Chapter 1: Curdun Cay
"Alright Shawk, Augustine wants to see you."
I roll over on the bed to face the cell door, looking at the guard. "What?"
"I said Augustine wants to see you. What are ya deaf or something?"
God, I hated these guys. "Alright then, let me rephrase myself; why?"
He opens the door, stepping in my cell with a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun. He was wearing the traditional uniform; black ballistic helmet, sunglasses, black bandana covering his face, black fingerless gloves, and a black and yellow heavy combat suit, with the initials D.U.P on his back. Even the gun was black and yellow, the traditional colors of the Department of Unified Protection. "It doesn't matter why she wants to see you. What matters is that she wants to see you. You're in no position to know anything unless she wants you to, inmate."
I slowly sit myself up on the metal bed, looking at the guard with pure frustration. "You know, maybe if you guys would be a little more nice, nobody here would have a problem doing what they were told."
The guard steps closer, cocking his shotgun. "Oh so you got a problem with what you were just told to do?"
I remain calm, keeping my voice stern. "Well just to be clear, you didn't tell me to do anything. You simply just stated that Brooke wanted to see me. And besides, even if I did have a problem with it, there isn't a whole lot I can do with these handcuffs the size of my head on."
"That's to keep you Bio-Terrorists from using your powers, you smartass! Now stop pissing me off, and get your ass out of this cell!"
I growl under my breath, keeping my gaze on him as I get off the bed. "Look, how many times do I need to tell you that I'm not-"
"Move it!" He grabs me by the shoulder, pushing me out of the cell. "Now follow the yellow line, and don't mess with the other cells."
I sigh, stepping forward down the long hallway of reinforced cells, each one holding a Conduit. As I follow the line, I can hear the gentle sobs of a few coming from the cells. I then look down at myself, observing the orange jumpsuit the D.U.P makes the inmates wear.
"Move faster." I feel the barrel of his shotgun press against my back.
"Okay, okay! Chill out." I pick up my pace, eyeing the other guards that I pass down the hall. "I bet you wouldn't be so big and bad if you didn't have that gun, and I was outta these cuffs."
The guard laughs, shoving me some more. "Oh I would love nothing more than to go toe-to-toe with you outside. I would put you in your place and teach all you freaks a lesson."
As much as I hated these guys, I knew he was right. Even without his gun, he could still kick my ass with the concrete powers that all the DUP's got infused with. And what do I have?
"Okay, turn right. Into that room."
I do as I'm told, making a right turn only to face a large steel door. "That's...a big door."
"Well what's the problem? Go in!"
I turn around and flash him a dirty look. "Hey dumbass, my hands are completely covered in these stupid cuffs! Remember?"
"What did you just call me? Boy I will put you-"
The door suddenly opens, revealing a large empty room, with a redheaded woman wearing a dark grey trench coat in the center. She had two earpieces on, and black leather gloves. She pointed at the D.U.P's seal on the floor; a white bird holding arrows, with the D.U.P's name written all around it. "Alright Carlton, you are dismissed."
The guard nodded his head, before turning around and leaving, shutting the door behind him. I look back over to the woman. "Hello Augustine."
The bird in the seal slowly lifted itself out of the floor, creating a place to sit. "Come Mr. Shawk, you may sit down."
I shrug my shoulders, looking around the room as I walked over to the seal. "So what exactly do you want with me now? Wanna do more "tests" on me?"
Augustine's expression remained unchanged. "I do apologize for the procedures we had to take when we were testing you for the gene."
I sit down on the seal, staring up at her angrily. "You stuck needles and drills in me! And for what? Nothing!"
"When we found you, you had tested positive for the Conduit gene. After we took you into custody, we needed to see if your gene was active."
"And?"
"The results came back, and your situation is...unique."
I raise a brow. "Unique how?"
Augustine turned around, walking towards a sort of elevator. Suddenly, my cuffs popped off my hands. I smiled, finally being able to move my hands again. "So I'm not a Conduit, like I kept telling you guys!"
Augustine stepped into the elevator, shutting the steel doors. Her voice then cracked to life on an intercom in the room. "Well not quite. You are not a Prime Conduit. But you are still a potential one. In fact, you have multiple genes."
"Wait, what?"
"Four to be exact. All the Conduits I have seen, including myself, only possess one Conduit gene. But you're different...special."
"But you just said I wasn't a Prime! So that means that I don't have any powers!"
"That only means your genes haven't been activated yet. At least not...naturally."
I slowly stand up, looking around. "Wait...what are you saying?"
"What I'm saying is I want you to be a part of the D.U.P."
I hold back a laugh, trying to keep my cool. "Whoa whoa, no way. I don't want to be in any part of your little army. Okay? I just want to go home and live a normal life. I shouldn't even be locked up here! I am not a Conduit, and I have not harmed anyone. So let me go home."
"Mr. Shawk don't you understand how special you are? Your genetic structure may be able to support multiple Conduit powers! I can even give you one right now!"
I stand up, starting to feel frustrated about this whole business. "What power? You're concrete tricks? I don't want to have any powers, I don't want to get involved in any sort of war, and I don't want to help you lock up any innocent Conduits!"
"Bio-Terrorists."
"What?"
"They are labeled as Bio-Terrorists Mr. Shawk. They are a menace that will bring chaos into our world."
I look around the empty room, scanning for an escape. "Funny thing is, you're a Bio-Terrorist too. And if all 'Bio-terrorists' are such a danger, why aren't you just executing them? Why lock them up?"
"Mr. Shawk, are you implying that we should kill all Bio-Terrorists?"
"No. What I'm implying is that I don't think you truly believe that they are all bad. Just because a person has powers, doesn't mean they are automatically a threat to everyone. What ever happened to 'Innocent until proven guilty'? You just find anyone with powers, and you just lock them up!"
"It is safer for everyone if the Bio-Terrorists were kept here in Curdun Cay! This is simply a matter you won't understand unless you join us. Help us win this war between Humans and Conduits."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll just have to let you go."
I raise a brow, looking up to see a large window high above the room. In it, stood Augustine. "You'll let me go?"
"Of course. All you have to do is walk out that door." She points down, towards the opposite end of the room. On the far wall, sits a red metallic door.
"However," She starts. "There is a catch. I understand you have some military experience, correct? You fought on the field for the states before the plague started in Empire City. If you want to leave here, you must get through that door...fighting."
Augustine snaps her fingers, and the ground around me starts to shake. I look in pure shock and awe as concrete pillars, walls, and covers begin to rise up from the floor. Then, D.U.P soldiers suddenly appeared as if from thin air. The men had a light blue aura around them. "These hard light projections look and feel real. The Conduit making them won't mind if you manage to take any of them out. If you can make it out, I can guarantee that you will be escorted back home."
I take a step back, staring at the armed men. "Whoa whoa hold on! Shouldn't I get a gun or something?"
"Oh I'm certain you can figure something out Mr. Shawk. After all, you don't need any powers."
The DUP's aimed down their sights, and began to fire at me. If it wasn't for the chest high concrete cover next to me, I would have been riddled with bullets. I ducked down and yelled. "What the fuck?! You sick bastards I swear when I get outta-Hey!"
One of the DUP's managed to jump behind me, grabbing my arm and tossing me aside. Before I could get up, he placed his foot on my chest, holding me down. He then pointed his rifle at my head. I quickly slapped both of my hands down on the barrel of his gun, immediately shifting the aim away from me. The gun fired, barely missing my ear. I then pull down, yanking the gun from his hands, and then I shoot at his leg. The projection backed away in pain, fizzling away as I stand up.
"Not bad," Began Augustine. "But you have quite a few more to go."
I grip the rifle tightly in my hand, running to the next cover as I try to remember all of my training. "Okay...breathe slowly...aim...shoot!" I poke my head out of cover, looking for a target. One of the DUP's focused his power, shooting himself high up into the air, leaving behind a concrete pillar. I take aim and fire at him as he lands next to me. I step back in surprise as I notice a sort of concrete shield form in front of him, blocking my bullets. I try to shoot at his legs, only to find that my clip ran dry. "Fuck!"
I can hear Augustine's voice over all the noise. "Look at how much you could do if you just join us! You would be able to do so much more than these grunts."
The shield dissipates, creating an opening for me. I roll off to the side, ramming the butt of my gun into the projections side. As he stumbles over, I hold the rifle by its barrel, using it as a club. He looks up just as I swing it down at his head. The projection fizzles, dropping another ammo clip.
Augustine's voice gets more excited. "Just look at how brutal you are! You can be a great help to my D.U.P! Don't you see how many lives you could possibly save?"
"Just shut up and let me go!" I reload my rifle, pushing forward. A sharp pain suddenly emerges from my leg, causing me to fall over. I look at my leg, to see concrete shards poke out of my skin. I scream as the shards grow larger, intensifying the pain even further. I make a vain attempt to crawl over to the closest cover. I start to find the pain unbearable, feeling myself fade into unconsciousness. As the world around me starts to turn black, I hear the faint voice of Augustine on the intercom. "Don't worry Mr. Shawk, you'll be fine. We'll try again soon-..."