*/ For the full version of the story, please visit 2013/06/20/prototype-the-teacher/ ! Enjoy! */

Chapter 1

In a sense, I knew that man well, and in another I didn't. For the leader of a virtually non-existent group he was really young - seemed no older than thirty - when some of his subordinates, or as he fancied to call "students" have begun to bear a silver top. He was elusive, his tone often coldly dismissive, and yet, for a very obvious reason, I felt really close to him.

After all, he saved my life.

School. Lessons. Boring life. Then suddenly, explosions and a blinding fire. The men from Blackwatch streamed in with a rifle in their hands and a helmet on their head, and soon, buried, hidden under a pillar, I became the only one left. Then, he came.

It was impossible to remember anything too detailed with the searing on my skin, except that the wind rushing against my body carried by him coursed with a surprising velocity. Was he...running? It has long become clear that he was, though it definitely did not seem so back then. His speed was incredible enough, and more so when coupled with the stability of his sprint. I fainted shortly.

And woke up in a well-furnished room, the burning that haunted me gone without a trace. My savior walked in - a young, ruffian-like person whose hood submerged his eyes - and silently passed me a glass of water. He watched me as I drank, and when I was done I asked him the question that I should have asked at the start. "Who...are you?"

He shrugged. "Your teacher, if you would accept my request later; and if you would not then it is too sad. But for now, Alex. It will do well." He took the cup from me and tossed it carelessly onto a couch. He pressed around on my skin. "No lingering pain, I would expect." I swallowed. "No," I looked away, "and thank you. Alex."

He humphed with a modicum of amusement. "For what?" "For saving me," I replied with the obvious answer, puzzled, "from the fire." He shrugged again. "Pointless. In no time you'll find yourself of greater help to me than I have to you. Come." He beckoned me distantly as he ambled out of the room and down a flight of stairs. Down in what appeared to be a living room, a small crowd amassed in a circle with a cushioned stool in the center. He gestured at me to sit on it. "So," he declared, "Ryutsuri Kanter..." I interrupted, "How did you know my name?" A graying man slapped his laps and laughed. "Oh, Mercer knows much more than you'll expect, kid." Alex looked at him. "Well, Anton," he stifled a smile, and turned to me. "Ryutsuri," he cleared his throat.

"For it is abrupt for me to leap without a look, I shall explain. It wasn't a fire, you have to know. You have any idea why your school put you in that class? They call it the Enhanced-structure Learning Environment, no?" I shook my head blankly to his first question. He leaned close. "Neither does your school. Nor the newspapers. Not even the cop that munches on donuts 'long the bustling road. It's the work of Blackwatch, and all because you, and your entire class, are carriers..." I cut him off, an enormous question mark manifesting at the back of my mind. "Mr. Mercer, I think..."

"Alex."

"Alex," I repeated obligingly, "I don't get what you're saying." He seemed unfazed. "You read the papers, Ryutsuri? Know why they split this goddamned into red, yellow and green?" I shook my head, and the crowd briefly giggled. Alex sighed a little, and produced a newspaper cut-out. "Fifteen minutes," he pronounced, and with a wave of his hand, the crowd filed upstairs, leaving me to read in peace. I took in the heading of the article that seemed to bark out to me. "RESPONSE TO PENNSYLVANIA OUTBREAK: CLEANSING IMMINENT?"

"With a second and seemingly coincidental release of the BLACKLIGHT virus in the Pennsylvania train station, the GENTEK corporation responsible for the research in the area fears that New York city could face a massive infection as experienced previously in Manhattan Island. The spokesman representing Blackwatch, the elite government military force in support of GENTEK, claims that this outbreak was the doing of Alex Mercer, who had also caused the first release of the virus in Manhattan, similarly in Penn Station.

Currently Blackwatch has separated the city into 3 portions - the Red, Yellow and Green zone. Residents are strongly discouraged to venture into the Red zone - specifically Manhattan island, where the infections continues to run rampant. To prevent the spread of virus into the residential areas of the Yellow and Green zone, Blackwatch has officially declared martial law in the former, and has set up several monitoring bases in the latter.

'We simply cannot risk another catastrophic devastation like the last outbreak,' commented Colonel Douglas Rooks of Blackwatch, expressing his concern over the issue. With the aid of viral detectors from GENTEK, Blackwatch has begun scanning and containment operations on public locations, especially schools and offices. Potentially infected residents are brought in for quarantined treatment."

As my eye passed over the final word of the article Alex miraculously appeared before me, hovering over the article like a hummingbird. "The fire, Ryutsuri," he said darkly, "that was their treatment. They identified you and your friends as viral carriers months ago, and concentrated you all so that you can be eliminated together." For a moment I was startled - my parents always told me to trust the government and the army. "They'll always try to protect us, those dunderheads, even when some of us might not like their ways," that's what I was told since I was five. And now, a complete stranger (albeit one who saved me) was telling me otherwise - that Blackwatch, the self-proclaimed "last stand of humanity", were nothing but bloodthirsty primates with guns. I blinked, divided on whether to trust him.

Alex put a hand on my shoulder. "We, everyone that is in this house tonight as well as many more out there, are dedicated to putting a stop to this viciousness, this violence. You have survived and went through one of their atrocities yourself, Ryutsuri. Will you join our cause?"

I was blasted aback by that abrupt request. "You mean you want me to pick up a gun and fight Blackwatch?" I questioned, incredulous, "But that is ridiculous, I have my own li-" "Blackwatch has told your parents that you've died in a fire due to a gas leak," Alex's gaze steeled, "you go out there, you get caught by one of their eyes, and it's two bullets in your chest and one in your head. We're your only way out."

We're your only way out.

The reality hit me - I was being recruited into some resistance movement by a seemingly sociopathic hoodlum with a couple of quirky-looking strangers. I began to wonder how I even managed to trust him for so long. I coughed hard. "No offense, Mr. Mercer," I stood up and announced into his face, without being corrected this time, "but I can't do this. Look at me, I'm just a 15-year-old, who's got school to go to and a home to stay in. Good luck in...whatever you're doing."

And instantly, I regretted letting those words burst through my lips.

Because for a moment, the shadowed pupils of Alex's eyes flared into a hollow, frightening red. His fists clenched with a taunting click from his knuckles, and his biceps tumesced like a hastily filled balloon. Yet I was unwilling to demolish the facade of bravado that I've rashly built, so I raised my hands defensively, despite something down there telling me that the moment he strikes, I'll become nothing much more than a jar of pulp. My impulses yanked at my eyelids.

A slender hand appeared before me and held Alex back. It was a vernal lady, whose overly fussed-over ponytail hinted of sternness. As she passed her hand down Alex's shoulders and tapped on his chest, the man's gaze softened and his muscles clearly relax. "Alex," her voice was frosty, "remember your mission." The man cringed slightly, taking a step back. The woman continued. "You claim that humanity has lost itself, that you have the power to bring it back together, and yet you act with such selfishness. You're throwing away what you started with and for."

With that, Alex was silenced, for a very, very long while. His eyes pointed low, his face almost entirely shrouded by his hood except for his mouth, where he coldly nipped on his lips. The lady passed a look at me. "But you must understand, Ryutsuri Kanter," she warned, "that should you decide to leave this room and us without your allegiance, I'm afraid we can't do anything for you anymore. You'll be on your own, and there will be the world out there who wants you dead and burnt. Are you sure about this?" I nodded as she barely finished pronouncing her last syllable. Alex sighed, and patted me lightly on my shoulder before indicating briefly towards the door. I felt relief - he was a dangerous man, and even if I had joined him I'll just get myself mangled in a matter of days.

I twisted the knob, greeted by the cool zephyr of a young night. And as I took a step outside, I looked once more at Alex, whose face was still buried in his hood. "Thank you, Alex," I said rigidly, "again, for saving me." He turned round and made for the stairs.

TO BE CONTINUED.

*/ For the full version of the story, please visit 2013/06/20/prototype-the-teacher/ ! Enjoy! */