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"Does it hurt?" A young woman with dark brown medium-length Afro hair, dressed in a knee-length black skirt and a loose pink shirt covered by a long lab coat asked.

She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose while holding a little boy's hand.

The little boy, small in size, stared back up at her. He had long black hair and dark brown eyes. He pressed his lips into a frown while observing the scientist holding a needle steady.

The boy's blood drifted into the small tube, causing him to stir a bit. The sight disturbed him, but he masked his concern with a blank face. "No." His soft voice came out in a quiver.

"You're a bad liar, Yani." The woman brushed the boy's hair behind his ear.

"I'm finished." The scientist, a tall man with red hair tucked into a low bun, set the needle onto a tray and took off his gloves. Without bidding farewell to the boy, he left the room.

Now left alone with the boy, the woman sighed. She knew she didn't have much time left until she was called back to work. "Yani, do you know what day it is?"

"Monday."

"Mhmm... but it's also your birthday. You're 4 years old today." She grabbed his little hand in hers. It was cold. But that was natural for him. The boy was an extraordinary kid. He would grow to do amazing things in the future.

"Ever since you came out of that incubator, I vowed to look after you." The woman explained in a somber tone.

Although he was an experiment needed for special research purposes, the boy was like a son to her. He was bred and made to be perfect. A one-of-a-kind child, the key to their survival.

"I can't stay here with you, but I'm going to bring you a special treat. You remember what I said about ice cream, right?"

The boy nodded.

"As promised, I'll bring you some. It'll be to celebrate this special day. You'll enjoy it."

"Okay!" Finally, the boy smiled at her.

"I love you, Yani." She pinched his cheek and returned the expression. "Be good, okay?"

"Mm." He accepted.

She collected her clipboard full of important notes regarding the boy's condition and made her way out of the room. The moment she stepped out, the iron doors slid to a close and locked.

A gust full of steam spewed out from the ceiling, sanitizing her whole frame. The chemicals used would rid her of any potentially threatening germs that she may have contracted from the boy.

The steam fizzed out and she walked to her office.

The sound of a robotic female voice over the intercom blocked out the murmurs from the other scientists.

"All personnel from Cubicles 50 and 62, please report to the meeting room on floor 3."

In the distance, two scientists hopped out of their seats in a rush. Without watching their steps, one of them ran into her, causing her to spill her notes. And then he continued without sparing her a glance.

"Rude," She huffed and picked up her things. "You deserve what you're getting." She knew that meeting on the third floor meant job termination.

While organizing all her writings, the voice on the intercom spoke again.

"Dr. Stulks, report to Dr. Bomb's office, immediately."

"What?" She sucked her teeth and frowned. She still had a lot of scientific activity to input into the facility's database. Nevertheless, she quickly picked up the rest of her things and made her way to Dr. Bombs' office on the 5th floor.

A man with fair skin, short black hair, and sharp features on his face was facing the glass that peered over the entire floor. He was also dressed in a long white lab coat that reached right under his kneecaps.

Underneath the jacket were armored pants and a bulletproof vest. He wore them as a safety measure, to protect himself in case some experiments went awol.

He turned to face her. A faint smile appeared on his lips before he gestured for her to sit in one of the white cushioned seats.

"Harper, you're looking very content today."

"I am," Harper went to take a seat and brushed her skirt to make sure it wouldn't slide up inappropriately. "Yanpu's condition continues to improve. Research shows that he's immune to several diseases. The blood tests we've conducted are very exceptional. The bacteria in his blood can take on almost anything and fight it off instantly. Your hypothesis was right."

Harper was very ecstatic as she explained the results of the study. But Dr. Bomb's silence was giving her the impression that he wasn't satisfied.

He grabbed a kettle that was sitting on a sleek-designed coffee table. A platform of two small plastic cups pushed up from the surface, and he poured some hot liquid into both. Then he set one in front of her and took a sip of the other.

"But that's not why you called me here," Harper eyed the liquid nervously. "Is it?"

"It's that easy to tell, huh?" Dr. Bomb chuckled.

"Am I getting fired?" Harper skipped ahead. If that were the case, she wanted him to be direct. There was no point in sugarcoating the bad news.

"Of course not, Harper. Don't jump to conclusions."

"So...? Why didn't you just call me to come up from my office?"

"What I wanted to discuss with you is a bit serious. I didn't want you to think it was time for a casual chat."

"Oh."

Dr. Bomb drummed his fingers on his lap and placed the empty cup in the trash beside the chair. A blaze of fire swallowed the plastic to pieces.

"Do you remember the incident from 10 years ago? The one about one of our fighters going missing?"

"I've only heard the News report. When I started working here, I never looked into it. I'm not authorized to open those files." Harper denied. "I've only heard rumors... that he went insane suddenly and upped and left."

"There's no rumor..." Dr. Bomb sighed. Although hesitant, he decided to tell her the full story. "Hyde was one of our best servicemen. He conquered every one of his class in combat. His skills were more than exceptional. One could say that he held a great power."

"Are you comparing him to the overseers?"

"Except he wasn't immortal."

"How is that even possible?"

"Hyde wasn't ordinary. He was born with a natural talent. Almost as if he were made for battle."

Dr. Bomb slumped forward and pressed his lips together. "We're not sure what happened to him. He was assigned a mission and he completed it. But our staff noticed he showed signs of extreme agitation. And then..."

"What? And then what?" Harper was on the edge of her seat waiting to hear the truth behind Hyde's disappearance.

"He became a monster." Dr. Bomb sucked a breath. "He started cutting his way through our facility. He lost his senses and was out for blood. Security tried to stop him, but he killed all of our other fighters within seconds."

"That's awful."

"When he felt like he was finished, he left and headed toward the capital. It's speculated that he was after the President, but he vanished before he got there."

"He vanished? Like, he just disappeared out of thin air?"

"At the time, it seemed like it."

"What do you mean by, "it seemed"? You didn't send a team of fighters to go and investigate to make sure he was gone for good?"

"That's why I called you in here." Dr. Bomb rolled his wrist around, it was a coping mechanism for his anxiety. "Security has spotted odd movements on cameras across Westona. We looked further into it and have reason to believe that Hyde has returned."

Harper gasped.

"The cameras spotted him at several spots all over the city."

"So... what happens now?"

"All we can do now is double our security and hope for the best."

"Hyde slayed more than half of the fighters stationed here. That's what you told me. What makes you think he won't do it again? Especially if he's back."

"Our defense systems weren't up to par 10 years ago as it is today. We have the vital resources to match his skills. Upgraded weapons, thoroughly tested for use against advanced fighters."

Harper felt relieved to hear those words.

"You've looked after the Yanpu project for quite a while. I'm very pleased to hear that all is going well."

"Do you think we can move on to the next phase? Exposing him to outside?"

"Heavens no," Dr. Bomb snorted playfully. "With Hyde's appearance, it's too dangerous."

"But he's already four years old. It's unhealthy for him to be cooped up in that room all the time, especially now, during his primary stages of further development. Our research shows that centuries before, parents would send their children out to play as a way to boost their motor skills. Physical Activity and Recreation are as equally important as intellectual abilities—"

"With all due respect, Harper, please refrain from involving your emotions in this project." Bomb stood up with a sigh. He placed his hands in his pockets.

"I know you've grown very fond of the boy ever since he was fully developed and brought out of the incubator. But you have to remember his purpose and the purpose of your involvement as well."

"I understand." Harper placed the cup she was holding on the table.

"He is the key to our survival. You'll become a hero because of your great contribution to this research." Bomb placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have to protect him. But I don't want you to mix your personal feelings with work. Or else we'll have to assign another scientist to the project."

"No!" Harper yelped anxiously. She had spent so much time and effort. Yanpu was her life in a way. She couldn't bear to be separated from him.

"I don't want that either. But you have to keep yourself in check. The fate of Westona lies in your hands. That's how serious it is."

"I'll do my best to follow that advice. I'm sorry for my irresponsible suggestion."

"I'll take your suggestion into consideration. No worries." Bomb tapped her shoulder gently to reassure her. "Because of the situation, I'm increasing your workload. I need you to be on alert as much as possible with Yanpu. Overseers forbid that anything happens to him."

"Hamen," Harper prayed in agreement.

The alarms began blaring suddenly. The emergency lights of the entire floor began blinking red and switched on and off repeatedly.

Harper felt her heart sink. The color red meant that there was danger in Yanpu's area of the facility.

Without another word, she turned on her heel and sprinted out of the office

There were many scientists that she maneuvered around to get to the corridor that led to the lab. And when she got there, her anxiety rose.

Other Doctors in the room were running around in circles. One in particular was typing on one of the machines used to control the oxygen levels. As he tried to figure out the issue, Harper forced her way through the crowd of panic.

"What happened?"

"The device is malfunctioning but the systems say that everything in here is stable."

"What? Let me see," Harper pushed him aside and typed her ID number to gain access to the machine's interface.

Sure enough, the program displayed that the oxygen and other machinery were in good condition. That meant Yanpu was okay.

So why was it acting up? Why did the alarms go off?

Occasionally, the system would glitch. But any type of bug in their mainframe never set off the panic alarms before.

"Head down to the second floor and turn off the power switch that's connected to this room." Harper input a code into the display. "We're going to force it to restart. Once it's over, call someone from the IT department to come and investigate the bug."

"Yes," The scientist nodded before jogging away.

Harper went over to the long panel that controlled the cameras within Yanpu's location. He was still in his room playing with one of the stuffed toys she bought for him.

"Lend it to me for a bit," She reached over to the engineer in charge of the controls and turned the microphone to her lips.

"You can't," He shook his head in disapproval.

"I'm in charge of his care. Don't stop me." Harper snapped and continued to shift the mic over until it was close enough. "Yani, it's me, Harper."

The boy looked up in the sky and turned his head to the camera.

"Hey, I hope the sound didn't scare you. Everything is okay. It's just a small bug."

"Dr. Stulks, you really can't do this. You're not authorized."

"I'm trying to reassure him. Give me a moment." She clenched her teeth. "The alarms will go off soon, okay, Yani?"

Harper pushed the mic away. After about 5 minutes, the alarms stopped blaring. Harper checked the device again and this time it registered that everything was functioning normally.

Her shoulders rested. Now it was time for her to proceed in her usual routine. One distraction couldn't stop her from finishing her assigned tasks. She still had plenty of work to complete.

She did one more walkthrough of the room before heading back to her office.

Writing up a well-conducted research report was a challenge. It was more than just inputting data from today's blood tests and examinations.

Yanpu was a special case. He was the gateway to a better life in Westona.

Yanpu's blood was able to take in fatal bacteria and turn it into something beneficial for his body. That was the power of Puron.

Puron was a rich mineral embedded into the deep soil of Westona. Not much was known about it except for its great use for power. For decades, it was used to fuel weapons. Once mined, it can be turned into crystals, or liquified.

The crystals can be used as enhanced batteries, and there's not much research conducted on the liquified puron. However, Yanpu was born with exceptionally high levels of Puron in his blood.

A hypothesis that Puron can be injected into a person safely is what started everything. And every day, because of Yanpu's improvement, that hypothesis has been proven factual.

Harper began typing everything she wrote in her notes onto her computer. But while doing so, she couldn't help but wonder why the Neutralizing device set off the alarm.

There were no implications of an issue.

"Focus... focus..." Harper pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She knew the IT department would send a report later.

Her typing continued, and the soft tapping of her keyboard made her go off in a daze.

~~~

The sound of the panic alarm echoed across the entire floor again. Harper opened her eyes and stirred out of sleep.

Her mouth went agape as she realized that she dozed off in the middle of typing the document.

The lights blinking red repeatedly caught her attention. "It set off the alarm again? What the heck?" Harper groaned and pushed herself up.

When she walked out of her office, she noticed that there was no one working in their cubicles. Where did all the scientists go?

It was odd. Very strange. Unless there had been a meeting and she wasn't notified. And it was very late. It was around 3 AM. So that threw out the possibility of there being a meeting.

Harper walked down the corridor towards the laboratory.

The silence was abhorrently unnerving.

Harper could hear the sound of shoes clacking against the floor. It matched the beat of her heart.

"Ah!" Harper jumped back when she saw a thick coat of red splattered across the walls. She recognized the velvet color, but deep down she hoped she was wrong.

She knew she wasn't.

It was blood.

Harper turned to face the opposite direction. Her first thought was to hide. But she remembered that Yanpu was there. She prayed to the overseers that he was okay.

Harper continued to make her way to the lab.

There were thicker pools of blood she had to step around to keep going. But after some time, she stopped in front of the lab door.

The scene was horrifying. So many bodies of scientists were spread all over the room. The scene was so graphic that Harper had to force herself not to puke.

There were dismembered limbs everywhere.

The engineer in charge of controlling the panel was lying flat over the surface, the back of his head stained in more red. Harper noticed his facial expression.

Fear.

"Yanpu..." Harper's blood went cold as she sprinted to the door and typed in her access code. The moment the doors opened, Harper felt the air thicken. The oxygen levels were low, but not fatal.

"Yanpu!" Harper held her arm up to cover her face as the steam sanitized her before entry. She coughed and peered into the room.

"Harper..." Yanpu came from around the corner. He was completely unphased, unharmed.

"Thank heavens!" Harper snatched the boy into her arms and smothered him in a hug. "Oh, Yani! Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm okay..." Yanpu shook his head. "I was playing hide and go seek."

"Hide and go seek? I never taught you about that game." Harper brushed the hair out of his face.

"The sword man wanted to play with me so he told me to go and hide."

"Sword Man?"

"Yeah,"

"Yani, you're not supposed to talk to anyone else but the scientists assigned to you. Everyone else is a stranger." Harper began, but she was finding it harder to breathe. She grabbed his hand and led him out of the room.

However, she stopped when she saw a tall man standing ahead of them. He was fair-skinned and had jet black long hair that reached right below his shoulders.

He was well built, dressed in black with a dark velvet red ripped and torn cloak. It wasn't until he moved his arms that Harper noticed two blades hooked to his belt.

"Leaving so soon?" His voice was deep and had a slight rasp to it. "I thought we were having fun, kid." He took one step toward them. That was all it took for Harper to draw her weapon. She reached into her pockets and pulled out a pistol.

"Who are you?" Harper nudged Yanpu behind her to shield him.

The man tusked and tilted his head.

Within seconds, the man had Harper by the neck, pressed against the wall.