Wow! It's been over a year since I last posted and two since I put this story on here. It took awhile, but I'm back and ready to rumble. I shifted the focus of the beginning around as I completely did not like what I had up and it felt like a rush job just to have something to post. So I rewrote everything I had and that is what you see here now.
I hope you like the new Phoenix Rising, and don't be afraid to tell me how you feel. Oh and if anything seems a little off or wrong about some details down below, I used Google to fill in the blanks of my knowledge and make it better.
Her lungs were on fire. Breathe coming in ragged gasps straining to take in air. Muscles trembling to carry out the task currently underway. Cold pinpricks, like fire burning as if it were ice reborn, strike hard at straining muscles up and down both thighs. Unfortunately, those slight irritations were the least of her problems. She should be more worried about escaping the duo of voracious bloodsuckers hunting her down. As if I could think of anything else at the moment. She snorts pathetically at that particular thought. From the sounds of amused laughter they didn't give her a very high estimate of succeeding. Not much sport in a pathetic human. Ugly bastards were suited up in full armor so now as usual she couldn't get a good look at them, not that she would want to. Something was… off about them. Not just in the way they walked and talked but their body shapes as well. There were only two of them she ever saw, not knowing if it was due to her status or the fact she was always blindfolded except when it was time to eat and food delivered to wherever they were holding her captive. One was small, light on its feet but the way it moved, the way it was, felt wrong. There was also something about how the armor was shaped around its body that didn't feel quite human. She couldn't fathom what else it could be but something told her it was true.
The other one however, was the complete opposite. A giant being well over seven feet tall and so large it could barely fit through the door whenever it accompanied its partner to bring her meals. Unless it was the armor on its back that caused the distortion there was an enormous hump located between its shoulders. That one she feared more than the smaller one as at any moment it could crush her like a grape without even breaking a sweat. She didn't know why they were holding her captive, couldn't remember much about who she was or where she came from except her name and… gifts before waking up in some cryo-pod, like the ones you heard about people stuffing their dead relatives in to bring them back when technology advanced enough.
They moved her a lot from place to place, never staying very long before jetting off to the next destination. They never let her out of her holding area either, preferring to keep her locked up except when transferring her to another cell. They never talked either, gesturing whenever they wanted her to comply with whatever it was they had her do. It was always silent in there, a monotonous existence without entertainment. She was always bored, and slept as much as possible. After a while sleep became her constant companion and only source of escape from the dreary tediousness that was now her life.
Then one day, everything changed. They took her out of the cell she had been in for who knows how long and into a warehouse of some kind. Most likely it was yet another transfer to yet another holding cell to continue the cycle. She couldn't wait. But then, they made a mistake. An extremely costly mistake, one she took full advantage of. They had for once neglected to blindfold her the way they usually did when taking her anywhere beyond her cell. She had grinned internally and started formulating a quick plan of escape. It wasn't much to look at being made on the fly but if it got here way from them she didn't care. Taking a deep breath she had centered her mind the way she practiced when not sleeping. It had been a way to pass the time and also to get her gifts back up to speed, never knowing when she might be able to use them to her advantage. It would have been a fruitless venture to try anything beforehand, not knowing where she was or if there was even a way off whatever transport they had her on.
Gathering her breath she started to hum, low vibrations at first, then bringing it louder and louder the more they'd walked her into the warehouse. One shook its head as if an angry bee were buzzing about, hoping to clear up the noise. It didn't help. The humming reached a frenzied pitch, screeching, almost too high to hear but loud enough inside their minds to cause excruciating pain, and an automatic reflex of dropping whatever was in their grip, holding their heads, screaming in silent agony. She had been waiting for precisely this moment to happen. Pushing off with one foot she bolted forward away from her captors, running as fast as her slightly atrophied muscles could take her. There hadn't been much room to exercise in her cell, an action she so desperately regretted being the one chink in her plan that could bring it crashing down.
Shipping containers blocked nearly every square inch of space this place could offer. It was large enough across that she couldn't see to the far end. The second chink started creaking in protest. No matter, it still wouldn't stop her. Walkways appeared every so often between the behemoth piles stretching to the ceiling. Some near the top looked like a stiff wind would send them toppling over to crush the unwary pedestrian down below. Cranes moved about taking containers from seemingly random piles and placing them on other random piles. The nonstop motion had no discernible pattern that she could see other than taking and giving. They were fully automated machines with nary a living soul in sight. Chink number three screeched loud and clear.
Spotting a large container on the ground she speeds behind it, crashing into the solid metal walls and flinging herself against them in an effort to take a breather and survey the situation at hand. Hopefully the duo were still too wrapped up in her little harmony to be able to come after her. Peeking around the corner of the container she curses under her breath when she sees that they seemed to have recovered (enough to grab their weapons and point them in her general direction) and are walking slowly forward, scanning every possible nook and cranny that she could possibly hide in. Just her luck, the attack would run out faster in her weakened state. If looks could kill, she was sure they would have killed her a thousand times over by now underneath all that armor. They're holding what look like modified versions of a shotgun, crammed with all sorts of gadgets and technological crap that looks like something pulled straight from Star Wars. The large behemoth starts speaking, shocking her with the deepness its voice held. Gravel in a blender would have been less surprising.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are little human! You can't escape us. I have orders to bring you in alive, but they didn't say it had to be in one piece. Run all you want, I enjoy a little hunting before I capture my prey." The growling echoes around the warehouse walls, reaching her hiding spot and spiking her panic levels even higher.
My name is Kassie you dolt. The moment you think you re-capture me is the moment your life flashes before your eyes.
Her heart skips a beat, struggling to slow down enough to keep its vessel alive. Not surprisingly the smaller of her two pursuers seems content to let the bigger one do all the talking, creating an illusion of who was in charge. She wouldn't put it past it to be the brains behind the brawn to keep their victims guessing 'til the last moment possible.
Kassie spots a set of doors at the far end of the warehouse opening up to receive an automatic delivery of yet more shipping containers. They stay open for thirty seconds afterwards and then shut close slowly. A light above the door turns from green to red when they shut, signaling nothing is coming through, at least for the moment. Watching this process happen several times while still keeping an eye behind her, she formulates a plan. A short, hare-brained scheme but a plan nonetheless. If she can make it to those doors and out the other side she may just have a chance at evading the cells again and finding a better place to hide than some deserted warehouse. Hopefully there would be some sort of escape route to said hiding place and not more warehouse.
Before she can put anything into motion she hears a slightly metallic *click* coming from behind her and dread creeps up her spine. That didn't sound good. It sounded a little bit like… the shotgun! He (she was assuming by the deep voice that it was a he) wasn't kidding when he said he liked to hunt his… prey. Prey meaning her. She was about to be one dead cookie if she didn't do something now! Her eyes were wide open in a heart pounding daze at the thought of injury and further captivity. She spots something lying on a toolbox in front of her, a deck of cards somebody left behind. So there are people in this place. My luck we came in during a shift change.
She darts to the deck and grabs it in her hands. Thinking quickly she throws it in any direction but forward, hoping it sails swiftly through the air and hits something. She murmurs an apology to the owner of the cards and prepares to run. Ten seconds later she hears a faint thud as the cards hit their mark, landing somewhere unseen but generating enough noise to produce a distraction. The small thud peaks the interest of her pursuers as she can sense their shift in focus to the echo. The big one laughs and mutters gotcha before they both head off to what they think is Kassie. A shot rings out in that general direction and before you can say Han Solo she is racing towards the doors to freedom. Her ragged breathing threatens to morph into a bout of hyperventilating if she didn't get out and soon. As if much could be done to speed up the process other than to suddenly sprout wings and fly.
Maybe someday if I can get out of here.
The delivery doors flash from red to green and start to open at their mediocre pace. Somebody should fix those things flies through her stamina-strapped brain as she bolts towards them faster and faster. Just a few…more…feet…
Metal sparks fly to her left as the shotgun is unloaded in her vicinity. Shit. The cards didn't work as well as I'd hoped. The big behemoth keeps firing at her from atop a container while the smaller one waits for the lulls to shoot. She tries to run faster but her stamina is failing. It's a hard enough chore to keep up the current speed let alone increase it. Calming her mind once again she flings up protection in hopes of stopping any buckshot that makes it. Praying for the notorious unreliability of shotguns at a far range she continues onward. That is until the big guy leaps off of the container and onto the warehouse floor behind her. Fuck. Me.
The closer range works for the creature's advantage in that it can now aim better and have a greater chance at hitting its target. One last shot is sent her way… partially hitting its mark. The shield does as good a job as it can considering her strength but it isn't enough to completely stop any buckshot making it through. It slams into her right shoulder at an alarming pace and flings her forwards through the doors onto a balcony of sorts, the opening the shipping containers come through. She hits the railing and screams in pain as it hits her wounds and causes blood to decorate the floor beneath her. Kassie sees her pursuers getting closer in-between the flashes of sight and struggles to stand. Turning around, she recoils in disbelief. What she saw was not anything created by man from her basic knowledge of architecture. This, this was science fiction come to life.
Flying cars filled the sky above her, while a smooth flowing river lay below. Levels upon levels of pure white curving walls interspersed with plant life made up the scenery. The bustling sounds of shoppers going about their day reached her ears, shouting and merry-making floating about on the breeze. She couldn't believe what was before her very eyes and yet, there it was. Plain as day and twice as harsh. This had to be a fever dream…or…or… something not this! It was completely overwhelming but the second-most of her current problems. The duo were still coming for her and she had nowhere to go but down. Down to whatever that was she saw.
Glancing behind her and cradling her right arm in her left she made a decision. A stupid one, and yet the smartest thing she would do that day. Backing up to the open doors and taking a deep breath, she ran. Straight toward the railing, toward the river, and jumped.