The Spectre

Chapter One

2046

The battlefield. That was where he made the difference. The United Alliance Military was being pushed back by the Zodiac Army, and they were mercilessly injuring the soldiers. However, no one had died yet. The Spectre was crouched behind the concrete wall, throwing his rifle aside as it was out of ammunition. "This is impossible!" hissed the Spectre's best friend as he ducked behind the wall, a fresh volley of bullets flying past. "Don't worry, I got your back," the Spectre replied, although he was unsure of how he would do that without a weapon. "And I got yours," replied the Spectre's friend, standing and firing from beside the wall. Dread was in the Spectre's stomach. Something was wrong. As he looked up, there was a splatter of blood, and his friend fell back, blood splattering the grey uniform as the Spectre stared in shock

***

2026

"Mommy, I'm scared," the little boy murmured, hiding behind his mother's leg as his father gripped his shoulder tightly. "It is alright, my little soldier. Just go in," his mother said warmly, crouching down beside the boy as he shrank back, staring at the primary school gates. "People will stare. People won't like me," the little boy stressed, trying to step back in the direction of the family car, but his father did not let him get that far. "So what if they stare? It does not mean anything, Zack. What if they don't like you? It doesn't matter. You are a Spectre. People will be amazed to see you." The little boy looked up at his father, quickly wiping the tears from his face and nodding. "You have your way with him, and I don't know-how," whispered Zack's mother. Just then, two older boys past the family of Spetres and did a double-take, "It's a stupid Spectre. I thought they all died," one whispered to the other, not quietly, and they both headed into the school, laughing. "Just ignore them, alright?" The boy, Zack, still kept a firm grip upon his father's hand. He did not want to go forward into the unknown. "Be strong," his mother whispered, and Zack shakily let go of his father's hand. "Always be strong," his father murmured, and Zack nodded, waiting for the redness in his eyes to fade before slowly trudging over to the front gates as a loud bell rang.

In the middle of the day, Zack needed to be picked up by his parents. The children inside had been more horrible than Zack imagined, and he was instantly bullied and beaten. He had a split lip and a black eye was already forming, and when he saw his mother, he leapt into her protective arms. "Shall we go to a nice café? Improve the mood?" Zack's father asked, and then Zack nodded, grateful for the opportunity of going to a café. So, that is exactly where they went. They drove for over twenty minutes before finally finding a café on the corner of their street, and once they sat at a table, the waitress took their orders and went to alert the chef. "So, what is it you ordered again?" Zack's father asked, and Zack grinned, "Waffles with Nutella and ice cream." Zack's dad chuckled, reaching forward to ruffle Zack's blue hair and then he held his wife's hand. "What happened at school today?" Zack's mother asked, and Zack looked down. "I saw six older boys attacking someone else. He might have been a bit older than I was. I tried to tell them to stop, and then they went after me."

Zack's mother sighed and stared at Zack with something like admiration in her eyes. "The fact that you tried to stop them was really brave," she whispered, and Zack laughed, suddenly feeling proud of himself. Zack's dad looked at the cashier at the main bar, sighed, and stood up. "I'm going to get myself a drink," Zack's mother nodded and also stood, "I'll go to the bathroom." Both parents left the table, and then the door to the café opened. Inside stepped the teenage boys, and they looked around, as though trying to figure out where would be an excellent place to sit. "Oh, look who it is, the little hero," one said mockingly, and the six of them sat at the table around Zack, smirks on their faces. "What will it be today? Water?" one asked as he reached for the plastic water jug on the table, and he threw the liquid over Zack, who shuddered against the cold.