Biohazard - Prelude

Chapter 1: The Compound

I opened my eyes to the sterile white panels of my den. I lay still for a few moments feeling Jaida stir awake on the other side of the soft bed. I nuzzle closer to her for comfort and warmth and entertain the thought of falling asleep again. Knowing that this is not an option I slowly roll out of the white sheets onto the cold tile floor. As I pull on the boots of my regulation uniform I look over at Jaida as she stares drowsily back and smiles. This is why I love her, not because of our lives’ similarities but for her small quirks, like the way her lip V’s when she is smiling with all of her heart.

I turned back to the mirror in his den while mulling this thought over in my head and hadn’t noticed when she had come to stand beside me.

“You’re awake early,” she purred. “Why?”

There weren’t any windows or clocks in the small room but I knew better than to discount her intuitions. She’s always right about the time and other natural occurrences.

I started in surprise at how quickly and silently she had traversed the space between the bed and washroom. “Yeah, I’ve been feeling uneasy, I’m afraid that this new experiment is taking its toll,” I replied coolly.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“No, don’t worry about it. Today they’re going to try a new amnesic serum and they think they’ve made a breakthrough with the genetic formula. I guess I’m just nervous,” I tried to explain.

“Alright, but I’m worried about you,” she said, her long, graceful tail wrapping around my leg as she hugged me tight, “I’m not going to be able to check in with you often while I’m in Iran on the nuclear intelligence mission. Promise me that you’ll stay safe and get help if you need it?”

“Absolutely babe, when do you leave again?” I asked softly so as not to give away my grief at not seeing her for another couple of weeks.

“Tonight, the chopper leaves the field at midnight on the dot so we can get there before the meetings and so I have time for briefing. Don’t be so depressed, I’ll check in whenever I get a chance and you can talk to Mr. Duben for status reports on the mission,” she smiled again, but the lack of her V told me that she was not happy with the situation either. But that’s the life of a Corporation agent, it’s impossible to settle down completely as long as you’re still employed. And there is no quitting the Corporation.

That had always been another skill of Jaida’s; she was always able to read me like a book. I gave her a hug and we shared a last moment together before it would be all phone conversations and longing for weeks. “I’ll miss you, but I have to go or Dr. Gershire will kill me.”

I felt her chuckle reverberate against my chest, “Well you just tell Lamden that he can very well wait until I’m done with you.”

We disengaged from each other’s embraces and I walked to the door with a profound sadness that seemed deeper than ever before. I turned the knob and stopped for a second before turning to look at her one last time and uttering, “I love you.”

She turned back from the mirror, brush in hand with a surprised look on her face, and replied, “I love you too, now hurry, I don’t want the Doctor to dispose of you before I even get on the bird.”

With that final comment I walked through the door and started down the halls of the compound. As I reached the elevator to go up to the labs the lift was just opening and Maone, “Wolf” as her codename in the field, walked briskly out of the elevator. Without even a passing glance she stormed off down the hall, presumably on her way to the lift that would take her down to the executive offices. Somewhat disturbed I entered the elevator and rested during the minute-long ride to the pinnacle of the building.

As the lift slowed I opened my eyes and immediately heard the Doctor speak irritably, “Mister Vaden if that isn’t you I’ll fall over dead on the spot.” I grinned ear to ear at the testiness of the doctor and the dry humor lying underneath.

“Lucius, Doctor. My name is Lucius.”

“I’ll start calling you Lucius as soon as you start calling me Lamden, deal?”

“I’ll think about it,” I said laughing a bit, “by the way, Jaida sends her regards.”

“Ah yes, the lovely Jaida,” the Doctor reminisced, “she’s leaving on a foreign assignment tonight isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is going to Iran to check into the level of nuclear threat.”

“An important task for an important girl, did I ever tell you she has been the only subject that has ever grown an extraneous body part? Anyhow, shall we start our psychiatric evaluation?”

“I’m ready when you are, Doc.”

“Alright then,” the Doctor began, adjusting his glasses as he sat down in a plush chair, “what do you wish to talk about?”

“Well,” I replied, “Lately I have been waking earlier than usual and have felt enclosed, most of my life I have spent on the streets or in one of these test chambers, I don’t feel like I have done anything with it and the fact that now Jaida and I are now living in the same den makes me feel as though I don’t deserve her.”

“Lucius, you left your old self behind years ago when you walked through those compound doors. Have you ever looked into what your name means?” a slight shake of the head told him that I hadn’t. “It means light, which is exactly what you are, you are the light leading us to new discoveries in biogenetic engineering and you should be proud. One day, you may even be reengineered yourself. I have a feeling that you will do great things. Just don’t waste your potential. Well, we had better start with the testing, in you go.”

As Lucius walked into the little cell with the equipment and syringes and computer monitors he sighed in discontentment. He did not want to live the rest of his life coming to this same room until the day he died. The steel door closed and he stepped up to the BodyLock and what he hoped wasn’t his destiny.

Chapter 2: The Prison

I opened my eyes to the same white panels and room that I had slept in for 4 years. I reached over to find Jaida and realized too late that she had been gone for a week and a half. Maybe I was starting to slip in the head a little bit. I had enough reasons between not having my mate around, the constant experimentation and the profound sadness that my life seemed to exude. I would have to ask Lamden about it today in the evaluation.

With nothing to keep me in my room I headed to the labs early hoping to catch Lamden at a good time to talk a little bit extra. On my way to the elevator my thoughts drifted and I realized that Havik, my longtime friend should be home today from his latest mission. I would have to find him after the testing.

I finally reached the labs only to find the Doctor busily scribbling down notes at the end of the long corridor of cells with gleeful fervor. Knowing that it was forbidden to intrude on other experiments I took a seat in one of the psychiatric chairs and waited. Lamden and I had been talking about a new experimentation that was a twist on the mutations that Mr. Duben had undergone. Today, if the Doctor had pulled the right strings, I would be receiving my own mutations and begin training as an agent.

During my musings Lamden had finished with his notes and was leading the subject to the door. The Doctor was just starting to sit down when the hiss of the big steel doors came again and Havik walked in with all of his confidence and superiority following close behind. I rose from the seat, happy that he had come to see me so soon after his return to the compound.

“Lucius, how are you? Has Jaida called recently?” he asked.

We clasped hands and I replied sadly, “No, she hasn’t, but you being back definitely offsets my worry. You haven’t heard anything about the mission from higher up have you?”

His pained expression told me his answer before he uttered a sound. Finally he said grimly, “Lucius, there have been some complications with the mission. I don’t know much but it sounds like some of the Corporation’s new agents have gone rogue. There was shooting and the cleanup team hasn’t reported back yet but I’m sure Jaida found a place to hide or has immersed herself in her cover.”

“How can you be sure? Didn’t you press for more answers?” I asked even though I knew the answer. But the fact of the matter is, I was panicked, I needed to hear from his own mouth that he had done all he could to find out what had happened to Jaida. Otherwise I would always ask myself why he had let her go while questioning whether or not I could trust him with anything else.

Havik screwed up his face into a mixture of defiance and pity. It wasn’t that Havik lacked sympathy but rather that sympathy was considered a weakness that he didn’t need in his life. He finally calmed and explained, “I pushed as hard as I possibly could without overstepping my bounds. If I made a scene in the middle of a classified debrief the executives would have had me disengaged from duty. They’re already trying to nail me for that botched mission in Cairo last May.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry I asked, it’s just…I needed to hear it.”

“I understand. Now, we’ve kept the Doctor waiting long enough, today’s a big day for you, getting modified and all.”

I looked over at Lamden sitting at his desk dealing with his newest notes. Today was going to be big for me because the week of bonding with an already modified animal was now going to pay off with that same animal being bonded with me. Apparently there was a not-so-secret new program that was reversing the genetic engineering process by splicing already-advanced animals with others and humans, the only problem was that while Chaia, as Lamden had taken to calling her started as a puma but quickly became part scorpion and part bear giving her a stronger physique, harder skin and a deadly tail, this also meant that there was a furry scorpion and a purring bear as byproducts. Today Lamden had gotten approval to test a mutual bonding such as this as an alternative to exposure to mutagens as children.

The Corporation’s executives had seen this as a perfect opportunity to try mixing a human’s DNA into an animal also because if there was a major failure both the animal and I could be disposed of without the publicity of a dead agent. So now there I was, walking to a different test room in a different uniform about to become a different person. But if I was about to become a different person, a better person, then why was I so uneasy, so depressed, so…undefined. As we walked into the room I saw Chaia, partially sedated, laying on a metallic platform with a twin disc sitting beside it.

“Lucius, Lucius, Lucius!” My head shot up and red came to my face as I stammered an apology. “Don’t apologize, pay attention, we can’t have you off dreaming while we’re preparing for a new voyage into the world of genes now, can we?”

“No, I guess not. So what are we doing?” I was honestly curious but I couldn’t quite bring myself to fully listen to the answer.

“You see Chaia in there? When the process begins a glass tube will connect the bottom of the chamber to the top sealing her inside. It will then fill with a solvent agent that will make the DNA metaphorically more…‘malleable’. Our hopes are that your genes will be like soft clay that can be mixed together into one mass. Through the tubes that will be attached to you both through the tops of the chambers your DNA will bond on a physical level. I warn you it will be painful but I have confidence that the results will justify the means. Are you ready Lucius? There is still time to back out if you are having any second thoughts.”

The sad part, now that I think about it, is that I had to consider that question. I had come from the streets, a normal, poor life and had worked for these modifications for years and I had to think about whether or not I wanted them. I would rather not think about what would have happened if I had backed out. “I’m ready Dr. Gershire.”

Without another word I stood on the metallic platform next to Chaia’s, who was still out of it from the sedatives. As Lamden hooked the last of the tubes into my body I heard the swish of the door and looked up to see Havik in the doorway.

“Lucius, Doctor, I apologize for the intrusion but Mr. Duben asked that I sit in on the experiment.” Lamden looked at him with disapproval but Havik was the closest thing to a friend I had and if he wanted to stay I was going to let him. I nodded my acquiescence and the Doctor let out a short sigh but told Havik it was okay for him to watch. As long as he stayed away from the controls and didn’t get into the way.

I suddenly felt a metallic cold against my wrist and looked down to see a thin chain attached to a manacle with the other end attached to the metal flooring. But the looks were deceiving because the thin chain was heavy and sturdy enough to pull my arms towards the floor without breaking. “Um, Doc, what are these for?”

“Well Lucius, I told you it was going to be painful, but you will also enter a near-catatonic state and we don’t want you to hurt yourself against the tube.” He smiled like a teacher to the kid who needed it said just a little bit more slowly and walked towards the door to the control room. Collecting my thoughts I braced myself and the glass tube slowly slid up my body. I hoped that the breathing apparatus I was wearing worked because as the chamber filled with the, gel-like solvent and the fumes slowly made me drowsy. The next time I opened my eyes my world was red.

Chapter 3: The Purge

Now, I don’t know what I had expected but it wasn’t the spine-shattering agony that I experienced. The state I was in wasn’t even mildly close to catatonic, my mind burning with the feeling, no, emotion of being violated in the worst way any being can be, to have my genes threatened beyond therapeutic recovery. The feeling of being torn apart at the hands of the great beast beside me and glued back together in strips and bits

My back arched as another wave of pain shook through my musculature, if my eyes weren’t rolled up into the back of my head I’m sure I would have seen just a grotesque mass of what could barely pass as flesh. It felt as if my bones were snapping, muscles twisting, tissue dissolving and blood turning into acid as I was reconstructed to be kin with an animal. No, not an animal, a creature, an abomination, something so unnatural that a normal person would go into cardiac arrest at the sight of it. And I was bonding with it.

A dull pop pulled what was left of my attention to the control room. Through the flashes of red and white that sent my brain reeling my distorted mind realized that Lamden wasn’t there. Neither was Havik. More pops that quickly became bangs as they got closer were the prelude to the door swishing open with Havik running through carrying his bloodied blades in his gloved fists.

My mind was too far gone to analyze what this might mean but my instincts screamed at me to get out of this chamber. Without even realizing what I was doing I started pulling my arms up, veins and muscles popping with the effort of forcing the reinforced chain out of the steel platform. As my attention tried to focus on this task a cracking of glass resounded through the gel. I looked up with an animalistic snarl and saw Havik, his blade buried to the hilt in the tube and gel trying to break through the prison I was trapped in. Finally the gel-like substance began to drain onto the floor of the experimentation room and my body was slowly uncovered. As I gave one last pull before my arms were uncovered completely the steel finally gave way and the chains pulled up to whip the glass.

At last I was free of the gel, and promptly collapsed, my new musculature unable to support my weight without the gel. “Lucius, Lucius! You’ve got to get it together, something’s wrong. Second-Gens have infiltrated the building and are wiping out everyone in sight. There’s a small group of survivors in this hallway that are going to make a break for it. We’ve got to MOVE!” With that he gave me a shove and helped me to my feet. My body was quickly recovering because it was less of an effort to stand but still caused considerable pain.

GRAAHWR! A sudden feeling of distress swept through me that was not my own. At the same time I caught the faintest of movement in the gel of the other tube. Chaia was trying to thrash madly so as to get out of the thick slime but to no avail. “Havik, get Chaia out of there! I can stand; I’ll get dressed but save her. She’ll start suffocating if her breathing mask comes off.”

Havik looked at me like I had grown wings for ears and squealed like a pig. “Lucius, I know you’ve bonded with this thing but letting a giant panther loose isn’t going to help an escape. Hell, it might kill us just for kicks!”

“If you don’t get her out I will. She’s panicking in there. She can help, she won’t kill us, I can feel him.” I glared daggers out him and he finally turned around to hit the glass.

Satisfied, but warily watching his progress I got dressed and readied to go. “Havik, where is the keycard for these chains?”

“I don’t know, but Lamden’s keycard is useless, and mine is only authorized for most doors. It looks like you’re stuck in them for now.”

“Why won’t Lamden’s work?”

“Bullet hole. Two Second-Gens came for us. I took them out but not before they got a few shots off at the Doctor. He died before I could administer help.”

“Dang, this situation is bad isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is. If this isn’t an isolated incident then that means the whole Corporation is in on it or there’s a coup beginning.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said Second-Gen. What do you mean? I didn’t know that there was a difference between experiments.”

“Here’s how it is Lucius, I am considered first-generation. I was taken at a young age and exposed to experimentation. Therefore, I’m faster, I’m more precise than others and I have incredible sight. But these Second-Gens are a different breed entirely. The Corporation has started to use soldiers and even some ex-cons to test experimentation like you just went through. As far as I can tell they’re trying to get more extraneous limbs and other pieces of anatomy like Jaida’s tail, wings, chitin, etc. I don’t have time for more detail but if the Corporation has decided we’re obsolete then they’re bringing down the hammer fast and hard.”

Finally his blade broke through the thick glass plating and the goop started to pour out; Chaia’s constant despair easing slightly in the back of my mind. At that same moment Chaia’s leg finally found a hold and she lunged through the rest of the glass with a smash. Havik immediately took up a defensive posture but Chaia paid him no heed and bounded through the door with her muscular legs. “Well, that solves that problem, let’s go,” Havik ordered. As we walked to the hall I looked into the control room to see Lamden leaning against the far wall and the two throatless guards.

We took a quick recon of the hall before Havik took point towards the elevator. As we approached within 200 feet the lift dinged and the doors opened to show Mr. Kane Duben with a pistol shoved down his throat, terror in his eyes that looked unnatural for a man so large. The other guard of the pair saw us and prepared to shoot until a mighty roar shook the floor and he was buried underneath 250 pounds of dark fur. As the other guard turned around at the noise Chaia’s extremely sharp, chitin tail tip punched through his helmet with the ease of tin foil. While the beast was occupied Kane slipped through the door and ran for us.

“Thank goodness someone’s still alive. The other executives tried to slip me a sedative but I caught it before I drank the wine. Then those goons entered my office and took me hostage. Their comm. chatter says that they’re taking out all of the first-generations. Including me apparently.”

“Don’t worry sir, we’re gonna get out of here. What’s the situation downstairs?”

“All hell’s broken loose! It’s a massacre; no one was ready for something like this. Even the trained subjects couldn’t put up much of a fight.”

“Damn, we’ll have to find another way,” Havik muttered. By this time Chaia had finished with the two guards, the first not even looking human. As Chaia stalked over to us I could see Kane’s cool façade breaking down and reassured him that we were safe around Chaia.

Another swish drew all of our attentions. Four guards stalked out of the farthest room down the hall with guns drawn, apparently having finished up with whoever had been there. One gave a shout as we were spotted and they all turned towards us in what appeared to be slow-motion. Chaia, knowing that we were outgunned made a break for it, smashing through the reinforced glass of the psychiatric corner’s window, leaving bloody paw prints on the carpet and couch. Not wasting another moment I yelled to Kane and Havik, “She knows what she’s doing. GO!” I rushed to the window and leapt.

Chapter 4: The Escape

I felt wind rapidly rushing through my hair as I free-fell down the side of the Corporation Spire. As I was falling I realized that while it was pointed it was still going to be a long drop before I hit the wall. Doing as best I could I positioned myself at an angle and braced for impact. Before I landed I whipped the chains still attached to my wrists out to catch the jagged steel pieces at the ends into the side of the building. I bumped and skidded along the side of the building until I came to a sudden, painful stop on a balcony about three floors up from the ground. I moved quickly; just in time for Havik and Kane to land where I had been a moment before.

I looked up towards the pinnacle of the Spire where they had been prior to the jump and wondered at the distance. Realizing Kane and Havik were already on the move I tore off after them and caught up with them right before they exited the office we were in.

“Hey, guys, where’s Chaia?” I asked.

“I saw her take off around the next corner as we came to the door. Let’s move, maybe we’ll catch up with her,” Kane suggested.

We set off at a brisk but cautious pace through the corridors, hoping that the invaders had confined their blockades to the upper levels since there shouldn’t be any of us down below the 5th floor. We quickly made our way down to the ground level and smashed through the front doors on the heels of Chaia.

As our eyes adjusted to the bright light of the exterior we saw the hell that had been unleashed on the compound. The trees and bushes of the landscaping had been leveled with the violent winds of helicopter blades. Three of these choppers were now circling the compound in the night sky, one of them with its large spotlight focused on us as we tried to make our escape. Orienting ourselves we made a break for the safety of downed landscaping.

As we hid the spotlight continued to search the area. We cautiously advanced until we found Chaia waiting for us at the gate leading onto the bridge to the city, unable to scale the sheer steel surface. As we skidded to a halt Havik swore and Kane pounded his fist against the gate. I tried to keep calm but that became all the harder when I heard the front doors of the building pound open and boots pounding out of it.

“Kane, they’re coming, one of the choppers must have radioed a squad. Tell me you have clearance,” I pleaded, grasping at straws.

“On any other occasion I would but if the other executives thought ahead they would have taken away any authority in the system I may have had.”

“Try it anyways. The console should be in that guardhouse.”

Kane ran to the door of the guardhouse while Havik and I found a last-minute hiding place behind one of the blown-down shrubs. Watching Kane’s progress carefully I stared awestruck at his display of power as he kicked the steel door in with the ease of a plank of wood. “I guess that’s what comes with rhino DNA,” Havik quipped.

His attempt at levity fell on deaf ears because I was focused on the distant pounding of footsteps, now too frantic to be a disciplined soldier. I threw Havik the other end of one of my chains which he caught, getting the picture as he heard the running subjects too as they drew quickly closer. We weren’t going to take any chances.

As the gate started to unclasp there was a strain on the chain and three companions fell face-first into the stones of the walkway. I quickly inspected them while they were still down and saw that they were a couple of the more advanced subjects and one new recruit. They quickly recovered and whirled on us, expecting to see more of those who had destroyed their home. Realizing that we were no threat we quickly conversed.

“What are you guys standing around out here for,” one of the older guys asked, if I remembered right he was used as one of the Corporation’s international spies, like Jaida was. “We need everyone to evacuate, no standing around! Maone got us out but it looks like she’s with the enemy overall. If the agents have converted it’s trouble.

He looked behind us and saw Kane running back from the gate console. He straightened and stepped forward, murder in his eyes. “You! What are you doing here? You and the other execs ordered this didn’t you? Didn’t you?!”

Havik stepped between them, blade suddenly sitting across the belligerent man’s throat. “Step back Rich, or you won’t have legs to step with; he’s just as much of a subject as you. We saved him from a couple of guards who had taken him for interrogation.”

The man took a step back and collected himself. Eyeing Havik’s blade he responded warily, obviously not willing to concede that Kane was innocent, “Alright, but when he betrays us all again, we won’t be there to clean up your mess. You’d do well to heed that Havik. Either way, we should split up, there might be other survivors who made it out and it’ll be harder to track multiple groups.”

I finally gathered my thoughts through the constant pain and joined the conversation. “That’s all well and good but there’s no hope of retaliation or safety unless we can keep in touch.”

“That’s easy, Jack, bring that case up here.” The younger man stepped forward, picking up the metallic case off of the floor and giving it to the man that Havik had addressed as Rich. Opening it Rich revealed a set of what looked like large wristbands. “These are prototype Archon communicators. PAC for short. It’ll allow us to communicate using a secure feed and send information between us. Take one and we’ll try to supply any other groups of survivors with one as well. You’ll be able to see if any have been activated and the general area of each.”

Rich held out one of the dark metallic bands to me. “Of the three of you you’re the only one that I have no reason to distrust. Take care of this because keeping in touch may be the difference between life and death if we’re going to mount a counter-attack.”

Nodding I reached my bare forearm out and waited for the clank of metal clasping. Instead I felt something like warm gel morphing to my arm and finally settling into place. Rich seemed amused by my look of bewilderment. “The material is prototypical too. We were in the research labs when the incursion began, grabbed what we could and got the hell out of there.”

“Got it, alright, we have to move if we’re going to get someplace safe in case they start a city-wide search,” I said, knowing that each second that we stayed on this island was less time we had before the invaders came out of the building.

We crossed the short bridge overlooking the waters of the river as a whole but as soon as we crossed, Kane, Havik and I headed north while Rich, Jack and their silent companion headed south-east according to the PAC. After a few miles of sprinting through the deserted streets of the city we finally stopped in an alley to recollect ourselves.

Chapter 5: Calm Before The Storm

I sunk down against a city dumpster trying to catch my breath while Chaia laid her head on her paws next to me. Leaning against the bricks of a building Kane finally proposed a new plan. “Alright, it’s going to be tough to maneuver through the streets without being spotted by someone especially with a giant puma following. Lucius, why don’t you and Chaia take to the rooftops and provide recon?”

I looked up at the 2-story brick building and Havik must have seen the doubt in my eyes because he quickly jumped in. “I know you’re still going through pain from the experimentation but bear with me here,” he pleaded as he pulled out a very short blade. I watched as he twisted the pommel and the blade turned orange with heat.

Dumbfounded I could only watch as he grabbed the steel at the ends of my chains and started to sculpt them into sharp hooks. I found my voice as he was finishing with the first, “What the heck is that? It’s shearing through this metal like cheese!”

Havik let out a dark chuckle and put on a smirk before he replied, “Richard isn’t the only one who has prototypical toys. The mission I just got back from was also a field test for these heat-blades. They’re made from a new alloy that doesn’t bend from the extreme heat but still holds it. It works great against enemy armor.”

I was a bit taken aback by Havik’s dark tone but before I could think about it too much Kane stepped forward and started instructing me on the best ways to use the chains for scaling the wall. “Alright kid, we’re going to be moving fast so I need you to do everything you can to stay safe, stay silent, and stay fast. Now, wrap the chain around your wrists a couple times and grab it, then I want you to lay your arm down by your side and swing it up as hard as you possibly can to make the hook catch. Got it?”

I nodded and stepped up to the wall, wrapping the chains around my wrists three times and white-knuckled all that would fit in my palm. With all my might I swung the metal hook back and flung it into the solid brick. With a crash a hole appeared in the hall and debris rained down among us. “Crap, that’ll get the neighbors’ attention. Once this is reported the Corporation will connect it to escapees and we have to be gone by then,” Kane all but yelled. “Get up there as fast as you can and try not to bust through any more walls. Go!”

Without another word Kane and Havik took off to the street and Chaia started climbing the light post right outside of the alley entrance. Trying to moderate my strength I flung the hook up into the wall again a few yards away. Catching but not breaking through I tested the connection and pulled myself up, at the same time flinging the other hook. In no time I made it to the roof of the building right as a light came on and a potbellied man stuck his meaty head out of the hole. Turning to see Chaia already on the next roof I sprinted and took the gap in a leap. Spotting Havik and Kane turning the corner to the left at the end of the next building down I kept going, taking each roof one leap at a time, Chaia falling into step beside me.

Eventually we came to a T-intersection with no roofs for me to continue on. Improvising, I landed on all fours balanced on a traffic light. Using the steel hooks I kept my balance and leapt to the adjacent building. Just barely landing, I set off at a hard sprint, Chaia following hard on my trail.

What must have been a half-hour later Kane finally signaled a stop at what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. As I jumped down from the roof of the building I was on, Kane snapped the lock on the door and stepped inside, Havik following for cover. I quickly made my way to the door and nudged it open enough for Chaia to push through. Following I saw Chaia’s shadow leap between the crates, doing her own observation of the seemingly empty warehouse.

Suddenly the lights came on with a crackling surge of electricity and I dropped into a defensive crouch. Kane came around the side of one of the crates with some of the tenseness having left his posture. “We should be safe here for a while. This is a Corporation supply building but with the chaos of the purge we should be able to stay here without fear of discovery at least for a few nights.”

Using his heat-knife Havik pulled open one of the crates labeled rations and pulled out a pile of the bland packets that some agents survived on if stranded during a mission. Throwing myself and Kane each two and taking two for himself he started throwing the rest on top of a nearby crate. A deep purr could soon be heard and we all applied ourselves to the task of eating.

As the cold, dry food hit my stomach I started to feel the effects of the adrenaline wearing off and my eyelids felt heavier than ever before. As I finally lay back on the concrete floor to sleep my world was again drenched in red.

Zorin Awake

I’m awake. Finally I am awake! The fools think that they can keep me here? Well they are wrong. I will escape and I will make them pay for the pain that they have caused me. But I feel empty, I feel like I am not whole although I have my body. They will be destroyed for making me. The last time they only just escaped death. They will not escape again.

Zorin opened his eyes as he dug his heels into the hard steel of the test-tube. With a shove of strength the glass shatters depositing him onto the sterile white floors of the experimentation chamber. As he looks up he saw the doctors scrambling to seal the room, not minding that two of their compatriots were stuck with the beast in his chamber. As he rose calmly Zorin shot his left arm out catching the thinner of the two scientists by the throat. Spinning him around Zorin brought the man’s back over his knee and it snapped with a satisfying crack.

Muscles were straining, his emptiness was filling and Zorin relished the moments it took for the scientist’s life to be completely absorbed into his own. Zorin finally stood to his full height, cracked his neck and turned his amber gaze onto the thick observer. Sauntering over to the cowering man Zorin crouched down and balanced on the balls of his feet. “Don’t worry, friend. You shall serve me well,” Zorin whispered. With that his newly-clawed fingers dug into the pudgy man’s stomach and another life was absorbed.

Zorin, turning to the sealed door smirked to himself, thinking about how foolish his own creators must be. Now that the two scientists had been absorbed he had access to every code, every memory, every thought that their small brains had contained. Not wasting his time with the door Zorin walked straight to the window and mouthed, “BOO!” right before a stone-hard, head-sized fist slammed into the supposedly unbreakable glass. Leaping through the window both of the other scientists were pinned against the opposite wall and absorbed before they could even scream.

Finally, freedom, destruction, CARNAGE! And just as he finished this thought and walked through the door the color, as well as the room drained away into an octagonal room of grey panels, an observation room at least 3 floors up looked over the room. Banging his still enlarged fist against the wall he let out a guttural roar.

“When are you guys going to let me out?! I’m ready, let me help with this damn purge! I’ve heard the whispers. Just send me in already!” Zorin raged.

The tinny voice on the intercom calmly replied to his outburst, “Actually, Mr. Nadeerem, we need to talk to you about just the same.”

“Cut the crap. I’m not Mr. Anything anymore. I’m Zorin now, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Ah, but Zorin, as you have found out through our training, you are much, much more. If you feel that you are up to the task we plan to send you out on a special assignment.” Zorin nodded and confirmed his readiness for the task. “Good, we need you to track a special test subject. He underwent a new form of experimentation and has escaped the purge. A now fugitive executive pushed the paperwork through otherwise the subject would never have had the experimentation so close to the purge. Depending on how much the executive has told him he could be extremely dangerous. Target’s name: Lucius Vaden.

Chapter 6: The Storm

Chaia’s screams rang through my skull as my consciousness jumped backwards to my time in the test tube. My world continued to flash red and white as I detachedly felt the same pain I had felt before. Although it was still mind-shattering I did not feel as though I were experiencing it first-hand. My back arched and I again heard the dull pops from outside the room. Focusing on the computer screens didn’t yield any answers. So far, all I knew is that I was stronger, and it didn’t seem like any answers were forthcoming. As the doors to the chambers swished open I was again consumed by white.

My eyes bolted open to see light shining in through the grimy windows of the warehouse. Sitting up I felt my muscles ache from the concrete floor and my head spin from the vivid recollection of events. Once I was in a sitting position I set my hand on Chaia’s head and softly traced along the lines of her odd white markings. Feeling her contentedness as though it was my own I then looked around for Kane and Havik. They were nowhere to be found. Bolting upright I prodded Chaia with my foot.

At the same time as I tried to mentally communicate my concern to the big cat I also softly called out for my absent companions. Not hearing so much as a mouse’s scuttle I tried louder and louder until I finally conceded that I was alone. Sitting on a smaller storage bin I watched as Chaia disappeared into the maze of crates again. All of a sudden dragging noise filled the open storage unit.

I rose just as Chaia came around the corner pulling the armored body of an invader. Getting up to inspect the corpse I noticed one of Havik’s blades pinning a hastily-scrawled note to the soldier’s chest. Ripping the note off and pocketing the knife. I tried to decipher Havik’s handwriting. Lucius, apparently we’re not as safe as Kane thought. When the soldier entered I took him. Kane and I are going separate ways for now. We figured it will be safer for all of us if you don’t know where we go. We’ll find you if need be even without the PAC. Keep Chaia safe and let her keep you safe. You’re more important than you know right now.

~HAVIK

Crumpling the note my fist connected with the side of a large, metal cargo crate, denting it. Collecting myself I checked the PAC for the time and to see how many groups of survivors there were so far. Pressing the touch-sensitive screen I finally figured out how to navigate the large buttons and diagrams. Finally I got a GPS overview of the city with three red blips. Assuming one was mine I figured that either Kane or Havik had gotten a PAC from Rich or another group of survivors had escaped and my former companions were alone with no way of communication.

Suddenly, as I saw the date and time I realized that Jaida was scheduled to return today. Condensing every emotion that I was feeling I resolved that I would be at the LZ whether she would actually be returning home or not. I was surprised that I still remembered where she would be landing and set off towards Jaida.

Chapter 7: Homecoming

Staring into the sunset I let out another yawn. I had been here for most of the day, taking just enough time to steal some oriental food and acceptable clothing made all the harder by having to hide the heavy chains while Chaia watched from the rooftops. Now I was thanking the fact that I had grown up on the streets. Dozens of planes had flown overhead in the hours I had sat on this same hillside overlooking the expansive golden field but I knew that the big black chopper that was just a dot on the horizon would hold the woman I loved.

I stood up and stretched, chains rattling and Chaia’s back arching luxuriously beside me. I briefly considered running out to the helicopter and following it in before what felt like a rolling boulder hit me in the back. I landed heavily, my face getting smashed into the ground a few times before the weight was suddenly lifted and a feral growl flew past. Reorienting myself and taking this reprieve to unwrap my chains from my wrists. Hearing a crash I looked see Chaia laying on her side with the large attacker looking down at him.

Ears back, Chaia let out a defensive snarl but the man just kept advancing. Without further thought I leapt forward, flinging the chain hook out to slap against the man’s side. With a smirk the stranger turned to me, his odd amber eyes seeming to dig into my soul. “Lucius, I don’t believe we have met. I am Zorin. And I know much about you.”

“What do you want Zorin,” I asked, trying to assess the situation.

“I want you to die. It’s a shame really, you would have been a perfect agent.” With that he leapt forward and we began our dance.

Zorin tried coming in close with a left hook but I dodged back to keep an effective distance for my chain-hooks. Swinging both of the hooks around I connected hard a few times making Zorin stagger back. Still using my makeshift whirlwind I whipped one blade out at a time to strike two more solid hits. Intent on getting up-close-and-personal Zorin kept advancing and I met him head on, hooks grasped in my hands and chains wrapped around my forearms.

As we danced Zorin suddenly cut in with his right arm and hit me with a meat-slab sized fist that made me fly across the field and followed up with a chain of his own. But I realized as it hit me that it didn’t feel like metal, it felt like flesh. I looked up from the ground just in time to see Zorin’s arm retracting back to its normal length. I was up against something new, and something I had no idea could be beaten or not. Looking up to the sky I saw that Jaida’s chopper would land any minute; I had to incapacitate him before she landed or she’d be in trouble too.

I lay on the ground, feigning injury hoping that he would approach closely enough to counter. Seeing his cocky gait I knew that he would do exactly as I wanted. As he reached me he bent down on the balls of his feet and whispered, “I shall enjoy absorbing you. You should feel honored as the first to ever fi…”

I never let Zorin finish that sentence for I embedded a hook in each shoulder and flipped him under me, both sharp edges pressing against my enemy’s throat and my knee in the small of his back, rendering him immobile.

“Hmph, I guess I need to work on my arrogance don’t I?” Zorin joked.

But if I killed Zorin I would have to continue living an unfamiliar life in an unfamiliar world. He had said that he knew much about me, maybe he knew about my modification. If I could make him talk then I may be able to harness my powers. Feeling the harsh winds of the helicopter blades descending on us I knew that I needed to make my decision quickly. He was an abomination, he needed to die before he could hurt anyone else. But if I killed him I may never get the answers I needed.

Steeling myself to my decision I raised the sharp blade of a hook and collapsed as complete and total pain shot through my back, followed by nothingness. Rolling me off of him Zorin leapt to his feet and smiled up at the chopper. “It’s about time you showed up, I didn’t want to keep playing with him for too long. He was getting rather boring.”

“Yeah, and I was told that this was an extraction, not a rescue mission,” said a melodious voice befitting a princess. My princess. My Jaida.

I used all the power I could muster to turn my numb body around enough to look up at her holding the rifle that had just shot me through the back. As Zorin started off towards the chopper I tried pitifully to catch his leg with one of the hooks only to have my arm flop like a dead fish. Taking the height of the helicopter in one leap Zorin landed on the platform next to my fiancée. “Shall I take him out?” I heard Jaida ask faintly, smiling at him.

Zorin looked back at me with the same smirk that he had worn the whole time we were fighting. “No, he will be a worthy rival when he grows into his powers. For now, let him be. We will meet again quite soon.” With a hand-signal from my beloved betrayer the chopper took off, and left me there to die.

Dang, what tore…Long recovery...Lucky we found him…Through the spine…May be paralyzed…Check the cat…Vital signs normal…Ready transport…Name...What’s the cat…Lock them up…Make sure they’re allies…Purge has turned into Pandora’s Box…Resistance Leader needs to know about this…Amazing biological test results, Commander look…Can he hear me? Maybe sir…I am Commander Vandel Rink… can you understand me?

These words fly through my head and my own orange eyes fly open. I can feel the power pulsing through my being and it feels good. Looking at the Commander I realize that he is in tattered clothing and must be an Archon like me. I also realize that I am going to help them of my own volition, but I am my own man. “I have conditions Rink. You are not my Commander. And Zorin’s head is mine.”

Currently I am sitting alone at a makeshift desk with a stolen computer documenting my life as an outlaw. To the public I am a freak, an abomination unworthy of life. In reality I know that we are superior. Yes, me and my kin are more advanced in the largest way since the time of werewolves and vampires, we are genetically manipulated humans with animalistic traits that make us the perfect agents, assassins, and now soldiers. I am a first generation experiment, or an Archon depending on who you ask. I am writing this as a player in a deadly game because of one man, one man who had the power and tenacity to kill us for his own ends. This man must be stopped, whatever the cost, even if it means the end of me and every other Archon that will stand with me. This is my evidence, my sanity and the last remnants of whatever soul that an abomination such as I am capable of having. But all of us have souls as humans do. With this humanity comes a darker side, a savagery that is unmatched among any animal or creature that the Corporation may combine us with. I must bond with this darker side if I ever want to bring down the Corporation, Zorin, and my former lover. I realize this and I embrace it. It has become my destiny and purpose.

My eyes pierce into Rink’s across the room as Chaia’s roar shakes the ground. I am ready to unleash hell.