II
Chapter 1: The Gauntlet Is Dropped.
The world isn't has whole as they would have you believe. There is always conflict, if not on our plain than on another. Conflict is the reason for all the trouble caused by them and for what they did to us, how they justified it. They make me sick… I am done being a toy to them to use whenever they desire… I am alive.
"Hold it right there!" The guard yells at me, his weapon aimed right at my forehead. Go ahead and pull the trigger, end me right here and now… I know you won't, I'm too precious to your superiors… well fuck them.
I head is down, my eyes to the floor as I hold the revolver in my right hand. Steel, cold, three bullets in the chamber… hollow point, perfect for damaging organic matter and not armour. Using what those scientists gave me, I lift the revolver faster than the guards can react to and pull the trigger… one… two… three… empty. The guards fall to the ground dead, three shots to the head… pinpoint accuracy. I throw the revolver away, no need for it now, only need to keep going. The stench of death reaches me, filling my lungs with the vile aroma… perfect.
'All this death… it steadies my nerves' A grin comes to my lips, my eyes focus on the steel door in front of me, the end of the hallway… no doubt more guards on the other end, trying to keep us in this hole. My hand grasps the handle and twists it to the right, the clunk sounds and I push the door, the open lobby now before me.
Strange, the lobby is empty and there is no sign of guards anywhere, but they have been through here, the smell of their lives is clear but faint… they've passed through to one of the other hallways… why? Maybe I am not the only breakout… if that is so it wouldn't be wise for me to leave in case they get recaptured. It would be a hindrance if they sent the others after me. The ones that live anyway.
With a sigh of frustration I walk towards the door of the other hallway, the door is closed like I'd expect so I grasp the handle and twist, opening it fully revealing the hallway. My eyes fall upon two other breakouts, a child whacking a guard unconscious with a frying pan… the comical humour in this sight is amusing but still, not even a chuckle leaves my lips as the female beside him turns to me, her reaction instant.
"You're like us!" She exclaims, whether in excitement, surprise or fear I don't know and nor do I care. I merely turn around and walk away from the door, my hands in my pockets. "Wait!" I stop in the middle of the lobby, the sun shining through the windows of the entrance and onto the white tile floor. "We need to stick together." She says with a serious tone, I can see she is serious within her eyes but the moment she sees the hollowness of mine, she turns her eyes away.
"You okay Thesia?" The young kid asks with a concerned tone, seems he has ditched the frying pan. He looks up at the older female while clinging to her leg with a hang. 'Pathetic, that is the type of weakness the government will capitalise on.'
"If you have something to say just say it and stop wasting my time." I say as I turn away, my tone cold and to the point, I have no need of pleasantries in this world.
"I'm fine Axel. Wouldn't it be better if we stay together?" She asks I can feel her eyes burrowing into the back of my skull.
"I don't travel with weaklings; you'd only slow me down." I can see the shock within her eyes, the one known as Thesia.
"How can you be so heartless?" Her tone of voice is low and I know she has turned her eyes away… how can I be so heartless she asks.
"Because I survived." I state and resume walking, leaving them behind. Leaving the facility I find myself standing in the middle of a blizzard, the snow obstructing my vision. Typical for the facility to be built on a fucking mountain top… got to be a way down somewhere best get moving.
I trudge through the snow, it is to my shin and I am wearing leather boots. The boots are freezing cold and getting difficult to bend as I walk. Still, I trudge on and soon my eyes spy a cave, slightly covered by the snow. I walk inside the cave and turn back to the blizzard, my eyes just staring at the snow. 'The cold… it is merciless… just like the world… nature certainly is the best teacher of survival.' I think to myself before walking to the back of the cave, the darkness enclosing me, surrounding me.
My eyes shoot open as I hear two other sets of breathing within the cave; I feel pressure on both my arms so I slowly turn my head to the right. The female known as Thesia is cuddling to my side, sleeping soundly like a baby in a crib, with a roll of my eyes I turn my head to the right and see the youngling… Axel I believe his name is nuzzled into my arm… guess they must of cuddled close during their sleep to keep warm, the kid's blazing hot… might be a side effect of what the scientists did to him.
'34… poor kid, he has no idea what the world is about and he's been dragged into this.' I turn my head back to Thesia, like myself both of these people seem to have numbers on their neck, my own being seven and the kid's being thirty-four. '89… there were fifty cells where I was and there were multiple cell blocks… how many did they abduct for their sick experiments?' I sigh quietly and close my eyes again, condoning myself to sleep for now.