"Lloyd." "Yes, Mom," Lloyd answered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "It's been a week," she said, setting a steaming mug of cocoa on the bedside table. "Grandma's?" Lloyd asked, hopeful for cookies and freedom. "Grandma's or…" Emily hesitated, a wide, excited smile stretching her face. "Or what, Mom?" "Well, I have been talking with some colleagues, and they recommended a robotics camp. Since I know you were up until 1:30 AM messing with that wobbly rover of yours, I thought it would be fun for a change." She produced a ticket and a registration form from behind her back. "Camp Pursuit. They have an advanced robotics track." Lloyd rushed in to hug his mom, screaming thank you repeatedly into her shoulder. A few days passed by. The family was at the camp, being oriented by the camp guides.
LOCATION: CAMP PURSUIT
"Welcome to Camp Pursuit. I'm thrilled to talk to you about the amazing benefits of bringing your kids to this camp. Here, they have the chance to explore new activities, discover hidden talents, and express their creativity in a supportive environment, whether it's arts, sports, or music. The camp gives the kids the freedom to explore new things." The camp guide spoke with the polished enthusiasm of a salesperson. "Now, may the parents follow me to finalize the documents, and we can leave the kids to hang around." "Guess I am going wherever my feet take me," Lloyd mumbled to himself, adjusting his glasses. He walked around exploring, his head low, relaxing and listening to music. Then, BAM! Lloyd walked straight into someone. His glasses went flying, and his earbuds were yanked out. He knelt quickly, scrambling for his expensive noise-canceling pods, then looked up to see a tall, bulky guy with messy red hair glaring down at him. "Hey, can't you see where you're going, four-eyes?" the guy sneered, snatching Lloyd's prescription glasses and holding them high in the air. "What's the point of these anyway?" he said, swinging them casually. THUD. A piece of jagged, decorative stone, about the size of a fist, fell barely an inch from the bully's shoe. "Not cool, bro. Give it back," a sharp, no-nonsense voice said from behind Lloyd. The bully, startled, glanced at the stone and then over at the girl who had thrown it. He scoffed. "Slow down, girl. I was just playing with the fella, right?" he said, looking down at Lloyd. "Y-y-yeah, that's right," Lloyd muttered, wishing the ground would swallow him "See? Nothing," the bully said, tossing the glasses at Lloyd before walking away, annoyed. "Thanks, um, m-m—" "Robin," she supplied, stepping forward. She was shorter than Lloyd, with sharp aqua eyes, brown hair pulled into a severe braid, and a scattering of freckles. "And you are?" "Thanks, Robin," he said, putting on his glasses. "The name's Lloyd."
FIVE MINUTES LATER
"Hey honey, how is it?" Emily asked, returning from the main office. "It is great, Mom! I even made a new friend," Lloyd bubbled. "She's shorter than me, has aqua eyes, brown hair, and freckles all over. Her name's Robin, and she's so cool. And guess what? We're in the same robotics program." "You seem excited. Guess you won't be missing home, then. Oh, come here, you little..." she said, hugging him tightly. Lloyd waved his mom and little sister goodbye as they left the camp grounds. He found Robin outside the main hall. They went up to their camp area: ROBOTICS, a sign was hugely hoisted near a gate where lots of kids were waiting to meet their club leaders. "Welcome, tech wiz's, right this way!" one of the camp guides announced, opening the gates to their grounds. They were grouped into small groups, where each member was roommates. Lloyd entered his dorm, being greeted with a baseball to the face. "Sorry, dude, didn't see ya there. The name's Terrance." "No problem, I'm Lloyd. Nice to meet you."
THE AFTERNOON
The alarm rang, and all the campers rushed to meet at the assembly hall. "Lloyd!" He turned back, spotting Robin in the corner. "Hey, Robin," he said, approaching her. She gestured for him to sit by her. "So, what do you think this is about?" Lloyd asked. "I dunno, but hey, how was your roommate?" she asked. A voice boomed over the loudspeakers, laced with static. "All campers remain in your seats and remain quiet." The hall immediately filled with a sudden plume of thick, noxious smoke. The stage lit red as three figures, tall and menacing, appeared on the platform. People began to cough loudly in the background, desperately waving their hands "We are Nexus," said a scratchy voice through a heavily modulated speaker. All lights went out, and a harsh spotlight shone brightly on the stage. Lloyd's head began to ache—a deep, jarring throb behind his eyes, worse than any headache he'd ever had. "Hey, Robin, I've got a bad feeling in my gut," he said, trying to stand up, but his limbs felt heavy. Robin was already out cold, slumped against the seat railing. Fear, cold and sudden, took over. As a masked man in the spotlight began his chilling speech, Lloyd's vision became blurred, and his ears were ringing loudly, a deafening, high-pitched Eeeeeeeee. Slowly, everyone around him fainted, one by one. "What's happening?" Lloyd forced out, the words thick on his tongue. He gasped, falling from his chair as the darkness took him.
Location: UNKNOWN
Lloyd slowly began to gain consciousness. Everything was blurry, and he seemed to be in a distorted place with rivers flowing with red, pillars of pure bones, and in the distance, a massive throne. Sitting in it was a being black as night, sitting proudly. The figure stared deeply into Lloyd's eyes with its blue, lifeless eyes, then smirked. The whole place faded to black. His eyes opened widely, being helped out of a pod he was kept in filled with thick, black goo. He looked around, noticing he wasn't the only one present. There were others, some being helped out, others still in their respective pods. The air smelled of burnt metal and ozone. "005," a man who appeared to be a doctor called onto him, holding a clipboard. "Your name is 005. You will only be called by this name and respond only to this name. From now on, you are a soldier—one under Nexus, to proudly carry out our tasks behind the shadows, for you are on the path to become a Shadow." He signaled to a guard. "The guard over here will take you to your chamber, and might I add, don't DIE."Those chilling final words echoed as 005 let the guard escort him from the room.