Mutation (Twenty-Five Percent Book 1) Read Free

her when she was infected nine years previously, taking their fourteen year old son with him.  And she hated normals.  Loathed them and didn’t try to hide it.  He understood how she felt, even shared her attitude to some extent, but working around normals, he had learned to suppress his feelings.  Most of the time.
    The single blare of a siren drew everyone’s attention and he turned to see a police car slowly approach.  It came to a stop ten feet away.
    “Finally,” Blondie muttered.  “Hey,” he called to the police officer getting out of the car, “I want these people arrested for assault.”  He stood up and walked over to him.  “They attacked, without provocation, all of us law-abiding humans and they should be locked up...”
    The officer listened, expressionless, as blondie went on at some length about how he’d been wronged, then looked at Alex who had walked up behind him. 
    “Who is this idiot, MacCallum?” 
    Alex grinned.  “He led the mob who just attacked us.  We took care of the others, but this one is different.  He came prepared.  I have a hunch Parker might want him questioned about the string of Survivor attacks downtown.”
    Blondie was looking from the officer to Alex and back again.  “What the...?”
    “Okay, I’ll take him in.”  The police officer spun the stunned man around and slapped cuffs on him before he had a chance to react.  “You are under arrest for...” he glanced at Alex, his eyebrows raised.
    Alex gave it some thought.  “Um, disturbing the peace, inciting a riot, assault with a deadly weapon, assaulting a police officer, anything else you can think of.  Thanks, Jones.”
    “Wait, wait, wait.  I never assaulted a police officer.”  Blondie glared at Officer Jones who raised his eyebrows and nodded his head towards Alex.  The blond man looked back at him.
    “Detective Constable Alexander MacCallum,” Alex said, by way of introduction.  “Have a nice night in jail.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    He was incredulous.  “They’re letting white-eyes into the police force now?” 
    Jones shook his head, rolled his eyes at Alex and pulled open the back door of his cruiser.  “Watch your head,” he said, placing his hand on the top of blondie’s head and shoving him into the back seat with slightly more force than was necessary.
    Those still on the street watched the police car pull away.  A couple of ambulances passed it on their way in.  The paramedics who got out greeted the residents who hadn’t yet gone back to bed by name.  They were used to being called to East Town in the middle of the night. 
    Alex and Leon left them to the task of mopping up the normals who were no longer mobile.
    “‘Your arse will be seeing stars’?”  Leon said, as they walked.
    “My witty banter is not at its finest at three in the morning.”
    They wandered back towards their building and Alex looked up at his neighbour’s window to see Leon’s wife and two young daughters, who were all normal, staring down at them.  He smiled and waved.  The oldest girl, eight year old Emma, smiled and waved back.  He babysat for them occasionally.  She was a cute kid and intelligent for her age.  She’d taught him how to play chess and he suspected she was probably still better than him.  Under normal circumstances, she would have had a bright future ahead of her.  But being the child of a Survivor carried a stigma she may never be able to shake. 
    “How’s it going for Em at school?” Alex said.
    Leon sighed.  “The teachers are trying to help, but the kids are cruel.  She has a couple of friends, but the others...”  He shook his head as they walked into the lobby.  “They learn it from their parents.  My girls shouldn’t have to suffer because of me.”
    “None of us should have to suffer,” Alex replied, “just because of idiots like blondie out there...”
    “Blondie?” Leon smirked as they reached their floor and stepped through the