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Chapter 4 - Chapter 3

Chase always imagined he'd die differently.

Like during a gunfight overseas after he joined the military. Or while heroically saving an entire platoon of soldiers in some dramatic sacrifice.

But he never imagined being executed by a teleporting ninja with demon eyes. But there he was, with twigs and leaves digging into his knees, waiting for death as the red-eyed man prepared to decapitate him and his friends.

Were they even his friends? He barely knew any of them—including Theo. Though, he figured being killed together was enough to upgrade their relationship from acquaintances.

As the others around him panicked, scared out of their minds for what was coming, Chase simply stared at the grass beneath him. His mind went blank. He wished he'd stayed home. He wished he'd called his mom back earlier in the day after missing her call.

He wished this wasn't happening.

But it was. And there was no getting out of it now.

The red-eyed man turned to the gunman beside him. "Get rid of them. Now."

A chorus of guns cocking echoed over the clearing. Wind whistled through the trees as everyone went silent. Chase couldn't help but stare at the green laser burning a hole in his chest. Soon, there'd be a real hole there. Then he'd be dead.

His jaw clenched, hands curling into fists at his side.

He couldn't go out like this. If he was going to die, he wanted to die fighting. He glared at the red-eyed man; his ears buzzed with anticipation. Adrenaline invaded his bloodstream as he felt his heart pumping wildly behind his ribcage. He could get a good punch in—maybe two—if he acted quickly.

Anything after that…

He swallowed hard.

Don't think. Just do.

Just as he was about to spring up from his knees to tackle the man, the walkie-talkie strapped to his shoulder crackled to life. The man froze. Chase did too. Grumbling curses, he ripped the communicator off his arm and held it to his mouth.

"I already told you I'm handling it—"

"Bring them to me," a gravelly voice crackled through the speaker.

Chase's blood ran cold. He exchanged wary glances with those kneeling on either side of him. They were all just as confused as he was. It seems as if their execution was being postponed for the time being.

But was that a good thing?

Or was something worse waiting for them?

"You said it yourself. No witnesses—"

"Bring. Them. To. Me," the voice repeated. Each word was like a .50 caliber sniper round. Precise. Harsh. Final.

Anger flashed in the man's red eyes. He didn't argue. He grumbled something into the walkie-talkie before strapping it back to his arm. After whispering something into the ear of the gunman to his right, he peered at the terrified teenagers before him. "Looks like it's your lucky day."

More black and red particles expanded from his suit. They swirled around him until his entire body was engulfed in a cloud of crackling energy. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

###

The NEMESIS soldiers forced Chase and the others down a sketchy gravel and dirt path that was carved into the side of the cliff bordering the north side of the quarry. The closer they got to the ground, the more of the operation Chase could see. The drills were even bigger than he thought; more containers were being filled with the strange substance they were extracting from the rock.

"What are you guys even doing down here?" It was Emily who mustered the bravery to ask what everyone else was thinking.

"Shut up," one of the soldiers barked. They prodded the girl forward with the tip of their rifle. She almost tripped.

"Hey, watch it," Chase warned.

"Say one more thing and I'll blow your head off your shoulders," the soldier snapped.

He sneered but kept his mouth shut. Had their hands not been recently bound together with cable ties, he'd have considered punching the man square in the jaw. He might not have known Emily, or even liked her all too much, but he wasn't going to stand by and watch someone push any of them around.

But none of them were in the best position to do anything about it. He wasn't exactly bulletproof.

Eventually, they reached the base level of the old quarry. NEMESIS soldiers herded them through the excavation ground, where they passed the hulking drills pulverizing the rocks. Chase cringed at the sound and tried his best not to breathe in the dust floating in the air.

Who knew what fumes were being released around them? He didn't even know what these people were mining for. The town must've had a good reason to abandon the quarry. Toxic materials, unstable grounds, etcetera. Whatever was hidden within the rock wasn't meant to be found.

The soldiers led Chase and his companions to another section of the quarry. Makeshift workstations had been set up in a wide U-shape. Workers protected by hazmat suits and gas masks manned the area, handling containers of the red substance. Others monitored the various screens displaying trilling information feeds.

No one had spoken since they entered the quarry. Chase didn't even know what to say or what questions to ask. They wouldn't have been answered anyway. All he could do was walk until they arrived at their destination.

Behind him, Stella did her best to suppress her cries, but now and then a quiet sob left her lips. He felt guilty, angry, and overwhelmingly depressed all at once. If he had never shown up at the party, would she have ended up here? Would any of them? His brain continued to self-destruct, so much so that he hadn't realized everyone else had stopped walking.

He turned to see the soldiers forming a perimeter around them. He observed the others, seeing the mixture of horror and numbness on their faces. Theo's breathing in particular had started to get louder—heavier. His skin flushed as he stumbled around.

Chase's eyes widened. He faced one of the soldiers. "My friend. He…he needs his inhaler. It's in his pocket—"

"Stand over there," they interrupted.

"You're not listening to me. He needs his inhaler, or he'll die—"

"And I told you to stand over there." The command was followed by a push.

Scowling, he moved over to Theo. His eyes bulged, and his breathing was getting worse. He'd never seen him have an incident like this before—not even when Bryson Baker stole his inhaler weeks ago.

"Just…try and calm down," Stella reassured the wheezing boy. Her voice was soft and nurturing. "Breathe slowly. We'll be okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Theo nodded frantically. He took a couple of slow, ragged breaths. The color gradually returned to his face. Her advice might've saved his life—for now. He just wished what she said was the truth.

Everything wasn't going to be okay.

The man with the red eyes emerged from a black trailer serving as the operation's command center. Trailing behind him was an older man in a white suit with a red tie. His grey hair was slicked back atop his head. His eyes were a piercing blue. Shadows crossed his face as he approached the six captives. Tiny scars and blotches ruining his alabaster skin revealed themselves once he stepped into the light.

"Jeez, what happened to your face?" Oscar exclaimed.

Smiling, the man limped forward with the help of a black cane. The red-eyed soldier folded his arms over his Kevlar chest plate.

"Who are you?" Chase demanded an answer.

The older man lifted his hands innocently. "A valid question." He pressed his palm to his heart. "I'm Klaus." He gestured at the man beside him. "And this is my second-in-command and protégé, Apex."

Apex said nothing. He kept his stare straight ahead. Yet, Chase could see a vein in his temple pulsing. He squinted at the man.

"What do you want with us?"

"It's not what I want," Klaus began, "it's what nature wants." He glanced at the others. "Are you familiar with the concept of evolution? Every species on this planet, from the fish in the sea to the flowers in a garden, has gone through such a process. Millions of years of changing and adapting and developing into their ideal form." He winced, momentarily leaning all his weight on his cane. Apex flinched to help him, but the older man waved him off. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"What does evolution have to do with you kidnapping us?" Oscar inquired.

Emily scanned the area around them as realization filled her face. "That's why you robbed Nexxus Industries. They specialize in bioengineering technologies." She gestured at the stacks of containers surrounding them. "What exactly is that stuff?"

Klaus nodded slowly. "I understand there's much to explain. And, in due time, you will learn the truth about our nature—and for what this world has in store for us." He sighed. "I apologize for the…hostility, but there are those out there who would wish us harm. But they don't understand what we're trying to do. We want to help the world."

From what Chase remembered from the article Emily showed them, murder and kidnappings weren't exactly the best ways to help people.

"You still haven't answered our question," Stella said. "What do you want with us?"

Klaus placed both of his hands, which were riddled with scar tissue, atop his cane. "Life is a network of vibrations—currents that most cannot feel. Every living thing hums with its own tone…its own bio-signature. And some…some resonate differently. Stronger. Sharper. Better. And I hear them. I feel it all."

Chase watched the man through narrowed eyes. "Get to the point."

His voice dropped, his expression darkening. "I believe the world brought you to me on purpose. The odds of six Primes, all in the same spot… It's almost unfathomable. Our existence is rare—almost as if we were a species near extinction. Your Prime gene sings. A song of power, of potential."

"Prime gene?" Andre asked. Those were the only words he'd said all night.

Klaus placed a hand on Apex's shoulder. "You've seen what he can do, yes? It's not magic. It's evolution. It's humanity's next step." The smile returned to his thin lips. "You all…you're like us. You're different. You're Primes. And within you are abilities we cannot even begin to understand. I sensed your bio-signatures up there, and I couldn't believe it. I…I had to meet you."

"Okay, what the hell is a Prime, old timer?" Oscar asked.

Chase stole a glance at the data on the screens behind Klaus. There were chemical readings, a world map with red dots across the globe, and 3D models of DNA strands.

What the—

"Primes are the future. We are the future," Kane explained. "We possess special abilities that make us gods amongst men." He pulled a necklace from within his shirt. Attached to the end was a vial of the same red substance being loaded into the vehicles throughout the quarry. "And this—Primonium—is the key to it all. After we complete our mission, everyone will see. The strong will survive and reclaim this planet. Natural selection on a global scale."

Chase paled.

"Alright, where's the camera crew? We're being punked, right?" Oscar whipped his head around, laughing incredulously. "I mean, there's no way you guys believe any of this, right?"

"I feel like I'm hallucinating," Stella mumbled.

"You and me both," Emily added.

An evolved species of human beings with superpowers? It couldn't be the truth. Nothing about it made sense. But how else could someone explain Apex's ability to jump from one place to the next in the blink of an eye? What else explained why NEMESIS was digging through an abandoned quarry?

It couldn't be the truth.

But Chase knew it was.

"What do you plan on doing with us?" he asked.

Kane dipped his head and stroked his goatee. "I will introduce you to your true selves. Under my guidance, you will achieve your full potential, and together we will usher the world into a new era. Soon, we'll have the numbers and strength to uproot the corrupt governments of the world. The inferior beings of this planet will be stripped of their power. They don't deserve to lead us."

"And you do?"

"If not me, then who else?" Kane limped around the six of them, carefully observing. "I want you all to join me. With your help, we can change this world for the better."

Chase couldn't believe his ears. Under no circumstances would he ever align himself with the likes of Klaus and NEMESIS. If his hands weren't bound, he would've punched the old man in the face. So, he decided to do the next best thing.

He spat at the man's feet. "We're not helping you do anything."

Klaus's smile faltered. "Then, you leave me no choice." He snapped his fingers.

A slammed their rifle into the back of Chase's head. He hit the ground, landing on his hands and knees. Pain flared in his skull as his vision blurred. A metallic taste filled his mouth as blood trickled from his nose and past his lips.

A scream rang beside him, but the ringing in his ears obscured the sound. He tried to stand, but his legs betrayed him. He watched helplessly as Klaus approached.

The old man crouched down and used the golden tip of his cane to lift Chase's chin. "I do hope you change your mind. Being my ally would be in your best interest." He leaned close to his ear. "You don't want to know what I do to my enemies."

Chase attempted to curse him out, but the words came out in a jumbled mess. He fell to his side as the pain in his head swelled. A blanket of darkness enveloped him. Through the veil, he could see the soldiers snatching up the others as they tried to rush toward him. He tried to blink away the pain, but it was no use.

A soldier's walkie-talkie crackled to life behind him.

All he heard before he succumbed to the darkness was gunfire, shouts, and a single sentence:

"Atlas is here!"

###

Sucking in cold air, Chase shot up from the flat surface he'd been lying on. He tried blinking the darkness out of his eyes, but everything around him was pitch black.

He was moving. Or whatever they'd put him in was.

Moonlight poured through two tiny rectangular windows behind him. His hands were still bound, forcing him to scoot across the metal bench beneath him. He squinted through the glass to see the environment blurring.

His heartbeat quickened.

A car.

No, a van. One of the ones he'd seen in the quarry. He pushed himself away from the window, searching for any way out of the vehicle. The sound of thick tires crunching gravel and the revving engine did little for his nerves. Faint remnants of pain ached in the back of his head, and blood had trickled in twin streaks under his nostrils.

"Where are my—"

"Chase?!" Stella's voice. In front of him. He felt around with his foot until it hit her shoe. Relief flooded through him. "Oh, thank God you're awake!"

"We thought you died," Theo added. His voice came from the left. The inside of the vehicle was bigger than he thought. Strapped to the floor were containers of Primonium. The little bit of light that made it inside illuminated the substance, casting a scarlet glow within the vehicle.

Chase rested his head on the wall behind him. "What happened?"

"Someone attacked NEMESIS," Theo revealed. "Someone called Atlas, I think? I don't know, they didn't have us stick around to find out. They forced us inside those trucks with the red stuff and sent us away."

No, no, no.

"Where are the others?" He swallowed the lump of dread forming in his throat. "Are…are they okay?"

"They're in the truck behind us," Stella answered. "They're okay. We're all okay."

But they weren't. Not really.

"What if they probe us?" Theo whispered after a while.

"Theo, please… I'm trying not to think about it."

A fist pounded on the partition separating the truck's cabin from the two seats up front. "Quiet back there!" the driver barked.

Silence followed. Chase closed his eyes and let the vibrations ripple through his body. It was the only thing capable of soothing him. In just a few hours, his entire life just been put through the meat grinder. He didn't know which way was up or down or if any of it even mattered anymore.

He wanted what Klaus said to be fake.

He wanted it all to be a lie.

But it wasn't. And he didn't know what to do now.

None of them had a clue where NEMESIS was taking them. The likelihood of never seeing his parents again was high. They'd never know what happened to him. The image of the missed call from his mom haunted him. He should've called her back. He should've told her he loved her. He should've—

Blinding light poured through the tiny windows built into the van's rear doors. Tires screeched. Chase pressed his face to the cold glass.

"What's going on?" Stella asked. She and Theo moved to the other side of the van to get a better look.

A white armored truck barreled down the dark road. Chase could barely see the blue A printed onto the hood. His eyes widened.

Atlas…

Another white truck appeared out of the darkness. Then it collided into the NEMESIS van trailing the one Chase, Theo, and Stella rode in. Both vehicles flew off the side of the road.

"No!"

The remaining truck sped up. Its engine roared through the night.

"Step on it!" the NEMESIS soldier in the passenger seat of their van yelled.

"What do you think I'm doing?!" the driver shot back.

It wasn't enough.

Screams rattled Chase's ears. A scary feeling of weightlessness encased him as the van flipped. The contents of his stomach rose. Before he knew it, his body crashed into the ceiling. Theo and Stella flew around him, their yells barely audible over the carnage. The glass containers around him shattered. The thick, liquid-like substance hit his skin. It got everywhere; his mouth, his eyes, his ears. All he saw was red as the van continued to tumble. Burning rubber and the deafening sound of crunching metal assaulted his five senses.

After an eternity, the van stopped rolling.

Chase laid motionless on the ceiling of the van—which was now the floor—feeling as if he was outside of his own body. Jagged shards of glass laid all around him, yet, he hadn't suffered a single cut. In fact, he didn't feel much of anything.

The same couldn't be said for his friends.

Theo was completely unconscious, and one of his arms was bent at an awkward angle. Blood—or Primonium—covered his face and soaked through his shirt. Stella fared better than he did, but only barely. Low groans of pain left her mouth as she rolled in pain. Her dark hair clung to her face, sticky with the various substances coating her skin.

Chase reached out for her, his hands shaking. He couldn't move. He could barely think.

The rear door of the van had flown off during the crash. Outside, he could see one of the NEMESIS soldiers stumble into the road with their gun raised. Before they could shoot, a single bullet ripped through their helmet. He fell to the ground in a heap.

Multiple bright beams from flashlights encroached on the wrecked van. Chase shielded his face from the harsh light.

"Theo? Stella?" he croaked. No response.

The flashlights were getting closer.

"Oh man," he heard someone say. "There's kids in here!"

The others…

Emily, Oscar, and Andre crashed behind them. He could only see the outline of the wreckage off the side of the road. Someone climbed into the busted van and began pulling Theo and Stella out. Soon after, a strong set of vans was dragging Chase out of the smoking vehicle.

"Stay with me, kid," the person said. He couldn't see their face. He could barely stay awake. "C'mon, stay with me." They set him down gently on the road.

"My…my friends," he managed to get out.

"Shit." The stranger turned. "Someone get to that other truck!"

A blazing fire burst from the site of the two wrecked vehicles. Chase reached for the person who saved him. He reached for anyone. Emily, Oscar, Andre… They were inside that truck. They were going to die.

"Please…" He groaned. "Please save my friends." As his vision went, he spotted a few silhouettes moving in the direction of the fire. Relief crested over him like a cool wave. He let his head hit the asphalt.

Then an explosion rocked the area, the noise echoing down the street. Hot air slapped his skin as an even bigger fire devoured the two vehicles in the distance.

"Save my friends," Chase mumbled as he slipped into unconsciousness. "Save my friends…"

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