Mutagen

<strong>Day 5 – 6:03 PM – 4th Grade Building, Queens Row Elementary School, Queens Row Area A, Bacoor City, Cavite</strong>

At Carlo's question, Mark did not answer immediately. He panned his eyes towards everyone and seeing their inquisitive gazes, especially the people originally in his group. Seeing those stares, Mark sighed as he decided to explain his findings and what he knew about the Mutators and Evolvers. This way, these few people he valued would have enough knowledge to get going in survive in this world that had turned for the worse.

Mark turned to Odelina.

"Odel, did you bring the USB Lamp?"

He asked as the sun had started to set. None of them would be able to continue the conversation once the surroundings became encroached within the darkness of the night.

To Mark's question, Odelina pulled one the bags they brought and took out a small lamp. This lamp might be small in size but it could bring out a bright shade of light. It was the very lamp they used these past nights.

Mark took the lamp and put in on the teacher's table in front of the blackboard on the front wall of the classroom. Pulling out the drawer under the same table, she saw the blackboard eraser along with varying length of already used chalk. He took the longest one out before turning back to the people in the classroom who were waiting for his answer.

Outside the window, Mark saw Joseph that was peering through the gaps of the wooden shutters.

"Let Joseph in. Just don't let him run around. Also, close all the windows."

Mark sighed. He was willing to divulge most of what he knew but it did not mean that he would let anyone see or hear what he would say. It was because he was sure that no matter how much equipment the scientists under the government had, he was certain that it was unlikely for them to find someone with Empathic abilities as strong as him and he was even more confident that they did not have the same crystal.

Even though there were several balls of light that scattered six years ago, there was only one with the largest size and that was the crystal that he found. Considering the sizes of those lights, it was likely that those balls of light were just a few more marble sized crystals that scattered due to the explosion.

Odelina immediately let the elated Joseph in and before the shameless guy was able to sit down near where the women seated, he was pulled by Kevin and Jason towards their side.

Mark looked at Carlo and started to speak.

"Am I able to turn anyone into an Evolver right?"

Carlo nodded to the question.

"Unfortunately, it's not that easy."

Mark shook his head and continued.

"According to the information the government disclosed, Evolver's were people whose bodies received enhancement due to the existence of Mutagen in the air. They meant that everyone was infected but as long as we are not bitten by the others that had already turned feral, we are fine and the Mutagen will keep on slowly enhancing our bodies."

He then looked at the children that were being held by their mothers and fathers.

"They also said that children were more susceptible to the enhancing effects of Mutagen. Yet, have all of you noticed. Not every children and absolutely not every person were turning into one."

Mark looked at his classmates.

"Any of your children turned into one? Or at least, got absurdly high fever in the past days after the apocalypse started?"

To his question however, none of them nodded. Their children remained normal.

Seeing that none of them responded, Mark continued with a nod.

"What the government did not disclose or maybe what they did not confirm yet are the exact prerequisites to become an Evolver."

"Prerequisites? Didn't the government say that one was the growth period of children? Another is having fatal injuries but surviving it?"

Arvie suddenly asked. As his younger brother turned into one, he was privy about the information the military had about Evolvers.

Mark looked at him and nodded.

"Those things are true and I already witnessed it those instances. Me for example. I'm an Evolver and my strongest ability as Evolver is my regeneration rate."

Mark wrote his name on the black board and followed his name with the word "Regeneration" beside it.

"Before I received this ability, I'm on the verge of death."

Hearing that, Mei remembered how severe Mark's injuries back in the Mall when he was brought back by the soldiers. It was really a sight that would make most people shiver. His muscles were swelling, his clothes were soaked in blood, his chest had sunken and his skin was filled with bruises and wounds. Her eyes felt water as she remembered that scene.

Odelina on the other hand hung her head low. After all, it was her who brought him into the brink of death at that time. Even though she was not in control of her body back then, she was still partly conscious and aware of what was happening.

To sudden emotional change of the two, Mark felt bitter. However, it was not the time to be sentimental right now.

"Carlo, what's your ability? I guess that it had something to do with temperature but I can't be sure what it is exactly."

Mark turned to Carlo and asked. The latter answered while scratching his cheek.

"I can lower my body temperature."

No one asked him to demonstrate but he did as his skin color paled. There was then a surge of cold air spreading coming from his direction.

Looking at this, several ideas came into Mark's mind. One was with proper training, Carlo could become a good assassin as with his ability, he could bypass even thermal detectors every armed forces used. Another was that they could lower their electricity consumption from maintaining the air conditioning in the vehicle.

The other people on the other hand were surprised due to the unique kind of ability Carlo had.

Mark then wrote Carlo's name on the blackboard along with his ability. He did the same to the others as he asked every Evolver in the classroom about their abilities.

"I wonder why you are asking everyone."

Melissa asked with confusion.

"It had something to do with my explanation later. Mark answered patiently."

Looking back at everyone Mark asked.

"Among the people listed here on the board, who were on the brink of death before Evolving?"

To his own question, Mark also raised his hand along with Carlo and Odelina's children. Joseph also tried to raise his hand but Jason and Kevin who were sitting beside him immediately pulled his hand down mercilessly.

"What's going on with you three?"

Mark asked.

"I want to raise my hand but these two won't let me. I'm also at the brink of death back then you know?"

Joseph protested but only to have the back of his head slapped by Jason.

"What brink of death? You only had muscle swelling and sprain since you were ganged up and beaten by several men because you wanted to take liberty on a woman three days ago!"

Hearing that, every woman inside the room looked at Joseph with a cold gaze. It looked like he deserved what he experienced that time but it looked like that experience turned him into an Evolver with great tenacity.

On the blackboard, beside Joseph's name, the word "TANK" was written. It was a term used for players of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena or MOBA games to determine characters with a high threshold to receive damage without dying. Joseph was the same as his skin and muscles was now hard to damage. If an infected was to bite him, their teeth would not sink in deep in his arm.

Away from that topic, everyone realized what Mark wanted to say. It did not need for anyone to be on the brink of death to become and Evolver.

Then, what were really the prerequisites?

That question filled everyone's mind as they looked at Mark who was waiting for the clamor to die down.

As if knowing what the question in their minds, Mark spoke while writing on the blackboard.

"The conditions were… First, limits. If you overcame the limits of your body, it was likely for that limit to be enhanced."

Mark looked at Mara and Nikky. The two already shared a part of their story when Mark asked about their abilities. Nikky exhausted all her meager strength to save Daniel and Dorothy while Mara ran as fast and as far as she could to the point of collapsing in order to escape the infected that were chasing her.

"Second, mental state. Extreme emotions could trigger evolution too."

Mark said and his eyes fell unto Jason who went berserk due to his rage after losing the members of their family giving him strength to punch a hole through the outer surface of common vehicles.

"The third and most important I think… Is genes."

Mark took a deep breath and continued to clear the confusion in everyone's minds.

"As you remember, I used my genes, my blood to turn this girl into an Evolver. Even if any of you fit in the first two conditions, without the genes compatible for evolution, it is likely that your evolution will be slow or you won't evolve at all."

"Wait, if Boss said genes, doesn't that mean that relatives of existing Evolvers could also become one?"

Melissa suddenly interjected with that question.

Mark nodded to that question.

"According to what I observed, it's highly likely. It doesn't only apply on Evolvers but Mutators too. But remember that it doesn't apply to every relatives but only to direct relatives."

Mark then looked at Odelina and then her children.

"As you can see, Odelina here is a Mutator. Odelina, show them."

Under Mark's command, a bone gauntlet grew on Odelina's right arm to show everyone.

"The mother is a Mutator and her children are Evolvers. You all got what I'm trying to say?"

Everyone nodded. What he had just said and demonstrated were straightforward and clear.

Arvie gripped his fists in expectation. According to what Mark said, his younger brother, Jason, was an Evolver. As the older brother of an Evolver, he also had a great chance to become one.

"Then, Boss also meant that direct relatives of Mutators could also become Mutators?"

Melissa asked another question.

However, Mark shook his head.

"I don't know the exact rule to that yet. I'm sure that genes are a large factor but I feel that that is not all of it. I only concluded the idea about genes because of Emika and Mikio. Those siblings both became Mutators and the two both have plant like abilities. Still, their abilities greatly differed in nature."

The people originally in his group nodded but the others were confused. It was because they did not know who was that siblings Mark was talking about.

"So, Big Bro is saying that if our genes are not compatible with the evolution, we won't become an Evolver?"

Carlo asked.

"Well, there's another thing with that but I haven't confirmed it yet."

Mark replied.

"What is it?"

"The compatibility of the ability to the person."

Mark looked at Carlo.

"Remember that you're not the only one in the same situation before you evolved right? Sundra and Anna are with you. Yet, the two of them did not evolve and received the same ability you have."

"But you said that you turned this girl right?"

"Not exactly wrong but not exactly right either."

Mark looked at the girl.

"This girl also developed her own Evolver ability and that is why my blood worked on her body."

Everyone looked the girl who seemed to have no idea what was happening.

"This girl… developed the "pain resistance" ability."