In This Time Of Eliminating Prologue/chapter 1-3

Isn't it funny how a small scrape can hurt so badly? 

How one little headache can make you sick? 

How one crack in your heart can stop it forever? 

Today I decided to face the logic that's right in front of my face. I'd suggest listening to my story, because it might as well be yours. If not now, then later…

Chapter 1: Running

I was running, whether it was to my death or my salvation I didn't know. I did know, however, that I was being chased. 

This was always the part where a dark, mysterious boy grabbed me. I would scream and he would whisper, "Sh, they'll hear us." When I looked at him, I could just make out his black hair almost covering his blue-green eyes. 

Now this was usually the point where I would wake up drenched with sweat with my heartbeat bouncing off the walls. I would get up and head the shower, always trying to figure out who this boy was. I wondered, could my dream be a message? 

It wasn't long before a knock on the door interrupted my train of thought. 

"Bridget?" Mr. Laris's voice came from the other side of the door. Mr Laris was a very sweet, caring man. He seemed to care for us as our very own father. 

"Yes Mr. L?" I asked politely, trying to hear over the sound of running water. 

"You've been in there for an hour, and your classes start in 10 minutes. I'd suggest you hurry up in there." 

"Yes Mr. Laris." I told him as I turned the water off. 

In a few minutes, I was dressed and ready to start the school day. Well, that might mean something different for you. See, classes here are about the same as any other school, except a little more, special. You see, I don't live in an ordinary house, I live in a science lab; and in this science lab, we're not required to learn math or science or language, we learn how to control our special gifts. Gifts like flying, mind reading, shape shifting, and pretty much anything else that would get you sent to this government for testing.

By the time I'm there, everyone else is already busy doing their own things in the lab. I smile as I see Zoe telling a normal human to give her a plate of cookies. Almost mechanically, the human hands her the plate she was holding. That was Zoe's gift, she could control your actions. Like if she wanted you to dance, without you thinking you would get up and dance. It was one of the most special gifts you could be given. 

I suddenly turn to see my book rising out of my backpack.

"Taylor!" I yell towards my friend. 

Taylor's a blonde, who can move things just by thinking. It's almost like she tells them 'you're here, I want you there, now go'. 

"Hey, I'm practicing!" she yelled back as she dropped the book.

"I don't see why they make me come here even when I don't have a gift." I told her sadly. 

That's right, I had no gift. Surrounded by all these fantastic people, but I've got nothing. They've have me try all kinds of things everyone else can do, but I can't do anything. I'd brought the subject up to Mr. Laris, but he'd always say it would come to me. 

Suddenly the buzzer came on and everyone was silent, it was Mr. Laris. 

     "Hello, my wonderful gifts, I am very sad to say I am leaving our gift program. You will have a new administrator here soon and I expect you to follow his every rule. So, this is goodbye, my students." With a sigh, he turned the speaker off and everything was quiet.

     I sighed. What? Why as this happening? I marched up to the teacher to ask to go see him, but she stared at me. I planted my feet right where I was. He hadn't mentioned anything about leaving ever before, and why would he leave so abruptly? There had to be some meaning around the subject, something was going on.

     At the end of school, I went to see Mr. Laris. He was just about to walk out the door. He had a deep frown and there were sad wrinkles in the corner of his eyes.

     "Mr. Laris!!" I yelled at him. But I was too late; the door slowly closed behind him. I sighed and walked out of the tiny office. I walked down the light, clean hallway to my room. I stared at my reflection on the floor as I made my way to my door.

* * *

     This week’s new blob was splattered onto my tray. Dr. Sciz was horrible. It wasn't until he showed up that I began getting these hallucinations from my dreams. I started screaming in my sleep, too.

      I was being very quiet as I poked my blob with my fork. I had lost weight since we started to get blobs of who-knows- what instead of food. Mr. Laris always said that we gifts needed our protein. Well, no one was getting any.

      Taylor waved her hand in front of my face. "Hello!" she said, waving her hand faster and faster. I grabbed her hand to make her stop. 

      "What?" I asked blankly. 

      "You were staring, what's wrong?"

       "Nothing." I got up, dumped my food in the trash can, and made my way outside. 

       As soon as I met the green grass, I saw him. I froze. He was just like I remembered him, just as mysterious. I tried to approach him, but my feet wouldn't move. My body wasn't listening to me. All I could do was stare. 

       Here was the man I've seen so many times, right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything about it. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I was helpless, just like I always am around him, I guess.

       It was then I heard the whisper. I looked at the man again, he hadn't said anything. Suddenly, it came again, this time louder and more clearly;

       You don't belong here, leave now.

       I felt a shiver tingle down my spine. The words echoed through me with more power than I'd ever felt before. Before long, I found myself yelling at the top of my lungs.

       "Make it stop!!" I screamed. Everything started to blur, and go out of focus. I could finally feel the grass under me and smell lunch again. I rose as quickly as I could and darted back inside.

       Once I was in my room, I hopped on the bed and sat there. There's no possible way I could run! The guards swarmed the building like poisonous ants, it just wouldn't work. It couldn't work. It just couldn't.

*  *  *

     It was around midnight when I decided to go through with my plan. I thought about my past years being at the factory, and then I shook the thought from my head. After I put on a white tee-shirt and some old, faded blue jeans, I made my way to the door.

      I closed the door as softly as possible behind me, only to see the shadow of a guard coming down the hall. My heart pounding faster than ever. I ducked behind an open bathroom door across the hall, praying the guard wouldn't notice. I held my breath as I heard his footsteps pass by the doorway, and didn't let go until I was positive he was gone. I tried to not to be relieved for too long, there was still more to do.

       I managed to make my way out the main doors and across the wet and freshly cut grass. I didn't stop running until I found myself at a cliff. We lived in a very mountainous area, so they were everywhere.

        I thought I was out options when an old ladder caught my attention. I quickly made my way towards the cliff overlooking it, and just when I thought I'd made it, I felt my foot hit a rock. That's when everything went downhill.

Chapter 2: Following

The ladder lay in pieces on the shiny white lab table. The room they took me to was white like the rest of the lab,  and reeked of chemicals. 

"Well, the poor no gift child's trying to running away from me?" Dr. Skiz asked. He chuckled,thinking I wouldn't fight back.

 "Don' t you mean your experiment?" I shot back.

  He glared at me. "You will not talk to me that way! Inject her!" 

  Almost out of nowhere, two bulky scientists rose and made their way towards me. I tried to bolt from the room, but one of them held my arm down while the other injected me with a purple liquid. I had about a few seconds of consciousness before everything went black.

  * * *

  I woke up in my bed with a terrible ache in my arm. It was a while before I could sit up and try figure out what had happened. 

  What was that they injected me with? Could it kill me? The more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't care. All I cared about was leaving, but I knew if I even tried anything, guards would be on my tail in a second. Also, I had my friends to worry about. How would they survive if Dr.Skiz is still here? I don't want to leave them, but I feel like I have a bigger calling, like I have to stop these labs.

  So I stayed quiet and bided my time. I didn't talk unless I was spoken to, I never ate, and I always sat alone. I wanted to run, but I knew I couldn't. I had to stay where I was, going through the same cycle everyday. Even when the guards started to lay off, I continued to play the innocent child. Weeks began to pass, months, and the feelings of leaving never went away. 

  It wasn't until much later that a dream came to me. 

  Everything was dark. I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or closed. I tried to move, but my body wasn't responding. It was just like that day at the-

  They're messing with you, child.

  It was the voice from before, just as cold as ever.

  It's the chemicals. They're the reason you stay here. They're messing with your mind.

  Was he lying? Could I trust the voice in my head? The last time I listened to him, I ended being captured by guards and getting injected.

  Think about the reason you're staying, and you will see why you're meant to leave.

  I shot up in bed and immediately felt dizzy. I found myself trying to catch my breath. Why do I stay? Well that was easy, I... I have no idea. I had no reason to stay, and that made me angry.

  * * *

  I burst through the wide double doors of the lab room. My eyes watered from the familiar stench of chemicals. I went through the cabinets, searching for a shot that could help me. I saw one labeled "Forget" and I grabbed it. After uncapping it as quickly as possible, I pushed the needle into my arm, injecting the medicine into my system. Before I could regret what I'd done, everything went black.

  Chapter 3: Forgotten

     Blinding Light. My body felt very stiff, like I had been lying down for a long time. I forced myself to sit up, trying to figure out where I was. It was a small, white room, full of chemicals, medicine, and shots.

    The feeling of claustrophobia was starting to settle in, so I jumped to my feet. I burst through the large doors in front of the room and made my way down the hall. Before long, I found myself standing in front of another, larger set of doors that lead outside. I burst through them and ran away from the building as fast I could. Behind me, I heard alarms going crazy, and I guessed that there would be people coming to investigate soon.

    I was running, whether it was to my death or my salvation, I didn't know. I was a second away from hitting a dead end when cold, rough hands grabbed me. 

    I tried to yell, but a voice whispered in my ear, "Shh, they'll hear us." 

    I immediately stopped struggling and watched two men who'd apparently been following me stop where I had disappeared. 

    "Where'd she go!" the first one exclaimed.

     The second one shrugged, scanning the area, "Let’s go get Dr. Skiz!"

     The went off and I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned to face my captor, and found a dark and mysterious boy with dark black hair just covering the tops of his eyes. 

     "Who are you?" I asked.

      He looked at me as if debating whether he could trust me or not, "Jess, you?"

      I thought about it for a second. What was my name? I felt like it was on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn't get it out. 

      "Uh, I really don't know." I stared at the ground, blushing.

      "You don't- Okay then. Just give me something to call you."

      "Bella." I said right away. It didn't quite fit, but it felt right.

      "Well, Bella, we should get going."

      "Where?"  I felt a strange attachment to him. I felt safe with him. 

      "Anywhere away from here."

      He began walking away from the building. I guessed I didn't have much of a choice, so I followed.

      * * *

       "Why did you bother to grab me? I mean, you don't know me." I asked after a long silence.

       "I don't think you know you either, but I have my reasons. Right now, I have to go and save another runaway."

       "How do you know?"

       He ignored my question and entered the trees on the other side of town. He put his finger up to his lips, signaling for me to be quiet. Before long, a girl that looked around the age of seven came running from a building behind her with a fearful expression on her face.

       Swiftly, Jess ran out and grabbed her. She kicked and screamed, but he held tight.

       "Quiet! They'll hear us!" he whispered fiercely.

       She calmed down for the moment and watched as the guards ran past. After releasing her, without a word, he set off again.

       "Who are you? W- What do you want?" She asked nervously.

       I looked at the frightened girl and sighed. "I'm Bella and this is Jess. What’s your name?" 

       "S-s-sparkie." she shivered.

       "Oh Sparkie, don't be afraid. We won't hurt you. Jess, where are we going now?" 

       "To meet the others." he said in a serious tone that sent shivers down my spine.

       * * *

       "I'm so tired. When will we be there Jess?" I was moving slower with each step I took. I was scared to find our destination, I barely knew Bella and Jess, and here I was trusting them. "Jess, how much longer?"

       "How ever long it takes." he said as he turned the corner to a street with abandoned houses on each side.

       "Who are these other ones we're meeting?" Bella asked.

       I really looked at Bella for the first time. She had a strange way of being beautiful. She had dirty blonde hair, pale skin, chocolate brown eyes, and had this laid back energy about her. Her clothes were very dirty, with mud smeared on her jeans, but she gleamed in the suns soft rays. 

       "I'm with Sparkie. We've been walking for over an hour." Bella complained to Jess.

       "Grow some skin," he murmured under his breath. "Step through here."

    Chapter 4: The Runners and Si-Flys

    It was beautiful. It had a jungle feel inside of the trees.

    "Dude, we got ourself quite a crew!" Jet said, nodding at me and Sparkie. 

    We had met three other people from Jess's group, The Runners. Jet, Sunny, and Star. They all had special gift. First of all, Jet was fast. He could run across the country in an hour.

    Sunny could control the elements. Earth,water,air, and fire. On her strongest days she can control the weather too, but that was very rare.

    Star could put of a glow so bright it will blind you. It could be a very deadly gift. It was a major weapon as the enemy could not see us.

    Sparkie could shock you by touching you. She was very young, and her shocks didn't hurt unless she was really mad. She was still a little scared and sat away from us.

    Jess Sat across from me as I scooted closer to the orange, flickering flames. "Jess, what can you do?" I asked, genuinely interested.

    "I can read minds within 20 miles from me. he looked down, embarrassed. "How about you Bella?" Sparkie whispered.

    I scanned my brain for the answer, but found nothing. "I- I don't know." I said ohshyly. "I don't remember. I don't remember anything!!" 

 Jess looked at me as if he knew everything, and he probably did.

 * * *

that night I slept in a tree for the first time. It's not very comfortable though. Just then, I heard a stick crack. I opened my eyes, now alert and focused. I looked around to see Jess listening too. 

Crack.

 I woke everyone up and Star put a dim glow so we could see who was making the sound. We were surrounded by flying human sybourgs.