Prologue
“How... regret..ful...”
Those faint, halting words came from the bloodstained lips of a dying man. His voice, feeble, fell on deaf ears. Only mangled corpses littered the cold, tiled floors of his lab, no living being but him in the immediate vicinity. He laid sprawled, broken, drowning in a puddle of his own blood, liquid life freely and obscenely leaving the gaping wounds on his body.
He knew his end was approaching in a matter of seconds, vision already dimming. However, rather than fear the inevitable, he smiled. It was bittersweet; full of regrets and broken promises. If only... If only his limbs were not broken, if only he had more time. Just a minute, only a minute, and he would have succeeded.
His latest scientific breakthrough, the cure equation that humanity desperately longed for... all gone because of greed, because of capitalism. Why, why could they not have waited a moment longer? He only needed another minute, just a smidge more to fully release his research data into the world wide web, for every human to have access to.
God, why have you forsaken me?
"Heh... haHAhA...!”
His chapped lips parted, releasing a wet, wheezing laugh that was full of self-mockery. How peculiar that, just as he was getting his last desert, he allowed himself to call for the being that he has never once believed in.
The breeze that entered his once-sterilized lab through the broken windows carried a fetid stench with it, a stench that the man in the bloodstained white coat paid no mind to, as used to it as he was. It was the smell of decay, death, and old blood, all mixed into something foul that became humanity’s norm.
His vision was the first to fade, this ugly world turning dimmer by the second. His eyelashes trembled when his eyelids fluttered to a close, fanning against bloodless cheeks that made him have the appearance of fragility despite his sturdy stature.
The man wept with only the rotting corpses as his witness, full of shame and regret.
They were right.
In the end, he broke yet another promise.
As he began to lose consciousness, the dying scientist entered a limbo state that forced him to relive the tragic story that was his life.
Juan is the scientist’s name.
He was born into a middle-income family of four. He was the youngest, thus most doted upon.
His mother, bless her kind soul, loved him dearly. She was of Mediterranean roots, brought to Japan by her parents when she was just a baby. She used to own a bakery just down the street from their childhood home and would bring back leftovers that their entire family enjoyed. She always gifted Juan the sweetest and fattest red bean bread and he would run around as his siblings give chase to steal a bite, their parents’ laughter in the background.
His father was the average salaryman, always busy with overtime. However, he managed his time well and would spend his day-offs with his family. They would often go to a diner on Saturdays and the amusement park on Sundays. Juan would be showered with stuffed toys and prizes from game booths won by his overindulging family members. When his father received a promotion, their household moved to Europe, thus giving the children the opportunity to study at the best schools available in their area.
His eldest sister was a tough woman who took no shit from anybody, was soft only to her loved ones. Juan tended to be on the receiving end of her bear hugs and noogies whenever she was home. She was a voluptuous beauty; born with gorgeous features and radiant olive skin tone. She was admired greatly by her peers. Despite her genteel beauty, she was the daredevil of their family. One day, she left on a mountain climbing excursion with her best mates and came back in a wheelchair, sans legs.
His second sister was the opposite of his eldest sister. She was gentle and kind to everyone; family, friends, and strangers alike. Whereas their eldest sibling was loud, outgoing, and has a darker skin tone, she was soft, preferred to keep books as her company, and was pale as a spectre. Her features weren’t as beautiful as their eldest, but she was endearingly cute and it gave her an air of innocence -- which Juan found misleading. She was a heavy drinker, a stoner, and more, with unhealthy coping mechanisms under her belt. Nevertheless, everyone could not help but adore her, doing their best to change her lifestyle into a healthier one.
Last but not least, Juan was the youngest of their family, the only son. He was blunt and lacked tact. He inherited his mother’s resplendent olive skin, his father’s good looks, and his maternal grandfather’s remarkable height. Due to the combination of his exotic appearance, high IQ, and low EQ, he had been alienated during his childhood years in Japan. Because he was not as outgoing as his first sister nor as empathetic as his second sister, whenever he opened his mouth to comment about one thing or another, the other party would be tempted to give him a good dropkick down the stairs. And yes, despite their love for him, this included his family.
When Juan was ten years old, he made online friends with a group of technology geeks that were into coding. He mastered the art within three years and enrolled in University following an early graduation. After trying the many courses University had to offer, he stumbled into the 7 branches of Science. From then onwards, he became a science geek - biochemistry became his passion.
However, those peaceful days did not last for long. Tragedy soon struck his family a year after he turned fifteen.
Juan lost his beautiful and kind mother. Cancer was the cause. University had not been a challenge for a long time, so he turned his focus to medicine and health, wanting to take better care of his remaining family members.
At the age of eighteen, he lost his father. Cancer was the cause. He grew depressed and -- strangely enough -- determined. He soon began to compile research papers, aspiring to develop a cure for those who were affected by the dreadful illness.
When Juan reached twenty years old, his eldest sister suffered from frostbite and had to have both her legs amputated. He split his attention and dug his claws into the engineering field. He needed to find a way to create flexible and independently-controlled prosthetics for his dear sister. The current version of prosthetic limbs was too stiff, no better than a pegleg. One anime gave him the inspiration needed to manufacture something idealistic.
Three years later, his second sister was diagnosed with lung cancer. Project H was still in its infancy. His sister smiled gently and told him to live well in her place, to take care of their eldest sister since she would be unable to do so in the future. He cried tears of frustration whilst enduring long hours of research. He lost her soon after. Cancer was the cause. He felt helpless.
When Juan was twenty-six years old, on his eldest sister’s thirty-first birthday, he gifted her two mechanical legs that were versatile and more durable than any other prosthetic limb in the market. He performed surgery to link her nervous system to the mechanical legs and they were able to be moved like natural appendages. The two siblings celebrated loudly with hugs and great food.
A year later, his eldest sister was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He had already produced a liquid drug (the name too embarrassing to say out loud) that could potentially eliminate cancer cells whilst rejuvenating other selected molecules such as the tumour-suppression gene. Testing was still ongoing, but he had a good feeling that Project H would bring great changes to the world. His sister would live, and Juan would not be left alone.
On the 4th of April 2044, at the age of twenty-eight years old, it was around 4 pm that a state of emergency was announced by the local news anchor and all civilians were told to remain indoors until stated otherwise. Juan was still hard at work in his lab, oblivious to the danger lurking just at the corner. When he heard a loud BANG come from outside his personal lab, he paused his movements as his eyes searched for the disturbance.
He found the cause within seconds, and oh, what a dreadful cause it was.
With her back pressed forcefully onto the ballistic glass of his window was his secretary, spurting blood onto the white tiled floors as his fellow researcher continuously gnawed on her neck. Juan was scared dumb and fell on his rump, attracting the unwanted attention of his colleague-turned-monster.
All hell broke loose.
The building was soon filled with hysterical screaming, overturned tables, and puddles of blood. The silence that followed was more ominous, more eerie, more dreadful than the noise. Juan, for hours, was curled under one of his lab benches, fearing for his life.
The apocalypse has arrived, and Juan, who had initially made Project H with good intentions, was the primary cause of it.
