Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓

eight

Chase woke up well before nine-thirty that morning.

After waking up at around four and not being able to fall back asleep, he found himself pulverizing a few training dummies in one of the workout rooms in The Acropolis. It was a good way to distract himself while he waited for the others to wake up.

Whenever his father was home and not working, the man would pass his knowledge down to his son. Instead of playing catch on Saturday mornings, he read military books and learned strategy. By the age of eight, he already knew how to dismantle, clean, and reassemble a Colt M4A1.

He'd never been on a sports team, despite knowing he was a better athlete than most people. Instead, he practiced kickboxing, Krav Maga, and Muay Thai. He never had any toys. For his fifth birthday, he'd been given a bowie knife and combat boots. When he turned thirteen, he got his first gun.

It was safe to say his upbringing wasn't the typical one.

Most people would've loathed growing up in such a way. Not Chase. He appreciated what his dad taught him. It prepared him for anything. The skills his father passed down to him coupled with his new abilities—which made him stronger than any human on earth and his skin more durable than titanium—brought him immense confidence.

But he couldn't stop thinking about the plan. If they managed to sneak onto the jet, they'd be one step closer to facing Kismet. While he might've been ready to confront Kismet, especially with his newfound abilities, that didn't mean the others were.

The entire thing was incredibly risky. He was pretty sure none of the others—besides Emily and himself—knew how to fight. In fact, Theo was the most docile person he knew. Andre may have been built like a professional linebacker, but he could tell the guy wasn't a fighter.

Oscar was the only one he wasn't quite sure about.

The kid was from the rougher areas of the neighborhood back in River Hill. While that didn't necessarily mean anything, there was a possibility he knew how to defend himself. His pyrokinetic abilities could also prove to be useful as well.

During his solo, early morning training session, an inkling of doubt snaked its way into his mind. They were going to be up against trained mercenaries—men and women who specialized in all kinds of warfare. Director Shaw might've been right; they weren't ready. But if they did nothing, Kismet would carry out another attack and Atlas wouldn't be able to stop them. While Director Shaw said he had the whole thing under control, Chase knew the man's agents wouldn't be able to contain them. After all, they had a teleporting ninja on their side.

And Apex was the only Prime they knew about. Who knew if there were any more?

No. They had to do something.

The sun shone through the window on the other side of the room. He wiped his dripping face and checked his phone. It was time for him to meet up with the others.

Exhaling, he grabbed his shirt from a bench near the wall and left the room.

#

Waking up Andre easily had to be one of the hardest things Chase had ever done. The guy could sleep through a tsunami.

Once they managed to wake the sleeping giant up, the group of five began to get ready. Upon realizing they all couldn't fight in their Atlas sweaters, they agreed to wear their bio-suits underneath their regular clothes. The suits were designed specifically for each person's unique abilities. Chase figured they'd put them to use.

''Everyone ready?''

''For the record, I still think this is a terrible idea,'' Theo chirped.

He sighed and faced his friend. While he did manage to convince the guy to go along with the mission, he wasn't shy about his expressing his thoughts.