Master of Puppets - Prologue

TRIGGER WARNING: This story includes the heavy themes of death and loss. Reader discretion is advised.

Kara was a sweet girl.

She grew up in a loving family, and had her circle of friends during her preadolescence.

That changed when high school started.

Los Ranchos was a desolated city, counting very few inhabitants. It was settled in a deserted land, where an important business man had decided to build his laboratories, where his group of scientists would work.

That had happened a decade ago, the scientists' families had settled down into the city and everything seemed to proceed normally.

That was until two years ago, when everything changed, and dark secrets were uncovered by a rather peculiar group of teenagers.

Kara heard the dizzying sound of the alarm ringing in her ear.

She groaned, turning it off. Yet another day had started.

She got out of her bed, hearing her mother yelling downstairs, to call her just in case the alarm hadn’t managed to wake her up.

“I’m awake mom, gimme five minutes!” She yelled back, before drawing another deep sigh.

Summer work wasn’t exactly the most fun way to spend her holidays, but at least she got some money to go party in the evenings.

She got ready, dragging up the zip of her dark tartan skirt. Fishnets stockings, of course, were a signature in her dress code, she owned plenty of them with different patterns.

A ratty old crop top with some metal band's name on it, and her leather gloves: unforgettable, even if it was one heck of a hot summer that year. Dark red lipstick and mascara, she was ready to face the world.

Let’s not forget the glasses: she didn’t really need to wear them, but they were a sort of shield to hide behind, other than a nice and cool accessory.

She went downstairs, grabbed the package on the counter - a cream filled donut in her mouth - and off she went: to deliver goods from her bakery store!

The sun was hot as hell that morning, and wearing a full black outfit didn’t help at all.

The sound of her high-booted steps on the sidewalk echoed in the deserted streets, only eclipsed by some car engine sound in the distance.

Geez, there really was no one out there that morning.

She kept walking until she reached the outskirts of the city, where the labs were located.

The Cruz family was a usual customer of her bakery, and she eventually ended up making friends with their older son, Habel.

He was a reserved guy, maybe even a bit shady, thinking he looked cool in sunglasses even when it was rainy. That thought made Kara smile.

Since the beginning of her high school years Kara had encountered many difficulties on social matters, her being a shy girl, the guys in her school being total assholes.

She didn’t have many friends, unlike when she was younger. She always felt judged, misunderstood, and it was like there she was nobody. Like no one had ever seen her for what she was: a sweet, caring girl. That meant something, right? Not in this reality, apparently.

Lost in her thoughts, she barely saw Habel waving at her from behind the gates of his house.

His face looked different than usual, was he… scared? Why, she wondered. Was he screaming?

A sudden noise made her tilt her head. She saw a truck. The world spun around for a couple seconds, the sun burning into the sky meeting the road, Habel’s silhouette becoming stretched, the houses turning around.

Then, everything went black.