Nick Webster

Falling Out

            We both took off running together in the opposite direction of the helicopters.  There weren’t very many places to hide, and we were caught off guard.

            Eventually, we heard the helicopter land somewhere on the island.  We were running out of time.  Minutes passed, and there were still no places to hide.  Both of us were starting to panic by this point.

            Nikki eventually said, “We’re going to need to try the other plan.  I think they’ll have mercy on us if they see us both wounded.”

            “That’s…” I started to say, “…crazy!”  I really didn’t know whether it was a crazy genius plan or a crazy plan, but I kept talking anyway.  I was too nervous not to talk.  “These people are ruthless and tried to kill us both!”

            “I know, but trust me,” she invoked those words again.  I didn’t say anything, but we both kept running and trying to figure something out.

            After a minute, Nikki said, “I’m sorry, Nick.  I truly am.”  In one swift motion, she tripped me, threw my head against the ground, and pulled my arm behind my back.  I had a sudden sharp pain in my in my arm, and I cried out, “Aggghhh!”

            With one arm handling my arm, Nikki grabbed a stick with her other arm.  She stabbed it right through the side of my stomach.  I don’t know how such a dull, stupid instrument could inflict so much pain on me.  Nikki was a wonder with these types of ‘weapons.’  I again cried out in pain.

            “I’m leaving the island.  I’ll come for you again, Nick.  Please don’t hate me.  This is the best option we have.”  Her words would be more reassuring if she hadn’t just stabbed me with a damn stick.  As I laid on the ground, I thought… this is really the best option??

            I laid on the ground in pain without looking in her direction or saying anything to her.  I could hear her footsteps slowly disappear.

            I wondered how long I would lay here before they take me away.  Several minutes had passed, but it seemed like hours or even days.  If I didn’t bleed to death, then my mind was going to eat itself alive.  For a while, all I could hear was silence.  I know there was a helicopter noise somewhere on the island, but I think my senses started to fail me.  I couldn’t feel, smell, or hear anything.  It was the weirdest feeling I ever had.

            Eventually, several men approached me.  By that time, I was starting to fall asleep.  There were two of them.  No, there were three.  No, wait.  I think there were twenty of them.  It’s hard for me to focus and think.  I could see they were wearing dark green.  It’s a good thing that Nikki and I didn’t fight these people.  They all had big guns.  Bigger guns than what the cops had.  They shouted at me when they approached me, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  I could feel them starting to move me, but then everything went dark…

***************************************

            I woke up in a familiar environment.  Well, it was a different environment, but it felt familiar.  The last two times that I had woken up as a captive, I was either in a liquid chamber or strapped down to a table.  This time I woke up in a cell while being chained to the wall.  My neck, both arms, and both legs had chains around them.  It was very uncomfortable.

            Ugh.  What now?  Where was I?  Have they done anything to me?  There was only a dimly lit light across the room without anyone else around.  I was alone again.

            There wasn’t anyone in this room for a few hours after I woke up.  Suddenly, several men barged into the room.  They were all wearing the same clothing that the soldier who initially took me away was wearing.  Except for the first man, the rest of the men all had the same guns that those soldiers had.

            The first man who entered the room did all the talking.  “You have been more than a headache for us.  You know that, kid?”  His words sounded like there should be irony in them.  However, his voice was emotionless and monotone, and he had a very deep voice.  I didn’t respond.  I just stared at him in the eyes without breaking eye contact.

            He wasn’t amused by my lack of response.  “Where’s your friend?” he said.  I continued to just stare at him.  After a couple of moments of staring, I broke eye contact and looked at some of the other men with him.

            “The silent type, eh?” he said.  “We have ways of making you talk.”  He spoke confidently but still without a break in his voice.

            “Do you know what you are?” he asked.

            I finally decided to respond.  I didn’t know where Nikki was, but he will have more information to give to me than the other way around.  I could use that to my advantage.  I’m really not sure how, but it couldn’t hurt.  Besides, I wasn’t exactly in position to negotiate or escape.  “I’m a prisoner,” I didn’t know how I should respond, but I wanted to continue the conversation.

            “You’re a multi-million-dollar experiment that took years to perfect,” he said still in the same tone.  “You and your friend have killed six of our scientists, five of our security officers, two police officers, seven civilians, and six of our experiments.”  His voice finally started to sound displeased.  “So, I would appreciate a little respect.  We brought you into this world, and we can take you out.”

            Wait, what?  Nikki has killed a whole lot more people than I thought.  And she has killed other experiments?  She said they killed the others like us.  “What?” is all I could muster out.  I already had a million other questions, but I was too nervous to say anything more.

            “You didn’t know.  Poor fool,” he was now somewhat amused and gave a chuckle.  “Your friend is a killer.  A cold-blooded killer.  You have some blood on your hands too, but she… she is dangerous.  She was made that way, though.  You shouldn’t trust her.”

            I had a feeling they would say anything just to get me to turn on her.  How could I trust the people who locked me up in a cage and chained me up?  “She said you killed the others.”

            “Son, you have no idea, do you?”  One of the other soldiers brought out a small device.  It started playing a video.  It definitely looked like Nikki in the video.  She looked the same as the first day I saw her when she escaped.  The young girl was standing in front of six of the liquid chambers.  They were the same containers that I was held when I first woke up.  She was just staring at them.  I could see a scientist laying on the ground too.  After several moments, the girl grabbed a long, sharp metal object.  She threw it as hard as she could right at one of the chambers.  It broke through the glass, but it didn’t have enough momentum to penetrate through the person inside it.  She immediately grabbed the metal object and forced it into the heart of the child in the chamber.  The poor individual inside it didn’t even react.  The liquid in the chamber turned red.  It was a sad sight to see.

            The young girl frantically ran around the room looking for more objects to hurdle at the other children in the chambers.  She couldn’t find anything of value, so she went to a computer.  She very quickly worked at the computer.  After a few moments, the liquid in the contains filled with a new greenish liquid.  I’m not sure what that meant, but I can only assume that’s what killed those people.  The soldier carrying the device fast-forwarded the video.  There must be more.  He played the video at normal speed again.  The young girl was back with a gun.  She must have either found it or killed a security officer.  The young girl shot the remaining five people.  The solider cut off the video.

            “It’s only a matter of time until your friend turns on you,” the leading soldier said.

            A tear rolled down my eye.  “You’re lying.  That’s not her!  That’s a fake video!”  I honestly don’t know whether that was real or fake or whether that was really Nikki or another person.  I have already witnessed Nikki kill several people, and she told me that she has done a lot of unforgiveable things.  Still, I didn’t want to believe it.  She was the only one that I could trust in this world.  Who do I trust now?

            The leader softly said, “Ask her yourself.  Where is she?”

            More tears started rolling down my eyes.  I couldn’t make eye contact anymore.  “I don’t know.  She said she left the island after stabbing me!”

            He calmly responded, “Why didn’t she attack you earlier?”

            I was frantic but couldn’t think straight.  “I don’t know,” I said.  I just wanted to curl up in a ball and be alone.  I didn’t want them to give me any more bad news.

            “Stop!” he yelled.  “You’re a disgrace.  A failed experiment.  You’re not even worth the breath you breathe.  If you don’t know anything, you’re of no use to us.  We might as well shoot you in the head right now.”

            I was thrown off by the reaction, but he was right.  I needed to be brave.  I needed to be strong.  I’ll never get their respect or even any helpful information out of them if I don’t play along.  It has just been so tough.  I’m not as skilled as Nikki, and I feel like they will kill me before she can find me.

            The leader started talking to the other soldiers but was also still clearly addressing me.  “Such a pity.  He had such potential.  We’ll need to figure out if we want to reset his mind and salvage his potential or if we want to just out right kill him.”  His words echoed in my mind.  They hurt.  He continued, “We’re done here.  Let’s not waste any more of our time.”  After saying that, everyone left the room.  Well, I guess I got what I wanted.  I just wanted to be alone.  But what now?

            About an hour or so passed, and I started hearing some noises.  At first it was faint, but the sounds were louder and louder.  It sounded like gunfire.  That could only be one thing – Nikki had kept her word.

            Bang!

            Bang!

            Bang, bang, bang!

            The sounds even echoed through the hallways.  There was no one right outside my cell, so I couldn’t see any reactions of soldiers.  I certainly didn’t have to wait for her as long this time around.

            There were periods of intense firefights, and there were periods of silence.  Eventually, I heard a different kind of noise.  It was right outside the door! It was a jingling noise – I think someone was trying to open the door.  This person was frantically trying to open the door.  Whoever it was I knew that it either meant probable death or freedom based on all the commotion that I’ve just heard.  I certainly hoped for freedom.

            I could see the final turn of the handle on the door.  It was Nik- oh, wait… CRAP!  It was a soldier.  I just sat paralyzed awaiting my fate.  Whatever the soldier was going to do, there was nothing that I could do to stop it.  He ran toward me and aimed his gun right at me.  I could see the fear in his eyes and sweat on his face.  He looked right at me, aimed his weapon, I closed my eyes, and bang!

            The ringing in my ears was terribly painful.  Argh.  Still, it was probably going to be less painful than what they were going to do to torture me.  Wait a minute… I can still feel pain.  That’s a good thing!  Right?  That means I’m not dead.  At least not yet.

            I opened my eyes.  The soldier was leaning against the cell door with blood spilling out of his head.  I was covered in some of his blood, and I could see parts of his brain on the floor.  This was the grossest thing I had ever seen.  I threw up a little bit on the floor.

            “I’m surprised you even have anything to throw up.  They actually fed you?”  The voice was familiar and somehow softening.  I looked up, and Nikki was searching through the pockets of the soldier she just had killed.  Well, I told her that I didn’t want her to kill anyone anymore, but I suppose this was an exception.  She saved my life after all.

            I didn’t say anything in response to her, but Nikki didn’t really give me much of a chance to talk.  She just continued, “Come on.  We’re going to run out of time.  There will be plenty more guards if we wait around here.”

            She unlocked the door using keys she found on the dead guard, and then she unlocked all five locks attached directly to me.  It felt good being free from those chains.  Those chains were uncomfortable, and I was so happy to have them off.  Nikki grabbed the gun that the dead guard had.  “Here.  You’re going to need this.  Follow my lead.  You think you can shoot that?”

            “Um.  I don’t know,” I said.

            “Well, you’re going to have to learn fast.  They’re now going to shoot us both on sight,” she said.

            I thought about that for a second.  I don’t know if this is a better scenario than being chained up.  I just don’t know.  I guess our freedom has a price.

            We ran through the hallways of this place, but we were careful around the corners.  There were several bodies at random locations.  Nikki was really thorough on her way in.  It was disgusting.  There were pools of blood around each person.  As we ran around the building, there was no one else that was alive.  Nikki either killed everyone or everyone else had evacuated.  Either way, it made for an easy escape for us.

            I wasn’t super happy about this.  I just wanted all the death to stop.  I just wanted a normal life!  I’d do anything for all this to stop.  I know this time around was different.  These were not innocent people who were victims of a crime, but they were systematically hunting us to capture or kill us.

            She didn’t say anything as we went through the halls.  Finally, we climbed a series of stairs which led to the roof.  Nikki opened the door, and I followed.  There was a helicopter planted on the top of the roof.  I’m guessing that was the same helicopter that brought me here.  Nikki started toward the helicopter, and I just sort of randomly asked, “Where are we anyway?”

            Nikki just kept running while I stood there for a minute.  “Does it really matter?” she yelled back to me.  “Now come on.  We have to leave.”

            I started following her again.  We both jumped into the helicopter.  She started playing with some of the controls on the helicopter.  “Do you know how to fly this thing?” I asked.

            “Let’s hope so!” she yelled as the helicopter wings started up.  “You might want to buckle up.”

            It looked like Nikki was already prepared.  She had a booster seat for herself in the pilot seat, and she seemed to be pressing all the right buttons.  I looked ahead in the seat next to hers.  I couldn’t see outside the helicopter at all.  I was way too short, and Nikki would also be too short if it wasn’t for her booster seat.  I had a very uneasy feeling about this whole situation.  I had trusted Nikki up to this point, and it had paid off so far.  I feared that our luck was eventually going to run out.

            I couldn’t say that her take off was smooth.  I’m not sure if she could fully see over the controls even with a booster seat.  I held on for my dear life as we were no longer touching the ground.  It was the scariest thing I had done yet.  I wasn’t sure what was trembling more – my body or the helicopter itself.

            We had been flying for about five minutes before Nikki finally started talking.  “Are you relaxed now?”

            I immediately retorted, “I’d like to be on the ground.”

            She giggled and said, “We’ll be on the ground sometime soon.  This helicopter doesn’t have a lot of gas.”

            I snapped a look at her.  “How are we going to get to the ground then?” I asked very nervously.

            She laughed a little more.  “Don’t worry!  We’ll be fine.  I have a plan.”

            That’s a great opening to ask what I’ve been dying to know.  “How do you always have plans and know what to do?”

            Nikki giggled a little bit again.  “You know… I’m not entirely sure.  I have had more time and opportunity than you to actually plan.  No offense, but most of your life you’ve been stuck in chains.  A lot of things come natural to me.  I’m not sure why.”

            “You have a lot more things come natural to you than I do,” I observed.

            “They certainly designed us differently,” Nikki responded.

            That made me think for a second.  It was somewhat hurtful to hear.  Not because of her saying it, but because they didn’t give me the same gifts, and I felt useless compared to her.  Would I never be as good as Nikki because of the way I was made?  I asked a different question along those lines, though.  “How do you feel about that, anyway?”

            “How do I feel about… being made?” she asked for clarification.

            “Yeah,” I said.  “I don’t know how I should feel.”

            “I don’t know.  It’s lonely – that’s for sure.  I feel like you’re the only one I can relate to.  There’s no one else that I’ve met that had the same origin story.”

            “Is that true?” I started probing toward the question that I was dying to know.  I didn’t want to directly ask her.

            “Is what true?” she asked skeptically.

            “Those soldiers,” I paused after every other word or so.  “They told me… showed me video… of you.”

            “Oh?” she was quieter.

            I paused for a moment.  “There were others,” I said.

            “Others like us?” she added.

            I didn’t say anything for what felt like an eternity.  I had to confront her.  How else could I trust her?  or not trust her…

            “Did you kill others like us?” I finally had the courage to ask.

            She was silent at first.  The question stunned her.  She started to open her mouth to respond, but I jumped in before she could answer.  “You want me to trust you.”

            She went back to silence.  I think that stopped her from giving the answer she was about to give.  After a few moments, she just said, “Nick…”

            “What??” I yelled.  “How am I supposed to know that you’re not going to kill me too?”  I was too furious.  I couldn’t think straight.  “Why did you do it??  We could have had a family.  We could have all been through all this together instead of ending up on a damn island without shelter or food or water and without being taken away.  I was back in chains!”

            Nikki stayed silent.  I continued my rant, “Everything could have been different if you had helped them instead of killing them!  Now it’s just the two of us, and I can only assume you’re going to one day take me out in my sleep or something too.”  I was both crying and red in the face from anger.  I hadn’t ever felt anything such strong emotions before.  It was not a good feeling.  In fact, I felt horrible because of it.

            Nikki remained silent for a minute or two.  It felt like hours of silence.  I almost didn’t want her to talk because the moment she would say something, I would probably start yelling at her again.  Right now, even the sight of her was triggering to me.  I couldn’t look at her.  She turned into an animal in my eyes.  She was even worse than my captures because my captures at least kept me alive.

            Nikki finally spoke, “You’re right.”  But that’s all she said.  She just softly said those two words, that was it.

            I wasn’t expecting that.  I was expecting a full-on argument from her without any remorse from what she had done.  She’s killed so many people.  I know I have blood on my hands, but she’s out of control.  I needed to find an escape plan away from her.  I need to start a new life.  I didn’t know what real-life entails.  All I know is how to run from people who are chasing me and how to kill someone who is trying to chase me.  Nikki said there are over six billion people on this planet.  Certainly, there was someone out there who would just want to be my friend.

            “Is that all you have to say?” I finally remarked back to her in an angry tone.

            She spoke very softly, “I don’t know how to live in this world.  Every single person I have ever known has tried to kill or capture me, except you.”  She seemed to have such an odd obsession with me.  It was starting to become weird and scary.  After a brief pause, she continued, “I don’t know what overcame me when I killed those six people.  Something overcame me.  I can’t fully explain it, but it was like I was outside my body looking at my body as I tried to do everything I could to end their lives.  That was the only time I had ever done that or felt like that.  I have a different feeling around you.  I don’t know why or how.”

            She spoke softly and with what sounded like sincerity, but there were no tears in her eyes.  I didn’t know how to interpret it.  “That’s not good enough,” I said with spite in my voice.

            “I don’t expect you to understand or even ever forgive me.  I just want what you want,” she said.

            “You want what I want??  I want to live – not die by your hands!  I want you out of my life!” I yelled.

            That comment finally put her over the edge.  A tear fell down the side of her cheek.  Maybe she was human.  Or “human.”  Whatever we were.

            “I want a normal life,” she said softly.  Her voice sounded like she was being punished.  I started to feel somewhat sympathetic for her, but I wasn’t going to show it.  I also didn’t think I should feel sympathetic.  I just can’t understand why she did that and why she didn’t know either.  The unknown was killing me.

            “Great.  You can start by dropping me off in the next city and leaving me alone,” I said.

            We were both silent for a few moments.  “Is that really what you want?” she asked.

            I didn’t respond.  We didn’t talk for several minutes.  Nikki surprisingly had been flying the helicopter well during this entire conversation.  I hadn’t thought of that until now, but I only thought about it because there was a random beeping that started on the dashboard of the helicopter.  I turned to her to see if she noticed the beeping as well.  Her eyes immediately widened, and she muttered under her breath, “Oh shit.”

            I just looked at her with a confused look, but I didn’t say anything.  Suddenly, she yelled, “Raketa!”  I didn’t know what that word meant. She frantically hit a button on the dashboard, and whooooosh!

            My entire seat and I went flying out of the helicopter!  Everything went from normal and comfortable to an insane blur in an instance.  The air was super cold, and I was holding on to my seat for dear life!  I was falling from hundreds or even thousands of feet in the air.

            Shortly after I went flying from the helicopter, there was a loud bang.  I was dramatically spinning, but I could tell that there was fire that flew down from the sky.  I wanted to throw up from spinning around and around in the air.  What was happening and why wasn’t I in the helicopter??

            I was falling so hard and fast, and I didn’t know what to do to stop it.  The air felt like ice on my skin.  I felt like it was going to burn my skin.  After falling and falling and falling, I suddenly hit water.  My seat took most of the force, but my hands and arms felt like they were crushed on impact.

            I was now underwater, and my entire body was in shock.  After a couple of moments, I regained my composure and quickly hit the button on my seatbelt.  I swam and swam as hard as I could to the surface.  I finally reached the surface, wiped the water from my eyes, and look at the terror of the night sky.  There were pieces of the helicopter falling from the sky.  The original spot where the helicopter was positioned just had a grayish smoke.  Although it was dark, I could still see raining of fire in the night sky.  The sight had an odd beauty to it but was terrifying at the same time.

            Nikki!  I didn’t mean for her to die.  But what became of her?  Did she die in the helicopter blast, or did she survive like I did?  What even happened?

            My ears were ringing, and I was dizzy from falling all the way from the helicopter.  But I was alive.  For now.

            I swam to the shore.  It wasn’t as big of a river as the last river I had to swim through.  Well, I was at least closer to the shore.

            When I reached the shore, I pulled myself onto the ground.  I turned onto my back and then just laid there.  I looked up at the sky.   I was exhausted.  I knew I had to start moving soon to find shelter.  I was wet again, and the cold air would start to make me lose valuable body heat.  I don’t think I would make it through the night.  What was I going to do without Nikki, though?  Should I look for her?  I know I should.  I have no clue if she was even alive.  If I started calling for her, someone else might find me, and who knows what they would do if they found me?  That someone might not have mercy on me.

            After a few moments of rest, I stood up.  I looked around.  There were city lights a distance off in one direction.  My best chance of survival was in a city.  I know the risks are great, but the rewards are great too.  I’ll have a better chance of finding food, shelter, and maybe even one day – a friend.  So, I started walking.