The Monster

Chapter 6

I was held down until I ran out of energy. They dragged me down the now, conveniently, empty street.

"What happened to everyone?" I asked.

"We evacuated the streets so there wouldn't be any mobs," the man holding onto my left arm said. I saw damp spots of red on the street.

"You killed people," I said, trying to hide the shock in my voice. Humans were the only animals that killed their own just because.

"No, we took down the ones that were rebelling," the man on my right said, "There's a difference." I hung my head. They broke my spirit. I had nowhere to go. No one to go home to. No one to love. I dragged my feet, not wanting to go back to prison or the research facility. I felt a body fall on top of me. The man behind me fell. He crushed me under his weight, breaking me free of the other men's grip. I struggled to push him off of me.

"What the heck?" the woman muttered. The men were aiming their rifles all around them, trying to pinpoint the shooter. A dart grew out of a man's neck and he fell like a tree, silent.

"Show yourself!" a man yelled. Within a minute, all of the men and the woman were lying on the ground. My last efforts to push the sleeping man off me succeed. I saw a figure climb down a fire escape on the side of a building. The black ladder slid down with him on it.

"Who are you?" I asked fearfully. He didn't say anything. "Why did you do that?"

"Come on Novia. We have to go," he said in a deep voice. I frowned at the familiarity.

"Who are you?" I asked curiously.

"We need to go Novia, get up," he commanded. I slowly stood up, studying him. He was a good three inches taller than me. He had a stocky build with muscle, compared to my thinner frame. I watched as he walked up to me. He inhaled, sounding frustrated. "Novia, we have to get moving or more will arrive." My upper lip curled, loathing how he took charge.

"Or what?" I asked, folding my arms and just standing in front of him.

"Does it look like we have time for defiance?" he demanded, "Novia, we need to get moving before they catch both of us!" He turned and ran. I reluctantly followed. I jogged slightly behind him. I noticed how his short hair bounced and how his breaths were deep and loud. I saw a forest. He ran into it and I stopped, dancing on my feet nervously. I didn't like forests. They had wolves and bears. I had some wolf DNA and I could take one wolf, maybe, but an entire pack of wolves would easily overtake me. Don't get me started on bears. The man turned around, obviously irritated.

"Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to follow me?" he snapped.

"You should pull that stick out of your butt," I muttered as I followed him uneasily. I saw a small fire with a person huddling around it. I stopped immediately.

"Why do you keep stopping?" the man asked, very frustrated.

"That is a person. I don't feel like being tormented tonight," I growled, "Thank you for rescuing me, but I think we should part ways." I turned to walk away, but I felt a cold hand grab my forearm. I turned around, growling.

"Let me go before I shred your hand to pieces," I snarled, baring my teeth. I could see the cocky smirk on his face.

"Novia, you don't need to worry. You can trust me," he said. I nodded.

"Oh yeah. I can trust you...to be an idiot," I snapped, wrenching my hand out of his grip, "Goodbye, farewell, I hope I never see you again." I walked the other way. I heard him sigh.

"Novia, get back here," he yelled. I turned around and stormed up to him.

"You may think that just because you saved me from the tests means that I'm eternally grateful. Maybe I would be if you weren't such a jerk! I don't care who you are or what kind of DNA you have, you can not, I repeat, not boss me around and expect me to do your bidding! So if you would be so kind as to forget about me and forget about me, I would appreciate it!" I yelled, "Goodbye, farewell, I hope you die!" I turned around and walked away muttering.