Mutants; who is patient X?

'... that last time, it was for but a fleeting moment, but then it too... was gone...'

T minus till outbreak: 20 : 48 : 59.

"Mum?"

When Chidimma heard his voice, she turned towards him slowly.

Like most Nigerians, his mother had black hair which was originally short but had been weaved beautifully to fall just above her buttocks, which was why she was having a hard time fitting it all into her barett. She was quite young when she had her first son which was why over two decades later, she was in her late thirties but looked a decade younger.

"Where are everyone, mum?" Dion asked, he walked in while glancing about. "Uncle Hussein... Auntie Bola... everyone?"

'Uncle Hussein' and 'Auntie Bola' were the gateman and housekeeper respectively, he had grown up with them around and was used to their presence so their sudden absence did nothing to calm his already speeding heartbeat.

His mother seemed thoughtful for a moment, "I sent them home".

"Home?"

She nodded, "With all the chaos around, I figured they'd want to spend more time with their families".

Dion nodded, that was sensible. But then why, why did he feel like something very bad was about to happen.

His mum glanced at him silently for a while, her beautiful dark iris observing him.

"Sweetheart?"

She drew him close and squeezed him. Feeling her warmth enveloping him, in an antithesis, Dion felt a chill creep up his spine, he was nearly overcome by dread, this didn't feel right.

"Mom, what's happening?"

This was beginning to feel too much like a goodbye.

"What's happening?" she muttered.

She pulled away and looked at him, really looked.

This was her second son and last child, Kamsiyochukwu, he was born just seventeen years ago, she could still remember the day. Over the years he had grown remarkably, she herself was proud of her height but at 5 feet nine, she had to look upwards at this boy who was a full head taller than her. Like her husband Chuka, he was fair skinned, with an extremely handsome face that was crowned by a head of black and sharp grey pupils which hid behind the lens of his glasses. But due to his obsession with his studies, he currently lacked the athlete physique to combo his model look.

Chidimma felt a tear trace down her cheek slowly and her eyes flashed with various emotions but then it all changed to the familiar serious look that'd raised him.

"Listen, Kamsi..."

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Before she could continue there was a knock on the door. She looked towards it, frowned, before going to open it.

A bald, round, black middle aged with a tribal mark at the corner of each eye, was standing in the hallway looking uneasy

"Uncle Feranmi?" Dion called.

Feranmi Ola was the family driver, he mostly drove his father but when Dr. Cliff wasn't in the country, like now, he offered his services to his mum instead.

"Small Oga," Mr. Feranmi smiled broadly, which stretched the two tribal marks at either sides of his face.

He was a very ugly man.

Feranmi then turned towards his mum.

"Madam..." he trailed off.

For the next minute or so, Dion watched an awkward silence descend due to an intense face-off between Mr. Feranmi and his mum, but he wasn't in any condition to interfere or even simply care.

Finally, Mr. Feranmi seemed to be the one to back down, the Yoruba man scratched his head awkwardly while dodging eye contact with Chidimma.

"Elizabeth..."

When he finally regained his bearings, he observed her cautiously and then shook his head. After a while, he shook it again, then again, and when his comical expression brought no reply he bent his head.

"Please..." he muttered.

Elizabeth sighed, as much as she hated it he was right, she couldn't be childish and ruin what her husband has so meticulously arranged over the years.

She nodded, "Go get the car running, Ola".

Mr. Feranmi beamed, "Will do".

Chidimma leaned against the doorframe observing her son. He looked scared and confused, and it killed her knowing she couldn't help him, not even a little bit.

She clenched a fist, 'I'll kill them', and she would damn well enjoy it.

She took a deep breath, 'Patience, not now... soon enough '.

So she schooled her face, and decisively spoke, "I'll be off for a while, I got posted. You have the whole house to - "

She hadn't finished when Dion stepped forward and hugged her.

"I love you mum," he whispered.

Chidimma choked, he was so brave, from just the snippets he heard from her and Ola, he already had a vague idea of what was going on. But him being so smart gave her some reassurance, albeit so little.

"I love you more." She kissed his forehead.

"Remember, Kamsi. You must be responsible for each and every one of your decisions".

He barely nodded.

That was the last he heard of her before she was gone.

He laughed mirthlessly, "So it was a goodbye after all".

And suddenly, Dion felt very cold.