Purity - 1. Chapter 1

Darkness hung over everything tonight. It spread across and inside dilapidated buildings, cast shadows through trees and left an eerie emptiness all over in the street known simply as Heidgate. The official street name signs had long since been vandalised either end, being replaced with black spray paint spelling out the words "Hells Living Room."

A saturating rain splattered on the potholed road that ran between the rundown buildings as a mangy barking dog trotted down the middle in search of food scraps. The road, void of any working vehicles or moving traffic, lay waste to weeds and grit.

Buildings that consisted of old rotting shops closed long ago and boarded up houses told the whole story of Heidgate's demise as one by one, they had been abandoned by people no longer believing things would get better. Now, It was just a forgotten street in a poor area of Sothern England, with the only inhabitants being a handful of grubby young homeless men, some as young as 15.

As the wind blew the rain around in different directions creating a kind of swarming effect, an unwashed figure in tracksuit bottoms could be seen making his way out of an old abandoned laundrette. Pulling his hood up, trying desperately but futilely to keep the drenching rain from his flesh underneath, he pulls the door closed behind him. His short to medium, almost black hair is in need of degreasing, and his big brown eyes look hollow, but his face is shaped for kindness even if displaying subtle signs of defeat. Now feeling the elements, the roughly 5 ft 6in boy cuddles himself before quickly stepping to the side, as directly in front of him is a stream of water that's lashing down from the weed-infested gutters above. He looks up and tuts as the creaking sign, which reads Coin-Op Auto Wash, violently flaps above him. Mist from his breath can be seen in the dim haze provided by the street lamp across the narrow road as he coughs lightly. His shivering body denotes a look of un-wellness, probably from a common cold but maybe something more sinister.

The boy starts his journey, soon walking past a group of 3 other men huddled around a rusty oil barrel filled with smouldering wood, but that's not his destination as he passes them nervously with a gentle wave, followed by another cough. There appears to be no law here, no one to protect him, and he seems to be aware of this, darting his eyes about to survey the area in front.

Travelling a few more metres, the boy stops and leans against a tall wooden fence connected to the house. He wipes the rain out of his eyes and clears his red-raw throat. Not only wet, but it's also cold in Heidgate tonight. The boy knows it and feels it even more so the longer he travels. Deciding to pull out a pair woollen of fingerless gloves, he stretches them over his beat-up digits.

He clasps his hands together and blows warm air from his breath into them before pushing off the fence with his elbows and continuing to walk. Nearing the end of the street, he stops outside a grey bricked building which, like the rest, is boarded up, aside from a deep scratched brown door that sits right in the centre of the rather uninviting dwelling.

The boy looks up, seeing a flickering yellow light in one of the windows. Then, finally, he appears satisfied he has reached his destination and pushes the door open, void of any locks or catches.

"Hello? Tony, are you up here?" The boy calls, sounding like the question took some energy. He stood waiting for a response, shivering in the dark hallway.

"Go home Adam, I keep telling you I can't help you."

The boy heads to the bottom of some stairs and stops just short. "Tony, please, I'm… I'm so hungry."

Footsteps above can be heard making their way across the floor until a door can be heard opening letting some of the candlelight spill onto the landing above.

"Adam, I don't have anything for you; I'm not responsible for you ok, so… so just fuck off, will you!"

"But Tony, I wouldn't ask if it-"

Tony made his way back to the room he'd come from, cutting Adam off as the door above him slammed shut. Adam slid down the wall until he was sitting on the bottom step. A sigh escaped him before he began to silently weep. It was a place and position he would stay in almost until dusk before deciding to brave the weather again and head back to his familiar surroundings of the old laundrette.

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Adam's eyes darted open as he could hear the familiar rumble of a bus engine drawing nearer. Then, summoning all his energy, he got to his feet and went over to the large window of the laundrette he had come to call his home. Sure enough, as he glanced to the right, a double-decker vehicle he looked forward to seeing every Monday was here again.

Adam tried to ignore his aching body, punished by a high fever, as he pulled on his dirty sneakers and headed outside. Blue sky had replaced last night's washout, but it was still cold, evidenced by the twinkling frost patches that layered the path he stood on.

He followed the vehicle until it came to a stop halfway down the street. It seemed this must have been an established visit as other young men and boys could be seen stepping out of their shelters and making their way towards the big red bus, which had Salvation Army splashed across both sides and back.

Adam came to a forming queue and waited in line with the rest of the people until he felt a hand come down on his shoulder, yanking him backwards.

"Back of the line, you, faggots eat last," a grubby looking man said.

"Or not at all," came a comment from another standing next to him. Both men started to cackle as Adam dropped his head and made his way to the back of the queue, which was now some 15 people long.

Eventually, he was able to make his way aboard. Inside on the lower deck were rows of wooden tables fixed to the floor and benches, accommodating the various people from Headgate. Adam made his way to the upper floor before walking down to the back, where he was greeted by a young man.

"Good morning Adam, my you look awful today. Are you still unwell?"

Adam shrugged his shoulders. "Just a fever Christian, I guess it will pass. I'll be fine."

Christian leaned across a serving table full of hot soup and sandwiches and felt Adam's forehead. "Adam, that's a pretty bad fever, you really should see a doctor. I know I have offered before, but I can arrange this for you if you would let me."

"I said I'll be fine," Adam responded, irritated and stepping backwards. Christian seemed unfazed by this response and just smiled.

"So what's it to be, soup and a sandwich?"

"Please, I'm so hungry."

Christian smiled and picked up a ladle, spooning some chicken soup into a plastic bowl before handing Adam a sandwich from the supplies.

"Thank you," Adam said, barely a whisper. The man Adam knew as Christian remained focused on him as if trying to analyse him. Adam, being so famished, didn't seem to notice.

The two other servers, one of whom was the driver, were down in the lower deck chatting to the other homeless people making sure they were ok. Then, as if making sure they were not about to come up, Christian bent down and picked up a bag from behind himself before passing it to Adam.

"Here, don't tell anyone."

Adam looked inside the bag and saw 6 or 7 sandwiches, all wrapped in Clingwrap, before looking back up at an expressionless Christian.

"Why are you giving these to me?"

Christian scratched his head, looking puzzled for a brief moment. "Don't you want them?"

Adam didn't answer the question as Christian was hoping. Instead, "Are you doing this for all of the guys here?"

"No, just you," Christian answered cheerily, an almost falseness to his tone. Adam stared deep into Christian's eyes. There was something about him he could never quite put his finger on since the bus started visiting. The man looked… odd.

Adam's face took on a demure of anger. "I don't need your fucking charity, you know, I can feed myself." He spat, afterwards trying to determine if his reaction was due to being suspicious of the man or just plain stubborn.

Again, Christian seemed to take this hostile tone in his stride. "I never suggested you couldn't Adam, I merely want to help."

"Well… well, I don't need your help, and I don't want any special treatment, ok?"

Adam turned on his heels and walked down the bus towards the stairs, a subtle limp developing Christian noticed. He watched Adam until he left the upper deck, after which he stepped around the serving table to a window and focused on the boy walking down the street, presumably back to where he stayed. If anyone had been watching Christian, they would have commended that his fixed gaze on the boy was almost eerie.

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"Did you see him Relshek, how is the child?" A frail old man asked his acquaintance as he appeared from a futuristic-looking sliding door.

"Not good, my lord; he shows signs of a temperature, and his eyes are dimming."

"We must do something Relshek, our current plans are not working," stated the old man. His voice was slow and hollow.

"We risk much if we don't follow through as we planned, my lord. The child must reach sixteen so that his mind can mature enough to reason."

The old man turned on his chair, looked down onto a shiny piano black work surface and ran his wrinkled fingers over a flat panel with bright lights before looking up at a glass screen full of numbers and electronic charts. Related made his way round to the other side, still being able to see the old man through the space-age screen.

"I say again, my lord, we must wait."

The old man refused to make eye contact with Relshek deciding instead to cast his eyes over the many statistical looking sections on the screen. Relshek tutted and shook his head before deciding to walk away from the central desk and over to the perimeter of the oval-shaped room.

"He'll die, you know that," the old man called softly with his back to Relshek. "If we don't intervene early, he'll die because the options available to him from the homo-sapiens are not sufficient to cure him."

Relshek leaned on his palms and sighed as he stood locked elbowed on a work station which, like six or seven similar ones, ran around the outside of this rather unusual and minimalistic room. He began to tap on a keyless panel, and a screen in front of him became bright. Again, this resembled a simple piece of clear one-inch thick glass when it was dormant, but suddenly the screen was filled with what looked like a detailed index of words.

"The Homo-sapiens call it human immunodeficiency virus," Relshek muttered out as if he was the only one in the room. "Do we have an update on this, my lord?" he asked, twisting his head round.

The old man swivelled on his chair and was now facing his understudy. "Our biologists are working on the genetic code, as you know."

"A cure?" Relshek asked expectantly.

"They estimate a full cure in three to six months." The old man said confidently.

Relshek pressed a button on his panel, and two men appeared from the same door Relshek had come from moments ago.

"Master Relshek, how may we assist?"

"Please can you find out the current timescale regarding the cure of this human immunodeficiency virus based on unaided assistance? Please take into account current monetary, religious and governmental factors when calculating your formula."

"Yes, Master Relshek," replied one of the men. The other just nodded before they both turned around and disappeared into the box-like compartment behind the metal door.

"Relshek, you know the answer. So why do you delay?"

"My lord, you have authority, of course, and you could overrule me, but I do not wish to jeopardise this mission and risk the boy mentally and physically. Sixteen is the age; we both completed the research together."

"Yes, Relshek, but we also know that the male species mature at different speeds on this planet. Therefore, we cannot assume our own methods of hormone execution because theirs is determined by natural biology, unlike ours which is controlled."

Relshek sighed and made his way over to the old man. "May I please have two more domains and the results of the tests I have asked for? Then I am happy to agree to a possible removal of the boy from his habitat."

"Very well, Relshek, you have your two domains, but after this, we must act. The Virus is accelerating, and I fear the worst without treatment."

Relshek nodded and a gentle smile formed on his face.

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A blustery wind once again blew through the air in Heidgate as Adam got back to the abandoned laundrette where he resided. He pushed open the rotting door held together with old slats of wood and went in. Then, closing it gently in case it disintegrated, he pushed a half-filled barrel of water against it, which acted as a lock and stepped over to his sleeping bag.

His cold feverish body rattled and shook as he climbed in fully clothed. He couldn't remember feeling this bad since becoming conscious at around 3 years old and worried something serious was wrong. He lifted up his grubby fingers, gently brushed the two lumps that seemed to protrude below his earlobes, and winced at their sensitivity.

Minutes turned into hours as a hacking cough kept him awake. His belly was hungry once more, and he was becoming weaker. The wind whistled through the cracked glass and warped window frames, making it feel even colder, prompting him to pull his sleeping bag up until it almost touched his chin.

The numbness of his situation was almost enough to send him off into a ragged sleep until there was a knock at his door.

"Hey Adam, dude, are you in there?" A voice came, causing Adam's eyes to open wide. He stayed silent as the young-sounding man kicked on the door. "Adam, I know you're in here; the door is blocked,"

"Sage, I'm ill and need to sleep; please, leave me alone."

"I will, just as soon as I get my fix, so open up, man."

Adam swallowed hard and felt his eyes well up. His current emotional state was beginning to buckle some time ago, and Sage was about to finish him off entirely in that department.

"Sage, please, can you come back another time? I really don't feel so hot." Adam tried to reason again, but it was too late. Sage had managed to put some weight on the door, and the barrel of water slid across the dusty floor, letting the door open.

Standing in the moonlit doorway was a slim but tall blond boy around 16 years old. Despite the coldness of the night, he wore a pair of jean shorts and a sleeveless yellow jacket with a black t-shirt underneath.

The boy closed the door back up and grinned at a nervous-looking Adam trying desperately to stay tight in his sleeping bag.

"Hey, dude, why the cold shoulder don't you like me anymore?"

"Sure I do, but I really am not well and-"

"I won't be long, and then I'll leave you in peace," Sage cut him off, sitting down next to him. "Hey, do you mind if I use your bucket, I'm busting for a piss?"

"Sure, anything you want," Adam replied dejectedly.

Sage got to a standing position and walked to the back of the room. "And hey, while I'm taking a leak, why don't you start getting undressed. Soon as we start, soon as I'm outta your way."

Adam felt like screaming in sadness and frustration but had neither the strength nor the spirit right now. Instead, tired and aching, he got to his feet and started to unbutton his jeans.

Sage came back and stood in front of Adam. "You could at least pretend you're pleased to see me and maybe smile a little."

"Sorry Sage, I just feel like-"

"Just leave your top on and take off the boxers. I'm so horny I just need the ass tonight," Sage announced, again, cutting Adam off, something he usually did whenever Adam was mid-sentence.

With his socks, t-shirt and sweater left on, Sage decided this was good enough and span Adam round. Without saying a word, he pushed on the middle of Adam's aching back until he was stooped over before starting to unbutton his own jean shorts. Adam could hear the clanging of the large belt he had on coming loose before the sound of a waistband snapping as Sage pulled his boxers down to his upper legs.

Adam clenched his eyes closed and gritted his teeth as the familiar sound of Sage spitting onto his fingers could be heard. There was a sticky sound being made as Sage lubed up his dick, and then with seemingly no thought of how dry Adam was, he ploughed selfishly into his colon, making him briefly scream in pain and lurch forward.

"Whoa, bro, no matter how many times I fuck your brains out, you are still as tight as a thimble," Sage cockily announced, making Adam silently tear up, knowing he was just a piece of meat.

True to his word, within a few minutes, Sage let out a husky grunt and ejaculated into Adam's colon before quickly pulling out and flicking his dick a few times, causing the last few drops of his seed to splatter onto Adam's sleeping bag. Adam watched as he did this before looking up into Sage's blue eyes.

"What?" Sage asked, shrugging. "Gotta mark ma territory, ain't I."

Adam got the feeling it was more a statement than a question and just looked at the spots of semen his violator had so un-lovingly left on his sleeping bag.

Sage pulled up his Jean shorts and patted Adam on the back, who was still standing there with a concoction of blood and Sage's deposit starting to seep from his behind.

"So, thanks, I'll come back in a few days; maybe you'll be feeling better then and might smile a bit more. Good to see you, Adam. I'll leave you to get rid of those little Sage's from your ass now." The boy let out a laugh and headed for the door. Adam stood and watched him leave, feeling both wholly violated and about to faint with weakness and pain as his body trembled.

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Relshek stood alone in the oval room, tapping on one of the shiny black workstations. He was about to move away when a low pitched klaxon sounded, causing him to look over at the metal sliding door. A vast dome in the centre of the ceiling seemed to brighten with purplish-blue light before a man appeared in a white honeycombed patterned jacket and stood before him.

"The report, Jasplack?"

"Yes, Master Relshek, would you like me to read it to you?"

Relshek smiled. "No, thank you Jasplack, I think I know what I am to expect. Please thank your team on behalf of Lord Kelshen and myself for your speedy work."

Jasplack gave a slight bow and backed away from Relshek before turning and heading back to the metal elevator. As soon as the door closed, the strange coloured dome dimmed again. Relshek switched his eyes from the door and eagerly focused them on the thin electronic pad in his hand, and begun to read. A sinking demure started to wash over his face, and his body started to slouch the more he read. Then, chucking the pad onto one of the workstations, he went over to where Lord Kelshen worked and pressed a button on his station.

"My lord, the report is complete," he said, into what looked like thin air. Lord Kelshen appeared on the clear glass screen in front of him, wearing what was clearly night-time attire. He stayed silent as if wanting Relshek to reveal its findings.

"What news?" he finally asked after his understudy failed to speak.

"The biologists conceive that…" he started but stopped, shaking his head looking deflated. Relshek pressed the bridge of his nose and forced himself to carry on. "The Biologists conceive that under current geopolitical, monetary and religious environments that a cure for the Virus will be found somewhere in the earth years of twenty-one o-six and twenty-one o-nine. The complete end-stage cure will be discovered in a part of the world called Germany, which has been calculated to be the front runner in medical science under our system's computer simulations.

"Which means that-"

"Yes, my lord, which means that the child Adam will be long deceased and not even in the correct location to receive the new cure had it even been a shorter time frame."

Kelshen looked mildly frustrated.

"Such a wonderful but altogether primitive species," Relshek heard his leader mutter to himself, staring at the ground. He then looked up again. "So, thirty doons, what are your conclusions?"

Relshek bit his bottom lip. "My conclusions are that I surrender to your views and say we have no choice but to extradite the child to the pod… you were correct, my lord, as always."

"With age comes instinct, my son. Do not be ashamed in having a different opinion on decisions, but when all is said and done, we must always take the right one."

"Always the wise voice, my lord, so what do you wish to do?"

"We press forward and bring the child under our protection. Start preparations to extradite Adam."

"Very good my lord, Sleep well," Relshek replied, and the screen fell transparent again.