20 miles outside of Baotou, China, Planet Earth, 2275
Valerie woke up to the sun streaming in through the one window in the tiny room she was currently occupying. She sat up in her bed, though she would classify it as a cot, and yawned. She tossed back her blanket and stood up. She rubbed her eyes before putting her hair up in a messy ponytail. She looked to the unmoving figure in the cot across from hers.
"Time to wake up." Valerie went over to them, shaking the foot that hung over the edge.
She got a mumble of a response.
She rolled her eyes. "I'll be back in ten. You better be up by then, Evan."
"You got it," Evan answered, voice groggy.
Valerie then pulled on her jeans that rested in a pile at the end of her cot. She rummaged through her open suitcase for a fresh shirt, eventually finding one that smelled the least offensive.
Valerie left the room that qualified as the bedroom, passing through the main room that operated as the living room and kitchen. She grabbed a nutrition bar that would serve as her breakfast. She picked up her backpack that rested by the door and slung it over her shoulders. She grabbed her tablet to check on any developing news across the globe.
'A ceasefire was broken at the front between southern CanAmeriCo and the South American Union, just after the Secretary of War of CanAmeriCo was attacked in his own home and nearly killed.' Valerie nodded, thinking to herself. 'That could be a good story. Smells like an inside job.'
She set her tablet down. She'd tell Evan about it when he was fully awake. She took another bite of her nutrition bar as she went outside. She emerged into a quiet but bustling rural town a few hours outside of Beijing. Farmers and herders tended to their work, most ignoring Valerie and Evan the foreigners. Some had come to appreciate and enjoy their presence.
"Good morning, Valerie! Fantastic story last night. My entire family watched it." One villager, a baker, stopped and called out to her in Mandarin.
Valerie smiled and waved. "Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Are you leaving town? Off to do another story?"
Valerie nodded. "We'll probably leave this morning. But I'll be sure to come back for those sweet buns of yours!"
The villager bowed in thanks, a smile on his face. "Thank you, Valerie! I will miss you!"
Valerie waved, walking over to the Jeep she and Evan had been using to traverse Asia and Europe for nearly a year. She'd have to give it up for her imminent journey for her next news piece.
She leaned through the open driver's window, plucking a carefully folded map from the center console. She stepped back, unfolding it on top of the Jeep's hood. She slipped one edge under the windshield wipers, holding the other side down with her hand.
Valerie found the tiny town on the map, tracing her finger over winding roads and cratered plains. She eventually found the closest airstrip, where she'd arrange a plane to take her and Evan to the border between CanAmeriCo and the South American Union. She estimated a four hour drive.
She straightened up, sighing. Evan hadn't come outside yet, meaning she'd need to go poke the beast. She turned, leaving her nutrition bar on the hood, heading back to the single-story hut to get Evan.
Valerie only took two more steps before she felt a prick on the back of her neck. In the few seconds of consciousness she had left, she could only theorize that the ever-expanding Chinese government was exacting their revenge on her for her exposé of war-mongering and corrupt officials. She figured they were going to kidnap her, torture her, and likely kill her for what she did.
She could only hope Evan was safe and could rescue her. A rescue that Valerie would have to match with her own furious fight for freedom.
Her vision faded to black as she fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, Evan was slowly waking up, a frown plastered on his face. He waited for Valerie to come back to get him out of bed, hoping she'd bring him some breakfast.
But when she didn't come back after ten, twelve, fifteen minutes, Evan hopped out of bed. He grabbed a random shirt from his suitcase and tugged it on. He stepped into yesterday's jeans, buttoning them as he left the bedroom. He snatched one of the sweet buns the village's baker had dropped off yesterday morning to be his breakfast.
He left the hut, looking outside for Valerie. He went towards the Jeep, noticing the map left out on the hood. "Val? Val!" Evan saw Valerie's half-eaten nutrition bar, then saw a mess of footprints in the dirt not too far away. "Valerie!" He whipped around in a circle, desperately hoping to see Valerie close by.
But he didn't. That's when he started to worry.
Valerie woke up but remained still. She was thankful to her body for its resistance to sedatives. She knew the following moments she had while her captors didn't know she was awake were crucial. She kept her breathing slow and even, her eyes closed and unmoving underneath her eyelids. Valerie listened with the intensity of a predator animal on the hunt for its next meal.
Valerie heard the sound of massive metal doors sliding open. Hangar or loading bay doors, possibly. She felt her body on a hard, unforgiving board, wheels squeaking a few feet beneath her. She was being wheeled around on a gurney of sorts, but she heard the unmistakable sound of wrinkling plastic around her as the gurney turned left.
Working the protective plastic into the situation, Valerie could only assume she was in China's top biohazard facility, where the world's deadliest diseases were stored and experimented on to make them even more lethal. She might be their next test subject.
After a short journey, Valerie felt the gurney slow down. Eventually, she heard a hatch seal behind her and the space she was in depressurized. Another door opened and the gurney was wheeled forward until it stopped.
After a few long moments, Valerie heard the sounds of typing and mechanical parts moving. Then the plastic around the gurney was undone and the board Valerie rested on lifted up. She was transferred to a stationary table. She reminded herself to act relatively limp as the board slid out from underneath her. She heard the gurney wheels squeak away.
Her captor stood close to Valerie as she laid on the table and she could hear their hazmat suit wrinkle with every move they made. She made out the quiet sounds of dense fabric rubbing against itself along with the soft clinks of metal bits. 'Restraints,' Valerie thought. 'Not today, asshole.'
Valerie's eyes snapped open and she stared up at the face of her captor. Unfortunately, she realized they were wearing exo-armor underneath their hazmat suit. This would be a tough fight. Immediately she thought she could take them hostage, possibly tearing their hazmat suit to influence to her release.
The captor had barely had time to react to Valerie's awakening before she attacked. Valerie twisted her body towards them, kicking her leg out and landing a hard kick in the center of their chest. The captor stumbled backwards, more shocked than in pain. Valerie rolled off the table, standing opposite from her captor, but still kept her distance.
"You made a mistake picking me, motherfucker. You wanna let me go now before I kill you?" Valerie yelled in Mandarin.
They didn't answer her, instead curling their hands into fists.
'If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you're going to get,' Valerie thought. She rushed them, easily defending herself against their panicked punches. Valerie swept one of their legs, getting them off balance. She shoved them back and drove her fist into their chest.
Pain jolted up Valerie's arm, her entire hand crying out while she could only register her immediate regret. She groaned, stepping back, shaking her hand out. While her captor gathered their wits, Valerie quickly registered her surroundings.
The room was thirty feet by thirty feet, standing within a larger laboratory. Tables and workbenches lined most of the walls, with technology that seemed far too cutting edge for the Chinese to have. She noticed three identical chambers mounted on one of the walls, but she didn't have time to think about their purpose. A fourth chamber had been removed from the wall and was held horizontally by a set of mechanized arms. Then Valerie saw her escape: the door to the antechamber.
She could only hope that breaching the biohazard containment would strike enough fear into the crew working in the facility.
Valerie looked back to her captor to see them running at her. In an instant, they slammed Valerie against the nearest wall.
"I'll make you regret this!" Valerie yelled in Mandarin. Valerie braced her arms across their chest, pushing back against them. She tried to knock out their legs but they were ready this time. They grabbed Valerie's wrist but she latched onto their arm with her other hand. She jerked their arm downwards and twisted as much as she could. She dug her fingernails into the plastic suit, feeling the scales of the armor underneath. The plastic of the suit stretched and resisted but eventually gave way and tore open.
Valerie felt a moment of relief. She could lose this fight but still be able to win in the end.
She heard a beep, one that had a tone of warning. She scanned the room, searching for the source. Just as her eyes landed on the separated chamber, she felt the captor weave one leg in between hers. Her balance failed and she tumbled to the floor, losing her grasp on their arm.
Valerie knew she'd lose her advantage the longer she remained on the ground, so she quickly rushed to her feet. Her captor was ready, spinning Valerie around and locking her in an intense chokehold. But Valerie wasn't going to go down without fighting. She tried slamming their arms up and down, hoping to cause them to lose their grip. As blackness filled the edges of her vision, Valerie tried reaching backwards. She hoped landing hits against their head would temporarily stun them long enough for her to get away.
Her captor squeezed her throat tighter and Valerie could see stars floating in her vision while her lungs heaved for air. As she took an empty, heaving breath, someone else slammed against her and the captor. The captor lost their grip on Valerie, letting her fall to the floor.
Before she lost consciousness, Valerie saw the blurred outline of a young man in solely his underwear. 'No suit. He must have been taken like me. What the fuck are the Chinese doing in this place? Maybe-'