by E S Richards
The New Wave
The Generation Series
E S Richards
Published by E S Richards, 2018.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
THE NEW WAVE
First edition. July 15, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 E S Richards.
Written by E S Richards.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter 1 – Zahyra
Chapter 2 – Asher
Chapter 3 – Zahyra
Chapter 4 – Cain
Chapter 5 – Asher
Chapter 6 – Asher
Chapter 7 – Zahyra
Chapter 8 – Asher
Chapter 9 – Asher
Chapter 10 – Cain
Chapter 11 – Cain
Chapter 12 – Zahyra
Chapter 13 – Zahyra
Chapter 14 – Asher
Chapter 15 – Cain
Chapter 16 – Cain
Chapter 17 – Cain
Chapter 18 – Zahyra
Chapter 19 – Zahyra
Chapter 20 – Zahyra
Chapter 21 – Asher
Chapter 22 – Zahyra
Chapter 23 – Cain
Chapter 24 – Zahyra
Chapter 25 – Zahyra
Chapter 26 – Cain
Chapter 27 – Asher
Chapter 28 – Zahyra
Chapter 29 – 10 Years Later
About the Author
Chapter 1 – Zahyra
Watching her younger brother as he slept Zahyra contemplated their situation. Her one overpowering thought was to get Asher to safety, but deep down she knew she had no idea how to manage it. After the time they had spent in the safe haven so much had changed – even though it had only been a little over a week. While Asher’s chest rose and fell softly as he breathed she wondered how his Gen 6 mutation would change him.
What her father, Emerson had told them still circled around in her head. Was he truly the only one who knew how to deal with Asher? With his mutation? If that was the case then there was no turning back, Asher himself had made sure of that when he’d put a bullet in their father’s chest.
Shaking her head Zahyra realised that even if there were more people within the safe haven who knew things about Asher’s mutation there was no way they could go back there now. Cain had killed what had to be a large proportion of their red band, the soldiers tasked with protecting the safe haven. Even more of them had just died right in front of her eyes, killed by the mutants who lived in the city the three of them were hiding in.
She was still shocked by how quickly the battle between the mutants and the safe haven had turned around. It had seemed like suicide for the red band, the mutants overpowering them easily with their vast array of genetic mutations, each one making them more powerful than anything Zahyra had dared to dream about.
That was until Heather had pulled out that strange glowing stick. It still didn’t seem real to Zahyra that the safe haven had managed to create something that made mutations inactive. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes she probably wouldn’t believe it. But unfortunately it was true.
Zahyra bit her lip as she realised she had probably helped them to create it. Albeit unwillingly, but her T128 trial had been for the purpose of finding out more about the genetic mutations. She wondered just how much the safe haven would have been able to accomplish if she hadn’t been there. How much would be different if the three of them hadn’t walked straight into the facility, unaware and oblivious to the real intentions behind it.
That was something that bothered her even more. The fact she still didn’t know what the safe haven was hoping to achieve. They had the power to stop all genetic mutations, but they had also worked to develop a New-Wave of mutants. Generation 6. Something that Asher was now a part of. Try as she might to avoid it Zahyra’s mind kept going back to her brother and what he could turn into.
She didn’t trust what her father had said about it, but knew his words were the only thing she had to go by in guessing at Asher’s future. Aside from that only time would tell as he began to change from his mutation. A small part of her prayed it was all a lie. That Emerson had fabricated the whole thing, but even she knew he had very little to gain from everything being a lie and with the way he had spoken to her in his final moments... No, he must have been telling the truth. Her father’s whole life had been shaped by turning Asher into what he now was.
Cain shifted slightly beside her. It had been an hour since Heather and the remaining soldiers from the safe haven had left the area after killing the advanced mutants. Cain had told her to get some rest, the area not being safe for them to venture out into just yet. While sleep had welcomed Cain quickly, it had not been so kind to Zahyra and she was left awake, torturing herself with her thoughts.
She still couldn’t truly believe that Cain was by her side again. Many nights in the safe haven she had thought about him, wishing to see his face again. When he had walked into her room dressed as someone from the red band she couldn’t quite believe it.
At first it had seemed like a dream, like he wasn’t really there. She almost had to pinch herself to remember that it was really true. That was at least the small bit of happiness she now carried with her. The three of them were back together and that meant that any challenges they faced now would be easier. She never wanted to face her troubles alone again.
Her feelings towards Cain were almost overpowering. Even watching him sleep Zahyra struggled to stop herself jumping on top of him, hugging him and kissing him with every ounce of strength she carried in her body. Being apart from him had only made her feelings stronger, but she still worried about how his mutation would affect their relationship.
The pills they had taken from the safe haven were a long shot. In reality she had no idea what they would do and without the technology of the safe haven there was no way of finding that out without someone taking one – an unnecessary risk she wasn’t willing to let anyone absorb.
A part of her hoped the three of them could go back to Cain’s cabin just outside of the woods. When she had first arrived at that place she had no idea how important it would eventually come to her. That was the beginning of her journey after all, the beginning of her bond with Cain and the ever-changing path their relationship would take her down. Sadly now she knew it was unlikely they would return. She was uncertain how much the safe haven knew about Cain, but if there was even the slightest chance they knew about his cabin it would be foolish to try and return there. Once again she would have to find a new home.
This responsibility weighed heavily on her. They would have to find somewhere that herself and Asher would both be safe from the more advanced mutants, but where Cain would be free to be himself also. Sighing Zahyra knew she had no idea where such a place could be; everywhere that had ever seemed safe to her now off limits or destroyed.
There was also a niggling itch at the back of her mind that she couldn’t get rid of. Somehow she wanted to find out what the safe haven was really planning and put a stop to them.
Deep down she knew it was ridiculous. There was no way the three of them could overpower the facility, or even figure out what they were planning without going back inside. And that was firmly bottom on Zahyra’s list of things to do. She still couldn’t shake the feeling however. Why would they develop a new generation of mutants, and force a young boy like Asher to become one if they only wanted to rid the world of advanced mutants? Was Asher the only one, or were there more like him out there?
He
r father had never spoken about injecting anyone else with the Gen 6 mutation but that didn’t mean other members of the safe haven hadn’t done it too. She remembered him saying there were other scientists out in the field; could they have all been following the same evil plan? Zahyra thought of the old bubble man from her camp – could he really have been an agent for the safe haven?
Dropping her head into her hands Zahyra groaned at how little she knew, even despite everything she had been through in the facility. She had almost been boiled alive, frozen, put in hospital and constantly poked and prodded, made to perform experiment after experiment and for what? So the safe haven could develop a weapon they could use to destroy mutants, while developing a new generation of their own? It just didn’t make sense to her.
She looked at the timekeep on her wrist and was surprised to see it had stopped working. Suddenly a terrible thought popped into her head and she tore the device from her wrist. It was safe haven technology and they could be using it to track her right now. Cain had mentioned something about the SUV possibly being tracked and she knew if the safe haven had any sense they would have been tracking her as well – just in case.
Cursing herself she moved as quietly as she could across the room and towards the window, desperately trying not to wake Cain or Asher from their sleep. She stuck her head out of the window first to check no one was on the street below her and then threw the timekeep as far as she could away from her. It landed with a small thud on the ground, still only a few meters from where they were hiding. If it was being tracked that wouldn’t be a good enough decoy.
“What’s going on?”
Cain’s voice caused Zahyra to spin round quickly away from the window. He was already rising to his feet to move towards her before Zahyra shook her head, moving over to sit beside him instead.
“My timekeep,” she began. “I just realised they could have been tracking me through it – like you said they might be with the SUV.” She paused, “I err, I threw it out of the window.”
Cain smiled and lifted up his arm so Zahyra could nestle into his chest. “To be honest,” he started with a hint of laughter in his voice, “I doubt you managed to throw it far enough to put them off our trail.”
Zahyra smiled slightly at his joke but pulled away from him to look Cain in the eyes.
“Do you think they could have been tracking us?” She asked seriously. “It had stopped working but, it could still have a tracker in it, couldn’t it?”
Cain thought about her question for a moment. “Yeah it could do,” he replied, “but if they had been tracking you why wouldn’t they have come into the building earlier when they were outside? We would’ve been caught already.”
Zahyra nodded slightly, but she still remained suspicious about the piece of equipment. Heather could be waiting just around the corner for them, biding her time until they left their hiding place.
“Where are we going to go?” Zahyra asked Cain instead, wanting to think ahead to the future rather than remember her past in the safe haven. “Do you know of anywhere nearby?”
“There are various camps dotted around the area,” Cain replied. “To be honest though, I’m not sure where would be best for us. According to our brandings you’re still a Gen 1, Asher is a Zero and I’m undoubtedly a Gen 4. We’re not exactly a normal group of travellers, I don’t know what type of camp would take us in.”
Zahyra’s heart sank. What Cain was saying was true and she knew it. Herself and Asher would likely be safe in most places, so long as Asher’s true ranking was kept hidden. But most of the camps that let them in wouldn’t take so kindly to Cain being a Gen 4. Even though he was nothing like any mutant she had ever encountered.
“Unless...”
“What?” Zahyra’s eyes lifted back up to Cain’s with a glimmer of hope sparkling in them.
“Have you ever heard of the warped settlements?”
Zahyra shook her head, the name sounded slightly familiar to her but didn’t ring any obvious bells. Cain continued.
“Well, have you ever wondered why you never see anyone with non-advantageous mutations? I know we wouldn’t generally call them an advantage, but you never see mutants with three arms or six eyes, do you?”
Zahyra shook her head again. “I thought they stopped happening after the first couple of generations? Back when everyone thought selective breeding was a great idea to create the more developed mutants? Surely people with mutations like that just faded out?”
“I suppose that’s what a lot of them want us to believe,” Cain smiled. “They certainly do exist though, I passed through a warped settlement when I was younger, after I escaped the camp where Asher was taken. If we could make it there I’m sure they’d accept us, they have all types of mutants living there. Both deformed and regular, like you and me, I even stayed there for a couple of nights back then.
“Out of everywhere I can think of, that’s probably the safest place for us. We’d be surrounded by other mutants so not left out completely on our own, but they don’t live by any rules stopping certain generations or types of mutations from joining. The warped settlements are actually a pretty nice place if people manage to look past the mutations that most of the residents carry.”
“That sounds like as good a place as any,” Zahyra replied after a moment, thinking over what Cain had said. Now she thought about it, it was odd that deformed mutants weren’t ever seen out and about. It was common knowledge that when the genetic mutations started happening more than half were dis-advantageous to the host.
A lot of mutants died at a younger age if they carried what was known as a warped mutation, later simply being referred to as deformed, although Zahyra was certain they wouldn’t like to be known as that. She smiled, thinking of it quite similar to her own situation – she was technically a pure human rather than a Zero, but by now even she had come to accept the derogatory term.
“It may take me a while to get my bearings,” Cain continued, “but I’m pretty certain I could find the way there.”
“When could we go?” Zahyra asked almost impatiently. She didn’t want to stay in the city any longer; not only was she afraid of more advanced mutants finding their friends dead in the street, but the thought of her timekeep being tracked was still putting her on edge.
“Nightfall is probably best,” Cain replied glancing out of the window. “Let’s give it a couple more hours. Have you managed to sleep yet?”
Zahyra shook her head, a yawn suddenly escaping her as she realised how long it had truly been since she’d had a proper rest. Asher was still out like a light and she smiled at that, he had always had an incredible ability to sleep in the most hectic of situations. During busy camp meetings they’d been a part of when they were younger, on the bus on the way out of their camp the night it had been raided and even last night – or earlier that morning – when Cain had broken down and attacked the red band.
“I’ll stay up and keep watch if it would make you feel better?”
Zahyra started to argue against Cain but another yawn caught her off guard and she reluctantly accepted Cain’s offer, repositioning herself on the floor to get more comfortable. “Just for a couple of hours, okay? Make sure you wake me when it starts getting dark so we can get going.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” Cain smiled and picked up a tattered cushion from beside him for Zahyra to use. He gently lifted her head and placed the cushion beneath it, setting her back down in a more comfortable position. Then he leant down and lightly touched his lips against hers, catching her unaware as her eyes were just drifting closed. He moved away by the time she had opened them again and simply smiled at her from across the room. “Sweet dreams.”
As Zahyra closed her eyes again she couldn’t help but smile. Even such a simple act like Cain brushing his lips against hers for a kiss made her feel warm and protected. She thought of the warped settlement they were going to travel to as her mind began to lose focus, willing it to be a safe place where the three of
them could finally find somewhere to call home.
Chapter 2 – Asher
Waking up Asher took a moment to remember where he was. They were in some city – he couldn’t remember the name of it – but they had escaped the safe haven. A chill grabbed him as he remembered what he had done in order for them to escape though, what had transpired between him and his father.
Asher hadn’t really taken any time to process what Emerson had done to him, or indeed what he had done to his father. They had been moving a million miles a minute since then, desperately trying to get out of the safe haven’s reach. At least they had managed that now, he thought. He had slept for what felt like hours which meant no one had come to disturb him, hopefully they were finally free of the facility.
Shifting slightly on the floor Asher rolled over and looked into the rest of the room. It was almost dark and so he had to strain his eyes to see much but eventually noticed Zahyra lying quietly on the ground. Cain was sat beside her; his eyes open, watching her sleep.
Asher smiled as he watched Cain look at his sister. It was clear the man cared for her a great deal and that he made her happy, that in turn made Asher happy too. Cain then lifted his head slightly and smiled at Asher, noticing that he was awake. Asher returned an embarrassed smile, blushing at being caught out watching the older man.
He lay his head back down on the ground for a second and thought about everything that had happened. Knowing Cain gave him hope that he could be like him, even though he was now an even more advanced mutant. More advanced than anyone, technically.
Closing his eyes and searching his head Asher looked for anything that made him feel like a Gen 6. He realised that even though he had spent almost every day in the safe haven performing tests to do with his new mutation, he had never learned what type of mutation it was or what he would be able to do.
He hadn’t felt any effects of it and wondered when they would start becoming apparent. He supposed a part of him had always wanted a mutation of some sort. He thought it would be cool to be able to move objects with his mind or control the elements around him. What worried him most though was how his father had spoken just before he had shot him.
