It was a beautiful harvest moon out. A bright beautiful sky filled with tiny stars. Oh the stars were everywhere! There was a very light dusting of snow on the ground, the thick branches of the evergreen trees caught most of the snow, only dropping it now and again. This would have been a great night to just lie out and find all of the constellations. But tonight was not going to be easy.

Sirens screamed in the underground lab, making Kate's ears ring to the point of pain. "God damn humans," she hissed as she sprinted down the narrow white hallway. She wore nothing but a white smock that fell to just above her knees, her furry back and tail totally exposed from the loosening ties on the back. Folding her ears down to her furry scalp, Kate tried to ignore the excruciating shriek of the sirens and make her way to the exit.

BANG!

Kate ducked and glared back at the terrified guard who was dumb enough to take a shot at her. Kate! Don't! Pushing Kat's words aside Kate rushed the guard and before the man could even scream Kate sliced his throat wide open and with her powerful legs drove her knee into his chest with enough force to shatter his rib cage and drive his ribs into his lungs.

"The bastared shot at me Kat, what did you want me to do?" Kate hissed. Without waiting for an answer Kate pulled the man’s security card off the clip on his shirt. Her claws and the fur on her left hand were coated in fresh layer of blood from the guard. Most of her smock and both claws and forearms were covered in drying blood from the scientists who tried to move her from her cage only minutes ago.

Glancing around her once more, Kate stood and continued running down the hall. Swiping the card by the large metal door on the right Kate entered and looked around the room. She spotted a white box on the wall with a blinking red light and text on the black screen that said “Locked”. Fumbling for the guards swipe card, Kate swiped the card again and with a soft beep, the red light turned green and the words changed to “Open?”. Then the black screen changed to a bright white showing a layout of the room and each of the cages. Each box read “Locked” over it and was red. Her bright yellow eyes scanned over the screen then she began to tap the screen on each of the red squares. As she did they turned green and read “Open”. After each tap there was a hiss as the metal containers in the room began to pop open releasing other Creatures to create confusion. "Stop her!" Kate swore to herself and before she could let out any more Creatures and ran out of the room, leaving the door wide open as she continued her mad dash down the hall.

"Run and don't look back!" she yelled out to the others without looking at who she had let free. Running, Kate saw two blood-hounds walk into the hall, the large deformed dog-men roared at her. There red eyes dilating from the strong smell of blood.

Kate... Kate what are you doing? You've never fought them befo- before Kat could finish Kate launched herself at the closer of the two beasts. Baring her fangs at it and driving her claws into its chest laying it open. The beast roared in pain and threw her off. Twisting in the air Kate landed on her clawed feet which were currently more like paws. Her tail snapped from side to side to help her keep balance before she launched herself at the injured blood-hound again. Before the mutt knew what hit him she raked her claws down its face over its eyes nose and mouth, bringing it to its knees.

Kate, run. They guards are coming with more guns.

"I hear you Kat. I know but this mutt had to go." Ducking under the grasp of the other hound Kate made a b-line for the locked door ahead. Swiping the card, the door popped and hissed. Then the key pad beeped.

3. 6. 4. 8. 0. 1. Kat said, remember watching that guard punch in the code before. Kate punched it in quickly and the doors opened. Looking up the long set of stairs, Kate ran, going four steps at a time. Preparing herself, she threw her shoulder into the heavy door in front of her and with a sound of grinding metal, it came open into the night sky. Cold, but nicely lit due to the moon, Kate took off.

What about the others?!

"If they're meant to survive they'll keep up Kat. That's all I can do for them."

The sirens ringing throughout the lab echoed through Ivan Esaulov's head, reverberating around in his mind, paining the lumbering giant of a man. His face was drawn in a beast-like snarl, baring sharpened, elongated teeth, and he slowly made his way down the hall, walking with a significant slouch that seemed to cut off a good two inches of his actual height. His black, glinting eyes remained ever vigilant, just waiting for more humans to appear--for more humans to destroy. He needed to kill right now--he could feel the adrenaline boiling in him right now, and it needed to be released. Preferably through the slaughter of his captors. The one lab scientist whom he had killed in order to secure his escape was not enough. He needed more. He was in no hurry to leave--he didn't want to leave, not until everyone here was dead. Thinking about what came after that could wait until...well, after that.

His footsteps pounded and rang down the hall as Ivan turned the corner of the corridor into another one--revealing two guards armed with rifles, their backs turned to the man; behind them, a metal door. As he approached, however, they heard his lumbering footsteps, and swept around, aiming their weapons up. One of them managed to get a shot off, and Ivan felt the bullet plunge into his solid stomach--but it was literally only a flesh wound, unable to penetrate any farther, and it fell to the ground with a light, metallic clink. The two guards realised their weapons were useless--this one required a very specific method to take down.

Of course, by the time they realised this, it was far too late for them. The bullet had done little more than piss off Ivan, who bared his teeth in a snarl to the two men before he grabbed them both by the throat, holding them up in the air. They struggled there fruitlessly, their rifles clattering to the ground from their hands, before brutally vaulting one of them at the end of the corridor, where he smashed into the door headfirst and then sank to the ground without another move, leaving a trail of blood against the metal of the door. Then he turned his attention to the other guard, whose eyes widened with fear. His other hand now free, Ivan used it to grab hold of the man's left arm, and gave it a ruthless wrench; there was a loud, gunshot-like snapping noise, and the guard cried out in pain, his left arm now useless and broken. Ivan did the same to his right arm, and the man's scream of pain echoed through the halls.

"Just kill me now," he struggled to say.

"Gladly," Ivan growled, but then logic's tiny little voice forced its way into the haze of blood and adrenaline that was Ivan's mind at the moment; the man turned his eyes to the keypad next to the door. He walked forward, his hand still gripping the helpless guard by the throat, and glared at the keypad before looking back at the man. "What is the password?"

"Why the hell....should...I tell you....anything?" the man sputtered, coughing up blood. Feeling rage boil back up in him at the man's refusal to talk, Ivan slammed him into the wall, and he distinctly felt several ribs in the guard's body break. "Tell me the goddamn password!" Ivan roared at him.

"Alright! Alright!" the man yelled frantically. "It's 2,3,2,6,9,0!"

Ivan pounded the code into the keypad, and the door groaned open. "Excellent," Ivan growled, and without further thought, savagely drove the guard headfirst into the steel floor and walked onwards, leaving a less than pretty scene. He glanced back, and gave a small, mirthless smile, feeling the anger and adrenaline begin to abate with the violence he had caused. This is just what I've been waiting all these years to do...

It was a perfect day amidst the field and flowers. The trees that dusted the endless prairie gently rolled in the wind, as if tickling the skies themselves. Rosaline herself danced among the various flowers. A yellow tulip, a red rose, a blue violet were all just a blur to the dancing fairy. Every step she took, a flower shuddered under her beauty. She even had small wildflowers tied into her light red hair. She was laughing, laughing harder than she could ever remember doing before. It was all perfect. Just so... Perfect.

Then a screech pierced the perfect scene. It was a periodical screech, happening every two or three seconds. Her dancing and laugh stopped midstride and she whipped her head around, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Nothing, there was nothing in the field that could make the noise. The sound seemed to have shattered the serene calm. The wind blew the trees wickedly, as if to tear them from their roots. The grass whipped under the strength of the gusts. The grip of fear wracked her little form. She closed her eyes. This had to be a dream. It just had to be... Then she opened her eyes.

... And she was awake. She jerked up in her bunk, sleep still tugging at the corners of her eyes. She began to noticed things, very slowly at first. The first and foremost was the ungodly siren. That would explain how she heard in her dreams. She began to rub her eyes to try and rid the rest of the sleep from them. The next thing was the sounds of scrambling outside the room. Apparently, someone had escaped. Good for them, she thought happy someone had enough nerve to try and escape the forsaken facility. What she wouldn't have give for the chance to escape herself- "Wait..." She said, jerking her small head towards the mouth of the cage... The door was... Open?

She didn't hesitate a second longer. She hopped out of her bunk, landed on a book and immediately launched herself out of the cage door and into the air. The air beneath her petite winds felt simply amazing. Nothing like it had been in her dreams, this was real. Rosaline couldn't help but laugh. She was finally free! She was now her own master! She celebrated by flying a little loop and dancing in the air.

It wouldn't be that easy though. She stopped midflight and looked to the exit. A red flashing light above the exit indicated the metal portal sliding down to block her escape. She gasped then furrowed her small brow. "No, not free yet," She muttered to herself as her miniscule butterfly wings began to beat furiously, "But I will be. I will!" She swore as her small body flew under the encroaching portal. Then she was in the hall, the siren still blaring in her mind. Right... She had never been this far by herself before. It was always in the cold grip of a heartless scientist... Heading down the left hall... Towards the experimentation room.

Instead, she flew right, gaining height so as to be out of reach of anyone who tried to impede her progress. Rosaline would not go back to the cage easily, she would evade, she would dodge, and she will escape. Following the hall, she came upon a man in a white lab coat. A scientist. The man looked confused. Until he saw Rosaline near the ceiling. Her silver her must have gave her away as the scientist jumped and tried to grab the fairy. She beat her wings all that harder and managed to slip just out of the scientist's grasp. Instead she dropped height and slipped under the man's lab coat and darted down the hall, trying to put distance between her and the man.

After Rosaline had taken a couple twists and turns at a number of junctions, she was sure she had lost her pursuer. She hovered in mid-air, looking behind her, proud of herself for evading the scientist. The clumsy giant would never catch her she thought, then she turned around and came upon a gruesome sight. The smell struck her first, the smell of death. The man was dead, there was no doubt about it. And his blood. His blood was everywhere! The fairy averted her eyes, but couldn't help but retch. She had to get out of there! Now!

She closed her eyes and her wings carried her away from the horrendous sight. Despite her eyes being closed, she knew she was still surrounded by death. She could smell it. She never dared to open her eyes, or risk the sight of an even more gruesomely slain man. She just didn't think she could take it. When she did open her eyes for a moment, she saw an open door...

Freedom!?

Z opened his eyes for the first time in several days.

Why did he awake? God he hated living. Life was simply.... chaotic. Why did he always have to awake? Being awake truly was
such a drag. So much motion, so much activity. Would he never be left alone? Even from himself? Death was not an option,
certainly, yet, still.... it was a most enticing one.

More importantly was the question at hand. What was so important to his body that it felt he needed to come from his
slumber? Did it not understand his necessity of being quiet, of simple nirvana? The state that he had just achieved was the
greatest he could muster in the longest while, and yet, it had to be interrupted. Why?

He looked at the trays of food that had been stacking up by the door of his cell. Was he hungry? Was it his damnable need for
sustenance that brought him back to this wretched world? It didn't matter, he certainly did not feel hungry, let alone wish for
any of it. His sensory deprivation had minimized his need for food to only once per week, and his week was not yet up. What
was the matter then?

His eyes drifted further up and noticed that his cell door was unlocked. That was odd.

-Not that it mattered, it was simply another curiosity that plagued his life. Why must everything have been a curiosity? Why
did everything have to be interesting? Could nothing simply be? Did everything have to justify its own existence? What was
the point? The only reason would be for one's own reasons.

There was absolutely no reason to justify one's own existence thought Z. Existence simply was, and all one could do was simply
to be. There was no reason, only fact.

Then suddenly, after this millisecond long thought process went through his head, his sensory organs came operating into
overdrive, as if to make up for the lost time.

BAM!

Z flinched as his eyes were pelted by a bright red light, while his ears were pounded with the wail of a siren.

Could the security protocol be any quieter? Was it necessary for someone to be alerted this heavily? Only one who was deaf could
possibly have a chance of ignoring that. This was disquieting. Very much so, in the least.

Z shook his head in a very calm manner. It was the only way he could take away the sensory overdose pain without creating
enough chaos to make the procedure cost-ineffective.

Nope... Not freedom. Just another forsaken room!

Rosaline was about to fly backwards and out of the room to continue to hunt for the exit (It had to be around somewhere, right?) when something caught the little fairy's attention. An open cell door. Looks like another subject escaped. Good for them, the fairy was glad that others had a chance at freedom. However... That cell didn't seem like the others. Food upon trays were piled up outside the cell, as if the inhabitant hadn't eaten for days. What kind of experiment was... Z-02-045? The number was scrawled above the cell door and brought back reminders of her own number running down the length of her back. She shuddered as she glided to the cell and stood perched on one of the cross bars.

She caught herself as she looked at the inhabitant of the cell. It was a man. He had a gray skin tone and Rosaline immediately thought the man was dead. She quickly averted her eyes again, not wishing to lay witness upon the dead man. Unlike the scientists and guards she had passed on the way there, this man was an experiment, just like her. She felt a pang of loss for the man, a kindred spirit who would understand the torture the scientists put them through. What had happened to him? Did he starve? That would explain the trays of food. She felt pity on Z-02-045. She stole one last glance at the poor unfortunate soul...

Just as the poor unfortunate soul shook his head calmly. Rosaline let out a yelp of surprise, and grabbed her mouth with both petite hands. She could have sworn the man was dead! Why was he moving? With deathly pale skin like that, how could he even be alive? That's when she began to notice the man's shallow breathing and the man's dark and distant eyes. Well, now that she knew the man was alive that brought other questions to mind. Like why was he still there and not trying to escape like she was?

She gently lifted off of the cross bar and into the cell, just hovering over the slow moving man. He was a... Enigma to say the least. But now wasn't the time to ponder upon the intricacies of the man. Now was the time to get the hell out of dodge! The siren rang loud and clear in her ears and she looked back to the door she had entered in. If she left now, maybe she could make her way out of the forsaken facility... Then she looked back to the man. And experiment, just like her. She couldn't just leave him like that, even if he was ten-times her size.

She looked one last time at the exit sighed. There were bound to be doors on the way to the exit... It's not like she had the strength to open them herself. She stepped off of the cross-bar and hovered in the air. She hoped the man would listen and not swat at her. She didn't have the time it would take to heal those injuries. She then zipped to the man's ear and hovered. There, she spoke gingerly to avoid upsetting the man, "Come on! We've got to get out of here!" She said, and then she began to tug on his ear towards the door, "Come on! I need your help to open the doors! Please!" She said with tears in her voice. There had to be a door that led to the outside, and she couldn't open it by herself. She was too small and weak to operate a handle or push a door open. For all she knew, this man was her only way to freedom. And there he was, just lying on in his cell...

"Please! We're so close!" She said, choking back the last of her tears.

As Z watched the red light flutter across the wall, he began to meditate on the motion. There was a steady order to the constant screech
of the siren, and the light was constantly moving in the same motion over and over and over again. There was order even in the most
chaotic of places, after all. Z could find solace in that.

Just as he was beginning to enjoy himself however, an anomaly occurred in the light. Some pesky thing was flying around. He did not
bother to follow the creature with his eyes. It would be too much effort, and, for what? He could still observe it with his peripheral vision
were there a necessity, so why turn?

He slowed his breathing and steadied it to the pace of the siren. If only he lowered his hearing a bit, the siren would not be so irritating. He
did so, and he reached a state of slow meditation.

Alas! Yet again was he disturbed. Something was buzzing and squeaking in his right ear. It pulled at it, not hard enough to be painful, yet
enough so that it was noticeable. Z hated when something was noticeable. Why did everything have to be noticeable? Could not one simply
accept his fate? Bah! The fools that the world came up with! This would simply not do.

Z sighed. It was useless. Today simply wasn't meant to be calm, he could see that. He had a terrible urge to simply swat the thing away,
but he thought better of it. What was the point? It would only consume more energy, and he was sure that the thing would simply come
back.

There was only one choice. He would ignore the pest's constant nagging; hopefully, it would cease. If not, it was tiny, and could easily be
crushed.

 Hachiro sighed as he gazed around the small room he was in. It was nicer than the cages most of the other experiments were in, but such an abode wouldn't have done for him; if his walls had consisted of metal bars like the others', Hachiro easily could have escaped. Nevertheless, the room was tiny, only about eight feet on each side, with bland, whitewashed walls and a white tile floor. Harsh fluorescent lights light the small space, turning the white room into an almost blinding environment. There were no windows to his personal prison, and the only door was heavily locked by just about every kind of electronic device you could imagine. In one corner, a small, cot-like bed stood, also blanketed in white, and in the other was a small bookcase with a few volumes on its dusty shelves. Other than that, the room was empty, as it should be; after all, it was a cell, not a hotel room.

Hachiro looked up as the door on the opposite wall opened slowly. A white coated figure stepped in his large glasses mercilessly reflecting the light from the overhead bulbs at Hachiro, forcing the boy to squint in order not to be blinded. "The good doctor is back for some more tests I see," Hachiro stated coldly, pushing himself up to sit on the edge of the bed as the scientist approached him. "I hope it won't cost me an arm and a leg, like last time."

The man chuckled in response, although not at all in a friendly manner. "No, we have enough data regarding your regenerative abilities," he replied, making a small note on his clipboard. "We just need some blood samples today." As if to prove his point, the scientist reached into one of the deep pockets of his lab coat and brought out a small hypodermic needle. "If you'd kindly cooperate..."

Hachiro knew better than to fight. Although he could easily manage to knock out, or even kill the scientist, what good would it do him? His room, like all the others, was carefully watched, and if he attacked an employee, they'd only send down reinforcements, most likely armed with tasers or tranquilizers, to subdue him. Hachiro silently stuck out his arm as a signal for the scientist to start his work. One day I'll make it out of this hell hole, he thought as the white coated man began to draw his blood. One day I'll be free,and they'll be sorry they ever made me like this.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Both Hachiro and the scientist jumped as the warning siren blared on, its hideous banshee shrieks foretelling of a major security breach.  The older man, in his confusion, dropped the needle, its glass body shattering on contact with the cold tile floor. "Well, Doc," Hachiro said, withdrawing his arm as the scientist bent down to pick up the jagged shards that littered the floor around them, "looks like it's lights out." 

"Wha-" the man started, looking up in time to see Hachiro's crooked smile.  Before another sound could emit from the man's throat, Hachiro's right arm snapped forward and, as if it were made of rubber, wrapped around the scientist's neck, choking him.  Within a few minutes, the man was unconscious, and Hachiro let him go, snapping his arm back in place.  After grabbing the man's lab coat and ID, he quietly left the room, shutting the heavy steel door behind him.

Out in the hallway, it was hell on earth.  The entire corridor was a writhing mass of bodies, a duel between the escaping experiments and the guards trying to keep them put.  Donning the long white coat he had stolen from the scientist, Hachiro fluidly moved down the hall, sidestepping a punch here, ducking a taser there.  Over the ruckus, he could barely hare a few of the guards shouting at each other:

"Hey, he's too young to be a scientist.  Is he an escapee?"

"Yeah, I've seen him before!  Hey you stop!"

Shit.

Hachiro dashed down the hall, now pushing other people out of his way in his rush to escape.  Spotting a door on his left, the young man swiped the card in the electronic lock.  The LED blinked green, and Hachiro rushed inside, slamming the door shut behind him.  

"Hey, he went in there!  Can you open it?"

"No, I don't have the clearance.  You?"

"Nada.  I guess we'll have to knock the door down."

Hachiro glanced around the room in panic, quickly realizing that he had run into a dead end.  It seemed to be some sort of lab; possibly where the scientists mixed up new genetic concoctions to inject into test subjects.

Hachiro was running out of time; the guards had almost broken through the hinges on the door and he was still in plain sight.  He needed somewhere to hide, or ,better yet, an escape route.  Looking around once more, he quickly found it: the fume hood.

The fume hood was used for experiments where noxious gasses were given off, so it had to lead outside, right?  Hachiro could only hope so as he opened the thick glass door and began climbing up the large metal shaft above him.  It was a tight fit, but thanks to his cephalopod DNA,  the space was manageable.  Being sure to press himself against the sides of the shaft as not to slip back down, Hachiro slowly inched upwards at a snails pace, towards the surface.

After what seemed like hours (at least to him), Hachiro reached some sort of vent.  Maneuvering one of his arms up over his head, Hachiro pushed firmly at the metal bars, quickly dislodging them from the frame.  In another few minutes, the experiment was out, gasping for air.  After brushing some unknown chemical soot off his coat and hospital-esque gown (hopefully it wasn't too toxic), Hachiro stood up straight and gazed around at his surroundings.  He seemed to be somewhere deep in the mountains, far from civilization and mankind.  A light dusting of snow covered the ground, and the stars twinkled brightly in the sky.  Although the scene was breathtaking, Hachiro was brought crashing back to reality as a cold gust of wind chilled him to the bone.  It would be best to fond some shelter, and fast.

Aylen stirred, her eyes blinking open and dilating from the light that filtered in. Noise floated just out of reach of her mind and she felt her body flex, getting used to the feel of waking up. Her blurry vision rolled over the cage she was in. Small, metal and cold. Always so cold. She shivered. The usual sound of water wasn't there reverberating in the back of her mind. She sucked in harshly cold air, feeling her ears give a pop, before everything came to in a horrible clear focus. She screeched as her hands scrambled to cover her furry ears, almost squeezing them just to block out the siren. Siren? What is going on? Her gaze flicked to the open door and she gasped. Freedom. I can go now but that smell! Her nose twitched and she shut her eyes tight. Copper and metallic. Blood. So much blood. Screams. A frightened squeak left her lips as she slowly rose from where she had lain on the metal floor. For so many days, just laying there endlessly delving in what remained of her memories. She uncovered her ears and scooted forward to peek out of the cage, her tail sweeping the floor behind her.

Chaos. Pure horror. The smell of fear. She blinked back tears as her gaze fell upon a guard who stood behind the door catching his breath. She could smell the medicine on him but his smell of fear was much worse. His ragged breath made it seem like he had been running away from something. A flashing light caught her attention and she watched it for a moment. 'Closed. Please take security measures.' Her mind came to an understanding. The path to freedom was covered in blood but she could make it without killing perhaps. Aylen slid out from the cage and let out a hiss, her tail raising and bristling with fake anger. The guard met her wide eyes and smiled."Come on. Let's go back inside your cage now. I hadn't even noticed. Let's go." His gentle voice sent a shiver up her spine as he approached, her pupils widening with adrenaline. No. Not now. Must get to freedom. No! She leapt forward bowling into the large man's chest. They both scrambled for control but she swept her claws over his face. He let out a horrid scream. "Stop! Stop it! Stop screaming! Open the door. Let me out. Now." She smelled the blood and watched as he covered his face, still making noises in agony. She let out another growl that was high-pitched and sort of rolled around in her throat like a pissed off domestic cat. However she was no cat, but a ferret had it's ways. The man took a shaky breath and she almost backed off but when he grabbed her tail meaning to yank her off him, red filled her vision. No one dared touch her tail no matter how scared she was! She reached out, claws stretched as she dug into his face and bit down on his shoulder. Blood filled her mouth and she tried to push it out, a soft bloody gurgle coming from her lips as the man struggled. "Open the door. Now!" She felt her claws rip into tender flesh and pierce something precious. The screams rang in her ears reminding her of her own screams.

Bright lights. Laughter. Voices. White cloaks. I hate them yet I can't escape. Please. Let me leave. I want to be free. The memory floated across her mind making her bite down harder before shifting to drag the agonized man towards the door, huffing and puffing out her nose. She let him go and he moaned softly, clenching his bloody face. "Now." He reached out feebly but she yanked his arm, bringing him closer to that pad that flashed. Red and green. Repeat. My freedom is green. By then she panted heavily. Why was he so heavy? "Now." The man felt around with his hand before touching the keypad. He dialed something in and her eyes followed the motions. Yes. Remember. More memories. That's right. The door gave a click and opened slowly but she was already rushing down the hall, past the men in white cloaks and other people. People like her that wanted green freedom.

Endless halls with white walls and no exit. So much crimson staining the floors. Coppery scent making me mad with rage. It burns inside me. Right? No, I need to get out. Focus. It's been so long. So very long, since when? I don't remember. It will come to me eventually. Like always. She sped down the hall dodging a broken body every now and then with her eyes narrowing to slits in her tiny face. She didn't want to see it but she had too. She had to memorize everything and get out. Aylen saw the side hall but ignored it seeing another door, the code rising her mind already. However, her world turned on it's axis and she gasped right before her breath left her in a rush. "What-?" The word was chopped off as pain blossomed in her shoulder, wet warmth floated over her furry skin. Screaming. Is that mine? The guard approached with his gun cocked at her leg. She heard the scream fade to be replaced with pitiful mewling sounds. Her vision crowded with gray edges and her throat felt raw. "We got one. Yeah. I'll do that. She looks to weak to do anything to me. Yes sir." The man spoke into the black box ignoring her state. Aylen felt cold hands touch her wrist, drag her up into a slumped position. Her eyes closed for seconds, she was sure. Aylen didn't know how long but when she opened them they met directly with the man's. His amber meeting her emerald green. There was a gasp from both parties before she moved on instinct. Time ticked by in frames. Her mouth with sharp fangs and very tiny little teeth on either side of those fangs, fit for a ferret being, moved towards his jugular. His hand which gripped her waist and wrist started to push her away right as her teeth sank in, making blood splatter the front of her body. His blood mixed with hers that dripped slowly from her shoulder. They dropped and she stayed there, shocked and frozen. The man smelled of death.

"No." The solid word split the air and suddenly she was blurring down the hall towards the door. She clicked a code in and it opened. Her body flung itself forward. She didn't know how much time passed as she avoided the guards, or how much more blood she ended up spilling. Blurring. Crimson. Pain in my shoulder. Constant moving. I'm tired. I want to sleep again with my memories but I hear the call. Where I belong, am I right? More codes. More blood spilling over my wrecked body. I thought I wouldn't kill but I was wrong. I am not the Aylen from before. I don't even remember who that was. Now I am me. And she is gone. One code and then glittering lights far above. Fresh crisp air on my thoroughly wet skin. "Yes." A smile made her lips split. Freedom. For now. I know what the word beautiful means now.

The man wasn't even hardly moving! What the hell was his problem!? Rosaline now was infuriated. For all she knew this man stood between her and her freedom, "You fool!" She barked into his ear, "You have a chance to escape! To leave all this behind and live on the outside! Why are you just sitting there like a rock!?" She yelped, projecting her voice despite her miniscule size. The fairy was inflamed and she yanked his ear all that much harder, "Get up! Get up, get up, get up! Do you want to be a prisoner forever?! Do you want them to win! Well they will if you don't move your ass!" The fairy cursed, pulling on the man's ear.

She didn't know why she was pushing so hard to get the man up. It couldn't be because she couldn't open doors by herself. Things like that could have been bypassed by a little ingenuity. An air vent, a crack under the door. At the worst, she could slide a tiny hand into a lock and undo the locking mechanism by hand. The only thing she had to fear was being caught, and they would need a butterfly net for that. She could hover near the ceiling, completely out of reach if she needed to... Why was she pushing the man?

Perhaps.. Perhaps it was because he was like her. An unwilling prisoner in a scientist's mad experiments. She knew little of what they did to others, only what they did to herself. The blood samples and the tests. Oh, all of the bloody tests. If her experiments were anything like the man's she didn't understand why he didn't get up and jump at the first chance of freedom. Why did he decide to just stay there and lay about when freedom is right out the door. Was it... Was it because of the experiments they done to him... Rosaline stopped yanking on the man's ear for a moment and looked at the man.

He still looked like death with only tiny details to testify that he was, in fact, alive. The rhythmic shallow breathing, the slow and meticulous movements, and his eyes. When she caught glimpses of his eyes, she shuddered. They could see, but what did they see? The orbs looked through anything and everything and seemed to stare into forever... Was this a result of the experiments. Rose hesitated and placed a tiny hand on his cheek. She stroked the man gently with her petite fingers, pitying him. "What did they do to you..." She said gently into his ear. "Whatever they did... They can't be allowed to keep you here. Come. We must escape. Escape these cages, escape the sirens... Escape the experiments," She shuddered at the mention of the horrible experiments.

Shaking her head, she flew to where his hand was and picked up his index finger, tugging. It was a gentle and not unfriendly tug.

"Please," She begged.

Ivan Esaulov's wicked, pointed smirk had widened now. He absolutely gloried in the death and carnage he had managed to cause so far--he was enjoying it immensely. It felt like every injection of adrenaline, every hour chained to the wall, every microt of rage and fury that had built up in him over the years was finally being let go. Ah, how wonderful it was! And strange, in a way. Every man Ivan killed seemed to put him more and more at ease--the more of them he killed, the less the raging fire of violence and destruction was burning within him. Not that it was stopping him from continuing to do so--no. He planned to kill every one of them. It was no longer a question of releasing the anger and the adrenaline. This whole facility was...it deserved to die. Everyone who worked here, everyone in charge, none of them deserved to live for what they had done here. To Ivan, and to all the others he had glimpsed on those few, rare moments when he had been taken out of the otherwise solitary imprisonment that was his life here.

The giant heard approaching footsteps, and smiled once more. "Excellent," he said, turning towards the two soldiers. "More humans to tear apa--" He stopped short as he realised the weapons they were aiming at him. They were not assault rifles. They were the guns that fired exactly the one thing that could stop Ivan with a single fire--epinephrine negators. Guns that fired special, syringe-tipped bullets that, if they made contact with Ivan at all, would inject a toxin into his body that would essentially shut down his adrenal glands, and cause his system, currently basically running off the chemical, to shut down.

That could not happen.

With a roar, the man charged forward at the two guards, no thoughts whatsoever in his mind but for Destroy. Now. The soldiers panicked and fired--one bullet whizzed past Ivan's head, while the other narrowly missed his arm. They didn't have a chance to get off a second shot as the considerable bulk of Ivan Esaulov collided with them, sending both men careening through the air and into the wall, where they both slumped down and were motionless--dead, unconscious, Ivan did not care. The realisation that they were now deploying the weapon they knew would take him down suddenly turned the function for logic and reasoning in his brain to 'on' mode, and the haze of blood that had previously filled his mind gave way to actual, logical thought. Now. Now I need to get out of here.

It took only a few moments of searching to find an exit--apparently he had made his way close enough during his mindless rampage through the facility. This time, looking for a way out, he encountered no guards--but still he heard the sounds of gunfire from within. They were deeper inside the labs, trying to prevent those still within from escaping. Leaving those far enough outside--namely, Ivan--open to escape.

He'd found an open door with an extensive series of steps, leading up to...light. The light of stars, visible through an open door. Someone had left it wide open, apparently. He wasn't about to question it, though. The lumbering giant threw himself towards the stairs, surging up the steps as quickly as he could, before he found himself suddenly in the open. A mountainside--cool air on his skin. It felt strangely nice...like it was cooling the flames of vengeance that remained within--subdued, yes, but never gone.

The adrenaline refused to cease, however--he was not safe yet. He kept on going into the night air, determined to get as far away from the facility as possible.

((bah, this is what happens when you leave for a few hours, return at midnight dead tired, and find nearly a dozen new posts...you get a distinctly crappy sort of post :/))

The little creature had not ceased it's pestering.

What did she care? Why would she try to bring him along in this pointless game? It was not as if she needed him.
No, there was another purpose behind this... thing. In fact, what was this creature fluttering before him? Now that
he had seen her more closely, he saw that she was some sort of.... butterfly thing. It was a tiny human, but with
small wings attached to its back.

And what a delicate creature. He delighted in the orderliness of her features. Such a peaceful being, why did she
have to cause so much chaos? It was bad enough with all of the screams he heard down the hall, but with her
constant nagging, he couldn't see the reasoning behind the contrast of the two givens.

What was she doing now? Oh, she was tugging at his finger, pleading with him in some way. Her little squeaks meant
nothing to him, and yet.... Perhaps if he answered her questions, she would leave.

"...escape the sirens... Escape the experiments...... Please,"

Escape the sirens? Yes, he would like that. They were too noisy.... Too much chaos with them around. But would
it be worth it? All that motion.... It would be....

And yet she was an orderly creature. He liked that about her, yes, she might be trustworthy. As soon as they left
the sirens however, his goal would be accomplished.

"Fine." He said in a minimal voice.

He stood up with surprising grace, especially for one who had not eaten in a few days. He reached for a piece of
bread that lay on the floor. With just enough bites to make it swallowable, he ate it. It would most likely be the
last thing he ate for a while.

The Earth outside was so soft compared to the hard concrete and tile floors of the lab. Kate had never felt the soft ground under her paws before. She had seen glimpses of it before, but never imagined it to be like this. Kate was standing only a hundred yards from the wide open door, the sirens screaming and a bright red light flashing from pit to hell. Kate’s eyes were shut and she took in a long deep breath and dug her clawed toes into the soft cold Earth. Now this is wonderful,” she whispered to herself.

Crack.

Kate’s bright eyes shot open and her ears turned to the noise coming from back and to the left of her. Narrowing her eyes Kate’s tail began to sway from side to side. That was when she heard the sickening grown of a blood-hound. It emerged from the trees, its red eyes glowing eerily from the shadows. Kate turned to face the hound, her ears going flat back against her head and her fur standing up. Baring her fangs at the man-dog. The beast returned the gesture then roared right before charging. Kate braced herself, then right when the hound would reach her, Kate kicked off the ground and flipped up and over the beast. The hound snapped and clawed at her only grazing her fur. She landed and without a paused, sprinted into the trees. She was moving faster then she thought she could. Her claws dug into the Earth, propelling her forward silently.

She heard the hound scrambling after her, crashing through the brush, roaring and howling. It was only a few seconds later when she heard other blood-hounds answer the howl from the distance.

Kate, we may be in trouble. Get into the trees. You have to be able to move faster than them up there.

Shut up Kat. Kate was weaving in and out of the trees at a blurring speed, but no matter how fast she ran, she could hear other blood-hounds closing in from all sides. Kate hissed as ideas raced through her mind, distracting her as she ran enough that she didn’t see the boy crawling… Out of a pipe?

Unable to stop, Kate ran right into the figure and went sprawling across the ground. Rolling twice, Kate got to all fours and dug her claws into the ground to stop her momentum. Kate hissed at the form and moved to strike when Kat screamed at her.

Stop! I know him! I’ve seen him around the lab. He’s like us. Just trying to escape.

[color=#000040] Kate stopped, her chest heaving from her run then sudden stop. Her green eyes locked on the form. I suggest you get up. Blood-hounds are coming in force.

Rosaline clapped cheerily for only a moment. Now they were getting somewhere. "Great! Now let's get out of here!" She said, letting go of the man's finger and flying a head of him. At the door, she peaked a tiny head out of the door way and checked the halls. Empty... Save for the smell of death. She dared not look the way she had came for more than a second, instead she pointed down the other way, "An exit has to be over there, it just has to be..." She said, a bit of panic evident in her voice. She wanted to get out of there. She wanted to leave. She had already used a lot of time to persuade the man to come with her. It wasn't wasted time, and she was glad he was with her... Even if he was quiet and deliberate.

She flew down the hall, not all that quickly despite her need to escape the facility. She didn't want to loose the man who looked like death. That's when they came upon a locked door. The door was normal and didn't have one of those keypads she seen attached to to many of them. The door handle was a simple thing something even she could twist. She flew up above the handle a ways and ceased her wings flapping, causing all of her weight to push into a the handle. It didn't budge. It was locked. She grunted in frustration, she didn't have time for this! She shot forward to where the lock was and jammed a hand in it, and began to fumble with the tumblers. Moments later, a click signified that the door was unlocked.

She tried to turn the handle again by dropping on it, and this time it gave away, opening the door and flinging her carelessly aside on the rebound. She caught herself in mid-air and flew through the now open door. She had to escape. They had to escape. Inside the door, there was a flight of stairs, which she paid no mind to and flew upwards.

On the upper landing, Rosaline came to another door. A thicker one without a doorknob she could jump on. She cursed under her breath and flew back and forth over the door as if pacing it. She then put her little shoulder on it and pushed. Nothing, not even a budge. She sighed. They were so close! Curse her size! If she wasn't so small, none of this would have been any trouble. She shrugged and flew back to the man, who she had hoped had followed, and landed gingerly on his shoulder where she rested.

"We're so close..." She said.

Hachiro looked around slowly, scanning his frigid surroundings for any sign of shelter, whether it be a cave, or a mountain cottage, or even an animal burrow to protect him from the elements. His searches showed no fruition; there was absolutely no place to hide in the surroundings. Hachiro had to admit, it was good strategic thinking on the scientists' part; if there was no shelter around the exit to the facility, it would be much easier for them to track down escapees. His only choice seemed to be to flee to the treetops, but that was probably even more dangerous than being on the ground. Hachiro had absolutely no experience travelling quickly through treetops, so attempting now would only make his recapture all the more easy.

Hachiro jumped as a soft hissing emerged from the dark forest around him. What was it, a snake? No, it was far too cold for snakes to be out in this weather. An African hissing cockroach? No, he wasn't in Africa, was he? Hachiro slowly turned around, soon coming face to face with, of all creatures, a cat. Or a girl. A cat girl, maybe? Yeah, that'd do it. She seemed to be startled, and as most cats do when they startled, she attacked. Hachiro instinctively fell back, curling himself into a small ball in anticipation for the painful blow. He waited and waited, but the attack never came.

I suggest you get up. Blood-hounds are coming in force.

Bloodhounds? Hachiro thought as he uncurled himself and stood up, brushing snow off his lab coat. They're those genetically engineered slaves the scientists use as hitmen, aren't they? Hachiro had never really encountered one; the scientists had never went so far as to let any on him. Instead, if they needed to coerce him, they simply removed limbs. After all, Hachiro recovered much better from losing limbs than the wounds the Dogman could induce.

"Well," he started, "they say that Bloodhounds are legendary for their keen noses. Let's see how well they do without them!" After taking a deep breath, Hachiro exhaled as hard as he could, a thick acrid smoke coming out of his mouth instead of air. The heavy black gas dispersed into the air, quickly becoming nearly invisible. "Don't breath through your nose, unless you want your olfactory sense knocked out for a few hours. Come on, that won't hold them for long."

Z did not like this at all. He was following a small critter who obviously did not know the way. This was inefficient, and most of all, chaotic.
Why did fate bring him to such a horrible existence? And why did this thing keep going on?

The answer was simple, and it came to Z in virtually no time. She had hope.

Hope. What a disgusting idea. Hope was a blind belief in the positive outcome a given situation. Z saw no use for it. Why hope at all?
Why not just exist? Hope led to disappointment, which lead to chaos. Could not one simply be? Why did this wretched world of sentients
father so many hopeful beings? It made absolutely no sense. Great God, what was the matter with all of these people? Did no one use logic?
Was all of life going to be a simple dream for these people? He did not know, and honestly, he did not care to find out.

With slow steps, compensated for by a long stride, Z managed to barely keep up with the butterfly-woman. They passed a door and several
steps. He was kind of glad that if he did have to move, that he had this little creature with him. It meant that he didn't have to do anything
that was not completely necessary, like scout ahead for any chaotic encounters, think about the future paths he would take, no, he just
followed. Most importantly, he did not need to open doors. The terrible action involved too much action, especially if the door was locked.

Speaking of which....

The little one stopped at a door it could not open. Z sighed as he took a look at the door. Most likely, it was locked, judging by the keycard
reader attached to the side. However, given the chaos, perhaps it was unlocked. In disorderly situations, these things were often overlooked
as another horrible consequence of chaos. What would he do? If it was unlocked, he need only to turn the handle, saving him much effort.
However, if it was locked, and he turned the handle, all of that effort would be lost to chaos. He would then have to break down the door,
an action he did not enjoy doing. Perhaps he should break down the door to be certain?

No, he would gamble. He hated gambling, it left too much to chance. Chance was chaotic and unpredictable, and he did not enjoy facing it.

He put his hand on the handle and applied some weight. It seemed to budge a little, but then made a snapping noise as the handle met the
locking mechanism.

"Sad." he commented. He usually would not even say this much, but he felt it necessary to make the creature understand that he did not
enjoy this in the least.

He put his other hand on the door, and with a slight push, it came off with its hinges. He didn't like this at all.

Ivan continued trudging onwards. Speed was by no means the giant man's forte, so at this point the best he was managing was really little more than a brisk jog. The mountain side's bleak, cold landscape had given way to towering firs. Looking up at them, the man, standing nearly 6'9, couldn't help but feel dwarfed, even if he could have flicked the tree in half if he really tried.

Yet for once, he didn't want to commit senseless violence. Now that the haze was gone, and Ivan could think clearly, he actually wanted to stop and look at them, and he did. In spite of the fact that he still wasn't really safe, not far enough from the facility to consider himself actually free, he stopped and looked around him, at the rows and rows of firs. Trees--I have not seen an actual tree in years. They were almost ghostly, an eerie sight, with a light covering of snow at their heads--or maybe that effect was just Ivan's own imagination.

The baying of hounds in the distance drove the man back to his senses. The hell am I doing sitting here admiring the fucking trees? he admonished himself, turning to continue his journey to...to wherever was far away from the facility. No, Ivan had no idea where he was or where he was going. At this point, anywhere that was out of reach of the bastards in the laboratories was good enough for Ivan. He didn't like running--he had enjoyed the few guards he had been able to kill and maim before they started bringing out the adrenaline negating bullets. As much as he had desired the slaughter of more, he didn't desire it enough to lose his one chance to get the hell out of there.

In the distance, the baying of the bloodhounds continued. They seemed to have caught onto the scent of another escapee, Ivan thought as he moved onwards. Good. He could care less if whoever was out there got taken down by the bloodhounds as long as they distracted the little bastards. The bloodhounds, he did not want to have to deal with. They were not the laboratory scientists, nor were they lab guards, and he had no grudge to bear against them--therefore, he derived none of the sadistic pleasure in their deaths that he had achieved in killing the humans who had oppressed him for so long. Not that he sympathised with the beasts--hell no. He wouldn't hesitate to tear one apart if it attacked him. But right now, he wasn't going to risk sacrificing his chance at freedom in exchange for the chance to kill a few of the half-man half-creature monsters.

As he moved onwards, however, he thought he noticed something strange in the air--a strange thickness. He inhaled thoughtlessly, and immediately exhaled again. What the hell? He coughed, feeling a disgusting, smoke-like gas cloud his nose. The clean mountain air was gone, replaced by the putrid stink that refused to leave his nose. "What is this shit?" he growled to himself, feeling himself grow angrier again as the acrid stench stuck on like an irritating bug.

Joseph's fingers stroked gently against the massive touch screen computer sitting in front of him. Cursing silently to himself as he continually tried to find the correct sequence he needed to correct a new error in a strand of DNA he had recently been studying. All he needed was that one key and he would open up a brand new doorway to a world never thought possible. The massive super computer hummed gently next to him as he stood up and walked over to another console. As he approached he said "Computer, open file C-C-P-R-S, Strand 22B." The computer chirped in reply, then after a moment said "Restricted file, please say confirmation code." Happy that his new security program worked so well he gladly gave the confirmation code "Moriarty-Alpha-2-4-1-5-9" A moment later a large three dimensional double helix sat in front of him, he slid his hands over it and spun it around looking at different sections. As he pulled it apart the image zoomed in and dissected what he was looking at giving him technical data right in front of his face. He patiently and methodically looked over the structure as if he were a caring father checking on a small child. That though made him chuckle, he Joseph Ort-Meyer having children... but that was most assuredly another story for another time. As the track changed over onto the next album Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 began and brought him back to his work. Flipping it around again he found an undiscovered region that turned out to be nothing more than another roadblock.

Just as he turned the strand over again the computer said "Mr. Ort-Meyer you have a new video message..." Joseph walked back over to the large monitor touched the screen and opened the secure internet web server. "Restricted Access please enter security information." The computer chirped. "Ort-Meyer, Joseph Alexander Security Clearance Code Eclipse-Daystar-Omega-3-Clearance level: 10" he said in reply. A progress bar appeared on the screen as it compared his voice pattern and security code to pre-programed ones. Another chirped confirmed that he was in fact who he said he was. He pressed his finger against the screen soon a slender man appeared on screen.

“Sir… there is a problem… there has been an escape…” the man said hesitantly.

“Escape! No one has ever successfully escaped Lab 13! Deploy the Blood-Hounds to check the mountain and surrounding area immediately. If these prisoners are not found I will send you and all of your staff to the research station in Siberia!” Joseph yelled at the man, slamming his hand on the sleek metal console.

“I will return immediately. Inform Director Marek of our breach in security so that he may deploy the necessary hunter teams. If you two don’t find these creatures it will be both of your heads!” Joseph said as he closed the chat line abruptly not allowing time for the man to respond.

Joseph said nothing he walked over to the wall and placed his hand on a small pad which scanned his hand print. Once verified the wall slid open to reveal an entire locker filled with his choice weapons. He grabbed the usual allotment of 1911 pistols and two syringes both filled with some form of sedative. He slipped out of his shirt and placed his bulletproof vest underneath only to return the shirt a moment later. Once he had secured all of his gear and clothing he walked back out and placed his hand on the pad resealing the room. He walked out of his laboratory and placed his hand on another pad which slid down a metal door effectively locking his lab. "Computer, 1-7-3-4-6-7-3-2-1-4-7-6-Charlie-3-2-7-8-9-7-7-7-6-4-3-Tango-7-3-2-Victor-7-3-1-1-7-8-8-8-7-3-2-4-7-6-7-8-9-7-6-4-3-7-6-Lock" he said as he reached the top of the stairs to activate the security of the lab. As he exited through the door hidden in the bookcase in his library a number of red lasers flashed on. The computer system was created that if of the security measures were broken through the databases instantly wiped and the computer was set to self-destruct. The library door swung shut behind him as he grabbed his overcoat and gloves from the hallway closet. He exited the mansion he vacationed in and entered the waiting helicopter. A prototype Bad Man Weapon Systems had created for the U.S. military, it could house eight men and he had seven body guards. All of whom were trained in every type of combat and warfare known to man. While the Blood-Hounds were good for generally guarding his experiments he found he liked being around humans much more. His “team” expertly boarded the helicopter and then immediately took off for the secret mountain base.
---------------------------------------------------

An hour later the temperature dropped drastically, and soon the mountain peaks were in sight. As Joseph gazed into the far off mountains he listened to the chaos happening at the secret facility. As he continued to listen to the screams and reports Joseph shook his head. No matter how many precautions he seemed to take humans had always failed to live up to his expectations. However, today that deficiency would be rectified as this facilities failure would not be tolerated. As he was about to issue more orders his cellphone rang.

"What is the situation my friend...?" the raspy voice on the other end of the line questioned.

"Ah, senator, it is nothing a simple breach by a few of the experiments, it will be handled in a short while, do not worry." Joseph responded in the same cool tone he always kept.

"It better be, as you know we are funding these projects of yours for specific results and the United States Government won't have any freaks running loose on the streets." the Senator loudly told Joseph.

"Don't worry about it another minute, aside from my personal assurances, Bad Men Co. insures all projects fully, and you know we are good to our word." Joseph insisted as he hit the end button on the phone. Joseph tapped one of his guards on the shoulder who passed him a helmet with a microphone attached. "This is Moriarty, are the teams in position?" he questioned.

"This is Alpha team leader, we are fifteen minutes away from the facility." the man replied.

"That is not good enough, get there as quickly as possible, this... threat... must be contained. These experiments are extremely dangerous and must be captured or eliminated at all costs." Joseph barked into he radio.

"Roger that, we have five teams of Genome Soldiers and five teams of Bloodhounds landing at the facility shortly." the Alpha team leader responded.

"Alpha leader, I want you to carry out order 89A. Cleanse the facility, no one left alive." Joseph said

"Both experiments and scientists?" the soldier asked.

"That is what order 89A calls for team leader, now carry out your orders. I want that lab scrubbed of all life by the time I arrive there." Joseph said before closing the comm channel. Joseph was handed a tablet by one of his guards and he began reviewing the footage of the escape. One catgirl, who the computer correctly identified as subject 15874001 sprinting down a hallway and taking out a number of guards before accessing the doors. He then watched as the subject freed a large number of other subjects. Joseph sat there in the helicopter and watched the mayhem that occurred after all of these creatures were let out of their cages. Some stayed like the good lab rats they were, others ran and fought. Joseph watched as subject 00034321 brutally murdered a number of guards on his way out of the facility, as well as subject 13597762 somehow get subject Z-02-045 out of his cell and moving. That was possibly the most interesting part of this entire escape... the fact that subject 13597762 somehow got subject Z-02-045 to move out of his cell and escape. Joseph sat tapping his fingers on the tablet continually reviewing the footage. As he began to review it for the fifth time, he began to edit the footage together and make notes on security improvements. The first was to completely remove all access cards and pass-codes from the knowledge of the idiotic guards. From now on all doors would have to be opened from a central command center and doors would only be allowed to be opened from that command center with authorization from a senior member from Bad Men Co. Secondly, all doors in all facilities that led to major corridors would be self sealing in case of any form of emergency. Third, all of these doors would be electrified when closed and any unauthorized access would cause a shock to be administered to the corridor. Having seen how ineffectual guns had been on some of the experiments, he ordered R&D to begin research into better ways to restrain experiments.

"Sir, the first teams will be landing at the facility in three minutes." the pilot said.

Joseph said nothing, only nodding his head, he immediately returned to documenting the escape.

Aylen averted her eyes from the forest to look back at the building. It looked so bleak and hidden away in the mountainside. She took a breath, enjoying the feel of cold air filling her lungs. Somewhere in her mind she knew that she had to move away from the building but the adrenaline had faded slightly. Her muscles were heavy and lazy, unable to get any motivation to move forward. She fidgeted, gaze sweeping over the landscape nervously. Even so, she needed to move quickly. Aylen took another look at the building where all her memories had been born. She would have to make new ones. Starting with the ones of getting away from here. Yes. Getting away. Let's go.

She raced through the forest, tail sweeping out behind her in a brown streak of fur. Her breath hazed out her lips as her small heart pumped faster than any human's would. The green fascinated her but her mind wanted to see more. I've read about this. Rocks, trees, and rivers. Humans. Life and civilization. I want to see it all! A laugh erupted from her lips. This was the moment she had been waiting for. How many years? How many days? She hadn't known how long but now that the time had come she was sure that it had been a long time. Perhaps she could find a place to call home, her own cage. Cage? Will it be a different kind of cage? I wonder. The term 'home' was not elaborated on so I don't know. Aylen shook her head but there was something bothering her.

She dug her heels in, wincing at the tingle of pain from the forest floor scraping her bare feet. Aylen skidded to a stop and she turned to her head, listening to something in the distance. She wouldn't be disrupted from her mission but she had to tread carefully. Her ears flicked once upon catching the sound of dogs. Baying hounds. Dogmen. Beasts. She tensed, huddling down towards the earth as if to hide under the leaves beneath her feet which was impossible. She couldn't outrun those beasts forever and definitely wouldn't last forever in a battle. It would be her death. Mine. Not theirs. They aren't like me. Pawns of those men who experiment on us. She trembled before rushing ahead. If she could put distance between her and the sound it would be better. I might have a chance. I must go while they seem distracted.

One breath. Two. Keep breathing, and keep moving. One foot. Two. Move! Faster. More. Yes, just like that. A faint hint of a smile touched her face before disappearing as she breathed in again. She felt her body tip over for the second time that night and she hissed, rolling across the ground and coming to stop a few feet from where she had initially begun to fall. What now? That scent! No! Aylen breathed in again but it wasn't the taste that bothered her but her nose burned making her eyes water. She gagged and covered her nose, trying desperately to avoid the stench. Oh, it was awful! All she could smell was that scent and her senses were destroyed along with it. She got to her feet and began to run again even though her footsteps were more unsure. Unable to escape the scent in her nose she clenched her eyes shut foolishly. Her shoulder was bleeding again, the easy pain noticeable in that wound again.

However, she wasn't expecting to run into a tree. It felt like a tree at least. She yipped in pain as she repeated her fall from earlier, only to land on her back this time. Her eyes which had been shut opened to view the giant. She could literally feel her skin pale to the point where goosebumps appeared on her flesh because the blood flow had almost stopped. Her mind studdered in shock as she tried to come up with something or anything to save herself. She didn't recognize him and so couldn't discern if he was enemy or not. His black hair only accenting those obsidian eyes, making his figure in the night almost like a ghost to her. Please don't hurt me. The one thought her mind came up with. She must have been a sight to see with dried blood all over her body and her hair, open wound on her shoulder already dampening her skin on that side again, small and feeble looking, staring at the man with wide horror filled eyes. "Please." She whispered, repeating herself although this time it escaped her trembling lips out into the horrid air.

Ivan's temper only grew all the more volatile as the stink refused to get rid of itself. Briefly he wondered if it was poison, some kind of poison gas, but he didn't really feel any ill effects--it just smelled like shit. And made him want to crush whoever had seen fit to unleash the stink into a bloody little pulp. Nothing major.

As he turned to continue walking, however, he felt something impact his torso--or rather, the lower half of his body, really. Without thought, he viciously swung out an arm, immediately leaping to the conclusion that it was an attacker, but his arm met only thin air before he realised his 'assailant' had been sent careening back to the ground--and had run into him rather than attacked him. He looked down, baring his sharpened teeth in anger--who the hell was this now? His black eyes fell on what looked to be a girl of no more than perhaps twelve or thirteen--he then took note of the fur-covered, pointed ears, like those of a feline, and a tail that swung out behind her. At that moment, infuriated by the persistent stink and the surprise of this girl running into him, however, every nerve simply screamed at him to lunge at her and kill her. It felt almost disturbingly natural to want to kill the girl.

But even as he seemed ready to concede to his body's ravenous demand for further violence, yet again his brain acted as the killjoy. Wait. She is not human. "You are not one of them," he growled rather self-explanatorily. In other words, killing her accomplished nothing. And, as his brain tried to convince the rest of his body, a volatile amalgamation driven on by adrenaline and anger, it would be wrong to kill an innocent.

And then he heard a whisper. "Please." A pleading tone spoken in a whisper. It took a moment for the man to realise what she meant. His eyes hardened, and when he spoke it was in the same voice of unnatural depth and projection--but they were not spoken through clenched teeth in the snarl he had spoken in previously. "I am not your enemy," he said simply. "...but those bloodhounds," he raised his head as their barking and baying sounded again through the forest. "are. So don't waste time." It was the first time Ivan had actually spoken to someone--all the other times he had spoken to someone, it was either yelling furiously at his captors, or, more recently, right before he killed someone. It felt confessedly....strange.

Without another word to the girl, Ivan turned to keep moving. It would not be long that the bloodhounds would be distracted by the scent of others.

"Augh!"

the fairy yelped while grasping on the man's shoulder. He... He just tore a door of it's hinges! If he could do that, then why was he still in his cage? She looked at the man again... He didn't look like he manage that, where did that strength come from? She paused for a second in her thoughts, the answer was clear... The experiments. The fairy rubbed the man's cheek softly once again, feeling a pang of sorrow well up in her. What would cause a man to gain such strength, but lose all drive? What had those monsters been doing to him, to all of them. She felt regret and pity at the thought of other subjects- no, not subjects, people. Regret and pity at the thought of the other people still trapped.

She shook her head. There was nothing she could do about it. Besides, maybe every one of them escaped. Yeah, they had to. Even so she told herself that, the weight still pressed on her soul. But they were free. Rosaline and the man... Z, remembering his serial number, was free.

She floated off of the shoulder of the man and into the outside. Into freedom. She hovered outside of the threshold, and just cataloging her surroundings. It was still night, but a beautiful harvest moon hung from the sky as to welcome Rosaline and Z. She took in a breath of air, as much as her little lungs could hold. The fresh air was magnificent, nothing like the stale and depressing air within the facility, it filled her with strength. This was how she was supposed to live, Rosaline just knew it! Free and not in a cage! She began to giggle softly as she danced in the cool night sky, the breeze gently rolling her red hair around her. This was amazing! It wasn't anything like the cages the scientist put them in. She would miss her books, but it was a small price to pay for all of... Of this!

Her little wings carried up, and up, until she seemed to be dancing with stars and moon themselves. Her soft giggle ever-present from the corners of the fairy's smile. It was peaceful, quaint compared to the utter chaos of the facility. Peace and freedom was all she ever wanted... But they weren't completely safe yet. They were still too close to the facility to be safe. They had to get away from the facility. She was not going back into a cage, and she didn't want to see Z go back into his either.

She glided smoothly back down to Z's shoulder and landed softly. Rosaline tiny feet would only feel like a tickle to the man, if he even acknowledged it. There, she sighed, "It's beautiful isn't it. It's so... Quiet and peaceful. No more alarms. No more scientists... This is... Perfect," She said, a hint of joy and cheer in her tone.

But "But we have to keep moving. They will find us if we stay. They will put us back in our cages, and we will never get another chance at this again," She said glumly, absent-mindedly petting the man's ear. She didn't know if he was listening, but she was mostly speaking to herself anyway.

"Here, let's get further away from this foul place," She urged, "Besides, I bet it gets better further away. Let's... Leave," She said, hesitantly. Why did she hesitate? It was the only home she had known, and now she was leaving with a man who could probably kill her just by flicking her. She was leaving the relative safety of the facility to plunge into the unknown with a stranger she had just met. She was leaving the only home she ever known... Was she okay with that?

She glanced behind them at the door one last time...

Hell yeah.

The form on the ground came out of his fetal position and looked up. Once he could tell she wasn’t going to attack, he stood up and dusted himself off appearing much calmer then what his earlier stance said about him. Well, they say that Bloodhounds are legendary for their keen noses. Let’s see how well they do without them!” Kate rose an eyebrow at his words and her head cocked to the side in a very animal like manor. The boy took a deep breath then deeply exhaled, a very dark smoke emitting from his mouth.

Her eyes wide, Kate quickly back peddled out of the reach of the smoke. After backing up 50 yards, she narrowed her eyes on the boy then hissed. The smoke seemed to have vanished, but she didn’t trust him now. Calm down. You need to stop being so edgy.

Kate’s ears only folded back and she hissed again, her claws digging into a nearby tree. ”Don’t breathe through your nose, unless you want your olfactory sense knocked out for a few hours. Come on, that won’t hold them for long.” He began to run towards her then went right past. Kate narrowed her eyes on him as he passed then glanced back at the space where he once stood. Lingering only for a few seconds, Kate turned and took off, easily catching up with the strange boy. She ran alongside him in silence, glancing at him every few seconds all the while keeping her ears open for any signs of approaching hounds.

They ran for a few minutes then Kate slid to a halt, her left arm snapping out and catching his arm, her claws lightly penetrating his skin on accident. Once she was sure he wasn’t going to move she held her finger to her mouth to signal for him to be silent. Quietly, Kate slowly rotated in a circle, her ears standing tall taking in every sound in their area.

Click.

Kate grabbed the back of the boys shirt and threw him to the ground only an instant before a gunshot rang out, hitting the dirt a few inches back which is where his head would have been if she did not move him. Take cover,” she hissed and ran into the shadows of a nearby tree and ran up it with more ease then she thought would have taken her. Silently, Kate jumped from branch to branch, searching out he source of the gun shot. Gracefully, she crawled around, her pupils dilated and her ears up. Then she heard the soft click again. Turning, Kate zoned in on a figure in black hiding 10 feet above where she was, the barrel of his gun pointed straight at her.

He pulled the trigger just ask Kate dove out of the way, the branch she was on shattered from the impact of the bullet. The sniper swore then pulled out his pistol and began to aim and fire as fast as he could, Kate weaved in and out of the trees and branches as she made her way closer to him. She swung around the tree out of his line of sight and quickly scrambled up the tree. The sniper was deathly calm as he scanned the tree. Silently, Kate crawled around the tree looking down at the sniper from her cover. Inching forward, she took aim then launched at him. Just as her claws were going to make contact with his back, a blood-hound launched from the darkness and threw her to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Rolling across the ground, Kate felt the air woosh out of her then the hard thud of a massive blood-hound stood over her. From the darkness she saw 3 others show themselves. One was very thin, making her know that one was fast. Very, fast. The one standing over her was huge. She had never seen anything quite so big. She didn’t know what kind of power he had, but she didn’t want to be his play thing for sure. The other two were much more wolf like, bigger ears and their eyes were almost black due to their pupils being so dilated. A new breed maybe, but whatever the case, she was in trouble.

When Z knocked down the door, he expected it would be yet another corridor, filled ever so drearily with the constant wailing of the sirens. He therefore did not expect to run into... into... he didn't even have a word for what it was.
-That would not do. He decided that such words as "open" and "outside" would do, as that was what it was. It was open, and it was outside. He was.... away from the facility.

Something in his stomach lurched. He felt as if his whole inner core was suddenly driven mad, shaking and shaking. What was this feeling? He certainly did not like it, and most certainly did he wish to be back at the facility, back in his cell, with all of his senses starved. Where would he find such a place out there? He would not. The simple thought of it drove him into a terrible fear. His eyes momentarily twitched as he, for just a single moment, lost control.

For that instant, he wished to destroy everyone and everything. He would unleash so much chaos into the world, that it would devour itself, and leave him with his own nirvana.

That however, was not an option. It would not be decent enough, or even worth the trouble. Logic flooded in from all directions. Thousands of reasons for and against went through his head. The against was simply overwhelming, and so he acted upon it. He suppressed any residual chaos left within him, and made his stomach numb to this strange feeling.

Never again.

His senses just caught up with him after these thoughts, and he felt sensations which he never felt before in his life. His pupils rapidly contracted, as there was too much light. Were he less in control of himself, he would have fallen from the sheer power of the light. Air was.... moving across his face. His hair was fluttering in various ways, it was all so... strange.

He detested all of this nonsense. These feelings were truly agitating. Could his wretched body not find something better to do with its capabilities? Must he feel this shakiness, and must he be distraught by the current of air passing through him? He hated the world, and all of the beings within it. To hell with all of it.

Then he noticed the butterfly girl. After he processed all of this new information, only then did the creature even seem to notice. She gasped suddenly in astonishment, and started gliding about. To Z, this new predicament was old news, fully analyzed and investigated. Why did it take so long for her to take in all of this information? This tended to happen with other beings too. What made him different? Naturally him being physically and compositionally different would contribute, but to have a completely different demeanor? No. There had to be something more. He was different because he was he.

The idea disgusted him. They say truth hurts, but to him, it was merely offensive. The idea of an individual implied too much for his liking...

Then the little thing started barking on about something or another about being out of the cage. She probably thought she was free or something else of the sort.

What did she know of freedom? He knew all of the freedom that he needed in his cell. He did not stay in his cell because he was forced to, no he would break out had he really wanted to. He could have killed everyone there, but he chose not to. He was the only one that was truly free for all that he knew. He was even free from himself.

He had attained a level of choice far beyond even his own expectations. He had developed his willpower enormously. He was a slave to no one, and he could choose for himself. And yet...

This idea was frightening. Choice was too... chaotic. It led to probability -surely, even the lowliest imbecile could realize that probability led to chaos. It was just matter of consequence, and it was all laid out before him.

She spoke of getting away from the sirens, and he could appreciate that. The sirens truly were less noticeable with every step. He would walk until he could hear it no more. Beyond that, however, there really was no point.

When he went the distance he allowed himself, and could hear the sirens no more, he sat down and closed his eyes in a form of meditation. He deprived his eyes of any concentration and power, and increased intake in his somatosensory and auditory systems. The chaos was not gone, and when it came, he wanted to know.

Aylen turned her head to peer into the darkness from where the sounds could be heard. He was right. Perhaps he wasn't her enemy but he was also right that those hellhounds would kill her. They want to kill me. Rip my flesh apart. Harm me. Never. She returned her gaze to the man's eyes. He had began to frighten her but after she had spoken it had seemed like he had lost the notion to hurt her. Relief, calm and sweet. Aylen rolled to her feet, taking the time to measure him accordingly. The man truly was far taller than she was, by maybe two feet or so. She glanced to her hands, watching the way some of the blood flaked off with her movements. Aylen resisted the urge to gag and turned her head to watch the man.

"So don't waste time." Aylen froze. Was he inviting her to come along? Her teeth pulled on her lower lip, chewing it in the confusion. Can I follow him? To safety, that is? Her nose twitched, still bothering her. The stench hadn't gone away. Aylen fidgeted. I guess I can follow him. I won't bother him. I'll help him, if I can. I don't know what I can do. He must be much stronger than I am but I might help him. I can try. That's right. She started forward towards him with a small squeak of delight. The first time she had been with someone other than herself, and her memories. Is this what it feels like to not be alone?

Aylen walked behind him a few feet, silent and careful not to trip over anything below. He had said not to waste time so she would have to be diligent. Her gaze flicked to the trees and the shadows nervously. Even though she was happy she had experienced another monumental thing, they were danger. She could just feel it from the tension brushing over her nape where her serial number was tattooed. A hand raised to rub the spot, but she almost ended up cutting herself from fright when she heard the echo of hounds. No. No more. She looked away from the forest to the man. Did he have a plan? Aylen felt her speed quicken so that she could get closer to him, restraining herself from pressing to his side like a scared child.

"What are you going to do? They are coming for us." Her light voice sounded out softly, almost unheard. She turned her eyes up to his face before looking back out to the forest like she had done so many times, her thoughts roaming in circles. A slight breeze brushed her face and her eyes narrowed peacefully, her panic disrupted with the sensation of the outside world. She took a shaky breath through her mouth, not daring to try her nose. Her ears flicked once. What was that sound? The leaves? Is someone near us? I'm not sure. I can't sense anything. I'm scared, but it's so nice here. Her thoughts drifted. She wished she could relax and sleep, among the leaves. Just once, before she was caught. Just once, before she had to fight and lose her mind to that crimson rage.

Ivan had begun striding onwards when he heard the sound of small feet against the forest floor, following him. His eyes narrowed and he felt his teeth grit down. She's following me? he thought to himself, having half a mind to turn around and tell her to find some other freak to follow around. She'll attract the damned bloodhounds right to me, and the last thing I wanna deal with right now is those ferocious little bastards...but wait. The stink that continued to call his nose its home suddenly came back to him. Chances are this thing is affecting them as well, which means they can't smell for shit and are relying on sight and sound to find their prey. And gods know I'm a hell of a lot easier to hear, much less see, than that kid is. Let her come. She may prove useful.

The man decided he would...tolerate her presence for the time being. Now was not the time for deliberating over that anyway. Now was the time to get a move on, before the hounds caught on. Then he could decide what to do with the girl--probably ditch her somewhere and continue on his own. After all, he wasn't here to be nice and play chaperone.

They continued onwards in silence. In the distance, the baying of the hounds slowly began to die away as Ivan and his newfound 'buddy' moved farther and farther from whatever unfortunate souls they were currently hunting. Occasionally there was the report of gunfire--snipers, by the sound of it. Ivan kept his eyes and his ears open, but he could hardly hope to detect a sniper before they got a shot off on him. He could only hope that the sniper would be unable to get any more off before Ivan reached him. If the feline appearance of the girl is to be any indication, perhaps she has better senses than I do. As the sounds of battle and hunting died away, an uncanny silence reigned in their area of the forest. I'll be damned. I might actually be able to pull this off... In the distance, another hound called through the forest, causing Ivan's eyes to narrow, and he cursed himself. He had thought far too soon.

Ivan felt the girl approach closer, and then her voice speaking in a tone so soft it almost passed right by the man before he really heard her. "What are you going to do?" she asked quietly, her wide, bright green eyes cast upwards to meet Ivan's cold, bitter black pupils. "They are coming for us."

"Don't know," Ivan rasped, trying to keep his voice low. "Don't care. I've been waiting far too long fort his chance to let one of those damn mutts ruin it for me. They come for me and they'll never--" He trailed off as he heard the rustling of leaves, and stopped his movement suddenly. He glanced back down at the girl through the corners of his eyes to see if she too had heard--he saw her ears flick suddenly, informing him that she had indeed. He put up a hand, signalling for the girl to stay put, before he strode over towards the thick brush--apparently, the thought of evaluating the situation and acting logically did not strike the man as particularly important in this situation. Probably some damn insect making a bit of noise, he mused as he approached the brush.

Joseph sat in the helicopter tapping away at the tablet, this time reviewing the current security feeds coming from the facility. Some experiments were still in their cells; too afraid to move, others were running away from the facility and by the looks of the tracks, some had already gotten away. He slammed his hand against the side of the helicopter in a fit of rage. It was just about this time that the radio chatter began to pick up; the helicopters had arrived at the compound.

The Alpha Team had dropped some members into the forest to try to track down some of the escaping experiments while the majority of the force headed for the facility. The first helicopter dropped a five man team onto the roof; these men quickly infiltrated the facility through a door on the roof, reaching the command center in minutes. The head guard there began to say something when the leader of the team shot him three times in the chest. The rest of the team opened fire on the remaining guards and took control of the facility. They overrode the security codes and auto sealed the facility down. The grabbed all of the security tapes and sever information before heading back to the roof. They boarded the waiting helicopter and flew back up into formation.

The other three helicopters dropped members of the team along the perimeter of the facility the men assembled in small groups and began to place charges along the side of the building. All the teams finished placing the charges in ten minutes. The groups reassembled outside and entered the facilities basement. In the basement they found the power plant that ran the facility and surrounding area. They surveyed the area to make sure there were no experiments around before placing several charges throughout the power plant facility. Moving back out of the basement an apelike experiment charged one of the team members who pulled out an oddly shaped gun. It emitted a sound wave towards the apelike subject which dropped the creature to its knees grabbing at its ears. Another one of the team members shot it with a tracker dart before another member injected it with a heavy dose of sedative. The leader of one of the squads took a foldable cage out from his backpack and pressed a button, immediately in unpacked into a rather sizeable contraption. They threw the creature inside and strapped it to the side of the helicopter. All three remaining teams boarded the helicopters and flew up to meet Joseph’s and Alpha Team’s. Once they were a sufficient distance away from the facility Joseph pressed a button on the tablet, thirty seconds later a massive explosion rippled through the air as the facility, with all the remaining people and experiments in it, was completely obliterated. All that was left was a massive crater in the side of a mountain. The crater was quickly filled with snow that had tumbled down in the resulting avalanche.

The explosion was seen and heard for miles around. Bad Men Co.’s connection in the Federal and Local governments allowed the event to be dismissed as a massive, catastrophic failure of a new type of power technology. This gave Bad Men Co. a plausible excuse and gave the government more time to develop “green” technologies. All the news reports notes that many famed scientists were killed in the explosion, which allowed them to go underground to work for the government as well. Joseph saw this as a win-win for all sides. The only problem he had now was to track down the experiments that had escaped even the blast radius. He could assume that some would have been caught in the avalanche but some would have gotten far enough away. He called in more assets. He deployed spies in the local towns and villages; he called in helicopters that had infrared tracking capability to look for “survivors”. He deployed snow teams and ski teams in an attempt to search the hillsides for anything that might be amiss. To take extra precaution, all teams were comprised of ten soldiers, all of whom were very highly trained. These soldiers were always accompanied by at least one of the three different bloodhound types.

He would find these little runaways… and he would make them pay… Joseph thought as his helicopter flew to another mountain not too far away. He exited the helicopter and entered into a facility. “Are all of those new precautions online?” he asked to the man standing before all of the consoles.

“Sir, yes Sir.” The man replied as he tapped a number of buttons on a console to show Joseph exactly what had been put in place.

“Activate the wall.” Joseph said. The man stroked a number of keys, moments later a number of pillars appeared out of the earth; soon a laser protection grid came online between the pillars.

“Sir, the protection grid is online and fully functioning. Anything that gets out of here will have to be flying and if that happens we have a special surprise for them…” the man said, his words sounding more twisted then Joseph’s.