Aegis Academy - Chapter 1

Jack woke up in a room that was encompassed in darkness. A single bulb dangled in the middle of the room, flickering on and off pathetically over a single rusty table. Jack took in his surroundings as calmly as he could, to think of a way out. It was working just fine as well, until he seen the table; it was covered almost entirely in some brownish red substance and only when the familiar smell of dried blood reached Jack that he realised just how dire the situation really was - he was locked in a darkened room, a table in the centre covered in blood, and the only apparent exit blocked. This is not looking good.

"We found him unconscious in a dinghy just outside of the perimeter" said a voice just outside the steel reinforced door "he didn’t have any identifying items, and we didn’t get a match on the facial recognition software"

"Well, Johnson, that is in fact curious but no fear my old friend, as you know there are many different ways to extract information from unwilling subjects" replied the other person in a slightly amused manner "you just have to know how to approach him" and with that the door swung open to reveal the source of the second voice.

A man covered in scars. Jack knew that 'man covered in scars' didn't exactly give justice to what he was looking at, but the sudden fear swooping at him didn't give him time to come up with anything else. Every visible inch of this man's skin was enveloped in hideous scars - most were completely healed, which meant they've been there for a while. Scars aside, his whole demeanour was intimidating. Having ducked down to enter through the door wearing a tank top and cargo pants with laced boots gave jack the impression that the guy was a veteran soldier and wasn't going to waste any time asking questions, so it's better to just tell the truth and avoid becoming another stain on the table.

"Hello there. My name is Michael Hendrix and I'm the principal here"

Principal? Jack was confused. Did he hit his head somewhere, or did that guy just say principal? Obviously, the use of that word would suggest an educating establishment but that contradicts the situation he's in at the moment so that's obviously not it. Maybe some branch of the military changed the rank General to principal? Nah, that's just as unlikely but it’s his best guess. Now all he can do is let this gentleman continue in the hope some sort of explanation will be provided.

"Do you know where you are son?" Hendrix asked in a surprisingly kind voice.

"No, I don't" Jack wanted to answer exactly what was asked - nothing more, nothing less.

"Do you at least know what happened before waking up here?"

"My father and I left Miami Beach to sail and the next thing I know is I’m waking up in this room". Jack just realised after answering the man that his father could be in the same situation, however, he quickly realised that this predicament didn't allow him to worry about anyone but himself, he had nothing to bargain with for information about his father, and they had no reason to tell him.

"You're in Aegis Academy which is located in a very secret location no one can usually stumble upon easily. We have the absolute best protection from any outside forces, be it in the sea or the sky so please forgive me if I'm a little invasive with the questions but I have to be scrupulous when it comes to the safety of my students and staff"

Jack sat there with a blank face. Shocked over the revelation. He was in fact in a school and this man here - the one that looks like he would be capable of killing a person a hundred times over before them realising that they no longer reside in the world of the living - is apparently the principal of said school. His mind was racing with possibilities and questions but he chose to quell his thoughts over this and focus in getting as much information from this man as possible. He may have to make a run for it if he gets the chance and the more information he has, the better his chances will be.

"Let's look at the facts: An academy completely protected from anything or anyone trying to get near it, let alone infiltrate its borders. A young man unconscious in a small boat that has no hope of sailing the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean appears WITHIN the borders of said academy, with no warning from any of the considerable number top-of-line surveillance technology we possess here at Aegis" Hendrix states. Yet again with a calm and collected manner.

North Atlantic Ocean. That's one clue that suggests that he was still in the same waters he was sailing with his father. Jack was glad for this clue, but the nature of the man in front of him didn't slip his mind. Hendrix was obviously too experienced with this type of situations to let a slip of the tongue reveal such information; no, he had a reason for revealing it. Perhaps it was to seem a little more friendly to the teenager he is speaking to and make him more comfortable to maybe reveal something about himself, or maybe Hendrix was confident that whatever threat Jack's appearance presents is something he can easily deal with.

If it was the latter, then Jack is ought to be terrified because from what he was told, this academy has top notch security systems in place that should prevent intruders of any kind, yet a teenager in a boat infiltrated its borders. He'd hate to imagine what they would do to him to keep their academy a secret.

Hendrix's relaxed attitude radiated that this is a man not to be messed with.