《Death Spire》Chapter 3 - Truth (prologue)
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Three days later, The area became so restricted that even the news crews couldn’t get a look at the towers entrance, although it was incredibly obvious that something was going on as eighteen-wheeler trucks full of soldiers with uncertain and fearful expressions arrived at Carson city one by one, seemingly with no end.Reporters were sent into a frenzy because, as always, military secrets were spicy.
This information blanket continued for weeks before other interested countries got involved. The foreign experts also hadn't forgotten about the marvelous properties of the structure. So, many questions were raised, and still, the military was silent and everyone related to the members of Redemption had all but gone missing.
One day, the side of the barricade exploded and a familiar man, missing his left arm hurled himself through the smoke. He was wearing a white spotted hospital gown, with his rear end exposed to the elements. He ran like lightning as he tore down the street.
A cacophony of hurried yells mixed with sirens blared across the night sky. Searchlights beamed down on the area and the beating of helicopter blades could be heard from the distance. The entire military was out in force to find their runaway patient but he was nowhere to be found. The speed of his departure was unprecedented, leaving anyone lucky enough to glimpse his figure, gobsmacked.
The next day marked another eventful occurrence. A man who had previously disappeared had miraculously reappeared. His name was exposed as Damien. He was the first evolved.
That day marked another broadcast that no one wanted to miss.
The well groomed news presenter in his formal suit and tie sat in a comfortable chair across from another man who was equally well groomed, however, he seemed to be incredibly uncomfortable in his position and sat straight upright, ready for any eventuality. He continuously looked around himself as if he was endlessly on guard against attackers, his eyes bloodshot and wild and his hands gripped tightly to the armrests.
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As if picking up on his deranged demeanor, the presenter spoke in a calming tone as if fearful his next sentence could trigger a violent reaction. “Hello Damien, My name is Edgar. Its nice to meet you. Before we went live, you stated that you were a member of the Redemption task force. Can you confirm that for me please?”
“Yes”, Damien answered shortly, sweeping the room with his crazy gaze.
“I think all of us saw you go inside the tower but no one saw what happened inside. Can you describe some of the things you saw in there?” Edgar asked eloquently.
Damien moved his hands from the armrests to the sides of his head and started rocking in his chair as he muttered, “all of them… d-dead… s-slaughtered like pigs.” He began to wring his hands in front of his forehead as if praying to the departed souls. “I don’t want to remember.”
Edgar was silent for a minute, choosing his next words very carefully. He spoke gently, fatherly, “Damien, you're safe here and your story is very important to all of humanity. Please, be brave and help us understand what were up against.”
“Up against!?” Damien flinched at the words, “We cant contend with those things!” He declared with finality.
“Please, Damien. Help us prepare.” Edgar implored, allowing his desperation and fear to be exposed to the man who appeared to have lost the plot. It seemed to have done the trick as Damien looked up, his blue, bloodshot eyes stared directly into Edgar's soul.
“Our bullets, our grenades and rockets did nothing to it.” He closed his eyes and shook as he began his story. “It was so fast that half of our numbers were dead before we even realized that hot weaponry was ineffective.”
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“So what did you do? How did you get out alive?”, the presenter didn’t let up now that Damien had started talking.
“What else could we do? We despaired… for a while. Then, I made a discovery before it was too late… We were the last two alive. We had abandoned our guns and substituted them for our daggers, they mad us feel safer, even if they wouldn’t work.” He managed to convey without stuttering.”I got lucky, if you can call it that. That creature went for me next and I barely kept my life. I moved suddenly and instead of my head, it got my left arm. Chris landed a blow while it was chomping on my arm, about to move up to my head… He saved my life… And I couldn’t do the same for him.” Damien sniffed and began to tear up.
Edgar listened in horrified silence as the story continued.
“When Chis hit it, the beast was injured, but pissed off. It tuned away from me and lunged directly for his face. Chris was dead before I could react. There was nothing I could have done… It was so fast… I took the opportunity while it was biting Chris and I stabbed it right through the temple” Damien demonstrated by pointing to the side of his head.“After that, light shone in from the outside and I managed to make it outside before I lost too much blood.”
Edgar was stunned along with everyone inside the studio and all the viewers. Redemption were the most highly trained soldiers on the planet and only one of them had escaped death. His mouth hung open in an O shape and it was a few seconds before his brain caught up and he asked, “Why are we only hearing about this now?”
Damien wore a horrified and furious face as he responded, “I was imprisoned by the military.” A few seconds went by before he finished his sentence. “Experimented on…”
Edgar's face became white as he wandered in puzzlement, “Why would the military experiment on you?”
“Because” Damien paused as he made an important decision. “After I killed that creature I could do this.” He stated with resolve before getting into a running pose and disappearing with a gust of wind.
Everyone watching was flabbergasted. The first superhuman had been exposed.
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