//------------------------------// // Prolouge // Story: The Last Child on Earth // by ThePonyCritic //------------------------------// "Aiden....Aaaaaideen....Aiden!" "Huh? Wh-what?" Aiden says, refocusing on the world around him. He looks up from sitting against the wall, to see his new friend, Marc, who had been talking with the other subject, a girl named Cathy. Now, Marc was trying to get Aiden's attention, so he didn't feel left out. "Aiden, I asked you a question," Marc said, still waiting for Aiden to reply. He tapped his foot impatiently, Not getting a reply was starting to get on his nerves as it was one of his pet peeves. "Well?" "Sorry, I was just...out of it, okay? What did you ask?" Aiden finally replied, sitting up to address Marc. Marc sighed and shook his head. "I asked if you wanted to join our conversation. Obviously that's not the case since you’re daydreaming," Marc said. "I'm not daydreaming. I'm just…thinking. there's a difference," Aiden replied defensively. "Riiight..." Marc said, rolling his eyes. "Well, care to join us? Cathy and I were just talking about how long we think we might be staying here." Aiden looked over and saw Cathy looking to the ground, every so often looking at them. "Yeah, sure." Aiden replied, getting up and walking over with Marc. Aiden stood about 4 feet 7 inches, a bit taller then Marc as he stood 4 feet 5 inches, though they were both 11. Cathy was 4’4”, even shorter than Marc. Aiden sighed and ran his hand through his golden blond hair as he and Marc both sat down with Cathy. "So, now that we got you out of your own little world, what's your opinion on the time frame for being here?" Marc asked, propping his face up with his hand to his cheek on the table. Aiden glared at Marc, but then turned his eyes to Cathy so that he wouldn't think about Marc. "Well, now that you mention it, I'm happy to stay here as long as necessary, since I don't have any other place to go or things to do." Cathy smiled and nodded in response to Aiden. Marc just rolled his eyes at the both of them. Cathy responded. "That sounds fine, Aiden, as I would agree with you. This place doesn't seem THAT bad, aside being underground, and the people here seem nice too!" Marc grumbled in annoyance, thinking this situation was entirely opposite of their opinions. "But doesn't it bother you even MORE that they haven't told us what we were chosen for or why we were chosen. There has to be an explanation, they couldn't have just randomly picked us." "Like what? Are you saying that we can't be lucky for once, or are you just too skeptical?" Aiden teased, grinning a bit. Marc looked at Aiden with more annoyance, balling his hand in to a fist. Marc could've said more, but was interrupted as the door to the room was opened, and three adults came in. Two of them were obviously scientists, judging by their lab coats, glasses, and clipboards. The third one looked to be a guard, but had a weird looking helmet covering their face. Just the look of the guard's suit made the children uneasy. "Good day to you children. How are you all feeling?" said the first scientist, a tall brown haired man with a goatee. The children responded with slight mumbles and nods. The man smiled and nodded as well, then looked to his clipboard, flipping through some pages. "So your names are Marc, Catherine, and Aiden, yes?" he added, looking to their files. Each one nodded as he said their names, and Cathy asked to be called Cathy, which the scientist acknowledged. "It seems to almost be your birthday, huh Aiden?" the scientist asked, looking to him as Aiden nodded. "This next week, actually," Aiden replied, putting on a smile. The scientist smiled back and nodded, writing that down. "Now children, you're all probably wondering why you're here, what's going on, and what's going to happen while you're staying here." Marc was the first one to nodded quickly, followed by Cathy who nodded normally, and Aiden who shrugging, not really caring. "Well, that will all be explained in a brief summary. This will happen with help of my lovely assistant, Dr. Smith, and by the way, you all may call me either Mr. or Dr. Miles," he said, while pointing with his clipboard to the other scientist. She was an auburn haired female with a small smile, her glasses in her shirt pocket. "Thank you Dr. Miles! Hello children! As Dr. Miles said, my name is Dr. Smith. So, let's start off with the question: why are you here?” The answer is that about 2% of children are starting to develop an increase to their brain activity. This manifests as dramatic improvement to their skills in mathematics, science, and language." The children looked shocked. "So...we're becoming smarter?" Aiden asked. Dr. Smith nodded as to agree with him. "Yes, you all are indeed, becoming smarter. But there's another percentage as well.About one fourth of these 2% are TWICE as smart as their peers." The children looked at each other in awe, before turning to her. "Does that include…us?" Marc asked. Dr. Smith nodded in response. The room went silent, as the children took in this information. "H-how is that possible?" Cathy asked, her voice nervous. "Do not be worried, I assure you that this is a positive thing that is happening to you all," Dr. Miles said, seeing the uneasiness between the children. This calmed them down slightly, but they were all still curious. "Indeed Dr. Miles, this is all a great discovery, in science AND in human history. That is why you all are here, so we can figure out why this is happening and how we can improve it and/or preserve it. "Well, if that means helping a lot of people, just with intelligence, then I'm in!" Marc exclaimed, standing up from his chair. Aiden rolled his eyes at him, and Cathy giggled, making Marc slightly blush and sit back down. "Thank you Marc, we are glad to hear you say that. But I have to say we don't have much time," Dr. Smith said. The children’s looks of happiness faded quickly and were turned into looks of fear."W-what do you mean?" Cathy asked, starting to get scared. "Now, now, there's nothing to be afraid about. What I mean is..." Dr. Smith assured, and runs her hand through her hair, messing with it slightly. She sighed and continued. "There will be an outbreak, across the country. Maybe even across the whole world! We don't know how to stop it, and neither does the government. What we do know is that whatever it is,it's coming very soon. Which is why-" "Which is why we'll have to freeze you until the outbreak blows over." Dr. Miles interrupted. "WHAT?!? Frozen?! For how long?!?" Aiden exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Do not, panic. What he means is...that until the outbreak is past, you'll be put to sleep in a cryogenic pod. Yes, that means we will be leaving you for a bit, while we go to the main lab to work on a cure." Dr. Smith explained. "Please, this is for the best. When we mean short time, we mean it." She added. The children exchanged looks with each other. This all was scary, even crazy, but if it for the best, then they had no choice but to do as they were told. The guard's helmet beeped, as the guard received a message the rest could not hear. "Dr. Smith, Dr. Miles…it's time," the guard said. The scientists nodded to him as they stood, as well as the children. "Alright children, follow us. We will escort you to a bathroom to change your clothes and to put your stuff away, and then we'll take you to the pods," Dr. Miles explained. They lead them out into the hallway and through the corridors. The children exchanged looks again of curiosity and nervousness as they walked behind the adults. First, they were lead to the bathrooms, each were given clothes and went inside. The clothes consisted of a thin white shirt and a slick looking jumpsuit. Aiden put on the t-shirt, jumped into his jumpsuit, put back on his shoes, and exited the bathroom with Marc. Cathy was already out waiting with the scientists and now two guards. "Follow me, please," Dr. Miles said as he led the children, Dr. Smith, and guards, which were behind the children, to a secured door being guarded by two more soldiers. Dr. Miles and Dr. Smith showed their cards, and the guards opened the doors and let them pass. Inside was a lot bigger than the children expected it to be. The ceiling was 7 feet above the ground, and the room was twice in width and length. There in the back of the room were three pods. Each pod was about 6 feet tall, roomy enough to fit a child their size. The children headed to the pods. The children stopped in front of the pods, looked at them, then at each other. "Well, I guess this is goodbye. Until we're released," Marc said, looking at the ground as to avoid eye contact. "Yeah. Hopefully we'll see each other real soon!" Cathy added, smiling lightly. "Hey, come on guys! It's like they said. We'll be in the pods for a bit, it's not like their gonna forget about us," Aiden assured. Marc and Cathy exchanged nervous looks, but nodded in agreement. "Well, everyone sleep tight,and don't let the bedbugs bite!" he joked, making everyone chuckle.They all turned around, facing the scientists. "We're good to go! Cryogenic freezing process starting in 5…” "I hope we're released REAL soon," Marc thought. "4...3..." "I hope everyone will be alright," Cathy thought. "2..." "I'm not afraid...everything will be okay. Happy early birthday to me," Aiden thought to himself, smiling a bit. "1! Process starting!" The pods started to release the special gas to freeze the children. All of the children closed their eyes as they began to feel drowsy. The pod screens fogged and froze over.It was completed.