"So. How are you feeling? Any strange symptoms?" the doctor asked. I laid in my bed feeling the constant battering within my mind. I clutched my head and whimpered. I was starting to see the images again. A giant furry man with the head of a bull. A giant skyscraper under siege. An enormous trireme with a bronze dragon head on the front. A beautiful blonde girl kissing me underwater. "173! You need your medicine, take it before I call security."
I slowly got up from my bed and over to my psychiatrist. He held out a pill container and I took it, studying it warily. I hated taking these. They tasted awful and I would get even more nauseous than I was before. "Well? Security or pills?" he asked.
I glared at the doc but I took two pills out anyway. I popped them in my mouth and grabbed the glass of water. Suddenly my vision went red and I spat the wet, dissolving pills at his face. They hit each of his eyes with dead accuracy. The doc screamed and pulled a gun out but I smashed the cup on his face.
I held back the bile as I assessed the damage. Chunks of glass were sticking everywhere on his face, his blood pouring down on my rubber room. And then I realized. This was my chance for escape. And I had a feeling it would be my only one after this incident.
I grabbed the gun and shot the door knob to my rubber room. I kicked it open and to my left saw a security guard holding a pistol, stalking towards me. I quickly shot a round into his head. I ran forward and took his equipment. A flashlight, a key card, some Dubble Bubble chewing gum, and another pistol.
I felt an odd shiver as I held the guns up. Was I meant to do this? Am I a killer? I opened the door with the key card and shot two more guards. The elevator required fingerprints, so I pressed the dead man's finger on the pad. It opened and I entered. I've never been in an elevator before but I knew exactly how to use it. I listened to the elevator music and had another vision.
I was waiting in a similar elevator with two other people. One was a guy with legs of what seemed to be a donkey. The other was the same blonde girl. I was surprised to see her crying, and I tried to wipe the tears from her stormy gray eyes, but my body resolutely stood still. "I hope you're happy." She said.
I broke from the memory as I heard the intercom blare out, "Attention all personnel. Project 173 has escaped and is heading towards the lobby. Do not terminate him, I repeat do not terminate him."
I heard voices from the other side of the doors as the elevator came to a halt. I jumped and pushed the emergency exit top off. I climbed up and slowly closed it silently as half a dozen S.W.A.T. commandos entered the elevator. I held onto the cables that held the elevator and shot an entire clip into it. The lift immediately flew down, carrying the commandos down to their end.
I swung forward on the cables trying to gain enough momentum to drop myself in the open elevator doors. I went in another vision. I was swinging, chain to chain, tying a fat man in a loincloth. I fell down to the ground and stabbed him in the gut with a bronze leaf shaped sword. Sand poured out from his body instead of blood and he struggled against his bindings until the sand in his body ran out, leaving a dirty loincloth.
When I woke from the trance I was in the lobby, dead bodies all around me. Some were security. Others were probably staff members. I suddenly felt sickened with myself and threw the guns I had from my hands away. I leaned over a man and searched him. He had car keys and a wallet filled with cash. I ran out of the building and pressed the unlock button on the key. A silver sedan's lights flashed and I went inside it.
It was then when I realized that it was raining. The first time I ever saw rain. I looked up from the driver's seat and looked through the sun roof. There were gray clouds spilling raindrops everywhere. I checked the car clock. 7 o' clock. Maybe I would even get to see the moon and stars. As my hands automatically started the car I had yet another vision.
While I was driving I looked over to my right and saw a girl. She had her red hair pulled back in a ponytail and was wearing a white blouse over what probably was a swimsuit. She was nice looking. Maybe even better looking than the blonde girl. "Oh pull up right here!" she exclaimed.
I parked on a ridge that looked over an ocean. My mind pulled up the Atlantic as I looked over it. The water sparkled and looked as smooth as glass. So, I thought, not only do I get to see actual rain. I get to see the Atlantic Ocean. The girl turned to me and said, "So. About that invitation" My expression must've been grave because she quickly added, "Percy. I know the timing I bad. But it's always bad for you, right?"
The sound of a helicopter woke me. I panicked and put the car in reverse. I pulled away from the parking spot, and drove forward. I hit the streets while I saw a helicopter in a side view mirror. The stubs on the sides of the helicopter began to flash, and I knew they were firing on me. Bullet holes appeared on the roof of the car but I made a sharp turn to the right, hiding behind a construction site. The chopper over shot me and went right past me, but I was sure it was going around the building for another pass.
My instincts kicked in and I exited the car. I hid over in the construction site and watched as the chopper mowed the car down, blowing it to millions of pieces. The chopper lowered down lines and the S.W.A.T. team slid down to the bottom. My legs carried me to a toolbox, where I searched until I found a nail gun. "He's over there!"
I ran, ducking under bullets, straight into the building under construction. The men stalked in, their guns held high. I hid under the shadows waiting for the right moment. At the moment there were only five people. The guy taking point, pointed at the two on his right and jabbed his arm to the left. He then pointed to the ones on his left and jabbed right. He started to make his way forward, right up close to me. When I was sure the others were out of sight, I shot the nail gun at the man.
It caught him on his shoulder and he fell over, groaning. He turned over watching me walk to him. He dropped his rifle when I shot him but he pulled a pistol from his holster. I quickly shot his hand, nailing it into the ground. He yelled in pain, and I heard the scuffling of the other men. I took the assault rifle, it had a grenade launcher which would probably help later. "You think you're going to get out of this alive you freak? We will hunt you down. Chimera, Ladon, Cerberus. They're all going to find you."
Whatever this guy was saying was a warning. Possibly important, probably not. I thought about leaving him there. But instead I found a bandolier of frag grenades on him. I pulled one of the pins and stepped back. "Don't worry. I'll find them." I whispered.
My legs carried me out of the building, and the satisfying screams and explosion confirmed my plan. Most or all of them were incapacitated. I ran out in the open where the helicopter was still waiting. Before it fired a shot, I pulled the trigger to the grenade launcher. It lobbed up and all the way in the air and exploded at the base of the rotor blades. It sank like the titanic and crashed into the ground. I was frozen to my spot. For the first time I heard pedestrians running around, screaming. "C'mon 173. Run." I whispered.
I ran to the nearest car and hot-wired it. Wherever I was going, I wanted to get there fast and unseen.
