Cridex

Prologue

The rain poured down in large torrents, and a man appeared from an alley, drenched with rain but hiding something in his arms, covered by his jacket. He seemed to be confused, to be mumbling, not sure what to do. He nervously looks left and right, and then starts pacing up and down a different alley.

He shakes his head, ridding it of the rain that was drenching him, and sighs, resuming his marching. He looked back at the object in his arms, something wrapped in a thin blue fabric. "Hurry up!" Someone yelled from the building.

"Yes, sir!" He yells back, saluting. "I just need to find a good place!" The other person did not reply. "What do I do, what do I do?" He keeps murmuring and pacing. Then he sighed and turned to the object in his arms.

"This is all your fault, you know?" But instead of sounding angry, he just sounds more resigned. Shaking his head, he takes his cloak off and wraps the object in it, then placed it down, hidden, behind a dumpster.

A whimpering sound appears, and the man looks back at the dumpster. He shook his head again and then finally walked away, back to the alley he came from and into the building. Soft cries emerge from the object behind the dumpster.

A different man runs down the street, frantically looking everywhere. "Where are you, where are you?" He asks, and then makes a sound of triumph once he sees the bundle behind the dumpster. "Finally. The secret will be ours!" The second man crowed, holding the bundle up above his head.

Then, he sprinted down the street, nimbly jumping over puddles and avoiding obstacles. Shouting comes from the building, something along the lines of "That is no use! She will not be dead!" Then the door slams as the first man walks back out of the building.

He looks disgruntled as he goes back to the dumpster. He lets out a gasp as he realizes: It's gone. Frantically, he bustles around, turning to the other side and rummaging through the trash bags around it.

"Where are you?" He murmurs to himself, frowning. "Where are you?"

The second man, on the other hand, is giddy with excitement. He has succeeded in retrieving the prototype, and with some research, the plans will be theirs! It will be theirs to use, theirs to manipulate, theirs to mass produce.

He stops outside of a house and knocks rapidly on the door, which opens to reveal a young woman, perhaps around thirty years old. She welcomes the bundle in her arms, and rocks it gently. The man bids her good-bye and leaves, running through the rain once again.

She closes the door. "You poor thing." The woman coos. "Let us get you cleaned up." She unwraps the bundle to reveal a small baby, cheeks pale and lips tinged blue. A small cough escapes out of the baby's mouth and the woman sighs.

"You are obviously sick. Not a great way to start your life, is it, little one?" The baby gurgles lightly, and a smile crosses the woman's face as she took the baby's clothes off to wash later. Then she wraps her in her shawl, forming a warm cocoon.

The baby looks up at her with beautiful glittering eyes. "I will name you Ellery." She decides, and cuddles Ellery up to her chest. "Fate has brought you to me, and I will care for you. You are safe now."