Prologue

Gunshots rang through the halls of the facility, people screaming in terror. Then silenced as their bodies fell to the floor, lifeless. The few remaining scientists were captured and put against the walls, while Dr. Atlas, hands behind his head was brought to his knees in front of a man wearing a black lab coat with a long green stripe down the middle. “Good to see you again, Armin.” The man said, his face cold and stern, “All these lives are being taken because of your defiance. You know that, don’t you?” Dr. Atlas scoffed through gritted teeth, knowing the man was right. “You don’t understand,” He replied, “I did what I did for the betterment of…”

Before he could finish, the man backhanded him across the face. “You did it because you went soft!” The man shouted, “You let some of Dr. Amber’s kindness rub off on you and let my greatest achievement just walk off.” Atlas raised his head, a small stream of blood leaked from the left side of his lip. “You don’t understand, 9320’s growth is increasing far more rapidly than originally expected. If we keep letting him be exposed to the elements of the outside world, then his physical AND mental state will…” The man stopped Atlas again, this time gabbing his collar and pulling him towards his face. “Do you think I CARE about his mental growth, Armin? I asked for a weapon, not a scholar.” He threw Atlas down as a second man in cowboy attire came walking toward them.

“All the remainin’ survivors have been captured, Boss.” He said with a southern accent. “Thank you, Jack,” The man turned back toward Atlas, “Now, it would be easy to put you amongst the other trash, but you’re a brilliant man, Armin. I’d hate to lose you like we did Amber.” He got Dr. Atlas back up on his feet, fixing the collar of his lab coat. “So, here’s how this will go. I’m working on something very big, and being the forgiving person that I am, will give YOU a second chance by helping me finish it. How does that sound?” Dr. Atlas looked away for a minute, eyeing the others who were being put against the walls, then back to the man. “And what of 9320?” He asked. “He can keep playing pretend,” The man replied, “I’m positive his spirits will be broken before the time we’re finished. After all, man has a knack for it.” The man turned toward Jack and nodded his head, then turned back around, put his left around Dr. Atlas and the two started walking off. All while gunshots and bodies thudding on the ground sounded behind them.