Alpha Project: Genesis

Chapter 15

The Alpha Project: Genesis

Chapter 15

"Tempest, do you read me? Are my parents okay?" Aaron Moore asked through a headset as his jeep thundered down the road to the suburbs.

As Aaron waited for a break in the radio silence, Cade watched the skies above in awe. The towering, glass giants above reflected the color of the flames, casting an atomic, orange shade across the swirling, smoky skies.

Around them, the once-peaceful suburbs had been ravaged by the downtown chaos. Hover-ship parts, black against the orange sky, were strewn about the streets and homes. Chunks of metallic debris protruded from broken windows and crumbling, silver walls. Some people still sat on these walls, with their weapons cautiously trained on the jeep.

Aaron noticed Cade observing the people, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"No." came the weak and tired answer.

"We'll be out of this section of the suburbs soon." Aaron replied, and leaned his foot harder on the pedal.

"How could Roland hurt me like that, Aaron?"

There was silence, then Aaron answered, "I have no idea."

"I mean, I understand that I'm not...one of you, but still..."

"I guess he'll chalk it up to being for the greater good." Aaron grunted.

The two rode in silence for a while. The jeep sped past a hover-ship that had crashed into the middle of the street, with its pilots lying on the ground nearby.

Cade finally spoke, saying, "Either way, Aaron, as soon as this is over, we leave with our parents and get out of here. Find some place to hide."

"Agreed." Aaron replied.

"....Are you sure that you'll be able to control your powers?"

Aaron turned to Cade and answered, "I...don't know."

Before Cade could respond, Tempest's voice came through the headset receiver, answering, "I'm here, Aaron. Jasper's parents are safe. But how did you get Roland's headset?"

The two boys turned to each other, then replied, "We'll explain when we meet up."

Cautiously, Tempest responded, "....Very well. Have you heard from the rest of the team?"

"No. But I'm on my way to Jasper's house, and Cooper should still be there. Meet us in front of the house."

"Understood. Tempest out."

Jasper groggily awoke, and glanced around at his surroundings. Wind whipped through his hair, and the ground around him shook. He felt something tightening over his arms and legs, then the wind stopped. The air that he had just felt was instantly replaced with something more artificial. However, the shaking continued, so he knew he was in the same place.

Unity Troops loaded various children into containment pods on hover-ships in order to transport them out of the city. The bodies, living or dead, were taken and transferred into the rectangular, thick pods and moved onto the hover-ships. Jasper was in one of the pods, and his captor's ship was about to depart.

Syke awoke to the sound of metal being blasted off of something. She sat up too forcefully, and her head hit the containment pod's glass. Pain shooting through her skull, Syke laid back down and turned her head to see.

"JASPER!" she yelled in surprise.

Jasper's force field powers were the cause of the noise. His containment pod had blown apart, and he started to sprint away from the hover-ship. Two Unity Troops ran up to him to tackle him to the ground, but Jasper expanded his field. The soldiers were pushed back, crashing into the containment pods and rolling onto the ground. Another soldier fired a barrage of tranquilizer bullets from his submachine gun. But because Jasper's field was still on, the bullets ricocheted in different directions. The rest of the soldiers got to cover as the armor-piercing rounds shot through the air.