- 21 -

                                    

                                          
I don't know when I stopped running. One second, I was, and the next, I was holding my cramped side, limping on burning legs. I wished I had the fluids from the facility. One tiny dose and this would all be cleared up in seconds, but I'm left walking on the side of some abandoned road. I step in a rut where the blacktop has been broken, leaving small pebbles that my foot slips on. I curse when I nearly trip. It's not like there's anybody out here to hear me anyway.
                          
I skipped meals frequently at the facility, so hunger is nothing new, but aside from the single piece of toast I had this morning — this one, innocent morning — I've had nothing to eat. I almost miss the bland, tasteless rice at the facility, but I push those thoughts out of my head quickly. I'm not going back there, even if it means starving to death out here. For all I know, Isabelle and the other mutants might be doing the same thing.
                          
Fuck, I just want a clean pair of sweatpants and the raspberries Jason had promised me.
                          
It's getting darker out, and with the night comes cold. I must have walked twenty miles. My feet ache, and my twisted ankle from a few days ago is acting up again, and although my headache has mostly cleared up, the lack of nutrients making my ears pound. I keep hearing phantom gunshots far off in the distance, which leave me wondering if I'm imagining things or if something big is happening that I'm missing. I suppose it doesn't matter. My conscience weighs heavy with how terribly, terribly alone I am.
                          
Bumps race up my arm and I shiver, wrapping my arms around my body to generate some sort of warmth. It doesn't help. I tilt my head to the sky, but trees and clouds obscure my view of the stars. My collar presses against my throat, and unconsciously, my fingers reach up to poke at it, prying off loose pieces of metal and tossing them into the bushes. A green wire comes loose and falls into my palm.
                          
I almost miss the bland, tasteless rice at the facility, but I push those thoughts out of my head quickly. I'm not going back there, even if it means starving to death out here..
                          
The ground starts to shake, almost imperceptibly, beneath my feet. I hesitate. A low rumble sounds in the distance, slowly getting louder. I clench my jaw before darting into the bushes on the side of the road, ducking behind a tree and pressing my back against the rough bark. Sirens sound from the distance that remind me too much of the facility, and I shift so they can't see me on their path down the road. I screw my eyes shut as they pass, the wails of their alarms and flashing lights doing nothing to help the pain in my head. Vehicles, certainly, small cars, but I don't see any Dynagenesis logo embossed on the side.
                          
Once they've passed, I step back out into the road, watching them leave. They were speeding much faster than the few other regular cars I've seen pass. Most slow down, see my blank eyes, and speed off, frightened. I don't blame them, though I'd rather drive than walk to the next building. They're few and far between here, but I don't know how much longer I can push forward for as my legs slowly get heavier underneath me.
                          
I hear another car far off in the distance just as I continue walking. No sirens accompany it so I stay on the path, trudging along miserably, although there is another sound I can't identify. It gets closer and closer, bathing my surroundings with blinding white light. It hurts my eyes. Music pumps out of the vehicle, which makes me think of the stimulus tests I was forced to do at the facility, so I keep my head down.
                          
The car pulls up next to me, idling to match my walking speed. Heavy beats that make the ground shake pour out through open windows, the words barely discernible above the cacophony. I keep my gaze focused on the mud flecks on my boots as I reach out with my ability. I've avoided using it completely up until this point, but for now, my own safety overshadows my personal guilt. There's only one driver, and this time, I do glance up.