Pete woke up with a slight headache, he turned his head slightly to get the aspirin in his drawer, but he couldn't move his hands.He jerked his head and that's when realization hit him, he was restrained in a small white room with monitors and some equipment hanging around him.At the same time the door swung open and two figures in a white hazmat suits entered the room they had gas masks on so it was impossible to determine their facial features.But it was obvious one of them was a female because her curves were visible under the suit.Pete gathered his strength and continuously tried to yank himself free from the restraints, bruises formed on his wrists with each tug but he kept going.The masked man turned towards the woman with a nod and she instantly injected a sedative into Pete.Pete fought the urge to shut his eyes, he wriggled his arm with every bit of strength in him, then it happened he felt his mind slip away, dragging him back to the darkness. The Academy was his only

Meanwhile, in a sealed lab, Pete was grappling with a different kind of crisis.His hand trembled as he clutched his hair, pulling hard until strands snapped. “Why am I still here?” he growled, his voice carrying anger and frustration. ‘I thought I died, I felt that thing burn my chest, I couldn't move or see anything’.He drank the mixture desperately hoping it would free him from the pain and guilt that haunted him, for dragging his best friend down with him. He remembered how his mom lost her legs in a fire outbreak because she wanted to rescue him, despite his failing mutation countless times, wasting the little his family had on resources that didn't work on him, he couldn't take care of those who cared about him. The guilt and failure had driven him to this reckless act. But death, it seemed, was ghosting him.An idea crept into his mind, something dark no reasonable person would think of. His grin spread from ear to ear, his eyes opened wide, he looked like a mischievous madma

The Gates screeched closed as Dave and the other inmates entered the grounds. The environment was completely different from what he saw outside. The air was hotter, dustier, and drier. The red sky seemed lower, making the world feel smaller and meaner, sealing him in with the other teammates, eight of them now, after the two who tried to run were reduced to a splatter in the desert.A faceless guard escorted them forward, and anytime anyone moved out of line, he smacked them with the barrel of the rifle. Dave stumbled forward, even when his legs were sore, he didn't want to be hit by that thing, but he missed a step while he was looking at an area that had bleachers on each side forming on the distance and figures were seated chanting and roaring, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on and why they headed in that direction.“Move it.” The guard said moving his rifle to hit Dave, but before it could connect, Dave sprang to his feet, rejoining the line.The guard led them

Under the morning sky, the red clouds casted a glow over the horizon, beings rose lazily to the quiet morning, some earlier than others and among them was Dave.Despite his body still aching from the night before, he was swinging his blades, training to get better at using his weapon.He didn't sleep much, he couldn't, not here. Where his life was constantly at stake. He had to get stronger to survive and that's what he aimed towards.After he was done with his routine, he went in directions the others followed earlier, trying to navigate his way around this environment.After a while, a low, grinding horn shook the stillness of the air, it was different from the food call. Inmates stirred, crawling out of their tents or off the cracked ground, their weird shapes stretching in the dim light. Dave sat up, and watched. The yard was alive now, with chaotic movements from abnormal looking creatures, like something out of a wasteland nightmare. The brick house at the center stood like a

Pete's fist hung in the air, inches from the Dashkyr's shifting face. Rage burned in his chest like fire, his new muscles tensed and was ready to strike. The alien's green eyes glowed faintly in the dim tunnel light, its skin rippling like water as it struggled to hold its human shape. Behind them, the stomping footsteps of the assassins echoed louder, closing in fast. "You tricked me!" Pete yelled, shoving the creature harder against the rough walls. "You're one of those things that ruined everything I had, my home, my family!"The Dashkyr gasped, its voice a weird mix of Tee's tone and something alien, like a groan wrapped in words. "Wait... listen! If you kill me now, we're both done.”“Those trackers will get us. They'll drag you back to the labs, turn you into something worse than me. Or worse, kill you slowly."Pete's breath came in heavy bursts. He could feel the power in his hands, the strength from whatever those chemicals