Gene X
Here is a one shot story I've been working on.
Comments and feedback is appreciated.
Gene X
“Mutants are a menace. They are dangerous, selfish, unruly creatures that don’t belong in normal society with the rest of us,” the booming voice on the mega phone called out. Angry protest cries quickly followed from the general public listeners, as the rally continued in front of the town hall. A small band of supposed mutants sat in silence inside the locked down building, wondering what was going to happen to them. Some of them looked like normal human beings, while others had physical mutations, making them look different and fearsome to the normal homo sapien eye. They watched in horror as the licking flames came in through the sealed doors, catching the tapestries and papers on fire, quickly spreading across the walls and the ceiling. Screams could be heard as the heat and smoke started to intensify, and grew louder as the kicking flames approached the trapped group of mutants. David looked up and screamed as the rolling flames kicked up and engulfed him…..
David’s scream continued to resound as he sat upright in his bed, eyes wide open, staring straight ahead. The sound of rushed foot steps could be heard as his mother and father burst into the room, responding to the scream.
“David?! David honey, what’s the matter?” his mother asked, sitting on the side of the bed and checking her son over. He said nothing and merely stared straight forward, slightly shaking as the expression of shock and fright remained transfixed on his face. He was covered in sweat, as was his pillow, sheets, and blanket. He sat motionless, his chest still heaving slightly as he struggled to catch his breath fully. His father, still standing in the doorway, crossed his arms and frowned.
“He must have had that dream again, you know the one that has been bothering him ever since we saw that news report about what happened to those mutants in that one house.”
David’s mother turned her head and shot him a look, causing him to stop talking, lest he makes the situation worse. She turned back to David, only to find him lying back down into bed, the fear almost gone from his face. She kissed him on the cheek and pulled the covers back over him, hoping and praying that he would not have the dream for the second time that night.
The sunlight shone through the window as the alarm clock on his bed side table went off, signaling that it was time for him to get up. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, before sliding the dial on the alarm to make the shrill noise cease. He looked at the time, sighed to himself, and with a great effort hoisted himself out of bed. He stood up straight and stretched, extending his arms all the way up, almost touching the ceiling of his room. He trudged across the carpet and opened his closet, half burying himself inside pulling out random articles of clothing, deciding what to put on. He ran his hand along the door and when his hand made contact with the door, he could have sworn he saw a charge if electricity run across his hand. Rubbing his eyes once more, he looked back at his hand and it appeared normal. Shaking his head in an effort not to believe what he thought he just saw, he finished getting dressed and opened the door to his bedroom, making his way downstairs to breakfast.
By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, the smell of bacon and eggs was heavy in the air, meaning his mom just finished making them. Taking his IPOD ear pods off so he didn’t get in trouble so early, he walked into the dining room and sat at the table, across from his father at their square shaped dinner table. His dad was reading the paper, and he wasn’t sure if he was seen.
“So David, how did you sleep?” his father asked, nose buried in the sports section.
“Uh, fine, I guess. I mean, I had some weird dreams, but it was fine,” he responded, playing with the eggs on his plate. At this point, his mom came to the table with her own plate of food.
“David, please don’t play with your food. Eat, a good breakfast goes a long way,” she said frowning.
“I’m really not that hungry, besides I need to go,” he said, looking at the clock. The bus was going to be there any moment. Putting his buds back in his ears, he grabbed his backpack and walked out of the house. He had paused his music to eat, but when he got to the curb he turned it back on, “Nobody’s Listening” blaring through the speakers.
The bus pulled up to the curb and he gave the driver a quick nod before getting on and finding his seat in the back. For some reason, this particular seat was always open and away from other people, so he just took it. He looked out the window, as the bus continued on it’s way to school. The last place he really wanted to be. School was no longer the fun place it used to be. Now that mutants were real, and not just characters in the comic books, they were treated like sick and contagious people. Members of the school board, being bigoted and racist, did their best to find mutants and publicly embarrass them, making the school’s enrollment in constant fluctuation, from the school kicking mutants out, and accepting the children of parents who didn’t want their children exposed to the “mutant threat”.
One of his friends was discovered to carry the gene. The “X” gene they called it. A particular gene on X chromosomes that makes people exhibit these crazy traits. The thing was….he had these funny feelings. He knew he was one too. That electric current in the morning, wasn’t the first time it had happened. He was afraid though. Afraid he would get taken away and locked up. Or worse.
The bus shuddered to a stop, which snapped him back to reality. He followed the line of students as they got off the bus, and all he could wonder about as he made his way to the front door, was if he would have some kind of accident, or something crazy would happen, and he would get discovered.
Comments and feedback is appreciated.
Gene X
“Mutants are a menace. They are dangerous, selfish, unruly creatures that don’t belong in normal society with the rest of us,” the booming voice on the mega phone called out. Angry protest cries quickly followed from the general public listeners, as the rally continued in front of the town hall. A small band of supposed mutants sat in silence inside the locked down building, wondering what was going to happen to them. Some of them looked like normal human beings, while others had physical mutations, making them look different and fearsome to the normal homo sapien eye. They watched in horror as the licking flames came in through the sealed doors, catching the tapestries and papers on fire, quickly spreading across the walls and the ceiling. Screams could be heard as the heat and smoke started to intensify, and grew louder as the kicking flames approached the trapped group of mutants. David looked up and screamed as the rolling flames kicked up and engulfed him…..
David’s scream continued to resound as he sat upright in his bed, eyes wide open, staring straight ahead. The sound of rushed foot steps could be heard as his mother and father burst into the room, responding to the scream.
“David?! David honey, what’s the matter?” his mother asked, sitting on the side of the bed and checking her son over. He said nothing and merely stared straight forward, slightly shaking as the expression of shock and fright remained transfixed on his face. He was covered in sweat, as was his pillow, sheets, and blanket. He sat motionless, his chest still heaving slightly as he struggled to catch his breath fully. His father, still standing in the doorway, crossed his arms and frowned.
“He must have had that dream again, you know the one that has been bothering him ever since we saw that news report about what happened to those mutants in that one house.”
David’s mother turned her head and shot him a look, causing him to stop talking, lest he makes the situation worse. She turned back to David, only to find him lying back down into bed, the fear almost gone from his face. She kissed him on the cheek and pulled the covers back over him, hoping and praying that he would not have the dream for the second time that night.
The sunlight shone through the window as the alarm clock on his bed side table went off, signaling that it was time for him to get up. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, before sliding the dial on the alarm to make the shrill noise cease. He looked at the time, sighed to himself, and with a great effort hoisted himself out of bed. He stood up straight and stretched, extending his arms all the way up, almost touching the ceiling of his room. He trudged across the carpet and opened his closet, half burying himself inside pulling out random articles of clothing, deciding what to put on. He ran his hand along the door and when his hand made contact with the door, he could have sworn he saw a charge if electricity run across his hand. Rubbing his eyes once more, he looked back at his hand and it appeared normal. Shaking his head in an effort not to believe what he thought he just saw, he finished getting dressed and opened the door to his bedroom, making his way downstairs to breakfast.
By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, the smell of bacon and eggs was heavy in the air, meaning his mom just finished making them. Taking his IPOD ear pods off so he didn’t get in trouble so early, he walked into the dining room and sat at the table, across from his father at their square shaped dinner table. His dad was reading the paper, and he wasn’t sure if he was seen.
“So David, how did you sleep?” his father asked, nose buried in the sports section.
“Uh, fine, I guess. I mean, I had some weird dreams, but it was fine,” he responded, playing with the eggs on his plate. At this point, his mom came to the table with her own plate of food.
“David, please don’t play with your food. Eat, a good breakfast goes a long way,” she said frowning.
“I’m really not that hungry, besides I need to go,” he said, looking at the clock. The bus was going to be there any moment. Putting his buds back in his ears, he grabbed his backpack and walked out of the house. He had paused his music to eat, but when he got to the curb he turned it back on, “Nobody’s Listening” blaring through the speakers.
The bus pulled up to the curb and he gave the driver a quick nod before getting on and finding his seat in the back. For some reason, this particular seat was always open and away from other people, so he just took it. He looked out the window, as the bus continued on it’s way to school. The last place he really wanted to be. School was no longer the fun place it used to be. Now that mutants were real, and not just characters in the comic books, they were treated like sick and contagious people. Members of the school board, being bigoted and racist, did their best to find mutants and publicly embarrass them, making the school’s enrollment in constant fluctuation, from the school kicking mutants out, and accepting the children of parents who didn’t want their children exposed to the “mutant threat”.
One of his friends was discovered to carry the gene. The “X” gene they called it. A particular gene on X chromosomes that makes people exhibit these crazy traits. The thing was….he had these funny feelings. He knew he was one too. That electric current in the morning, wasn’t the first time it had happened. He was afraid though. Afraid he would get taken away and locked up. Or worse.
The bus shuddered to a stop, which snapped him back to reality. He followed the line of students as they got off the bus, and all he could wonder about as he made his way to the front door, was if he would have some kind of accident, or something crazy would happen, and he would get discovered.