Storm Warrior2
07-20-2006, 06:14 PM
--Wrote this sometime ago, when SPD was airing and I wasn't watching PR. So.....have a jolly-good, off-topic read.---
Seigi Tech
Chapter 1:
Seigi 2: Jacob Morrison
“It’s happening again!”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s getting worse.”
“What the hell? Who is that?”
“I think it’s…”
“It can’t be!”
“…Jake?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jacob Morrison was sick and tired of the way his day was going, and it was only half over.
He was sitting near the window in English class, staring out at the bleak, winter landscape. Snow pelted the ground like the gunfire of a war, but it was slowly to a slow pace as the clock ticked on. He averted his gaze from the window and glanced over to the student next to him, brushing his own black bangs from his eyes to see.
Next to him was Victor Diamond, one of his closet friends since childhood, his brown hair completely still despite the wind. Completely contrasted from Jake, Victor was shorter, skinnier, and much more elite in his studies. From a first glance, a stranger would never expect these two to be close friends, but it was true.
Behind Victor sat Elexis Maywell, another of Jake’s close friends since elementary school. Just after she had moved to the town of Stonewell in the second grade, Jake (and Victor, to an extent) had befriended the brown-haired young girl with the piercing blue eyes shielded by glossed glasses. Now, years upon years later, she sat in her desk, the glasses gone in favor of slim contacts, the brown hair dyed a jet black shade.
The ring of the school bell shattered through their instructor’s dull lecture as the classroom emptied and students flooded into the halls.
“Where are you guys going?” asked Victor as his friends turned a corner.
“We’re going out back for a smoke. Where are you going?” replied Jake, glancing back.
“We have Trig this period, you guys. Do you really think we should skip it?” Victor asked.
“C’mon, Vic, what could it hurt?” replied Elexis as they kept walking.
Victor sighed and broke into a light jog to keep up with his friends.
A few minutes later, the trio stood outside the school. Elexis and Jake leaned back against the wall, and Victor stood with his chest flat against the fence that encircled the building.
“Damn, Vic, you’re too tense,” remarked Jake, taking a drag on his cigarette.
“Shuddup, Jake,” Victor muttered.
“Well, at least this is better then taking the Trig exam…” muttered Elexis, slowly sitting to the ground, ruffling the skirt of her school uniform as she did so.
“I guess you’re right…” replied Victor, adjusting his collar as he checked his watch.
“So…what are you guys doing tonight?” asked Elexis.
“I dunno. Probably just sit around…” muttered Jake.
“Me, too…” added Victor.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light in the distance. It was as if a tower of luminous, golden light had erupted from deep within the city. There was a clash of metal, a scream, and then…it was gone.
“…what the hell?” Jake asked, dropping the cigarette to the ground and crushing it with his foot as he stood next to Victor in an attempt to get a better look.
“I…I don’t know. But…I think we need to get back inside before the bell rings…” replied Victor, shaking from fear.
“Vic’s right. C’mon,” Elexis agreed, standing up. Jake stayed in place. She sighed and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him towards the front of the school. His eyes stayed locked in place, staring out into the skyline.
*************************************************************************** *****
Meanwhile, across the city, a large, black truck sat in the middle of the street. Men in solid black outfits worked together to lift the limp form of a man into the truck’s back, shutting the doors when he was inside.
One of them, a tall man with short-cut brown hair, turned away from the truck. There, standing in the middle of the road, was a teenage girl. She reached up, putting her flowing, ginger-colored hair into a ponytail as she wiped the blood from her white, long-sleeved top. A blue stripe ran down the right arm, ending in a turquoise-gloved hand. The tall man walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Emma,” he began, “are you alright?”
“…yes,” she nodded in agreement.
“Alright, then. Now, we have some more tests to run on you…” the blond man began as a second truck, this one as startlingly white as the girl’s suit, pulled into the street. The taller man and the young woman climbed into the back, and both trucks sped away.
“Emma, lay down on this table,” the man instructed, and she did as he told her. Instantly, a group of white-coated men emerged from the front of the truck and began to attach all types of wires and tubes to her body. The first man walked over to her again and pulled a syringe from within his pocket. “I’m going to give you this shot, Emma, and it’s going to null the pain, alright?” he whispered, reassuring her.
Emma nodded, but she knew he wasn’t telling her the truth. It wouldn’t null the pain. It never did.
*************************************************************************** *****
“C’mon, Pete!”
Peter Kaymore stuffed his jersey in his duffel bag and checked himself in the locker room mirror. His green eyes stared back at him as he smoothed out his dark hair. When he was satisfied, he ran out the door, through the school gymnasium, and onto the street where his girlfriend, Terri Porter, waited at his car.
“Hi, baby,” she said, reaching in for a kiss from her boyfriend. “How was practice?” she asked after he had delivered.
“Fine, just like always,” he replied, speeding over to the driver’s side and starting the car.
“So, where are we going tonight?” Terri asked, getting into the car and fixing her blond hair as they drove away from the school.
“I don’t know…but I’m sure we can find something to do,” Pete replied, leaning in for a second kiss. Terri was all too happy to oblige as they made their way down the road.
*************************************************************************** *****
The next day started out no better then the last. At seven forty-five in the morning, Jake, Victor, Elexis, and Pete all sat in homeroom, doing all they could to struggle through the morning. They were surprised, however, when their instructor, Mr. Aberson, waltzed into the classroom over five minutes after the bell had rung, a teenage girl in tow, already decked in the school uniform.
“Class, this is…what was it?” he announced, sitting down at his desk.
“Emma…Emma Burke,” she whispered.
“Yeah…Emma Burke. Ms. Burke, take a seat over there…behind Ms. Maywell…” the instructor added.
Emma did as she was told.
*************************************************************************** *****
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know. She must be new.”
“I heard that her name’s Emma. Emma Burke, I think.”
“Yeah, I think that’s it.”
“Why is she so…secluded?”
“I dunno.”
“Maybe she’s a dyke.”
“Shut up, Michelle.”
“I was just kidding…”
“Okay, girls, that’s it for today. Hit the showers,” was the call of the P.E. teacher that cut through the chatter of so many students.
The Girls Physical Education class made their way down the stairs and into the locker room. Elexis pulled off her clothes, scrounged up a towel, and made her way into the shower. There, she found Emma. She couldn’t help but stare; Emma’s body was covered in bruises and small, needle-like points.
Emma turned and shot her a sharp glare.
“Oh…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to stare. I’m not…that is, I…” Elexis stammered.
“It’s alright,” Emma replied, turning off the water and wrapping a towel around her person.
Elexis could do nothing but soak herself in the spray of the shower and let herself relax as the water beat down upon her.
*************************************************************************** *****
At sixteen, Jake had a driver’s license. However, what he didn’t have was a car, and that is how he ended up walking home from school alongside Emma Burke.
He didn’t try to make conversation; the walk was silent, and Emma seemed content with it. It wasn’t until the other man arrived that they even acknowledged himself.
The other man was shirtless, and what first seemed to be sweat was actually blood trickling down his chest. He was carrying a knife; it wasn’t spectacular, but it was bathed in blood. He came closer and closer, holding the knife perfectly still in the rushing winds.
The white truck pulled up beside them, but it was too late; the man was upon Jake, and he smacked him upside the head with the blunt end of the knife. As his eyes closed, Jake could see the white-coated men coming closer and closer. He could feel the knife penetrating his arm, and he could feel the blood gushing from the wound. The last thing he remembered was being carried into the truck just as he blacked out…
*************************************************************************** *****
“Wake up.”
Jake struggled as his eyes fluttered open like the wings of a butterfly. He was one his back, and his shirt was gone; he could feel the cold metal of a table on his back. He could feel the places on his arms and legs where needles and tubes had been instilled.
“Put this on,” the same voice muttered. He sat up and looked around, surveying the scene. A blond man in a black suit was saying something, but the main sight was Emma. She was face-up on a second silver table. She was clothed in white pants and a black sports bra, and she was caked with splotches of blood.
“What the hell…” he muttered, but the black-suited man forced a white set of clothing at him.
“Put these on,” the man repeated, and Jake stared at him in surprise. He did as he was told; he pulled the white pants over his uniform slacks and pulling on the white, long-sleeved shirt with the black stripe down the right arm. Third, he outfitted himself with a small headset containing an earpiece, a small microphone, and a headphone-like piece over his head. He finished by pulling the two black, fingerless gloves over his hands.
“Good,” the man muttered, and handed Jake a small, diamond-shaped stone, which he instructed Jake to place inside of the hole in the top of the right glove. “Now, go.”
He pushed Jake out of the truck’s back, and he stumbled onto the road as the truck closed. He looked around; to his right was the truck, pure white with the word “SEIGI” in bold, black letters across the side. A few feet in front of him was the shirtless man with the knife.
“Can you hear me, Jake?” came the voice from his headset.
“Yes…yes, I can hear you,” Jake replied.
“Alright. Now, Jake, hold out your right hand and prepare yourself,” the voice instructed.
“What? Prepare for what?” asked Jake, but he held his hand out anyway. He didn’t hear an explanation. The diamond stone began to glimmer, and the entire glove followed suit. “What’s happening to me?” he screamed, his hand completely submerged by the light. When it faded, however, it was not a hand any longer.
Jake stared in bewilderment. His hand had seemingly vanished, replaced with a small, silver knife blade that protruded from his wrist, where the very bottom of the glove was still present.
“What the hell did you do to me?” Jake asked, dimly aware that the man with the knife was lumbering towards him.
“Listen to me, Jake. Just follow my instructions,” came the man from the headset.
“But what did you…”
“Jake! Raise your hand!”
He did, as a reflex, and watched as his own knife blocked the knife of the larger, dangerous man.
“Thrust the blade into his stomach when he rears back!”
The man reared back to strike again, but Jake stood still.
“Jake! To the left!”
He dove to the left, just barely avoiding what could have been a fatal wound. Just as he made it to his feet, however, he was grabbed by the man’s larger hands. He couldn’t move his arm; the grip was too tight. He was at this man’s mercy…
*************************************************************************** *****
“What are you doing here, Diamond?”
Victor looked back to see Pete Kaymore walking out of the school, carrying his duffel bag. Victor had been leaning against the school’s fence, Elexis doing the same.
“What do you want, Pete?” Victor asked as the basketball star stood next to him and all three leaned over the fence.
“Nothing. I’m just waiting for Terri to get here with my car. Unlike you, I have a girlfriend,” replied Pete.
“Shut up,” Victor muttered.
*************************************************************************** *****
Jake crashed to the ground, and rolled over to the curb before jumping to his feet. He could see his enemy lumbering towards him. He couldn’t fight it. He didn’t want to fight it. So he ran.
The man from the truck was barking orders into his ear, but Jake ignored it. He kept running, jumping bushes and benches that clouded his way. He was just outside the school when it happened: he tripped over rock, crashing to the ground. When he looked up, he saw that the man with the knife was standing above him, ready to strike. He brought the knife down…
“Jake, now!”
Jake raised the knife that jutted from his wrist, and the knifes struck each other in the expanse of air between them. Jake could feel his wrist burning…steam was coming from the knife…the white truck was pulling up, getting closer and closer…
There was a rush of energy, and the golden light sprung from the knives. The man was thrown back, his knife in pieces; Jake was plastered against the ground, burned from the heat, the knife on his wrist slowly forming back into his flesh-and-bone hand, still clothed in the black glove. He started to stand up.
He had won.
*************************************************************************** *****
From the school fence, the three students looked on at the small pillar of light, only a few streets away this time.
“It’s happening again!” Elexis exclaimed.
“What is it?” Pete asked, bewildered by the sight.
“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s getting worse,” Victor replied, staring as the light died down.
“What the hell? Who is that?” Pete exclaimed, looking on at the figure standing up.
“I think it’s…” Elexis began, staring on.
“It can’t be!” Victor replied, moving his bangs from his eyes.
“…Jake?” Elexis whispered, looking into his face from afar.
*************************************************************************** *****
The blond man rushed out and grabbed Jake, pulling him into the truck and ripping the glove from his hand.
“What the hell was that? What did you do to me?” Jake asked, pushing the man up against the wall of the moving truck.
“Calm down! Calm down!” the blond man exclaimed, pushing him back .
“Where are we going?” Jake asked, releasing the man.
“It’s just outside of town. Don’t worry.”
*************************************************************************** *****
Pete, Victor, and Elexis jumped the fence. They ran to the street where Jake had been, but by the time they got there, he was gone. There was no sign that he had ever been there, with one exception: the handle of the larger man’s knife, buried by a small stack of dirt and leaves. When no one was looking, Victor scrounged it up and dropped it into his pocket.
The trio heard the black truck’s engine as it came closer. They started running, not knowing what the men in the mysterious truck would do to them if they were discovered. They ran together for a few blocks, until Pete mysteriously split off without any warning or explanation.
“Bastard,” sneered Victor.
*************************************************************************** *****
The white truck came to a stop. The blond man pushed open the door and dragged Jake out onto the street.
“This your house?” he asked.
“…yes,” replied Jake.
“Good. Go in there and pack your things, then come back out here. If you try to run…you won’t make it,” the man instructed.
“What about my parents?” Jake asked.
“Don’t worry about them,” the man sneered, pushing Jake forward.
Ten minutes later, they were speeding down the road again, bags and suitcases strapped to the roof of the truck. The blond man was silent, and Emma, Jake noticed, was gone.
*************************************************************************** *****
Pete was sprinting down the sidewalk when he saw Terri turning the corner in his car. He leapt into the middle of the road to stop her, and she came to a screeching stop in front of him. He climbed into the passenger seat and tossed his duffel bag in the backseat.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, confused.
“Just drive. To your house. Just go.”
*************************************************************************** *****
Elexis and Victor made it to Alexis’s house without incident. They looked back, and they could see no scene of the black truck or Pete.
“You going to be alright?” Elexis asked, looking over at Victor.
“Yeah. I think I can make it home alright,” he replied, still shaking.
“Alright. If you see Jake…”
“I’ll tell you.”
“Alright.”
*************************************************************************** *****
The white truck made its way out of the city and farther down the road. Soon, it turned and sped off on a dirt road, leaving the beaten path far behind. Jake could see where they were going; they were approaching Jesse’s Range, a small range of mountains (or, rather, tall hills) a few miles from the city.
“Where are we going? Wait…we’re going to hit that…” Jake began, just as they nearly hit the side of a hill. Suddenly, the wall slid apart, revealing a passageway. “It’s…it’s metal…man-made…” he muttered in awe.
The truck parked inside of a large lot, where everyday cars as well as white and black trucks sat. The blond man led Jake by the arm into a large, main room. Plastered against the wall, once again, was the word “SEIGI.”
“Where are you taking me?” asked Jake, struggling.
“To your quarters,” replied the blond man.
“My…quarters?” Jake asked, confused.
“Yes. You will be staying here for now on. You will share quarters with Ms. Burke and Ms. Veronica, your caretaker,” explained the blond man. “Each day, Monday through Friday, you will wake up and be driven to the city, where you will walk to school with Ms. Burke. Afterwards, you will return to the edge of the city and you will be driven back here, to the Seigi Tech Headquarters. Each day, you will be trained in the use of the Divine Stones, and you will be deployed whenever there is an outbreak of the Virus.”
“What? The virus? What’s that?” Jake asked, trying to absorb all of the information.
“…for the last decade, the Seigi Tech Corporation has been working on a chemical that could increase human strength. It was to be used in the army; to create an army of super-soldiers, able to overthrow any other army on this planet. But there were problems…and the chemical got out somehow. It’s become a virus, infecting people. Not only does it make them faster and stronger then human beings, it infects their brain waves. It renders them nothing more then homicidal maniacs,” the blond man explained.
“…and, what are the Divine Stones?” Jake asked, still confused.
“They were a side product of the chemicals. They are small stones that are able to change your molecular structure, to warp and change your body,” the man explained.
“So, the knife…”
“Yes, exactly. Ah, here we are,” the blond man replied as they reached a silver door at the end of a hallway. He swiped a keycard through a nearby control panel, and the door slid away.
Inside the room was a small kitchen, which branched off into other rooms. Sitting at the dining table was a woman somewhere in her late twenties, with long, blond hair and soft, hazel eyes. She wore a button-down shirt and a long, black skirt.
“Hello, Chelsea. This is Jake, our newest User. Jake, this is Ms. Veronica. She’ll be your caretaker, as I told you before,” the man explained. “I’ll leave you two alone, now,” and with that, he left the room. The door slid closed behind him.
“Alright, Jake,” she began, reaching into a box perched low on a shelf behind her. “These are your uniforms. They’re just like the ones you have on now, and there’s one for every day of the week. These are your keycards. The blue one opens the door to these chambers, where you’ll be staying with me and Emma, who I’ve heard that you’ve met already. The red one opens the door to the training areas. The green unlocks what I call the “Stone Locker.” Inside, you’ll find all of the Divine Stones that you’ve completed the training for; the Superiors-the men in the black suits-will update your card each time you’ve mastered a Stone. So, that’s about it, I guess. Take your bags in and set up-your room’s over there,” she explained professionally.
Still reeling from confusion, Jake moved his bags into his new bedroom. He filled the closet with his clothes, as well as his new uniforms. When he was done, he pulled off the black gloves and the white shirt, as well as the white pants and his slacks. He made his way to the bathroom…and came face-to-face with Emma, with only a towel wrapped around her. He was about to apologize, but she just pushed past him and went into her own room. Jake looked around and sighed. He didn’t know what he was going to do. He only knew that this was the beginning of something. Something big.
Seigi Tech
Chapter 1:
Seigi 2: Jacob Morrison
“It’s happening again!”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s getting worse.”
“What the hell? Who is that?”
“I think it’s…”
“It can’t be!”
“…Jake?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jacob Morrison was sick and tired of the way his day was going, and it was only half over.
He was sitting near the window in English class, staring out at the bleak, winter landscape. Snow pelted the ground like the gunfire of a war, but it was slowly to a slow pace as the clock ticked on. He averted his gaze from the window and glanced over to the student next to him, brushing his own black bangs from his eyes to see.
Next to him was Victor Diamond, one of his closet friends since childhood, his brown hair completely still despite the wind. Completely contrasted from Jake, Victor was shorter, skinnier, and much more elite in his studies. From a first glance, a stranger would never expect these two to be close friends, but it was true.
Behind Victor sat Elexis Maywell, another of Jake’s close friends since elementary school. Just after she had moved to the town of Stonewell in the second grade, Jake (and Victor, to an extent) had befriended the brown-haired young girl with the piercing blue eyes shielded by glossed glasses. Now, years upon years later, she sat in her desk, the glasses gone in favor of slim contacts, the brown hair dyed a jet black shade.
The ring of the school bell shattered through their instructor’s dull lecture as the classroom emptied and students flooded into the halls.
“Where are you guys going?” asked Victor as his friends turned a corner.
“We’re going out back for a smoke. Where are you going?” replied Jake, glancing back.
“We have Trig this period, you guys. Do you really think we should skip it?” Victor asked.
“C’mon, Vic, what could it hurt?” replied Elexis as they kept walking.
Victor sighed and broke into a light jog to keep up with his friends.
A few minutes later, the trio stood outside the school. Elexis and Jake leaned back against the wall, and Victor stood with his chest flat against the fence that encircled the building.
“Damn, Vic, you’re too tense,” remarked Jake, taking a drag on his cigarette.
“Shuddup, Jake,” Victor muttered.
“Well, at least this is better then taking the Trig exam…” muttered Elexis, slowly sitting to the ground, ruffling the skirt of her school uniform as she did so.
“I guess you’re right…” replied Victor, adjusting his collar as he checked his watch.
“So…what are you guys doing tonight?” asked Elexis.
“I dunno. Probably just sit around…” muttered Jake.
“Me, too…” added Victor.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light in the distance. It was as if a tower of luminous, golden light had erupted from deep within the city. There was a clash of metal, a scream, and then…it was gone.
“…what the hell?” Jake asked, dropping the cigarette to the ground and crushing it with his foot as he stood next to Victor in an attempt to get a better look.
“I…I don’t know. But…I think we need to get back inside before the bell rings…” replied Victor, shaking from fear.
“Vic’s right. C’mon,” Elexis agreed, standing up. Jake stayed in place. She sighed and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him towards the front of the school. His eyes stayed locked in place, staring out into the skyline.
*************************************************************************** *****
Meanwhile, across the city, a large, black truck sat in the middle of the street. Men in solid black outfits worked together to lift the limp form of a man into the truck’s back, shutting the doors when he was inside.
One of them, a tall man with short-cut brown hair, turned away from the truck. There, standing in the middle of the road, was a teenage girl. She reached up, putting her flowing, ginger-colored hair into a ponytail as she wiped the blood from her white, long-sleeved top. A blue stripe ran down the right arm, ending in a turquoise-gloved hand. The tall man walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Emma,” he began, “are you alright?”
“…yes,” she nodded in agreement.
“Alright, then. Now, we have some more tests to run on you…” the blond man began as a second truck, this one as startlingly white as the girl’s suit, pulled into the street. The taller man and the young woman climbed into the back, and both trucks sped away.
“Emma, lay down on this table,” the man instructed, and she did as he told her. Instantly, a group of white-coated men emerged from the front of the truck and began to attach all types of wires and tubes to her body. The first man walked over to her again and pulled a syringe from within his pocket. “I’m going to give you this shot, Emma, and it’s going to null the pain, alright?” he whispered, reassuring her.
Emma nodded, but she knew he wasn’t telling her the truth. It wouldn’t null the pain. It never did.
*************************************************************************** *****
“C’mon, Pete!”
Peter Kaymore stuffed his jersey in his duffel bag and checked himself in the locker room mirror. His green eyes stared back at him as he smoothed out his dark hair. When he was satisfied, he ran out the door, through the school gymnasium, and onto the street where his girlfriend, Terri Porter, waited at his car.
“Hi, baby,” she said, reaching in for a kiss from her boyfriend. “How was practice?” she asked after he had delivered.
“Fine, just like always,” he replied, speeding over to the driver’s side and starting the car.
“So, where are we going tonight?” Terri asked, getting into the car and fixing her blond hair as they drove away from the school.
“I don’t know…but I’m sure we can find something to do,” Pete replied, leaning in for a second kiss. Terri was all too happy to oblige as they made their way down the road.
*************************************************************************** *****
The next day started out no better then the last. At seven forty-five in the morning, Jake, Victor, Elexis, and Pete all sat in homeroom, doing all they could to struggle through the morning. They were surprised, however, when their instructor, Mr. Aberson, waltzed into the classroom over five minutes after the bell had rung, a teenage girl in tow, already decked in the school uniform.
“Class, this is…what was it?” he announced, sitting down at his desk.
“Emma…Emma Burke,” she whispered.
“Yeah…Emma Burke. Ms. Burke, take a seat over there…behind Ms. Maywell…” the instructor added.
Emma did as she was told.
*************************************************************************** *****
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know. She must be new.”
“I heard that her name’s Emma. Emma Burke, I think.”
“Yeah, I think that’s it.”
“Why is she so…secluded?”
“I dunno.”
“Maybe she’s a dyke.”
“Shut up, Michelle.”
“I was just kidding…”
“Okay, girls, that’s it for today. Hit the showers,” was the call of the P.E. teacher that cut through the chatter of so many students.
The Girls Physical Education class made their way down the stairs and into the locker room. Elexis pulled off her clothes, scrounged up a towel, and made her way into the shower. There, she found Emma. She couldn’t help but stare; Emma’s body was covered in bruises and small, needle-like points.
Emma turned and shot her a sharp glare.
“Oh…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to stare. I’m not…that is, I…” Elexis stammered.
“It’s alright,” Emma replied, turning off the water and wrapping a towel around her person.
Elexis could do nothing but soak herself in the spray of the shower and let herself relax as the water beat down upon her.
*************************************************************************** *****
At sixteen, Jake had a driver’s license. However, what he didn’t have was a car, and that is how he ended up walking home from school alongside Emma Burke.
He didn’t try to make conversation; the walk was silent, and Emma seemed content with it. It wasn’t until the other man arrived that they even acknowledged himself.
The other man was shirtless, and what first seemed to be sweat was actually blood trickling down his chest. He was carrying a knife; it wasn’t spectacular, but it was bathed in blood. He came closer and closer, holding the knife perfectly still in the rushing winds.
The white truck pulled up beside them, but it was too late; the man was upon Jake, and he smacked him upside the head with the blunt end of the knife. As his eyes closed, Jake could see the white-coated men coming closer and closer. He could feel the knife penetrating his arm, and he could feel the blood gushing from the wound. The last thing he remembered was being carried into the truck just as he blacked out…
*************************************************************************** *****
“Wake up.”
Jake struggled as his eyes fluttered open like the wings of a butterfly. He was one his back, and his shirt was gone; he could feel the cold metal of a table on his back. He could feel the places on his arms and legs where needles and tubes had been instilled.
“Put this on,” the same voice muttered. He sat up and looked around, surveying the scene. A blond man in a black suit was saying something, but the main sight was Emma. She was face-up on a second silver table. She was clothed in white pants and a black sports bra, and she was caked with splotches of blood.
“What the hell…” he muttered, but the black-suited man forced a white set of clothing at him.
“Put these on,” the man repeated, and Jake stared at him in surprise. He did as he was told; he pulled the white pants over his uniform slacks and pulling on the white, long-sleeved shirt with the black stripe down the right arm. Third, he outfitted himself with a small headset containing an earpiece, a small microphone, and a headphone-like piece over his head. He finished by pulling the two black, fingerless gloves over his hands.
“Good,” the man muttered, and handed Jake a small, diamond-shaped stone, which he instructed Jake to place inside of the hole in the top of the right glove. “Now, go.”
He pushed Jake out of the truck’s back, and he stumbled onto the road as the truck closed. He looked around; to his right was the truck, pure white with the word “SEIGI” in bold, black letters across the side. A few feet in front of him was the shirtless man with the knife.
“Can you hear me, Jake?” came the voice from his headset.
“Yes…yes, I can hear you,” Jake replied.
“Alright. Now, Jake, hold out your right hand and prepare yourself,” the voice instructed.
“What? Prepare for what?” asked Jake, but he held his hand out anyway. He didn’t hear an explanation. The diamond stone began to glimmer, and the entire glove followed suit. “What’s happening to me?” he screamed, his hand completely submerged by the light. When it faded, however, it was not a hand any longer.
Jake stared in bewilderment. His hand had seemingly vanished, replaced with a small, silver knife blade that protruded from his wrist, where the very bottom of the glove was still present.
“What the hell did you do to me?” Jake asked, dimly aware that the man with the knife was lumbering towards him.
“Listen to me, Jake. Just follow my instructions,” came the man from the headset.
“But what did you…”
“Jake! Raise your hand!”
He did, as a reflex, and watched as his own knife blocked the knife of the larger, dangerous man.
“Thrust the blade into his stomach when he rears back!”
The man reared back to strike again, but Jake stood still.
“Jake! To the left!”
He dove to the left, just barely avoiding what could have been a fatal wound. Just as he made it to his feet, however, he was grabbed by the man’s larger hands. He couldn’t move his arm; the grip was too tight. He was at this man’s mercy…
*************************************************************************** *****
“What are you doing here, Diamond?”
Victor looked back to see Pete Kaymore walking out of the school, carrying his duffel bag. Victor had been leaning against the school’s fence, Elexis doing the same.
“What do you want, Pete?” Victor asked as the basketball star stood next to him and all three leaned over the fence.
“Nothing. I’m just waiting for Terri to get here with my car. Unlike you, I have a girlfriend,” replied Pete.
“Shut up,” Victor muttered.
*************************************************************************** *****
Jake crashed to the ground, and rolled over to the curb before jumping to his feet. He could see his enemy lumbering towards him. He couldn’t fight it. He didn’t want to fight it. So he ran.
The man from the truck was barking orders into his ear, but Jake ignored it. He kept running, jumping bushes and benches that clouded his way. He was just outside the school when it happened: he tripped over rock, crashing to the ground. When he looked up, he saw that the man with the knife was standing above him, ready to strike. He brought the knife down…
“Jake, now!”
Jake raised the knife that jutted from his wrist, and the knifes struck each other in the expanse of air between them. Jake could feel his wrist burning…steam was coming from the knife…the white truck was pulling up, getting closer and closer…
There was a rush of energy, and the golden light sprung from the knives. The man was thrown back, his knife in pieces; Jake was plastered against the ground, burned from the heat, the knife on his wrist slowly forming back into his flesh-and-bone hand, still clothed in the black glove. He started to stand up.
He had won.
*************************************************************************** *****
From the school fence, the three students looked on at the small pillar of light, only a few streets away this time.
“It’s happening again!” Elexis exclaimed.
“What is it?” Pete asked, bewildered by the sight.
“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s getting worse,” Victor replied, staring as the light died down.
“What the hell? Who is that?” Pete exclaimed, looking on at the figure standing up.
“I think it’s…” Elexis began, staring on.
“It can’t be!” Victor replied, moving his bangs from his eyes.
“…Jake?” Elexis whispered, looking into his face from afar.
*************************************************************************** *****
The blond man rushed out and grabbed Jake, pulling him into the truck and ripping the glove from his hand.
“What the hell was that? What did you do to me?” Jake asked, pushing the man up against the wall of the moving truck.
“Calm down! Calm down!” the blond man exclaimed, pushing him back .
“Where are we going?” Jake asked, releasing the man.
“It’s just outside of town. Don’t worry.”
*************************************************************************** *****
Pete, Victor, and Elexis jumped the fence. They ran to the street where Jake had been, but by the time they got there, he was gone. There was no sign that he had ever been there, with one exception: the handle of the larger man’s knife, buried by a small stack of dirt and leaves. When no one was looking, Victor scrounged it up and dropped it into his pocket.
The trio heard the black truck’s engine as it came closer. They started running, not knowing what the men in the mysterious truck would do to them if they were discovered. They ran together for a few blocks, until Pete mysteriously split off without any warning or explanation.
“Bastard,” sneered Victor.
*************************************************************************** *****
The white truck came to a stop. The blond man pushed open the door and dragged Jake out onto the street.
“This your house?” he asked.
“…yes,” replied Jake.
“Good. Go in there and pack your things, then come back out here. If you try to run…you won’t make it,” the man instructed.
“What about my parents?” Jake asked.
“Don’t worry about them,” the man sneered, pushing Jake forward.
Ten minutes later, they were speeding down the road again, bags and suitcases strapped to the roof of the truck. The blond man was silent, and Emma, Jake noticed, was gone.
*************************************************************************** *****
Pete was sprinting down the sidewalk when he saw Terri turning the corner in his car. He leapt into the middle of the road to stop her, and she came to a screeching stop in front of him. He climbed into the passenger seat and tossed his duffel bag in the backseat.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, confused.
“Just drive. To your house. Just go.”
*************************************************************************** *****
Elexis and Victor made it to Alexis’s house without incident. They looked back, and they could see no scene of the black truck or Pete.
“You going to be alright?” Elexis asked, looking over at Victor.
“Yeah. I think I can make it home alright,” he replied, still shaking.
“Alright. If you see Jake…”
“I’ll tell you.”
“Alright.”
*************************************************************************** *****
The white truck made its way out of the city and farther down the road. Soon, it turned and sped off on a dirt road, leaving the beaten path far behind. Jake could see where they were going; they were approaching Jesse’s Range, a small range of mountains (or, rather, tall hills) a few miles from the city.
“Where are we going? Wait…we’re going to hit that…” Jake began, just as they nearly hit the side of a hill. Suddenly, the wall slid apart, revealing a passageway. “It’s…it’s metal…man-made…” he muttered in awe.
The truck parked inside of a large lot, where everyday cars as well as white and black trucks sat. The blond man led Jake by the arm into a large, main room. Plastered against the wall, once again, was the word “SEIGI.”
“Where are you taking me?” asked Jake, struggling.
“To your quarters,” replied the blond man.
“My…quarters?” Jake asked, confused.
“Yes. You will be staying here for now on. You will share quarters with Ms. Burke and Ms. Veronica, your caretaker,” explained the blond man. “Each day, Monday through Friday, you will wake up and be driven to the city, where you will walk to school with Ms. Burke. Afterwards, you will return to the edge of the city and you will be driven back here, to the Seigi Tech Headquarters. Each day, you will be trained in the use of the Divine Stones, and you will be deployed whenever there is an outbreak of the Virus.”
“What? The virus? What’s that?” Jake asked, trying to absorb all of the information.
“…for the last decade, the Seigi Tech Corporation has been working on a chemical that could increase human strength. It was to be used in the army; to create an army of super-soldiers, able to overthrow any other army on this planet. But there were problems…and the chemical got out somehow. It’s become a virus, infecting people. Not only does it make them faster and stronger then human beings, it infects their brain waves. It renders them nothing more then homicidal maniacs,” the blond man explained.
“…and, what are the Divine Stones?” Jake asked, still confused.
“They were a side product of the chemicals. They are small stones that are able to change your molecular structure, to warp and change your body,” the man explained.
“So, the knife…”
“Yes, exactly. Ah, here we are,” the blond man replied as they reached a silver door at the end of a hallway. He swiped a keycard through a nearby control panel, and the door slid away.
Inside the room was a small kitchen, which branched off into other rooms. Sitting at the dining table was a woman somewhere in her late twenties, with long, blond hair and soft, hazel eyes. She wore a button-down shirt and a long, black skirt.
“Hello, Chelsea. This is Jake, our newest User. Jake, this is Ms. Veronica. She’ll be your caretaker, as I told you before,” the man explained. “I’ll leave you two alone, now,” and with that, he left the room. The door slid closed behind him.
“Alright, Jake,” she began, reaching into a box perched low on a shelf behind her. “These are your uniforms. They’re just like the ones you have on now, and there’s one for every day of the week. These are your keycards. The blue one opens the door to these chambers, where you’ll be staying with me and Emma, who I’ve heard that you’ve met already. The red one opens the door to the training areas. The green unlocks what I call the “Stone Locker.” Inside, you’ll find all of the Divine Stones that you’ve completed the training for; the Superiors-the men in the black suits-will update your card each time you’ve mastered a Stone. So, that’s about it, I guess. Take your bags in and set up-your room’s over there,” she explained professionally.
Still reeling from confusion, Jake moved his bags into his new bedroom. He filled the closet with his clothes, as well as his new uniforms. When he was done, he pulled off the black gloves and the white shirt, as well as the white pants and his slacks. He made his way to the bathroom…and came face-to-face with Emma, with only a towel wrapped around her. He was about to apologize, but she just pushed past him and went into her own room. Jake looked around and sighed. He didn’t know what he was going to do. He only knew that this was the beginning of something. Something big.