Project Faith

Chapter 2

The next day, Lydia entered the lab to check on her patient's vitals. Faith blood pressure, respiration and heart rate were high. Her body drenched in sweat. The Medscan showed evidence of higher than normal brain activity during sleep. Her dreams might be more vivid than normal. Without warning, Faith opened her eyes and saw Lydia.

"What's happening?" Faith yelled, struggling to get out of the metal straps.

Lydia leaned over Faith and pressed down on young woman shoulders. "You need to calm down," Lydia said in a soft tone. "You are going to hurt yourself."

Faith tried to relax and she couldn't. Her heart was pounding. Sweat flew off her brow and her hair as her head shook from side to side. "What did you do to me?" The metal strap holding her right arm ripped from the table. Before Lydia could react; Faith grabbed Lydia's neck. "Release me," she said in a raspy voice.

Lydia tried to break Faith's grip but couldn't. She tried to explain to Faith that the wall panel controls the restraints. Faith was unaware that she was killing the doctor. Faith was able to break the other restraints without Lydia's help. She got off the table. The tubes and wires fell off her body. She was still holding Lydia by the throat lifting the doctor off the floor.

With Lydia's feet dangling in the air, feeling the breath escaping her body, but she was able to muster enough strength to tell Faith these few words. "You're killing me."

Faith released her grip and Lydia fell down to the floor. Amulius and two soldiers entered the room with their guns on Faith.

"What did you do to me?" Faith yelled. Her hands clenched in her hair. Hundreds of thoughts danced and raced in her mind. Focusing became a problem as head pounded and she fell to the floor.

"I made you better," Amulius said. He walked closer to her. "Your strength. Your speed. Your reflexes. Your stamina. Even your senses are enhanced. You have three times the strength and speed of an average man. You heal faster. An injury that takes weeks to heal will only take days. An injury that takes days will only take a few hours. You are the ultimate of human perfection."

Faith pulled herself off the floor, stared at her hands and then she clenched them into fists. "How?"

"AMPED increased your epinephrine to unnatural levels," Amulius explained. "Right now, you feel like you want to jump out of your skin. But your body will adjust. Over twenty men and women had died in the past experiments, but you survived. There is something special about you. I am a man of science, but there are things that science can't explain. You should have died on the table, but you didn't. You survived for a reason. Call it faith." He smiled when he realized the connection. "You will be humankind champion. You will eliminate issues before they become problems."

Faith eyes closed as she massaged them with her fingers. Her head pounded. She felt the only relief was to crack her head wide open.

"There might be some side effects," Amulius said, "like headaches, anxiety and vivid dreams. But over time, you will learn to control them."

Faith grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and lifted him off his feet. "I don't trust you." The whites of her eyes drenched with red veins which made her blues irises stand out more.

"You don't have to trust me," Amulius said. His voice stayed at a steady pace as well as his volume and breathing. He didn't want to give her an excuse to go off on him. She was dangerous before. Now, she was downright deadly. "I have to trust you. I have no control over you, Faith. You could kill everybody on this ship and escape with little effort. I prefer you don't do that. I would love to test your new found abilities."

Faith released him. "I should rip your beating heart out of your chest and tear it apart."

Amulius smiled. "That is the AMPED talking. Focus!