Absolute Zero

Chapter Four

4

Eyes fluttered open as Mordecaii frowned at the bright whiteness surrounding him. He sat up with a groan, as his insides hurt badly. "Welcome," a familiar voice greeted. Mordecaii flinched, since the room was so empty it echoed loudly. Hissing in pain, he turned toward the voice and replied sadly, "Hello," Looks like he wasn't dead. Couldn't even kill himself right. "I'm not dead, am I?"

The owner of the voice smiled. "Almost."

Mordecaii gawked when he saw who it was. "Michael?"

"Mhmm. I got to you just in time."

Now Mordecaii felt a little mad. "You saved me?"

Michael strode up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, still smiling. "Now now, don't get all bent out of shape. I did you a huge favor. You can go to hell for commiting suicide."

Lowering his head, Mordecaii mumbled, "Already was in hell."

Sadness settled over Michael's chiseled but soft countenance. Keeping his arm around Mordecaii's shoulder, he sat himself and the younger down on an invisible couch. "Mordecaii," he began, "do you know where you are?"

Sarcastically, Mordecaii answered with hand motions, "Uhmm, let me think, maybe a hospital, or a mental asylum,"

Although funny, it apparently wasn't the answer Michael was looking for. "No, you're not. How do I say this..." He rubbed his forehead with his hand, eyes closed with an exasperated breath, "Mords, you're in a coma,"

Wait, what? "Eh?"

"Don't worry, you can come out of it when you'd like, but it's the only way I can talk to you, like privately, and show you all of the visual imagery; you know, privately. You see," he stood and began to pace around, "we've been watching you for a long time, since you were born, actually, and we've seen all that you've been through, so we knew this day was coming-"

"Wait, we?"

"Let me finish," Michael held up his hand, continuing his pacing, "-and we prepared for it accordingly. And now we're here, at a crossroad, with a choice; life or death."

"Death, obviously,"

"Now now, don't be so quick to judge. There's still things you need to know about your future."

"Like what, that I'll be bullied for the rest of my life and probably killed?"

"That you'll save the world."

Certainly a shock to Mordecaii, but he was ready with a reply. "What has the world ever done for me? It's given me nothing but pain and sorrow."

"That's exactly what your kind is thinking right now,"

"My kind?"

"Yes," Michael waved a hand in front of his face, and a large screen appeared. Curious, Mordecaii went around the screen to his friend's side. On screen were DNA strands labeled human, cat, and hybrid. "This is the DNA strand of a cat-human hybrid,"

Mordecaii knew what was coming, but he didn't want to hear it. "This is you, Mordecaii. The first of your kind. You're special, and your abilities will save the world."