Short Stories Volume 1

How I died pt. 1

I screwed up.

There are a few things you need to know before you read this. I know what you came here for. It came in the mail; he was an unfortunate lad. He had more potential than anyone I've ever known. I knew better, but a lot can happen in a lifetime. This is the story of how I died, but don't worry. I came back.

Let's start at the beginning shall we. Now I'm technically human, but I am genetically modified. I didn't have a mother or a father. My first heart beat wasn't from inside a womb but from one of their seed chambers. A long time ago, humans encountered a disease that made pregnancy impossible. Within twenty years, there were no longer any children left on the planet.

If this continued then within seventy years the human race would go extinct. But a group of scientist discovered that it was simply a pregnancy issue, not a fertility issue. Females and males were still fertile. So they did everything they can to create the perfect incubator for a fetus to grow right from the start. That's how it started.

Ten years later, the first baby using the seed chamber was born. It grew to be healthy and fully functioning adult. Being labelled as a success, full development and mass production began to provide anyone who wanted children a seed chamber. Parents and families were allowed to use their own DNA obviously. But military groups saw more potential to the seed chambers.

With the basic ones, families were allowed to alter any details they needed to for their child. By doing so, we are practically wiping out all human diseases. They even were able to speed up the growth process so that it wouldn't take nine months. So with this technology, they decided to take it a step further. Wanting the perfect soldier for different types of mission, they began introducing animal DNA into the chambers.

Of course, like many things that are high valued, some seed chambers were sold or developed in black markets and then sold.

How these new modifications worked depended on how or what you needed. For example, the few of the assassins that were caught, a lot of them had cat and snake modifications. Cats for their stealth and prowl-ness, snakes for their venom. In the cases of the military, well the navy used a lot of marine creatures. The army used dogs, wolves or lions. You get where I'm going with this.

I was born in one of the chambers that were sold on the black market. I was the only surviving mod, all others were destroyed during the raid as a result of one of the men trying to destroy any evidence of what they were doing. Technically I was innocent of any crime, so they allowed me to be born. All under one condition. The moment I commit any crime, no matter how small, I would be put to death.

I never had any inclination for such a thing. Despite my mod coding. All I wanted to do was live a normal life. Well as normal as I can live. I was unique amongst all others because I had more mod coding in me than anyone ever on record. It was like I was a walking zoo. With time, I was able to control it so that it didn't handicap me.

Once in a while, I was asked to consult and help police, military or other government works on what they needed. But otherwise, my wish to live normally was respected.

I had a nice life and a nice home. Nothing too big, I lived alone. But I did have a tremendous front and back yard. In the back was the woods, upfront was the ocean. Perfect for more than three of the mods I have. Everything I needed I could hunt and grow myself. There was only one road to get to my place. No one besides the government knows I live here. All my mail was dropped off by the sheriff.

Which is why my instinct got riled when I picked up the scent of someone unknown when I got back from my swim. The trail was strong and the person had been bleeding. It belonged to a female. I was going to start hunting her down but a noise coming from my porch stopped me dead on my tracks. It was a small cry. Within seconds I was in front of it tearing at the box.

Inside was a baby boy. He had fresh blood on him so I brought him inside. I cleaned him up, making sure to be gentle with him. Once all the blood was gone, I saw no visible marks. Made sense since I only smelled blood from the female, but I had to make sure.

The second time my instinct riled up was when I tried to get the boy's scent to see what mods he has to better accumulate him. He had none. I sniffed again and again I got nothing. Even if a seed chamber is set with no large mods, having the child born inside with perfect health is a mod in itself. So him not having a mod scent is abnormal. Something that is not suppose to exist. The only way he wouldn't have the scent is if...

No, that's not possible. There hasn't been a natural birth in over a century. Even if I were to entertain the thought, it would be impossible for a woman to hide her pregnant stomach and her scent. Anyone with a canine, feline or primate mod would be able to tell if any female within their proximity is fertile or pregnant. There's no way this baby was natural. He probably came from a defective chamber.

I tuck him in a make-shift bassinette and stay with him until he falls asleep. When he does, I head out in to where I first picked up her scent. Once I got it, I stay on her trail that leads into the woods. After what would be a normal thirty minute jog for the average mod, I find the bleeding female.

Not only was she in bad shape due to two gunshot wounds but she had all the signs of a woman who had just given birth. The moment I got in her line of sight she closed her eyes. I can hear her heart already slowing down. Even if I take her back to my house, she wouldn't survive the journey. Instead of moving her and possible causing her pain, I just hold her hand so that she's not alone when she passes. I didn't have to wait long, only three minutes.

I dig a shallow grave and bury her. I find some rocks so that I can put it on top of it so that it's proper. I don't think she came looking for me specifically but she in a way asked for my help. Why she needed help I had no idea. I was soon answered by the sudden sound of numerous vehicles on the road leading up to my house. Running back as fast as I can, I greet the men that step out of the cars before they can step on my porch.

All they keep asking me is anyone has come to visit me in the last twenty four hours. This would be the third time my instincts have been peaked today. There are at five with hound mods and four with cougar mods. Perfect for hunting. They would've picked up the blood the moment they stepped out of the cars. And the way that they had worded it. Not if a person had come to visit me but if people had come. Which means they knew that the woman wasn't alone. Which begs the question, is this who she was running from?

It had to be. Within three hours that she had come here, these men followed. Not to mention that she had gunshot wounds to they must be the ones who shot her. Now the big questions are how did they know she was pregnant? And, even though we haven't had a pregnant female in a long time, why would they go through so much trouble for her? She's a human being who has had a miracle. Why are they treating her like she's hunted game?

But one in particular is really bugging me. These men greeted me by first name, and some of them I've met before. They know my reputation, all the mods I have inside and what I'm capable of. So why are they being aggressive and bearing their teeth? They are clearly trying to start a fight. Especially with how they are starting to circle me.

One thing's for sure. They aren't getting their hands on the boy. Not if I have anything to say about it.