The Special Ones

By E.N. Obiang

In 2013 during the war in Afghanistan, a Russian scientist develops a drug to create Super Soldiers. Fifty years on, the world as we know it has changed. Countries have been colonized by China, whose empire grows considerably every day with the exception of the Alliance (England, France, Germany, and Russia), who are determined not to succumb to the Chinese regiment and create protectors using a modified version of the original drug.
At the center of all is Zack Willis, a protector who appears to be normal at first, but he has a secret that not even he realizes. Damaged by an uncertain past, he and others must now embark on the search for who he is, occasionally with terrible consequences. Can he find the truth before his past catches up to him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Mar 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496976529

Book preview

© 2014 E.N.OBIANG. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/26/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-7650-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-7651-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-7652-9 (e)

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

PART ONE

EPILOGUE

I dedicate this book to my family, my friends and to those who supported me in every step of this brave journey. They know who they are, there’s far too many people’s names to put on, but if I have to name one of them, I dedicate this book to the bravest person I ever known; Elvira Pinedo Alvarez.

PART ONE

THE TRUTH OF IT ALL

EPILOGUE

2017. Russia makes a breakthrough in the study of the brain by using a cognitive-enhanced drug mixed with a chemical solution. Before, the subjects were more aware and smarter. Now, with the new formula, subjects are showing signs of telekinesis and brain control activities, with only one side effect: they seemed to have brain exhaustion; most of them developed aneurisms and died within a year.

2025. After the end of the war in Afghanistan in 2022, the world was brought to its knees with the release of SW-2.3, a toxin known as the sinner’s gas that was created by the Taliban in conjunction with the Iranian government. Their first attack on American soil was the beginning, and millions of American lives were lost. The panic of such a devastated attack collided with the fall of their reign in Africa and the whole Middle East. Most of America’s so-called allies deserted them, and without European support, they fought the war alone. The world was stunned by Africa’s fifteen self-sufficient countries.

2027. America’s fall from grace continues with a chain of events resulting in a domino effect. The meltdown crisis saw continents like Africa growing stronger and more stable in the world. China grew richer and countries in Europe got poorer; the complete crash of Wall Street was the first piece, drawing panic all around the world. Many banks, thinking just for themselves, raised interest rates in their last attempt to secure some benefits, but this backfired. People withdrew all their money, even breaking into the banks after they closed their doors. Chaos and mayhem filled the streets; clashes with the police caused bloodbaths all around Europe and America, with many fatalities.

Meanwhile, the first bunch of subjects who took part in the programme became super soldiers; they had been inoculated with a new formula that was slightly less aggressive than the one Russia made three years earlier. The first results are a success, and more are being lined up.

2029. China, now the most powerful country on earth, started to colonise eastern European countries that were dumped by the Eurozone because they generated little income and amassed enormous debt. The eastern bloc had no choice but to join China, which offered them stability in return for their allegiance.

2032. The Eurozone crashes after a big turmoil; in the last desperate attempt to save some form of unity to fight against the empire of China, England, France, Germany, and Russia decide to unite themselves and form the Alliance of European Countries (AEC). The other countries will have to make amends on their own; in contrast, Africa grows considerably and becomes a powerful ally. As a result of their union, the AEC adopts the African currency, guineas.

2038. The first group of super soldiers are destroyed after they became too aggressive; many of them developed psychosis as a consequence, and they are all killed and burned. Oceania submitted themselves to China; they have a lot of land on their side and also get hold of the formula and start making preparations to develop super soldiers on their own.

2040. America’s situation was not pretty, and to ensure their survival, they made the strategic decision of sectioning the country in two halves; one half (the Bureau) will be for government bureaucrats and rich people, and the other section (the Estate) will be for the rest. The dollar now is one of the weakest currencies. In the meantime, the AEC makes another attempt to create more super soldiers. This time, after paying a heavy price, they decide to use the unwanted children of the nation; a scientists made the discovery that children are more suitable, because their minds have not yet developed.

But something unexpected happen: some of the unwanted kids showed a rare brain activity. At the beginning, they thought it was a virus, but later in the programme, it became much more than that. They were different, they had abilities on their own, and with the programme their abilities turned them into something else: powerful weapons. These kids were given the name of the special ones.

2045. Africa became united and self-sufficient; most of their income is from solar energy. The panels are located in deserts, where nobody lives anymore. They have most of the gold, silver, diamonds, oil, coffee, sugar, and metals; at this point, they pose a threat to China, as being the only continent that is self-sufficient. They now go by the name of the African Union (AU).

The special ones responded well to the experiment; they started to show some unusual brain activity, but this time, they are placed with couples with no children, so they’ll have a sense of belonging. Before they reach puberty, they have magnets installed on their wrists and necks, which will help them when they are more mature. These magnets control their brain activity and are also used as a tracking device, giving their superiors the opportunity to shut them down if they need. Now, instead of subjects, they are called protectors.

2052. China is aware of the protectors and comes up with their own version of super soldiers, which they call weapons. Their mission is to kill the protectors and occupy their land. China proposes martial law on the AEC, reassuring them that it is for their benefit, but Africa gets involved, and China has to lift the punishment on the AEC. They lost, but they will not give up.

2058. The first raid on an AEC facility ends up with twenty dead and twelve scientists abducted; among those is the scientist who came out with the super soldier formula. People respond with anger towards China, which justifies everything by saying that the scientists broke moral laws and worked against free will. They will be locked away in a secure location, to prevent them from doing any harm, but their plan backfires, and the alliance claims that they abducted the scientists to use them for their own purposes.

2062. Most of the protectors are in their last phase, adulthood, which gives them a sense of normality. They’ve been given flats and jobs in different sectors; that way, they will be able to tackle any problems; as for the special ones, no one has ever seen them. People say that they’ll bring peace and tranquillity. The time passed, and they became a myth, a bedtime story for kids, or something to give them hope.

The room was dirty and empty, apart from a table and a functional chair with a big lamp attached at the back of it, like a dentist’s chair. There wasn’t much to care for; a big stained-glass window just below the ceiling was the only source of light from the outside world. On the walls, there were smears of black dirt everywhere, and in some places, mould started to grow, as a sign of bad ventilation. There were bloody bandages and cotton balls on the floor next to the metal table. Some medical instruments were on the table, all messed up and bloody. A box of white nitrile gloves was on one of the tables. Four men in white coats and hats were standing around the chair, holding down a young boy. The poor creature was moving uncontrollably and screaming like someone possessed; he was all covered in blood and having a fit. He was shaking his head from side to side; meanwhile, the men struggled to control him, holding him in a crucifix mode. Two men above him held his arms, and the other two his legs.

Give him a sedative, said one of the men. A strong one.

Are you sure? We gave him a jab a few hours back, answered one of them. He could OD.

Do you have a better idea on how to restrain him? said the first man.

The guy did not respond and went to the table as fast as he could; he grabbed a syringe, opened the little drawer underneath, and took one of the little bottles. He shook it a bit, took the cover off the needle, and introduced it in the bottle through the piercing point. He pulled the back of the syringe out to extract a few millilitres of the liquid inside the bottle and went back to the chair.

The kid saw the needle and screamed even more; his bloody face made it impossible to distinguish his features, apart from his blue eyes. They looked like big cerulean marbles; between the screams and the eyes, you could tell that a terrible thing happened to him. He kept on kicking, but he was getting tired, and most of the manoeuvres were getting erratic. His strength was running down low; little by little, the moves became weaker. His breathing got slower, his eyes rolled up a bit, and the men saw the opportunity to over-power him. The man with the syringe got ready to inject the needle into the kid’s neck; he held it high and then thrust it down, like a Kamikaze plane. It got closer and was just three centimetres from the neck…

Aahhhh! Zack screamed.

Beep, beep, beep; attention, attention: the sleeping mode has been disrupted; repeat: the sleeping mode has been disrupted, said the gentle, mechanical voice of a woman; it came from a blinking blue light on the ceiling above the bed.

Preparing for recalculation of sleeping mode in four, three, two…

No, Zack said. No need for that. Paula, what time is it?

It is six forty-eight and twenty-three seconds, sir.

I told you many times not to call me sir, you know my name.

Yes, Zack Willis.

Look… I know you’re new at this, Zack said, passing his hand over his forehead to wipe the sweat away. Just… Zack will do.

As you wish, Zack. According to my data, there’s still two hours, eleven minutes, and thirty-seven seconds until your scheduled awakening. I can recalibrate the time to…

No, don’t bother. Today is shrink day. I need to get up early to be there at nine, so turn the lights on, will ya?

Turning the lights on, the mechanical voice said.

The room was dark, apart from a bright blue line that covered all four corners, like emergency lights. After a continuous blink, they went off, and the whole space was inundated with light. Zack jumped out of his bed, sweating and disoriented; his brown dark hair was fussy. His face was so white that it looked like he was about to pass out, which highlighted his deep blue eyes even more. He had a bit of a baby face going on, with smooth skin and red lips. The sheets fell off, and his sculptured torso appeared. He was well built; the pectorals were quite prominent and his abdomen looked like a tablet of Cadbury chocolate, a well-placed six pack. At five foot eight, he also had amazing, athletic legs.

Zack stood up and stripped the sheets off his bed. He walked over to a rectangular metal door, pressed his wrists, like they were itchy, and lifted one of the band aids on his wrist. A little silver bar, about six centimetres long and four wide, could be seen. He passed it through a blue light above the door and put the sheets inside.

What kind of cycle do you want to deploy? the metallic voice said.

Medium, Zack answered. It’s only sheets and pillow cases.

Medium cycle, and drying service as well?

Yes, I need to make the bed before I leave.

Weighing… your washing is approximately 820 grams, it’s going to take ten minutes and forty-five seconds all included. Do you wish to add any other services?

No, that’ll be all.

Washing and drying will start in four, three, two, one. Starting, please don’t open the door while in use.

Then the blue light turned green; apart from a vague whirl, it was almost impossible to tell it was working. Zack went to the bathroom, passed his wrist next to the blue light just above the sink, and water appeared from the tap. He splashed some of the cold water onto his face and stood there for a minute or so, putting his hands on both sides of the sink, just looking at the running water. He then splashed some more water on his face, closed the tap with the same action, and looked at himself in the mirror, but not in a vain way. He inhaled some air, held it inside, and then exhaled, keeping his eyes on the mirror. He then opened the glass shower door and spoke the words Open and Hot and cold. A bit of water came out at first, but seconds later, a cascade came down, like a fountain. The water came from an aluminium panel placed on the ceiling with holes all around it. Zack put his hand in to make sure it was the right temperature, took his boxers off, got in, and closed the door. He remained under the water, took a bottle from one of the stands, and squeezed it until a green liquid came out right into his hand. He put the bottle back in the stand and spread the foamy liquid all over his body. He rinsed and repeated the action twice. Then he said the word Close, and the water stopped at once. He opened the shower door and looked around.

Oh shiiiit! he exclaimed, realising that he forgot to grab a towel.

Zack had no choice but get out of the shower dripping wet. A constant beeping kept on sounding, coming from the metallic door. The blinking light was now orange; he went to the closet on the other side of his room, opened it, and grabbed a brown towel from one of the drawers. He dried his body and then modestly tied the towel around his hips. He passed his wrist over a sensor again; the beeping stopped and the light turned blue. Zack took his clean sheets from the machine, closed the door, and made bed; then he went back and stood there, staring at the closet, deciding what clothes to wear. There weren’t many choices in the closet; most of his clothes were dark anyway, apart from a few white t-shirts. There were about ten different types of trousers, but all of them were either black or dark. The t-shirts next to them were folded exactly the same and went from white to black.

He took a pair of black jeans and a dark t-shirt, placed them on the bed, and began to dress himself. He opened another compartment at the bottom of the closet and took out a dark hoody. He put it on, went to the windows, and opened the curtains in full, letting the light hit the room. It was a very mediocre place; the walls were vanilla coloured, and apart from a very poor painting of a sad flower, the rest of the room wasn’t even worth mentioning. The closet was a very old piece of furniture, worn away through the time, and the bed, except for the very elaborated head, was also not worth mentioning.

Zack checked the clock again; it was seven thirty-six. The breaking dawn was over-shadowed by dark clouds that from time to time left a small ray of sunlight come through. He then put on his military boots, tied their laces tight, and then put his wallet in his back pocket. He took the keys and lazily passed his fingers through his hair a few times, so it looked like it had been brushed. He opened the front door of his little flat after giving it a last glimpse to make sure that everything was in place. He closed the door, went into the hallway, and pressed the button of the elevator. A big noise came from downstairs, followed by a continuous squeal. When the elevator arrived, Zack open the metallic door, got in, and then pressed a button. There was a sudden movement that pushed him back against the wall, and then the squealing noise reappeared, and the elevator went down. When he reached the ground floor, he opened the door, went out, and walked onto the street.

Zack walked to