Chapter 4: Trial of a Grave Decision

Weeks had passed since the death of Grandma Pat, and things have changed for the worse for the entire Corpse family. The funeral service took a toll on everyone, especially a traumatized Mason, who was treated as a murderer throughout the entire ceremony. No one dared to look or speak to him the entire day, and it furthered his guilt for what he had done to the one person that showed him unconditional love in this world. Even Grandpa Otis had a hard time facing Mason at the service.

His siblings found it difficult to associate with him as well. Veronica had not uttered a word to Mason since the day of the accident. Alex at times tried to show sympathy and compassion towards her little brother, but she also kept a fair amount of distance from him due to her underlying fear that Mason could unintentionally take her life as well.

Michael, distraught over his mother’s death, had not reported to his job at Nash Cyber Security in over three weeks. Lynda decided to take a temporary leave of absence from her wedding planning business so that she could focus on her family’s troubles at home. But, considering the problems her family was facing, she felt as though she was in uncharted territory as a mother. Having a child with a deadly disease is a hard job for any mother to take on. But how does a mother raise and protect a child with a disease that could possibly kill others?

“I don’t know what we can do about him,” Lynda whispered to Michael in the basement of their home. “I mean, we have to find a solution soon before someone else gets hurt!” she anxiously expressed.

Michael was sitting down on one of the couches in the basement and stared at the TV hanging on the wall. He remained quiet for a period until he finally brought himself to speak. “I don’t blame him,” he started to say. “I don’t blame him one bit for what happened at that reunion. There’s no one to blame but ourselves for not finding him the help he needs sooner,” he said to his wife.

Lynda sat down next to him on the couch and looked at him. “What do you propose that we do? Get him a therapist? Or some kind treatment for this?” she asked. Michael shook his head and looked at his wife. “Nah Lyn, I think we need to take a more drastic approach,” he said with a miserable look on his face.

“What do you mean?” his confused wife asked.

“I’m saying… I think it’s time we sent Mason away to people who can give him the care that we cannot,” he confessed. Lynda’s eyes widened and air began to leave her lungs. The thought of one of her children being taken away from her was as if she was being sent to a grave of her own.

“Honey, you mean you want to give Mason away? How can you say that?” an outraged Lynda said.

“I’m not saying we give him away or give up on him. God knows I want the best for that boy,” he said. “But we gotta start thinking about the bigger picture here. My mother isn’t the first victim of his plants! You remember when he accidentally made a huge cactus on the highway that caused traffic to get backed up for four hours? Or when he turned our yard into a mushroom field? Or the dandelion incident at his school…”

“Oh God, please don’t rehash the dandelion thing,” a frustrated Lynda pleaded. As she sat on the couch silently for a moment, she started to think about what her husband was saying. Someone’s life had been taken because of Mason’s inability to control his powers, and the body count will surely pile up the longer that they hold off on getting Mason the proper treatment. “Oh God, I can’t do this. I can’t give my baby up,” she said with sorrow in her voice.

Michael got choked up at the thought of Mason being sent away as well. But he knew he had to be strong for his family when it came to making this tough decision. “I don’t want to give him up either,” he said as he took her by the hand. “But if we don’t do this, I’m afraid we’re going to lose him permanently…” he claimed.

“So, how do we go about this? And where are we going to send him?” Lynda asked. “We can’t just hand him over to just any institution. He needs one specifically for people like him,” she suggested.

“I agree,” Michael said as he nodded his head. “I started researching help centers and asylums that would accept someone like Mason. There aren’t any near our area, but there’s one in particular that I found in South Carolina that specifically treats humans with supernatural abilities, specifically teens,” he informed her as he opened his laptop placed on the coffee table and logged into it.

“South Carolina? That’s over eight hours away! I don’t want him that far away,” Lynda said as Michael pulled up his research from earlier.

“Me either, but I believe this may be the best opportunity for him to get the right help,” he said as he scrolled through the institution’s website.

“This place is called the ‘Monstrosity Haven: An Asylum for Superpowered Beings’."