Subject Nine Ch. 3
Ch. 3
It was the eighth of October. I looked out to the city we had left only three days ago. It looked unreal as I stood at the edge of a forest. I thought it was such a shame to be leaving after my short time spent there, even if it had been around a year. A sigh escaped my lips and I looked to my new traveling companion, Maria. A sister of sorts, meaning that I had implanted a couple of key memories so that she would think of me as her brother. She was lagging behind by a couple of feet but she was able to hang in there. We kept walking until the moon started to hit its peak.
"Ok Maria, can you make a shelter for us?" My voice was somewhat pressuring. Ever since I implanted her false memories she had not been willing to use her powers. It worried me to an extent but did nothing to raise an alarm. It didn't surprise me that she shook her head this time as well. There was a frown on her face and she looked at me with apologetic eyes. "Hey now, it's fine. Don't get yourself down." I spoke quickly. "It'll come back to you on how to use them."
"Brother." Her voice was soft and sad. "I'm sorry I can't help. But if I need to gather anything, I will." The packs on our backs were heavy with enough supplies for us to go a couple more days without having to gather anything more. I just shook my head and sat down, stretching out my limbs. She followed suit, laying down afterwards. Looking up through the trees brought a sick feeling to my stomach as I began to think. My thoughts were interrupted as Maria began to talk again. "Hey, brother. Why isn't Jenna traveling with us." I looked over at her in surprise. She had been avoiding this topic for three days and now she randomly brought it up. Thinking of a good reason wasn't hard, I just simply had to state one of the basic truths.
"She'd only slow us down. The less people we have the quicker we can move. And the more freedom we have, she's more of the hide until it's safe to move to a new spot to hide type. I can't stand being in one place to long, you know that."
"I see." Maria said slowly as if it hurt. "Goodnight." I simply nodded in response and closed my eyes.
"Come on! Do better than that! Do you want a meal for today?" The guards were yelling at me as one of the other prisoners slammed me against the wall. The walls were a dull gray, my fur almost shiny against them. I looked up at the multiple levels to the prison before I was thrown across the small pit. We were at the bottom of the prison where the most lethal inmates, and me, were housed. The one I was fighting was a serial killer. His victims numbered in the sixties, all done with his hands. The pit at the bottom was a betting ring for the guards for a sick game. They would set us inmates against each other and see who would survive. This was my first fight. The inmate lunged for me, and was met by a weak kick. His lunge went on as if nothing happened. We rolled on the ground, him ending up on top and strangling me. The guards cheered on, there yelling slowly got more quiet. The many floors of the prison began to go into one. Suddenly the I could see the inmate's eyes. Madness was controlling him, fear was there as a side note. My vision went black. The screams I heard before I went unconscious were oddly comforting.
I opened my eyes quickly. All I saw was green leaves and blue sky. I sat up groggily looking around. Maria was there, lying next to me with a peaceful expression, still asleep. I got up with a groan, this sleeping on the ground was getting to me. A broken tree caught my eye. When I got close to it, there were signs of it being ripped up from above the trunk. It was a bizarre sight, especially since there was no sign as to where the top of the tree had gone. I dismissed it to a corner of my mind with no intent to forget it. I heard movement behind me. Maria had probably gotten up. I turned around to see her still lying there, her expression had changed to a distraught one. She turned over and continued to sleep. I walked a short distance and stepped behind a tree. Despite having powers basic needs still existed. After I was done I walked back to where Maria was and found her sitting up.
"It's good to see you up sis." I said with a false caring voice. She turned towards me with a smile.
"What time is it?" Her question made me frown. She noticed it and looked up to the sky. "Never mind. It's mid-morning, almost." I smiled, she learned quickly. Relying on inventions was nice and all, but electronics weren't the best things to carry around in our case. Noticing my smile made her face seem to brighten.
"Good job. Now let's eat and get out of here. We should be at a new city by mid-afternoon." The food consisted of jerky with bottled water. She ate slower than I would have liked. I could almost hear the ticking of a clock as she finished eating. As soon as she was done I jumped to my feet. "Do any business you need to and then we're gone." A nod was all I got before she ran behind a tree a ways off. I picked up my pack and waited for her, bouncing the pack on my shoulder. She ran back to me attempting to pick her pack up as she went by. Instead she face planted on the ground. I couldn't understand how a battle ready fur suddenly became a weak and loving one. She got up and putting the pack on her shoulder's. She walked up to me getting the dirt off of her face.
"Sorry." Her voice was quiet. I pissed me off that she wasn't as sure of herself as before. We walked for a bit before she sat down. I turned around looking at her with a 'what the hell' expression. "Sorry. I'm just so tired." She said the word so drawing it out to emphasize it. I balled up my paws but remembered what type of ally she could make. I let it slide and just sat down watching the leaves above us. "Brother, am I slowing you down?" The question came without warning and before I could think I had nodded. I turned my head quickly to see her tail flicking back and forth as she ran into the woods. I cursed myself as I dropped my pack. The ground around it crumbled and it fell through. A branch was above me and I grabbed it quickly pulling myself up. My muscles straining a little as I hoisted myself up. To no surprise the branch broke and I plummeted into the pit. As I fell I thought to myself. Before the thought could finish I hit the ground and blacked out.
I awoke to the sick sound of sliding bodies. My eyes opened and I saw the inmate standing above the bodies. He was looking at me with fear in his eyes.
"Never have I killed a child. And never will I." He talked in a shaky voice. The bodies slid onto me surrounding me in a cocoon of sorts. They were absorbed into me all at once the confusion, fear, and pain of breaking necks washed over me. Through all this I kept my eyes on the inmate. He screamed and attempted to climb up the smooth walls to safety. I stood up and ran at him. He kicked at me but misjudged my height and missed by a foot above me. He spun around and I lunged at him, knocking him down. I punched him repeatedly but he was able to shake me off. "Why would they put a ten year old in the pit?" He asked as he met eye contact with me. Suddenly I felt hatred rising in me. I yelled out and stared him down. His paws rose up to his eyes and he shielded them. "No. Stop it. Quit staring!" He was screaming constantly and I just wanted him to shut up. I walked up to him and pried his hands away. Going only on instinct I stared at him again. He began to shake and then convulse. He went limp in my hands and soon was absorbed into me. Instead of fear or pain, I felt emptiness. Soon more guards had arrived and I was picked up and drug to my cell just above the pit.
The chirping of birds was all I could hear. Soon I opened my eyes and saw furs wearing what looked like tribal garments on. I closed my eyes again hoping that when I opened them again they would be gone. Sadly they weren't. I sat up and got gently pushed back down. One of them pointed to my arm. I looked and saw that it had a piece of my bone sticking out. I could here Maria talking and soon found myself passing out again.