828 An Annoying Smell Immediately after hearing the news, Gary felt something strange happening to his body. His hands, they wouldn't stop shaking. They were moving on their own. When he looked down, he also noticed his own fingernails; they were growing. They were turning into the deadly claws they would do when he used his controlled transformation, but he wasn’t using it right now. At the same time, they started to revert back, going back to his usual hands. The only thing that was staying consistent was that they wouldn’t stop shaking. “My mother, she’s... she’s awake, after all this time she’s finally awake,” Gary repeated. The words, the reality, it didn’t feel real. He would visit her often whenever he got the chance to. Often he was too busy, but not a single day had gone by in his life where he wouldn’t think about his mother. What would she think when she woke up, what would she think of what he had become, or what he had made? He was sure she would be in for a number of surprises, their nice new home, the fact that they didn’t have to worry about bills anymore, and that he was even part of the AFC at one point. But the time she had woken up, perhaps would have been the worst. “I’m... a bad kid,” Gary said in a soft voice to himself. He wanted to be there when she woke up. He wanted to see her more than anything and comfort her. But instead, she would just be delivered shocking news. He was sure she would learn that her son was now in prison and that the town that they lived in was now being destroyed left, right, and center. From the news, even the public didn’t seem to be safe, and that included his mother. “Gary... what’s happening, you can’t blame yourself for it. I know what you're like,” Elijah said, he had to say something, he didn’t like seeing Gary this way. He still remembered when he stuck up for the old man. If he was like that with complete strangers, then he could only imagine what he would be like with his own mother. “Your mother, she was the one that raised you right. She’s a special person, who raised a great kid like you, so I imagine she must be really great as well.” “She is,” Gary answered, and his hands had stopped shaking, but after thinking about his mother, knowing she was safe for the time being along with Amy, another thought came into his head, and it was his father. Now, Elijah could see Gary’s eyes going out of control. They narrowed, turning thin like a slit, and a slight red tinge started to come into his eyes. “My father, what is he doing there? After all this time he’s been away, he’s there with them! What is he playing at! Is he trying to trick them!” Too many thoughts were going through Gary’s head. Unlike Amy, Gary was a little older, and rather than images of his father having good times with him, in his head appeared instead, all the difficulties right after he left with his mother. That man, Gary, was happy if he never met him again. He had no right to come back into their lives right now. But Gary couldn’t just think of his family troubles, from everything he heard, it sounded like the whole of Slough was in trouble. Kai was doing his best with what he had, but could they really last that much longer without him? “Elijah,” Gary said in a snapping tone that had caught his attention. “If you can’t do anything to get me out of here, then if you can, I want you to try and do everything in your power to help the Howlers, do whatever you can to keep them safe. I will get out of here no matter what!” Elijah nodded after hearing Gary’s words, and the guards, hearing the commotion from outside the door, had decided to come in. Time was up for them anyway, so Gary willingly left, and so did Elijah. ‘Gary, just wait a little longer, we're getting there, but there are more people on your side than you think. Trust in your teammates to do well.’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚 --- When Gary exited from the visitors' room, he had finally returned back to the prison, and he was still in a sour mood, but he knew what he needed to do. ‘The System, it gives exp for everyone I take down in here, and if I consume the Altered’s, then I get even more stats. There are the south and the north group that I can deal with. ‘If I deal with both of them. I might not be able to take them out at the same time, but if I deal with both of them eventually, then I should be a lot stronger, strong enough to break out of here.’ As Gary was figuring out how he should do this, taking out one at a time or going to the other side to help them fight first, that was when a particular person had bumped into him. “Oh, so we finally meet. I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” the man said in a confident voice. Looking directly at the bearded man, Gary was wondering if he recognized him. Maybe he was part of Stinger’s group, but his face didn’t ring a bell. “I heard that you had been looking for me, and you see, well, I’ve been looking for you as well,” the man in question was Blackjack, but in the middle of his speech, he noticed something. Gary started to sniff the air slightly. It was a waft coming from the man in front of him, a smell that he had never smelt before, for some reason, it was agitating Gary slightly. “The smell, it’s coming from you, why do you smell different from everyone else?” Gary asked. --- For updates for MWS and future works, please remember to follow me on my social media below. Instagram: Jksmanga Discord: d.I.s.cord.gg/jksmanga When news of MVS, MWS, or any other series comes out, you will be able to see it there first, and you can reach out to me. If I’m not too busy, I tend to reply back.