I was dying.
At least I think I was because it felt like my subconscious was melting from my body, slipping away into blissful eternity. All of my pain and anguish was being left behind in the vessel I'd abandoned. That life was over and I was glad for it.
I'd lost everything, why remain?
Absorbing my surroundings, I noticed there was this light; this glowing orb that beckoned from so far away. Is that it? Is that the path forward? This was so new to me, so frightening. I wondered how many times I had gone through this very situation before without memory.
Then I noticed the light getting brighter, larger, as if it was approaching me. Fear of the unknown screamed at me to flee but I was trapped in the very darkness I was so comforted by. I stared at the light, looking through it, seeing the outline of what looked like a doorway…
And then it pulled me through.
XXXXXXXXXX
Burning, searing pain racked my entire being, like millions of watts of electricity were being pumped through my veins. I heard a sound, a voice? Someone was screaming, so loud that my ears hurt and my eyes felt like they were going to explode.
Wait, ears? Eyes? A vessel? No.
No no no no no NO!
"Someone's in here," I heard a voice yell. Lifting my head slightly from the floor I saw a large man in some kind of military style armor stomping toward me. Instinctively I scrambled backward on all fours until my feet bumped into a wall, forcing me to sit upright in an attempt to get further away. Realizing my terror he stopped, putting up his hands and taking a half step back.
"It's alright," he said softly, his voice flowing over me like a warm blanket. I could feel him as well as hear him and there was no malice in his thoughts or actions. Suddenly an explosion rocked the building we were in, forcing a shriek from my mouth. My eyes darted around the room when I felt large arms around my waist, pulling me toward a large chest and lifting me to my feet.
I didn't fight him, just put both feet flat on the floor and tested the strength of my legs. Feeling confident that they wouldn't give out, I nodded and he released me. Another explosion and our eyes met, understanding passing between us. Run or die.
He took my hand and we sped off, moving from room to room looking for someone else, anyone else. Neither of us said a word to the other; we just searched each room, grabbing supplies as we went along. I found it odd that we seemed to be so in sync without speaking but with no time to consider I pushed it to the back of my mind and continued on. Then there was a fire fight and then we ran into more people. Two men although they did not seem to be familiar to him and things became a little clearer.
Project Lazarus was under attack and we were all that was left of its science team. I said nothing, fearing they would leave me behind being an unknown. A few more very confusing situations involving what I thought was gunfire and one of the men being killed by a mysterious woman who was supposedly in charge occurred and then we were boarding a shuttle.
The man who found me, whom I trusted completely for reasons unknown, sat beside me and the surviving man and woman sat across from us. We were all trying to catch our breath, the adrenaline wearing off when the woman turned her gaze to me.
"Dr. Martin, what do you remember?" she asked me, seemingly suspicious. I shook my head and looked down at my lap, not sure what to say since, first of all, I was certain Martin was not my last name. She reached across, grabbing my chin and forcefully yanking it up to make me look her in the eye. "I asked you a question!" she seethed, her eyes narrow and the tension pouring off of her. Before I could act my savior grabbed her hand and shoved it away, putting a protective arm across my lap.
"Dammit Miranda, calm down," he insisted, matching her angry gaze with one of his own. They glared at each other and everyone held their breath, apparently unsure of how the man next to me was going to react. Finally he sighed, shaking his head as he raked his free hand down his face. "Now is not the time, let's get to safety first." When 'Miranda' begrudgingly seemed to accept that he turned to face me, his blue eyes searching mine. I stared up into them, a small gasp leaving my throat that thankfully was inaudible. Those eyes were inescapable.
"Are you injured?"
"N-n-n-no," I stammered, shaking my head as I lowered it to again stare at my hands. He moved his arm from my lap to take one of my hands in his. Giving it a comforting squeeze, he turned to the man across from him who was apparently named Jacob. His hand remained and I was grateful for the contact, turning mine around to wrap my fingers around it, holding on for dear life. I felt his body huff, apparently in amusement, and realized that we were so close our legs were touching. Shit, if he'd let me I'd sit in his lap. Clinging to a complete stranger… I must be desperate.
The two men carried on a conversation as Miranda stared at me. She was so emotional I could almost hear her thoughts, the betrayal and anger so fresh. Remembering she called me by a name I didn't recognize I looked down at my free hand, noticing it was a bit larger than I remembered my hands to be, the fingers and nails longer. Wait, what- I then pulled a lock of hair forward so that I could see it and stared. My hair is dark brown, not blonde! What the hell is going on?
"Hey Doc," the man next to me said as he pulled the hand he'd been holding toward him, placing it on his knee and covering it with his own. I looked up into the blue eyes again, this time remembering not to gasp. "What's your first name? I think you already know mine's John." He was smiling softly at me and it was infectious, making the corners of my mouth twitch upward as I felt the rest of my façade, and my insides, soften.
"Kayla Martin," Miranda not-so-helpfully interjected as she crossed her arms in front of her. "She specializes in cellular biology. She led one of the teams that worked to bring you back." She leaned forward in her seat, her nose coming within inches of mine. "I didn't peg you for a double agent, but I can rectify that easily enough." Jacob put a hand on her arm, easing her back into her chair.
"Relax, Miranda, we will get to the bottom of what happened soon enough," he assured the brunette. I was already picturing ways to set that bitch straight. I will snap her neck the moment her back is turned. Realizing that what Jacob was saying also meant I would have to answer questions, my grip on John's knee tightened. He huffed again, prompting me to look up at him. I must have looked like a cornered animal because his smile faded quickly.
"Kayla," he said, "did you know about the attack before it happened?" His words were slow, clear and concise, leaving no room for manipulations. I shook my head and swallowed hard.
"No, I knew nothing about it," I insisted, "I woke up and there you were. I have no idea how I even got there." Realizing what I had said I clamped my mouth shut, diverting my eyes back to my lap. Jesus! How many years with the CIA and I can't even hold up to a few questions from strangers? They aren't even armed! I glanced over at John who was still looking at me. And this guy, he will be the death of me. I tried to remove my hand from his grasp but he held it in place. Confused, I arched a brow at him and he just smirked. So you trust me then, good to know.
"Kayla," Jacob interjected, "what is the last thing you remember before you woke up to see John?" As I looked into his eyes I could feel he was hopeful, not suspicious. He just wanted answers and I felt horrible that I wouldn't be able to give him any. Not the ones he was looking for.
"I…" I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to figure out what to say. I sighed, remembering that integrating the truth was the best way to fool someone. Part of it anyway. "I remember working on the experiment, everything was going well. Then it's fuzzy, I remember someone brushing hair away from my face…" I trailed off, shaking my head then looking at my captive audience. I could tell they were coming to accept that I was not a wealth of information. "I… I'm sorry. All I can tell you is that I have no idea who or what was attacking, much less that they were even coming."
"Alright," Miranda held a hand up to stop me, "I believe you." She rolled her eyes and turned to John. "We should prepare. Before you meet with the Illusive Man we should ask a few questions to evaluate your condition."
Miranda and Jacob bantered back and forth then Jacob relented, asking my 'friend' questions about his past. There was a battle, something he got a medal for, and he seemed very upset by it. Deciding I was no longer under scrutiny, I retreated into my mind to try to figure out what the hell happened.
I remembered the lab, Dr. Charest was the head researcher I was dealing with. The project was black ops, they called it Lazarus just as Miranda said but we weren't trying to bring someone back to life. I looked around then gasped, realizing that the blackness with the little dots was not a wall. It was a window. And those spots were stars.
I am in fucking space?!
