A Tale of a Dystopian Future

Chapter 1

My name is Mark Unater. I was captured in the ruins of Porthill 12 years ago. My life here is somehow worse than when I lived in the ruins. Every day, I go into the test chamber, then to surgery, then back to the test chamber. After all this time the only mutation they have managed to draw out of me is basic gravity manipulation. Uncommon, but I have a limit of about a pebble. So all in all useless. Everyone goes to brainwashing on their 23rd birthday. Unquestioning loyalty is programmed into us then. Loyalty to President Pacton. My birthday is only 5 days away. I need to escape before then.

Its 3 days until my appointment. The scientists are getting desperate; today they injected a new highly dangerous chemical, hoping for something, anything. My powers are so useless they would risk killing me in order to get something useful out of me. I don't blame them.

Its the day. the injection did nothing, and I am on my way to the brainwashing chamber. Suddenly, my eyes start to hurt, and my vision goes dark. I can feel the blood dripping down my cheek. I guess the injection did do something after all. At least tomorrow I won't have enough independence to complain. Or even know I am in pain. We stop, this must mean we are here. I hear a door open, and I get pushed forward. my last moments where my thoughts are my own; I need to say something witty.

"Congrats on your new blind, skinny, useless soldier," I say.

I hear a whistle and a sharp pain across my knees. Then I hear the most uncommon sound in the whole base: the sound of a klaxon mixed with gunfire. We are under attack. I hear a flurry of footsteps, and a door closing. They ran and hid, leaving me behind. The gunfire is getting closer.

"In here!" I shout, "I don't care if you kill me or take me with you, it's going to be better than this shit!"

The door slams open, and someone says "Oh there's one here"

"A mutant?" Says another.

"Most likely," Says the first.

"My power is incredibly week gravity manipulation, and they just injected me with some bullshit that fucked up my eyes." I say "I might develop something else later but I have no god damn clue. Now either kill me or get me the hell out of here."

"He swears a lot," the second one mutters.

"Does that matter?" the other shoots back, "he could be useful,"

I feel the restraints on the bed loosen and come off, and I sit up.

"Thank you," I tell them. "If you're here looking for mutants, you're lucky to attack when you did. I wasn't in my cell, and the extermination system in 4a is down. Walking out of here with two of us alive is very lucky for you. But you need to hurry, an extermination squad is definitely on their way to 4a, and those scientist that ran out on me are definitely going to be executed for forgetting to kill me before running away. All the others are dead by now."

"Oh, fuck. Well, whats 4a's powers?" The first guy asked.

"Extreme strength. Common, but he is able to lift 100t, so stronger than many others." I tell them.

"Thanks, we need more strong guys. I'll go ahead, and you get out with Doyal," Said the first guy.

"Lucas, why do I have to escort him out?" Asked Doyal.

"Because he is blind you moron! and you can't survive charging head-on into an enemy squad like I can. Now go!" shouted Lucas.

I am grabbed by someone, probably Doyal, and I am now in a fireman's hold. Great. We are moving, I can hear Doyal's feet slapping against the floor. A door opens, and I smell something I have not smelled for 12 years. Fresh air. We head down some stairs and walk forward a bit.

"I'm going to put you down now," said Doyal. I prepare myself, and I am on my feet again. I hear a door open, and Doyal clambering into something. "Turn to your 1 o'clock, and get in the AFV," he told me. I comply and manage to get into a vehicle. "Anyway, whats your story?"

"Kidnaped from Porthill ruins at 10, taken here, and experimented on. Not all that much to tell, how about you?" I say.

"Oh, I have been part of the CRC my whole life. Literally. I was born into it. I haven't taken much initiative though, according to the general. that's why Lucas is a higher rank than me, despite the fact he has only been here for 5 years, though people with powers do get promoted faster, and he has a quite useful one. Bullet deflection. Works by allowing him to move anything he is holing to perfectly deflect the bullet back at the target without damaging the thing he is holding. I guess that technically applies to anything really, actually. Me though, I love having no powers." he told me.

"Really?" I ask, "your fine not having powers?"

"Of course not," he almost yells, "ever heard of sarcasm?"

As I start to think of a witty reply, I hear footsteps rapidly approaching, and then the sound of two people clambering inside the vehicle. for a second it almost felt like I could feel their presence, the outline of their bodies, and like that it vanished.

"I got Jimmie, now DRIVE" shouted Lucas. the engine roared to life, and I felt the vehicle accelerate, and then the sound of gunfire, and worse, the sound of bullets hitting the vehicle. I hear quick footsteps, and a loud bang, that I assume was the mounted weapon on the AFV firing back. the gunfire stoped.

"Who are you guys?" I hear the unmistakenly deep voice of Jim ask.

"Ya who the hell are you exactly?" I second.

"We are the Coalition to Restore Canada" Lucas announced proudly.