Italics: Thoughts

Bold: Inner voice

Prologue: Beginning

Five years ago, a war raged between humans and beings known only as Immortals. They were genetically enhanced super-soldiers, manufactured by the very world government who swore to protect us. All it took was for one man to play god before humanity was nearly wiped out.

The Immortals were bloodthirsty creatures with one goal in mind – domination. They took over the world government known as Umbrella, creating a militaristic regime with one true leader. Whole families were destroyed under their tyranny. Children were captured and became experiments to expand their numbers.

Driven underground, what was left of humanity struggled to survived and formed resistance factions that would ensure freedom. However, Immortals would use all forms of torture to end resistance. Humans were either sources of food or assimilated against their will.

The world became a cesspool of despair.

Supplies were scarce and traveling above ground was dangerous.

Few were lucky to make it back to their factions.

To be captured by Immortals was a fate worse than death itself.

Stories were told throughout the camps about one who would lead humans to victory against the Immortals but that's all they were—stories.

Time will tell if humans will truly be free.

Even if that's the case, I won't give up fighting, and neither will the resistance.

No one should give up.

If we work together, we will find a way to stop the Immortals.

We will end this suffering, once and for all.

Year: 2025 A.D, present day

Location: North American Territory, Washington D.C

Resistance Camp: 0100 hours

"What the fuck were any of you thinking? That's a goddamn Immortal! How did you get him down here?"

"He killed those Immortals that came after us. Immortals don't kill their own—"

"It wasn't easy bringing him down here…he looked like shit—"

"That's not the point! They're fucking psychopaths! I wouldn't be surprised if they do kill their own! He shouldn't be down here! If word gets out that we have an Immortal in the camp, it's gonna spread like wildfire. Are you trying to get people killed?"

"He can't do anything to us…right?"

"What the hell do you mean he can't do anything? Immortals can kill anyone with a snap of a neck. You idiots placed the whole camp in jeopardy—"

"He could be a decoy—"

"I'm tellin' you, he took out those soldiers—"

"It doesn't fucking matter! Did any of you suddenly forget why we're down here in the first place? The world government betrayed us and created these monsters behind out backs! We trusted them…"

He heard the humans, but they were hushed, as if they were afraid of disturbing him.

He resisted the urge to laugh at their secrecy.

The voices were male, that much he knew.

They were also part of a resistance faction, and distrustful of his presence, but he knew that as well.

Humans called them Immortals. He assumed it was a fitting name, since they had no way of eradicating his kind.

Their presence was a constant reminder of the downfall of their kind. Nothing satisfied him more than to see a human's terror before they scurried away from him, hoping to escape. He was considered the most lethal among the five commanders dominating major territories around the world. It was fascinating to see how his victims reacted and even more amusing to watch them die once they were deemed unworthy of assimilation.

That was until he encountered a human woman and her young child.

Everything changed, as the small threshold of humanity struggled to pull through. Despite everything he had done in the name of the regime, the weakness inside of him was still resisting, still...fighting. He was once human, however he was destined for much greater things. It was ingrained in his conscious since the regime was created.

Humanity was beneath him.

And yet, the woman and child did something to him.

He no longer felt the pleasure of human torture.

He questioned why he felt different; why he spared their worthless lives. Nothing made sense to him, and because of his conflicting emotions, he was branded a traitor, to the regime. If he was captured, he would be 'cleansed' of his 'disease'. To have part of this human side was a plague that he intended to purge, one way or another.

He was a fugitive now with minimal options, until the foolish humans he unwillingly saved brought him to their camp. He was malnourished, deprived of blood, and somehow he resisted killing them.

It would be his downfall if he allowed this plague to jeopardize his position.

'Kill them…' It was his voice, beckoning him to return to his former self. '…end your hunger. Humans are nothing more than worthless cattle. Show these humans why it was such a foolish idea to bring you here…'

'No…' He growled, cutting the voice off. '...leave me alone…'

'You've killed before. What stops you now? Is it the woman the the child you foolishly spared in pursuit of what's left of your humanity? They meant nothing to you.'

'Don't…want…to…k-kill…anymore...'

'Why?'

'I…can't…'

'You are no longer human. End this petty tirade or I will end it for you. Do you remember what happens when I am in control? You do, don't you?'

'Stop...I don't want...!'

"…I think…he's awake…" A panicked whisper reverberated through the room he was in. "…what the fuck do we do?"

"Are those restraints strong enough?" Another one demanded, but even he could sense the fear in the human's tone. "If he gets out, we're as good as dead!"

"We didn't have a choice—"

"You did have a choice! There's always a choice! You should have left him up there!"

"He could be a way for us to figure out how to fight the Immortals—"

"Yeah, because a fucking Immortal is going to let us make him a fucking lab rat!"

"Look, it didn't feel right leaving him there—"

"What's to stop him from communicating with his buddies so they can destroy our camp?"

Their voices did nothing to quell the sudden pain oscillating his field of vision.

The lights…

He was strapped to a metal table.

Chains encircled his wrists, ankles and torso. He was underground, in a medical room filled with vials and supplies. Five men stood inches from the table, quaking with realization that he was awake. Their assault rifles were trained on him, their fingers trembling on the trigger.

Foolish humans.

They believed their weapons could work against him.

"Shit…his eyes…"

"I never…saw an Immortal up close like this…"

"…The light…" His tone was nothing more than a frigid hiss. "…turn it…off…"

"Shut the fuck up!" One of the humans shouted.

"Someone needs to get Claire over here!"

Claire…

He heard that name before.

An enraged scream tore through his lips. The chains threatened to shatter from their reinforcements.

'Kill them…'

The darkness threatened to overtake him once more.

Minutes passed, before a female voice joined the frightened male voices.

"What the hell is going on?"

"They brought a fucking Immortal down here. We have a code red situation on our hands…"

"Why the fuck would any of you bring an Immortal down here? Are you trying to get everyone killed?"

"Claire—"

"Get the fuck out of the way, now!"

He heard footsteps.

'Claire' was approaching him.

Foolish, naïve human…

He smelled her blood. Through his blurred vision, he could see the veins pulsating from the contours of her neck.

'Kill...'

The chains shattered.

The weakness was no longer in control.

Pale fingers encircled the woman's throat before she had a chance to react. He rose from the table, watching her squirm and pry at his fingers. The familiar scent of fear perfumed the air, and with it came a sadistic leer.

"Claire…" He repeated, as he stared down at her. "…where have I heard that name before?"

Author Notes

So, I did a rewrite of this story. Just didn't like the way it was going, let alone the short chapters. So I decided to start from scratch. Sorry that I've been away so long. I've been very busy with my job and other personal matters. I'm working on updates so stay tuned!