128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Prologue

George Pace's P.O.V

The sound of the main door scraping open reached my ears. "George! I'm home!" my sister, Penny, voiced. I pushed open the door immediately, my lips pursed and cheeks flushing rose-red as embarrassment and guilt filled me.

So, why was I behaving like that, you may ask? Well, before it was my turn to take the test, I chickened out and ran home. My family had to be apart during the testing, so I hadn't seen my family at all. Penelope, my older sister, ran home after she had finished her own tests and realised that I was missing.

She lied and told Mom and Dad that I had felt queasy from the tests, despite the fact that I hadn't taken them at all, so she brought me back home first. Mum and Dad then went for the first day of their new jobs right after that. It turned out that I would never see them again...

"Cheer up. It wasn't your fault that you were anxious. Anyway, I bought some sweets." Penny said merrily as she handed the packet of candy to me.

"Skittles," I said as I glanced at the package. "Thanks.... So, um, how's Mom and Dad?" I asked afterwards.

"Great, they said they felt just as good as before. They should be back in one or two hours. Dad's work shift just ended, and Mom is probably wrapping up by now," Penny replied. "Anyway, I'm feeling a bit drowsy. I anticipated that since the doctors informed me about it earlier," Penny added.

"All right," I acknowledged quaintly. I paused for a moment before making my apology known to her. "I... I'm really sorry I made you lie to them because of me."

Penny gave a subtle smile and shook her head. "Don't apologise. I understand. That was the first thing that came to mind when I decided on this. Anyway, talk to me later. I need to get some...." She paused to rub her eyes before looking at her palm, shocked. I lifted an eyebrow as I moved closer, wondering what was wrong.

"Penny? What's—." I stopped as I gasped, looking at her hands. "Is that... blood? It's... smeared all over!" I shrieked. It wasn't a good thing to say, however, since it only made her even more of a nervous wreck.

"I know, I feel the... pain!" she said before screeching.

"Your... your other eye! It's bleeding too! I-I will get an ambulance now!" I screamed as I ran towards the telephone, wholly petrified from what looked like a horror movie.

"Don't panic, George..." she attempted to calm me, although it was as if she was trying to relieve herself with positivity.

"Yes, I need an ambulance over now! My sister's eyes started bleeding! I... our address? 61 Centre St, Centralia! Please hurry!"

I slammed to phone down onto the holder, stuttering. I couldn't understand what was happening. Until...

"C-c-could those tests be causing this? I think you're having a severe allergic reaction. Didn't they ask you if you had any medical allergies?" I panicked. I didn't know what to say to her, as I was just as frightened as she was.

"George, calm down. Don't panic, don't panic.... I need to clean my face. Just lead me to the... death... room..." she slurred, her voice dipping the moment she muttered "death".

"What did you say?" I panted in shock.

"Bath... room..." she corrected herself quickly as if I had not heard her. I led her forward as her eyesight continued to worsen. She splashed some water on her eyes, trying to rinse the blood off from blocking her vision. It stopped the bleeding but not the pain. It was obvious that it wasn't working when Penny continued to wince.

"The bleeding stopped. H-how do you feel?" I asked.

"Horrible. I can see slightly better, but my vision looks tinted—blood-red..." she slurred again.

"What are you even saying? Death? Blood? Are you serious?" I confided.

"I don't know.... I feel... angry.... I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. I-I think it's best I stay in my room for now..." she groaned as she hunched back towards her room.

"Penny... I don't think this has got to do with an allergic reaction of any sort. You've never had any allergies since you were young, and Mum and Dad would probably say the same. I think... something's wrong with the antidote test trial you went for just now...." I shivered.

"Whatever it is, I'm going in..." Penny said, shaking her head.

All of a sudden, she stopped dead in her tracks, completely silent. In the middle of the unfortunate event, she suddenly pranced at me. Stunned, I shrieked loudly, my face washed over by a tsunami of fear and sweat. I tumbled back, crawling backwards away from her.

"Run... George! Run! I'll... get you!" she warned before a deep, horrifying voice took over.

My legs shuffled down the stairs like jelly. There were no words strong enough to explain the terror that I was experiencing. How was I supposed to process what was happening? What I thought was Penny having a wrongful immune response to the substance she had taken in for the test trial... was actually something wrong with the substance itself?

I ran over to my neighbour's house. Well, except for the fact that there was no neighbour. No one lived there. It wasn't ingenious of me to retreat to a house just beside mine. Penny would eventually find me, and considering the state she was in, I had no idea what she would do to me once she got to me.

I locked the main door and ran up the stairs hurriedly. I moved into one of the rooms and spotted an empty cupboard. Seeing that it would be a suitable hiding spot, I pushed it out a little and squeezed myself inside it before moving it back whilst inside.

Just then, door-banging sounds echoed around the house. It was so clamorous that I could hear it clearly despite being inside the cupboard. Was Penny breaking in? At that rate, she would smash the door broken easily.

I didn't know what to think, but I couldn't just stop there. I looked behind the cupboard. I was leaning against a window. The glass rattled every time I shook in fear, but I couldn't risk giving away my hiding spot because of my fright, though. Covering my mouth silenced my shaky breathing, but despite that, it didn't stop me from shivering.

I turned slowly until my back was leaning against the wood instead of the window. Unlike the glass, which clunked against the window frame, the wood didn't make a sound.

Then, I heard Penny running—running away. "George, don't come out now! I'll... I'll run out of this house first! You... escape by the back door!" she screamed. I understood what she was doing. She knew I was hiding somewhere. Her "instincts" told her somehow. She knew that I couldn't escape as long she was there.

But I knew she didn't make it out of the house for her plan to work. Her evil side's voice confirmed that. "Where... are... you?" she held her voice wickedly.

I still couldn't move. Not an inch. I heard the footsteps again. They were faster this time, indicating that she was sprinting towards me. She was getting really close by then. Will I die here? What... what did I do to deserve this? I reflected, thinking it would be my last moment.

Suddenly, the cupboard was lifted and smashed into the walls of the corner of the room. It was so forceful that I could hear the wood splintering and snapping apart, with noises of wallpaper tearing down accompanying the horrific sound assortment.

Then, I heard Penny's last words. "Grab the window open. J-jump," she murmured. I didn't turn to look at her, however. "George, I'm sorry... I can't control myself. Please don't remember your sister as this awful monster. You have to leave now. Go!" she sobbed.

Instinctively, I slid the antique window open with so much force that it dislodged and crashed down onto the wooden floor, spreading glass bits that grazed my legs all over the fractured planks. I instantly laid a foot on the ledge of the window, pushing myself out onto the outer protrusion of the building façade.

I could hear Penny beginning to growl again. I wanted to say goodbye but knew my farewell would be in vain. She wouldn't listen to it. She was already gone, with this new savage villain overtaking her.

And so, I leapt off.