I, Ashley Davies, was running away but from what I don't really know, I don't know how it came to this. I sprinted as fast as my feet would carry me, away from all I knew was home, away to where we weren't sure but we knew there had to be something better, something more. I surveyed the landscape as I ran, the full moon rose over the white blanketed expanse of a meadow that had been freshly dusted with snow. Somehow I found it serene, tranquil, almost stilling as my bare feet blasted their way through it. In the distance, I could see a spotlight move across the ground from a helicopter, like a death ray, searching left and right among the trees lighting up the crisp, black night. As the spotlight beam swept the trees nearby I stopped undercover and controlled my breathing deep and regular, as the chopper passed on and the sound faded, I took my chance I raced forward. In just my hospital gown, the bitter cold was starting to sting, my unprotected head felt frozen but I was glad for my buzz cut, long hair would of slowed me down. I powered across the open meadow running for all I'm worth. It was easy I was made and trained for this...
Genetically engineered to run like a machine, no stumbling, no wasted motion, my breath trailed behind me in the frigid mountain air, I'd nearly reached the tree line now, I could hear a pack of snowmobiles slashing through the trees, they were close, their engines whining, I ran through the thicket of trees into a clearing where behind logs and tree trunks, several of the others made themselves known to me, I counted eight. Eight other buzz cut, hospital gown wearing kids, my family, had made it out with me. I joined them wordlessly smiling to myself, hiding behind the logs would keep us concealed but only for a moment. We began to plan the rest of our escape, rapidly exchanging hand signals careful not to make any sound.
The escape was not my idea. I mean, escape to what? We didn't know there was anything else and I couldn't help but wonder how many had managed to get out and went elsewhere. Movement nearby caught my eye as another kid made it to the rally point a girl, as she got closer I saw it was Jessica, we clasp hands as she joins us. We all look to where she came from hoping to see more coming, I could hear the pops of gunfire and the sound of the snowmobiles growing steadily louder, we knew there were no more. The eldest boy Ben stood in the middle and points at his wrist, an imaginary watch, and makes a slashing sign with his hand, out of time. With vigorous hand signals he separated us into escape-and-evade teams, two to a team, i was paired with Jess. We all nod perfunctorily and head off, running through the trees in our teams of two. I didn't want to leave him behind, he was one of the strongest of us inside and like a brother to me, I turned back to him but he just reiterated the order with sharp hand signals. It was him who said we had to leave, I guessed he saved our lives and I didn't want to never have the chance to thank him. I felt a tugging on my arm and with one last look to him with a head nod I darted off with Jess.
We stopped just short of a team of black-clad guards dragging a struggling child who's been recaptured back toward the huge imposing building that we came from I had never seen the facility from this close to the perimeter fencing until now. Somewhere an alarm wails and snaps my attention back to what we're doing. I see a small black radio left behind from one of the guards, I sneak forward into the clearing to grab it. As quick as I am there I'm gone again back into our hiding spot as we intently listen to the order's being given.
"This is Smith. I want you to capture if you can. But if any of them make it to outside the perimeter, you are to terminate. Is that understood?" Smith was our security chief, if he was giving out orders to terminate it must be getting serious.
"Confirming, Sir, you're giving an order ten-oh-six." The radio crackled as Smith confirmed the order.
"I'll take responsibility. If they reach the outer fence...shoot to kill." I drop the radio, we had to keep moving.
We're back sprinting through the trees when we reach a chain link fence topped with barbed wire. Jess climbed a nearby tree, runs out along a limb. She leapt out into space, planted her hands on the top row of the wire and did a gymnast vault over it into a perfect dismount in the snow quickly moving to a hiding spot the other side. I followed her movements but just as I started moving again I heard a gun click I turned to find the gun aimed at us, I gasped as he was tackled from the side by a blurring shape, he hit the ground and struggled to get back up again, it was Ben, he knocked the weapon out of his hands with a sweeping roundhouse kick, then swung a hunk of broken branch at the trooper like a baseball bat, he dropped and remained down. I acknowledge him and carry on running sliding behind a snowdrift on the far side as I see headlights speeding towards me I spin around in a crouch to remain hidden.
I looked back to the chain link fence only to see black figures surround Ben, silhouetted by the headlights of arriving snowmobiles. One of the troopers fired a tazer at him, he ducks the flying tazer dart and it embeds in a soldier behind him who is jump-started by the 150,000 volts. Ben smashed the tazer-firing guy with the log and leaps toward another when five troopers fire their tazers simultaneously and one of the darts connects and he lights up, convulsing as two more troopers run up and fire at close range. He goes down, making spasmodic snow angels as the electricity goes through him. I stared in horror as Ben is set upon by the human wolves. Jess is quick to grab me and yank me away we sprint across a clearing and over a frozen pond toward the sheltering woods beyond. The searchlight is back and raking the trees near them as more snowmobiles converge searching for us, hunting for us.
I was only trailing Jess by a few feet, when suddenly I feel the floor give way under my feet I drop suddenly as the ice beneath me gave way. Jess came back lying on the ice and reached out trying to help pull me out, I grab on to her hand but just as I'm pulling myself up out of the hole, the edge breaks away and I fall back. I see pure panic on Jess's face as she looks up at the sound of the chopper above the spotlight is still raking through the woods moving quickly towards us.
"GO!" I scream.
"No, Ash. We stick together." She's desperately trying to reach for me.
"Go, Jess. I'll find you." With that, I took a big gulp of air and dived down under the water. I knew I could hold my breath for longer than that chopper would be searching here I pressed my face against the ice looking upward planning my next move. As I floated there I saw the helicopter spotlight shine right down to where I was.
I jumped wide awake my eyes flying open, sweating in fear of the nightmare that still plagued my sleep, twenty and still having nightmares. Here I thought it would get easier and sometimes it is, sometimes it seems like it happened to someone else, like maybe it was a story I heard. I get out of bed a pull on some jeans and a hoodie, I make my way out, no point in staying in here if I'm not going to be sleeping. I make my way to the tower, it's an old abandoned building easily the highest in a good few miles. I found my way to the roof once when I needed space to think, the height didn't bother me at all, it actually aided my relaxation and it meant nobody would be bothering me. I sat down in my usual spot and breathed in a deep much needed breathe of clean, crisp air.
The hardest part of all of this is the not knowing if any of them made it. I was alone when I made it out and I wasn't sure who else did, even if they did but somehow I think if I knew for sure that I was the only one left, it would be worse. At least this way I can make up lives for them, like maybe Jess is a fashion photographer and Ben is an architect. Truth is they'd probably be just like me, living on the run always looking over your shoulder. Hope is for losers, it's a con job people trip behind until they finally get a grip on the cold hard truth. Still I hope they're somewhere out there, most of them and that they're okay.
-x-
R&R - Thanks for Reading =]