Chapter 4: FREEZE!

Her POV

The last thing I heard was that idiot screaming 'No!' As my grip slipped and I hit the frigid water. The temperature knocked the breath out of me. The darkness of the water enveloped me like death greeting an old friend. I drifted deeper into the water, letting the cold and darkness take hold as an eerie serenity washed over me. The pain in my leg and the bullet wound to my chest faded to a dull ache. I felt the bones and flesh mend back together. The undercurrent of the river swept me sharply to the right, making my head connect to a stone on the ground, knocking what little breath I had left out of me. My vision darkened, and lights flickered all around me.

The whizzing sound of debris forced me back to my issue at hand, I have to get to the surface! I tried grasping my hands out in front of me, but those damned handcuffs were in my way! I cursed the mutt under my breath as I kicked at the current, trying desperately to claw my way to the surface.

I cracked the surface of the water gasping for air, crystals formed in front of me from my breath. My vision was going black, and a great sense of dizziness swept over me. I tried making my way to the riverbank, dragging myself as fast as I could go with the handcuffs, I got half way up when my strength gave out and I slammed face first onto the frozen ground. With the air knocked out of me, my teeth started to chatter and the cold air bit all over. My eyelids began growing heavy until I couldn't keep them open any longer.

I...must get out...of...water...

I jolted awake sometime later, my hair frozen to my face. I tried moving my stiff, frozen muscles up onto my elbows. They screamed in protest but nevertheless managed. I used all my strength to drag my lower half out of the water, being exposed to the bitter cold made them flare in pain. I snapped my head around at the sound of men screaming. Standing on the other side of the river were men in white lab suits and face masks. One had a camera and the other had some lab equipment in his hands. The latter one pointed at me and started to yell at the one with the camera.

Can't...let them...capture...me.

I dragged my numb legs underneath myself and commanded them to move forward. I stood up unsteadily, putting one foot in front of the other and began to run towards the nearest building to take cover and think of a plan.

Just got to get out of their sights.

No one was chasing me, but a few warning bullets bounced around at my feet. The men yelled at me stuff I couldn't distinguish. I made it to the building. I rammed into the closed door nearly toppling over in the process, and slammed it shut. I collapsed to the floor with my spent energy giving out.

Leaning my back against the door, I glanced around the room I was in. To my left was what I assumed was a living room. It had couches thrown against the windows in disarray. The other furniture was crushed and broken all around. The rest of the room was sparsely decorated. Dust hung in the air like a cloud of smoke, it sparkled and danced in the rays of light that made its way through the barricaded windows. In front of me an old wooden staircase leading to the second floor. To my right, a dining room, bullet holes covered the back wall, mixed in with blood splatter. A fleeting glance at the floor was a puddle of blood soaking into the hardwood floors.

An archway led to what I assumed was the kitchen. Using the door as a support. I pushed myself up from the door onto my wobbly legs and made my way through the dining room and towards the kitchen. I don't trust my strength to get myself up those stairs, so the kitchen it is. Slowly making my way through the archway. I rummaged through the cupboards looking for anything that could be useful—a weapon, food, a thick blanket. I scavenged through the kitchen for what felt like an eternity, my wrists growing raw from the cuffs, but I overlooked them. My teeth chattered uncontrollably and I couldn't get my muscles to stop convulsing from the bitter cold.

It was reserved. I almost dismissed it entirely, but years of being close to death and killing heightened my hearing. It was the sound of a door handle turning. The distinct creaking of an ancient door opening followed suit. Faint, heavy footsteps entered the house. I quickly hid next to the archway just out of sight. Steadying my breath so not to attract unwanted attention. Maybe it was one of those men and they're trying to locate me.

The footsteps hesitantly strolled over to the family room, a quiet metal 'click' indicated that the intruder had a gun. The footsteps made their rounds across the room stopping randomly to listen for sounds. The footsteps made a B-line for the dining room, the floorboards creaked under protests by the new weight. I tightened the chain on my cuffs. It's the only weapon I have. The footsteps grew closer...almost there, just one more step...there!

In one instant my hands shot out at the gun that emerged from the doorway, the intruder gave a startled gasp. His gun fired off all across the kitchen cupboards. I knocked it out of his hands, sliding it across the kitchen floor away from us. I swung my leg over his back and brought my chain from the cuff across his throat, choking the man. He arched his back and clawed at the chain, gurgling and choking. He threw all his weight onto the wall behind me. I gasped for air. He threw me off his back, but I recovered in time to throw a punch to the man's side, but couldn't get any momentum behind it due to the stupid cuffs. The man let out a pained grunt. I used the moment to grab his arm and twist him behind me and kicking his feet out from under him, propelling him onto his knees.

I took a fistful of his hair and slammed his face into the tile floor, his nose connecting first. I lifted his head back up, his face covered in blood from his broken nose. He twisted out of my grip and shoved me into the wall. My legs were still frozen and numb, making my knees buckle and trip. The back of my head slammed into the wooden door frame. Before I could retaliate the man seized a hold of my collar and hip thrust me over him, slamming me face down onto the tile flooring. He took a fist full of my hair and held my head in place, making me scream.

"You're under arrest! You have the right to remain silent—"

Putting all my force into kicking up, my foot connected right between his legs. The hand let go of my hair and the soldier groaned in pain. Flipping over onto my back. I kicked him square in the face, catapulting him back and hitting the wall head first, knocking him out cold. His body slumping to the floor. I laid on the floor for a few minutes trying to catch my breath. Cautiously, I made my way over to the unconscious soldier, bending down to examine him. On his sleeve was the distinctive B.S.A.A symbol. I snapped my head around, at the sound of a creak of the floorboards, only I was too late. The stock of a gun slammed into the back of my head knocking me out before I could see who it was behind me.