Chapter 3: Unexpected Reaction

Theo stood hesitantly by the backdoor to his mother's house. He was uncertain how she was going to react to everything. He had managed to somewhat get his head to stay on his body using an unholy amount of duct tape and was covering it up with a large leather coat he found lying in an alleyway a few blocks down. He didn't know who it belonged to, but he was glad it was covering up the hideous blood stains all over his shirt.

As Theo stood there, he could hear a lot of noise inside the brightly lit house. He was positive his mom was probably throwing a lot of stuff around, cussing out whoever hurt him, considering she must have been contacted by law enforcement by now.

With a heavy sigh, Theo knocks on the back door. No point in putting this off anymore.

Silence set in on the house, followed by the shade covering the window on the back door being slightly aside. Theo could see his mother's face change from fear and anger to immediate relief upon seeing her only child standing there.

The door was unlocked and flung open so fast that he barely had enough time to step back to avoid getting hit.

"THEO!" his mom enveloped him in a tight hug, one hand resting on his back, the other gripping the back of his head and pulling it into her shoulder. Theo prayed desperately that the duct tape would hold. "What happened?! I was so worried when the police said your blood was all over your apartment. Where are you hurt? Let me see your injury so I can treat it!"

"Mom! Please let go. I'm ok. A lot happened tonight, but I promise I'm ok." Theo gasped, trying to gently push his mom off of him.

She reluctantly released him. "Come inside. It's chilly out."

Theo stepped through the door, not seeing his mom glance around the back of the house as though searching for something. She closed the door, locking it again.

"I trust that if you say that you're ok, that you are, but you do realize you smell of blood." She gives him a hard stare and Theo gulps.

He glances around nervously, noticing the mess in the house, multiple broken pieces, and an overturned table, among other things. He realizes he shouldn't hide as much from her as he had hoped. "Ok, I'll tell you what happened, but please, Mom, promise me you won't freak out. It won't help this situation."

His mom shakes her head before replying. "I can't make that my promise. Not when I thought my baby boy might be dead just a few minutes ago."

Theo grimaces, "Fine, that's fair. Let's go sit in the living room."

Once they have both taken a seat in the turquoise armchairs, Theo begins explaining what he discovered while doing his research.

His mother stares at him in shock for a moment before saying, "Your head is no longer attached to your body? It looks fine to me."

Theo laughs, trying to ease some of the tension he is feeling. "Duct tape, Mom. Lots of it."

His mom gets up and grabs both his ears, giving his head a hard yank. It popped off with a wet squelch, leaving him staring at his mom in surprise and her staring at his head in her hands. "Woah, you weren't lying."

Theo immediately reaches up and grabs his head out of his mom's hands. "What the heck, Mom!"

She grins at him. "You're right, freaking out won't help. Might as well have some fun with this."

"Fun? Mom! People probably think I'm dead cause of how I left my apartment. The police are investigating it, too!"

"Don't worry about that, kid. Let your mom handle that part." She stands in front of him, calm and poised with confidence.

Theo stares at her. This was not how he expected things to go. "How…?

"Let's see, first, I should call the chief of the police department. He is aware of the strangeness of the artifacts made by the scholars. Surely, he should be able to dismiss your case and slip it under the table." She is pacing now, thinking deeply.

"Mom, why would he even listen to you?" Theo is deeply confused now, and the night's events are finally catching up.

His mother is now in the kitchen, where the landline phone is. "Did I never tell you? The chief and I used to be in the same unit while serving our mandatory military time." She goes on talking, but Theo's head is spinning from information overload.

Once his mom notices the look on his face, she sighs. "Go take a shower and get the blood off yourself. Don't worry. I will help you figure this out."

Theo wants to nod, but his head is sitting in his lap. Instead, he says, "Ok," despite his mouth feeling like it is stuffed with cotton.

He moves into the bathroom and turns the shower on.

Once he grabs a change of clothes, he sets his head down on the counter, facing the shower so he can see what he is doing. He'll figure out how to wash his hair afterward.

He steps into the shower, sighing at the comfort of the hot water. However, he soon feels sluggish, and an unwanted notification appears in front of him.

{Your body is enveloped by running water.}

{You are affected by running water.}

{All stats will be halved while you are exposed to running water.}

Theo stares in shock, trying to process what he is seeing. He feels as though his mind is disjointed from his body and stumbles, slipping and falling on his butt.

His mom came running as soon as she heard him fall. "Theo! Are you ok?"

He groaned, unable to form a sentence. After a moment, he managed to say, "Turn... it… off."

She turns the water off, a look of concern on her face.

Theo sighs in relief as he feels his mind clear up, and the strength returns to his body. Carefully, he stands up. "Didn't know that before, but seems like running water weakens me now." He chuckles, "At least I couldn't hit my head just now since it's on the counter."

His mom looks at his head and then breaks out in a full belly laugh. "Yes, that is true. Get out of the tub, and I'll start a bath for you. That should be fine since it isn't running water."

Theo gets out of the way and looks at his head. Suddenly he realizes he is butt naked in front of his mom, even though he is an adult. "Argh! Mom, I can handle things from here. Get out!"

"Shy, are you? I bathed you all the time when you were little." She gives him a smirk, noting his embarrassment.

"That was years ago!" Theo pushes his mom out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and locking it. He finally has time to check the other notification that popped up after his mom came in.

{You have a new quest.}

{Daily Quest: Avoid running water for 6 hours.}

{Reward: 5 exp.}

Theo looks at the quest dejectedly. Why could he have a weakness that is easier to avoid in an underground city? Like sunlight? He would have preferred that.