The Change: Life

by J. C. Nichols

  It was the figure that was in her room the night before.

  "Next time I tell you to run, RUN!" The robed figure hissed at her.

  The scene that erupted immediately after was mesmerizing and chaotic, with the robed figure taking on the entire army of Changed and robots all by itself. The armored figure got to its feet and glanced at Ivy before it focused on the robed figure, moving in a blur of motion and picking it up by its neck, causing the hood to fall away from its head.

  It was a woman, with light green skin.

  Light green skin like Ivy’s.

  "Goddammit, run!!!" The woman yelled at Ivy struggling with the man’s grasp.

  Ivy grabbed Jacob’s hand and did exactly that, moving her legs with everything she had until they reached her mother’s truck.

  *

  She couldn't drive away fast enough. And she couldn't quit shaking, not until they were far away from the carnage. It was a long time before either of them could make a sound.

  "I'm... I'm sorry," Jacob said quietly.

  Ivy looked at him with widened eyes. "What? What are you sorry for?"

  It took Jacob several minutes before he answered. "None of that would have happened if you... if you hadn't stopped to help me..."

  Ivy laughed. "I didn't stop to help you. That just kind of happened. Realistically, none of that would have happened if I wouldn't have stolen my mother’s truck and went joyriding – and then went walking around. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. We didn't choose for the world to be like this."

  Jacob nodded, but didn't say anything back.

  And then his eyes widened. "You don't – I mean; do you have a... a boyfriend?"

  Ivy smiled warmly at him then laughed. "No. You're the first guy I've ever met. And you've basically already got to second base with me."

  He gave her a blank look.

  "Second base – you know, my breasts?" She wiggled her torso, causing her small breasts to slightly jiggle. Maybe it was the daily examinations of her naked body for signs of the Change, or the adrenaline flowing through her, or the moment itself, but Ivy found that her inhibitions were just about gone. For now, at least. She simply didn't care that her chest was bare.

  With everything that had happened, modesty was pretty low on the list at this point. Besides, there wasn't much she could do about it – he was only wearing underwear, and the man he was with was wearing such torn clothes that they might as well have been transparent. There was something exhilarating to Ivy about being bared to the world, the wind blasting her bare torso through the window. And then the cute guy next to her didn't exactly hurt things either.

  So modesty be damned.

  She suspected her mother would have done the same in her situation.

  He blushed, his entire face going red – much like Ivy suspected she should have been, which only caused her to laugh even more.

  "Please don't laugh at me," Jacob said averting his eyes and looking out the window.

  Ivy immediately felt bad. "No, I wasn't – well, OK, maybe I was – but not in a mean way. I just never thought my first encounter with a guy would go anything like this."

  Jacob looked at her and slowly smiled. "Yeah. Believe me, I understand.”

  Something in the tone of Jacob’s comment caught Ivy's attention.

  “Am I the first girl you've ever met?”

  He frowned. “No-I-It's a long story. I don't want to talk about it.”

  Ivy nodded. “OK. I understand. So do you have a girlfriend?”

  Jacob's frown deepened. “Not anymore.”

  Ivy waited for him to say more. He didn't.

  "What was his name, anyway? That guy that I found you with? Not that it matters or anything, I'm just curious."

  "Lyn. His name was Lyn."

  Ivy nodded, her mind already racing ahead to how she would explain all of this to her mother and, her heart dropped, her grandmother.

  "What's – what's your name?"

  Ivy laughed again. She never told him. "Ivy. My name's Ivy."

  Jacob nodded. "Can I ask you another question?"

  She smiled. Who asked if they could ask another question? This guy was very different from her mother. "Sure. Ask away."

  "Why is – why is your skin green?"

  Ivy sensed there as more behind his question than simple curiosity. He had to have noticed the woman’s skin was green, too. She thought on the best way to answer this. "Well… my mom said my biological mom had green skin, and that she died after giving birth to me. She thought my bio mom was one of the Changed at first, but the Changed don't have green skin, so we don't know. It's not something I think about often, to be honest." Ivy fought to continue her sentence after the world skin, because her mind began racing with thoughts. Was that woman her mother? Or was she the same species as her mother? Did she maybe know her mother, at least?

  And why was she visiting her room when she slept?

  "I think your skin's pretty," Jacob said, jarring her out of her thoughts.

  For some reason, that comment made her more self-conscious than being shirtless ever did.

  - ME -

  The English language just doesn't cut it sometimes. I mean, you can say you’re “pissed” at someone. Or “angry.” “Mad.” Even “infuriated.” And then there was what I was feeling towards my daughter for stealing my truck. And going off alone. Without even taking Maxx. Or telling me anything. It was more than just anger, however: fear, worry, paranoia... there were so many emotions I was feeling it was hard to sum up.

  As I stood there deep in thought, I was distracted by a strange scraping sound coming from behind me. I turned and watched Maxx walk through the middle of the front room dragging a large stuffed animal. He looked sideways at me briefly as if to say “What? Ain't ever seen a dog drag a stuffed animal before?” then went to the next room. I don't know why, but this struck me as ridiculously funny, and I couldn’t help but laugh. It was random moments like that that made me realize just how much I loved that damn dog.

  I turned back to the window, my emotions once again fading into a chaotic and confusing mess.

  My emotions became even more chaotic when I finally saw Ivy pull into our driveway with a boy around her age in the passenger seat.

  Shirtless.

  It's like my eyes forgot how to blink.

  I was outside a heartbeat later, briskly walking towards my soon to be dead daughter.

  My daughter was no fool, however; she approached me much like a person would approach a wild, angry beast, arms and hands extended, talking in a smooth, almost monotone voice.

  "OK, mom, I know your mad, but please, just let me explain."

  I felt my left eye twitch. It had never done that before. I know she saw it because she flinched. The boy with her was even smarter than my daughter; he chose to stay in the truck, doors shut.

  "Explain then." Was all I could manage to say. Behind me I heard my mother walk out of the house.

  "Not surprised one bit," my mother said.

  I spun around to face her. "Yeah, because that's EXACTLY what the fuck I need to hear right now, you know?! Can you please just stay the fuck out of this!" I snapped at her.

  I turned back around when I heard the truck door open and watched as the young man got out in nothing but his underwear. I didn't think it was possible for my eyes to widen any further. I was wrong.

  "Umm... ma-ma'am... I know how this looks, but... it’s not like that..."

  My mind went racing. I could tell a lot about this boy from that one sentence. Not just what he said, but how he said it, and his body language in general. I felt my anger drain from me, replaced by concern. "Who are you?"

  "Mom, I was-"

  "I'll deal with you in a minute, sunshine. Go inside and get a shirt on, and get him some shorts or something. You look about the same size in the waist."

  Ivy nodded and rushed past me like a light green blast of wind. M
y mother turned and followed her into the house. I shook my head, waiting to hear the screams and yelling I just knew would erupt any second.

  I looked at the boy. “What's your name? And why are you in your underwear?”

  Maxx, whom I didn't even know was out of the house, suddenly got in between us, snarling a warning at the boy.

  I had never seen Maxx do that to a non-Changed before.

  "Sorry. I have no idea what's gotten into him. He's usually not like this. Maxx! Stop that!"

  Maxx immediately stopped snarling and looked up at me.

  I shook my head and bent down, pulling him towards me and scratching him behind his ears. His tail started wagging enthusiastically.

  That was my Maxx; murderous one minute, tail imitating a windshield wiper the next.

  I looked back at the boy. “Again: what's your name, and why are you in your underwear? With my shirtless daughter?”

  He laughed nervously. "When you say it like that, it sounds a lot worse than it really is. My-my names Jacob. She-your daughter-I guess kind of rescued me. I was-I-I-"

  I frowned. This boy – Jacob – was starting to shake. He was breaking down right in front of me. Much to my shock, my mother came from behind me and walked towards him, her arms outstretched.

  "Can't you see he's been through something huge? I don't think he needs to be grilled right now. Come on. Let's get you checked out."

  The boy cautiously walked into her arms. My mother hugged him firmly.

  I was speechless. Since when was I the bad guy??

  I looked behind me to see how Ivy was doing, and found her still by the house, wearing one of my old shirts and holding a pair of basketball shorts, watching the scene unfold.

  Just as speechless as I was.

  *

  A loud bang.

  Followed by a frustrated "Ahhhhh!"

  I rolled my eyes and found the room the sound came from. The kitchen. Ivy. No surprise there. She was staring down at a small object on the floor directly in front of her. Jacob was eating, though he had stopped mid-chew to watch what had just happened. His eyes were big.

  Months had passed with Jacob living with us, and the transition was surprisingly smooth. He got along famously with my mother, who practically re-birthed him, and Ivy absolutely adored him. She never outright said so, but mothers can tell these things. She could do worse: he was a hard worker, and very respectful and kind. And he was easy on the eyes. He was starting to become more comfortable in his skin, too. It was nice seeing him gradually come out of his shell.

  It was nice seeing the boy slowly become a man.

  "Sprout, what did you break now?" I asked Ivy, looking down at a small smoking object in front of her.

  "I didn't break – well, I didn't try to break anything! I just started messing with this small thing I found in one of the drawers, and it – it fizzed!"

  I smirked. "Baby, you know you have horrible luck with electronics. Why do you even try?"

  She shrugged. "It's so frustrating. Why am I such a freak??"

  I cocked my head. She was genuinely hurt. Emotionally, at least. I walked over to her and engulfed her in a mom hug. "Baby, you're not. It's cute, actually. Endearing."

  "No, it's not," she mumbled into my armpit.

  I smiled over at Jacob, who had slowly resumed chewing. "Hey you – have you taken the trash out yet?"

  His eyes widened. "No – no ma'am. I'm sorry. I was waiting until I finished eating first, so I could put my stuff in with it. But I'll do it right now."

  "No. Eat. I was just asking. And reminding you. We all have chores, and regardless of what my mom thinks, you're not special."

  “Mom!” Ivy exclaimed, pulling away from me and giving me a stern look.

  His eyes immediately fell to the plate and he nodded. "I understand, ma'am."

  I immediately felt bad for what I had said. "I didn't mean that the way it came out. I'm sorry."

  He looked back up at me with widened eyes.

  I smiled, releasing Ivy from my mom-hug. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him.

  "It's just that – an adult has never apologized to me before. It’s weird."

  Ivy perked up. "Yeah, well, my mom isn't really an adult. Think of her like one of us, just with strange growth issues. We even wear the same size clothes."

  I laughed. "Strange growth issues? Really? And I am definitely not one of you guys. I am way cooler."

  Ivy laughed. Jacob fought to keep a smile from his face, but only half won the battle.

  I watched the two as they exchanged glances, and my mom paranoia kicked in. I was going to have to keep my eye on these two if they got any closer. Something was becoming increasingly obvious to me these past few days:

  Ivy was starting to fall for him. Hard.

  *

  A few more weeks passed. During that time, we had to move again, but luckily we found another house that was fairly well stocked without too much difficulty. I walked into the front room, where Jacob was messing with that strange gauntlet of his. It lay in pieces all around him.

  "Jacob. Got a second? I want to talk to you."

  Jacob looked up and gave me a shy but bright smile. "Yes ma'am?"

  I grinned. "You know, I really hate when you call me that. It makes me feel three times my age. I'm not that much older than you and Ivy."

  He smiled back. "Sorry ma – uh – Miss."

  I pursed my lips, mainly in an effort to not smile. This boy definitely had his moments.

  “You've been with us for a while now, and, well, I was just curious; what happened with you out there? What's your story?"

  It was almost as if a cloud of darkness came down and enveloped him. "Well... if it's all the same to you, ma'am, I really-I don't want to talk about it."

  I frowned. "No, I don't mean the – you know, the 'nitty gritty', I mean in general. Like, who were your parents? What did you do before, you know, the world went to shit?"

  Jacob laid the broom against the wall and put his hands in his pockets. "I – well – I was a baby. I don't remember. I've been with Lyn my entire life," he shrugged. "He said he found me while he was on a supply run."

  I nodded, feeling bad for him all over again. His life must have been pure hell. "Jacob... what happened between Lyn and Ivy? She still won't talk about it, and I know it was more than she just saved you. It's been bugging me. Tell me."

  Jacob sighed and looked down at the electronics spread all around him. I looked to make sure Ivy was still outside gathering leaves. She was. We were safe, for the time being.

  "He attacked her. Tried to – take advantage of her."

  My eyes widened. "You’re serious? What exactly happened?"

  I waited, but he didn't say anything else. "Jacob? What happened?"

  “She killed him. Made him explode. Her eyes turned black, and, well, suddenly there was this feeling like an explosion but with nothing but air and heat. And when everything calmed Lyn was, well, a pile of skin."

  Her eyes went black. Like they did a while back when we were trying to spend some mother daughter time together.

  I looked at him with eyes the size of silver dollars. "She exploded him?"

  He nodded. "Yeah. And then, well, some – what do you guys call them – Changed? - came from nowhere. But first there was the armored guy appeared – the one I took this gauntlet from a while back. He had all kinds of robots with him. They just appeared out of thin air. They were going to attack us, I think, and..."

  I was still processing the first part. "And? And how did you guys get away? Did she – uh – kill them too?"

  He shook his head. "No. There was someone else. It was wearing this hood and robe, and it started going through Changed and robots like they were child’s toys. It-she-saved us. It got the big robot’s attention, and we escaped when it threw the big robot on the ground."

  "And you are just now telling me all this?!"

 
; "I'm... I'm sorry, ma'am... She asked me not to say anything. Said your mother already hated her enough, and you were all she had, and she didn't want to lose you..."

  I blinked.

  Damn.

  "Mom? Is everything OK in here?"

  I jumped and turned. Ivy had come in from outside, dirty and concerned looking.

  I thought for several deep seconds before responding. I forced myself to smile. "Yeah, Sprout. Everything's great. I was just asking Jacob about his past – what happened before the world went to hell. Come here. I want to hug you."

  Ivy smiled and walked over. "But mom, I'm all stinky. It's hot outside."

  I pulled her to me as soon as she got close enough. "Yeah, you always stink. So no biggie."

  "Mom!" She said, horrified, stealing a glance at Jacob.

  I laughed at her protest, at her trying to playfully pull away from me. I was not letting this little girl go, regardless of what she thought. She was stuck with me.

  Period.

  *

  Everything that Jacob told me didn't really sink in until later that night, when I was in the bathtub soaking. Ivy had abilities – powers – that allowed her to do something so extreme as turn a person into a pool of flesh. And, I'm not going to lie, it did sting that she tried to keep this from me altogether. We were closer than that. I thought.

  But what really scared me was her abilities. Where did they come from? What were their limits? What if she lost control of them? So many thoughts bounced around in my mind as I stared out the bathroom window, looking but not looking at the night's sky. Looking at the moon and stars always helped me think.

  And then a face appeared in the window looking back at me.

  I screamed and scrambled out of the bath, slipping and falling on the wet bathroom floor, looking frantically for any kind of weapon but finding none.

  It was then I realized several things that made me pause: for one, the face in the window was Jacob. For two, it was upside down. And finally, he looked just as freaked as I was. I stood a little straighter, whipping a towel around myself to conceal my nakedness. I walked over to the window to open it but suddenly his head was gone. I whipped the door to the bathroom open and stomped around until I reached the end of the house that the bathroom window was on. Jacob and Ivy were sitting on the roof; it looked like she was trying to calm him down.