Chapter 51 Do it like a man

Luke looked out the window, a little surprised that they weren't going to the subway station, and looked at Uther.

"Where are we going?"

"To Berta's." 

" But wasn't it always in the same complex?" 

" Are wild fish Luke and not aquarium fish. "

" Okay..."

Uther looked out the window.

"What do you know about mutated animals, Luke?" 

Luke raised a questioning eyebrow. 

" Only what I've read in magazines, that mutations happened after the plague and the atom bombs. "

Uther continued to look out the window. 

"In that sense, yes, but it's an unsustainable process."

"So... are all animals mutating?" 

"Hhmm yes, most species are immune, then there are some that are slightly susceptible, and then there are those that mutate severely and become dangerous. "

" Okay... but shouldn't the Council do something about it? I mean... " 

Uther looked at him.

"Luke, the current Council are Paragraph Riders who have sunk to the same level as the politicians before the Plague. The golden age is over."

"But Grandfather isn't?" 

Luke saw no emotion in his face. 

"He was still motivated then, even when the first sightings came. Oh, a fence is enough, then they get shot and so on... Okay, here's what I'm getting at. There's a human death zone off the coast, and there's still an old facility there. "

"That's amazing. But... Is it safe?" 

" As long as you don't go diving, yes. "

"Okay..." 

They drove for 15 minutes, stopped in an underground garage, got out and took an elevator, then down an underwater corridor. Luke saw a pristine underwater world, with big sharks swimming by all the time.

They reached a small submarine cove. It was empty. Uther typed something into a console and the airlock slowly opened. Luke gazed fascinated at the bubbling water.

"Don't tell your mother about this. " 

" Why not?"

" Because unlike the main facility, there are no security mechanisms here. " 

" Shit..." 

A shadow appeared in the water and a baby white shark leaped at Luke with its mouth open. 

Luke saw his life flash before his eyes. Uther grabbed the shark and held it inches from Luke's nose. 

So that Luke could stare into the large, pitch-black eyes, the sharp-toothed mouth opened and closed. 

He was surprised. 

"That's Berta's offspring," he said, pulling Berta away from Luke, who was trying to get away, flailing wildly with her tail. 

"There's food over there in the garbage can, get a bucket of it." 

Luke obeyed, walked to a blue plastic barrel, opened it, and a cloud of fishy odor hit him. With a ladle, he scooped the fish into a bucket and carried it to Uther. Berta stared at him. 

"And now what?" 

Uther grinned. 

"You feed her so she knows you're good." 

" Okay..." 

Luke grabbed a fish, went to Berta's mouth, which opened and closed, and threw the fish down her throat. He repeated this until the bucket was empty. Uther tossed Berta back into the water. 

Berta turned in a circle, still floating in the water.

He watched her.

The lock closed. Luke was a little disappointed. 

"You can visit her again, don't worry, but the others are waiting. " 

He had suppressed it, and his fears had come true. They were taken to a mansion somewhere in Asia. The estate was more like a hotel complex, there was a pool and so on, everything you could wish for. 

His mom and aunts unloaded right away and then went to the pool, his grandpa and grandma a little more quietly. Luke was about to leave when a paw grabbed him. Luke looked up. It was the Swede, and he was taller than his grandfather, if he was the leader of the council.

"I hear you're a ladies' man. " he said with a heavy accent.

" It was more adventure and..." 

The Swede laughed. He looked at Luke questioningly.

" How did you get that bruise on your temple?" 

" Liz knocked me down there."

" I see, so you did it?" 

" Why would I do that?"

"You're young and she's good-looking."

" But she already has someone and she's my aunt. "

The Swede laughed again.

A redhead appeared next to him, Luke stared at the flaming red hair and the bosom that he thought was fit for a gun, especially since she was standing there in a bikini. She smiled at Luke. 

"Your eyes are going to fall out." 

The Swede laughed and slapped Luke's back so hard it hurt. 

She pulled him away. Luke breathed a sigh of relief, even though it hurt. He walked into the room he had been assigned. It was bigger than his living room at home. 

"Oh shit. "He looked around, went to the window and looked out at the picturesque view, took a picture of it and the room. He was told to put on a bathing suit when he came back. So he put on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. He saw a red handprint on his back. He took a picture of it. 

When he arrived at the pool, his clan was already hanging around the pool.

"Oh, that's what he meant by his own bladder..." 

He looked around, wondering why he didn't see Grimm or Tes. 

He wanted to get into the pool, but the mini version of the redhead intercepted him when he remembered it was the Swede and the redhead's daughter, whose name he'd never remembered. She was about his age. 

"Hi, Dad says I should be with people my own age..." 

Luke raised an eyebrow and looked around. He and she were the only young adults.

"Okay ... So I'm Luke and you are?" 

She smiled.

"I'm Tara." 

He found it fascinating when he compared Tara to the others, she beat them all in looks.

"My mom said you went to boarding school?" 

" Was ... yes ..."

"And what was it like there?" 

" Lots of snobs...?" 

She looked at him questioningly. 

"What school did you go to?" 

" Girls' Academy for " 

"Tara!" came from the redhead, looking at her sternly. 

She looked at her.

" I see your mother is overprotective as well..." 

Tara grinned. 

" Well, what are you in the mood for?" 

It was a mistake to ask, Luke quickly realized. Tara had too much energy, she dragged him rock jumping, jet skiing, bungee jumping, snorkeling.

At all-you-can-eat restaurants, where she stuffed herself like a horde of hungry buffalo, Luke wondered where the food went, especially since her mother was so slender.

To his chagrin, he had to put lotion on Tara after Mei talked about putting lotion on her with a thieving grin. 

Since her hair was in the way, he pushed it aside and looked at her hair and his hand with irritation.

"Is there something special in your hair?"

" No. Why? " 

" It's really soft." 

He didn't see her face, just heard a giggle. 

" You can really touch it," she said softly. 

Luke hesitated for a moment, then touched her hair, it was the softest feeling he'd ever had, comparable to an ultra-soft pillow.

"No!" his mother shouted as she rushed over. 

Luke jumped, quickly pulling his hand back and looking at her as she came running over.

"I swear I don't have any sunscreen on my hands! And I didn't touch anything I shouldn't have!" 

He held up his hands to prove it. She checked his hands.

The Swede laughed out loud. His family, especially his mother, looked at him reprovingly.

She grabbed Tara and walked off to the side with her. The Swede came over to Luke in a good mood, took his hands and looked at them. 

"Not a bit of sunscreen on them, actually." 

"You'll have to tell me if I'm not allowed to do something..." 

The Swede laughed and then seemed to have an idea.

"Was her hair soft?" 

"Um, yes. Very much so..." 

He grinned. 

"Good. Then you'll have to give me a test."

" Objection..." 

He was grabbed, he couldn't even fight back. The guy was an over six foot athletic cabinet. Luke had seen him go toe to toe with Uther more than once. 

Luke just surrendered, that was the easy part. 

The Swede sidled up to his wife, took Luke's hand and pushed it into her hair.

And if he'd thought Tara's hair was soft, this was another dimension. 

She turned and looked at Luke in horror, then at her husband, who was grinning broadly.

"So, boy, tell me, like a man of the two, which is softer?"

Luke looked at her, his face seemed to be worried about something other than softness.

" Um... she has softer hair... what shampoo do you use?" 

He let go and the Swede laughed.

She scowled at him. Luke looked at his hand, went to the pool, grabbed Mei's hair, which felt normal, she looked at him confused.

"What was that about?" 

He looked at his hand, then at Mei.

" Just a check..." 

" Uh-huh ..." 

Luke kept trying. Liz was about the fluffiest one in his family. " 

Then he sat down on a deck chair and thought. 

At some point Uther appeared and looked at him. Luke looked at him. 

"Don't tell me I've broken any religious commandments?" 

Uther grinned.

" No. She's just worried, her scalp and hair are a bit sensitive, what with the oils and all... and a lot of them feel like they've burnt their hand. "

Luke looked at him doubtfully.

"Is that so?"

He nodded. 

"Gross..."

"How does your hand feel?"

" I think it's broken, I found the softest thing I've ever touched..." 

He opened and closed his hand.

Uther grinned. 

"This is his fetish," he pointed at the Swede.

"And I thought he liked her body..."

"That too."

Luke scratched his head. 

Uther patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it."

"But... what if she wants to make amends..." 

Uther looked at him questioningly.

" Yeah, I don't know... I mean... I touched her daughter's hair and stuff... "

"Do you think. . if you want, I can get them both to let you take their daughter..." 

Luke felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

" No!" 

" Are you sure? She seems to like you." Luke stood up, pulled up his shirt and pointed to his back where the handprint was still visible. 

"What if she had the same power as him?" 

"Don't worry, if they saw it that way, you'd already have a hillbilly wedding behind you." 

"What kind?" Luke was confused. 

" Forced marriage, he would have held you by the scruff of the neck the whole ceremony. " 

Luke turned pale. He hoped he would never have to experience such a thing.