The 3rd Experiment

Chapter 17

"Hi, excuse me, hi, where are we?" I ask, looking to the person closest to me.

"Tomsk...Siberia," She says through a thick accent, staring at me confusedly.

"Oh my god."

She walks away, glancing back one time, and I stand there, frozen. I drop the paper from my hands and look around in disbelief.

Somehow, in the last 70 years, I haven't aged and I've traveled across Europe.

I start to wander the city, looking for any answers I can find. The shops look so new and the air smells so fresh. There's something about this place or this time that feels... clear.

I walk for what feels like a mile. Although nothing can compare to the marathon I ran to get here. The day turns to night and the streets begin to empty. Eventually, I find myself in the alleyway behind a large building.

I sit down, tucked in next to some cardboard boxes and a bike. I drift off into a peaceful sleep and it no longer matters how sore my muscles are, or how stressed and confused I am.

***

I wake up to a sun just peeking over the horizon. That isn't what catches my eye though. There is a man reaching for my ankle. He grabs onto my foot and starts to pull me away from the wall I was resting on.

I kick and squirm but I'm just not strong enough to keep him away from me. His arms move up my legs and I feel him grip my thigh. Then, something switches in my brain. It's as if I was possessed.

All of a sudden, I wasn't in control. I felt like a puppet on strings.

I kicked at his hand with my left foot and lept to my feet. I hit the back of his knee and watched him fall to the floor. Just as he was reaching to stand back up, my hands reached for his neck and I heard something snap.

Then, it felt like I was opening my eyes as if they had been closed this whole time. The strange man fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Oh my god," I whisper

I reach to his neck once more and my heart sinks when I can't find a pulse. I just killed someone. I stare at his limp body on the ground, something about it seems so satisfying. He just seems so at peace, and calm.

I look around, watching as poor innocent people pass by my alleyway. I look at the guy one more time and turn to leave as fast as I can.

I start to speedwalk, watching the sidewalks I stepped on yesterday. The people seem different today, and something about the stores feels off. I stop at one of the stores I looked into yesterday and just watch the screens as the images change, and I watch the people, wandering without a care in the world. Then, I hear a scream from down the block.

It almost feels like time stops.

I look down at my feet and start to move again, only this time, I've picked up speed. My quick steps turn more into a jog, then into a run, and eventually a sprint. The shops aren't individual buildings anymore, they're just a blur behind me. And the people have become roadblocks.

In the distance, I hear sirens. Accompanying the whining, high-pitched echoes is my heartbeat. A nice rhythm to add to the melody that seems to be catching up to me.

For some reason, my sprint starts to fade. It's not that I'm tired, or turned around. Actually, I don't know what it is.

I know that I should run, I can feel my body trying to get me to move. But something in me just won't let me. I'm stuck there, frozen.

The sirens get louder. The vehicles approach.

I just watch as three men step out of the car, unbroken stares at me. The driver reaches for my arms and all of a sudden I feel like I'm jerked away. I look around, to find who pulled my arms but no one else is around. Another officer steps in my direction and my feet slide under him, knocking him down. The sound of him hitting the pavement turns the switch on in my brain. The third officer latches cuffs around my wrists and I spin to face him. I stare into his eyes and it's almost as if I can hear him gulp. I throw my hands over my head, feeling my sockets loosen. My arms reach around his neck and I throw myself around him, using the cuffs to choke him.

I pull tight until I feel him go limp. I throw him into a wall and watch him hit the ground just as the first guy did. I break the cuffs, stretching the links apart. The first officer is still on the ground and I can see blood pooling around his head.

My arm swings up and I lodge the bridge of the cuffs into a man's temple. He makes eye contact with me as he falls to the ground. Once again, I turn back to the first man. I kick him onto his back and I step on his throat, hearing him struggle to breathe.

The switch flips and I realize what I've done. I take my foot off of the man's neck and begin to step back so fast I fall on my ass. I stare at the mess I've made and pull my hand up to cover my gaping mouth.

I look around in an attempt to pull myself out of this situation and I'm struck with eyes and cameras from everyone on the block. I forget to breathe for a moment and I get up and start to run.

I just killed three more men and I don't even know how.

My feet start moving and I feel as though I'm being carried away from the graphic scene. I look down to see blood splatters across my plain white tee shirt. And some matching red freckles along my arms.

All of a sudden I'm stopped in my tracks. A large metal suit is floating just in front of me, staring into my eyes. I don't move, I don't blink, I don't even breathe.

"You're coming with me." The robot says, reaching for my shoulder.

This time, I guess it's going to happen just before it does.

I watch my arm spring forward and slam into the waist of the metal suit. Every time it felt so effortless and easy but this time, I swear I heard something break. Even so, I keep trying to fight.

The robotic man eventually pins me down and opens the suit, where I see an empty shell. The arms reach forward and I'm shoved into the suit.

As soon as it closes around me, a mist is sprayed throughout. I hold my breath but it seeps into my system in any way that it can, and I'm lulled into sleep.