Distant voices alerted me from my unconscious state. My eyes shot open and I could feel the unmistakable urge beginning to scratch at the back of my skin. An anxiousness filled the pit of my stomach. The frozen forest around me suddenly losing its peaceful apparatus. For two days I had been moving, and the lack of food and water had begun to shut my body down. However, even with the uneasiness I was feeling, a familiar emotion gripped my body as those voices inched closer. Fear... A slight twitch started in my left shoulder, and the grin split across my face. The fear was making my heart race...making it evident it was time for the hunt... I can't go back...I don't want to go back...
The two men emerged into the clearing I had situated myself in. Startled looks gracing their features. I slowly rose from my prone position, my breathing ragged. "Is that...?!" His voice was short-lived. As both men reached for their guns I felt the itch become unbearable...and not long after that they were screaming. Screaming till their vocal cords gave out in pain...screaming until the flames...my flames...had burned them to ash.
I watched them burn. Who knew that there was something that actually smelled worse than leather... It was only when the flames had died that a single word came to mind. "Humanity." And a 'tsk' of air left my lungs in disbelief. What humanity? You haven't had humanity since that day... You know what they say though, "those living for death will die by their own hands..." I felt my feet begin moving, and once again I was running.
After a solid five minutes of running, I broke through the cover of the frost bitten woods. A small gas station sat abandoned in the snow. Warmth... Moving slowly across the frozen ground, I found a more breach-able door around the back of the station. A couple of violent kicks later and the wooden thing had been slammed open. My chain skidded across the tiled floor loudly as I made my way inside. A few unclaimed candy bars and bags of chips dotted the floor and shelves. The weight of the chain hooked to the cuffs on my wrist and the tight straps of the leather on my face suddenly became infuriating.
Dejectedly, I settled on curling up behind the main counter. I surveyed my surroundings. A clock read 7:45, and judging by the light out it had to be morning. My stomach clenched painfully and a sigh escaped my shrouded lips. Time passed like an omen, that is, until the sound of tires on ice brought me back to reality. Shooting a glance up toward the sullen time-keeper, it read a clear 11:23... And then a single car door was slammed...
My breathing silenced and my ears tuned to hear the approach of feet in the snow. Yet, there was none. An unnerving feeling crept up like a beast in the dark as all the hairs on my body began to stand on end. That's when I heard it. A curt laugh that preceded a molasses smooth voice. "They treated you like an animal didn't they?" Every muscle tensed as my head snapped to the left to catch the voice's owner.
Altogether I was terrified and consumed by confusion. Terrified, because of the deep, dangerous brown of his irises. And confused, because of the sheer relaxed posture he held by leaning arms crossed on the counter. He was clothed in mildly formal attire; a button down shirt with dark gray dress pants. A smirk graced his features, "there's a tracking device attached to that unsightly contraption on your head..." At that point the fury must have been evident on my face because he straightened himself, and casually made his way around the counter. Of course they would've had a way to find me...
The urge to run was relentless. He outstretched a hand... After five minutes, and an unrelenting staring contest he sighed and that's when I felt it. A quick, grasping at the back of my skull...and my body had began to move to a standing position. The hell?.. He pulled a small black metal piece from his pocket and gently lifted my wrists toward him. A key... The feeling in my head left as quickly as it came. The cuffs and chain hit the floor and soon after, the leather muzzle followed it; all the weight of the world had been ripped from my chest.
He waited patiently as I surveyed the indents on my wrists. Then allowed my eyes to meet his. "I can imagine your starving by now?" A glance at the direction of one standing shelved bag of chips was his received answer. He gave another short laugh, the sound controlled and airy, "would you like something to drink as well?" I have a choice?.. A small smile tugged at my face, and I followed my new found savior out into the snow ignoring the scratching at my insides.
The car ride was a new experience. He glanced over at my silent form every few minutes. "Can you speak?" The blunt nature of the question cause one of my eyebrows to shoot up. Huh...so I can still form facial expressions other than those of a lunatic... My voice was rough from being unused, but there none the less. "Its been a while since anyone has actually needed an opinion or a choice from me, but I reckon I can still speak." A light southern accent blanketed every articulated word. Tense... No one has been within such close proximity with me for sometime.
"I understand this must be uncomfortable for you, bring in contact with someone else...especially someone the same age as yourself, who still has their sanity." Same age?... His eyes glanced over at the end of his theory. He wasn't wrong, that much was for sure. A smile broke across his face, hot damn...wait...what? "I'm sorry, it's just...you're so controlled for someone of your...abilities."
So that's what this is about. My eyebrows scrunched together accusingly and he immediately countered his previous statement, "you are more than that, more than an asset I mean...your a survivor of non-humane treatment and mind degradation." The itch had returned full force; its incessant burning near scalding my body. The beast under my skin rolling around like a feral hound. He then added, "you're more important than those ignorant scientist and PSFs know. You're a rarity."
I could feel it then...it had been so long since I had been given a chance like this. The sarcastic smart-mouth underneath my forced apathetic gaze broke out like an accomplished magician. "Would you look at that?" I gestured out the window toward the passing, empty white landscape, "look at all the fucks I give." He went tight-lipped and the laughter bubbled out before I could stop it. His smile returned, "I read that you had quite the vicious tongue back when they first brought you in to Leda Corporation's Georgia Lab."
My breath caught, he read about me?... My gaze jerked to study his face, "you know of me?" He nodded, "quite a good bit actually, you're an intriguing one..." I looked to the floor board, my newly boot-clad feet suddenly unimaginably interesting. Five minutes had passed before I had decided to ask, "can you tell me?" A slight confused look crossed his brow, "tell you what?" An embarrassed undertone lined my voice, "about myself..."
His eyes cast a look of realization toward the frozen road. "You were under the care of Leda Corp a solid four years..." "No, no...I mean, tell me about 'me." The smallest sign of surprise flashed in his eyes and disappeared afterward. "You're eighteen years old..." I nodded. "You're born and raised in North Carolina..." I swallowed... "Anything else?" My eyes were unblinking out the window, "...what's...what's my name?"
He cut a sharp look at me, and relaxed himself soon after. "Your name is Sarah Katherine Bailey. Files say you went by Katherine for the most part, 'Kat' for short..." I let my eyes meet his, "...Thanks." He gave a nod, followed by a smirk. His chocolate hair caressed his forehead as he tucked his chin slightly downward, "Can I ask you something, Katherine?" Then name rolled from his lips sweetly. And I waited silently for his next statement. "How do you feel about them, the PSFs I mean?"
The black suits... I could feel the twitch settle in my muscles. Just thinking about them; the way they treated me like a pet...keeping me chained, using that damnable static to rip apart my brain when I "misbehaved." The grin took hold, and I saw his eyes widen the tiniest bit. "...I want to show them just how much of a monster I can be..." He then shared my grin, and continued
"...what if I told you I not only had a way of making the ones who hurt you pay, but a way to make every single damn one of them pay."
His tone was unwavering and it caused a feeling to stir in my gut that I hadn't felt in forever. The burning flared, and I knew it was settled. The sheer ambition held by his tone, the unnatural confidence housed in his gaze... He's cunning for sure...but he's still worth my trust... I leaned back, crossing my hands behind my head. This person; he found me, he saved me, and he trusted me enough to act so relaxed in my presence... "Cut the sweet talk darlin' and get to the point."
He shook his head, then shared a look of appreciation to my obvious relaxation in his presence. "Will you stand with me?"