My arms and legs are tingling as I run, looking for anywhere to hide. It’s like the strongest adrenaline rush and the worst pins and needles I’ve ever had, the experiment that’s been performed on me. I find a pile of giant rocks close to the ocean to finally hide behind them and take a break to evaluate what I’m going to do next. As I sit down, my muscles ease and the tingling fades off slightly. I’m not even really sure what happened. All I remember is a syringe being poked into my skin and then the next second I had all the strength in the world, running through the lab. I blacked out through that whole escape, letting my body go on autopilot.
Once I catch my breath, my throat sore from breathing so hard, I realize I don’t actually have a plan and if I don’t make one soon enough, I’ll be gone just like that. The tingling has completely dissapeared now and I feel the complete opposite from before. I’m weak all over and don’t think I’ll make it very far without falling into a deep sleep for the next three years.
I push myself up, leaning against the rocks still, and breath in the salty air of the island, listening to the waves crash to shore repeatedly. From there, I just walk, slowly, not planning on stopping until I find a better hiding spot. Eventually, after maybe ten minutes give or take, I find a rock near shore, just far enough for the tide not to turn against me and lay under the little roof its made for itself. It’s almost like a cave, just without all of the qualifications. And then I shut my eyes, sleeping immediately as my eyelids touch the bottom of my eyes.
Quiet tapping noises wake me up. The sun is rising, I notice. I push myself up with my arms, my fingers sinking into the sand beneath me a little. And when I turn, I find the same guard who had chased me yesterday staring down at me.
“What’s up?” She says, her eyes glistening in the little sunlight we have.
I find my eyes feel wet too and I wipe them. “You can’t make me go back.” I tell her.
“Unfortunately, that would be the best choice for both of us.”
“What time is it?” I ask.
She pulls a circular object from her pocket and opens it. “Seven fifty-five in the morning.”
My eyes widen a little. I have around ten more hours before this poison kills me. “What is that you’re holding?”
“A pocket watch. It’s pretty handy.”
I only stare at her, confused as to why someone would use something so old nowadays.
“Enough small talk. Let’s get back.” She puts the watch back and takes those handcuffs into her hands again, walking slowly toward me.
I don’t move and watch carefully as she attempts to restrain me again. I hold out my hands and watch as she places them over my wrists. As soon as the cold metal hits my skin, I pick-pocket her old watch and run.
“Hey!” She screams.
I stare back at her and smile. “I told you I wasn’t going back.”
And I run off toward the houses, knowing no one is home at the moment. They’re all in the lab while I’m running with a freedom I haven’t known for one whole year.
These skills come easy to me. Stealing, escaping, breaking things. It’s what I grew up doing, teaching myself all of it. I thought that if I did bad in school and had a bad record, the labs would never want me. I wasn’t very book smart and didn’t obey rules, two things labs hate but I guess none of that ever exempted me from becoming an experiment. Experiments are useless when it comes to running this place. Our only purpose is to be an attempt at creating something “great”. We’re abused, poisoned, pushed around, all to most likely meet a bad fate. I’ve never heard of an experiment living past their thirties. None of it ever stopped me from trying to save myself though.
After running from the guard, I find a clothesline behind someone’s house holding clean, fresh clothes. Of course, I have to get out of my dirty lab gown so I steal a black t-shirt and some leggings. Less suspicion is always a good thing. Then, I pick the same person’s lock, and take some food, leaving the watch there hoping its worth some money. I feel kind of bad for stealing some of the only stuff these people have. I don’t take a lot. This poison is really starting to get to me. I’m almost willing to go back to the lab but there has to be another way to acquire the antidote. I’m not willing to go back to square one yet.
YOU ARE READING
24 Hours
Science FictionDestiny Hailes lives in a world where people are forced to serve in labs across the world. Tired of the messed-up system, Destiny gathers a team to attempt to escape. Will she be successful?
