Look Out

Near had never once gone outside. He had only seen sunlight when he watched movies or TV, or when he went online. He had been kept in what appeared to be a mansion with completely sealed windows and the exits like a bank vault door. Only the agents had the code on their cards, and they were to never take them out around Near, assuming that he would take them and escape. But he didn't know why he was there, or why he wasn't allowed outside, but he kept quiet, knowing there had to be a reason for it. The agents would trade shifts, some staying there during the day, while others stayed there at night, but they always left at some point and returned during the day and night. They would bring other work with him, and when they would be working, he would go up behind them and read over their shoulders about the cases they were trying to solve. They complained to him about personal space, but he would ignore them. To their amazement, he'd have the case solved completely within a day at the most. It soon became habit to give him the cases they couldn't solve and let him figure it out. He would read in the massive library for a few hours a day, often falling asleep there or on the floor somewhere else after playing with his toys. He barely talked, and if it wasn't for the agents, he probably wouldn't move around as much as he did now, even if it was minimal. He was like a doll.

He had always had white hair and the agents who raised him would comment on it, and would often ask him why they were being paid to watch him and keep him safe. He didn't know until he was around the age of 10. He had noticed that whenever he tripped or got hurt in some way, the closest person to him would complain about feeling pain. Pain that he realized he should have felt. His white hair gave away as a red flag to him. Curious, he researched and discovered 'mutants'. People with abilities unlike a normal human. At first he was happy that there were people like him out there. But he soon found out why his family would keep him so hidden and closed off. Mutants were a hated species. Near read about the 'mutant menace' and learned about F.R.O.G.S, who were in charge of any mutant related incident. Registration, experimentation, and death of mutants was their job and they didn't feel ashamed about it. He kept his mouth shut about his mutation, knowing the agents would more than likely gun him down themselves for it.

Near had fallen down a flight of steps when it was given away without his knowledge. He had left a figurine on the steps and when he stepped on it, he felt no pain of course, but then he fell. He landed at the bottom of the steps after the fall in a way that should have sprained his hand or even broken it and he should have a few places bruised and sore. He didn't. But the agent passing by the stairs did. He came to work the next day with his arm in a sling and it looked hard for him to move. Near hadn't paid any mind to it, and the agent seemed to make sure he and Near weren't in the same room at the same time. 

When Near was playing with his dice a few days later, he heard someone yell.

"Near! Look out!" Near turned in time to see the once hurt agent aim his gun at him and shoot.