* * * Prologue * * *
Chase Davenport was breathing hard. Sweat poured from his forehead into his eyes. He had a massive headache, his legs were shaking, and his arms were sore. But he couldn't quit yet. Left, right, left, right, second door, take out the guard. Same routine. Every day. Yet he could never seem to get it right. At least, not as right as his father wanted it.
Everything around Chase began to fade. He was back in his father's lab. Slowly he reached up and took off his glasses. As tired as he was, he didn't want training to be over. He shuddered, knowing what was coming next.
"What was that?" his father screamed.
"I did it!" Chase said, stepping off the training simulator platform. "I took them out and got the mineral. What's the big deal? I thought that one went well."
"It most certainly did NOT!" his father snapped back. Chase hung his head. "I raised you for excellence Chase, and that was not it! You're holding back. You have so much power. Unleash it!"
"What if I don't want to?" Chase murmured. He instantly regretted it. His father raised a hand and slapped him. Chase stumbled back, his hand pressed against his face.
His father scowled at him. "I don't care if you don't want to!" he yelled. "You go back to your room. More training in two hours." Chase obeyed without hesitation.
Come on, Chase! he thought as he walked down the hall to his room. You know better than to resist him! Ugh, why do I have to be so stubborn sometimes?
Chase walked slowly into his room. Darkness greeted him. He flipped on a switch, filling the room with a dim, artificial light. Chase's bedroom wasn't much. There were no windows to let in natural light. No normal things were to be found in it. Just a tall glass tube in which he slept, a computer on a desk, and a variety of weapons. He was supposed to train with the weapons; to get a feel for them so he could use them properly on missions. But he had never actually picked one up.
Chase flopped into the chair at the desk, the only place in the room to sit down. He placed his head in his hands and wiped tears from his eyes. His cheek still smarted. He sat there for a second just feeling sorry for himself.
Then he stood up suddenly, walking over to the other side of the room. Chase removed one of the metal plates from the wall to reveal a small hole in the dirt. Reaching inside, he pulled out the things in the hole. His treasures. He kept them hidden from his father, who would most certainly take them away. Sitting down again, he began to examine them.
A quarter: nothing special, right? Well, this quarter was the change from the one time he had been outside, in the real world. He had gotten an ice cream cone and a quarter. The ice cream didn't last long; the quarter did.
A stick in the shape of a "Y": weird, huh? Chase's brother had given it to him. He had said it was magical. Back then Chase believed him. Not anymore, of course; any magic in his life was long gone. But Chase kept it to remember his brother by.
A pink hair band: and why did a fifteen year old boy have a pink hair band? Because it was the last thing his sister had given him. Right before they were torn apart, she had handed Chase the hair band and told him never to forget her.
A photograph: three people smiled back at Chase. One of the figures was himself. He studied the picture, wondering how he had ever found the courage to smile. The other two figures were his siblings. The picture had been taken just a month before they were torn away from him.
Chase gulped as his eyes studied the photograph. He knew every detail. He saw it every night in his sleep. Every shadow, every crease, every hair. He had spent hours staring at it. It was the only reason he was still alive. If they were too, he knew he could push on. Looking at the photo gave him hope in an otherwise hopeless life.
The computer flashed to life as Chase pushed the keys. After bypassing many security codes, a program popped up. A program only Chase knew about. He had been working on it for years now. If he could finish it, he could stop his father. He could get out. He could find his siblings.
All his life Chase was told that he was just a weapon. But he knew he was more. So much more. He was human too. He had emotions. He didn't want to kill people. He didn't want to start a World War III. He just wanted to be with his family. Not his father, his siblings. His father didn't count.
Chase knew he was powerful. Strong, fast, and intelligent. He was the most powerful person on the planet, even topping his siblings. But he didn't care. He didn't want power. He wanted love. The kind of love only a family could provide. His father never showed it.
His father only cared about the super-human part of him. In his father's eyes he was a weapon. He was created as a weapon, raised as a weapon, and trained as a weapon. But Chase was more than some cheap gun. He was more than just a nuclear bomb. He could take out armies, destroy countries, and obliterate any defense put up to stop him. But he could do something no other weapon could: love.
He was done being a weapon. He was ready to live. He was ready for love.
I'm not going to say a whole lot because I don't want to give away too much about the story. All I'm going to say is this: This is the first story that I have posted on here where I don't have the whole thing typed up several chapters ahead. So it'll be a little longer between updates. But you guys get to decide when chapter 1 goes up! Once I hit ten reviews, I'll post it. I know you guys can do it! I've seen it happen before!
How did you guys like it? Besides what I put in the summary, what exactly do you think it is that makes this alternate universe so different? Review and let me know! I'll explain it more in chapter 1. See you guys soon!
