Cautious

Chapter 1. A Glimpse into the Future

Huh, huh, huh!

Oh, shoot, oh, shoot!

Quincy muttered as he dove into the bushes on the corner of the moonlit, small suburban college-town intersection.

"He's around here somewhere! Find him!" A man dressed in all black yelled to a bunch of others running down the dimly lighted street behind him.

I'm so close to my dorm, but how will I get there without getting caught?

"We can't let him get away! He knows too much now."

Quincy peered through the bushes down toward Queens Boulevard. He could make out about five or six people with flash- lights searching the corner by his home: two searching the area by the church across the street, two standing on opposite sides of the street corners checking behind the bushes and trees, and one running to meet another on the corner in front of his dorm.

How did I get myself in this mess? Quincy asked himself.

"Over there, I think I see him!"

Quincy further immersed himself into the shadows of the bush.

He could hear the cult-like group running around him as he closed his eyes to escape from the stress. He began to visualize the people by the sounds he heard, counting the constant rhythm of their footsteps hitting the pavement. He felt the cool night breeze swoop down on him like that of nocturnal creatures catching their prey, then started to doze off.

Till—

He fell asleep—

"Oh no no no..."
"No, this can't be happening!"

"Doctor, we're losing him!"

The three individuals viewing the monitors all clenched their jaws as they watched the vitals begin to decline steadily from their normal rates.

"Look at what you've done, Beonica! You went and blew our last chance at survival!" the blond-haired woman said to the doctor, who was unfazed, leaning over the railing looking down on the sub- ject's capsule.

He can handle it. Just give him some time, she said to herself with a tranquil voice as the woman stormed up toward her.

"It's obvious that your hypothesis was a waste of time! Look at how many innocent lives have been lost! And for what? I left my family behind to come and help you create this! Now they've died in vain..."

The doctor turned and reached up to the woman's shoulders, then looked her directly in her eyes.

"Collins... He will recover..."

Collins smirked then turned away while lightly chuckling. She took a couple steps away, then turned back toward Dr. Stevenson one last time.

"I knew you'd be too stubborn to see... My only regret was not realizing it sooner."

Stevenson turned back toward the capsule as Collins pulled out a pistol. Yet as she steadied her hand, the nearby guard drew his weapon as well in retaliation.

"Freeze!"

The screens in the lab flashed.

"Subject C has reached seventy-two percent of its final completion."

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The lab assistants all screamed in astonishment. No one was permitted to come aboard with anything other than pictures and heirlooms. How did Collins manage to sneak in a gun? The guards converged on her as the lab assistants and medical team converged on Dr. Stevenson, both of whom were shot in the waist, almost simultaneously, collapsing from the immense pain.

"Focus on C!" she shouted as she clenched her waist and yelped in agony.

"Subject C vitals still falling steadily."

"Give him the third pith!" the doctor yelled before collapsing.

The lab assistants all looked at each other concerned but attempted to execute the doctor's order.

"Subject C vitals have lowered by fifty percent!"

"Third pith is being drawn to administer."

"Subject C brain activity is starting to spike."

Please, C! You have to hang on!