you tell me you were Darkfire?"
Rob blinked. "What's a Darkfire?"
"Don't play dumb," Lina scoffed. "There have been rumors about monsters and weird things happening in Birchwood, just like you said. And reports of a mysterious guy fighting them in the shadows—especially in the woods. Online, they call him Darkfire. That's you, isn't it?"
"Where did you get this information?" Rob asked.
"This new podcast, Woodland Conspiracies. They talk about supernatural things happening around us. I started listening recently."
Rob smirked slightly. "Sounds like I'm getting popular. What else do they say about me?"
Lina grinned. "That you're an existential demon banished from hell, now using your powers to protect us from monsters." She said it so plainly, it was almost comical.
Rob furrowed his brows. "Yeah… I wouldn't believe anything they say."
Lina laughed. "Yeah, I figured as much."
From a distance, Nora tapped her foot impatiently before finally calling out, "Are you guys done?"
"Be right there!" Rob answered.
"Anyway," he turned back to Lina, "my name's not Darkfire—I just go by Rob."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lina said with a playful wave of her hand.
They finished their conversation and walked back to the others.
The moment Rob got close, Nora stretched her arm out expectantly. Without a second thought, Rob slipped his arm through hers, and she smiled, pulling him along as they walked.
"This is Evermoore Lecture Hall for the humanities and social sciences," Nora said, gesturing proudly.
Rob nodded twice. "Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm."
She led him to the next building. "And this is the Grimwald Institute of Medicine."
"Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm."
They moved on. "This is the Ironspire Engineering Complex."
Rob nodded again. "Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm"
Next stop. "This is the Birchwood University Library."
"Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm," Rob said, though his eyes lingered on the tall windows. "That actually looks kinda nice."
They continued. "This is the Alderwyck Conservatory. I take classes here."
"Mmm-hmm, mmm—wait, you do?" Rob raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! You should totally come watch sometime," she said casually, but her eyes darted to him for a reaction.
Rob just nodded again. "Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm."
They reached the next stop. "And this is Blackthorn Academy for science and technology courses."
"Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm."
While Nora was showing Rob the Blackthorn Academy building, Lina asked Edmond, "Don't you have a class soon?"
"Yeah, I guess I should start going, shouldn't I?"
Just then, Edmond's phone rang. He pulled it out to find his mother calling.
"I need to take this," he told Lina before walking away and picking up the call.
"Hey, Mom," he greeted.
"Edmond, my dear, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Mom."
"I called to check up on you. I hope you're focusing on your studies."
"I am, Mom."
"You know your dad is working very hard to keep you in school. In fact, he's found another job as a construction worker."
"What? Dad took on another job? That man's going to work himself to death."
"It's better than hunting," his mother replied.
As Edmond spoke to his mother, Rob noticed a man near the Blacthorn Academy building. He wasn't the tallest man and he had a lean build; he wore a labcoat over semi-formal attire, implying he was a lecturer, and gathering around him were a group of students that seemed to be quarrying him about their studies.
Nora was explaining things about the building, but Rob's attention was fixed on this man. The man could feel he was being watched; he turned his gaze and made eye contact with Rob. Immediately—but conciously and calmly—he broke the eye contact and continued to speak with the students around him.
'Avoiding eye contact. His mannerisms have changed since he noticed me. Now he's more hesitant in his speech and seems to be pausing briefly in conversation,' Rob deduced as he observed the man.
"Who's that?" Rob asked Nora.
"I don't know; he doesn't teach my course. This is the science side of the school—I do fashion design, you know," Nora replied, placing a hand on her hip.
"Oh, him? That's Dr. Silas Thornton, Ph.D.," Edmond cut in. "He teaches Evolutionary Genetic Engineering. I have a friend studying genetic engineering and biotechnology—he takes his course."
"How can I meet this friend of yours?" Rob asked.
"Actually, you can meet him right now." Edmond waved to someone behind Rob.
Rob turned around to see another student approaching them.
"Hey, dude," the friend greeted.
"Yo, are you about to have a class with Dr. Thornton?"
"Yeah, we are. We'll be heading into Blacthorn soon."
"Can I join the class?" Rob asked.
The friend turned to face him. "Sure, the more, the merrier. Dr. Thornton has never been against extra students," he said cheerfully.
"Oh, but I wasn't done showing you around," Nora interjected, her tone slightly whiny.
"I want to come too," Lina spoke up immediately.
Nora shot her a look, hesitated, then sighed. "Well then, I guess I'm going," she said halfheartedly, crossing her arms.
"I'd love to join you guys, but I gotta head to my next class," Edmond said.
"Bye, Edmond," everyone said in unison.
Dr. Thornton and the crowd of students started heading into the lecture hall, so Rob, Nora, Lina, and Edmond's friend followed.
"May I ask what your majors are?" Edmond's friend asked.
"Fashion design," said Nora.
"Public health," said Lina.
"What she said," Rob added, pointing to Lina.
Edmond's friend raised an eyebrow as he watched them scurry through the doors of Blacthorn Academy.
"Huh? Are they even interested in genetic engineering?" he muttered to himself.
Rob, Nora, and Lina hurried down the corridor. Lina picked up her pace and caught up with Rob, walking shoulder to shoulder with him. They took up most of the space, forcing Nora to trail slightly behind them. She frowned but quickened her steps, trying to squeeze into the conversation.
"You're working on another case, aren't you?" Lina asked.
"Yeah," Rob replied flatly.
"Duh. What else would he be doing at BU?" Nora said from behind.
They stormed into the lecture hall. Now everyone is taking a seat. Rob and the gang were one of the last to enter the hall, grabbing most people's attention as they hurried to find seats.
Dr. Thornton looked their way but ignored them and began his lecture.
He adjusted his glasses and tapped on the whiteboard where he had written in bold letters: GENE EXPRESSION & MUTATION.
"Good day, my students," he greeted the class, tapping his fingers together.
"Today, we're going to discuss how genes regulate biological traits and how mutations—both natural and induced—can alter an organism's development." He spoke softly, but still audible enough for the whole class to hear; he was bold with his words, but at the same time rather nervous, fidgeting every now and then and avoiding prolonged eye contact.
'Something's off. Outside, he was more confident when he saw me. Back there, avoiding eye contact felt deliberate—calculated. But now... this nervousness seems real.' Rob thought as the lecture went on.
"Now, gene expression is essentially the process by which information encoded in DNA is used to synthesize proteins, which in turn dictate cellular function. This regulation is controlled by a variety of mechanisms, including transcription factors, epigentic makers and—"
Thornton paused, staring at the diagram he had drawn. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if his mind had drifted elsewhere. He tapped his marker absently against the board.
"...It's fascinating, really. Just a few molecular switches flipping on or off can mean the difference between health and disease, intelligence and limitation, adaptation and extinction." His mannarism changed again; now he was speaking clearly and he seemed more relaxed.
"Every aspect of life is dictated by these microscopic blueprints. And yet, for all the advancements in this world, we've only just begun to scratch the surface of what's possible." It was obvious he was no longer addressing the students but now following the thread of his own thoughts.
"He's amazing, isn't he?" Edmonds friend sitting next to Rob leaned in and whispered. "Once he gets like this, he's a different man; an endless source of knowledge.
Thornton continued to air out his thoughts. "You know... human genes are incredible. The way they encode everything about us—our strengths, our weaknesses, our very identities. But if you want to talk about truly remarkable genetics, you have to look beyond our species." His expression tuned miniacle. He turned back to the class, but his gaze wasn't quite focused on them. He was seeing something else entirely.
As he spoke, he gestured with his hand out in the air, as if putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. "Cephalopods for example... their genetic code is unlike anything we're used to. They edit their own RNA—on the fly! They don't wait for slow, generational mutations like we do. They rewrite their nural instructions in real time. That's why they can change color, texture—even how their neurons fire. Imagine that level of biological control in a human being."
'Cephalopods. I've seen that somewhere before.' Rob thought.
Silence settled over the lecture hall. A few students glanced at one another. Some were scribbling notes furiously—Edmonds friend included. Others just watched as Thornton continued, fully speaking to himself.
"What if... What if we could take that ability? If we understood the exact mechanisms behind their genetic self-editing, could we design human genes to be self-correcting? Cancer, neurodegenerative diseases... imagine if cells could rewrite their own errors before they even took hold. Or say, camouflage... Imagine a human who could blend into their surroundings at will. It wouldn't be just science fiction anymore, would it?"
Then, just as suddenly as he drifted, he snapped back. He blinked, clearing his throat, and straightened his posture. Reverting back to his shy but outspoken nature.
"Well," he said, pushing his glasses back up his nose with a wry smile, "that's all very hypothetical, of course. Fiction really. As far-fetched as dimensional travel. Just the rambles of an old scientist who's spent too many late nights in the lab."
A chuckle rippled through the room, though some students still looked unsettled.
"Right, where were we? Ah yes, transcription factors. Let's get back to reality, shall we?"
And just like that, the class continued. But Rob was still unsatisfied. 'This man is definitely hiding something.'