Under the weather
Under the weather
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Prologue
Deep blue eyes stared intently at the
countless streams of numbers that trailed across the computer screen. A
predator’s grin tugged at the little boy’s mouth as his chubby fingers worked
furiously on the keyboard, churning out sequences after sequences on the
screen, each one longer and more complex than the other.
The boy, who was hardly six years old,
looked ridiculously small as he sat surrounded by the multitude of monitors and
machines. There was a small bed in one corner and at the foot of the bed was a
blanket dotted with smiling teddy bears. Pictures in crayon and pencil filled
the walls while stuffed toys and storybooks laid
strewed across the floor. With one glance, one would have thought it was a
typical little boy’s room, save for the presence of the high-tech gadgets.
The young boy’s lips curled into a broad
smile as the final wall of the security network crumbled. Bold letters of
‘F.B.I. top secret’ flashed red for a few seconds before a database of names
and rows of numbers appeared on the screen. As the data was being downloaded,
the child proudly weaved his trademark into the system. He was chuckling as he
deleted his remaining traces and exited the program, blissfully aware that once
Monday come, several thousand computers in the world would be flashing a dancing
giraffe. The child leant back with a contented sigh and picked up his glass of
soda, slurping happily.
He loved his little games. It was like a
game of tag but much more exciting. He was the ‘chaser’ and once he tagged his
victims, he left them little worms. He didn’t know what this FBI stood for nor
the ones before this, all he revelled in was the overwhelming sense of
exhilaration whenever he won.
The iron chain around his feet clattered as
he trod across his room. A wistful smile appeared as he hugged his favourite
stuffed giraffe to his chest. Suddenly, the door opened. All joyful expression
fled from the boy’s face as his heart began to beat wildly in his chest.
“My dear Alpha…” A whisper tickled his ear
and the boy flinched. He hated this man. Snake-face.
Ugly snake-face, that was what he called this man.
“So Alpha, have you accomplished your
task?” A twisted smile crossed the man’s face.The
boy grabbed the floppy disk from his desk and tossed it at the man’s feet, then
backing away, determined to put as much distance between himself and the
man.
Much to his chagrin, Snake-face
grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward. Alpha cried out in pain as the chain
around his feet cut his skin but defiantly turned his head away from his
captor.
“Tsk,
impertinence to me.” An involuntary chill ran up Alpha’s spine as
bold'> a cold finger ran down his cheek and tipped his chin up,
forcing blue eyes to stare into a pair of mud yellow ones.
“First, we will have to do some tests on
you and then, of course you will then be punished for your misbehaviour.” The
man gave a bone-chilling smile. Instantly, the boy’s eyes widened in terror as
he wrenched away unsuccessfully.
“I’m sorry! I promise I’ll behave! Please!
Oh, please don’t send me to that place! Please! Alpha will be a good boy!”
“It’s too late now, boy. You’re definitely
going.” Snake-face laughed as he hauled the child out of the room.
“No! No! Oh please! Please! NO…” The young
boy cried and thrashed about frantically as the man dragged him down the
corridor, towards the experimental chamber and …into a certain hell. The blood
curdling screams and the clanging
came to pass.
-End of prologue-
“Alpha!
eyes tiredly as someone pulled him to his feet. “I have cut the chains. Now run.”
A man’s voice ordered in a harsh whisper.
The person grabbed his hand and tugged him
away. “Come, Alpha, run faster. Be quiet.” Alpha finally snapped awake and
recognised the teen dragging him down the dark hallway.
“Onii-san,
why?”
“It’s not safe for you anymore. Don’t
speak, just move now.”
And Alpha ran. He must not be captured
again. The chains on the floor seemed to thunder under him and it was getting
harder to breathe. Terror seized his gut in a cast-iron grip, twisting and
gnawing away, fast eroding his hope and strength.
He sucked in a breath as they slipped
through the servant’s exit. A pale streak of moonlight shone between the
clouds, lightly illuminating the valleys beyond.
“Run as far as you can towards that
direction. The city of
just beyond it. Don’t stop,” the older boy said as he
took off his glasses and ran his
hand across his forehead to
eyes. And Alpha could see his hand was trembling.
“Come with me, Onii-san.
Snake-face will kill you.”
“I’ll be fine, Alpha, take care, brat! Now
go!”
Alpha threw one last look at his saviour
and took off. He ran on the steep hillside feverishly. Howling winds burnt his
eyes and jagged rocks wounded his bare feet and legs but he did not stop. Dawn
was breaking when he finally entered the towers of the city but not a single
soul was in sight.
Bent with exhaustion, he hobbled to the nearest house and knocked.
“Help!
a window. Any hopes were dashed when a rock thumped on his back and a voice
spat, “go away, beggar! There’s nothing here!”
Tears threatened to roll out of his eyes as
he hobbled on, huddled in rags to another house. Cold, undulating fear flared
out at him as every glint in each corner seemed to resemble the beady eyes of
Snake-face.
Slumped against the stone archway of
another house, he stared at the large iron door knocker on the door. With a
gulp, he rapped the door repeatedly and pressed his ear hard upon the door’s
cold metal. For a moment he thought he heard something – the shuffling of
footsteps perhaps, but soon realised that he had only imagined it. He fell to
his knees. The last of his strength ebbed away as he stared at the gates of the
city with an ever heavier heart and a resounding sense of despair.
The door opened and Alpha looked up to see
a boy with a strange pair of white eyes before him. “Please save me!” Alpha
rasped out and fell into the boy’s arms. As darkness claimed him, he heard the
boy give an excited shout – “Father, we found him!”
Chapter one
Naruto woke with a start as the alarm clock
gave a shrill ring. Taking slow, deep breaths, he willed the remnants of his
dream away. For the first time in years, he had that same old nightmare again.
All of a sudden he felt like six again. This
is ridiculous! He clenched his fist and slammed the clock shut.
for Christ’s sake and no one is about to hurt me!
With a winning grin, he sprung from his bed
and grabbed a paper bag stowed underneath. Spewing the bag’s contents over the
bed, he grabbed the bottle of hair dye and scissors and ran to the bathroom.
It took only ten minutes to cut his hair off
and another hour and half to colour it. By the end of his impromptu
hair-dressing session, his hair was considerably shorter and a
paper bag. He liked his hair colour but blond was too conspicuous and so it had
to go. Next to go would be his eye colours. But after struggling with the
contact lens for five minutes, he gave up and flushed them down the toilet. He
would have to find other alternatives to hide his eyes.
The board meeting was scheduled to be at
nine-thirty. It won’t be long before Sai come barging
into the room and find him missing. Quickly, he tossed some clothes and papers
into his duffel bag. Then he picked out a dark navy jacket and baggy jeans from
his wardrobe and completed his new look with a baseball cap and a pair of
aviator sunglasses. He was all set.
Hoisting the bag over his shoulder, Naruto
let himself out from the side door. He crept into the corridor and abruptly
encountered two patrolling guards. He waited. When the guards had their backs
turned, he whizzed past them. Through the door, into another hall, more guards,
another door, and one last turn at a corner, he saw an EXIT sign. No one was
watching when he walked past the reception. The ground floor guards were
oblivious too. Eyes averted, he shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled
out of the front door of Ritz-Carlton.
Ten minutes later, Naruto was sitting in
the bus shelter. He removed all the credit cards from his wallet and tossed
them into the bin. The paper bag containing his hair and left-over dyes also
winded up in the bin. With the last trace of his identity removed, he pumped
his fist into the air. He is free! Soon,
a bus came and Naruto boarded it.
Thirty minutes later, Sai
finally barged into Naruto’s room and when he noticed the empty bed, he nearly
shrieked in hysterics and the whole hotel with its 1376 rooms was turned upside
down to search for a certain fair-haired, blue-eyed boy that was miles away by
now.
Twenty-six hours later, far away in
raven-haired, bespectacled boy with a duffel bag raised his face to the sky. He
was tall for his age, and too thin for his height, but he held himself
gracefully nonetheless, and his face already held hints of the handsomeness it
would assume in maturity.
Before him, loomed the sprawling campus of
about to start school.
-End of chapter one-
Sort of a trial piece of work that needs
fine-tuning. Comments, anyone?