Chapter 4 – Sprung from the cage
I was alive.
With a murderous roar I leapt forward with all my might, unleashing all the built up adrenalin. The steel braces around my wrists buckled, twisting violently. I pushed forward again, screaming at the top of my lungs and they finally gave way, actually ripping away from the chair completely.
The whitecoat sunk into a corner of the lab like a frightened animal whilst Simon stood still, his mouth wide open in shock and anger. I surveyed the room, my body pumping with insane energy. The door looked like solid metal, probably inches thick. Instead, I turned to the window and ran with incredible speed right towards it.
"Sit down!" Simon shouted, rage on his face but I just knocked into him, sending him sprawling onto the floor as I ran past.
"Back up," I heard a voice yell.
I propelled myself forward, covering my face with my hands.
Crash!
The reinforced glass shattered, shards flying all around me. I rolled head over heals, stopping on all fours. I looked up, my eyes burning with energy. I saw a large group of people, some of them whitecoats, huddled to one side of the room surrounding a woman. The Director.
"Shoot it! Kill it!" she screamed angrily.
Three men dressed in black suits stepped forward, pulling handguns from holsters under their jackets.
I turned from them and ran, pouring on the power. I crashed through a door and charged around a corner just as shots rang out behind me. I could hear bullets ricocheting off the walls around me. I ran down a long, white walled corridor, with numerous other corridors and doors running along both sides.
Where the hell are you going you lab rat? I yelled in my mind.
Everywhere was a maze. I just ran endlessly turning corners over and over, corridor after corridor, preying I would find an exit. More shots rang out behind me as the men in black gave chase but my radar sense told me they were falling behind.
"Subject 56 has escaped. Subject 56 has escaped," loud speakers announced around me, "Use of deadly force authorized."
Finally I turned into a wide grey corridor. At the end I could see a series of elevators. I ran towards them, my body burning with energy, greedily fueling itself with the adrenalin. Just then a door burst open in front of me. A whitecoat, large and bald, leapt out, menacingly holding a scalpel. Suddenly my mind flashed with images, men standing close, fighting. Then just as suddenly I was back. I blinked in surprise before focusing again.
I carried on streaming towards him and he lunged at me, knife in hand. I dodged to the side of his outstretched arm and thrust my hand into the back of his elbow. There was a crack as his arm broke, and he dropped the scalpel, shock on his face. Before he could even scream in pain, I grabbed his hand and pulled it down, making him flip over in the air.
He landed hard on his back, groaning quietly. I stood still for a second, not moving, my legs still outstretched, my hand still in his. How the heck did I just do that?
"There it is! It's 56! Stop it!" I heard shouts behind me.
I turned to see whitecoats and the men in black running towards me, guns drawn. I fled to the elevator, pumping energy into my legs. Just run, go go go! I leapt inside and turned to the buttons, catching glimpse of one labeled 'Roof.' I stabbed it and pushed myself against the side just as shots fired, striking the elevators metal walls. The doors shut with a satisfying ding just as I heard wild shouting.
I was jumping with energy. Fire burned in my veins, my heart pumping furiously. The elevator was going up.
And I liked up very much.