It was a gloomy 25th, April 2050. Armed Arkenian Special Forces scattered through the poor town of Mirefield. The large unit spread into three separate groups and spread out in the miserable streets. The Special Forces were invincible, suited with a crimson suit that stands out in the murkiest of sights. Heavy leather boots thumped against the Earth. It frightened the residents that hid behind locked doors: rousing anxiety behind them.
Not long after, rain showered down from the uncaring and gray clouds. At a small humble home in division three, there was a frail and youthful girl sitting by the window. She listened to the thunderous sky and watched the droplets of water fall down and bounce back once it hit the ground. Listening to the sounds felt calming to her soul. But her view immediately turned pitch black when her father, Zion, slid the poorly made curtain to the other side of the window.
He did it to prevent anyone from seeing his family. Twelve-year-old Xena didn't reply with a single word. Instead, she silently sat politely on the couch and let out a small sigh. She never understood why her parents become so paranoid when the 25th of April comes, nor did she understand why she couldn't do anything a normal child would do.
But that was the thing, Xena isn't normal, and so are a few of her neighbours. Many know division three as the division with many Arkens in hiding. One slip up could cause the lives of many. Thankfully, the kindness of those who aren't an Arken helped them stay alive by silencing themselves when a time like this comes.
She sat on the couch disappointed and lowered her head. Her father sat beside her. He gripped her hand and looked at her with his jet-black eyes.
"I told you, Xena. No peeking when the soldiers are here. Okay?" his voice sounded gentle and forgiving, yet the look in his eyes said otherwise. Xena nodded her head politely. She did not want to cause any trouble.
While she looked at her father apologetically, the humble television that they picked up on the road played a deafening warning alarm that could make any person pass out when they heard it. Xena gasped loudly and covered her ears. Luckily, her father's warm hug eased the panic she felt inside.
"Don't worry, Xena. It's just an alarm..." He whispered gently as he caressed his daughter's head.
Her mother appeared from the kitchen. Panic swelled in her eyes as she tried to calm herself down. Finally, the deafening alarm settled down. They replaced it with a man in a business suit. He stared deeply into the camera in front of him—not blinking at all.
"This is not a test," he declared. His monotonous voice can make everyone get chills up in their spine. It was as if he was a robot with no emotions and only opened his mouth to speak.
"Nor is this a drill. Today is the 25th of April. The day of the annual hunting. We recommend that all humans must stay inside," he continued.
Xena couldn't get a grasp of what was happening. All she could do was helplessly listen. For the twelve years that she has lived, Xena has never understood what it was all about because her parents refused to tell her anything about it. She guessed it was to protect her from the evil, but who are they protecting her from exactly?
"The following message is from the President of The Arkenhill Federal Administration," the man stated one last time.
The television showed static and would glitch from time to time. It gives the room a suffocating air of tension around it. Not even a mere second later, another man appeared on the television. He wore a fairly expensive-looking black suit, his necktie was a bright colour of crimson. His face had more emotion, and that drew Xena in. His face had a kind smile, yet his eyes bore into anyone looking at the screen as if he was threatening them.
"Good morning, citizens of Arkenhill…" He took a brief pause.
"I am very pleased to be the first to announce to you—a brilliant plan of mine. It has been in the works for many years, but today marks the first day of the Metamorphosis Experiment…" A smile crept upon his face and it was a creepy one—creepy enough to make anyone uncomfortable.
"But what is the Metamorphosis Experiment, you ask?" the President continued.
"In simple terms, it is the process of transformation. A transformation that will highly change your life forever.
"Well, who's it for? The answer is simple. Those who have extraordinary abilities.
"How can I convey this…" He brought his fingers to his chin to appear as if he was deep in thought.
"For the past twenty years, Arkens have made our lives… difficult."
"They've wrecked everything that my father had laboriously built. All because of what? All because they have these… abilities that strengthen them," he explained as he gestured with his hands as he despised speaking about them.
Xena furrowed her eyebrows. Arkens? Metamorphosis plan? extraordinary abilities? These things are unknown territory to her.
"So...I made a brilliant plan to make all of our lives easier. It's simple, really. We take the powers of those who have them and dispose of it. Boom, I made your lives easier. Am I right, Arkens?" the President chuckled. He shook his head as if what he said was ridiculous. Xena's mother placed her hand over her head from the stress.
"That's fucking bullshit!" Xena flinched upon hearing her mother swear out loud.
"Dianne! For Pete's sake, control your anger," Zion whispered aggressively. His hands moved up and down--showing his anger. Xena's mother, Dianne, covered her mouth in shock. Tears welled in her eyes. "I'm sorry, dear," she said.
"Well, now that that's covered. I will now go over the details of the process. If you look outside your windows you may see the Arkenhill Special Forces. They will knock on your doors, check each resident, and when you're confirmed as a normal human citizen, they'll let you go. So...I assure you, they will harm no one. Unless you put up a fight," he raised a brow and smirked.
"Then we have the Arkens..."
"You…" The president leaned forward and stared deeply into their souls.
"Life will be so much easier if you surrender yourselves. Hiding from us will not work. It never does. Your superhuman abilities are a massive threat to our society. Don't you see what you all have done? You've destroyed all of our lives. And I will do 'anything' to make everything peaceful once again," he asserted.
"So... if any of you vile beings are hiding. I suggest you come out for everyone's sake and make all of our lives easier. That's all," he concluded his speech. The ends of his lips curved up slightly and showed the camera a close-lipped smile. And with that, the President disappeared from the television screen. Xena felt confused, panicked mostly, but it didn't stop her from trying to ask her parents some questions.
"Dad, what's going on? What does the president mean?" she tugged her father's shirt but got ignored. No one had answered her question, and that made Xena feel an array of emotions.
"Did you lock the back door?" Dianne asked while panicking. Her father nodded his head and let out an exhausted sigh. He looked at his daughter and cupped her cheeks into his palms.
"Xena… be obedient and listen to us, okay? Once those soldiers come in I want you to hide in the kitchen counter." Although confused, Xena agreed to her father's wishes. Dianne kneeled to meet her daughter eye to eye; a warm and reassuring smile appeared on her face.
"If anything ever happens… you run out that back door. And run as fast as you can, okay?" Dianne advised Xena. She hesitated before responding, but then slowly shook her head in confusion.
"B-but…" Three loud and sudden knocks against their wooden door cut off Xena's words. Her mother quickly told her to do as she said, which was to hide in the kitchen counter. She followed her orders and panicked as she swiftly placed herself inside the broken counter.
It was musty and dark inside. She couldn't see anything because of how pitch black it was. She leaned slowly against the cabinet door, trying to listen to whatever the commotion was about on the other side.
"P-pleasant day to you, sir," Xena heard her father greet a few people in the living room. The panic in his voice was prominent.
"Where's your Identification Card?" a man with a deep yet monotonous voice spoke out. Xena gulped down the nervousness down her throat.
"A-ah, Identification Card. Here it is." Zion offered the man a small card containing the most basic information. The tall soldier in a crimson uniform turned his head towards his comrade.
"Scan it," he ordered the man beside him.
"S-scan? The President said nothing about scanning our IDs." Xena's father panicked on the inside, mostly because he and Dianne knew the ID was fake.
"It's the new protocol. Those Arkens have adapted to our old one. Luckily... the President isn't as stupid as his father was," The man replied. Zion's eyes turned to the badge on the officer's uniform. The words 'Chief Officer' was on it. The comrade reached for a small scanning device and quickly took the card to scan it.
After a few seconds of panic and tension in the air--the small scanning device rang a repetitive alarm, which caused the Chief Officer to glare at Zion and Dianne.
"It's a counterfeit ID," he declared and showed a dark expression under the translucent face cover.
"N-no sir. It's not fake, I can guarantee you," Zion explained. Xena's eyes expanded. After gathering more information by listening in, she finally understood what was happening.
"Silence!" she gasped loudly at the officer's sudden rise of tone, but immediately covered her mouth in fear that anyone could hear her.
"Take their blood sample," the Chief officer instructed his subordinates once again. Terror filled both of Zion and Dianne's eyes.
"N-no, please. It was a mistake--" Xena couldn't bear to hear her parent's pleading voices. She covered her ears and shut them tightly.
"W-wait! Please!" more screams came from the living room. At this moment Xena felt an overwhelming amount of stress. She closed her eyes and rocked herself back and forth to ease herself down.
"You are an Arken!" the officer shouted.
Xena cowered and closed her eyes after hearing the outrage in the man's voice. During the next few moments, all she could hear were shouts, her parents pleading for help, and the men shouting vociferously.
Xena counted the seconds. Her anxiety doubled up the more she counted. She continued to rock herself back and forth and sealed her eyes closed. The tenth-second mark occurred, along with an eerie silence after it. After the big commotion followed a silence too silent that Xena could already hear her own breathing.
She slowly opened her eyes and let out a relieved sigh. Her little hands pushed the small cabinet door open and it creaked loudly as she pushed it away. Her head peeked out to check if her parents were all right.
But they weren't…
Xena's eyes widened in shock, while her pupils dilated in fear. In front of her was her lifeless father with blood draining from his head and a cracked skull. A few icicles of ice surrounded the living room and almost made its way toward where Xena was.
Her hand quivered. It was shaking so badly she couldn't stabilize them anymore. Her eyes turned towards the commotion outside; there, she saw her mother forcibly being taken by the men in crimson uniforms.
Dianne was shouting. Her eyes were bloodshot red as she looked back at her dead husband. Xena trembled with terror the more she looked at her mother being taken away, the more fear she felt. It was as if everything was in slow motion, the droplets of rain, her mother shouting, and the people who stood in shock as they watched Dianne being taken away.
'If anything ever happens, you run out the back door. And run as fast as you can, okay?'
So Xena did...
She ran as fast as she could out the back door that led to the outside. Xena had no shoes, no slippers and no socks. She was barefoot as she stumped her little feet on the muddy ground. Xena wasn't able to play like a normal child, but she ran as fast as she could. As fast as where her feet would take her.
Xena grunted, she coughed as the pollution in the air entered her lungs. She took a quick glance behind her and saw the small town getting smaller in view.
She didn't know how long she ran, nor did she know where she was. What's important is that she got away. The adrenaline must have run out, Xena felt exhausted. She walked but then stumbled on the ground.
A long tree root trapped her foot; she fell down knees first on the ground. Luckily, she didn't get hurt. Xena lifted her head carefully and slowly and there, she saw a tall man with confused eyes stared at her.
He lowered himself and scanned the little girl with his emerald green eyes.
"You all right?" The man asked. His voice was gruff.