SPARKs

Chapter Two - The Mission

Year: 2074

Location: SPARK Industry

Axel's POV

The plain white ceiling is always the first thing I see when I wake up. Followed by the silver walls and door, all made from titanium. Because no SPARK could possibly get through titanium, they'd thought. I'd test that theory, but I had no reason to defy them. Yet.

Besides, with Restrictors locked around our wrists, we wouldn't be going anywhere.

A SPARK soldier came in at eight o'clock sharp, which was unusually early. His name was Ron, according to his colleagues. Like every soldier, his posture was straight and sturdy, to present confidence. It was something they were all taught to do, to show that they were in charge, and we must submit to their every order. Even though the Industry leaders practically idolized me, the rest of the Industry still regarded me as an abomination. Ron lead me out of my room and into the hallway, which was, you guessed it, encrusted with titanium. Even the windows had metal plates nailed over them.

As we walked out of Block B, I mentally prepared myself for the medicinal stench of Block C. However, we went briskly past Block C, and into Block D, the training rooms.

SPARK Industry is an octagonal shaped structure made up of four individual buildings, A to D. Each block was a different type of facility.

Block A was the weapons' keep. In short, the place where anything that is sharp or explosive or deadly is kept. It's also the Industry soldiers' and scientists' living quarters.

Block B, respectively, was the SPARK quarters, where all the children, SPARKs (well, just me) and the non-SPARKs live in. The non-SPARKs are constantly being experimented on, in hope that they will eventually accept the artificial DNA that would transform them. Even I still don't understand how my body was able to accept that crap.

Located in Block C were the science labs, where all SPARK experiments take place. It is the most highly secured place in the Industry. Since the experiments were always unpredictable, anything could go wrong at any time. Many had attempted escape in the labs which, really, was plain stupid on their part. In a place where there were soldiers, weapons, chemicals, machines-there are quite literally a thousand ways to die, even for a SPARK. You'd have to be a genius to be able to escape from Block C, but then again, to escape at all would be an amazing feat.

Block D would be my favourite place in the Industry, if such a place existed in this dump. It contained dozens of individual hexagonal tanks, all made with bulletproof glass. In each hexagon, there would be a different type of training facility, all made with digital laser projections. It was like a virtual reality video game. Your body is strapped to a scanning device that digitalises your whole body, so once you enter the hexagon, you become data. You, nor the bullets, arrows or knives that you train with, could do any harm. Even though it's so restrictive, it's definitely the most bright and entertaining place by far, and the only place you could let go without soldiers giving you the evil eye.

We actually used to have normal training facilities, but they were all replaced after it was concluded that letting us handle real weapons would be a risk for them. They always go overboard with the security measures. Ever since that first SPARK, Kula, went berserk and hightailed out of the Industry, Industry leaders went to the extremes to make sure it wouldn't happen again. They replaced all of our training weapons with laser replicates, injected trackers into our bodies and slapped Restrictors over our wrists. If anyone dared to pull such a stunt again, a press of a button would have us writhing in pain. Thanks a lot, IV.

I remembered the huge commotion at dawn two years ago, how all the guards stationed at Block B had abandoned their posts. They locked down the entire building to keep us in, and for two hours I sat in my room, bored to death, wondering what the hell happened. They never did tell us, but SPARK soldiers were gossips, and word got around fast, so we found out anyway.