Nick Webster

Escape!

            I crawled as fast I could through the ventilation shafts not knowing where I was going or how to get out, but I knew I had to eventually get out of these tunnels.  They could adjust the temperatures enough to make it dangerous for me in these tight and metal tunnels, or they could put something in the air to capture or even kill me.  I’m not ruling out them killing me off after what the other person did to their scientists and laboratory equipment.

            I was making a ton of noise as I was crawling, so I assumed they would be waiting for me wherever I popped out.  I instinctually wanted to go as high as I could or as low as I could.  I had found a section of the ventilation that went straight up.  So, I climbed.

            It was straining on my arms and legs to climb straight up, but I managed it.  I finally found another path within the ventilation system that branched out instead of up.  I went for it.  After a few twists and turns, I found an exit.  What was waiting for me on the other side?  As I slowly approached the end of the ventilation shaft, I listened for anyone that might be waiting on the other side.  I didn’t hear anyone, but I couldn’t see anything on the other side either.  I also had a new problem: I didn’t have a weapon or tool to pry open the ventilation entrance like I did when I first entered the vent system.  What to do now?  I wasn’t strong enough to break it on my own, and I didn’t want to make more noise either.

            I had to quickly come up with a plan because I was a sitting duck here for anything these people wanted to do to me.

            Wait… what was that?

            I heard a subtle noise that was also coming from the vents.  It was definitely another person, so I needed to prepare myself for their arrival.  I quickly but quietly moved myself around a corner where I could attempt a blitz attack on whoever was coming.

            I got into position.  The noises were getting louder and louder.  Whoever it was, they were clearly attempting to be quiet, but I could still hear them move.

            Fifteen feet away.

            Five feet away.  I got my arms ready to grab them however I could.

            Whoever it was, they were about a foot away when they suddenly stopped and started saying something to me.  The voice was a female’s voice.  I didn’t understand what she was saying, though.  Whatever she was saying, I don’t trust anyone at this facility.  I’m not going back and being caged up again.  I didn’t respond to her voice, but I still was ready to fight if I needed to.

            She said something again, but she made a different sound.  I was confused… what did she want?  Who was around the corner?  I patiently waited for what was going to happen next.

            Suddenly, she stuck her two hands around the corner.  She spread her fingers wide, and I think she tried to indicate that she was no threat.  I slowly backed up to see what was going to happen.  Was this going to be a trick?  or was this person truly not threatening me?  I didn’t want to find out, but I hesitated enough to find out.

            The person slowly peered from around the corner, headfirst.  Wait a minute.  When I could see her full face, I recognized it.

            It was the girl that was also captured!  She’s back?

            What was she doing here?  Was she captured again and forced to capture me too?  Was she actually trying to help me escape?

            The girl had found a new set of clothes to wear since I last saw her.  I have no clue how long ago that was.  She was last wearing a lab coat that the scientists were wearing, but she now had a white shirt and blue pants.  It felt odd because I was not wearing the clothes she was wearing.  I looked down… I was not wearing anything at all.  I was wearing a white fluffy piece of clothing on when I was strapped to the table in the other room, but I ditched that while escaping.  I didn’t want anything to come with me when I escaped.  I thought that anything in that room could somehow lead to my downfall or capture.

            The person spoke again and motioned for me to follow.  I begrudgingly followed, especially because she didn’t seem to want to hurt me.  I had no one else that I could trust.

            We climbed up the ventilation system some more, made a few turns, and eventually came to the place where she must have first entered the ventilation system.  We popped out on the roof of the building.  There were no scientists or other people, which was delightful to see.  The girl said something and again motioned for me to follow.

            I physically couldn’t move right away.  The fresh air was cool and invigorating, but something I had never experienced.  My lungs couldn’t handle it.  I started coughing and felt like my lungs were going to collapse.  Was there poison in the air?  What did I fall for?  I didn’t feel like I was going to lose consciousness, but I needed to slow down for a minute.

            The girl still was in a hurry.  She grabbed my hand, and we both ran toward the ledge of the building.  She let get when we reach the ledge.  What was her plan?

            I still cough a few times, but I realized it wasn’t so bad.  The air in the building must have been controlled air.  The air outside the building was… different.  Refreshing.

            The girl looked toward another building.  Was this where she came from?  There was a wire attached to the side of the building.  She took the wire and climbed downward to another building.

            When she finally arrived at the other building, she turned around and motioned for me to follow.  I looked around and listened to find out if anyone was coming.  I didn’t hear anything, and I hesitated.  What am I getting myself into by following this person?

            I looked back at her.  Although I couldn’t see her face anymore, I could tell that she was becoming impatient with her body language and was signaling again for me to follow.  I begrudgingly followed again.  I did the same thing I saw her do.  The wire burned my hands a little, but I think I would be fine.  I had to be extra careful with the hand that had the cut on it.

            I could tell that I was much slower than she was, but I finally reached the other side.  The girl grabbed my hand and ran off with me.  It wasn’t too far until we stopped at a big machine with wheels… a vehicle?  The person opened a door on the side of the vehicle and signaled for me to jump in as well.  I stopped hesitating and just jumped in the vehicle.  The person ran to the other side and opened a door on that side.

            I watched her wondering if she knew what she was doing.  So far, she seemed very prepared.  She looked behind her, grabbed a lever on the machine, shuffled her feet around, and suddenly we were moving!  That startled me!

            I slightly panicked.  Although I couldn’t see my own eyes, I had a sense that the first scientist that I killed had the same look in his eyes.  I felt like I lost my sense of control when the vehicle started moving.  I didn’t like what I was feeling, but I made sure not to do anything irrational.  I had developed a sense of trust with this person, and I’m risking my life with her.  She led me away from the building, and it appears as though she didn’t want me to be captured again by those scientists.  I either had to trust this person or survive on my own.  I decided to take a chance on her, especially since we came from the same place with probably a similar story.  I had nothing else to lose anyway.  Whatever was in store for me now must be better than being imprisoned in that building.

            The girl pulled a thin leather strap over herself… a seatbelt?  She signaled for me to do the same and pointed to where I can find my seatbelt.  At this point, I’m not exactly fond of leather straps after being strapped to a metal table, but… maybe this is different.  I slowly followed my orders while watching her and making sure she didn’t try to attack me or anything like that.

            I watched her as she started to drive the vehicle.  She would press down on pads with a weird looking extension attached to her feet, which seemed to affect the speed of the machine.  There was a steering wheel which affecting the direction in which we would drive.  She was even sitting on a booster seat.  It didn’t seem too hard, and I could definitely tell this wasn’t the first time she had operated a vehicle such as this one.

            After we left the building, we continued driving and passed other moving vehicles but also some stationary vehicles.  The girl signaled to the back of our vehicle.  There were clothes similar to what she was wearing.  I grabbed them and put them on myself.  They were warm.  I now had something on my legs and torso.  I felt less awkward now.

            We rode down the street for a while.  We drove by many buildings: some of them looked like the one I was in, but some looked very different.  I wondered how many other people like me there were in those buildings.  Did they need rescuing too?

            Well, as much as I would like to free them, I think I need to focus on my own situation first.  I know I have a lot to learn about my history, the world around, and the language that the scientists and this girl seemed to be using.  I had many questions for this girl, but I didn’t know how to ask them.  What was I doing in that building?  Why was I captured?  What’s next for me?  Can I truly trust this girl next to me?  Well, I couldn’t exactly ask her that last question.

            After we passed many, many buildings, we made it to near what looked like a rural area with very few buildings around.  There were more fields and trees in place of the buildings, though.  We arrived at a small building with a parking lot and a tall structure in the middle.  I’m actually not sure what this building is called, but I know it has a special name.  There was one other vehicle outside this building when we pulled into the parking lot.  This building was much smaller than the building I woke up in.  That building was probably like fifteen floors tall.  This building only had one.  Well, unless of course, the building extended underground.  The awning outside the small building had some lettering on it.  It said, “АРКТУР.”  I had no clue what that meant, but I had to trust that it was a safe place to go.

            We stopped somewhat away from the building but still in the parking lot.  The girl pointed to part of the vehicle that was right in front of me.  There was a small door that I could open.  I opened it and saw several items.  There was a knife and several other items in a plastic bag.  I snapped my look back to her with a confused look.  What was she wanting?  Was I supposed to grab the knife?  Was she going to use it against me?

            She signaled for me to grab it, so I did.  She also signaled for me to grab the other items.  There was also a piece of paper and a writing utensil.  The other person grabbed all the items from me without even saying anything and started using the white paper and the writing utensil.  She started to draw on the paper, and I think that was how she was going to start communicating with me.  I was a little excited and nervous.  This whole time she had been trying to speak to me, but I didn’t know what she was saying.  Now, there might be a way for us to communicate.

            She drew two figures; I think one represented myself and the other represented herself.  She then drew a small device with an arrow in the armpit of her own character.  She must have used the knife on herself to retrieve the device… out of her body?  She pointed to my armpit.  I gave her a slightly skeptical look.  I think I understood, but could I fully trust her?  She continued drawing.  There would be cars and flashing lights with people coming.  They would go to the device, and we could escape.

            What on earth was I getting myself into??  I intentionally gave her a look of fear, but if I was correct on what she was saying, I really had to trust that she wasn’t going to kill me with that knife.  I sensed that she understood my look of acknowledgement.  She put all the material under her shirt and quickly exited the vehicle.  I got out of my side of the car and followed her.  I looked over at her, and she grabbed my hand and pulled me close to her.  The side of our bodies were touching.  It made me uncomfortable yet relaxed.  I felt somewhat safer with her next to me.  It was a new and confusing feeling.  She looked over at me and put one of her fingers from her other hand on her lips.  I was just going to follow her lead and not say anything.

            We entered the building, and the girl put her hand on my stomach, looked at a person behind a counter, and said something to him.  I remembered what she said before, but she said something different to the person behind the counter.  She said, “Moy brat bolen. Gde tvoya vannaya?”  I don’t know what that means, but the person behind the counter pointed and said something in response.  The worker looked confused and concerned.  I immediately noticed that same thing about him that I have noticed about everyone else… they’re so much bigger than both of us!  I didn’t like it.  I felt like they were all ready to hurt and crush us.  Why was everyone twice as big as us?  We were midgets??  Were we experiments that went wrong and turned into tiny versions of other people?  Would we… grow bigger?

            We both rushed to a room in the back of the building.  There was a picture on the wall with some more words on it.  The words read, “туалет,” and there was a big “M” above the words.  Once again, I don’t know what any of this means, but I should be able remember it.  One day, I’ll know the meaning of all these words.  For now, I just need to remember them.

            We entered the room, where we were now alone.  There was a sink and a toilet… hanging off the wall?  This is where she was going to remove the device that was supposed to be inside my armpit?  She quietly locked the door, so no one could enter the room.

            She pulled the small knife and the material in plastic bags out from under her shirt.  I super nervous at this point.  Whatever was going to happen, I had to put my trust into this girl.  She moved us by the sink with a mirror although I wasn’t tall enough to see myself in it.

            The girl grabbed my hand, look at me with sympathetic eyes, and exchanged a glance between the sharp object my armpit.  I nodded and took my shirt off.  She squeezed my hand I think to try to make me less nervous.  She let my hand go and started working on taking out the device.  At first, she started to feel around the skin under my armpit looking for the device.  She pushed down on my skin, and I eventually I could feel the device under my skin… eww!  It felt so weird when she started moving the device around.  It was small but was definitely now there, and I could feel it.  She moved the knife slowly throughout my body.  I wanted to scream… I wanted to move away.  But I knew that I had to remain calm and wait for her to complete her work.  I started bleeding down the side of my body and onto my leg.  She didn’t even seem to notice.

            I felt anger for the first time.  I wasn’t mad because I was bleeding or mad at the girl.  But I felt like I hated the people that did this to me.  Why would they put anything inside of me?  The girl implied this was a device to track me.  How cruel must they be to keep me under surveillance every second of my life?

            As she was cutting open my skin, she was very precise and gentle with her movements.  I eventually almost didn’t feel the cuts because she became so calculated.  She finally got the device out of my side and dropped it to the floor.  What is next now?

            Some of the other material in the plastic bag included some cream which the person applied to my open wound, a powder which was also applied, and some bandages.  We both wrapped them around my entire side and across my study.  I knew the bleeding wasn’t going to stop right away, but the bandages should help contain the wound.  I put my shirt back on. It had some blood on it, but it was hard to see because it was under my armpit.

            There was a knock on the door.  It sounded like the same person from behind the counter.  Oh no… is our cover blown?  The person knocked and said, “Tam vse v poryadke?”

            What do we do?  I looked at my new friend.  She said, “Moy brat bolen.”  She said that same phrase earlier.

            The person who knocked responded, “Gde tvoi roditeli?”  He also tried to open the door.  My friend just looked at me and signaled for me to not say anything.  I wouldn’t know what to say anyway.  All these words don’t mean anything to me right now.

            My friend replied, “My sobirayemsya poluchit' nashikh roditeley.”  The intruder again tried to open the door.

            My friend grabbed the supplies, smahed the device that was on the ground, opened the door, and rushed out.  She loudly said, “Spasibo!” as we both rushed out of the building without looking back.  I looked back in the bathroom as we rushed out.  There was blood on the floor.  It was hard to tell, but I hoped that the blood that was found on the ground wouldn’t come back and haunt us.  I’m not sure how it could, but you never know.  These people had devices that could track us.  They might also have a way to track us using my blood against us.  At least we were going to be gone for now.

            We both quickly jumped back into our vehicle.  My eyes were fixed on the building waiting for the person to come running after us.  He never came.  However, as we were driving away from the small building, there were five or six vehicles with flashing light driving in our direction.  They turned into the small building where we once were.  But by that time, we were already down the road.  I saw a lot of people getting out of their vehicles and running toward the building we were just in.  I felt like we escaped at the right time.

            Were we actually home free?  Was this going to turn into a long journey of constantly running for our lives?  I wasn’t sure.  For now, it felt like a huge win, so I’ll take it.  The bigger question now turns to my new “friend.”  Was she really a friend?  Was she a foe who was using me for some reason?  These questions became the next life-or-death questions that were running through my mind.

            As she was driving, she grabbed the white paper and writing utensil again.  She started drawing letters.  The letters read, “Никки,” as my friend said aloud, “Nikki.”  She pointed to herself and then pointed to the paper.  She repeated, “Nikki” as she continued to switch between pointing to herself and the paper.  I nodded in understanding.  I pointed to her and said, “Nikki.”  She wanted to be called Nikki.

            She smiled and nodded.  She went back to drawing.  She wrote, “Ник” and then said “Nick” out loud.  She pointed at the paper and at me again.  She repeated, “Nick.”  I looked at her as she drove, gave a slight smile, and repeated under my breath, “Nick.”  We kept moving for a while without talking.  I was satisfied with what had happened today.  For now, anyway.

            We drove for a while down the road.  There was a lot of country and fields rather than buildings and people.  It was a nice change of scenery.  Eventually, we turned onto a road where we drove along the side of a large body of water.

            I was so tired at this point.  I just wanted to stop and rest.  We drove around another building.  This building was much different than the other buildings.  This one was more cosey and homely.  I think it was someone’s home.

            Nikki drove us into a small building beside the homely building.  There was a loud door that opened before she drove us into the small building.  I would have been nervous, but at this point, I trust what Nikki was doing.

            We both exited the car.  Nikki covered the car with a blanket of some sort and turned the lights off.  We both went outside and went toward the homely building.  It was really an old, beautiful brown building.  There were plants on the outside of the building, which made it seem welcoming and warm.  There were trees as well farther away from the building.

            Nikki grabbed a small metal object, which was hidden near one of the doors to the building.  Nikki pointed to it and said, “klyuch.”  I repeated, “klyuch” back.  Okay, got it.  That small and thin metal object is a klyuch.  I think.  Nikki used the klyuch to open the door and then walked inside.  I followed behind her.  When I stepped inside, I felt something was off.  I couldn’t place a finger on it… I’m not sure if it was the smell or the noises that I could hear within the building, but I could tell something was off about this place.

            I was now somewhat skeptical about my situation, but what can I do about it?  I tried not to let it show, but I could tell that Nikki knew that I sensed that something was off.  Nikki tried not to show that she could sense that, but I knew.  It was an odd connection… we were both eerily psychologically connected somehow and someway.  It was almost like there were no… secrets between the two of us.  We could sense what the other person was feeling and perhaps even thinking.  What did that mean for us?  Were we destined to be together?  Were we partners in crime or future rivals waiting to destroy each other?  Whether ally or foe, I sensed a deep future connection with her.  I sensed that our destiny is what interlocked our existence, and it was fate which brought us together.  From here on out, our lives now truly started.