E.V.O.lution Chapter 2

Generator Rex OC Story

E.V.O.lution

Chapter Two

'From the Start'

Three Weeks Earlier

Talia looked up at the white apartment door. In golden numbers, 303, were nailed onto it, sliding downward at a angle. She looked back down at dirty and ripped piece of paper that she held on the tip of her fingers. The same numbers were scribbled onto it.
This has to be it… Talia thought, folding up the paper and shoving it into her pocket.
She lifted up her hand and knocked her grimy knuckles against the wooden door. Talia took a step back and held her breath for that moment. She knew Camille would be happy to see her, just as she would be happy to see him when he opened the door. If the shock didn't kill him first. There was a silence that settled in before Talia heard a movement of soft footsteps come from the inside. She then heard a clicking of the deadbolt and the door slowly swung open.
A young boy in his late teens stood in the door way, scratching his tousled bleached blonde hair and blinking the sleep out of his eyes. His eyes traveled down from his eye length when he saw no one in front of him. When his eyeballs finally settled on her face, they nearly jumped out of their sockets.
"TALIA! Oh my God, you're okay!" He exclaimed, any traces of sleep wiped from his face.
Happy bloomed in her chest. She released her breath and proceeded normally.
"Hey, Cammy, what's up?"  Talia asked cheerily, her eyes landing on the black ring that was pierced into his bottom lip. "Hey! You got your lip pierced. Cool." She complimented, before entering his apartment. "Do you have any food? I'm hungry." She announced, looking around the semi-messy apartment and finding the kitchen almost instantly.
"What's up? What's up with you?! You've been missing for almost a month! Where have you been?" Camille squawked, closing the door behind him and hurrying into the kitchen. He found Talia there, digging through his fridge.
"I was traveling." Talia replied, moving the food she didn't want out of her way and picking out what she wanted to eat.
"You were traveling? To where?" Camille asked, hovering over Talia with fret and irritation. Her limited answers weren't helping him calm down.
"To here." Talia said. She turned around with a mountain of food in her arms and closed the door to the fridge, heading towards the counter.
"Wait-what?" He asked, feeling as if a rock had been tossed against his head and it hadn't registered. "You were traveling? To here?" He watched as she placed out the food on the counter, and searched the cupboards for a plate.
"Yep." She said coming back around and taking out all the food.
"All the way from California to Florida?" He asked, coming up to her side. "Don't tell me that you walked here."
"Yep."  Talia replied nonchalantly. She placed a few pieces of meat, canned cheese, and pickles on her sandwich. She seemed more interested in making her sandwich than explaining how she got from point A to point B.
"But that's impossible! You're like, what, fourteen? How did you find the mon-" Camille was cut short as three plastic credit cards were shoved in his face.
"There were about seven or eight of these when I left home. I over used most of them and the others were shut off when I was half way out of Louisiana." Talia explained, dropping the credit cards into Camille's hands. "So I used up the cash I took when I left home." She promptly went back to fixing up her monstrosity of a sandwich.
Camille looked dumbfounded at the credit cards in his palms.
"So that means you really did…" Camille trailed off and stared blankly at Talia. Suddenly, his face turned red and he shouted in anger, "Talia how could you have done a stupid thing like that?! You could have been killed or kidnapped or have gotten lost! And you stole your parents' money!"
"Mostly Karen's money…" Talia corrected Camille, un-phased by his outburst.
Camille slammed his open hand down on the counter. Talia flinched a little, but stood still, glancing slightly sideways at her friend.
"You're missing the point, Talia. You could have died." Camille growled, his voice dark, strait and firm.
For a guy who was mostly bubbly and happy all the time, this was a new side Talia was seeing from him.
"Well, I didn't. And now I'm here." Talia replied, her voice sharp and matching Camille's in intensity. She refused to feel stupid and ashamed for what she had done. She'd felt during the whole trip she was doing the mature thing in leaving home.
She placed the top part of the bread on the Frankenstein looking sandwich, and took a plate out from the nearest cupboard, ignoring Camille's hard glare the whole time. She plopped her food down on the plate and took it to the table where she could set herself down to eat.
Camille let out a half hearted sigh, and ran his large hand through his toe head hair.
"Talia, you can't stay here. I know you have it hard at home, but running away isn't going to solve your problems." Camille murmured, crossing over the laminated floor and sitting across from Talia.
"Yeah it will. Ever since I ran away, I didn't have to listen to that annoying broad open her festering pie hole and nag about everything I do. I don't have to look after that snot nose brat, or my gutless sister any more, and I've only have to worry about me." Talia said with a bitter smile, and took a bite out of her sandwich. "You known I've always wanted to run away. And now that I have, I'm not going back home for anything. I'm staying." She finished saying with a air of stubbornness.
Camille shook his head. He wasn't about to let Talia use her personal issues as a excuse to hide.
"Talia, you can't. You have to go back." He murmured, trying to ease her into considering to go back. He knew she was a stubborn kid, and had never seen her submit without a fight.
"I came all this way to see you, so I don't have to deal with all that stupid crud at home any more. You said you would always be there for me when I needed you. Why are you trying to turn me away now?" Talia asked, her eyes hurt and searching.
"I know I said that, but this is different." Camille said, regretting now that he told her such things to help her rebellious streak grow. "Your parents are worried about you."
Talia dropped her half eaten sandwich and patted her hands off on her jacket. She looked straight into Camille's eyes, and held them there.
"You want to know the real reason why I'm here, Camille?" Talia asked, her voice steady and strong. "You know I've held up fine alone with Ty's death, and mom and dad's divorce, and the step mom, and the new baby, but this…this doesn't even come close to my new problem."
Camille held his breath, not understanding what could be worse than any of those problems combined.
"What is it?" Camille asked after her pause.
Talia cleared her throat, and pushed out her final problem.
"I've changed. I'm not a human anymore, Camille."
Camille blinked, the force of the situation not yet weighing down on him.
"You mean, like your brother? You're an E.V.O?" He asked slowly.
Talia gave him a somber nod.
"But…you still look human…" Camille gapped, looking her up and down. There was no difference in her at all.
"I know, I know. I still look human, but I'm not." She assured him, pausing before going on.
"Well, what happened? How did it happen?" Camille inquired, leaning in closer.
"It happened last summer, at camp. At first I thought the nanites had activated in me and had changed me into a E.V.O. permanently, but after a while, I changed back into my human form. And a day after that, I changed into a E.V.O. again. Except that time one of the camp counselors saw me and flipped out, and the camp was put on lock down. I had to hide until I changed back again." Talia sat in her seat, picking at her dirty fingernails to get the grime out. "But the strange thing that I found out was that the changes weren't happening at random. There was a wild E.V.O. nearby in the forest, and every time it came near the camp, I would change into a E.V.O.
"I was totally freaked out when it happened to me. But after a while, it felt, well…it kinda felt…" Talia looked to Camille, thinking of a why not to make him freak out but get the truth out.
"What?" Camille asked, looking more interested then afraid.
"Turning into a E.V.O felt normal… almost second nature to me."
Camille was unsure what to say in response. His brain was on intake at the moment. He couldn't think or speak for himself. He was blown away that not only one of his friends had changed into a fearsome E.V.O., but two now. How could have this had happened?
"What happened after that?" He managed to get out, looking more interested than afraid.
"Summer camp was over and I went home. I haven't changed into a E.V.O. since then." Talia explained.
Deep down, she felt relaxed that Camille didn't look afraid of her.
"Can you…can you…control, your E.V.O. side? Like, do you black out when it happens or…?" Camille asked, trying to fill in some blanks. He wanted to know that Talia wasn't dangerous to him or anyone else.
Talia sat up straight with his question.
"Yeah. I'm completely in control of myself actually. I've got these claws," Talia said, stretching out her fingers. "And I've got these huge spikes on my back, and-and I turn into this insanely awesome looking monster thing!" Talia smiled, showing her back side. "'cept, I can't talk in my E.V.O. form. That's my only problem I think."
"Have…you told you're parents yet?" Camille asked, pausing in hesitation.
Camille understood since Talia's parents divorced and her father's remarriage, and the whole drama that came along in a messy package with it, Talia had become withdrawn from all of her parents; father, mother, stepmother, sister, and new baby stepbrother alike. The only person Talia seemed to connect with after that was him, and him alone. The one person he knew Talia would stick with during this time was her brother, Tyler, and he was dead for a few years now.
"NO! Heck no!" Talia almost choked on the piece of sandwich she was chewing on at that moment. "Why would I tell Karen that? Why would I tell any of them that?! You know how Karen feels about E.V.O.s! And Dad. He's her mindless little puppy now these days. And no way could I ever tell Porsche my secret without her blabbing it to Karen or mom." Talia spoke with bitterness ever increasing in her voice. "Karen would disown me if she found out. You know her, anything to keep her precious baby safe."
Camille felt a twinge of pity for Talia. It seems the perfect life she had before had crumpled in just a few years. Talia scooted her chair back and headed back to the fridge to scrounge around for a drink.
"And your mom, can she do anything?" Camille asked.
"Not unless she wants to give up looking for new man and take care of her misfit daughter." Talia said over her shoulder and taking out an Orange Crush. She shuffled back to her seat and snapped the can open.
"So that's a no." Camille finished.
"Bingo." Talia took a sip of her drink, settling back in the chair.
"But what about school? You're gonna be a freshman in September. And I can't enroll you in high school over here; I'm not even above 21 yet." Camille said.
There was no way Camille could take care of a teenager when he was a teenager himself.
"What about your parents? Can't they support the both of us without tell my 'rents that I'm here? You mom does adore me." Talia said with a smirk. "I can just go by a different name and all that junk."
Camille rolled his eyes at her suggestion. "I'm pretty sure all of that stuff is illegal." He said.
Talia kicked at the floor with a dangling foot. "I know." She muttered.
There was a pause before Talia went on. "Camille…I'm scared. What if I changed as an E.V.O. back at home? What if someone saw me change into my E.V.O. form? What if someone had figured out my secret and used it against me?" She uttered. Her fingers traced the outlining colors of Crush on the can.
Camille clenched his jaw. With the calls the two had shared over the past few years, Camilla had gotten the idea that Talia was terrified of not only the sudden changes that had happened in her life, but the world around her. She had lost trust in all people.
"You'd probably kick their butt." He smiled, reaching out and touching Talia's hand.
Talia was a tough cookie. He knew that to a point she would only put up with so much nonsense before she snapped.
This didn't assure Talia in anyway.
"I know I would. I just…I don't want to end up like Tyler." She sighed, looking away.
Camille was silent for a moment. Talia had made an excellent point on everything. Camille tried to imagine his life in her situation. He might not have acted the same way she did, or do the same thing she would do, but her understood all of her fears. In the end, Camille couldn't find himself to push her away. Mentally, he sided with her.
Talia pressed her lips together in anticipation. She sat up right in her seat before going on.
"Camille? Please?" She pleaded. "I've come all this way. I can't go back now." She said, leaning forward. Her hazel eyes glistened with crocodile tears she'd perfected to virtually real over time.
Camille's shoulders drooped. His forest green eyes locked onto her, and like a fly to Venus fly trap, he flew right into her trap.  He practically melted under her eyes.
"Stop, stop! No puppy eyes from you, I can't fight them." Camille uttered in defeat. "You can stay. But, you have to contribute." He stood up with a heartwarming grin. "I could never say no to you."
Talia beamed in delight. She jumped out of her seat and wrapped her arms around Camille's chest.
"Thanks Camille." She whispered.
"Hey, what are friends-" Camille was about to return her hug but stopped when he caught a whiff of a putrid stench. He gagged when he realized the smell came from her. He unwrapped her arms from around him and back away, covering his mouth.
"Geez Talia, when was the last time you took a bath?!" Camille coughed, making strange gagging noises.
"Uh, I think the day before I left home?" She replied with a sheepish grin running across her face. She found that her stench and Camille's reaction was both funny and embarrassing.
"GAH! You-you got to take a bath! Right now! Go!" He gagged more and plugged his nose.
He pointed down the hallway to the door on the left, where the restroom was. Talia obediently walked down the hallway, giggling until she entered the bathroom.
"You're such a sissy." She laughed.