Operation W.A.R.

Chapter 3

A whole week passed since the vaccination, and the kids were beginning to return to their normal selves, except for Katherine and Jack. They had a very hard time moving on. The others were doing alright, but it was still gloomy and dull. They kept trying to distract themselves, either by exploring the facility, or decorating their rooms. But soon, everything would change. One night, as Katherine was in a deep sleep, she had a rather strange dream. Her veins were glowing blue again, just like they had done before she fainted from the vaccination, but it didn't hurt. Instead of feeling a surge of pain, she felt some strange kind of power flowing through her. She woke up suddenly in a dark room. The only light that came into the room was from the window. Looking around, she saw how her wardrobe, desk and chair were floating mid-air. Shocked and scared, each of the object fell back on the ground with a loud thud. What had just happened? She wasn't the only one with a strange experience in the night. Branton woke up with his blankets on fire. Stella was hovering over her bed as she slept. Akilah woke up and saw her own skeleton. Jack woke up, holding a glowing knife. They walked into the kitchen that morning and told each other their stories as Mr. Wilson entered. 

-Good morning, children.

-What happened to us?

Jack demanded to know, much to Wilson's content.

-Finish your eggs first. Then you'll know.  

He left the kitchen, but not before he got himself a mug filled with black coffee. The kids looked at each other, curious, and finished their breakfast. They ran across the facility, looking for Wilson. He had to tell them what was going on with them. They needed to know. It couldn't just have been a dream. Soon, they came to a door they hadn't explored yet. It was a double door, grey like the walls of the hallway. Quietly they opened it and found themselves in a huge training center. There were guns, fighting arenas, archery targets, workout equipment, and all sorts of things. It appealed the boys, but the girls not so much.

-Welcome to your new playground.

Mr. Wilson was in the middle of the gigantic room with a huge smile on his face. 

-Now, you asked me what happened to you. I can explain that. 

They looked at him anxiously, waiting for him to keep talking.

-The substance that we vaccinated you with is called the Generator Serum. It changes the DNA inside of us. A little bit like an upgrade. It gives you special abilities, according to your personality. 

-You mean superpowers?

Branton asked, interrupting his explanation.

-You could say that. The only catch with the Serum is that is can only be injected in young children, such as yourselves. A very painful procedure because of the change it produces in your body. 

The kids just stared at him, emotionless.

-After a few days, the Serum finishes its work and the DNA is permanently changed. No turning back. 

Wilson looked around the room, loosing his gaze from the kids for the first time. 

-In this room, you will be trained to become strong fighters and to learn how to control your new abilities. Once we determine exactly which ones each of you have, we will begin the training. Are there any questions?

The room was silent. The kids were too busy processing the information and staring at the room. 

-Well, I will take that as a good sign. We will begin as soon as possible, so enjoy as much of today as you can.

That was the last thing Mr. Wilson told them that day. He left the room, leaving the kids to their conversation.

-I don't trust him. There is something off about him.

Katherine immediately mentioned, breaking the silence.

-I know. It's like we're an experiment. 

Akilah looked at the others, who muttered something under their breaths in agreement. Stella, though, had something else on her mind.

-What if he's trying to help us? Maybe he's nicer than we think. We never did really give him a chance.

-Stella, you're being too nice again. He's the reason our friends are dead.

-True, but we still have each other. Plus, he didn't mean it to happen.

-That doesn't change things! They are dead because of him!

No one could argue with that. Akilah was right, but so was Stella. Jack decided to speak up for once. 

-Look. I think that both of you are right. Yes, he did kill our friends and yes, he didn't mean it. Yes, that doesn't change the fact that they are dead, but we can still give him a chance to prove himself. Just think of Miss Sarah.

Just mentioning her name made everyone miss her terribly. 

-I know it's painful, but this is our life now. We have to accept it the way it is.

His voice was filled with grief, but Katherine heard the strength and bravery giving her courage. 

-Well, the superpowers do make sense.

Branton looked around with a happy smirk spread across his face. 

-If we can do cool stuff because their helping us, lets sacrifice it.

-Alright, I think we can agree on that.

Katherine added to the conversation. Soon, they all went back into their room, thinking about what their special abilities could be, but Branton decided to explore a little bit more. Running across hallways, he came to a room he hadn't noticed before. It seemed like an office, expect the shelves that surrounded the white desk in the middle of the room were covered in little flasks of blue liquid. The desk was filled with papers, and his curiosity was beginning to take him over. He took some of the papers reading them. One read:

Children from the Uthington Orphanage killed by the Generator Serum sorted by age-

Avery-12, Charles-12, Blake-12, Ivy-12, Diana-12, Karter-12, Penelope-11, Lukas-11, Elena-11, Tyler-11, Alan-11, Julia-11, Arthur- 10, Bryan-10, Jaden-10, Tessa-10, Zoey-10, Colt-10, Lila-10, Aiden-10, Sean-9, Marshall-9, Jonathan-9, Ana-9, Olivia-9.

Sudden anger rushing through him, like a burning fire. Like magic, the paper actually caught on fire, and he let it drop with a yelp. 

-On no.

Scared he ran out the door, but by then each paper on the table was in flames. Stella was in her room, when all of a sudden her gut told her something bad was going on, so she rushed out the door and ran into Branton. 

-Sorry. 

-What's happening?

-I don't know what happened. I was in this room with papers and flasks and the paper I was holding caught fire.

They panicked and ran to get someone, but by the time they found someone and gotten a fire extinguisher, the entire room was in flames. Luckily, the fire didn't spread to the rest of the facility, but by the time they got the fire out it was too late. Each flask of the Generator Serum were smashed on the floor, the papers were all burned to ashes, and the computer on the desk was melted. No hope for it. The Serum was gone, and so was the recipe to make it.