Test Subject 17

3. Memories

Our minds seem to have two purposes in this world. To keep us sane and happy as good things go through our heads, and to haunt us forever when we make mistakes. The memories can strike at the worst of times too. We could be with someone we really like, and we're reminded of the things we did wrong. Or want to fade away from life, then bam. We have reasons to live.

I never would have expected them to actually give us life...

She sits up quickly, despite my attempts to make her fall asleep, and turns around and looks at me. Our eyes lock and I can almost see the pain in her heart. Hard to miss it actually, it stains her clothes.

She stands up, backing up to the door, and runs out. I hate chasing people, I really do. I know I'm supposed to be working, technically, but still. This is too much. I jump out of the bed and run after her, nearly tripping down the stairs as I try to catch up. She turns around and heads for the back door. Why won't she just let me kill her? I want to go home already.

I reach the bottom of the steps and she stares at me, opening the door and running out. I groan in irritation and go after her. 'Did this girl use to run track?!' My long legs make it easy to keep up, but I still run out of breath tearing through the woods. I can hear the girl's labored breathing as her steps become less coordinated and she begins slowing down. A sadistic grin covers my face as the space between us lessens.

The girl trips over something and falls to her hands and knees, a loud 'ow' coming from her. She attempts to crawl away inconspicuously. I shake my head at her weak try for escape. "I wouldn't do that if I were you miss." She glances back at me, my run slowing to a walk. Despite my warning, she keeps crawling. I reach for a stick on the ground, probably what tripped her, and break it in half. I throw one each at her hands, grazing the skin slightly.

She halts and looks at me, terrified. When I get to her, she backs up with her hands, trying to get away still. I glance at the way she moves and I can see the natural curves of her body. My jaw tightens as a weird urge to touch them creeps into my mind.

She stares back at me. Fear washing over her in waves, over and over again, beating with her no doubt rapid heart.

Those beautiful honey eyes begin to glow a navy blue as she crawls away from me. She glances behind her as she bumps into a tree. "Listen. This will be quick and painless if you let me do my job. I don't want to hurt you more than I have to, but will if you force me," I say, trying to assure her.

The girl looks terribly familiar, but I can't place where or why. Something about the way she looks at me... makes me feel like a kid again, but all that comes with that is the years of harsh training and many killings. I blink and look down, hoping that whatever this is fades.

I'm a killer, not a hopeless romantic or the kid I used to be. I'm not afraid of anything anymore. No, never will I be like that again...

The glow fades from her eyes as tears run down her red cheeks from the sight chill in the air. Her breath hadn't returned from running away. I reach the girl's feet and she pulls them away. A sigh leaned me and I take a few more steps and kneel in front of her, wiping the tears.

Why do I care about her stupid bodily fluids?! Clenching my teeth, I examine her face, trying not to wipe the new tears that had now replaced the old ones.

"W-why? What are you doing this f-for?" She stares at me fearfully. I can see it in her posture, the way she cowers against the tree, and for some reason, it makes my chest hurt. What do people call this again? Heartache or heartbreak? Maybe pity? More importantly, why do I have it?!

"Orders are orders. Sorry love." I smile at her and pull out a knife. I know at least a thousand different ways to kill someone painlessly, quickly, or slow and painful.

But I hesitate this time. Something in me feels off, like I know I shouldn't. Although I know I can do it and what happens if I don't, my hand shakes as I bring the blade to her neck.

The moonlight glints off the metal and a small noise escapes from her mouth. She looks at me, tears falling fast and freely. Her horror covers me and I stop, the knife gently resting against her jugular vein. A sob is heard and it sounds like it came from the girl before me.

Although... I'm not entirely sure it was her. And soon, everything fades away...

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

"Nataliaaa!!" I call in a singsong voice. The bushes giggle and I grin, walking towards it slowly. This is always her hiding spot, but I never say anything. Makes the game fun.

It was our own game we made up. One of us would hide and the other would try to find them. If they did, without making any noise, we would scare each other, but I always give away my location. Dunno why, but I really like the look on her face when she wins.

"Don't you wanna play with mee?" The closer I get to the bush, the louder the giggles get. Maybe she doesn't know how to play. Which is hard since we-

"Boo!" Natalia shouts, startling me and ruining my train of thought. After a second we both start laughing and fall to the ground. I lay upside down, facing her. It almost looks like a romance movie, I'm quite positive. Mom is always trying to make Dad watch those with her.

"You've got me four times and I've got you three meaning you won fair and square. What should we do now?" I ask, sitting on my elbows, watching the smile on her face. I really think she looks pretty. Mom said that she'd help plan my wedding when I get older. I wonder if I'll marry Nat...

Just then, her face starts turning pink like she can hear my thoughts. I feel mine get hot and I look at the sky, letting the summer breeze cool me down. When I look back at Natalia, she's shaking her head really fast. My face scrunches into a worried look before she smiles.

"Wanna go ask your mom to give us a cookie? They should be done by now," she asks. A slow grin creeps on my face and she giggles again.

"Yes, I do. C'mon Nat!!" We both get up, running from the backyard and into the house, trying to get there first and win. "Mommy?" I yell, entering the kitchen. It's set up the same way Nat's is. There's a long counter that sorta makes a bar, the stove is against the back wall, which is to my right when I come in from the back. The pantry is also to my right, the front door is slightly visible from where I stand.

Mom doesn't answer me like she normally does, making me worry a bit. The good feeling in me slowly starts to fade as I glance at Nat who stands slightly behind me."Mommy!!" She goes into the kitchen and stops immediately.

"A-AJ.." she whimpers, staring at something. I walk to where she is and I can see what made her stop. I have no clue how I missed blood on the wall and cabinets, but somehow I did. The cookies we were gonna ask for were never made and have weird grey stuff on them.

I don't know what happened, but something tells me Mom is gone. Something warm and wet falls down my cheeks and I hurry to wipe them so Nat doesn't see.

But that's not the part that made us both stop in our tracks. There was a thick and heavy trail of what I'm sure is my mom's blood leading to the living room. Everything starts to tingle slowly. It starts in my neck and goes to my arms, lighting the nerves, all the way down to my tiptoes.

"Stay behind me Nat," I whisper, trying to keep calm. She feels just as scared as I do. She shouldn't panic. I reach out to her with my relaxed feeling, even though I am anything but relaxed.

As I slowly walk towards my living room, something feels wrong. I don't hear the TV anymore. I swear Dad was watching football or something when I went outside. A bad feeling settles in my tummy and I feel like I'm gonna throw up.