There was no moment of peace today.
Leo Dooley groaned as his acquaintance slipped him a form. Seriously? Can this guy not take a break? He stared down at the black print and then glared at the redhead in front of him, who, in return, just grinned sheepishly and handed him a ballpoint pen.
"Wilson, I thought we were here to grab a few drinks," Leo said, "I'm not signing anything." and he slid the form back to his friend, whose grin was now erased.
"Look, you know how much I need this for me!" Wilson protested. "Who am I kidding, of course you won't empathize. After all, you don't work at low wages and have to earn for a family of four." He crossed his arms.
"You have it hard? At least you don't have to live alone."
"But you like being all by yourself,"
"That's not the point. You need to learn how to do stuff for yourself, you know." It wasn't that Leo was rude, but this particular day had been going a little too unstable. First, his car had broken down, so he had to walk home. Then, he found out that a sneaky cat had entered his apartment and consumed his bird. And now Wilson was asking for partnership- with him. It's true that a lot of people had partners at work, but he was more of a lone-wolf kind of guy. Besides, Wilson was annoying as hell and he didn't really need that trouble at the office. And so far, he couldn't really see potential in his acquaintance for the kind of job he had.
To be more clearer, Leo worked for a government company which provided rehabilitation for victims of bionic attacks.
He sighed, Things were so much better twenty-five years ago. When there were no bionic humans. All they were was trouble. A few years before he was born, the first bionic chips were created. Scientists thought this would be a great idea for the betterment of humanity- having robots with special abilities to do all the work that was too dangerous for humans. But a crazy someone implanted the chips into humans. Things didn't go as planned, and those humans had a huge amount of blood lust in them. All the bionic humans created after that became murderers. Reproduction among them led to natural chips growing inside of the fetuses. They simply killed without a reason. Or, the reason was simply unknown to regular humans. No one had ever came close to find out, because they all died or became severely injured and were entered in the rehabilitation center.
Humans like him had to be very careful to not wander alone in some dark alleyway. Some bionic humans chose to live among humans, luring people towards them before murdering them. A bionic human could be anyone- a neighbor, a friend, a teacher- they were quite hard to distinguish. The only way someone could find out if they were bionic was if they used their abilities. Their eyes turn green, they attack you, they kill you, and then do whatever with your corpse.
The people at the rehabilitation center had either lost their families to bionic attacks, or were injured victims themselves, who had managed to escape.
"You know what? Fuck you. I'll just apply for a job at the office myself. I don't need to work as a partner." With that, Wilson got up and left the bar. Leaving Leo with the paycheck. Great, another fall in the same day.
Taking his wallet out, he paid the bill for both their drinks and exited. It was late and he was alone. Good thing he only had one drink. The sky was clouded, and the moon was not in sight. The shops were getting ready to close and the curtains of homes were drawn.
Shit. Realization struck him. He was all alone at night, in a country infested with bionic murderers. Why, oh why was he in this situation? He considered calling a cab, but that was a little too risky as cab drivers could also have a possibility of being bionic and could have him trapped in a small space. He had to hitch a ride with Wilson to get to the bar, but now the inconsiderate being had already left. He could walk to the nearest subway station and use some change to go home. Yes, that was a good idea. Or maybe he could call one of his friends who could come and get him. He took his phone out of his pocket. Damn it. The battery's dead. Maybe he could even go back into the bar and ask to use their phone.
But luck wasn't with him, because as soon as he turned back towards the bar, the owner was already shutting it down. Great. The only option now was to walk home. He gulped and started to walk.
The darkness of the night and the flickering of the streetlights made his heart beat faster. This was a deadly situation to be in. The government was starting an organization for defense against the bionic humans, and Leo wished that they'd hurry up already. It's been twenty years, how long will it take?
He sighed. He had seen the people who had been injured by those monsters, he had seen the people who had their families taken away. He had seen the children who had been orphaned because those beasts murdered their parents. Was he going to be a victim tonight?
Tap, tap, tap.
There were footsteps behind him. He almost froze, but assured himself it must be another human. Quickening his steps led to the footsteps also quickening. This was no human. He broke out into a run as sweat poured down his face. Please don't have super speed, please don't have super speed, please don't have super speed... Who was he kidding, bionics humans had many more physical attributes than regular people, and were faster, stronger and more intelligent even if they didn't have all those abilities. They could outrun most people without even having super speed. Unfortunately for Leo, sports and exercise were never his forte. This bionic human could catch his and kill him in no time.
Suddenly, something grabbed his left leg and started to pull him. His face landed on the ground and he could feel the blood trickling down from his broken nose. This is it. This is where I'm going to die. And at twenty-one, too. I had sure hoped that I'd live longer. There was no choice but to accept his fate now. He would have thrashed around and tried to land a grip on something, but he knew that would just make it hard and slow the process of death. So he simply complied as he was pulled by his ankle towards the figure.
The pulling stopped and he knew it was right above him, staring down at him, his prey. Leo turned to face his soon-to-be killer. The figure remained dark, its face unseen. A hood covered his head, casting a shadow over his visage. Its glowing green eyes were the only visible features. The glare of those eyes pierced through his soul, making him flinch violently. He was filled with fear which even acceptance can't take away. He shivering and his eyes had leaked. He sobbed harder. He knew that even begging for mercy won't have any affect.
The monster raised its arm and blue orb started forming in his hand. The energy orb was shot at his arm. Leo let out a ear-shattering scream as he felt the muscle in his arm practically melting with the forceful impact on it. It tore his veins, leaving his arm completely disabled. The bionic monster clawed at his scrambled arm, releasing unimaginable pain coursing through it. It then brought a torn-up tissue to where its mouth was supposed to be, and licked it. It freaking licked it. The monster let out a dark, hollow and emotionless chuckle. Raising its arm once again, it aimed at his stomach.
No no no no no no NO!
"This is to disenthral your soul, Leo."
I am here... Why am I here?
Why do I...
Why do I exist?
Is my existence wrong?
I wonder...
"He's not doing too well."
I want to save...
My memories...
"Get the defibrillator, now."
This darkness is...
This darkness is my home.
I wonder...
"Is it done?'
Should I stay?
"He'll live."
No.
I shall go.