Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓

sixteen

Things were quiet for a couple of days after Apex turned himself in. The first week with him locked away in The Grid left the entire facility on edge. Security had been amped up ten times and the scouting radius stretched far beyond the mountains. Once the second week passed, everyone's nerves began to settle. It was becoming more apparent that Kismet wasn't planning on attacking any time soon. Still, they kept their guard up.

In the meantime, Chase and the other superpowered teenagers continued their training. They progressed in their combat skills as well as honing their unique abilities. Director Shaw even let them pick out weapons and codenames, effectively making them full-fledged Atlas agents.

Only he, Emily, and Stella picked out weapons. The archer stuck with her bow and arrows while Stella called upon the help of a steel bo staff. As for his own, his decision had been heavily inspired by Apex—though, he'd never admit it. He'd gotten a sword specifically designed just for him. The twenty-seven-inch blade was composed out of black-painted steel with a sturdy hilt wrapped with navy blue tape.

He loved it.

The only issue was that he knew nothing about sword fighting. He'd seen plenty of movies with the art, but he had no practice with it. So, he worked it into his training schedule and vowed to become a formidable swordsman. If he ever had to fight Apex again, brute strength wasn't going to cut it. He would have to defeat the man at his own game.

Along with his sword, he'd been fitted with a holographic—yet tangible—shield which could be summoned out of the device on his wrist. The engineers who made it told him that the device responded to certain movements. Certain actions, like deactivating or conjuring the shield, were all controlled by flicking his wrist in a previously-specified direction.

They called it a holo-shield.

While Chase admitted it was pretty cool, he had no idea how it worked. All the sci-fi stuff that made up most of The Acropolis confused him to no end.

At the moment, he was strolling down the corridor leading to the of Atlas' mini-prison. His new sword was strapped to his back via the magnetic holster that came with it. Minutes later, he arrived at the large, titanium-reinforced doors of The Grid. Two agents stood on either side of the door, their weapons at the ready.

''Just here for my daily appointment,'' Chase joked as he flashed his ID card. The pair nodded and stepped aside so he could scan it.

''Chase Masterson. Designation P1. Welcome, Sentinel,'' P.A.I announced after the scanner turned green.

When Director Shaw first revealed that Atlas agents who were in a squad usually took up codenames, he had no idea what he was going to chose for his own. The others seemed to come up with names almost seamlessly while it took him almost three days to provide the idea for his own. He first thought of going by Soldier or something similar, but Stella quickly told him that was too basic. She suggested picking something close to his heart; something that resonated with him.

The only problem with her advice was that he wasn't sure if he had anything close to his heart. He didn't have many hobbies outside of training and he never had the luxury of stability to develop a clear-cut identity. But after much thought, it hit him in the face.

He decided he'd go by Sentinel, after the mascot of his most recent high school. After all, it was the only thing he liked about the place.

After giving P.A.I a two-finger salute, he passed through the opened doors to The Grid and entered the dimly lit penitentiary.

The place was wide and window-less. The walls curved and created a C-shape, small vents dotting the steel-paneled walls. Light fixtures had been built into the floors and ceilings, but they seemed to be on half-power.