Failing Moon

Prologue~

"Father, why is it called the Failing Moon Project?" young Tarrin, asked having over heard his father who just hung up the phone.

"Have you ever heard the story of how the Sun Loves the Moon, boy?" his father responded.

"Oh yes, it was a sad story about how we must give up our happiness for the greater good of things, Mommy always called you the Sun in the story." Beaming up at his father, he was waiting for recognition.

"Wrong son, it's about the Sun never being strong enough to be with the Moon, instead he listened to her because he was weak, and didn't take what he longed for, causing him eternal sadness." Looking at his son, Rolin didn't see the young boy standing there, but a means to an end of his own regret.

"No, Mommy always said she was strong for sacrificing. Is that why she died, because she was too strong? Father?" Not understanding what his father was saying, Tarrin shook his little head in confusion.

"She wasn't Tarrin, she was weak because she sacrificed her happiness, leaving us all alone. She failed us. That's fine though, son, because I will make sure you never have to make the same mistake. Now, it's time to take your medicine, be a good boy and drink this." As Tarrin's father handed the small boy a cup of water, he pulled the brown pill bottle out of his office bag. Taking a a white oval pill from the bottle, he handed it to Tarrin.

His son took the pill and struggled swallowing it but after a moment, he managed the pill down.

Gulping down that last bit of the water in the cup, the boy stood there waiting for the pat his father always gave him a pat on his head after Tarrin did a good job with taking his medication.

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His father, Rolin, was a pharmaceutical genius, so he developed the Failing Moon Project to save his wife. With the advancements in foreign medicine, he was able to secretly work on developing a serum that would change the genetic makeup of someone but only if taken in in a series of increments. It corrected all anomalies in the genetic code. Other than ageing, it could cure almost any inherited disease.

He had failed with Tarrin's mother who refused to take it, and died from a rare disease which there was no cure to.

In Rolin's agony of losing her, he feared Tarrin would develop the same disease. So, he decided to give it to his son, knowing the risks. He became so obsessed, that it developed into him proving himself, rather than him actually saving his son.

It was first named Failing Moon Project because Tarrin's father knew his wife's life force was failing, his Moon was dying.

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"There, that's a good boy. Only a couple more times, and you shouldn't have to take it anymore, isn't that wonderful?" His father's eagerness was eerie, but Tarrin never noticed.

He patted Tarrin's head as he nodded and smiled. It wouldn't take long for the on the pill to take affect.

"I don't feel so good father, the medicine always hurts my head, and gives me nightmares" saying this, Tarrin suddenly felt drowsy and started to pass out, his father caught him, picked him up and carried him to the living room. In the living room was the entrance to his lab, where the real treatment would begin then.

Twice a week, Tarrin's father would drug him with a sedative, calling it 'his medicine' so that Tarrin would take it. Rolin would then take his son down stairs to the lab that was hidden behind a large portrait that hung from ceiling to floor. He always looked at his wife's painted smile and his heart would break, but only for a moment before his greed to succeed would take over.

Down in the lab, he would lay Tarrin on a medical bed, then place an oxygen mask over his face. Hooking his son up to an IV, Rolin would administer 60 ccs via slow drip, of the genetic altering serum. He would keep watch as his son would sometimes wriggle and cry out in pain. If necessary, Rolin would inject a little bit more sedative to further put Tarrin into a deep sleep. Watching the monitors of Tarrin's body, his brain and nervous system, he could tell from the data, over time, the serum was working.

Relaxing in the chair waiting for the drip to finish, Tarrin had finally finished one of his struggling dream fits. Getting sleepy, Rolin started to doze off until the security alarm for the house sounded. Looking at the security monitor by the door, he realized they had found him. Grabbing his phone from his pocket, Rolin made a phone call.

"They're here. It's time." saying this into the phone, the voice on other end assured Rolin 3 minutes, and the person responding would be there.

Hanging up the phone and smashing it on the concrete gray floor, Rolin quickly checked the progress of the drip. It wasn't finished. This would be it, the last of the treatment.

The data proved it work, but Rolin didn't know to what extent. Grabbing a large syringe, he withdrew more serum from a large vial and injected Tarrin directly until a total of 140 ccs entered the boy's system. He didn't know to what the side effects would be, but he didn't care at that point, he just wanted to give the possibility of final success a chance.

As he finished unhooking a very drugged up Tarrin, Rolin could hear gun shots upstairs, and talking as the intruders looked for him. Suddenly a small metal hatch opened on the floor at the far wall of the lab. The man popping through was an associate of Rolins.

Cradling Tarrin to his shoulder with one hand, he reached over with his other hand and snatched a memory stick out of his computer that was hooked up the monitors. He handed both Tarrin and the memory stick off to his associate.

"Take both of them to Nora, she will know what to do." His associate nodded and carefully pulled the boy with him through the hatch.

With the most important thing of his life, finally off safe, Rolin pushed a heavy file cabinet over the hatch covering it completely. Running over to the keyboard at the monitors displaying Tarrin's biology data, Rolin entered a self destruct virus code waiting at the computers back door. He always had it ready, knowing they would find him eventually. He knew they weren't after the serum, they were after the data, data that would tell them of Rolin's success.

Pushing 'Enter' on the keyboard he backed up from the computer just as the big metal door at the base of the stairs to lab started being cut into. He quickly kicked his shattered phone pieces under shelves containing medical equipment. It wasn't traceable, but he didn't want them to know he called anyone at that moment, giving his associate time to escape with the memory stick and Tarrin.

The door finally popped on its hinges and came down straight in front of him, showing 2 men and a woman standing there. They were dressed in suites, with one man holding the cutting equipment, while the woman was holding a gun, pointed in Rolin's direction.

"It's been a while, Professor." The 3rd man said as he walked into the lab flanked by the other 2.

"Yes, it has. Ho..how are things Chris?" He asked the man while walking around the table to put it between himself and the 3 intruders.

"Oh, they've been pretty swell. Here alone, Rolin?" The main man said looking around the lab.

"Yeah, well, you know, it's a solitary life, always in the lab, doing this and that." He respond as he continued to circle around the table as the intruders slowly spread to the other side of him.

"That I do, it's just the way it goes." Smiling at this, the man met Rolin's eyes and stared with speculation.

Sweat had started to drip on the sides of Rolin's head. The man noticed this as he felt a crunch under his shiny pointed shoe. Stopping and bending down, he inspected what he just smashed. He realized it was a piece of plastic, then he noticed more broken plastic sticking out from the bottom of a medical table.

Standing up, he quickly went over to the small table, practically throwing it out of the way, and scooped up the rest of Rolin's smashed phone.

Turning to the man on his left, he nodded. The man started speaking to the mic in his ear, and left quickly with the woman running up the stairs.

"You lied to me. Rolin. I find it odd that your phone became obsolete on its own." Holding up the broken phone, he let it drop on the metal table with a clang.

Just then, the woman came down the stairs still holding the gun.

"He's gone." She announced.

Rolin suddenly realized they were looking for Tarrin.

"Ah, I see. Where is he Rolin?" the man asked.

"You'll never find him! He left days ago. It's only me here, so you might as well give up!" Rolin yelled at the man.

"Yes, we will find him, Rolin. Your abomination will be found, and when he is, well...." The man just smiled and shrugged.

Turning away from him, the man went to leave, nodding a signal at the women. Rolin started screaming about the project being a success, and that the man would regret ever being born. The man climbing the stairs just chuckled at Rolin's words. A sudden gun shot, then another, could be heard echoing echoing from the lab up into the living room.

Reaching the top, the waited for the women. Her red heels clicked as she came up.

"Find the boy, I don't care what it takes. I want him dead. Burn the lab down, the house down, even the damn neighborhood if you have to. I want all traces of the monster lost to anyone who comes looking. This is my hunt. I refuse to let my father down." nodding at his words, the women pulled out a phone from her suit jacket and made a call.

Moments later, as the fire started to fill the skies with smoke, a fire truck could be heard blaring down the street. The porch lights of neighboring homes flicked on as it was late into the night.

As the intruders were already gone, a single figure stood at a distance watching as a blaze of orange engulfed the large house where Rolin's body lay dead, in his lab. The figures hair and face hidden by the dark ankle length hooded trench coat, but when she turned, the full moon's light revealed tears streaming down her face. The hooded figure slowly walked away, clutching a small brown bear.