Prologue
It was the year 2121, technology had advanced greatly; however still no flying cars. There wasn’t any available energy source to waste on it. All natural life was gone. The oxygen was produced by machines in the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide was absorbed into the atmosphere by a new chemical, Balponalen. Guns now shot lasers and communication devices were built into humans, mainly their teeth. (Somebody wanted to make their own spin on a bluetooth.) Dextro was the current capital of the United States of America; it was known to change every decade or so.
Dextro was a city of winding streets and tall buildings, it was known for the smell of lemons. There were secret air vents all over the city, on street lamps, under manholes, hidden in the awning of buildings, all these little vents wafts the smell of freshly squeezed lemons all throughout the city. Those who grew up in Dextro didn’t really notice it, but newcomers were always blown away from the smell.
Although Jace grew up in Dextro, he wasn’t like everybody else; he had heightened senses. He could tell copper from tin by touch, he could see ultra violet, he could taste the difference between popcorn with 20 ounces of butter and popcorn with 19 and a half ounces of butter, and he could smell certain things from miles away.
Jace had cropped blond hair, ocean blue eyes, and  was about six foot tall. Jace was lean, muscular, and was very tanned. Jace almost always wore a black shirt and running shoes, carried a red backpack, and had a gray hoodie inside it along with all of his other “gear.” Jeans were his favorite but sometimes he would wear sweatpants.
Monday morning, the streets were already crowded with cars for it only being 6:30. Cars were zooming back and forth and people were hustling to work and school. Dextro was a large city, somewhat comparable in size to the old New York City from 2000’s. Dextro was more advanced however; it had bigger buildings, more workplaces, and even more crime. Dextro was also home to the most advanced research center in the world, Encrypted Inc. This very day a master criminal would steal Encrypted Inc.’s most prized invention, the Encryptor.
Chapter 1
Jace sprints out of the building alarms blazing. The CEO of the company himself was chasing Jace. The CEO was not a big or strong man by any means. On the contrary, he was quite small, standing at only five foot six and having almost no muscle. He was not a threat to Jace. Jace glanced back at his pursuer and squints to read his nametag. Chandler CEO was what Jace made out.
“Man, that guy is fast!”, Jace says to himself. Jace notices that he is getting near a corner and puts on an extra burst of speed. As Jace turns the corner he spins around and stands waiting for Chandler to turn the corner. It only takes Chandler a few seconds to get to the corner, so when he does he runs right into Jace. Jace pulls back his right fist and goes in for a slow right hook. Chandler dodges but Jace expects this. Jace’s left hand slammed into Chandler's cheekbone. Chandler's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell to the ground.
“Not even close buddy.”, Jace tells the unconscious Chandler. Jace rushes off toward the center of the town where it was busier. He hopes to lose his pursuers in the crowd. Jace is just nearing at it to Kevlen Street, which is about halfway from where he is to the center of the city, suddenly he had an idea.
“What is the one place they can’t see me?”, he questioned himself. “Of course! Underground.” Jace looked around for an entrance to Mesokie, the underground labyrinth of tunnels that the ancient Kings used to get around unnoticed. He can’t see one and just about gives up hope when he spots a manhole.
Jace eyes the manhole cover and thinks, “Oh, why not,” as he jumps into the sewer system. Jace starts to wander the sewers trying to navigate back to his base he mutters to himself.“This better be worth my trouble Dale.” Jace pulls the Encryptor  out of his backpack. The Encryptor was a black cube about five inches in length, height, and width with yellow lines crisscrossing all over it. The yellow lines stop at yellow circles, making it look like an odd sort of circuit. There is a big gray button in the middle of one of the sides. Jace was skeptical about this device. All it looked like to him was a cube with pretty designs. He wonders what is so special about it. Jace keeps thinking as he slowly meanders around the sewer.
“I wonder they call it the Encryptor? Encryptions are codes… codes are sometimes answers to locks… I wonder…” All of this goes through Jace's head in a span of only two seconds. He heads toward a locked door that he has never been able to pick. It stood right in the way of the straightest path to his base so Jace tried multiple times to get it open.
“Maybe…” Jace holds the Encryptor up to the door and pushes in the button. The yellow circuits start to glow violently and then they slowly fade back to normal. Jace was disappointed and turns around when he suddenly hears the slightest click. Jace slowly turns around and reaches for the handle of the door. He grips the handle in his hand feeling the grime collected over the years and  begins to turn the handle. It starts to move slowed by layers of rust accumulated over the years. The door creaks open laboriously and Jace peers into the room.
Suddenly vibrant lights flash as the automatic lighting system kicks in. Jace sees a large white room filled with equipment. The room is about 250 square feet of space. Along the back wall Jace could see rows of monitors hooked up to hidden cameras placed all over the city and the sewer. However, they were covered in dust because they hadn’t been used in years.
On the right wall there was a collection of weaponry and gear. Jace noticed a couple pistols and rifles as well as throwing knives and crossbows. He also saw three sets of Kevlar bullet proof vests. There were a couple spherical items that Jace didn’t recognize however. One was gray with a neon green stripe down the middle with a button at the top. The other was bright pink and had no visible buttons. Jace decided he would mess with those later.
On the left wall there was a bar, mini fridge, oven, microwave and a door with a sign over it that said, Ye Old Pooper. Jace’s lips lifted a bit as he read the sign. Jace went over to check the fridge and when he opened it he found old moldy milk, cheese, and ham. He also found some perfectly good Coca-Cola, his favorite drink. Jace knew he’d have to restock the fridge. He decides this was his new base. Jace walked over to the door and closed it.
“Please lock the door. If you don’t know how to lock the door, please read monitor number 57. To remove this message, turn the Encryptor so the button is facing left and press it.” Jace stood shocked by the message from the female voice. Slowly he turned the cube as the voice said and pressed the button.
“Message deleted.”
“What in the world…” Jace says aloud. After reading the message which simply said, Say initiate locking into the encryptor.
“Initiate locking.” Jace said dubiously. Jace thought there was no chance that it was going to work when he heard cling the door locked. Jace decided he was going to have to check this base out a little more in depth. Jace started wandering around the room and ended up at the console. A button he hadn’t previously seen before read press for Zenia.
“Zenia?” Jace thought to himself. He concluded that was the voice’s name. Jace decided not to push the button out of fear that he would be recognized as not the original owner of the Encryptor. Jace walked to the door and held the Encryptor out and pressed the button. Nothing happened. Jace tried it again, still nothing.
Alarmed, Jace said, “Release lock.” Still nothing. Absolutely petrified, Jace walked over and pressed the button.
“Hello Jace, I’ve been waiting a long time to finally meet you. The name is Zenia; I created you.” Jace look up and saw that a woman was floating down from the ceiling. “My son,” she stated bluntly, “you have disappointed me. It is now time to make up for this disappointment.” With that abrupt statement, she erupts in laughter. Zenia snaps her fingers and the room plunges into darkness. Jace stands petrified and screams in terror as he feels something crawling up onto his shoulder. 
TO BE CONTINUED