Chapter 24 - Towards Grayburn College

A few hours before the conversation with Blonsky, General Ross was in his office with a cigarette between his lips. As he periodically exhaled the smoke, his eyes remained fixed on the video of the incident at the college. Ross carefully reviewed the images of the two creatures in combat repeatedly.

"Major Kathleen"

Upon hearing her name, Kathleen turned, curious about why she was being called. With composure, she walked slowly toward where General Ross was.

"Can I help with something, sir?"

Instead of immediately answering the question, Ross simply pointed a finger at the screen, leading Kathleen to direct her gaze. Then, in an authoritative voice, Ross asked.

"What do you think, Major Kathleen?"

Ross pointed to the frightening red creature and asked Kathleen. She was not sure what to respond; along with the green creature, it was the first time Kathleen had witnessed such a being.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question, sir. This is the first time I've seen such a creature. Do you happen to know what it is?"

Upon hearing this question, Ross continued to scrutinize the creature attentively, once again bringing the cigarette to his mouth and exhaling the smoke from his lungs shortly after.

"Maybe it's an alien, or a government experiment, it could very well be a god. Either way, what we know is that this thing managed to rival what we thought was a god"

Kathleen remained silent after Ross's words. He, on the other hand, was determined to find out by any means what that thing was. For him, what couldn't be controlled was of no use, and if it had no use, it couldn't exist.

***

After the meal, Sara and Prime returned to New York. Based on the recent information provided by Prime's "servant" Dr. Bruce and Dr. Elizabeth were on their way to Grayburn University. Therefore, they decided to cut short their return.

Furthermore, Sara was genuinely surprised at the amount she ate at the burger joint. Although aware that she was eating for two, it wasn't easy to accept that even after devouring seven burgers, she still felt hungry.

Additionally, though something Prime and Sara had expected, videos of their fight against the green monster were already circulating on the internet and being commented on every passing second. At this point, Prime's existence was no longer a secret to the world, as evidenced by some of the ongoing conversations.

[Isn't this CGI? Maybe they were shooting a scene for a movie or something]

[I go to that college and was there when it happened. The way it looked, I doubt it was for a movie]

[Wait, are you telling me this is real? Monsters exist now? Hahaha, dude, I think you fell for some prank]

[Prank? Are you saying dozens of people fell for the same prank?]

[How am I supposed to know? I wasn't there, so I'm not just going to believe you]

[But if this is really true... what the hell were those things?]

Of course, Prime and Sara were unaware of the discussions happening on the internet. As they walked towards Grayburn College, Sara, feeling bored, decided to pass the time by talking to Prime.

"Prime, what did you do before taking over this body? You mentioned you were human, right? Did you have friends or maybe a girlfriend? Also, what was your field of study? Even though you mentioned we got money through your old college, I never really delved into what course you were taking"

Hearing these words, Prime pondered for a moment on where to begin.

(First and foremost, as you know, I was an orphan)

Hearing this, Sara remained silent, as this was information she already knew. Also, the reason Sara was unaware of Prime's old life was that he himself didn't know much. While it was clearer to Prime, for Sara, it was like scattered pieces of glass.

(I don't remember much more than that. Probably grew up in an orphanage, just like you, and when I became an adult, I must have left or something. Now, about my friends... I remember having two, and that's it. I don't recall their names or genders, but I think they were two men. No, it was a man and a woman, I'm sure of that. As for the girlfriend, I'll use my right to remain silent)

Hearing Prime's words, Sara put a playful smile on her face, anticipating that this would be a topic she'd tease Prime about in the future.

"Well, well, is there a specific reason you're not telling me? Can't be, you were a college student and never dated?"

Hearing these words, Prime felt embarrassed; admitting that he had never dated was something he didn't expect to make him so uncomfortable.

(Even if you say that, you're not much better than me, forgot that we are one? I know you never dated either)

Hearing these words, Sara laughed out loud, drawing the attention of some people on the street, but she simply ignored them.

"Are you really saying that to a sixteen-year-old girl? Even you must have noticed that we can't be compared, Prime"

Prime knew what Sara was saying was true. Due to Sara always fending for herself, she had closed her heart to almost everyone. It was hard to imagine someone with that mindset thinking about falling in love with another person.

(Haaa... all right, you win. It's true, I never dated. Any problem with that? If you want to tease me now, it's the time)

Prime said, looking sulky, making Sara let out a small laugh.

"Why would I tease you? I really don't care about what you were or what you did. We're a team now. You're me, and I'm you, right?"

To Sara's question, Prime just sighed mentally, putting a small mental smile on his lips.

(I guess you're right)