Prologue Chapter: A Whim?

"Subject Samuel Von Lorel, please report to the administrative office. I repeat, subject Samuel Vo-"

Before the speaker assigned to Samuel's room could continue its incessant blaring. He got up from his chair, where he was reading a book about string theory made by Brian Greene. As he stepped out and the door to his room closed, he could still hear the message playing inside his room. The reverberations reached his enhanced senses.

His steps echoed through the steel white and grey floors that held up the red and blue steel-colored walls. Walls that read "ATLANTIS Organization," the ceiling a smoky grey with small vents blowing out room temperature air. As he passed, he saw many other 'subjects' inside their rooms playing games. Some play chess, some wrestle, and many can be seen with a book in hand. At the same time, some can be seen working out with equipment given to them by the organization.

Many were engrossed in conversation; some talked about the new hot instructor assigned to class 44-B.

And some talked about their friends' deaths, regret permeated the halls. While some talked about their dreams of the outside world.

Samuel ignored all this as he walked past all his fellow subject's rooms.

As Samuel passed through more halls of solid steel, he spotted his fellow subjects exiting some automatic steel doors.

He saw approximately 300 people sitting around tables, eating and conversing with one another.

"Not that many people today, huh?"

Samuel noted as he glanced toward the shrinking masses. Not too long ago, there would have been at least 5,000 people in the mess hall, and the sound of their voices as they spoke would have been the cause of many headaches. But now it looks like that would be less and less of a problem with each passing day.

Samuel walked past the mess hall into the gym, where he saw his long-time friend walk out with a towel around his neck. His hair is a deep black color and wet with the telltale smell of a fresh shower. The scent of soap and sweat seemed to permeate the gym at all times. Workout equipment and sports training equipment littered the gym.

"Hey, Sammy! How're you doing, man!? Where have you been!? I haven't seen you in like a month! I thought you died out there!"

Tony exclaimed with a teary-eyed look as he came closer, arms open wide.

"Doing pretty good, Tony!" Samuel said as he grinned and hugged his friend.

"Don't 'pretty good' me, man. I really thought you died out there!"

Tony laughed as he grabbed Samuel's shoulders and looked Samuel over, ensuring he looked healthy. While scanning him, he saw his eyes and skin looked different. He also noticed that his friend had become taller. On top of that, his ribcage was more raised, and the muscles bulging through his shirt were noticeable now. This wasn't uncommon, but the changes this indicated were a story of unimaginable horror.

"What did they do this time!?"

Tony questioned, the restrained ire plain to hear as he asked Samuel.

Samuel sighed, but he was used to this. He was glad that his friend cared so much, though, and in an attempt to ease his friend's mood, he said.

"Come on! You know those assholes can't kill me that easily."

At that, Tony paused, chuckled, and said, "Don't I know that! But seriously, what did they do this time?"

Tony asked with worry in his tone.

Samuel smiled and said,

"Don't worry, I'll tell you! It's just that they called me over to the administrative office a while ago, and you know how they get when you don't 'comply immediately.'"

Samuel mocked while making air quotes.

Tony chuckled at that and said,

"In that case, I'll meet you in the cafeteria later, OK?"

Samuel agreed with a fist bump and nod.  As he turned to leave and navigate through this steel world his friend called out to him

"Hey, Sammy!"

Tony called out as he walked backward with a smug grin on his face as he dried his hair with his towel around his neck.

"Don't let those bastards make you agree to anything, alright?!"

Samuel waved him off with a slight smile on his face, turning away from his friend as he did.

While he gave significant strides, he made sure to step up and over any underwear and shorts on the ground.

He then walked from location to location, glancing through the once-full hallways, seeing the library empty of its once-diligent subjects. The students that hung here were the smartest of the bunch, with culture and class to spare. But they couldn't last the test of time and body as he could, it would seem.

He walked by many gyms and empty classrooms until he finally reached the administrative office. Two guards where at full attention near his office.

He read the sign beside the door, "Head Researcher Dr. Trevor Cams-Worth's Administrative Office."

A chilling look passed through his eyes as he waited in front of the office. Sam eyed the guards and said, "You called?"

The guards ignoring Sam's words said, "Subject Designation?" While eyeing his tablet through his helmet visor.

Sam rolling his eyes said, "Samuel Von Lorel."

A second passed, and Dr. Trevor through the speaker outside casually said, "Come in."

His tone of voice was cold and unfeeling.

Feelings and imaginary images of Dr. Trevor's catastrophic mutilation, torture,and murder passed through Sam's mind. His expression betrayed nothing as the guards opened the now unlocked sliding doors. They waited for him to pass through before passing through themselves, they closed the door behind Sam as they shadowed his every step. Sam ignored them as he walked forward unbothered.

After many years of grueling and cruel tests that they disguised as 'training.'

He learned never to show weakness before this venomous viper, who sentenced many of his fellow subjects to death without batting an eye.

Sam was close to a few people before when he was younger. He read books and played games with them, too, but that all changed when Trevor, that viper said they had to fight each other to the death. People he knew killed other people he knew. Soon, those same people stabbed him in the back, too.

You can never truly trust people here.

That includes Tony, though Sam wishes he could trust him. You never truly know who to trust in this place.

"You're late."

Trevor calmly said his eyes never left the stack of paper on his desk as he licked his thumb fingertip and flipped through the pages.

"..."

Samuel said nothing as he waited for his following words. After all, he wouldn't apologize to someone like him—Trevor's words marinated in the cold steel room. The lights hummed brightly, Dr. Trevor's glasses reflecting that light onto the dark brown mahogany desk under him.

*Tick* *Tick* *Tick*

A minute passed, but he didn't say anything as he read through the stack of papers, occasionally signing and stamping through them.

Even with all of this, Sam said nothing.

Growing ever impatient with this power play made by the Doctor, the prospect of just leaving played through his mind. Until he decided that was just what he would do.

Just as Sam turned to leave, Trevor said,

"Your results are truly awe-inspiring; at the stage you are in now, we can finally put a close to this experiment."

Sam's eyes narrowed as turned around and glared into Trevor's glasses.

He didn't trust anything he said; he must have been planning something.

"Don't look at me like that."

Dr. Trevor calmly said, as he looked at Samuel with a steady but cold gaze.

Too cold, one would say. It was as if looking into the eyes of a machine.

"I'm speaking the truth; we just need to do the final trials of this experiment. We only need 100 successful candidates, and this will finally end."

Dr. Trevor said, as his cold gaze never left Sam's emotionless ones.

An annoyed feeling grasped Dr. Trevor before he ruthlessly crushed it. His gaze alone was usually enough at putting people in their place, but it never seemed to work with Samuel.

Sam clenching his fists that where resting at his back in impotent anger. Sam's eyes never leaving Trevor's.

Samuel new what this meant. The Subjects as they called them where losing their usefulness.

This final test will decide whether he lived or died.

"What do you want me to do?"

Trevor scoffed and, with a tone that betrayed amusement, said,

"YOU don't have to do anything; WE are the that have to inject the final dose of the LACE Serum into you. All that you have to do is survive. And if you do there's a big chance you'll finally get out into the real world and be a part of society."

Without hesitation, Sam said,

"I'll do it."

Even if it was a lie, there was nothing else he could do; this experiment, according to Dr. Trevor, was sponsored by the world government. Even if he could escape this facility, he would be a fugitive for the rest of his life. There would be nowhere safe for him to live, not when this was a sponsored government facility.

"You sure? This will be the largest dose yet. Though you probably will not die, this will be the most painful injection procedure yet."

Dr. Trevor said with no change in his expression. A calculating look passed through his eyes as he looked away from his papers.

"Yes."

Sam's been through so much pain that even when his rib cage and lungs exploded out of his chest, it could only be considered mild pain. Yes, he could feel the pain, but he would disassociate himself from the pain. Like the person that was going through the pain wasn't himself but someone else. It's almost as if he were watching a movie.

"Very well, please sign here and here."

Without saying anything else, Samuel took the pen at the table's edge and the waiver right next to it. Passing his eyes through the fluff, he read it all the way through. Making sure he didn't agree to anything unsavory.

When he found nothing suspicious, his gut told him something was wrong. But he resolved to see through this to the bitter end.

He wanted to be free again.

And if he died to the LACE serum or the Dr made no difference, he would go out fighting.

He thought coldly as he signed the waiver.

'In the end, I agreed to something. Sorry Tony. Though I suspect we had no choice in matter since the beginning' Samuel thought with a thoughtful expression.

"When?"

Sam curtly said, his eyes giving a final look to the waiver.

"Be here today at 5 p.m. and be punctual; you know I hate to wait. Also, don't eat anything. I don't want to see you puking it out onto the floor. Or eat. I'm not the one cleaning the floor anyway."

Trevor dismissively said, waving him out of the room, quickly becoming bored of Sam and his attitude.

Sam said nothing and walked away with guards tailing him until he left the office.

____________________________________________

[20 minutes later]

Dr. Trevor could be seen going through the last few papers in his pile.

When suddenly, he heard a knock on the steel door, an irritated sigh left his lips. He said,

"Come in."

The door slid open, and then came a man with glasses and a bald spot at the top of his head, loosely covered with the few hairs he had combed to the side.

If you looked at this man and knew nothing about him, you would assume he was at least in his late 30s. But in actuality, he was in his mid-20s. Yang, of course, blamed genetics because he would never admit the job he applied to would cause him hair loss from the stress. 

The partially bald young man said,

"Good morning Dr. Trevor."

"Good morning, Mr. Yang. Did you complete the final preparations I asked you to make?"

Hesitations flashed through his eyes as he said,

"Of course, Dr. Trevor, all preparations have been finalized. It's just that..."

Dr. Trevor, hearing Mr. Yang's hesitation, slowly looked away from his papers and, with a urging gaze said,

"Out with it."

"Yes, Dr. Trevor, it's just that...well...even though their results are astonishing and well beyond any human. The Fact is that this final dose could kill 20 pods worth of fully-grown whales!"

"..."

Dr. Trevor said nothing as he waited for him to finish his rambling. He was starting to tire of this rambling fool who didn't know what he was talking about.

Mr. Yang got a little nervous and, in a hurry, said,

"...Yes, their results are truly spectacular for us humans, but the LACE Serum isn't just a drug; it's a weapon in and of itself, a poison! This serum is something that tampers with our very genetics. It's not something that one can just adapt to on a whim!"

Dr. Trevor, at Mr. Yang's final words, made his left eyebrow twitch—the hidden meaning behind Yang's words touching buttons that hadn't been touched in years.

"A whim?"

At that, Mr. Yang knew he fucked up.

"You think this is a whim?"

Trevor said as he got up from his chair, his gaze darkened by his hair and glasses.

"I... a um...n-no, of course not."

"Who are YOU to question my methods?"

Trevor said as he slowly walked towards the fool before him, his voice severe and with non-concealed venom.

"No sir, I-I would never! It was just an honest consideration I made; it was not in any way said to undermine your intellect!"

"No, I don't care about that. It is the mere thought that you would think I'd do anything of this magnitude. ON. A. WHIM."

Dr. Trevor said with subdued anger—annoyance over this little pest doubting his every move boiling to the top of his head. In fact, he was so annoyed that Trevor was starting to get suspicious of him.

Was Yang a mole?

"You think that I didn't think of that? That any thought and idea you can even conceive of with that little brain of yours I haven't thought of first?"

Even as Dr. Trevor said this, with a simmering lid on his anger, he thought of ways to use this mole to his advantage.

"I think it's time for you to leave, Mr. Yang. Before I do something to you, we'll both regret."

As Dr. Trevor said this, Mr. Yang hurriedly left his office with a sheen of sweat that was forming on his forehead.

Dr. Trevor first had to know if he genuinely was a mole he had to worry about. And if he was? Then to whom was he giving that information? Was it the world government? Did they find out?

Many thoughts and precautions crossed his mind.

'It looks like I have to change my plans.'

At that, he picked up a phone with an encrypted line and called the only number inside.

'Better safe than sorry.'

____________________________________________

Sitting at one of the tables inside the mess hall, Samuel could be seen with a plate of fruit and a glass of water.

Ever since the changes made to his body, he didn't have to eat or drink as much anymore. In fact, this was his first meal in a whole year, and he didn't even feel all that hungry. He also didn't think he needed to poop anymore. His body was too efficient, not that he was complaining.

Samuel was engrossed in conversation with Tony as he recounted the last six months he was gone.

Tony could be seen with a ghastly expression that slowly worsened with each word Sam spoke.

"...Sammy, what the fuck!? You're kidding, right?"

Chuckling at his reaction, he popped a piece of watermelon into his mouth.

With a smile as he barely chewed and swallowed, then said,

"Nope, it's been pretty bad these past few months."

A distant look passed through his eyes as he disassociated for a moment, a distant look passed through his eyes.

Remembering Sam was talking to his friend, he snapped his gaze towards Tony.

Tony was still looking at Sam, but Tony's gaze betrayed pity.

Sam clenched his fists in frustration beneath the table. Outwardly calm, he said,

"…Yeah, I thought I would die a few times. It's just been close call after close call over and over again. Day after day, month after month."

He opened his fists from underneath the table, having finally calmed down. He grabbed a grape from his plate and peeled the skin off slowly. He made sure to not leave a single piece of skin left as he methodically peeled the grape. His eyes avoiding his friend's face as he concentrated on the operation he was conducting, he continued,

"And I'm pretty sure we'll be free in a bit."

Tony's eyes widened, his mouth agape.

A confused look passed through Tony's eyes.

"Sorry?"

Tony uttered,

"Wha-at?"

Tony stuttered a question, a breath hitched in his throat an expectant look shone in his eyes.

"We'll be free in a little bit."

Samuel said with no change in his expression.

"A-Are you serious!?"

Tony excitedly said as he abruptly shot up from his seat. Not minding Sam's nonchalant behavior as he fist-pumped the air with excitement. He then started running towards his friends in the background, yelling and screaming excitedly, telling everyone the good news.

Sam takes away his gaze from his very important grape operation. Looking at his friend, jump around like a fool and slowly a smile melted his cold expression.

He wouldn't spoil his mood just yet and ate his grape.

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I hope you like the first chapter; there's more to come. Cheers!