Integrity (PG-13, Reserved/Closed)

[• Echo]

Catherine Michelle Cucjen
Diary Entry #17
April 19, 2065

No one sees it. And the ones who do are the ones who lived it, who still live it, who have to deal with it every day of their lives. And yet they say nothing. Why? It’s like the soldiers who went to war in Vietnam during the Cold War all those years ago. They don’t talk about how they had to kill an innocent young boy because he pointed a gun on them. They don’t say how they watched so many people suffer so much, and they couldn’t do anything except sit there and watch, and occasionally aid their torturers in causing them pain. It’s just a fact; it’s one of those unspoken laws that humanity seems to have decided unanimously yet without speaking a single word about it; if you don’t talk about it, if you don’t think about it, if you refuse to acknowledge it or do anything about it, then it’s not happening, it’s not as bad as it seems, it’s not a problem.

That’s a lie.

Most have agreed that the Cold War ended years ago in the early 1990s. I, however, like to disagree, as do many of the people who stand beside me in these cramped cells and cages. The Cold War is very much a reality, but few people know about it, because it’s just that: Cold. No actual contact between the fighting countries, or so I hear. But now, unlike before, it’s not just nuclear threats; Yes, the nuclear weapons and capabilities are growing larger and stronger with every passing day, but there’s much, much more to it now. Testing, for “scientific purposes”, has been going on for years now. Experiments, both mentally and physically, injections, tests, and so, so much more. Every day, it’s something worse. Injections that will supposedly make us “better”, but only have countless, painful side-effects. Experiments to test our capabilities and makes us stronger. Tests like dunking us in freezing water to see how long it takes us to die of either shock, hyperthermia, lack of air, or some other thing. Tests like sending us to gas chambers to see what the chemicals do to us, or to see what we can withstand. And fighting to the death. They make us fight and kill each other; to them it’s a game. To them, we’re just lab rats, things to be looked at under a microscope for study or poked with a stick to see what eventually makes us tick. It’s much, much worse than most people can imagine, what most can or ever will go through, and so much more than what went on in the 1900s. I can’t help but wonder how much longer it will take before I go, too.

I’ve been talking to Matt lately, the boy in the cell beside my own. I think he may be crazy. He keeps talking about rebellion and fighting back. I can see what they do to him for it. They beat him, give him the worst experiments, starve him, keep water from him. Why don’t they just kill him? I wonder if it’s because they’re using him as a lesson, to show others what will happen if they talk or act like he does? And if that’s the case, why not just hold a public execution? They’ve done it enough times as it is. But an even better question would be why he continues it? Why continue when it just brings him more pain and torture? I cannot fathom the reason why, nor am I sure if I want to know.

But I can’t help but wonder if he is right. This has been going on for so long now, since somewhere around 2020, I heard, and the government hides so much from us. They started burning books long ago; this generation has never picked up any kind of book or magazine now, not even textbooks in school (even those have now been replaced by television, videos, recordings, and radios). Do people even know what they are anymore? I do. There are books here; it seems the government has a thing for breaking all the rules they create. Maybe it is time that we did something about it. If we got enough people to join us, resist them, then… What? Could we actually escape with our lives? And if so, what then? Go into hiding? No, I think he may just be crazy. It couldn’t ever work, right? They’re too powerful.

They call this place the “Hospital”. I’ve heard there are several others spread all around the country, sometimes more than one in every state, but always at least one. Funny, I heard at one point, hospitals were used to help people, but they don’t need them that way anymore. The rest of the world is starving, yet we’re well-fed. The rest of the world is poor, yet we have loads of money to spend on the silliest of things, like torturing our own people, or burning books. The rest of the world is being educated at a young age, and yet we live in solitary confinement from all of them, knowing only what our government decides is good for us to know, what they censor. Is that why they all hate us so much? Is that why they are trying to get rid of us? Doesn’t our government see that they are destroying us, destroying themselves, from the inside out?

Either way, someone’s coming, so I should go. If I got caught writing, there’s no telling what they would do to me. Cut out my tongue, kill me, punish me like they do Matt… And the things written in here could cause serious harm to others. No, I should go.

Sincerely,
Catherine Michelle Cucjen

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*


Catie closed the leather-bound journal, slipping the ink pen within the folds of its covers, and slipped it into the casing over her pillow on the bunk bed. Sitting up, careful not to hit her head on Sierra’s bunk above her, she listened to the footsteps marching slowly down the corridor; heavy booted feet stomping in an endless, synchronized rhythm that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. One, too, three, four. One, two, three, four. Thud, thud, thud, thud, over and over again. The cells and inmates grew quiet, looking out from between the bars at the men dressed all in white. They all looked the same; sharpened, hard features; long legs; gaunt bodies; ice cold eyes; dark, or graying, hair. They walked in two rows, always, people filed behind them in a line of snake-like bodies. Their footsteps rang out through the empty, stone walkway, creating an eerie effect on the people who shrank back from them as they passed, attempting to hide in the shadows. They were coming for someone; this Catie knew. They never came without a reason.

“Catherine…” The soft, muted cry instantly caught the 19-year old’s attention, and, in one fluid motion, she was standing, peering over the edge of the second bed in the bunk at the small child hidden against the covers. Sierra’s bright blue eyes shone with curiosity and apprehension, and her lower lip quivered slightly as though she were about to cry. Without a word, Catie gathered her into her arms and slowly brought her down onto the lower bunk, cradling her against her torso. Flipping a blanket over the child’s small body, she lay her cheek against her blonde hair and ran her fingers through the long, golden strands, gently untangling any knot she found. Rocking her against her body slightly, she felt Sierra burrow into her more, tucking her head against her chest and clutching her shirt tightly.

“Shh…” Ice gripped Catie’s chest tightly, her blue eyes shining brightly through the dark room. The only light came from the weak white lights in the center of the ceiling in the walkway, and from the gray of the sun coming in through the high-set, barred window that was found in every small cell. Shrinking back against the cold stone walls, Catie watched the shadows grow bigger as the men came closer, praying silently to any Lord or God that may exist that they left them alone this time. When they stopped, her heart skipped a beat at how close they sounded, until she realized they were at Matt’s cell beside her own. Then her heart began to race twice as fast as before. Against her, Sierra let out a muffled cry, and Catie tightened her grip, whispering incoherent words against her hair.

“Shh… It’s okay…”

In the other cell, Matt sat alone on the bunk, arms folded behind his head, legs crossed at the ankles, staring straight up at the cold, gray stoned ceiling. He didn’t show any sign as to knowing that they were there; he sat completely still, waiting, listening, blending into the shadows. For a few moments, everything was still, until one of the white coats slammed something metal against the cell bars. Matthew flinched, and knew immediately that his pretense of hiding had instantly vanished, and he frowned into the dark.

“There.” They were pointing at him now, and he heard shuffling as the men tried to get a closer look at him. He didn’t look at them.

“And vhat is so special about ‘dis von?” A heavily-accented voice this time. Russian. Now he was curious. Slowly, he sat up, running a hand through his unkempt, dark brown hair.

Catie watched the men curiously. There were the usual scientists in their white coats, but now, at the front, were three new men. Men who were short and somewhat chubby, with dark hair, black suits, and pale skin. They each held a briefcase, as well. Were the scientists hosting some sort of private sale, now, too? Giving their experiments to the opposing side? This was a new low, even for them. Sierra had uncovered her head, watching Matt through the bars. Catie could feel her heart beating strongly from her chest from how tightly they were pressed together, and she wondered briefly if Sierra could feel her own, as well.

“He’s a tracker. As you can see, he can blend with just about anything he wants, if he sits still enough. He’s a good shot, a little more practice and he’ll be unbeatable. He’s fast, mile time average of 3minutes 37seconds…” the list went on, with all the tests and experiments they had conducted on him. Meanwhile, Matthew slowly stood up, keeping his back turned to the men, and slowly walked to the back of the cell, hands on his hips, standing lazily. He tilted his head back to peer up at the window.

“Can lift hundreds of pounds… we could show you, if you like…”

“I don’t think that would be very effective,” Matthew said suddenly, shushing the small group instantly. He turned to face him. One of the scientists narrowed his eyes at him.

“One problem is that he seems to constantly be forgetting that he has no free will; he has no life, we own him, and he is subject to our will, not his own.” Matthew said nothing, but rather stood in the middle of the cell with his arms crossed, a glowering, threatening look on his dark features.

“Really? And what are his other problems?” The scientist hesitated before answering.

“Not much; he just-.”

“I can dance too.” Again Matthew spoke up, and all eyes turned to him. “And sing. Would you like to see?” The group was silent for a moment. “I know some good jokes,” Matthew said convincingly. Before they could answer, a loud whistle blew once, twice, three times, causing Catie and Sierra to jump on their bunk.

“That’s the cue for the patients’ 30minute break,” the head scientist said dryly. “If you would like, we could take this one out and show you his capabilities-?”

“No, ve have seen enuff,” one scientist cut him off, pulling a notepad from his suit coat and scribbling notes down on it. “Ve vill come back later,” he said, struggling with his English, before he and his two companions left, their footsteps ringing sharply against the stone walls.

The group of scientists stood still for a minute before they, too, slowly turned and marched out in their traditional two rows of robotic followers. Once all the men had disappeared through an automatic side door, which closed behind them, the doors to the inmate’s cells all slid up to open, and the large doors down the hall leading to the courtyard opened up as well.

Word Count: 2,110 words.

[LoveOnHerArms]

Stretched out over the top bunk, the lousy excuse for a pillow under her head Ronnie hummed softly staring up at the grey stone ceiling, some sun filtered through the bared high up window. Humming softly Ronnie listened too Alex playing with his fingers and kept one ear open listening for white coats or a a mindless guard, the ones with big guns and looks that could kill...There...Sitting up she tilted her head to the side listening to the sound of the sliding doors swoosh open then footsteps against the cold stone floor, echoing through out the long hall. That sound sent experiments scrambling up shrinking away from the bars praying and hoping that it wasn't them, they wanted. "Ronnie..." A voice whimpered out sounding scared from below her bunk, in one smooth motion Ronnie's bare feet hit the cold stone floor silently and she peered down at the bottom bunk to see the little blond seven year old huddled in the corner bottom lip trembling clear blue eyes filled with fear. Crawling onto the bed she scooped the little boy into her arms and held into him tightly "Shhh it's alright" She said softly smoothing back his hair, while he pressed himself more into her chest clinging to her. Listening to the footsteps as they came closer Ronnie held into the boy tighter, she was gonna put up a hell of a fight if they were going to take Alex. Shadows came into view and Ronnie held her breath, heart slamming in her chest, Alex whimpered trying to press himself deeper into her body. "Shhh.." She whispered kissing the top of his head, a snarl came onto her face when the first of the white coats came into view, but the snarl turned into a frown when she saw that there was some new people with the scientists, short chubby pale looking men in dark suits with briefcases in their hands, and a scared look on their faces like one of 'us' was going to jump at them in any given moment...Yeah as if..She rolled her eyes at them watching them stop at Matt's cell. What was going on? Holding onto Alex Ronnie scooted forward on the bed too see better. Green eyes scanned Matt's cell, she didn't see him but she knew he was there Matt was like a chameleon, could blend into his surroundings if he was still enough. Alex let out a soft squeak when one of the scientists slammed something against the bars "It's alright" She whispered kissing the top of his head and watching as Matt came into view. The chubby men didn't fit in with the tall, cold eyed peppered hair scientists with their scared looks and pale skin. One of the white coats started telling them about Matt like he was selling a car or something, jaw set Ronnie listened watching silently, she wanted to add something but she knew better, especially when mindless guards where standing right there. The Russian heavy accents were getting pretty funny thou and it was getting harder for Ronnie to not laugh but then Matt cut in looking at them and she snorted back a laugh only to jump with Alex when the shrill whistle sounded three times, the scientists seemed annoyed at the whistle and offered to have Matt come with them, Ronnie's stomach tightened but one of the Russian men told him they didn't need that, and they all walked off. Alex peered watching them leave still clinging too Ronnie but when the doors swooshed closed and all the cell doors opened Alex slowly let go of her and moved off the bed, the fear gone from his blue eyes. Others were already starting to file out of their cells out into the courtyard. Ronnie slid off the bed watching Alex smiling again wanting to go outside "Come on Ron!" He said happily grabbing her hand and pulling, it always amazing Ronnie how fast Alex snapped back when anything scary happened, then again it was a blessing for the little boy. "Oh Im gonna see if Sierra wants to play!" He let go of her hand and ran too the other cell his sandy colored wings loosely against his back as well "Sierra! Sierra! Wanna play?" He asked excited blue eyes shining. Ronnie watching him go with a gently smile on her lips, she wondered how the white coats could do that? Take little children and put them through all that pain? Ronnie herself was sporting a fat lip and a bruised cheek from the other day, wild curly hair in a single braid down her back stray curls around her face a smear of dirt half covering the long scar that went down her cheek. Walking out she looked over at Tyler and nodded with a soft 'Hey' before looking over at Matt and Cat "So their selling us like used cars, thats new" She looked over for Alex finding him with Sierra and relaxed a little more before looking back at the others, she was 'friends' with, tucked curls behind her ear and rolled back her shoulders keeping a eye on Alex and Sierra.

Word Count-866

[• Echo]

DayDreamer's post

A flinch coursed through her body. Her lips pulled back in a low growl. Another flinch, the welts against her black fur stood out like blood on snow. Sophia's tail swept across the ground, back and forth, back and forth. Her mind blank, except for the thought of her jaws closing around the people who had done this. Who had struck her, with the cold black whips, the long metal sticks. They had made her shift again in front of them, and Sophia always made quite a show, never doing what they wanted of her. Making it difficult for them, but this always resulted in hours of lashing. Why bother? Why not just do everything they tell her. Well, that might not be as much fun now, would it? The sound of heavy boots entered the aisle, and her ears pricked. She knew they weren't coming for her, they had just finished with her earlier today. She would be left alone for the time being. Although she was still curious as to what was going on. She pulled herself up, to sit. Some of the cuts opening when she moved, letting new blood flow down her pelt. She ignored it though, instead she started to walk over to the bars, looking down the aisle, seeing the white lab coats. A growl arose in her throat.


She couldn't help herself, once they started to pass her cell. She lashed out at the bars, sticking one giant paw out, claws outstretched. She snarled loudly, and the scientists jumped back swearing under their breath. Sophia pulled her paw back, and roared again loudly. She noticed that there were the business men with brief cases in front of her, she wondered what they were doing here? Maybe they were starting to sell them off. They stopped in front of her cell, but payed no attention to her, instead to Matt who was in front of her own cell. She pulled her lips back, showing her white glistening teeth. She wouldn't be turning back to her human form in some time, and that was sure to piss the scientists off. Hey, whatever you can do for some fun around here isn't bad.


She listened to the conversation they scientist and the men with the brief cases were having. She started howling after she wanted to hear what they were saying. Her long tail flicking from side to side in frustration. She really felt like an animal behind the bars, her claws scarring the metal under her. Her entire cell was covered in scratch marks from when she got angry. She honestly didn't care what happened to Matt, she just wanted to cause some chaos, and feel the warm blood of the scientists in her jaws. Oh, how she longed to get her revenge for what they had done to her. She barely remembered anything from the past. Anything from her childhood felt like something from another life, and it was.


Tyler sat on the bed in his own cell. Staring at the ceiling. He had another dream last night. He was laughing, actually laughing in it. Him as a young child, with big freckles and sparkling eyes. He sighed, that was all he could remembered, and he knew something was blocking his conscience from reaching in and grabbing his own memories from it. He sighed as he heard growling from the cell beside him, and he grabbed a pillow and covered his face with it. He really could do without Sophia's constant snarling, but he couldn't blame her. Not for what they did to her, she was usually always covered in scars and welts. He shuddered just thinking about the screams he had once heard coming from her. She wasn't pleasant at all though, and he liked her better in animal form, when she couldn't talk.


He instantly felt bad for thinking such a thing, he then heard the footsteps of the scientists and watched them go up to Matt's cell. He wondered, what they were talking, who were those men there? Maybe this was their chance to get out. He couldn't help but think of that. Fat chance. Oh well, dreams were all he had here. The only fun he ever had was playing with weapons in an arena, killing people, if you could call that fun. Every time they made him do that, He felt something more of him drift away. Shuddering just thinking about it, he removed the pillow from his face and sat up listening. He liked Matt, he talked a lot of freedom. He also didn't take much bull shit. Then again, he was one of the inmates that got the most trouble from the scientists, well almost as much as Sophia after she almost ripped an arm of a scientist when they got too close. Now that was funny.


He really didn't care for the conversation that much and he heard the loud shrill of the bell coming from the aisle. He stretched, glad to be able to get out and walk around a little bit. As he stretched he hit his head on the ceiling. "Damn..." he muttered to himself. Why did they have to make him so massive. He grumbled under his breath as he watched the scientists go, and waited for his cell door to open. Once it did, he walked out and saw one of the younger inmates run past him, little Alex. He sighed, it was terrible seeing young people like him, but them having children here was sick. Absolutely sick, he liked to watch them. Make sure they were all right, maybe he use to have a younger sibling. He would never know. He looked up to Matt, "Quite a show," he said raising an eyebrow.


Sophia watched them leave, and once the bell rang she growled again, pacing back and forth in front of the cell. Once the cell door opened, she turned and started to walk slowly back to the corner of her cell. Lying down, the welts still stung, and she wanted to do nothing more than sleep. She let herself fall to the ground loudly, and watched the inmates leave their cells, her tail still twitching.

[• Echo]

Matt stood still after the scientists left, hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides. Slowly, ever so slowly, the others began to whisper amongst themselves, the sounds of hundreds of feet scuffling slowly against the ground as they moved their tired, nodoubtedly sore limbs. Some refused to move, staying right where they were, not having enough left in them to get up. Across from him, he could see Sophia, bleeding and in her cat form, walk to the back of her cell and lie down in the shadows. The things that he saw here, the things he heard, the screams, the pain, it all made him so angry. Now, every second, every moment of his life, he had to sit and listen to them, and feel them. Nothing the scientists did anymore compared to this; he would endure a thousand needles of acid poison, a thousand fights, anything they gave him, if it meant they would take this damn curse from him. Because he could feel everything they did to all the others; it radiated off of them like their body heat did, if not more so, in such a dank place like this. Their pain was his. Their depression was his. And never, never, did he get to feel joy. Well, perhaps a few times, when he sat close to Alex or Sierra. He enjoyed talking to them, just because he got to feel something other than pain come from them, though it nearly brought him to his knees when the scientists would dump the children onto their mats like they were a sack of dog food. It disgusted him.

Finally he moved, coming forward slowly, before stepping quickly through the opening in his cell, as though he were afraid it might come down on him if he stayed put too long, or perhaps something worse. On his left, Ronnie emerged, and Alex came running out, and a soft sigh escaped Matt's lips when he felt that brief flash of joy, excitement, fleet through his own body. How some of the children here could still be like this, he had yet to understand, but he was thankful for it. Alex almost always seemed to be surrounded with a bright orange glow, or some other warm color, and it was a nice change from the usual shades of gray Matt had become accustomed to seeing.

Tyler came out, and Matt's eyes met his. He managed to bring a dry, wiry smile to his lips when he saw him. "No matter what they may think, they don't own me," he stated with a shrug, stretching his arms out before him.

In the other cell, Sierra slowly lifted her head from Catie's shoulder as the door slid open. "Are they gone?" she whispered.

"Yes," Catie said softly. "They left us alone." Sierra was silent a moment before she answered, as though it were nothing,

"I thought they were going to come get me again." She sounded so nonchalant, like she had completely accepted the fact that she was going to be tortured, and Catie had to swallow a thick lump in her throat. Not knowing what she could possibly respond to that, she just sighed, pushed Sierra's long blonde hair back, and kissed her forehead softly. So far, they had left Sierra alone all day, and all day yesterday, so she knew it was just a matter of time. Normally when they let someone sit for a while, it was because they were preparing for something dreadful, something that would sap all of the patient's energy and health, so they needed them to be a little more energized than they normally would be.

Sierra slid off of her lap, tugging on her arm to get her going, and led her out of the cell, obviously happy to be able to get out.

"I want to fly," she declared, shifting her shoulders and standing up straighter, fixing Catie with one of her "old-soul" looks, as Catie had termed it; like Sierra, at age 12, had already seen everything, learned everything, and was now content with everything. Sometimes, that look froze Catie's inner veins. She hated seeing people so young with that look, but what could she possibly do about it? Nothing.

"Sierra!" At the sound of her voice, the young girl turned, a small, almost shy, smile lighting up her face when she saw Alex. He was younger than her by a couple years, but that made no difference to her.

"Yeah," she said. "Let's go outside." The scientists were never happy when they flew inside, for some reason.

The "patients" filed out into the big, gray, empty courtyard. Almost no wildlife grew; it was just a big, flat, sandy, open plain that the Hospital was placed on. Even the grass was a dull shade of a dead, brownish-gray color. A big, heavy-duted, electrocuted(sp?) net was in place overhead, keeping the flyers, the climbers, the fighters, from escaping. 'Everything always seems so hopeless,' Catie thought in despair to herself, her shoulders sinking.

"I hate this," Matt shook his head, standing beside Catie and Ronnie, gesturing angrily at the armed guards patrolling the "Wall of China", or a minature replica of it, which circled around the Hospital grounds, specifically the courtyard. "Does life mean nothing at all to them?" A few of the others lifted their heads up sharply to look at him. Not everyone felt the way he did; in fact, 80% of the inmates had resigned themselves to living here in agony, which only angered Matt more. That's all he ever was anymore; all he ever had been: Angry.

Word Count: 938 words.

[LoveOnHerArms]

Walking out of the cell Ronnie walked over to the others and let out a breath keeping a eye on Alex and listening to the others one hand shoved into her pants pocket. "Amen to that.." She said to Matt's comment about the white coats and Government not owning them. Ronnie had a life before this, this hell now called life. She had parents, a mom and a dad, she couldn't remember their names but she could remember their smiles, laughs and how they smelled. Her mom had smelled like fresh flowers, all bright and cheery, he dad had smelled kinda spicy with a hint of car oil and grease, oh how the 19 year old longed to smell that again, to hear her mom laugh or see her dad smile, those were the memories she clung to.
Alex raced into Sierra's cell and smiled brightly at her "Come on, lets go play!" He knew Sierra was older then he was by a couple years or more but that didn't matter to Alex, he had someone to play with and he could fly with Sierra, Ronnie didn't get mad if he flew with Sierra. Grabbing her hand he started running outside with her, his wings already starting to stretch out. Ronnie turned her head in time to watch them run outside and smiled faintly. Why? Why did the white coats have to do this to the little ones? Why couldn't they just let them live a normal life? A life with out experiments, needles, pain and knowing that they could die any day, having to push through the pain and keep moving. If Ronnie could she'd take Alex's place every time, and oh she tried every time they came for Alex, she put up a hell of a fight for them to take her instead, some days the white coat would get annoyed enough that they would take her, but other days she couldn't stop them. Shaking her head snapping out of it she walked outside with the others.

The 'pen' they were kept in didn't have anything really living besides them, the grass was never green in all the years Ronnie had been here ,she couldn't remember once when the grass had been green, it was a brown-grey color, death it looked like death. It was mostly just sand with walls around it that everyone called 'Wall of China' A net hovered over them a reminder that they couldn't even fly out of here. That was something that annoyed and got her angry, they give her freakin wings and she couldn't even fly to freedom, how messed up was that? Standing besides Matt she shook her head watching a guard "No life doesn't matter to them, to them we aren't life, were experiments nothing more, here to do what they want..." She trailed off and sucked in a breath "Not here..." She whined out before her bright green eyes got wide.
The curse Ronnie had was she could see the past, walk into a room and Ronnie could tell you what happened years ago, before the 'Hospital' Was built she could tel you what was going on, the courtyard was a horrible place, so much fighting so many dead so much pain. Normally Ronnie could control it, she would only see the past if she choose but there were times she couldn't stop it, now was one of them.
Taking a step back she swallowed hard as a scene in the past came to life in front of her, the worst part was, the past could see Ronnie, could touch her, some of the experiments from the past were just evil like all they knew what to do was destroy.
Body tense the girl watched as a werewolf looking man, someone that looked a lot like Matt and a guy , his eyes were black, a evil grin on his lips come at her. " I don't want trouble....." She took another step back bumping into someone from the 'now' It was a nightmare seeing both the past and the present at the same time. Yes Ronnie could fight and yes she was one of the best but the guys she was looking at now....She was terrified of the. With out warning the werewolf guy and Matt look alike lunged at her, she tried to jump out of the way but was a second to slow, getting a yelp from her "Stop! Just please stop!" She cried out, struggling to get free from the two guys, that were holding her arms keeping her in place, she had to have been a sight to everyone in the present, flaring around yelling and almost begging nothing to let her go. The black eyed man chuckled still grinning "Thats not gonna happen sweetheart" With that he punched her in the stomach and kidneys. All the air was forced out of Ronnie as she gave a silent cry and doubled over, she would have fallen on her knees if the other two hadn't been holding her up. Coughing painfully she looked over at Cat and Matt "K-Keep Alex..away" Was the order before another blow hit her in the stomach causing her to double over again before trying to straighten up and look at the guy in the eyes, green eyes blazing with anger, it was just pain, just a feeling something you could block out. "Get control.." She growled at herself trying to get control of the curse the white coats had given her. A fist hit her hard in the mouth, her head snapped back, grunting in pain Ronnie spat out the blood and looked at the man breathing hard and barley standing with out the others holding her up laughing "Im on control!" She rasped out the guy laughed, it was a sick evil laugh the kind that had all her hair standing on end and made her stomach twist.
Alex was having fun with Sierra playing and flying, keeping low because of the net but it was still great to fly, when he spotted Ronnie doubled over, he frowned "Ronnie!" He cried out flying over quickly and landing smoothly "Ronnie! Whats wrong?" He asked getting scared over her, he tried to get over to her but someone stopped him.
Ronnie looked over at Alex coming over and shook her head "Keep him away" She rasped out looking at Matt, Cat and Ty before bringing her gaze back to the past man "Im in control" She rasped out again blood dripping from her lip still almost doubled over, he laughed again this time kicking her in the chest and stomach. Ronnie couldn't even scream in pain as all the air left her lungs and the pain came over her. The other two guys let her go, Ronnie fell to the ground on hands and knees and squeezed her eyes closed. " Im in control not the past...Im in control!" It sounded like she was hissing out the words from the lack of air and the pain. Opening her eyes she looked around, seeing black spots but a faint smile came to her lips, the past was gone just people looking at her, some scared, unsure others just watched. The guards didn't even pay attention to her anymore when something like that happened, to them it was normal. Breathing hard Ronnie didn't move just spat out some more blood and groaned in pain as her lungs started to painfully work, ribs screaming in pain while her body threatened to black out on her. "Ronnie!" Alex kept yelling her name struggling to get free, she looked over at him and forced a faint smile onto her face " Im alright...Alex..it's alright" She rasped out still not moving from being on all fours in the sand, the tiny bits cutting into her hands but that was a relief from the pain she was feeling.
Closing her eyes again, her stomach rolled threatening to bring back the little food she had gotten at lunch. "I'll be ok, just give me a minuet " After a moment Ronnie opened her eyes and slowly pushed herself too her feet, the pain was great threatening to make her blackout or fall back into the ground in pain but she forced herself to stand and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand still breathing hard but she was standing on her own two feet. "For the record....were a whole lot nicer then the ones before us"

Word count-1419

[• Echo]

Running out into the courtyard, tilting her head back to look up at the cloudy sky, Sierra smiled. Even though there was a net surrounding them, and the sun was hidden behind the clouds, she still felt her spirits rising. This, for the short amount of time they were let out, was liberty for them all, and she hoped they never took it away. This freedom, though it never lasted long, was what she looked forward to every day. From the corner of her eye, she could see Alex rising up into the sky. Rolling back her shoulder blades, she slowly stretched out the long, downy white wings that her DNA had given her, stretching them out as far as they would go, though she was careful not to hit anyone. Jogging, she jumped up, pushing her wings down to create the draft she needed to get airborne, before she beat them rhythmically, up and down, to bring herself farther up into the restricted limit of the sky, following her younger friend.

Catie wasn't aware of what Ronnie was seeing until she doubled over beside her, as she had been watching Sierra and Alex fly around the courtyard, making the guards watch them warily. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was arguing with herself as to whether or not she should join them, but the thoughts were shortly interrupted. Sucking in a breath, she took a small step backwards to give Ronnie the room she needed to deal, but she wouldn't dream of actually walking away right now. Looking over at Matt, she saw the same look as her own mirrored on his face; the inability to decide whether or not he should reach out and help her.

Alex's panicked voice caught their attention, and Matt fought down the rising need to scratch at his ears and chest in an attempt to block out the voices and the emotions that were quickly overwhelming him. Catie's confusion; Ronnie's pain and desperation; Alex's panic. It was all too much at one time. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, wanting nothing more than to just run away from all of this, from all of them.

"Matt," Catie's surprisingly-calm voice broke through his thoughts, and he opened his eyes slightly to see her struggling to hold the young boy. Even though she was 19, she was small, and Alex was getting tall for his age. Gritting his teeth, Matt strode over to help, taking the younger boy from her arms, even though it was hard to get close to his 'screaming' emotions.

"Alex, calm down, she's got this." But he didn't listen too well, until Ronnie got up and Matt finally let him go so he could go to her. Hearing her comment, he snorted and rolled his eyes.

"That might only because we're the next generation of mutts. No one thinks there's any hope or reason anymore," he muttered spitefully, ignoring the irritated look Catie shot his way. 'It's true...' he couldn't help but think. 'Too true.' Before Catie could respond, the sounds of an occuring fight broke through the air, and her head whipped around to watch as one of the other experiments was ganged-up on.

Sierra found her way to Catie, wrapping her arms around her waist, and Catie pulled her in close. This was one of the few times Sierra could feel the emotions of the people around her; first Alex, for his panic. Then she had felt Ronnie's, when she had been standing next to her, and she thought she might have picked up on everything she had been seeing, as well. She wasn't used to these feelings; they were infrequent, and, when they happened, were normally strong and powerful emotions, powerful enough to actually affect her and make her entire body seem to itch from the inside out from the raw intensity and strange feeling.

Matt watched the experiments in disgust. Few were talking, just kinda kicking at the dirt or staring off into space. Did no one see what was right in front of them anymore? What good did it do, acting like this? Tilting his head back, he looked up at the guards. And they thought it was funny. Well, they probably wouldn't think so when he turned the dejected experiments back on them. And he was convinced that, eventually, before he left this place in a coffin, it would happen, and they'd be free.

Catie ran her fingers slowly through Sierra's hair, pulling her close, comforting her. Although Sierra was so much different than her, Catie was oddly protective of her, since she shared a cell with her, and heard her nightmares when she was asleep and knew her from the inside out. She had been in the Hospital when the doctors had created Sierra, and, when she was old enough to walk, they had thrown her in the cell with Catie. She was one of the few people Catie actually liked; though she could say that about most of the younger kids here, though some were very quickly becoming just as mean as the rest of them.






Word Count: 857 words.

[LoveOnHerArms]

Standing up Ronnie wiped the sand off her hands, spat into the sand again still breathing hard and fighting the urge to black out again. " Im ok Alex.." She told him, her voice still hoarse and breathless sounding. Alex tore out of Matt's arms and barlded himself into Ronnie, getting a grunt of pain from her but she held onto him and smiled "See? Im fine" She told him reassuringly smoothing back his hair still smiling down at him. Looking up at her Alex sighed nodding and let go of her, but still staid at her side, wings folded loosely against his back, eyes still holding a little of the fear in them.
Looking over at Matt Ronnie let out a breath pushing curls back and wiping some left over blood off her lip "Yes, but it's more then that....It's like thats all they knew how to do...thats all that was programed into their brains" Deep down that was one of Ronnie's fears, that she'd become a mindless killing thing, every fiber in her being fought against that tooth and nail, she refused to become one of 'them.' Letting out a breath she winced at the pain in her ribs, she was going to have some nasty bruises but they would heal, besides it's not like bruises was anything knew around here.
Alex staid at Ronnie's side looking around watching the others move around like mindless sheep, slowly he was smiling faintly again and the fear was gone from his eyes, the bright young boy was coming back, the one that wanted to make something blow up, his fingers twitched as he looked around, looking for something too use at a bomb.

Pushing back more curls out of her face Ronnie relaxed a little more watching the others and keeping a eye on the guards watching them, her eyes met one of them and her lips curled back into a silent snarl at him, green eyes hard and cold meeting his own eyes. He looked right back down at her, that only fueled her anger, shoulders rolled back she looked straight at him. If this was going to be a stare down Ronnie was going to win, finely the guard looked away when another one spoke to him. Ronnie smirked, her bottom lip already swelled up alone with her cheek, not that she cared. Letting out a breath she looked down at Alex seeing the look in his blue eyes and how his fingers twitch she shook her head "Don't even think about it Alex" She warned him "Go play, with out making anything blow up, we don't have much more time out here" She told him, pushing on his shoulder gently Alex sighed before looking at Sierra "Wanna go fly some more?" He asked a hopeful little smile on his face now.

Word Count-476

[Admin]

Sophia watched everyone leave to go the courtyard. She snarled under her breath, she didn't want anything to do with everyone out there. She was fine here on her own. Some of the blood from her coat had fallen to the metal floor, and she moved. The cuts had scabbed over and stopped bleeding. Should she turn back into a human? Or should she just stay like this. Changing might open up her scabs, she debated all of this in her head, before deciding she wanted some fresh air. She sighed as she stood up, she kept low to the ground, ears pricked and her body ready to bolt and attack if she saw one of the scientists. She wasn't afraid to jump them, like before. The punishment for before, when she almost ripped one of their arms off was a good couple hours of torture. For her, it was worth it.

Finally she got outside and straightened up slightly. Looking over all of the other inmates of the hospital. Some were talking, even laughing. She growled under her breath, and changed. Her bones cracked, and muscles changed. Her body became upright and paws grew into hands, and muzzle into a mouth with fangs. She stretched out a little bit, as she always felt sore after a change. Some scabs opened but they weren't bleeding anymore. Good. She flicked her tail, as she could never change out of that but she didn't mind it. She sat down near the edge of the building, watching the activities of the other experiments in front of her, taking deep breaths in. A guard started to move closer to her, and she snarled loudly in warning.


Tyler stood next to Matt, not talking too much. He sighed, he wished he could figure out how to escape. He would die trying, he knew that for a fact. He didn't know, if there were any other inmates ready to be killed or tortured for the freedom, well other than Matt. He lost himself in a daydream before he saw that Ronnie was doubled over, looking as if she was in a world of pain. "What...?" he started to say before taking a step towards her. He knew about her curse, everyone did. It was impossible to keep secrets around here. He knew he couldn't help her, but he still looked at her, worried. He saw Alex, freaking out. He saw Matt had already taken control of him so once Ronnie had calmed down, and gotten control of herself he walked over to her putting a hand on her shoulder. He didn't say anything, but the pain was still clear in her eyes. He looked at Matt with a sigh. "We have to something" he said almost to himself. He saw that Sophia had changed and he was slightly surprised, that was a quick change for her. Usually she stayed like that for a good week before going back into her somewhat human form. He knew he needed to stop worrying about everyone here, but he couldn't help it.

Word Count: 517

[• Echo]

( Sorry, I was having difficulty starting this one. )




Sierra stood close beside Catie, her arms around her waist, peeking out from behind her to look at Ronnie. Her head was starting to hurt, and all she wanted to do was curl up by herself and shut out the rest of them, of everything. Pulled out of her thoughts, she turned to look at Alex, blinking slowly. Her eyes flitted up to look into Catie's face, not having to ask the question before it was answered for her.

"Go," Catie told her, loosening her grip from around her back. "have fun."

"Come with me?" Sierra asked, grabbing hold of Catie's arms and swinging them back and forth. Catie smiled, a rarity to everyone else, though Sierra had seen it quite often. She was the only one, though.

"No, I'm going to stay here this time. But I'll watch you," she promised. Sierra's face fell for half a second, before she shrugged it off.

"Next time," she decided, as though she were somehow going to force Catie to go with her. Catie smiled, watching as Sierra detached herself from her and took off with the younger boy, the white wings she had been born with unfurling from her back as she pushed herself up into the sky.

Matt's and Catie's heads snapped up simultaneously at Tyler's comment. But, whereas Catie just looked on disapprovingly before choosing to ignore them in favor of watching the young girl who had just departed, Matt nodded slightly, unable to keep his heart from jumping up speeds.

"Yes, we do," he said, shaking his head slightly before gesturing at the general courtyard. "This has to be stopped." His eyes narrowed when he looked up at the guards patrolling the walkways above them, and a slight sneer lifted his lips, as though he were about to challenge them to a fight. The place was heavily guarded, but when it still came down to it, they were outnumbered greatly by the prisoners they kept there. It was just a matter of time, in Matt's opinion. But, like the Holocaust, the inmates had lost hope, and didn't see that if they worked together, they could push them back. Sure, they may lose some in the process, but what was that compared to freedom, to fighting back and working for your lives? It was nothing compared to that; they were just scared.

'Like Catie,' Matt thought suddenly, looking at the dark-haired girl, who was now playing with the ends of her braid, watching the sky where Sierra flew back and forth. He saw it in her, he could tell that she hated the place almost as much as he, that she wanted her freedom back, but she had lost the hope or will required to do it. Maybe he would start with her; her and Ronnie. They bordered his cell; if he could get them on his side, then they could spread it to the others. Eventually, though, it would happen. This he was sure of.

Turning to Tyler again, he looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. He was across the aisle from him. Maybe he could start helping him? He shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts.

"Tyler," he spoke, capturing the other man's attention again. He looked at him pointedly, making it obvious he would like to speak to him, though maybe not in front of the others, not just yet.





Word Count: 566 words. Not as long as I would have liked, but it will do.

[LoveOnHerArms]

Ronnie watched Alex run off with Sierra, his sandy wings unfolding before leaping into the sky with her. Letting out a breath she watched the little ones for a moment a wishful look on her face, Alex was still so young he knew what was going on but it didn't quite set into his mind, and Ronnie tried to shield him from everything that she could, he didn't deserve to live in fear and in pain all the time. Ronnie was used too it, the pain, the fear all of it she could handle it, Alex was still a child only seven what kind of life was it to be tested on night and day, live in a cell with barley enough food and water, sleeping on a crappy bed that could have doubled as a bed in the civil war. That wasn't a life.

Shaking her head Ronnie rubbed her forehead and looked up at Tyler as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and smiled small " Im fine Ty" She assured him too and let out a slow breath wincing a little from the sharp pain in her ribs and stomach. Lifting up her shirt she groaned seeing the bruises all ready forming on her skin, "Well thats attractive" Gently poking her stomach she sucked in a hiss before letting her shirt fall back down again. Nothing was broken, maybe just a cracked rib, she was just going to be sore for a couple days, that was nothing new to the girl.

She frowned hearing Tyler and looked back up at hi and at the others, Ronnie had to look up at everyone it seemed like, she was just eye level with Sierra and Alex was soon going to tower over her with the rest of them. Pushing curled out of her face she looked at the boys with a slight frown, she wanted out just as badly as the next person, she just wasn't sure if they could get out alive. She'd seen some escape attempts from the past, only a handful had she watched happen and it all ended horribly.
It they did manage to get free they would have to be quick about it.

"Matt..." She started softly not looking at him but around chewing on the inside of her cheek, a bad habit she started when she was little still living a normal life. "I've seen what happens when we try to get out....it's not pretty..." She shook her head, still not looking at him but every where else them the boys, the whoops from Alex got a faint soft smile from her as she tilted her head back and watched him. It wasn't herself she was worried about it was Alex and Sierra, if something happened too Alex, if he died Ronnie wasn't sure what she would do. But then again the chance to be free...


World Count-485

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