Code Red

Code Red

By: Christopher Tisdale & Artemis Little

Chapter 1

A Gibbous moon painted on the backdrop of a starry night sky bathes the expanse of wooded lands. Light breezes cool the summer air while crickets can be heard playing their beautiful tune all around. Most of the carnivorous creatures of the day are asleep at this moment, still-leaving the darkness for those less interested in blood.

In a small open field, a mother doe munches on a patch of grass. She raises her head slightly at the sounds coming from the dimly-lit forest. Her eyes center over at her babe grazing a few feet behind her. She must keep moving to evade the predators lurking in the dark forest waiting to strike at any moment. She knows this forest well, but her young calf doesn't. The two continue through the trees carefully to the next spot on the doe's nightly route. She looks at her meandering babe making her slow down her pace. She grunts sternly, warning the calf to keep moving. It is almost morning and the two must return before dawn.

Her hooves come to a stop right in front of a very familiar surface, hard yet smooth and it seems to cut the forest in half. She has seen flashes of light dart around on this weird surface. The magnificent lights are beautiful, but unforgiving if approached. She knows water is on the other side, but she has a calf and is hesitant whether to put her babe in danger or not. She waits a moment before she darts across. She grunts at her calf and the young buck shoots out of a bush onto the road.

The young buck stands in the middle of the road. Although he hears his mother calling, he wants to enjoy his moment of independence on the black asphalt. Just then a loud rumbling all too familiar to the calf's mother is heard. She grunts for him to run, but he is too confused as to what is going on. Then they see two lights causing the deafening roars. He begins to rush towards his mother as the lights come closer to hitting the babe.

Just then a louder disturbing noise comes from the approaching beast freezing the frightened calf, "BEEP"!

"Look out Mom!"

Clarissa, a 16 year old girl with strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes screams as she lays on the mini cruiser's horn. The vehicle swerves just in time to miss the young buck fleeing to his mother's side.

"I told you if you're too tired I'll drive! I actually want to make it to my freshmen orientation mom," Clarissa says rather frustratingly.

"I said I was ok, Clarissa. It's just those blasted lines. They always put me in a trance after awhile and I can't take my eyes off them,"

Jackie's black hair was curled in a cute way, but her blue eyes were calm.

"Besides, Clair we're almost there," Jackie informs Clarissa.

As the mother doe and her babe scamper off cautiously another mother and child pass a sign saying: McCastle University 10 miles away.

"Clair, how do you feel now that you're almost free? I remember the first time I left home. I was scared out of my mind," Jackie says as she recalls the past.

"Drill Sergeants screaming in my ears and getting in my face, it was terrible. This one drill sergeant said he loved eating raw onions just before first formation just to see us squirm when he yelled in our faces." Jackie says as she felt a chill come down her spine.

"Well, Mom, this is not Army basic training or anything like that. I won't need to do a billon push-ups or run a million miles," Clarissa says in a joking manner, "Or have to deal with a drill sergeant who eats raw onions just to see me squirm as he yells in my face," She adds.

"The food will be the same, Clarissa," Jackie says teasingly.

"Really," Clarissa asks her mom.

"Of course Clair, you'll be eating left overs they've stored for weeks in the freezer and when you're done they'll scrape of what's left on your plate in a container and store it for months in the freezer, maybe even years," Jackie says trying to sound serious.

"MOM!" Clarissa yells while she smacks her mom's right shoulder.

"Hey, don't smack me I'm driving here!" Jackie scolds in a teasing way.

The two keep on teasing one another until they park just outside a hotel in Ridgeton, Michigan, Home to McCastle University. Clarissa looks at a sign saying: McCastle University founded on October 6, 1999.

"Wow, Mom, McCastle University was founded 46 years ago."

"Yeah, Clair."

Clarissa was awarded a scholarship to the exclusive school due to her exceptional work as a high schooler in Berlington, Vermont. At age 14 she was awarded the National Science Foundation's 'Award of Excellence' for her project involving animal genetics during her time in high school

Clarissa discovered a gene common to all life, it is a gene that allows animals to adapt to their environment. She graduated early to attend an inaugural program designed by Dr. Charles C. Remington, Professor of the Genetics Lab. The program is primarily funded by the U.S government although Professor Remington raised over 3 million through several black tie dinners.