Chereads / Project: Helix / Chapter 6 - Awaken (1)

Chapter 6 - Awaken (1)

~Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely..... As a result of the sudden surge of special abilities in Human society, anarchy ensued. Chaos raged and wars were fought! This period of instability was known as one of the darkest periods in mankind's history as over 29 percent of humanity's population was lost. These lasted 7 years following the' Rip' appearance~

YEAR:2161

LOCATION: UNKNOWN

He clearly remembered when they had both met.

His mum and dad decided to adopt a child to keep him company since he kept whining about how lonely he was and how his parents were always too busy for him.

Working at the Special Abilities Division, his mom was an Attorney, while Dad was always away on business.

He did not fit in at school and most often had to rely on his own imagination to keep him company. He was utterly alone and lonely. That is..... until that day.

"Tenny, this is Michael, he's going to be staying with us from now on." Mum had said.

He, who had been nagging his mom about a brother finally got one... But he did not know how to react. He did not have any experience interacting with anyone his age.

"Oh! Huh... Hi, I mean... What's good... I, … Do you like watching Virtual live Monster battles?" He finally managed to say. He was worried as to how this stranger would receive what he had just spouted.

He was anxious for nothing.

The stranger's face brightened up a bit and he finally spoke

"Sure, You got footage from the last one?"

"Yep, It's on my virtual screen... wanna check it?" Tenny said, now more confident.

"Sweet!" The new boy finally smiled as he said those words.

The two boys rushed to the room, as though in a race to see who would get there first, even though the new guy did not even know the room they were headed toward.

As his parents' satisfied faces faded from his sight, and seeing Michael was already ahead of him, he felt happy, and for the first time since they met... he called him "Brother" in his heart.

***********************

Tenny groaned as he twisted on the ground. Suddenly he sat up, rousing from his sleep, and shouted "Mickey, you bastard!"

He was puzzled. Was he just dreaming? No! He looked around him and confirmed that they were still underground. He saw the Diamantite glowing about 5 feet away from him, which illuminated the dark space. How long was he out for? And the most important question kept ringing in his head

"Where is Michael...?" He groaned as he rose to his feet.

Tenny shoved aside those pointless thoughts which could wait for later and tried focusing on how to escape the Underground area he was in.

Lucky for him, after they entered Underground, he had been observing the terrain and had a rough idea where to go, even though it was very dark, the Diamantite would illuminate the way for him.

Michael had probably thought he was dead and left his body to rot in this isolated area, erasing all evidence. Why else would he sell him such a convincing story and bring him all the way out here?

In any case, he needed to hurry up to the surface and report to the appropriate authorities about him. He also had to keep his mother safe, after all... she could be next.

He had not walked for over 5 minutes when he felt he was being watched. He heard a whooshing sound behind him and startled he yelped, turning the light toward the direction he heard it from.

"Nothing... whew" He heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

He was scared. It was dark, it was smelly, even more than before, and worst of all was the feeling he had long forgotten coming back to him, he was Alone. He heard a dripping sound echo through the cave. It continued and was getting even louder, and clearer and closer.

"Who's there?" Tenny let out.

He was so terrified. He had never experienced anything such as this. Everywhere was dark, except for his immediate vicinity.

"I just have to keep moving. The sooner I get out, the sooner this is all over."

Yes, he was right. He just had to keep a level head and...

"W-wha-?!"

Tenny froze as his left eye caught a quick glance at something while he was moving. It wasn't human! He turned his light in its direction

"Aaaaaaargh!!!!!" He shouted as his trembling hands dropped his only source of light, fleeing as fast as his legs could take him.

Exit... exit... all he had to do was get there.

He kept running and running, hoping whatever he saw would not be near him.

'Almost there.... almost!'

He did not sense the beast giving chase, but he didn't care! The image he caught flashed in his head. It's bulging eye, sharp teeth which were yellow and looked decaying. Its pale-colored skin and tall gait seemed to overwhelm his mind.

From what he saw, that was a monster!

"What is a monster doing in such a place as this? There are no humans here... everyone knows monsters only appear in sufficiently populated areas" He muttered to himself as he was scanning the area for the sign of the entrance they came through.

He halted abruptly." I'm already here... But.... where is... the.... where is it?" That was when it dawned on him...

"I'm trapped!"

The entrance they came through showed a mechanism of entering, but Michael never told him how to get out.

Furthermore, the Dump was an isolated place and no one would bother coming close to the area talk less of finding the mechanism. Even if the Waste Disposal Agents came to take away the waste, he was not sure how long he had been down there, neither could he tell what time was.

He had no idea if and when they would arrive, or even if they had already come. If they had, the next time they would come would be at least 24 hours from now, maybe longer! Could he survive till then? Absolutely not!

TO BE CONTINUED...