Prologue

The small group of miners looked at the facility from afar. An enormous column of smoke and dust rose from the center, and the walls looked ready to crumble, if they hadn't already broken down like some had. Braving their fear to search for survivors, they worked their way down the hill they stood upon and began walking to the broken building.

The air was thick with smoke and ash, making breathing extremely difficult. Some of the miners used their shirts as makeshift filters. Walking into the center of the complex took some time, but as it seemed to be the place where the damage originated, it was necessary.

When the men arrived at the center after several minutes of walking (as the facility was very large) and maneuvering around fallen rubble and debris, they all stopped and gaped at the carnage.

There were scorch marks everywhere, on the walls and floor, with computers smashed, melted, or cut up into pieces. Two large tanks were right at the back of room, with everything tilted to face them. There were crumpled bodies all around, many of them missing limbs and heads. The wounds were still fresh enough that blood was still slowly dripping out. They all looked as if first seared by some incredibly hot object, then cut into bits.

The most riveting part was that the lime-green tank of the left was completely smashed, with all of its strange liquid drained. Melted and warped metal stuck out in all places, radiating from the center of the tank. Evidently, whatever had caused this whole incident had escaped from this tank. However, the tank on the right was completely intact, and only a few scratches and scorch marks marred its surface. Inside, there was a small baby child, with a mask and tubes attached to separate parts of its body. The strangest part was that it was still breathing, as if simply asleep.

The lead miner took a step forward as everyone took in the still chaos, and simply said, "Gentlemen, we, not to mention the world, have a crisis on our hands."

Chapter 1

6 years later

"So what you're saying is that you're scared," My friend Dave said with a smirk on his 6 year old face.

"I certainly am not!" I retorted, which was a complete lie.

We stood at the lip of a huge pit, a large chasm open before us. There was a ladder sticking over the top by a few inches several feet to the left of us. All of the adult miners went into the pit and down through the cave tunnels to keep expanding the network, retrieve stone for building materials, and look for raw materials to create weapons. It was strictly forbidden for anyone not a miner to enter the cave, which is why entering it became the subject of many a childhood dare.

"If you're not scared, then just go."

"Fine, I'm scared. I admit it. Why don't you go, if you're so willing to put me up to the task?"

He gave a small gulp at this and said, "Well…"

"Why not?" I pushed. "You always say you're not scared of anything."

His eyes looked determined and his expression hardened. "If the adults can do it, I can too. I'm not scared!" He said defiantly as he walked to the ladder and began to climb down the rusted rungs.

He was almost swallowed by the darkness when he suddenly let out a sharp cry. The sound of a dry bone clacking deep underneath his feet warned him to the presence of a hostile creature. The ladder began to vibrate as the creature began to climb. Suddenly, out of the darkness, its face appeared. It was a skeleton, with ivory white bones, soulless, empty eye sockets, and a twisted grin that made one want to hide away.

The skeleton reached back and pulled out an arrow. Dave and I could only watched as were both paralyzed with fear as it notched the arrow. Suddenly, the skull lit on fire, and the skeleton fell off the ladder. Then something strange happened.

The skeleton was enveloped in a sudden flash of white light, and was now glowing at the bottom of the pit, illuminating several other skeletons and a few zombies. The skeleton had stopped burning when it began to glow, and started climbing back up the ladder.

Dave was shocked out of his trance and scrambled up the ladder to the ground again. We both started running away, back to the village, when I looked back and saw the still-glowing skeleton surface, not burning. It slowly raised its bow with the arrow still notched and aimed it at us, then shot.

Dave screamed as the arrow flew into his left arm, blood dripping out of the wound in a steady flow. He fell to the ground and whimpered in pain while holding the arrow's shaft as the skeleton notched another arrow. It fired this one at me this time.

The arrow never hit its target. I stood still as the arrow seemed to move in slow motion and raised my arms as if possessed. All I remember is a dark wave pulsing around me as the arrow was disintegrated in mid-air. The wave reached the skeleton and smothered its glowing light, then enveloped it. The cloud dispersed after a second with nothing of the skeleton left behind as my vision filled with blackness.

Far away…

"It is… different than before. Almost… new."

"Of course, my lord, everything is different for you now. It has been a very long time, hasn't it? Nearly 700 yea-"

The cold, dark figure quickly turned and grabbed the sniveling creature by the throat, ending its sentence abruptly.

"I need not be reminded of my precious time wasted, my plans interrupted, my empire corrupted! Do not speak of it, in or out of my presence! I do not require such filth as you, and only by my choice do you live!" He released the creature and dropped it onto the stone, hard. It immediately rasped and choked for breath, gasping and rubbing its throat.

"Of course… my lord. I am extremely and deeply sorry that I have troubled you so. Please forgive me."

"You sicken me. Now get up. I have work to do. See to it that you do yours."

"Yes, my lord. Although I do not question your infinite wisdom, why do continue to let that… that thing live?"

The dark figure was turned around, as if deep in thought. After a short while, he spoke, "It is dangerous to let the boy live, but even more dangerous to have him eliminated. He has no control. He could end all of this, everything. Time and life itself could grind to a halt. I will not have that. Giving the skeletal creature enhanced powers was a test, and was not meant to kill him. But I have seen the truth in his abilities, what they gave him. What he is capable of. The scientists did their job well, for mortals."

The small creature said nothing. It was pointless to say anything.

After another pause, the figure opened its eyes, twin points of light shining through the darkness, illuminating the eerie cavern wall ahead. He said, "He will be useful. Very useful. After all, how much different from the original can a clone be?"