The alarm rung loudly beside Blake's ears and he reached over to slap it off.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes of all residual sleep. The large watch he had on his pale wrists flashed for a split second before beeping rhythmically.
[Congratulations on your 17th birthday, Blake Hiro]
[We wish you regards from the Global Alliance, where we put the 'Ally' in 'Allyance']
Blake rolled his dark eyes. "Please, you put the 'lie' in alliance." He stood up from his bed and tried to take a step forward but his vision shifted.
He fell to the floor and his muscles started to spasm. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he convulsed on the spot.
Black veins bulged through his skin and his already pale skin became impossibly paler.
Soon, his body calmed and he laid in a pool of his sweat.
"That was horrible! I thought I had more time?!" He brought the watch to his face and tapped on its screen.
[User: Blake Hiro]
[Class: Null]
[Mutated Cell Count: 34%]
[Cell Stability: 9%]...
The information went on but Blake had already seen what he wanted. 'You have got to be kidding me! I took one four months ago! Are these things fake?' He forced himself to his feet.
Despite his body begging him to rest, he pushed himself to the drawer beside his bed. He pulled on it and grabbed a metal box.
The insides were filled with two bottles of a bright green fluid that bubbled as though it were alive.
Blake grabbed one of the Stabilization serums and stabbed the needle into his leg. The sting was nothing compared to the pain he had just endured.
His pale skin gained some colour while his body finally gained back some muscle mass. His dark hair became darker and his eyes sharper. He really seemed like a different person.
He let out a huge sigh of relief. "That feels amazing! I didn't realize how I'll I felt."
Blake stretched his muscles and felt the flow of strength he had actually forgotten his body was capable of.
He tapped on his watch:
[User: Blake Hiro]
[Class: Null]
[Mutated Cell Count: 34%]
[Cell Stability: 78%]...
"Hopefully this time, it won't wear off in less than three months. But that doesn't change the fact that it will eventually finish... I need to get some more."
He shut the drawer and stepped out of his home into the open air.
The sharp smell of metal, chemical waste and dust hit his nose. At first, it had been jarring but spending almost a decade living there had gotten him somewhat used to it.
Outside of his home was covered in tarred roads that eventually wore out before breaking just out of his line of sight. That inevitably led to the red-sanded plains of the Red region.
Somehow, he had managed to keep himself afloat in the bare outskirts of the Yellow region.
Blake looked at the occasional passer-by. Some had black veins flash under their skins for a split second. They flinched a little but ultimately went about their day.
'I am quite lucky that my Mutated Cell Count is quite high. There's a chance that I'll at least awaken an ability but for the unfortunate, those people—' He turned to a small horde just in time to watch a member pull out a strange cylinder.
He pressed his mouth into it and inhaled deeply, releasing a puff of deep purple smoke.
"— are addicts or criminals. They have given up." His fists clenched into his palm.
He spat to the ground, "Pathetic."
The hum of an aircraft overhead made him turn to the sky. A large blimp stood against the polluted brown skies of the Yellow region.
A screen on the side of the blimp flickered to life.
[Introducing the next stage of development.]
[More stability. More potency. More potential.]
[Stability Serum 2.0. The next point in modern genetics.]
[Once again, this finding is proudly sponsored by the Global Alliance and Richard's Laboratory.]
'Of course, a new expensive product from a private company and the Global Alliance.'
As the blimp flew out of sight, Blake could hear the faint cheers of some of the residents of the Yellow region. His eyes darkened.
'Are they foolish enough to celebrate this?! Do they not see what is happening?!' He rubbed his hands roughly against his face. His dad was right, people don't see carrots being hung in front of their faces.
Blake inhaled sharply and buried his fury. It was pointless in the short run. Right now, he needed to get more serums.
He walked towards the Red region, ignoring the arousing calls of women wearing light, revealing garments and the occasional thug beating on someone.
His lips curled in disgust.
Soon, the tarred road gave way for a hard, red soil.
Somehow, the Red region was worse than the Yellow.
All over the place, people with black veins and purple eyes were roaming about. They dragged their feet, being physically incapable of lifting them up.
Some couldn't even move and just laid on the floor, drooling through misty eyes that remained constantly unfocused.
Blake swallowed a lump in his throat and turned away from the Primals. 'They deserved better.'
He ignored them and continued walking to his destination.
The only buildings in this regions were shacks made of light wood that barely held themselves together.
Among these was a large blocky building with a thick metal door and tinted windows. His destination.