Alphas

Prologue:

To date, there are roughly three thousand people who have "opened the door" to another ten percent of their brain. Out of nearly eight billion people on earth, you may say, so what?

Well, here's what:

Opening the doorway to another ten percent of your brain is monumental. It makes a person insanely smart, giving them, no matter the age, the ability to grasp any concept thrown at them, no matter how complicated it may be. It unlocks deeply buried memories one cannot recall, and everyone with the extra brain-power gets the high-paying jobs.

But this kind of thing comes with... side affects. Some of them are good, and some bad. One can catch glimpses of the future, read books in half the time as someone with a normal mind, and more. But the bad side effects are just how they sound: bad. Think mental institutions, expierements performed on you by scientists trying to find out how these certain people can accomplish unlocking this extra ten percent; think insanity, the complete and total breaking of your mind. Think about the fact that the people who die instantly are considered the lucky ones.

Three thousand of these types on the earth, including the insane ones.

They're called Alphas, appropriately named due to their superiority. They look like normal people, but their minds are moving twice as fast as an average human's. The transition from Beta to Alpha can happen at any time, any age. Scientists can't figure out a pattern in the survival rate; the Alpha gene isn't selective. No matter the race, age, gender, appearance, ambition, anything, this can happen to anyone.

Now you're probably questioning, how?

The 'how' is the only selective part. About one-eighth of all Alphas have become this way by their own will. They concentrated, some making their minds go blank and others picturing a door they can pull open. But they can also shut the door. Having that kind of control at their disposal makes them the most powerful, so they will most likely never shut the door. The other two ways to become and Alpha are simple: one can be born that way, or randomly become it.

There are other risks to being an Alpha, though. Some people don't like them. They feel inferior (compared to super-minds, who wouldn't?), and they want the Alphas dead. They don't have a name. They don't have a group. They don't have structure. But they're out there. They have found ways to determine an Alpha from a group of people: the way their eyes seem to have more depth, and the way they carry themselves. The effects of being an Alpha are simple and changes small, but they're still noticeable. The hunters can see this. They watch, they see, they kill.

Simple as that.

Chapter One:

"Loretta, are you paying attention to me?"

I force my attention back to my crazy teacher, Alexander. He's younger, about mid-twenties, with old-fashion spectacles and shoulder-length light brown hair that sticks up around his hair like he styles it by sticking his finger in an electrical socket every morning. I call him Der, not only because it's in his name, but also because whenever I take a while to answer a question he finds the answer to obvious, he says, "der".

"No," I reply honestly. "What were you saying?"

He sighs impatiently, and straightens his vest. "I was saying, did you do the reading I assigned last night?"

I nod. "Yeah. I read seven chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird, looked up the current events you told me about and... oh just kidding, that's all I read."

His lips slide into a flat line. "Alright. Well, how did you feel about what you read?"

"The racial injustice in TKAM is amazing. I can't believe that kind of thing really happened," I tell him. "All skin colors get along so well now... who would do something like that? What was the reason for the hate?"