Chapter 2

Chloe awoke suddenly, drenched in a cold sweat. Looking around, she frantically tried to recall where she was. 'The Safe Haven,' she remembered. They had saved her life. She brushed back her damp golden-red hair from her eyes, and reached for her crutches. Chloe swung her legs over the side of the gurney and rotated her ankles a bit before standing. She crept out of the medical lab to look for the kitchen, her stomach reminding her that she hadn't eaten for days. She quickly found it, and was opening the fridge when she heard someone approaching her. Chloe's eyes flashed orange, and a low growl exploded from her vocal chords. She threw her crutches to the side, not caring about the pain. Chloe had been hurt too many times to give up because of an injury. With the agility of a cat, she soon had her stalker pinned to the floor.

"Ouch," Darren groaned.

"Sorry," Chloe helped him up, grinning slightly. "Why are you up so late?"

"You are too," Darren pointed out, looking at her with accusing eyes as he rubbed his back.

"Only because you didn't feed me," she shot back, limping over to retrieve her crutches.

Darren shrugged, "Couldn't sleep."

Chloe pulled out a container of leftovers from the refrigerator and sat down on a barstool. "Are you a mutant too?"

Darren's hand suddenly ignited in a burst of flame. Chloe shrank back, her eyes wide with fear.

"Sorry," he grimaced apologetically. "I forgot ferals were afraid of fire."

"A fire elemental, huh?" Chloe commented, her heart still racing. "Must be useful."

Darren nodded and sat down next to her.

"Aren't you going to ask me?"

"Ask what?" Darren said innocently.

"Who I am? Who I was running from? Why?" Chloe raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't want to be nosy, but now that you mention it," Darren leaned forward with interest.

"Well, you know about Genomex- they splice DNA to create mutants? Mason Eckhart, one of the scientists, decided he needed to destroy all the mutants they had created before we overpower them," Chloe sighed wearily. "I escaped."

"You were the only one?" Darren asked in disbelief.

Chloe shook her head. "I don't know- I think so."

"How long were you at Genomex?"

"My DNA was spliced when I was a child, but I wasn't taken to Genomex until a few months ago." Chloe's eyes glazed over as she remembered...

Chloe's wrists burned from the men's tight grip. She cried out in pain as she fell to the floor trying to keep up with their fast pace.

"Where are you taking me?" she shouted, glancing up helplessly at the guards.

Just when Chloe thought she couldn't take the pain any longer, the group stopped in front of a cell. They tossed her inside, shutting the door loudly behind her. Chloe hit the wall hard. She could taste the blood dripping from her nose, and she gingerly touched the wound on her forehead. She glanced around in a slight panic. A pungent stench hung in the moist air, and a strong feeling of loneliness overcame her.

"You must be new," a female voice filled the damp, dark cell, causing Chloe to brighten a bit.

"Where are we?" Chloe asked softly.

"Genomex," the girl stepped closer. "I'm Ashley."

"Chloe."

"So, what are you?" Ashley asked curiously.

"Human," Chloe looked at Ashley strangely, easing herself to the ground.

"No," Ashley laughed. "What's your mutant ability?"

Chloe looked at her blankly. "Care to enlighten me?" she returned sarcastically.

"There are four types- feral, human DNA mixed with animal DNA, molecular, they can affect their molecules, like change their body density, elementals can shoot fire, ice or electricity from their hands, and psyonics affect your mind. Which are you?"

"Got me."

"Did Morgenstein's guards just pull you out of your house? How can you not know?" Ashley shook her head in shock, her hazel eyes wide.

"Look I don't know! One minute I was walking down the street and the next-- the guards are coming back!" Chloe said urgently.

"You're definitely a feral," Ashley told her, as she crouched next to Chloe.

A few seconds later, two guards entered the cell, and shoved Ashley to the side, firmly grabbing Chloe's wrists. The guards dragged her down the hallway, Chloe too tired to even put up a fight. This was how Chloe soon found herself seated in front of her captor, John Morgenstein.

"Miss Anderson," he stretched his lips widely, almost grimacing. "I assume you've heard from Miss Rees about your mutant gifts."

Chloe glared at him through swollen eyes, not moving a muscle.

Morgenstein walked around his desk so he towered over her. She shuddered as she glanced into the black, hollow-less pits that were his eyes. "Here's the plan, Miss Anderson. I know you don't know how to use your feral abilities yet. But lucky for you, ferals have a tendency to fight back when they are attacked. You have been captured because you have the potential to be one of the most powerful ferals, and when one is going to take over the world, you need an army of powerful mutants," Morgenstein gestured to the guards to take her into an adjoining room.

Chloe stood still in the middle of a plain white room. She heard the doors slam shut, and she sensed what was coming. She barely felt guards' attack, their fists brutally punching her chest and sides. Her mind and body were too tired, too beaten to care. The punches soon became more frequent, more excruciating. Chloe was dimly aware of Morgenstein laughing giddily, enjoying her pain. Suddenly, Chloe's legs were kicked out from under her, and something clicked. Her body burned with newfound power, her mind with newfound confidence. She needed to fight back; she wanted to fight back. The guards had stopped beating her, unaware that her mutant power had taken control. A growl erupted from her lungs, and her tawny, cat-like eyes put new fear into the guards' hearts. Chloe leaped up and viciously attacked the guards, blaming them for all that had happened to her. Every punch she threw was stronger, every leap she made higher, and every sickening crunch more satisfying.

"That's enough! Stop her!" Morgenstein's voice snapped her back to reality.

She looked at her body, drenched with a blood not her own. How could she have done this? Chloe looked at the unconscious bodies of the guards with dismay, then at Morgenstein with pure hatred. The guards snapped a pair of metal bracelets onto her wrists, and led her back to her cell. Chloe curled up in the corner, wanting more than anything to be in her home. Ashley sat down next to her, and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"The worst is over; they won't make you kill anymore," Ashley told her softly. "You're part of the army now; they'll teach you how to control your power."

Chloe just looked at her sadly and closed her eyes to keep her tears from falling.