Lucia Alden's Story

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Fifteen minutes until the scientists came for her. She didn't like the experiments, but at least it was a chance to get out of her cramped little cell. She sat on the bed, hands folded over her lap, and concentrated on her breathing exercises. One of the scientists had told her that she could keep her anger under control by breathing in and out slowly. So far it wasn't working.

Finally she hopped off her bed and started pacing quickly. Her eyebrows pressed down hard on her eyes and her mouth was a hard, straight line. She gnashed her teeth together harshly. Lucia didn't like to be kept waiting. It was one of her pet peeves. When she got tired of pacing, she got down on the ground and started doing sit-ups. "One... two... three... four... five... six--"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Lucia was off the ground in a second, looking around in a wild panic. It took a moment for her to get her senses together, but when she did she realized what must have happened. She remembered the alarm going off once before a long time ago when one of the experiments had escaped. The scientists had tried to keep that information private, but Lucia had her ways (and her ears.) She pressed her face against the glass and looked out curiously. Three scientists ran down the hall, probably in the direction of where the escaped experiment had run. Lucia's eyes narrowed dangerously. Perhaps her dreams of escape weren't so unrealistic, after all.

Lucia turned away from the door and began pacing again. A strange and vague image came to mind just then: a small, gray tabby cat with white paws. Lucia stopped pacing and covered her face with her hands, trying to force herself to remember the details more clearly. The cat had always been kept inside. They didn't want it going outside for whatever reason. But one day it got out. Lucia remembered having a pet cat; now she knew that it had run away. She briefly wondered if it had ever gone back home, then started thinking about the current situation once more. How did experiments escape, anyway?

Darius sat in his cell reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the one hundred and second time. It was the only book they allowed him to keep and he almost knew by heart now, if he focused. His bed was very comfortable though and he often found himself sleeping rather than reading. Even then, he often spent his time doing pull ups on his door frame. His scientist had told him that exercising was important, and he enjoyed being muscular. He had just gotten to his favorite part in the book when a noise came over the speaker system. It was a really high frequency beeping noise, that was really very annoying. Darius got off of his bunk and went to the door with the very small window. Outside he saw scientists running back and forth, and he knew what had happened. One of us escaped he thought.

The second Darius thought that he got to the side of the door and went invisible. He didn't know why, but something in his gut just told him to do it, and seconds later he heard the hiss of his door opening. Two scientists walked in holding needles. Both had the special head gear on that allowed them to see Darius (the head gear had to be specially designed because heat and night vision couldn't pick him up) but neither of them looked at the door. Darius slowly took one of the scientists arm and quickly stabbed his needle into the other scientist's arm. The scientist that got stabbed immediately fell to the ground, unconscious. The other scientist turned his head and threw his fist in a wide arc at Darius's head. Darius took the blow and was knocked into the wall. He quickly recovered though, but his camouflage was turned off. The scientist came around for another blow, but Darius caught his arm and looked him in the eyes. "Look at my mark." he said. The scientist stopped moving suddenly. He even seemed to stop breathing. Darius then slowly walked around the man, making sure his face remained turned towards him, he then picked the second needle up, from where the scientist dropped it, and stabbed the scientist in the leg. He fell to the floor next to his associate.

Darius turned his camo back on and walked out his cell door. It was the first time he ever walked by himself, without guards. He walked down the hall and avoided the men running by in all white suits. Luckily none of them had head gear on. As he walked he passed three rooms, in one he saw a young girl dressed in white with her face pressed against the glass. He looked left and right and saw three guards go past. As they did he quickly snagged one of their key cards. He used it to open the door, and then he put it in his chest pocket. "You're free." he whispered and then he kept walking down the hall.

"You're free. The whisper seemed to have emitted from thin air. Lucia gaped at the open doorway in complete and utter shock. What had just happened? Who had just whispered? In a sort of bewildered daze, she took a cautious step out into the hallway. Her head jerked from left to right, searching for enemies, but she found none. Lucia was alone. A giddy feeling took hold and she started to giggle anxiously. Now or never, I suppose, she thought. Swallowing hard, she walked opposite the direction of all the guards and scientists. Every few moments or so, her head would twist frantically to glance behind her. Paranoid that someone was following her, Lucia quickened her pace into an almost run, afraid to make any sort of noise. Finally she reached a corner and paused. Sidling up against the wall, she peeked her head round the bend and held back a gasp. A little further down the hall was someone holding a baton. She nearly doubled back when she realized that it wasn't a guard; it was a boy, wearing white clothes similar to hers. With a sigh of relief, she contemplated him wondrously. Friend or foe? She started tiptoeing down the hall, silently following him and praying to God that he wouldn't look back.

He was obviously an alter like her. How had he gotten out? She knew for a fact now that there were at least four escaped alters as of now: the first one, the one who must have opened her door (she'd heard of alters who could turn invisible), she herself, and now this boy with the guard's baton. She wet her lips and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face. Did he know the way out? It certainly seemed as though he knew where he was going. Hopefully, she would get out of this place before one of the guards or scientists caught her. She was pretty sure that if she continued following this mysterious stranger, she would be okay.

Esme was still stuck against the glass, she saw many different guards and scientists running this way and that way, the word 'escape' was yelled many times and the looks on the other peoples faces very much amused her. She decided it was her time to have a little fun. She jumped back onto the floor at sat down bringing her knees up to her chest, she started to rock back and forth, then started screaming at the top of her lungs. The room echoed as she screamed, her eyes closed as she heard her door being unlocked. Sheopened them to see a small female scientist come in with a needle "Little one it will be okay I am going to give you something to relax" she heard the words from the woman, but she kept screaming until the woman was close enough. Her screaming abruptly stopped and she jumpedout at the woman, biting the womans arm, the needle.dropped. Esme quickly grabbed the needle and jabbed it into the womans arm, she watched as the woman fell to the ground into a deep sleep.

A slight grin formed at her lips she then ran out into the hall and started to climb up the wall to the ceiling. Quietly she made her way across the ceiling, she came to a doorway, looking both directions she decided to go right. A few guards were coming her way, she flattened herself out against the wall, they ran right under her, not even noticing the small child on the ceiling.As she kept going she noticed a girl a little bit older than her in the same white clothes she was wearing, Esme continued to follow the girl until she was right over the girls head, she looked ahead and noticed a boy, in white clothes, holding one of those things the guards always had. She wondered how many have escaped and she also wondered how they were going to get out.

"Psst" she whispered to the girl below her hoping she would get her attention, she then climbed over to the wall and then down to the ground. Walking over to the girl she knew she had to be careful on who to trust but the girl seemed to want the same thing as herself. As she was now next to the girl she reached out with her small hands and put her hand over the girls wrist gently. Esme looked up to the girl not saying a word, she knew she looked different especially with the white and black stripes on her skin and how tiny she was but it didn't matter to her, this is who she was. She then quickly let go of the girls wrist, she wasn't really sure what to do or where to go but she hoped she could follow this girl "come...with?" her voice was merely a whisper and it was very soft, she didn't know how to communicate well. The scientists tried everyday with different speech therapy but her brain just didn't hold onto it, they kept saying it was a flaw, that her brain had too much to process. Till now she didn't have need to talk, she always was quiet but she wanted to go with this girl.

Lucia jumped back with a shrill croak, catching herself just before she screamed. Her eyes traveled up and down the body of the tiny girl. What were those black stripes? It must have been a defect of the experiments. And with the halting way she talked... Lucia titled her head curiously at the little girl. She knew that some of the experiments were mixed with animal DNA; the scientists told Lucia that she was one of the first not to have her DNA spliced with another creature. With Lucia, they had wanted to purely edit the human's DNA, to see if they could rely on just that. It was why she still couldn't heal back broken bones and regenerate limbs. Other experiments who had their DNA combined with the star fish could in fact do just that.

Lucia worked her brain overtime to try and see what animal this girl was. She had lessons from the scientists weekly, so it's not like she was uneducated. A lion? Tiger? Zebra, perhaps? But the girl was also able to crawl on the ceiling and walls. Maybe she was mixed with multiple animals; that was particularly tricky to do, so sometimes experiments didn't come out quite perfect. Perhaps that's why this girl couldn't speak properly. A brain deficiency? "Um... sure," she whispered back skeptically. She wasn't sure if the girl would hold her back or not. "But we have to hurry."

She pushed forward and continued stalking the boy, a tiny frown settling over her lips. This girl had approached her... maybe it would be easier to escape if they were in a group. She pondered catching up to the boy, but she wasn't sure if she should or not. She wet her lips and turned to look at the girl. "I'm gonna go see if he wants to come with us." She quickened her pace and was shortly right behind the boy. Cautiously, Lucia reached forward a finger and tried to tap the boy, but a strange force shocked her and pushed her back. "Oh!" Still smarting from the tiny shock, she said carefully, "Er, hello?"

"Um, sure..but we have to hurry"

Esme gave the smallest smile and nodded then pointed to herself "Esme" she said as she told the older girl her name. She followed the older girl as they moved forward then they stopped and the older girl looked to her. "I'm gonna go see if he wants to come with us." Her eyes then went to the boy ahead of them and she nodded, she then climbed up the wall but she stopped as she saw some kind of map, it was one of those used for fire escapes, and it was taped against the wall. She studied it for a minute then continued to climb to the ceiling and followed the older girl over to the boy.

She was now above the head of the two older kids, then she dropped down to the ground and now was crouched down beside the girl. She tried to process how to tell them she knows a way out, she opened her mouth a couple times as if she was going to say something but then stopped herself. Words were flowing through her mind as was the picture of the map.

"Know...way out, I...umm...do" her words were a bit stammered as she spoke softly trying to process the things in her mind. She then looked up to the boy, and slightly slid herself behind the older girl. She heard footsteps and people running and knew they had to move soon or they would be caught and put back in the rooms, the cages. "Go.." she then pointed down a hallway to there left "We go" she said in sort of an ergent voice, then she reached up and took the older girls hand, her heart was beating fast and she wanted to run but she actually felt better being with others that were different like her.

Eric carried on down the long winding hallway, due to the lack of action his adrenaline supply had dwindled and he now felt weary, the weariness didn't demand sleep however, he and the other alters didn't require much after all; the weariness wanted him to sit down and plan out his next course of action, but he couldn't he was paranoid that if he stayed in one place a swarm of guards would be upon him and return him back to his cell. The prospect of going back to his cell wasn't freighting in fact Eric wouldn't at all mind this, as he had nothing to compare his life with, to him this was normal. The thing that kept him going though was the thought of being outside, it wasn't a maddening desperation to be free, but more of a natural curiosity that developed on its own, the glimpses of the outside seem so exotic when in comparison to this place, the more Eric saw of the outside the more curious he grew, he wanted to experience the outside himself rather than be confined here all his life.

Staring at the end of the hall, Eric paused for a moment his head cocked rhythmically to the side, at the end of the hallway there were two paths, left and right. Eric thought for a moment, although he had never seen the exit to this place before he had once seen the plans of the building when being escorted back to his cell, although Eric could recall the plans perfectly, he could not read them, they looked particularly confusing, and right now also he had no idea where he was, he figured that if somehow found out where he was, perhaps the map would suddenly make sense although he doubted it, it was at least a plan. Eric's eyes looked towards the end of the corridor as he saw several signs on nearby walls, his eyes focused on the words "Eastern wing, 1A" Eric had no idea what that meant, he scowled as he tried to make sense of the words, although he was a super-powered mutant he was no navigator and this only led him to frustration.

Eric felt something touch his skin, the most primal instinct quickly kicked in, in fact Eric himself had no control over this, Eric felt his nervous system light up as a electrical shock was issued from his body he yelped due to the shock and quickly spun around his baton raised in a defensive manner. As he turned he recoiled at the sight, it was a girl dressed in white clothes like him. An alter? He supposed so, it looked like she had also gotten a small shock from touching him "Er, hello?" the girl said carefully, Eric fumbled for a second still trying to catch up with the scenario at hand, all he managed was a weak but somewhat smooth "Hello" followed by a small arm wave. then he noticed another girl, a lot younger than the first but her body was also striped, a side effect of the experiments Eric supposed, drop down form the ceiling into a crouched position besides the girl, Eric stood still carefully examining the situation. From what he knew, these were escapees like him, it would make sense after all, but they also shared a common goal: getting out of here.

Eric turned facing the pair now, he wondered what exactly to say, he also noticed the small girl open her mouth several times as if to say something, although he knew he had nothing to fear from these two yet, he still felt anxious. "Know...way out, I...umm...do" the small girl stammered, Eric tilted his head his interest now focused on the small girl as she slid slightly behind the other girl, Eric could now hear footsteps along the floor, "Go.." the smaller girl motioned pointing towards the left direction of the hallway, "We go" the girl then reaffirmed, Eric was torn between going with total strangers or risking capture or something equally as bad. Eric then tried to take control of the situation, he looked at both of them passively "Okay, no time for pleasantries I guess. I'm assuming we're all trying to escape?" He asked rhetorically already knowing the answer, he then gestured towards where the new footsteps were coming from, "I'm also not eager to find out who's over there." Eric's gaze focused on the little girl for a second before shifting towards the left hallway, "I'm also assuming left is correct?" he asked indirectly, before cocking his left eyebrow.

"Know...way out, I...umm...do," the girl stuttered. Yep, definitely a brain deficiency, Lucia decided. Lucia had to angle her head a twinge more when the girl sidled behind her slightly. "Go," she said with a small frown, as if trying to work out what to say was an extreme challenge for her. "We go," she repeated again, more urgently this time. That was when Lucia heard the footsteps and her blood turned cold.

"Okay, no time for pleasantries I guess. I'm assuming we're all trying to escape? I'm also not eager to find out who's over there." He jerked his thumb in the direction of the sounds. "I'm also assuming left is correct?" His left eyebrow raised and he looked a little indifferent, but Lucia knew that he was probably just as nervous as they were. Unless, of course, experiments had prevented him from feeling fear. She'd heard of alters like that.

Lucia frowned anxiously. "Let's just go!" She spared a glance down at the little girl curiously. Could the girl run as fast as she could? She was fairly light, so it didn't seem like she would be heavy to carry. If that's what it had to come to, then so be it. She nearly reached forward to grab the boy then thought better of it when she remembered the shock she felt when she touched him. She'd been shocked before, and she knew from touching the boy that it wasn't natural. It must be part of his ability. She inclined her head to the left and then started running. In a moment, she knew that the girl's short little legs wouldn't be able to keep up. In one sweeping motion, she had the girl in her arms. Her eyebrows instantly shot up when she realized how light the girl really was; Lucia felt as though she weren't carrying anything! "You're really light, you know?" she remarked. She twisted her head to get a look behind her and then faced forward again. Her eyebrows furrowed. Eric was faster than her, and for some insane reason it bothered her immensely. She was used to getting comments about being abnormally fast, but this boy was even faster. Then she mentally reprimanded herself; what a thing to think about when she was running for her life!

"Okay, no time for pleasantries I guess. I'm assuming we're all trying to escape? I'm also not eager to find out who's over there." Esme heard the boy speak up and she nodded her head, hearing the footsteps getting closer. "I'm also assuming left is correct?" She nodded her head again and pointed to the direction of left."Lets go" she heard the girl say then they were running down the hall where she had directed.

Esme was a fast runner but she wasn't as fast as the older kids, she was trying to stay close but she was soon falling a little behind. She saw the girl look back at her and the next thing she knew she was being swung up into the arms of the girl. She heard the comment from the older girl but didn't respond, she wrapped her arms around the girls neck and looked forward. They were coming to the end of the hallway and she pointed to the right to tell them to go that way.

Darius calmly walked through the halls. People ran and scattered around him, but he effortlessly weaved through them. There was no need to hurry, these people couldn't see him. He wandered the halls, hoping to eventually find a door. As he went he thought about his plan. He remembered a book he had read a year ago, it had had a map in it. He had then started talking to the guards, he had found where they were through their stories. There was a small city, about 4 miles North of this secret base, and he could easily steal a ride while he was invisible. Once he was there...... well he supposed he'd improvise. But what about the now? he thought. As he went over the details he already knew, he realized that the other escapees could be useful to him. He knew that there were at least two more of them, and one was far too young to take care of herself. However........ He often didn't enjoy talking to people. Or really even being near them. He wasn't sure at this point, but he'd work it out in the end. Darius liked to play things by ear.

He finally found himself a door, and it surely was one that he liked. It was the armory. The walls were lined with guns, big ones, small ones, and even a couple he didn't recognize.. But Darius was on the move, and he didn't want to slow himself down. So he grabbed a holster and picked out a revolver, with a box of matching ammo to boot. With it holstered he kept moving through the armory, walked out the other door and into a room that was JAM packed with scientists. All sitting in front of monitors, trying to fix the problems that were now surely running all throughout the base. "There are eight missing now!" One of the scientists yelled out. Darius slowly moved around the room to the opposing door. He had gotten lucky that no one had seen the door open, as if by magic. But he wouldn't take that risk with the other door. He would wait until it opened and then sneak through.

When the door finally opened it was a man that walked through. When he did the room went dead quiet. Darius stood for a moment, and in that moment it was almost as if the man stared right at him. But then he slipped through the closing door and sprinted away. That man had creeped him out something fierce. He sprinted for, what seemed like, a very long time. Finally he came upon a solid metal door. He used the key card he still had, and unlocked it. As he did the sun blinded him for a second. Once that was gone he saw figures running off to his left. He looked both ways, saw nothing else, shrugged his shoulders, and ran after them. Not like he had anything better to do.

Naveen eyed the tall, fierce man before her then after allowing a slight hiss to escape, and her bright green eyes flashing in warning, she slipped through the vent, her hand tightly gripping the white haired woman's wrist again; trying not to lose track of the only person she had a connection with in this insane place.
Naveen made mental note of the others included in the in escape group, she honestly had no knowledge of anyone else besides the woman with the white hair.
Her eyes snapped back and forth searching for danger, before proceeding down the vent, she muttered her annoyance about the cold temperature of the vent and the slick surface. Despite this she made quick progress and with a little luck managed to made her way to a exiting vent that allowed her to see ground a trees. It nearly made her freeze in shock, before just about bolting out of the vent.
She froze as a few men scurried by before glancing back at the white haired woman and jerking her head to follow, they we talking about herself and the others. After waiting for a few horrifically long moments she began to frantically fight to get the vent cover off, but to no avail.
Panic made her heart hammer in her chest then with a surge of adrenaline she managed to kick the vent cover off and bolted from the vent towards the fence.
She heard the others following and maintained her grip on the white haired woman's wrist.

His fingers danced across the keyboard slowly as he tried to keep the systems from shutting them inside "come on.... there" he muttered to himself before running and sprinting off down the hall, it all seemed like some blur since he had escaped but he needed to get out of there now. He was running at a speed that everything seemed to pass by him in swirls of dark color, Randy's eyes caught all the movements of guard trying to get in a shot at him and felt the bullets wiz over his head as he moved quickly through the corridor and tried to back track his way through the massive building alarms started buzzing in his ears and it didn't feel good at all and the he heard shouts and voices coming from one hallway so he broke off and moved down another hallway looking for a way out of this nightmare, he moved quickly but stopped when he heard the sound of crying and then moved closer to the door and pushed it open.

Their sitting on the ground was a woman dressed like him crying over a dead body. He paused before moving closer to the woman a kneeling down beside her "it's...it's going to be alright..." then the woman’s cries started to turn into laughs "fine for me Randal but not for you" then she turned with a pistol drawn and fired... four rounds ripped into him at close range and pain shot through his body, he eyes narrowed and then the woman’s look of victory turned into a look of fear. All that was heard after that was a woman’s scream. Randy stumbled out of the room his head spinning as he moved down the hallway and back to the vent before shoving himself inside, the other that had escaped were long gone and he had to get out of here before the place went on to lock down he forced himself through the vent and out onto the cold grass his stomach aching with the pain of the bullets inside him, but pain never really bothered Randy and he kept going towards a storm drain before ripping of the covering and dropping down into the muck below his sneakers making impact with the mud below as he slowly moved down the tunnel to freedom. It was dark and cold down there and he really didn't know where he was before he came up to a grate near by the other he shoved his hand up against the grate and pushed until it came undone. "In here" he said flagging them over to the grate. (I put everyone because it seems we're all coming together)

Eric's head lolled back as he stared at the approaching noise of footsteps, a inane curiosity overcame him and for a mere second Eric wanted to investigate the noise further even though he knew they were probably reinforcements for the guards, ironically Eric hadn't seen much guards apart from the one he knocked unconscious of course, he wondered in a idle fashion if this was some sort of test; the scientists could be cruelly seeing how the alters would handle the situation while secretly they had the situation well in hand and could recapture or kill the disloyal experiments easily, this particular thought sent a shudder down Eric's spine he hated the thought of being played like a pawn. After a few moments of dwindling on this assumption Eric shook it off easily, regarding it as stupid and a whimsical stray thought which had somehow penetrated Eric's naturally pragmatic mind, not even the scientists here could plan something so elaborate; although Eric shook off the thought it had obviously disturbed him.

Eric snapped back into reality quickly, forcing his gaze away from the source of the noise and towards his two new supposed allies, he chewed the bottom of his lip before noticing the smaller striped girl nod answering his question, it seemed the way to go was: left. Eric gripped his baton tightly, as his other hand fiddled with the taser in his back pocket in anticipation of the moment. Eric thought just to be safe he should let out an electric charge to see if he could detect any other life forms apart from them, he closed his eyes before mumbling incoherently "Wait." just as he focused he felt a quick jolt, jolted him out of his light trance, "Let's just go!" the girl broke his concentration and something more primitive took over Eric's movement, instinct dictated that he should run along with the others. Eric turned quickly, looking at the small girl he wondered if she'd be able to keep up but the problem was instantly solved by the other girl sweeping her up in her arms: problem solved. Eric's eyes darted forward before quickly focusing on the left pathway, his legs began moving getting steadily faster.

Eric didn't realize at first how fast he was, he quickly sped ahead of the group with graceful stork-like leaps, it wasn't until he realized that he was ahead that he forced himself to slow down until he was only slightly ahead, Eric forced himself to slow his pace down until it was more considerable and he was running at a steady but still fast pace. While running something must have hit Eric, he wasn't sure but something sent a ripple throughout his body causing him to convulse slightly while running, but something equally bizarre happened it had triggered a electronic charge, Eric began to slow down considerably now; it wasn't until the realization hit him, he was having a seizure. Eric's eyes snapped shut as the electronic signals flashed inside his head, while running (limping as he had lost control over his left foot, which now was twitching randomly) he saw electronic signals come from something, but when he opened his eyes nothing was there except air, he shook his head quickly trying to disregard these thoughts, but he couldn't help but notice the shape of the electric signal looked human.

Eric tried his best to continue running, which as said was a halfhearted attempt at a limp, he pushed himself off the walls for support and now he was dawdling behind clutching his baton for dear life trying to steady his nerves. As they were coming to the end of the hallway the little girl pointed to the right while still being held in the other girl's arms. Eric forced himself to continue forward and had regained control of his other foot now, the worst of the seizure had passed; he considered himself very lucky that this seizure wasn't bad as the ones he usually got. Eric began slowly speeding up but was still shaking, as they approached the right the scene shook him vividly, their was a small vent which had been pried off or ripped Eric couldn't really tell. Eric slid to a halt breathing raggedly not from exhaustion but his seizure; it had exhausted him mentally trying to fight it. Eric looked at the vent, then quickly to another point of interest a window, it hadn't been smashed but that could easily have been rectified. Eric turned before announcing as quiet as he could, "What now?"

Doctor Elliot

"They're all getting out! What are you blundering idiots doing? I told you not to let them out!" roared Doctor Elliot as he paced to and fro angrily. He yanked violently at the ends of his dirty blonde hair causing it to look very disheveled. His beady black eyes fell menacingly on one of the scientists furiously typing something into a computer.

"What do you think you are doing? Typing things into a computer is not going to fix it! Go and get them. NOW!" To the scientist's horror Doctor Elliot tugged him up by the collar of his lab coat and nearly hurled the scrawny man in the direction of the exit.

"But, sir, what do you....I mean...." stammered the frightened man.

"I don't care what or how, but fix it. Fix it now!" There was something menacing and threatening in the doctor's voice which made the confused scientist scurry helplessly from the room. He was not prepared to face the wrath of Doctor Elliot and he felt sorry for anyone who would have to. The doctor turned to the rest of the scientists bustling chaotically around the room and continued to shout.

"Filing, computers, and phone calls are not going to fix this! I suggest you all get out there and round up the alters. If they aren't back here and in lock down within the hour you'll all wish you'd never gotten hired here. Get out of my sight!" It did not take long for the room to empty and for Elliot to be standing alone watching a tape of a group of alters disappear through an air vent...just like they had the last time.

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Violet

"Follow me!" ordered the girl with the injured arm as she dived into the air vent. Violet did not have to be told twice. She dropped the strip of cloth she'd been holding in her hand and squirmed into the air vent after the fiery haired woman. As they crawled desperately to freedom Violet clung to this woman. She was not sure why. They had no special bond. They did not even know each other's names, but for some reason she felt a connection to her and it was not one was was willing to break. No matter what happened after this Violet felt she could not go anywhere without this woman who was the reason she had a chance at freedom.

"What if they catch us?" she asked nervously as light began to reflect off the metal vent. Her heart began to slam against her ribs as if it wanted freedom as much as she did. Her body began pushing forward even more quickly as if the light was pulling her of its own accord. She was desperate to be free of the vent. It felt as if it was suffocating her. She knew she wouldn't be able to be in there for much longer. But she didn't have to be. Soon she tumbled ungracefully from the vent and onto the soft lawn of the institute. Ragged breaths ripped from her lungs as she lay for a second letting her eyes and ears adjust to the new environment.

It was not long before she sprung to her feet and glanced around warily. It was so....different. It was so bright and there were colors. Under her feet was the soft and springy grass that was greener than any green she'd ever seen before. She couldn't believe it. It was beautiful, but she did not have time to admire its beauty. She had to run. They had to escape. It was that moment she realized her hand was empty. She'd lost her grip on the red-headed woman. Her head whipped around wildly as she sought the woman. She found her not far away and ran to her side.

"Are you all right?" she asked urgently before glancing around to take a survey of the group she was with. There were more people now, and the man who had found them a way out was no longer anywhere she could see. She hoped he was all right. She hoped they'd all be all right....

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Pomona

A dove grey hat with a becoming blue bow made it's way unnoticed down the sidewalk, bobbing hurriedly toward the institute. Underneath the brim a pair of sharp hazel eyes glinted brightly as they caught on the group of scared and confused looking people standing on the lawn next to a dilapidated air duct. Unable to hold it back a small chuckle slipped merrily through the soft lips as she increased her pace. The fabric of her loose-fitting blue dress swooshed impressively around her calves as she moved. Slight frustration pulled the auburn brows of the woman together as she felt the fabric catch and tear on her rough skin. A sigh was emitted from her lips as she accepted the fact that the hem would be in tatters by the time she got back home. Another dress ruined.

But she pulled her mind from the dress as she neared the confused look of the group. Her rapid pace turned into a jog as she set her bare foot upon the meticulously manicured lawn. When she neared the group she gently touched the shoulder of the nearest person to her making her jump. The woman was tall and blonde and clung to the wrist of a woman with flaming red hair.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to help. How many were left inside?"

"Uh...I...I don't know. I don't know how many of us there were. They never let us see anybody," whispered the girl nervously as she met the eyes of the older woman.

"I'm Pomona. Don't worry. You'll be safe soon. Wait here my friend will be here to help you soon. I'm going inside. Don't leave this lawn!" she reiterated her reassurance before tugging down the brim of her hat to hide the state of her skin then hurried on, shooting into the air vent to get into the building. It was not long before she was standing in the building she had escaped from over fourteen years ago. It felt strange to be back, but she had to. If an escape was happening now then she would make sure as many people as possible would make it out. She slunk hurriedly and silently down the hall in search of other alters to free, but the place seemed to be empty. Behind each glass wall was an empty room.

Her heart began to fall as she moved on and still found no one else. The scientists must have come through and collected any of the alters who had not already escaped. She knew that they would now be under tight security. There would be no saving them now. She was about ready to turn back and find the alters she had left standing on the lawn when she heard a desperate shouting.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU INCOMPETENT SCHMUCKS!!....LET ME OUT!!!" With hope filling her once more Pomona raced down the hall to a wall of glass that was so cracked she couldn't see through it. A smile pulled at her lips as she fumbled with the computer to try and get the cell unlocked.

"Hold on! I'm here. I'm going to help you. I'm going to get you out of her. Just let me...." before she finished her sentence Pomona had managed to press so many buttons that the computer sparked and spluttered out. She was satisfied when a click caught her ears meaning the cell was unlocked. She figured even the building wasn't responding well to the break out which is why it was so easy for her to over stimulate the computer, but she wasn't asking questions. Instead she yanked open the door of the cell to find an angry young woman who looked desperate to be free.

"It's okay. You're going to get out of here. You just have to come with me. I'm Pomona. I'm like you. I'm an alter. Come on. We don't have time. They'll be back soon." Pomona gestured for the small woman to hurry out and follow her. She waited by the doorway for the woman to come out. As she waited she noticed the surprising amount of muscle packed onto the small frame, and Pomona knew it was because of the experimenting.

Naveen
She watched the fierce man dart off to the side and head his own way, in confusion. where was he going? at first she thought he might know where they could get out but paused when she realized that where ever he was going looked like a strange way to escape. Her grip never left the wrist of the white haired woman. The others seemed torn from her understanding as to who to follow. Then she took a sharp breath in at the sight of something amazing. To one side the woods seemed to come alive and spirit of the forest seemed to move towards her, all smiles and a grey dress with a bow and then to the left the water in the drainage area seemed to bubble and burst as something pale and awe inspiring arose from within it. A creature of water stepped up onto the shore and glimmered like a beacon of liquid fire.
The two woman spoke quickly and then separated. The "water spirit" moved towards them, pausing to notice the fierce man, frowned, and then gestured for them to wait where they were. Despite her urgings to run, she waited, her green eyes flicking over the others in anxiety.
Then before she knew it the "water spirit" had returned and was gesturing for them to follow, teasing the fierce man about being afraid of the water before wading out and then after she stumbled forward, the "water spirit" disappeared under the waves only the tip of one of her fins visible for them to follow.

Ren
She's came out of the water drainage area beside the Institute, with water rolling off her frame in waves and dripping like stardust.
She rose out of the water like a ghost, her pale skin and the trailing fins and spines that looked reminiscent of a queen's train, made her a spectacle to behold. Her eyes were a red-orange and glinted like a fire in the midst of snow. The thin layers of a white and tan wrappings around her bust and the almost loin-cloth-like layered skirt drew very little attention compared to the huge fins and long lethal nails her body bore.
When she spoke her voice was like mist over the water and her body moved in a seductive manner with her fins twitching as if wanting to burst open. She spoke breifly to the dryad-like woman that had arrived with her and then watched her dart away towards the building.
Her eyes snapped back and forth scanning the group of Alters then flicked towards a grated area and cocked her head to the side in a combination of frustration and curiosity.
Her attention moved back momentarily to the group before speaking.
"Wait here, I will return" she whispered before turning and running towards the sound of commotion, her fins tightly clamped to her body to allow her to run faster.
She dropped down beside the dark stranger and grabbed his attention by flaring her fins dramatically.
"You are going the wrong way," she hissed, "that way is the maze, you will never get free that way."
She paused boring her red-orange gaze into his and forcing him to make eye contact with her.
"Follow me, or they will catch you and they will punish you most severely," she hissed, trailing a hand along his arm before tugging him away from where he was going, "I know where to go."
She then turned and lead him back towards the area where she had met up with the others, and then darting towards the water she paused to look at the dark stranger with a smirk.
"What? Are you afraid of water?" she laughed softly, before wading into the murky waves.
She waited only long enough to make sure he and the others were following before diving deep and leading them away from the Institute.

As they got outside Esme blinked and shielded her eyes from the sun. She was standing now but quickly she took the older girls hand, now that she was out she was afraid, never having been out of the institue before, but she tried not to show that she was afraid. Looking around she saw a few other alters but they looked much older than her, one of the alters had long white hair, it reminded her of snow, then another one had bright red hair that reminded her of fire, snow and fire was what she decided she call them.

Out of the blue she saw two..well she wasn't sure what to call them, but she wasn't sure if they where to be trusted or not. Looking up to the older girl she slightly tugged on the girls arm and pointed at the two woman that came towardsthem "trust?" she asked wondering if they where to trust them.

One of the woman she saw headed back into the institue and the water one left but came back heading for the water, she saw that a couple of the other alters were following the water lady. "Follow?" she whispered to the older girl holding her hand and looked to the boy that was with them then she walked a few steps closer to the water but stopped, biting her lip she looked behind her.

Doctor Elliot

"Do you realize what you've let happen?" boomed Doctor Elliot as he snatched up a scientist by his shirt collar and shook him violently.

"I...uh, sir, I do know...an-and am quite aware of the dire circumsta...."

"Those creatures that YOU just let escape are the beginnings of super soldiers. We have been working on them to prepare for the coming and inevitable war. They will be essential for the survival of this country, but because of you our secret is leaked. Not only will the government shut us down, but now we will have other countries finding out about what we have created and coming afer them. You cannot even begin to imagine the seriousness of this situation..." Elliot interrupted, but before he could finish shouting at the other scientist his eyes strayed to one of the security camera screens to his left. Another alter was breaking out of the building-the little cat one with all the muscle. She'd been proving very interesting and promising, but now she was getting free just like numbers 24, 56, 12, 89, 30, 67,43, and 76, but she was not alone. She had someone with her. He could tell it was not one of the escaping alters because she wore a dress.....but then he saw a glimpse of her hand and he froze.

"Replay that!" he barked at the scientist whom he'd abandoned shaking. For fear he'd be harmed again the scientist quickly leapt forward to replay the scene. Elliot watched with wide eyes, not blinking once.

"Again," he ordered, and it was played again....He recognized that hand.

"Hello number 1," he breathed wickedly as he paused the tape just where he could see her hand...her hand of bark.


Pomona

"Jade. Now lets get the heck out of here," the young woman introduced herself in a hurry, and Pomona couldn't help but smile at the humor she could already sense in her.

"Nice to meet you, Jane, and I think you've got the right idea. The exit is just down this way. Stay close to me, and be as quiet as you can." She gripped the hand Jade held out to her then began gently tugging her down the hallway. Together they flitted from hall to hall and around numerous corners until the vent was in sight once more.

"It's just down this vent. Let's hurry before any scientists show up. It's been too quiet since I got in here. It makes me nervous," as she said this Pomona peeked up at the camera nearest from under the brim of her hat warily. She wondered if she and Jade were being watched...She wondered if they would recognize her. The hat hid her hair, and the dress hid most of her skin save for her neck, hands, and ankles. She gave a small shudder as the place began to induce the surfacing of old memories. That wasn't something she could deal with, so she tugged Jade down the vent with her. Soon, but not as fast as Pomona would have like she and Jade tumbled out onto the safety of the institute lawn. All the alters were still there standing at the edge of the lake where she was sure Ren had dived to lead the alters home.

"Ren, not everyone can swim!" muttered Pomona with an exasperated shake of her head before directing a small line to Jade, "You can follow me through the woods if you like, or you can swim to safety with Ren. She's over there." She pointed to where the alters were gathered around the water. As she led Jade toward the rest of the group she peeked over her shoulder to see a plethora of guards and scientists spilling from all the exits of the institute. Her heart began to race, but she did not show her nervousness on her face. Instead, she replaced her vacant expression with determination. She broke into a run hoping Jade would follow suit and hurtled toward the other alters.

"Okay, everyone, looks like our time is up. We have to go now. Anyone who can swim go with Ren and anyone who can't or would prefer not to come with me through the woods. We are going to take you somewhere safe. If we hurry we can get out of here before anyone is in any danger of getting hurt." She shouted loud enough for all the alters to hear, but not loud enough for the scientists and guards who were now in hot pursuit of them to hear. She let her eyes fall on each alter mentally counting their number, so she could make sure when they reached home that no one was left behind. Her brows furrowed when her leafy eyes fell on the smallest of the bunch-a little girl with patches of tiger stripes. She was clinging to the hand of an older girl.

"I want you to come with me," she said gently to the child once she had skidded to a stop before the group.


Violet

Without a word of instruction the woman of water and fins disappeared into the cool waves before them. In confusion Violet looked around at the alters around her wondering whether they were supposed to follow the example of the strange woman or not. She was scared and had no idea if she could be trusted, but Violet couldn't see what choice she had. Cautiously she stepped forward, her hand still clasped around that of the red-haired woman, and surveyed the water. It didn't appear to be too deep, but she wasn't sure where it led. She didn't get a chance to further investigate the answer; for, an authoritative shout came from behind her. Her long neck whipped around sending her white hair splaying gracefully around her face until she could see the source of the noise. It was the woman from before who had asked her if there was anyone left inside.

"Okay, everyone, looks like our time is up. We have to go now. Anyone who can swim go with Ren and anyone who can't or would prefer not to come with me through the woods. We are going to take you somewhere safe. If we hurry we can get out of here before anyone is in any danger of getting hurt." were the words spewing from the woman's lips. Immediately Violet jerked forward to obey orders. She charged forward into the water until she was propelling herself toward the bobbing fin of the fish-woman, who she now knew was called Ren.

She stopped suddenly to check and see if the woman with the flaming hair was following her. She would go with the other woman if her friend could not swim. They would not be separated.

Randy looked down at himself, soaking wet from head to toe and was bleeding, great now he just looked jetlagged. He stood up looking around all the sights and sounds around him were new and some what unusual to him, his head twisting and turning to all the diffrent noises around him, he was free. He stood up looking around like some wild animal before standing straight up and burshing himself off before getting up and and bracing himself against the tree, the less pain he showed the better.

It had been a while since they had escaped and he could hear his stomach rumbling, hey even a killer has to eat. He looked around a somewhat wild expression on his face before contiuing lookning around at the group of diffrent faces, each one could be a enemy or a friend. It was like a game of chess to him, the man in charge of the facility would send guards after them and test them before bringing out his big guns. He looked over back at the place looming in the distance, this wasn't over by a longshot. He sat back and waited knowing that there would something coming for them, the voices were coming back and he needed to appease them, he needed to make a kill.

Randy then proceeded to lay down in he grass staring up at the sky his vision was blurry and his head was spinning, to... much...blood loss. Randy quickly tied the cloth around his waist tighter before standing up again. "What do we do now, since you know the way out, were are we going and who are you?" he said turning to Ren and the silently waiting for an anwser.

Esme was lost in her own little world when she heard ""I want you to come with me," looking up she saw a woman that had plant like feautres looking at her, she had a feeling the woman was talking to her. Looking up to the older girl holding her hand then looking at the plant lady she bit her lip whispering "trust...you?" Slowly letting go of the other girls hand as she mumbled a few things to herself before walking over to the plant lady and looking up to her, trying to look afraid but it wasn't really working out for her. Looking behind her she saw the guards moving toward them and she shuddered "go..we..go..go" she stuttered out in a soft voice, reaching out for the plant ladies hand but recoiling back to herself not sure what to do.

As the little girl's fingers slipped out of Lucia's hands, she couldn't help but exhale quietly. She couldn't handle being responsible for someone else besides herself, and the way the little girl clung to her made her feel as though she absolutely had to protect her. Lucia wasn't cold; she just wasn't ready to deal with that. Besides, the older woman seemed as though she could handle the situation with ease. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she assessed the other Alters. I didn't realize there were so many of us, she thought with a pang. That's just... awful.

She began drifting towards the other woman subconsciously. Lucia wasn't a bad swimmer, but she hated how restricted the water made her movements feel. How slow and incapable. She felt much more secure when she was running, and especially through the woods where there was a lot of cover. "Think I'll go through the woods," she muttered quietly, glancing around at the others. Not like they would care, anyway. Or would they? Lucia wasn't sure; she had never had much interaction with the other Alters before. Most of her socializing was done with the scientists, so obviously her conversational skills weren't up to par for someone her age. But Lucia couldn't necessarily be blamed for that, could she?