An electronic voice was being broadcasted to a room of unarmed men. The sound the voice made sounded like a hyperactive boy.

“Hoo-hoo! So, you’ve let Subject 666 leave? Well, what’s done is done.

Without the subject in custody that’s a bad end.

A Genome is the next step in evolution.

A superior race and all that jazz.

Think super soldier, but more super!

Their goal is to fight off the demons that linger.

That’s why they have heightened abilities!

Some are super strong and some are super fast!

They have a lot of control over their genetic makeup…

But… most are worthless.

We don’t like things that have no worth.

Most die when using their gifts.

Subject 666: Timothy Kain. Codename: Terios was a miracle.

He can use his gifts and survive.

He has above-average strength and durability. He’s quick on his feet and can fly.

His regeneration is on another level! He was reported to regrow limbs and serious injuries.

He has been suggested to have some kind of psionic energy which makes him a threat level S.

If you… a researcher sees him, please ignore, or run away. Do not PROVOKE!

To our brave soldiers… please try to reason with him and bring him home ALIVE.

He is too valuable to be killed.

His genetic compound has given fruit to many gifts.”

—--------------------------------------------------

Within the West Wing of the Vin-Sync research facility, a special meeting was being held to further prepare everyone involved on what to do. This was a serious matter as the all-famous, Michael Vincent himself was attending.

Now Michael was having a very private meeting with him in the mass hall while enjoying a cup of coffee. It was just the two of them but the tension in the room was heavy. The man knew he had screwed up, but didn’t know what the punishment was.

“With all due respect, sir… I know I messed up and I just want to take responsibility.”

“Now I remember why I hired you. You’re a smart man.” Michael chuckled before taking a sip from his coffee. “In this world, we need someone to blame. If nobody’s to blame then who can we vent and take our frustrations on?”

“...”

“Do you know how many people died?”

“No…”

“Do you care…?”

“Of course!”

“Don’t lie. You care more about yourself, or else you would have been among the death toll.” He chuckled lightly. “Thirty-nine. Their families want answers, the media wants answers. I’m sure the police will be on us.”

“...” The man lowered his head, not wanting to make eye contact.

“I can skew the media… we have diplomatic immunity at this point. Once everyone sees the results, anyway. So… you’re going down for this.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“W-what…!?”

“The only other person to blame would be my precious Genome. He has too much value to die. He’s the reason we could come to a breakthrough and I want him to see that. So, that only leaves one person…”

“If I’m going down then I’ll leak every inhumane act I’ve ever witnessed… I’ll blame this all on you and then your name, your company, and your son will be worth nothing.” The man said, staring daggers at his boss.”

“You could do that… but then I’d just mark you off as a disgruntled employee… we’d throw in some stories of you being on illegal drugs, and a dark past of violence. No one will believe you.”

“...”

“You see I had a plan for you. You would take the blame… snapping, killing your co-workers savagely, and admitting to it. You’d bear the hate of everything and during your trial, you’d be found dead.”

“What…? I don’t…”

“You’re our scapegoat. You take the blame… ‘die’ to the public and then you’ll take on a new life outside of the country. I’ll fund it all, and give you a new face and a new background. You’ll be free to live whatever life you wish. Sounds fair…?”

“But, my family… What will my wife and child think of me!?”

"I don't give a fuck about your wife and your child! They are replaceable. Plus with how things are going their lifespan will be cut short unless we can get these Genomes into high gear. I'm offering you a hell of a deal to show appreciation for your years of service. Don't make me go with plan B."

"Plan B...?"

"Trust me that's a plan you wouldn't like to hear, especially if you value breathing."

"Fine, fine! You win."

“It’s not like you had a choice either way, but your cooperation does make this easier. Now if you’ll excuse me…” Michael takes a stand, taking a sip from his coffee before smiling. “I have a Genome to catch.”

His scapegoat looked very confused and lost, but Michael was more determined than ever to accomplish this heavy task. After all, there was no way he could leave this subject alone in the world.

“You’ll come back to me… my precious Genome. You’ll come back to me.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two months later.

What is a best friend like? Are they someone who will always be there with you? ‘Till the end of time? Someone to who you can confide your deepest thoughts without the fear of being judged? I can’t remember if I ever had someone like that in my life. Wait… I think…

After leaving that hellish place I took on a fake persona and attended a nearby community college. It wasn’t for the education, I had already had an earful of that from the lab.

My real purpose for attending was to interact with normal people. From the time of my birth, I had a feeling, that I wasn’t truly normal. I didn’t have any parents, I thought I did, but at best they were just parental figures.

Normal people when they're born are given instantly to their mother. But, I was alone. I’m always alone.

For the most part, I was invisible when around others. No one really saw me and I didn’t know how to interact with them. But, there was one person who didn’t seem to mind and because of his kind gesture, I started to like him.

We weren’t really friends at first, but we had a lot in common. He liked a lot of the same music that I did and we became close through the various kinds of content that we liked to enjoy.

The time we spent together wasn’t boring and for the most part, it wasn’t fake. For the others, I had to wear a mask. I had to pretend to be someone else in order to not be a further outcast than I already was.

That’s why for the most part I listened to him talk and contemplated whether I should open myself to him. Little by little maybe I could open up a bit, but not too much. He won’t entirely understand my origins or my purpose for being here.

“... Timothy! Timothy!? Did you hear me? I asked you for the square root of pi.”

Snapping back to reality was always painful. Sometimes I can be so lost in my head that I forget who and what I am and what my entire existence represents; darkness.

“Sorry… what was the question again?” He said in a soft voice.

“You have to pay attention, folk, else you’re gonna fail.” One of the students mentioned while looking over at Kain, shaking his head.

The other kids liked to clown on Kain from time to time, but this was his good friend who always had his back. There was always room for improvement, but their relationship was solid and it was nice to know that someone was looking out for him.

The answer to the question didn’t really matter… as mentioned before the classes and grades didn’t matter to him. He was only in it for the experience and the relationships he could make. Thankfully as if being saved by the bell it rang and the class was forced to end without an answer.

The teacher scoffed and dismissed them all before giving Kain a look as if she’d be expecting an answer in the morning.

“Hey wait up. You tryna hang today?” Kain asked as he quickly packed his bag.

“I can spare a few hours, but I gotta get back. My family trippin’ for real, cuh.”

“That’s all I ask really. We can play a few games then.”

Why did time always have to go by so fast when you were actually enjoying yourself? Yet, when it came to the things that were boring an hour could feel like ten.

Things went as they normally do whenever we went to the arcade. We played a few games and I watched him try to hit on girls and fail big time. He wasn’t as cool as he made himself to be. After all he hung around me.

These moments were fun, but there was something that would be special about this hangout session. Because it would be the last time we ever hung out like this.

After that day I realized that he was acting different. Distant and strange. It was odd behavior and at first I left it alone, but after three days I knew something was wrong.

When class ended that day I decided to just be open and ask him what was up. Repeating my question over and over was enough for me to learn that his brother was back in town. I didn’t know about the brother, but I could tell he was bad news.

This guy had a bright future ahead of him. He was going to school to better himself and prove to the world that he could be more.

But, all of this stopped when his brother came back into his life. Being a friend I decided it was time I see what was going on.

It wasn’t hard to find his location.