6

They fried sausages and potatoes on the fire, Cornelius collected a lot of mushrooms.

— I love nature...—Cornelius stroked the grass gently with his hand.— It's so peaceful here... Mariusz is not here, there is no evil in him... There is nothing that spoils the original beauty of the planet...—

— Yes, and there are no books of mine...—Dariusz pouted.— Couldn't you take care of more than food? —

Cornelius and Radek laughed.

— I took this one anyway...—Cornelius took out a small book with a rose on the cover.

Darek grabbed the book with both hands and hugged it.

— Mom's poems!—He smiled.

— Yes, that's them...—Cornelius patted his brother's hair.—I knew you'd need them...—

Sleeping outdoors turned out to be better than anywhere else. Cornelius fell asleep very quickly, Darek still turned from side to side for a while. Probably, he was hampered by what was under the bed - red-hot stones.

They chose to sleep in a cave under the roots of a huge tree, as they did not want to sleep in the trailer.

Radoslav looked at them for a very long time, until he finally fell asleep.

There is only hope that their mother's fate will never befall them...

***

Cornelius woke up in the middle of the night from an unbearable pain in his head.

His limbs twitched continuously and chaotically, but he could still get over it.

It seems that his appearance was changing a little...

Cornelius pushed aside the trailer and jumped out onto the grass.

Black power oozes out of his pores, begs to come out, causes a strong contraction of the muscles.

His eyeballs turned completely black and, before consciousness completely disappeared, he thought that he had climbed out of hiding correctly...

***

Cornelius was struggling in an epileptic fit when Dariush woke up.

— Cornelius!— he rushed to his older brother, grabbed his arm and screamed: his T-shirt began to smolder and crumble.

Reaching Darek's skin, a black mist enveloped his arm.

When the fog cleared, Darek sat down next to Cornelius and put his head on his lap.

Dariusz stroked his older brother's hair as if to calm him down.

Cornelius's eyes were completely black. His body was shaking as if from crying.

— Darek?—Cornelius blinked. When he came to his senses, he jumped away from his younger brother.— Shit! Have you been with me all this time?—

— Yes... Don't worry, your powers didn't touch me. They won't touch me, because these are your powers...—Darek moves closer.—Corey, I'm telling the truth.—

— Yes, it won't hurt you now, but for how long? What if I turn into an uncontrollable killer in the future?—Cornelius said and suddenly hugged his brother tightly to himself, as if he wanted to protect him from all the terrible things in this world with these hugs.

His brother smells of sweets and mint, it's soothing.

— You're going to crush me, Corey! You're too big!— Dariusz squeaked.

Cornelius smiles.

— I love you, Darek. I have no one more precious than you in the world.— He said softly.

— Don't you like Dad, or something?— Darek asks.

— How can you not love Dad? It's our dad!— Cornelius looked at the sleeping Radoslav with a smile.

A triple nitrobike flew through the sky.

Cornelius quickly pushed the trailer into the red thicket, grabbed Derek and ducked into the cave with him.

Only once there did Cornelius realize that he had done it in a matter of hundredths of a second...

— What's the matter...— Radoslav began, but Cornelius immediately put his hand over his father's mouth.

In order not to make unnecessary noises, he just pointed his finger up.

Radek nodded.

The engine of the nitro bike, as if deliberately intimidating, buzzed, it seems, over their heads.

Cornelius even held his breath for this time.

— It flew by...—Cornelius whispers.

— Did you really fly by?—Radoslav took out a mirror.— It's better to check now...—

He pointed the mirror towards the sky, trying not to catch the rays of light.

— Yes, there is no one... But I don't think it's worth getting out...— He said.

— Yes, I agree...—Cornelius confirmed.— If they drove in that direction, you don't need to be sure that they won't turn back...—

Darek snuggled closer to his older brother.

— We need to expand the cave!—Cornelius suddenly said.— And also bury the trailer and make a passage from here to it. It's going to be a little cold, but it's better than getting caught by him...—

— How are you going to bury the trailer, Cornelius? No matter how you hit your head, my dear...—Radoslav said worriedly.

— No, I didn't hit my head, Dad, I just have a great idea!—Cornelius said, smiling all over his mouth.— Move away, I'll try to improve my skills.—

He raised his hands up and the walls of the cave began to crumble.

His black mist, streaming from his hands, inflated the tree from the inside.

Darek hid behind his father.

For a second, he seemed scared of his older brother.

Cornelius pointed his arms diagonally down, and the ground began to sag.

He feels the power burning inside, the blood beating out the rhythms of this very power.

The trailer could be heard slowly sliding underground.

The fingers turn black, the manhole that opens and goes down has already become large enough for Cornelius to get in, but for Radek's plump forms you need to try.

— How do you do it?—Radoslav asked his son in surprise.

— It's not me. My strength does it...—

— And it won't fall on us?—Radoslav looked at the hole in disbelief.

— No. If I don't want to, it won't collapse... This is the advantage of my strength. Now you can go down!—Cornelius rubbed his hands together.

They carefully slipped down the hole in turn.

— Yes, it's not as pleasant as upstairs... But it's safe here...—Cornelius looked at his hands.

Purple veins radiate across the palms. Maybe that means something else is going to happen. Or maybe nothing...

— Someone is coming!—Darek said softly, clinging to the trailer.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped.

A fraction is spreading across the ground. It seems that someone is tapping a message in Morse code with his foot.

— "Sit there. I saw you downstairs..."— voiced by Radoslav.—"When everything settles down... When everything settles down, I'll tell you. Thomas."—

— Is that General Thomas?—Cornelius whispered.

— Yes. After all, we studied together...—Radoslav sighed loudly.

— Did you study with General Thomas? Dad, then why do you look so much younger and not as loud and crazy as he is? We peed in our pants out of fear at school,

when he first entered the classroom.—Cornelius lets out a quiet laugh after a nervous tirade.

— I'm just more outgoing. And General Thomas, by the way, when he was young (yes, we were young!), injured his head and because of this he hears at a distance of twenty meters...—Radoslav did not finish the sentence, but Cornelius, wincing, bit his tongue.

He remembered the powerful slaps on the back of the general's head for quiet and seemingly imperceptible statements...

***

General Thomas looked into the hole.

— Come on, Cornelius, pull out the trailer the same way you put it in there...— He said.— I've brought new cladding and I'll take you out myself. There's one place Mariusz wouldn't dare go. .—

General Thomas watched with interest as the trailer rose from the ground.

— Aren't you afraid?—Cornelius asked.

— Why would I be afraid of you? I am more surprised that your company is not afraid of Mariusz...—Thomas bent down and picked up

a handful of earth, which he tested on Cornelius is strong for itself.— Hmm, nothing happened to the earth... A very good disguise...—

Cornelius dusted off his hands.

— What now?—he asked.

— Now hide your power, I'll go get the car. In the meantime, you need to disconnect the driver's cabin, hide it somewhere and tear off the top one from the trailer itself

the skin layer. Replace it with this one.—Thomas pulled a couple of rolls out of his backpack.

— And how are we going to go?—Darek asked.

— Later, everything later!—The blond man left quickly.

— Detach, tear off, replace...—Radek sighed.— All right. Cornelius, help me disconnect the cabin. Dariusz, you'd better stand aside for now.—

Darek pouted resentfully. He hears it too often...