Modern Day

Aileen

Aileen moved as quickly as her heavy bag would allow, from the nearest parking lot to Eric's warehouse. It had taken a little less than ten minutes; traffic had been merciful this time. Seeing the door still closed, she kicked the heavy thing hard with the heel of her boot. "Eric!! Eric, it's me!" She called out, shaking from the pain she sensed within. If he didn't hurry and open the door, or someone else, she was likely to force it down herself. Or hurt herself trying.

She didn't bother looking at whoever opened the door. Immediately she sprinted to the three worst injured and set to her prep work. With or without help, she wasn't sure, she got the bodies of the three as close together as possible before sitting beside the girl. She ran a gentle hand through her hair worriedly, her thumb brushing her forehead. "You've all been through a lot today, hm...? I'm going to fix as much of this as I can, okay? Just bear with me.... What's going to happen might feel very close to how you got the injuries... Just please... Try to just let me work...." She had no clue if they could hear her, but she felt they needed to know the "problem" with her gift. She didn't have the ability to block pain like her grandmother had....

With a brief touch as she had with the girl, she made sure the two males were laying flat. Closing her eyes, she focused her gift on the offending wounds.

Kisa

Kisa felt the hands grab her, restrain her. She was cornered, trapped, injured and in pain. Her blood roared, asking, no, shouting for her to change shape. She threw up blood.

"She's coming out of it." The male voice stated, and his voice was followed by a pressure on her left side, behind her front leg. "You goddamned bastard, you actually did it." The female voice, this time more shocked then angry like the first time. "Do you think her reason for surviving was because of her sudden and unexpected change?" "Maybe... Most likely... She does have the pacemaker to keep her hearts working during the change. I need to run another test to make sure..." "No you won't." "I have to-" "No! My breeding program is MORE important than finding out how she survived hibernation!!"

PAIN IN HER CHEST.

Thump... Thump.... Thump...

A new sound, a voice, female. Kisa couldn't comprehend the words filling the air, and found new hands touching her. A growling rage bubbled up, and she regained enough control of her body to force herself to change. A scream left her human lips and... She clawed at the ground, feeling the burning in her chest spread into a wildfire, but this time the burn signaled relief as her human skin was replaced with that of a jaguar's pelt.

Tha thump, Tha thump, Tha thump, Tha thump... Her hearts took off in a race, and she slumped, limp as a doll now. Her spotted chest rising and falling with each breath.

Just when she thought the pain was over, she felt a different pain flare up. This time, instead of it radiating from her chest, it came from her leg. It was painful, and... Bearable after what she just endured. Well, that and she had a high threshold for pain. And so she went through with it with only a small growl of discomfort to the healing.

Wait, what's this? Kisa blinked open her sapphire eyes to feel a weight on her back, as if something were trying to hold her down. Unsure if the healing was done or not, she looked at her leg and found that only a puckered scar remained, a slash of pink skin cutting through fur. Finding that her wound was gone, she pulled away from the healer. She was weak, and tired, but she was... happy at not being a crippled jaguar.

Now, to find out whose on my back... Kisa slipped out from under the weight and found a human, Dray. Miffed and annoyed with him for being on her back, she decided payback would come in the form of him being her toy for the moment. She dropped beside him and in a kittenish manor, nuzzled her large head against his a chest, a throaty growl coming from her chest. Then wrapped her front legs around him, and moved onto her back so he was on top of her, in her grasp like a favored toy. She rolled again, and let Dray loose before turning on Chris.

However, this time her playfulness showed its dangerous qualities as she stood on her hind legs and pushed him to the floor. She sniffed his face, her whiskers moving over his cheekbones, and... she nipped his bicep with no hesitation, no restraint. She lunged away, and went back to nuzzling Dray. She ignored everyone else, not caring about what the normal human male might think about her in her jaguar form.

Chris was so focused on Kisa's convulsing body that he didn't even realize that the healer had arrived. Though when he had finally noticed her he breathed an audible sound of relief. When she began to gather the injured together, he helped the healer move Kisa's body taking great care not to jostle her leg to much. Not soon after the healer set to work on the injured.Chris was quite delighted at the healers ability. He wasn't expecting to see something like that back in the outside but was happy that the others would soon be healed.

When the healer was finished with Kisa's leg he gave a small smile. She was clearly feeling better and oddly enough she seemed to be feeling playful as well, as she nuzzled Dray while wrapping him in her front legs.He looked at the others his smile growing slightly wider, soon the seriously injured should be in much better condition.

Chris turned to look back at Kisa and in a flash he was on the floor, the large jaguar now sniffing at his face. His face wore an expression of complete surprise and total confusion at her playful actions. The surprise only grew as she nipped at him and then returned to nuzzling Dray. He rubbed at his bicep where she had nipped at him, it didn't really hurt though it was sore and uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if she was just being overly playful or if she had intended to be so aggressive. She was definitly glad about being healed though so regardless of her intentions he decided to stay silent and let her enjoy herself.

Olek

Olek struggled, refusing to groan or otherwise show his pain to anyone. His eyelid continued fluttering for what felt like forever. He mumbled words for a few moments, but quickly realized he hadn't spoken loud enough. "Max I-" Olek whispered right before his mind slipped away. His eye closed, but his chest was still rising with every breath. Olek didn't appear to be home though. He rested on the creaking wooden floor for what seemed like an eternity.

Maybe this is a good thing. A voice mused in Olek's head. Afterall, monsters like Olek deserved a painful death. His breathing sopped for only a few moments before it resumed again, even in his unconscious state he refused to give in. The blood continued to seep out of the make shift bandages on his chest. There was so much blood. Too much blood. It seeped through the floor boards, and dripped into the darkness below. Slowly Olek grew ready to concede, he did his job. He didn't do it very well, but he got them to safety, and that would have to do.

As Olek drifted away one last thought rang in his mind over and over like a drumbeat. The scrap of paper in his pocket. Anger started to course through his veins like liquid fire. He felt rage boiling to the surface all throughout his body. He wasn't going to give in. There were people that had to die at Olek's hand. If Olek himself died before he could complete his gruesome task, then that would be an insult to her memory.

His eyelid opened wide as the pain slammed into his chest. Olek shouted in surprise, but quickly stifled it as he got control of himself. His back arched off of the ground as he felt the muscles in his chest writhing and knitting back together. His grunts of pain quickly subsided when the bleeding stopped. He tiredly looked around to see Kisa off of the ground, and moving. Olek's head fell back to the floor accompanies by a sigh of relief. He lifted a weak arm to feel his own chest. His hand came back damp with blood that was soaked into the clothes, but the wound had stopped bleeding for the most part. It was hard to tell, but Olek had somehow gotten fixed up more or less. Slowly the gears started turning once more in Olek's brain.

Still clutching his chest, he struggled to get into a sitting position. Still breathing heavily, he settled for that. Olek had lost too much blood to risk moving around too much. He glanced at dock worker, and then to the strange young woman with red hair and green eyes. He calmly looked at the both of them. Olek wondered how long he had been out, he had been moved across the warehouse ever so slightly, and he was somehow alive. He shook his head and stopped trying to piece it together. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you for saving them." He winced as another wave of pain hit his chest.

"You're a good man. You deserve to know what you're getting into." Olek breathed out, still in pain but hiding it well. He went to rub the cut on his arm to realize it had sealed up completely. He looked up at the woman with red hair with an eyebrow raised. He wasn't even sure if she was responsible, but it was safe to say that she was. Don't press the issue, we all have secrets. He squelched a few questions that were about to pass his lips, before he started speaking to the dock worker and the doctor.

"You both deserve to know. We're being chased by some bad people. Terrible people. They have no morals and unlimited resources. They have the power to rip your lives apart." Olek paused, waiting for his words to sink in slowly.

"I say this out of concern, but if you have anything to lose, anything at all. It would be best to walk away while you still can." Olek spoke in a sincere tone. They were dangerous to be around, ticking time bombs ready to explode. He calmly breathed out again and sighed.

"The name's Olek by the way." He said as he nodded gratefully to the pair of strangers. His eyes finally drifted over Bast, and lingered there for only a handful of seconds. His gaze softened. It had been a very long time since he completely trusted someone.

When the woman brust through the door Edur's grip tightened around Hawke. She knew this woman was the healer but that didn't mean she had to trust her. She went to Kisa first and sure enough the wounds she had healed. This caused Edur's eyes to widen in awe and her gripped lessened. The woman took Hawke from her arms and laid him on the ground. Edur watched her work in a daze.

Soon enough all the injuries were healed and it begin to look as things were getting slightly better. Edur looked around to each person and stopped to giggle at Kisa who was cuddling into Dray's side. Chris was on the ground rubbing his chest and Edur smiled in sympathy at him.

Now she turned to Olek who was up and looked much much better. He was sitting up now and speaking to the man and the healer in a tone of authority. Edur was unable to contain her joy of seeing the man up and breathing and she shot over to him. She dropped to her knees and wrapped her short arms around his neck.

Hawke

Hawke groaned weakly, barely having time to register a woman's words before numbness became intense pain. Sparks flew through the black fog he was stuck in, dragging him back into consciousness so quickly he couldn't figure out where he was. His hands regained movement the fastest. His left arm snapped up as he cried out, closing around something soft. A neck. Still unable to see, but only feel his wounds healing, or... reversing, really. That's what it felt like to him. His wounds were going in reverse. The throat in his palm moved slowly, tensely. Fear. Surprise. Then they went as limp as possible, considering he had a grip on them and they were neck muscles. Calm.

Aileen

Ai squeaked as the younger male grabbed her by the throat, as startled by her presence as she was by his reaction. Relax... She thought to herself, forcing herself to calm down. "It's okay.... You're safe here. Let go. Whatever you've been through, it's over now. You lost a lot of blood before I got here, you shouldn't be moving so quickly..." After several moments his grip loosened and she coaxed him into laying back down. Now that she could focus on something other than her work, she watched the girl--err...cat. Sometime during the session, she'd gone from being a young girl to being a large jaguar. She leaped about playfully, but with a ferocity that was only slightly reigned in toward her friends. She had to smile, even with her disbelief: she had seen reactions like this before. Animals--and kids-- that were so happy they weren't hurt anymore that they had to play now.

It was only then she turned her head toward the older man. Of the three, his wounds had been the most extensive, and as she'd tired, seemed to be the least healed. That being said, all three were in considerably better shape.

"I don't know how you did it, but thank you for saving them." The man's voice was strained as he sat up, talking to Eric for a moment. This was a warrior. Someone used to keeping a brave face, hiding pain until it was absolutely necessary he show it. "You both deserve to know. We're being chased by some bad people. Terrible people. They have no morals and unlimited resources. They have the power to rip your lives apart. I say this out of concern, but if you have anything to lose, anything at all. It would be best to walk away while you still can. The name's Olek by the way."

Tracey fought the urge to smack the man upside the head by clenching her fist before opening it to point at him with her whole hand. "Hello Olek. I am Aileen Tracey. It's both quite kind of you to be concerned, and terribly stupid. If I had any intention of not being involved, you and the rest of the injured would be dead, right? It's not in me to let people die, get that in your head right now." She sighed, reigning in her temper and with it the comes-and-goes Irish accent. "These people you're talking about, they made these people who and what they are, to an extent, right? My grandmother was a healer for a similar place, my grandfather guarded them. They retired just as the treatment of those they looked after became horrid. You already know I'm not...normal. I'm like them, sort of. Skipped a generation." She trembled as she spoke, a secret she had only told Eric until now. "I'm just as scared and full of disgust toward them as you and the others are. If they found me.... Well, I think what they've been through is a pretty damn clear indication of what might happen..."

She shook her head to fight tears and pulled a roll of bandages from her bag. [b]"I'm sorry I couldn't finish with my gift..." She muttered almost sleepily as she got the man wrapped up. "I've never healed more than one at a time before, and never three at once with such extensive injuries... There we go, that should do it until the last of it heals. Um... Hey," She turned her attention to the red haired boy, "Come here, let me see your hands." She held up the roll of bandages to clear up her point.

Olek

Olek was slightly taken aback by Aileen's interpretation of his words. He opened his mouth once to clarify what he had said before, but quickly thought better of it. He was too tired to trade an extensive amount of words with anyone. The woman patched him up for good measure to cover up the wounds. "I'm sorry I couldn't finish with my gift..." Aileen said in an apologetic manner. Olek looked away when she wrapped the bandages around his torso. "You saved them, that's all that matters." Olek offered his words and another grateful look to pass before his eye locked onto the door once more. His eye never moved from the entrance. He was ready to pull himself over the crate he was resting against to get to his rifle if anything out of the ordinary happened.

He breathed a sigh of relief and kept his mouth shut, plotting every move ahead. He was in a weakened state, moving would be risky. If he wasn't at one hundred percent, defending the others would be very difficult. He figured with the help of the dock worker, they could charter a boat soon. If they pulled enough strings, Olek felt as if they could get to a small port somewhere relatively unhampered. His thoughts were interrupted when Edur rapidly approached. She dropped to her knees and hugged him. His eye widened ever so slightly, and his body quickly tensed up.

His surprised facade quickly wore off in but a matter of moments. He softly patted Edur on the back with one hand. Olek wasn't really the hugging type, but it still warmed Olek's non existent heart. He breathed out slowly, noticing his bruised ribs no longer pained him. Noting this, he spoke in a tired voice, still offering reassurances to Edur. "See? Good as new." Keeping morale up was important. Freedom, along with not being dead were both huge bonuses. They needed a plan though, perhaps Olek could get in touch with another government for protection in exchange for information, but that was too risky. His former employers had agents everywhere.

He looked around to the others, his eye calmly shifted from person to person. He had no plan, he should've thought things through. Betting on a ship out of the country wouldn't solve the problem. He needed to find a permanent safe haven for the group. Olek would sleep on it. He would have to, he was simply too worn down to come up with a sufficient plan.


His mind wandered to what Aileen had said to him before. "I'm just as scared and full of disgust toward them as you and the others are." Olek wasn't certain of much at the moment. He glanced down at Edur one last time, giving her a grateful look before his gaze shifted to one of the blacked out windows. Olek was going to tear apart every thing that his employers held dear to them. Eye for an eye. They took everything from him after years of obedient servitude. Olek didn't fear his former employers, no. It was quite the opposite. A resounding thought filled Olek's mind. They will fear me.

Kisa

The humans were conversing. Kisa didn't care enough to listen or attempt to appear listening. She was just... exhausted and sore, but being such an arrogant and prideful creature, did not let it show. Hungry, too. Her stomach grumbled and that's when she stopped rubbing her head against Dray to peer at the others as if choosing her meal.

Despite her predatory gazing, she didn't attack any of them. She however, did note that Olek was also healed and that there was something wrong with Hawke. Or at least she thought there something wrong with Hawke. She got to her paws and wondered over to the red haired male. He was human, but reminded her more of another big cat. She leaned down into a crouching position to study his face.

She knew he had green eyes and that made her angry. Her sister had green eyes, and she had often associated green eyes with... normal humans. Kisa huffed out a grumble before doing something completely unexpected. She licked his cheek. She pulled back, and scrunched up her face as if deciding whether or not he tasted good. She growled at him, "You taste... strange." She moved away to sniff at Aileen's hair, and trodding over to examine Olek's current physical state.

Once her... rounds were finished she walked away from the others to curl up in the shadows of a crate. Her blue eyes glowed in the dark and gave away her position if she meant to hide. But, she was just cutting herself off from the others as she had a solitary nature and all the comotion had tired her mentally for the moment.

After lying on the hardwood floor for a few moments he quickly recovered from the shock of Kisa's aggressive playfulness, then sat up and looked over at the others. He caught Edur send him a smile and in return gave her a sheepish grin, he repositioned his body to better hide his swaying tail from view. He chuckled slightly when he saw Edur's sheer joy, as she clung onto Olek. He stood up and walked towards Olek and the others, barely able to contain his own joy at the sight of all the seriously injured were feeling better.

When he reached the others he looked towards Olek and Hawke and sent them a rather excited smile, glad to see them alright and then sent the red haired healer and the dock worker and sent them a gracious nod, then sat down not to far from Olek and Edur. He watched the red haired healer for a moment as she spoke but didn't pay much attention to her words as his mind began to wander. He couldn't stop thinking about what would happen next. The injured may be healed but everyone was still tired and he wasn't sure if they would soon be on the move again or if they would stay here for a bit longer. Either way he wore an excited expression, no matter what they did next they were free.

File: Chimera

Experiment Status: Active

Mental State: Stable

Physical State: Unstable

Notes: Certain files for subject are missing. Purpose of experiment, unknown. Expected results, unknown. All that's left are numbered vials containing an unknown serum with instructions on how to/when to administer. Subject's physical appearance has shown drastic signs of mutation exhibiting characteristics of several species. Mutations are still progressing provided the proper administering of injections following proper instructions. Subject still maintains a rather sound state of mind despite the moderate to severe pain. Said pain allows subject to comply with being given almost any instruction to follow provided that they are promised medication for pain. Best results are shown when administered sparingly.
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With the lab still in a frenzy to round up or take out fleeing mutants it was rather odd to find an occupant still inside one of the open cell doors. She lay on what was a semblance of a bed with a sheet pulled all the way up over her head to block out the flashing red lights. Stomping of panicked footsteps made her ears twitch but she did little else but try to ignore it all. The medicine they had given her still hadn't worn off yet and she considered what time she had left of experiencing painless bliss to be far more important than opening her eyes to look beyond the confines of her cell. Not even the sounds of gunfire and screams stirred her from her place. It wasn't until long after the sound of dead silence took over that the echoing of two pairs of footsteps caused her to peer through one squinted eye. She couldn't understand what they were saying. Their words came out jumbled to her when she tried to listen.

Oren Holmes walked with a guard to a hallway of empty holding cells; gun at the ready. Most mutants had fled but it didn't mean that the area was any safer. "I really think she'll be useful in tracking them down. We can get them back without losing any more resources than we already have."

"What makes you think its even still here?" The guard thought for a moment, then scoffed. "You don't mean that sickly one do you?" He had the same look that just about everyone else gave him. Just let 'it' die already it can barely keep itself alive. But he was adamant with his claims.

Holmes widened the already open door to a darkened cell. "Just because the scientist in charge of her died doesn't mean we have to throw out all that work. There's still enough there to follow through-look, just, give me a minute." He reaches down and pulls the sheet away from Aramay, causing her to curl up and instinctively shield her eyes even though Holmes was using himself to block the harsh red lights from hitting her eyes. The guard tried to hide his surprise that she was indeed still hunkered down in the cell.

Aramay coughed and winced while trying to sit up. She looked rather exhausted for someone having just slept for near sixteen straight hours. "What was with all the noise?" Holmes dropped a bag in front of her. It was filled with clothes. More specifically, ones that would help keep her covered up from curious eyes. And a little extra. They smelled slightly like a dusty attic and looked more like something a vagrant would wear. "What's this? ...I was kind of hoping for something else."

"You have to agree to do us a little favor first."
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Aramay stepped outside the building and into the yard for the first time in what felt like months. It was starting to get dark as the sun began to set. She pulled her hood up over her head to help block out the lingering sunlight. She could see better in low light conditions. She covered her nose and mouth with a sleeved arm to stifle the stench of blood that drowned her sense of smell. It felt like prison before. Now it looked like an extermination camp. The ground was soaked red and squished disgustingly between her toes; the resulting mud clung to her and stained her skin. Looking up she watched as the surviving guards eyed her. They were already given orders to leave her alone but that didn't stop them from looking ready to shoot her from where they stood, after losing so many of their own.

She rubbed her neck sorely and hoped that the injection that Holmes had given her would kick in soon and stave off the pain for a while longer. What hurt the most wasn't the microchip they implanted near her spine, but the transmitter behind one of her ears near the base of her skull. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?" A voice came through clearly that only she could hear.

"She's fine. She just needs a minute to adjust to the light." Comes another voice through both the transmitter and behind her. She turns around to see Holmes in normal street clothing. He didn't look like he wanted to be there. In his hand was what looked like a small walkie talkie. They must've made him go along as back up. She didn't have to ask to know what he was responsible for.

The voice came through the transmitter again. "Please don't use the line unless you absolutely have to Oren." One of the scientists on the other end had a tone of annoyance to their voice. They had lost their test subjects, and they were quick to take it out on Holmes. He paused for a good long minute before responding.

"....understood."
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Holmes stayed a good few paces behind Aramay. While she, cautiously looked around and breathed in the early evening air. The smell of blood still clung to her feet, but she could smell faint scents that weren't naturally part of the forest. They were, odoriferously stale, sweaty, animalistic, and, increasingly laced with a much fresher scent of blood. "At least one of them is hurt." She looked down at a sprung trap that was caked in blood and fur. Readjusting the bag over her shoulder she continued forward.

The stronger the smells grew, the more nervous she became. The more adrenalin would start to rush through her. The more her body would start to ache again. The tree line gave way to a beach and harbor. She could now see darkened splotches in the sand leading towards a warehouse. A trail of bread crumbs as it were to the escapees. They didn't go as far as she thought. She was grateful, being cooped in a small cell didn't really help keep her in shape. Neither did her bodily aches and pains. At least it was overcast.

"You might be able to find a way in without being seen around back." Ara just nodded, knowing that Holmes would be able to see her from where he stood. That was where she was headed anyways. It was darker and no one would likely be walking around that area.

"Don't forget what you are there to do."

"Shhh." Ara hushed them. She couldn't think with them talking in her head. The messages would disrupt any thoughts she had every time they spoke because it literally felt like they were inside her head. And she could smell fresh blood only a short distance away. With the softest of footsteps she circled around to a small window. She couldn't see anything inside except for large crates. It meant that she couldn't see where they were inside, but it would at least block them from seeing her coming in so long as she was quiet enough.

As quietly as she could she inched open the window to slide through. A muscle in her leg spasmed which forced her to freeze. She couldn't move. All she could do was bite her arm until the pain passed. Soon as she could get inside she pushed herself up against one of the crates in a seated position. The pains were already coming back and it was making her breath rather hard. She was inside, and she could hear voices. But she didn't know what she could do without getting attacked first. Curling herself up near the edge of a crate she readied herself and chanced a peak around the corner to find the source of the voices.

Edur was happy now. Olek was okay as were everyone else. Or, it at least seemed that way to her. She looked the red head up and down before shooting her a small smile. Edur decided then and there she liked her. The woman had basically saved them all in healing them. Still Edur couldn't help but be curious. How had she gained this power? And how did it work. All questions she wanted to ask but was to shy to speak up.

Instead she curled into a ball next to Olek though she didn't go to sleep. She couldn't at the moment. Everything was way too exciting. What was next she had to wonder? Would that stay here or go?

Suddenly she sat up. It wasn't something she heard per say but a feeling of dred crossed her. After a moment and she heard nothing Edur figured it must of been nothing. A bit slow she laid back down and gazed at everyone around her.

Olek

Once Edur removed herself from Olek, he calmly reached over to where he dropped his sidearm, and picked it back up again. The grip of his weapon felt comforting in his hand. Aileen seemed to know the gist of what was going on. He didn't think a few guns would spook her. After all a bear sized jaguar had just sniffed her face. Olek almost chuckled at that. He thought he was going to have problems with Kisa, but she was proving to have more human emotions than he originally thought. It was easy to become twisted from the tortures that most of the group had been through. Kisa approached Olek, briefly examining him as she made her way to a more secluded part of the warehouse. He calmly gave her an approving nod as she walked past him.

Most of the group had earned his respect at this point. Olek was true to his word, he was willing to address the groups trust issues involving himself and Bast. They seemed to be way more relaxed than before. Chris and Edur didn't exactly distrust Olek and Bast. Olek glanced over at Chris and Edur, both were hovering close by. Olek wagered that the two younger members of their group approved of his presence. Welcoming it even. He glanced over at Hawke, he was battle hardened much like Olek was. He was willing to kill for the group, Olek respected Hawke, but was still unsure if he had Hawke's full and complete trust. Dray was quiet; proving to be very difficult to get a read on. Olek knew that Bast was with him 100 percent, she seemed to be very distraught at his previous state. Olek believed that he had won over Kisa's trust with his quick actions involving the bear trap. Aileen would be easy to trust, and so would Eric by extension. They had no complications when it came to trust. He gave a sigh of relief, and quickly ceased his analysis of his fellow escapees.

Once Edur curled up next to Olek, he figured it was time to collect his rifle, which he had so crudely hidden before. He slowly pulled himself up onto the crate he had been resting on. He grunted slightly, trying to be as gentle as possible. He reached behind the crate and pulled the rifle onto his lap. He felt drained, but they would have to move soon. Putting more distance inbetween them and the facility would prove to be very wise. They would also need food. Three of them had lost a great deal of blood. A good meal would be necessary if they wanted to keep on the move. He reloaded his rifle, but kept the safety on.

He glanced over at Dray when Aileen made her rounds. She was a healer alright. That was for certain. Olek calmly scanned the room again. Constantly watching over the group. Olek caught Edur shoot up out of her relaxed position, clearly tense. His grip around his rifled tightened for a few moments until she slowly rested on the floor once more. He looked around for what felt like minutes, but was likely only seconds. Olek spoke up after an eerie silence set in.

"We need to move soon, we can rest for a few minutes, but I think it would be best if we put as much distance between us and the facility." Olek offered a course of action, hoping that this would spark discussion of their next course of action.

Hawke listened carefully, the majority of his attention on Olek and the newcomers. He'd been so focused on trying to keep conscious now that his wounds had healed enough for his body to relax, he was startled out of his half trance by Kisa's sudden show of affection. The garbled comment she gave after took him a moment or two for him to decipher, and he smiled faintly. The healer-woman.... Aileen Tracey, she'd called herself-- she didn't really seem phased by the fact a very large wild cat had just sniffed her like the "something new" she was. Perhaps that was a healer thing....

He sat up as Edur tensed. There was something off about the air. It only lasted a moment or two, but he'd sensed it also. He nodded, growled as his head swam from the movement. "I agree with Barrow. Moving further would be best. Finding a shower, or taking a dip in the ocean wouldn't hurt either. We don't know what escaped, what stayed, or what's been caught. Any of those categories might have followed us. The escaped might be hungry and feral. Or looking for a way to ensure they stay out--at the cost of others. What stayed are likely loyal, at least in part, to the facility. and the caught may be forced to track us down. I can't speak for Bast or Barrow, but the last time I was in a city I was small. Cities change fast. The rest of us are on unknown territory. We don't know or understand the area, just like when they'd rearrange the Arena." He hated having to compare this heavenly situation, being outside and in the unknown, to the Games he despised. But that was as close as he could get for the others. "We haven't eaten since before the games--most of us anyway. We need to move. And we all need food and sleep."

He all but jumped out of his skin as Aileen piped up, smoothing something from a jar onto Dray's hands and wrapping them as she spoke. "For a while, at least, you could stay near me. My grandparents left me most of the land their house is on. It isn't much compared to most, but a house big enough to be an extra-small clinic and plenty of outbuildings and woods around it-- you could hide there safely. People don't come see me often, and without Gran Evie and Gandpa, it's quiet... At least until you found a better spot. Hell, now that I know there are more people like me... I could make the house a haven.... like it was for me...." She seemed sad for a moment, the glimpse hidden as she rummaged through her bag. She brought out a few canisters, and several squares wrapped in plastic. He licked his lips, remembering fondly and exactly what a good sandwich looked like. "Most of this is for me,", she smiled, setting a bit to the side for herself, "But I'm willing to share. Won't be much, with so many people, but it'll be a start, right?" Without waiting for an answer, and in true healer nature, she began divvying up the food.

Kisa

Kisa, or rather, the Jaguar watched and observed the hairless monkeys screech about. Kisa was distancing herself from her body, letting the jaguar rule for the moment. She was lacking social skills and at the moment, exhausted of all the talking and hiding. She just wanted to fall asleep... to rest her bones... to eat... Hungry. The jaguar's head lifted, growled softly in the dark, its ears swiveling 'round. Unsheathing its claws, its tail curling and bunched shoulders, the crouch of a hunter ready to kill. Primal instinct urging the Jaguar to stalk the herd, to single out the weak from the strong, to kill the weakest and sate her hunger.

The jaguar moved stealthily in the shadows, circling around the 'herd' and finding the weakest. The leopard girl. Olek was wounded, but he'd fight harder and maybe longer than this weakling cub. A growl, rose low in her throat, the look of a focused predator on the hunt. With a roar she launched herself at- ”Guards are here. If you do plan on getting us out of here it better be now.”

Startled out of the small dream -it wasn't a nightmare to her- she just had, Kisa got up to place herself farther away from Edur. A look of a starving animal crossing her spotted face, her black nose twitching as if smelling the air for the scent of sushi. She didn't know what was going at the moment (except that there were guards outside the building snooping around), as keeping herself from eating one of her... comrades, was her first priority at the moment. I really hate self-control.

Kisa let out a small groaning growling, as if telling the others she was sick of waiting and hoped things would hurry up. Her claws itched to be slashing through flesh and her jaws crunching some poor soul's skull to dust. She wanted a fight, even though she was mentally exhausted and her body was still sore, she'd never turn away from a chance to kill, er, she meant a fight, not kill. She wasn't a killer... or was she?

It looked like they were much more receptive to her presence than she expected by the way they each popped up to look around. They had enhanced senses after all. It was silly for her to think that she could hide so easily from them. She had to duck down to avoid being spotted. The others weren't just staying in one place. They were wandering around and setting themselves up in places that gave her fewer and fewer places to stay hidden from the others. She was so sick most of the time that she didn't get the same chances to really interact with the others. If she knew anyone they most likely didn't survive long enough to make it here. Chancing to look back out; it started to make her wonder if she would even recognize any of them. Or if they would recognize her.

Come to think of it, would they even consider her as one of their own? It would be a little odd for someone they don't know to suddenly pop out and say that they were one of the escapees. Looking down at her clothes, she couldn't think of a way to explain how she would find clothing between coming from the woods and coming here. She still had the bag with extra clothes on her person. At least two of her fellow mutants looked like they would need something better to cover themselves up. One of which...her eyes darted around. One of them could turn into a jaguar, she looked unnervingly feral, and hungry. She would be the last one that Ara would want to catch her scent.

A chill ran up her spine when they started to get restless. Ara silently grumbled to herself. Those stupid guards were so noisy that she was even more at risk of being caught. They were making her fidgety. She needed help. Doing her best to keep it to a whisper she tried calling out to Holmes. "They're going to see me. A little help?" There was a long silence. At first she thought he couldn't here her. She pushed herself further between the crates as everyone started to stir and prepare to leave. Someone then caught her eye. Someone DID look familiar.

"Cover coming your way." Holmes' voice abruptly rang through her skull loud and clear. Ara flinched from the shock and had to cover her mouth. The back of her upper arm caught on a stray nail that stuck out from one of the crates. The shirt tore and a sharp pain from the fresh gash made her crouch down. All she could do was breath through her nostrils till the pain became more manageable again. She could feel a wet heat seep from her cut and soak into the shirt. The shadows that were cast by those same crates deepened, darkening around her so that it would been even harder to see beyond the inky black blanket. It felt like she was sabotaging her own efforts to keep off of their radar. The only redeeming factor were the guards outside making such a ruckus.

She wanted so badly to reach back and wipe away the blood. A thought popped into her head. She wasn't supposed to be able to feel this. Holmes was supposed to have given her that pain killer like he promised. If what he gave her earlier wasn't what he promised...what did he give her before she started tracking down the others? Her hand slowly balled into a fist, helplessly unable to vent her frustrations. He said he wouldn't. Not while she was going to be out here...he lied. And she would still be expected to follow them once they try to leave the building.

Olek

Olek stood on his feet, his shoulders sagging ever so slightly. His attention was on Hawke as he spoke. Washing the scent off of themselves would be appropriate. They left quite the trail of blood in their wake. When Aileen spoke up, Olek's eye opened slightly out of shock. She would be putting herself in high amounts of danger. Olek wasn't going to argue though. They needed food and a place to rest. Olek held his position, doing his best to scan around the warehouse. Now that his eye was adjusted from being in the darkness for so long, it was easy to see most of the warehouse. He was just about to scan where his blind spot when Dray spoke up. ”Guards are here. If you do plan on getting us out of here it better be now.”

Olek shifted his weight and strained his ears. Dray had enhanced senses, Olek would easily take his words as truth. Olek slowly raised his rifle into his shoulder, his finger hovering over the trigger. He scanned the windows and would give the door an occasional glance.

Max and Eric began formulating a diversion in hushed voices. Olek's chest seized ever so slightly at the thought of him not having Bast at his back. He shook his head and banished those thoughts from his mind. The safety of the group came first. He strode over to Bast, and looked at her with a conflicted gaze. He raised his hand to put it on her shoulder, but it only made it half way before he heard a low growl coming from his previous position. He spun around quickly, his rifle quickly zeroing in on the threat. Olek's gaze met Kisa's, his eye narrowed ever so slightly as he padded over to Edur. He positioned himself in front of her in a protective manner, his gun lowered, but his demeanor was still tense and stern.

The last thing that caught his attention beyond the footsteps outside was the sound of tearing fabric. Olek spun once again, his rifle trained on a darkened corner of the room. With a perplexed gaze he stared into dark, after a few moments Olek's eyes widened. He looked over at the rest of the group, then back to the corner. He shook his head. It was too dark, it was dim lighting everywhere else. Can't be.

He kept his rifle trained on the corner of the room, and slowly shifted over to Edur and Chris' position. With a guiding hand he nudged them towards Aileen and Dray. He shot Kisa and Hawke a concerned look, and motioned his head towards the door. His eyes were locked on the blanket of darkness that covered one of the corners of the warehouse. He thought of himself as paranoid, but paranoia had a bad habit of keeping him alive.

"Turn around Holmes." Olek spoke calmly as he stared into the darkness. "This doesn't have to get messy."

Something felt off, he wasn't sure what it was but he felt that something was wrong. He quickly started to survey his surroundings for something out of the ordinary and was about to get up and look around the warehouse, when Hawke began to speak. He listened intently as Hawke suggested that they should wash off the several undesirable scents on them and Chris couldn't help but think of the last time he had a proper shower.When Aileen offered to give them a safer place to hide, he tossed her a small smile. The healer was certainly generous, and helping them was probably going to be dangerous, so he felt extremely grateful towards her.

"Guards are here. If you do plan on getting us out of here it better be now.” He looked at Dray and then towards the others, with an alert expression. He silently scolded himself for not paying attention and hearing them earlier. So he took a moment to carefully listen, the guards outside were being rather noisy and the scent of the lab hung in the air.

Max and the dockworker soon began making plans for a making a distraction so they could escape. He glanced over towards max and the man. He was worried for them, causing a distraction would certainly be dangerous but it was probly the best option so that the rest of them could slip away undetected. He wasn't sure when or if they'd meet up again but he told himself that they'd be alright.

His attention was drawn away from the others when he heard something and smelled the faint scent of blood somewhere in the warehouse. Someone was already in here. Olek quickly moved Edur and himself towards Dray and Aileen, then made a motion for them to go for the door. As he was nudged toward the others he gave Edur a small if slightly unsure smile. He was a little worried about what might happen but he was sure they'd get away safely.He spared a small look toward a dark corner of the warehouse someone was definitely here and Chris thought that some sort of fight was bound to break out soon. He'd rather not but if the guards came in or whoever was in here with them proved to be a threat, he'd fight so that they could all escape. He refused to be brought back to that place, at least not without a fight.

Edur could stand going to the woman's house. In fact it seemed like a great idea. She stood again and bounced up and down on the balls of her. Because she was born in The Lab Edur had no idea what her home would look like. Hopefully nothing like what they had before. She really didn't want to sleep on another hard cot.

Edur gazed around at everyone. Bast and the other man were making some sort of plan and Chris looked distracted. She was brought away from this by a loud growling. Kisa, still in her animal form, was just a few feet away. Edur remember this look. It was the same she'd see everyday. She took a hesitant step back but luckily Olek blocked her from Kisa's view.

Before she even had a chance to thank him Olek was leading both her and Chris away. He spoke to someone named Holmes, a name Edur didn't recognize. Feeling a bit nervous she gripped the nearest hand which just so happened to be Chris's.

Kyra

"Commencing Submergence in Three, Two, One." The automated voice spoke, breaking the spell of silence and plunging the inert form of a woman into a pool of water below her.
Kyra woke just as the the metal table below her dropped, and the icy water enveloped her, cutting off all physical sensations with its numbing coldness. The respirator in her mouth becoming her only source of air. Eyes open, unseeing, colors fading and the only sight was that of the bright lights above.
Shadows moved above her occasionally, blocking the lights with their darkness appearing to look down at her. These shadow figures' movements lulled her into a comatose state.
"Detecting Beta waves, sir." A man in a white coat, brows knitted together in frustrated rage. In a barely controlled voice, a response, "Ice it."
Kyra began breathing faster, every breath cooling her lungs and her limbs becoming heavy.
Slowly, the temperature in the room dropped. Second by second, and the pool of water became a frozen coffin for the woman it held.
Everything was frozen. Iced. Arresting her in a timeless and icy abyss of nothing. Then, a pulse. She closed her eyes. The pulsing in her head grew, crackling and expanding.
Then... the pulsing stopped, and instead, transformed into an ache in her skull. Let it go, a voice in her head urged her onwards, to let go of her body, to let go of its worldly pains. She obeyed the voice and felt a softness in her head lift her upwards, as if she was floating.
"Alpha waves detected."
Floating away, Kyra felt herself go fast, faster, faster than possible. Colors of every type rushing by her. Then... she hit a wall, or rather, an image. Virgin snow underfoot, purple-ish and gray-ish clouds above. A flurry of snow falling to the ground. Tree blanketed in snow and... wide open space with no walls or fences. Not tower of guards in any direction to halt any pursuit of Freedom.
Kyra longed to step into that image, that... It's someone's memory. She pulled back, surprised by the fact that is was someone's memory from outside the Lab, and that she wanted to be a part of that image. To be there instead of where she was now.
"Okay, begin the procedure."
The image was so... peaceful, free of blood and... The image changed into something ugly, its snow turned red by pools of blood and tree branches attached to hanging skeletons by rope. Cool and clean air became tainted with the stench of fear, blood, and death. The shadows turning into the hands of the dead, reaching for her, trying to drag her down into hell.
The ice block was turned around, becoming a vertical prison, and a trophy case; It displayed the frozen woman inside, trapped in her own frozen hell.
Kyra roared, snarled and screeched at them, slashing at their grasping tendrils. Rage, and the primal instinct roaring at her to survive made her fight harder... and harder... and...
The block of ice cracked right down the middle. Pieces cracked and splintered, and... The woman inside burst free in a cascade of ice splinters and blocks.
She landed on the ground in a crouch, her limbs shivering in uncontrollable spasms. She looked up at the guards standing over her. Her right eye was green and her left eye was a crimson red. The automated voice spoke, "Return her to her isolation cell."

Holmes could tell something was off not long after he provided Aramay with extra cover. He wondered if he overdid it. The only response he heard back initially was a tearing sound. In the dying light it was just about impossible to see inside from behind on of the metal cargo containers that was stacked on top of another. He could only guess her location via the tracking chip that was implanted in her just before she was let loose. The only hint that he had of Ara being in trouble was by how hard she was breathing. It was so loud that he could hear it through the transmitter. "Calm down. I can hear you panicking from here." Maybe that was the problem. He could have made a mistake without even knowing. He may have just made it worse. Then again.

He switched channels so that Ara couldn't hear the conversation between himself and HQ. "Why did you have to go and send in the guards so soon?! I thought you didn't want to lose any more subjects!" Holmes tried not to vent too loudly to the scientists in charge on the other end of the line.

A few moments of silence is heard before the line crackles to life. "The sooner we bring them back the better."

Frustration was clear on Holmes' face. "Then why did you send us out in the first place?! If you keep rattling the cage she's going to get shot. We can't track the group if she doesn't even get the chance to slip in with them."[/blue] The bastards were trying too hard to cover their asses. Their methods were ham fisted. Why stick with one option when you can throw it all in the pot at once? [color=blue]"If she's pinned down she can't withdraw." Just then he could hear foot steps followed by a near stampede of boots following soon after. He waited for Aramay to slink back in a hasty retreat, or at least show herself. No good. He had to improve her chances. It would be hell for him but he had invested too much in her to risk losing now.

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Aramay couldn't possibly ball herself up any tighter than she already was right now. She couldn't catch her breath. There was a certain feeling that can only be felt when you knew that all eyes were on you. Its a petrifying feeling, and she didn't need to look out to know that this feeling was justified. It was making her thoughts get away from her. All she could imagine was looking back out to see if it was safe, only to have her last moments be of a pair of large jaws coming at her wide open. Or hearing boots coming closer and closer towards her before hearing the sound of a gun cocking. It forced her to realize that the only semblance of skills she had was tracking. There was no way she would be able to hold her own in a fight if she were caught. And it was assumed that just because she was like the other mutants that they would readily accept her without question. Only now did Ara think it through enough to figure out the slew of holes in the original plan.

The panic she felt was so bad that she was ready to dart out of hiding at a moment's notice in an attempt to flee. She couldn't control a small whimper of fear that managed to muffle out from her throat. The slightest noise would have been enough if the pain in her arm didn't snap her out of her frightened daze. "Turn around Holmes. This doesn't have to get messy." That voice. It sounded familiar. This person knew about Holmes. Olek was mistaking her for him. The tone of his voice did nothing to calm her. The footsteps from the group were heading away from her. At the same time, she noticed the shadows growing out from around her. They were branching out and slowly enveloping one of the the inside ends of the warehouse. Ara could hear Holmes over the transmitter making noises that sounded like him physically straining, as if he were trying to move or hold up something.

Like a trapped animal seeing a chance to find better cover she took the opportunity to look around through the near pitch black area surrounding her. If she could think straight the logical thing to do was to head back out the way she came in. Instead she kept looking high up to find a spot that would be hard to reach. She didn't know why but at the time it felt like the right thing to get as high as possible. Ignoring her aching body she propelled herself through the cover of shadows and up the stacked up crates toward the rafters. Just as soon as her feet touched the wide support beams she heard Holmes retching and in almost an instant the shadows dissipated. Her body just as quickly hit the deck; flattening herself out against a beam while doing her best to ignore the itching she felt from the blood trickling down her wounded arm. The only shadows left to aid her were the ones naturally placed there.

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Holmes felt physically ill. He knew what made him sick. His abilities were rather exceptional but they still had many, many limits to what he could do and how long he could last before something gave. He didn't know it he gave her enough time, or if he only exacerbated his previous mistake more. The only thing he could do was finish vomiting up his lunch and hope that he didn't hear gun fire.

Olek

Olek kept his rifle trained on the blanket of darkness covering the corner of the warehouse. He heard the faint footsteps of the others as they began to head out. His attention was still unwavering, if Holmes was here, he posed a significant threat to the operation. Holmes knew Olek's fighting style, and how he went about things. Olek knew how Holmes did things too, he preferred to keep away from the front lines. The fact that he was here was uncharacteristically like him. He shook his head once her heard Bast begin the distraction. He switched to the private channel that they were both on, and spoke to Bast one last time whilst his attention was on her. "Stay safe, no unnecessary risks." Olek spoke into the radio before switching it off altogether. He didn't want them tracing him, no matter how remote the chance was. He felt unsure of the fact that Bast was running the distraction. Olek's strong suit was fighting, not looking after people.

He suppressed a sigh as all of his attention was on the blanket of darkness before him. Olek didn't want to have to shoot Holmes, but he would if he had to. Olek calmly started to back towards Dray. They needed to go, now that the others had a head start, it would be difficult for any trackers to pursue if Olek was in the rear and Bast was leading most of the others away. It was a sound plan.

All of a sudden the darkness was lifted, and the corner once again shifted into dim lighting. He strode forward and checked the boxes, small speckles of blood littered the area. His brow furrowed once more before he turned to Dray. "We don't have time for this. Lead the way. I've got you guys covered." Olek said as he jogged over to Dray. He put a hand on Dray's shoulder and gave him a confident nod.

"If you see any more unnatural shadows, call them out." Olek spoke in a dark and serious tone. Olek positioned himself to Dray's left, just so Dray could watch his blind side. He preferred to have people watch his blind side for him, but more often than not, Olek usually ended up covering himself. Though it was nice running with a group, especially a group filled with a sufficient amount of fighters. Olek stopped to pick up his mangled vest. He once again wore his shredded armor, it would still cover him from the back, just not the front.

With that he stacked up on the door, and prepared himself to follow Dray whilst taking down any guards that weren't pursuing Bast and Eric.