I closed the door to the refrigerator with force, ignoring the ringing phone that laid on the counter behind me.
I was no longer a subject of Project: GODS. They had been shut down rapidly after nuclear radiation was discovered drifting miles from the shore of the tiny island I had escaped from over a year prior. I had made my exit quickly, quietly, and without looking back.
Peter had never stopped trying to contact me, no matter how many times I changed my address or my phone number.
I would never speak to him again.
My life had become simple.
The apartment was tiny, like my existence, but off the grid, and in the middle of a city full of faces that I could easily be lost in. No one knew me, and no one would.
I would exist alone until I succumbed to disease, got into the wrong fight, or hell...even grew old.
The island remained in my nightmares, torturing me as I slept alone, visions of my brother and friends tearing me to pieces as Peter watched with impassive eyes tormenting me into the early hours of the morning.
I would lie awake in a cold sweat until daylight, rising with the sun and attempting to banish the dreams with cups of tea and mindless chores.
Lonely, yes.
But alive.
I turned on the television, watching the screen flash without actually paying attention. My mind had flat lined long ago, and was showing no sign of revitalizing itself.
A knock at the door interrupted my reverie, and I was immediately on guard.
No one came to visit me. Perhaps it was Peter, attempting to somehow make up for the wrong that he had done.
Anger in my heart and strength in my fist, I threw open the door, ready for a fight.
"Whoa, girl." A familiar voice slashed through me, ripping open my heart and tearing through my memory. "What a greeting for an old friend."
I gasped, leaning back as a hand took mind, a rough, scarred hand with strength to match mine.
"I've missed you, Artemis."
I burst into tears, grasping the long coat and burying my head in the clothing of a man who was dead.
"Hermes?"
"I'm here, Artemis."
Not so lonely, after all.
YOU ARE READING
Project GODS
Science FictionGODS, a scientific branch of the US Department of Defense, has done it. They have genetically engineered the perfect agents. Better, faster, smarter, and stronger than regular humans, these "Gods" are the best any official could ask for. But when so...
