Okay, so it was only an idea, but I'm glad people want more xD
Here's chapter two.
Characters you find in the HIVE books by Mark Walden are owned by said man.
H.I.V.E. Apocalypse: Chapter 2
Wing Fanchu dreamt of his wife that morning.
She was, and always had been, his best friend. They challenged each other, led equally, comprised the same amount of strength needed to support the people they cared for.
Somewhere along the line did they find romance in this, easily making the decision to marry, knowing that they were bound to each other all their lives either way.
For the four years they spent together as husband and wife, they had some dream of happiness amidst the turmoil. They protected the refuge, made sure no raiders or any of Overlord's mindless drones could take them away. They managed weaponry, kept up arms, trained the soldiers who would protect the others, same as them.
Laura was Shelby's maid of honor, at the time, and Nigel was Wing's best man, with a small ceremony on the plateau under which they used to live.
That very same plateau was now swarmed with drones, drinking the blood of old friends deep in the soil. Wing thought of friends departed, and eventually brought his thoughts to one particular, one who hadn't been forgotten even after sixteen years.
Otto. They never did know what happened to him.
Wing still remembered the last he saw of his first best friend.
"Otto! Where are you going?!" Wing arrived at the Atrium to see Otto running across the bridge above him. He tensed when an explosion from the outside caused the entire room to shake, sending Otto off-balance for a moment.
"I have a plan, Wing! To shut down Overlord!" He called down.
"Wha—" "I'll meet you at the docking bay! You have to keep the armada out of H.I.V.E. long enough for Raven and Dr. Nero to finish what they started!"
"Otto!" Wing called out. The younger male, white hair flashing in the glare of the light, turned back.
"Be careful!" He bade his best friend.
Otto nodded. He was smiling.
And he was gone.
It was the dream he had a fortnight ago. In truth, there were only two things he ever dreamt about. One was Otto.
The other was Shelby.
The night was cold when they kept watch. They enjoyed the cold, or at least Shelby did.
"How could you possibly enjoy below zero freezes in the middle of the summer?" Wing wondered irritably, accepting the hot drink she'd fetched. "It gives me an excuse." Shelby said cheerily, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"An excuse to cuddle." She said teasingly. Wing shook his head and settled back. "Oh, was that a smile I saw?" Shelby exclaimed, poking at Wing's cheek. "The night air is making you delusional." Wing replied, feigning seriousness. Shelby giggled, leaning into Wing's warmth. The night was quiet, with the occasional breeze upsetting the nearby trees.
"Laura, something's been tracked on the outer gate." Said Jean Deuen, an older student running the security grid. "Is that a heat signature? Human?" Laura said, squinting at the radar.
"Looks like it."
Laura switched on the communication, watching the screens where feed from one of their entrances showed Shelby and Wing standing, or rather, sitting guard.
"Hey love birds, we may have a live one coming your way." Laura said, slightly amused. Shelby looked up at the camera. Wing nodded.
Laura switched feeds to the other entrances. No activity was shown, although where one of their night watchers, Peter Phelps, was supposed to be, was an unguarded entrance.
"Ugh. Can anyone watch entrance five? Pete's gone off." Laura broadcasted to the other watchers.
Shelby caught the broadcast and detached herself from her husband. "You go." She convinced him. "I can take care of things here."
Wing, without arguing, kissed Shelby and made his way to the fifth entrance, wondering where Peter had gone.
Laura switched off her communication and watched the feeds. By the time Wing had arrived at the last entrance, Shelby had stood, her hand cautiously on the holster of her gun. A shadow, a human shadow, made Shelby hesitate. Laura opened communications. "Shel?! What's going on?"
Shelby put down her gun and walked towards the shadow, leaving the sight of the security camera.
"Shelby!" Laura shouted. At her volume, Shelby should have gone deaf; the latter still had her receiver switched on. But there was no response.
Laura ran.
"Shel!? SHELBY!!!"
"Laura! Laura!?"
The redhead was shaken by the shoulders. She grabbed the hands on her shoulders and looked up, meeting the eyes of a serious-looking Franz. "You had me worried there for a moment." Said the latter. "How long was I out?" Laura asked wearily, brushing back sweat-soaked hair.
"I wouldn't know. I only arrived just now. I know you do not get as much sleep, but I decided not to let whatever was disturbing you do so any further." Franz told her, handing Laura a clean rag. Looking down at the table, the redhead realized that it was soaked with her sweat, almost a gallon's worth darkening a large spot in the wood.
"I heard you shouting." Said the blond, wiping more sweat off the back of her neck with a washcloth.
Laura knit her eyebrows wearily. "It doesn't leave this room, Franz."
"Please." She whispered, hiding her face in her cold palms.
"Something tracked on the outer gate." Said Yulie Rogers warningly. Laura snapped up, so quickly that her neck echoed a very distinct snap. "What?"
"It's coming up hot. Might be human, or at least, biological."
Laura glared at the younger girl, who shrank back with wide eyes. "Uhm—" "Find out what it is." Laura ordered swiftly.
The frightened girl quickly checked all the information coming up on the grid. "Um, four feet approximately. It's moving too slowly to be a drone, unless it's damaged, but the heat signature is that of a regular human. It's walking, or at least making contact with the ground."
Laura fixed her glasses and stormed out of the room. "I'll be right back, Rogers. Keep watch for me." She said.
Wing noticed it, second to Laura Brand, with only his eyes to depend on as he guarded the outer rim.
The sun was glaring from behind afternoon clouds, blinding Wing only when he stood in the rays. From under shade, he saw perfectly. He saw the all-too human figure trudging its way toward their hideout.
Wing moved towards the figure, gun poised. The figure stopped in its tracks and simply stood there, a few dozen yards from where Wing stood.
The man didn't know how long the two just stood there, but the figure refused to advance. It seemed to transfer its weight from one foot to another, its shadow reflecting the twitching movements.
"Who goes there?" Wing demanded. His voice seemed to trigger something, as the figure moved forward, breaking into a run toward Wing. The latter got ready to fire, but lay down his weapon at the last second.
It was a child. Its distance from the entrance gave the illusion of height, shadowed under the sun. The little one soon got to Wing, panting as it struggled to catch its breath. It was difficult to tell if the child was male or female; it wore too-large garments that could have been taken from one of the abandoned stores in the nearer cities, and its hair and face was stained with sand and grime.
"Are you all right?" Wing asked, kneeling down to level with the child. The little one coughed loudly, dust sprinkling from its hair.
Its white hair.
Wing grabbed the little one by the shoulders, brushing dust off clothes and off hair, wiping the face with the back of his right hand. The child allowed him to roughly clean its face, surveying Wing with piercing blue eyes.
Wing brushed dust off the child's hair. It cleaned up white.
Wing's eyes were wide, his gun forgotten at his side as he held the little one in a tight grip.
The child looked, as far as Wing could remember, exactly like a younger Otto.
Perhaps only six or seven years old, every feature seemed like what Otto could have been as he grew. The only differences could be justified by the child's lack of growth. Otherwise, it was very much Otto.
"We had Jana clean him up. Franz is feeding him in the kitchens. Poor kid was in bad shape; it didn't look like he'd eaten in a week already, maybe longer." Laura said. She removed her glassed and began rubbing them vigorously on her blouse, squeezing the bridge of her nose before replacing them.
"What if it's a trick? Maybe they'd made another clone. To infiltrate?" Wing suggested darkly. At the circular table, he, Laura and Nigel sat. There were seven chairs in all, but only four were left to occupy these seats, and three were present at this time.
"We checked him. There isn't any recording equipment in him aside from his brain for human memory, and he's completely biological. The kid's as human as you or I."
"Then what? Should we believe that it was a complete coincidence that this boy, who HAPPENS to look exactly like Otto, wanders in close proximity to our camp?"
"I think we should at least consider the fact that the boy is as lost as he looks." Nigel said.
"We don't have the luxury of being lax, Nigel."
"I apologize if I showed some human sympathy." Nigel responded bitingly. He and Wing glowered at each other. "All right, you two. Nigel, we have to consider anything a threat now, so Wing's distrust is valid. But it doesn't mean we're turning the boy out. We'll interrogate him once he decides to start talking, examine him some more." Laura said, cutting off the argument.
"In the meantime, he stays. I don't care who he looks like or the circumstances under which he came to us." She added. The expressions on both Nigel and Wing's faces showed that they weren't convinced, but they dropped the issue.
Laura frowned at both men and left the room, once again squeezing the bridge of her nose.
It was going to be a long day.
"Laura, you may want to take a closer look at the boy."
Laura turned around. "Oh, Franz. How is he?"
"He's eating, ravenously. He doesn't seem to have a problem with anyone around here, and is as happy as a puppy. Only that..."
"What?"
"He cannot talk. Or, I would assume he cannot. Maybe he does not want to, but I believe he's not able."
"Why do you say that?"
The two walked down the path, twisting left, circling right, climbing stairs through places any normal person would get lost in. "He burned his hand on one of the pots, but he did not make a sound. Any normal child would, and he even opened his mouth as if to, but as of now, he's silent as a lamb."
"I see. Well, lambs can bleat." Laura said passively. "We'll see about this kid."
.end chapter one.
Review or no more chapters for you OwO
