Page 65 of After the Fall
THIRTY-THREE
HARPER
“Sunbeam. Say something. Please.”
We stood frozen like statues in the stairwell. “I—I don’t know what to say,” I stammered. “You’ve known what was wrong with Mom this entire time?”
He shook his head back and forth, the deer mask swinging so violently it looked like it might snap. “No. I’d hoped the hospital would run some tests and figure it out, that they would be able to…” the words came out in a whisper, “fix her. But I was wrong. Just like I was wrong about working for the Carders.
The hospital waiting room had been cold that night. I remembered Dad covering me with his jacket as I’d tried to sleep in the stained hospital chair. We’d had hope back then. Hope for our Hope. “So you just… gave up on Mom then?”
His eyes widened. “No. Of course not. I never gave up, Harper. I never stopped looking for a cure.”
“Is that where you’ve been then? Off trying to…” my eyes narrowed, and I could feel anger bubbling to the surface, “fix your mistakes?”
His head shook. “Yes. But… it gets worse.”
“How could it possibly get worse?” I yelled. My dad cowered against the wall, and I regretted raising my voice. If he was anything like Wyatt, he wouldn’t be comfortable around sudden bursts of emotion. And if I scared him away, there’s no telling if I’d ever find him again. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice softer. “I shouldn’t have yelled. Please. Tell me everything. I need to know.”
His eyes flickered behind the mask. After a moment, he nodded. “The next morning, I had a choice to make. I knew Maximus wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted – my research. With the data missing, he needed the scientist who had been successful with the cryptothelys. He needed me to duplicate the experiments. And as long as he had me in sight, I knew you would be safe. So…” his breath hitched. “In the morning, I told you I had an emergency at work, and I rushed back to Genocorp, where I tried my damnedest to bargain for your mother’s health. But Maximus wasn’t lying when he said there was no cure.” His fist clenched and unclenched. “That bastard. Whenever I wasn’t being watched, or spied on, or tested on—”
I gasped, but he brushed past it.
“I did my own research. But I’m sorry, Sunbeam. Even after ten years, I’m no closer to finding a cure.” His head drooped. “I failed.”
The anger began to thaw, and I reached my hand forward, resting it on his thick shoulder. “Why didn’t you just come home, Dad? Mom and I didn’t have anyone else. I had to take care of her on my own. No thirteen-year-old should have to do that. I… didn’t have a childhood. We lived off of government assistance for years, and I lied to everyone so no one would know it was just the two of us. Mom had some good days mixed in, but over time, the bad outweighed the good and I had to put her into that home. But I guess you know that, don’t you?”
His whole body shook. “It stabs me in what’s left of my goddamn heart, Sunbeam. It kills me to think about what I did to you and your mother. Every. Damn. Day. But I couldn’t risk Maximus coming after you as well. Staying far away from you was the only way I could keep you safe. I pinky promised, remember?”
A memory of hooking pinkies with my dad while camping flashed through my mind. “You promised to keep me safe from Bigfoot,” I murmured. “I guess that didn’t exactly work out, did it?”
Dad’s eyes suddenly darkened. “It was a surprise to learn that you were in the company of sasquatches. Ever since breaking out of the lab, I’ve been watching you, trying to figure out how to reveal myself. Why are you with… Wyatt?” His name was laced with disgust. “You deserve better, Harper.”
“No.” I shook my head. “You don’t get to come in and suddenly be a father to me after ten years. I get to date and love who I choose. And you don’t get any say in that.” He didn’t need to know that Wyatt and I had broken up. “Besides, if you stayed away all these years to keep me safe, then why have you come now?”
“The cryptothelys,” he muttered. “It’s a curse, Harper. I wish I’d never set eyes on that fern. I tried to escape as soon as I discovered the true extent of Maximus’ madness, but it took a while for me to plot my escape from his fortress.”
Sighing, I leaned against the wall next to him. “I’ve seen it, you know. The crypto…” I trailed off.
“Thelys.”
Nodding, I continued. “There’s a greenhouse at Wyatt’s estate with plants and flowers from all over the world, some of which I’ve never even heard of. Mom would love it,” I said. “One of their scientists, Tim, told me about the cool things it can do.”
He shook his head. “Even the sasquatches don’t know the full extent of its power. But thanks to my research, the Carders do,” he grimaced. “And Harper, they’re getting ready to use it. Tonight is just the beginning.”
I stiffened. “Use it?”
“I showed up at your boyfriend’s,” he grimaced, unable to hide his distaste at the word boyfriend, “mansion to warn you. To warn everyone. No one is safe with what the Carders have planned. Look at me, Sunbeam.”
I stared down at the ground, unable to meet his eyes, not wanting his words to be real.
“Look at me,” he pleaded, and from the corner of my eye, I watched as he slowly and painfully untied the stag mask, revealing his face. Underneath, he looked battered and worn, like he’d fought a hundred battles – and lost. If it wasn’t for the familiar warmth that still shone in his eyes, I wouldn’t think there was any of my dad left in the beast. He was truly a hideous creature. Not quite human, but not quite sasquatch either, I realized.
“Dad,” I whispered. “The sasquatches have a special moss. Would it…”
He shook his head. “I know about the different mosses. They won’t help me. I’m an abomination of my own damn creation. And…” As he lowered his head, a tear dripped from his eye. “I’m not the only one.”
Shock coursed through me. “There’s more of you?”