"Are you sure he is the one I am looking for?" The voice behind the veil asked harshly.
"Yes, General, I am sure this boy might be the one you are looking for." The other one trembled in fear of disappointing his master.
"But that is what you said the last time and the time before that!" The other voice sneered with boredom. This was clearly not his first rodeo.
"I dare not disappoint you again, General. I have a source that is reliable, and it said that the boy has some weird senses. I dare not lie to you!"
"That is what you said about the other ten boys and one girl, even my influence at the council runs short!" The voice said in a warning, as to say, the other could hear the silent threat, 'this is your last chance, and if I find out he is not indeed the one, then I will kill you myself'. The only reason he remained alive after so many failures was that he was a genius and loyal to his immoral arts. However, even that could run out of time, and he knew he only had one chance left. His lord was not a patient man.
"My lord I bet my life on this one, if we don't get him into a high school now we wont be able to have him under our watch and if the 'others' move to gain favour with him before us then we might have a weapon on our hands, we better have a weapon we can control before anyone else does" he begged, his tongue as sweet as honey. He knew how to get his commander's attention. "Besides, if he doesn't join a high school now, he won't be able to join the great trials for the four colleges, and it might be too late to control him legally."
"The child is an abomination; we prove it's him, then we kill him if he doesn't submit to us," the voice snapped.
"Of course, my lord, he will be ours to control or kill. It is a win-win," he said, remaining on one knee with his head bowed.
"But if he ends up being a disappointment, and a waste of my connections and resources, then I'll kill you both!" He said before going silent. The sidekick knew his commander meant every word, and he hoped for his head's sake his spy was right this time. He bowed deeply to leave his red attire sweeping behind him, but it seemed his commander was not done for the day.
"How is the project Lava 6?" his voice asked again, filled with more disappointment. "You know it's no use if we can't have a countermeasure if plan A and B fails"
"I need a few more days to test the subject …my lord," the sidekick said, his voice riddled with shame.
"You disappoint me!" The General snapped.
"It is in the final stages, my lord, give me a fortnight and I'll give you a satisfactory answer."
"You have a week! Now leave my sight!" His voice thundered before all the lights went off. His General was from the clan whose secret art was walking in the shadows. The lamps going out meant he had reached his limit with his minion, and he needed results, not a sweet tongue. He bowed deeply, holding only admiration for his General amidst the fear before he exited. He needed to hurry. He, after all, loves no one but himself. He is a selfish person who loves to have his head attached to his shoulders above his head. He moved quickly away from the city. His one destination was miles away from civilization and in the clutches of one of the barren lands on the outskirts of the west.
He needed to double the dose and break a few bones if he needed to. The secret doorway attached to the stone opened silently and closed as soon as he set foot inside. He pushed another door and took a left before heading to an elevator leading underground. He loved the smell of the damp earth that had never seen the sun. He inhales deeply, enjoying the change of smell as the elevator comes to a stop above his lab. His minions were working tirelessly, and he would have loved to reward them, but they had failed to produce a result and caused him pain with his commander. For that reason, a person needed to pay. With their blood. Hard work without result was a waste of time.
"Sir black…" a minion greeted him as soon as he arrived, and he was going to make an example out of him. A wicked smile took over his face, and he almost strangled the fat short man, but his next words saved his life. "...we might have achieved success," his voice trembled. Many of his companions had died by making mere mistakes like walking slowly or breathing too loud and seeing sir black's mood, he had hastened to share the good news if only to protect his head and his remaining friend.
"Aha!" Was all he said a more crazed smile taking over his uncovered part of the face. He always wore a red mask on one side of his face. He was always dressed in red. Perhaps it is because it is the colour of blood that he so much loves to shed. His frail and tall figure moved so quickly that it seemed he was walking on wheels. He almost threw the door to the inner lab on its hinges in haste. Many subjects had not been able to endure his method through the years and had passed away. Only one percent had made it to maturity, and even those turned out to be failures. Some became just vegetables who took orders too slowly, and some could just self destroy themselves. He took another elevator to his creation lab, and he almost toppled in admiration at the sight behind the glass.
"Yes, yes!" he screamed, a voice so disturbing to hear that the shorter and plumper man covered his ears.
"Can we go home now, sir?" He asked slowly, almost scared of the result. Sir black stopped laughing and turned to look at him, as he hadn't noticed another presence in the room till that moment.
"Of course, you'll get to go home pretty soon." He said almost too calmly that the shorter man did not know whether to be excited or run. "First, will you do one thing for me, Mr. Osheri?" He asked, deliberately reading the name attached to his collar, and Mr. Osheri nodded, almost eager to do what he was asked so that he could go home. He had not been back home for years, and he missed his clan.
"Can you enter the chamber for me?" he asked, pressing the button to open the chamber where the subject sat unmoving.
"Me?" He asked, feeling fear.
"Of course, you will do anything to see your lovely wife again, right?" he asked, sounding so genuine that Osheri felt a chill run down his spine. He wanted to decline, but he knew Sir Black never takes no for an answer. He swallowed nervously before taking a step towards the chamber. Once both his feet were securely inside, the chamber door snapped closed, and he turned around swiftly in horror. Sir Black was smiling like the maniac he was. He tried to pry the door open, but it, of course, didn't bulge. It was created especially by innovators from the central plains to withstand even the fiercest beasts ramming into it.
"Please let me out!" He begged in horror. He knew sir black was a sadist who enjoyed it when his victims begged, but he had no other choice but to beg. Sir black cackled even louder before wearing his almost innocent face.
"Why are you so scared? Look at how adorable the subject is?" He diverted his gaze to the subject, looking at it as if it were a harmless doll, but Osheri and his friends had trained it and programmed it, and he knew it was a dangerous thing.
"I don't want to die, please, black, I don't even want to go home anymore," he begged.
"Why are you humans like this? You wanted to do anything to see your family again, and now you don't. You disappoint me, Mr. Osheri. I had so many expectations from you." He shook his head in disappointment before moving to a larger panel containing all the control buttons for the subject.
"Kill him." He said the command looked bored, and Mr. Osheri's panic turned to dread. He watched as the subject turned its head to focus on him before it bounced. Agile yet graceful. Powerful and robotic. It ripped Mr. Osheri apart with its bare hands. His screams were music to sir black's ears, and he cackled even harder. He watched with love as the subject returned to its original position as if it hadn't just torn a man to shreds mere seconds ago.
"Perfect!" Sir black cheered with pride.