CRONUS

Part 5: Test Subject 072

"Once we finish testing, we will begin the next phase and run through demonstrations," Dr. Perres announces to the crowd above us.

She pauses as they erupt into applause once more, filling the lab with an endless roar. My face is soaked with tears as I stare at her back, frozen in complete terror.

"Ray, or as I call her, 072," she continues, "will target enemies of the state throughout the Sectors first. With the chip planted in the base of her skull, she will comply with any order given. We will test the power of her compliance by targeting her family and friends first."

As she says the words, my heart drops.

My family.

Instantly, all the paralyzing fear vanishes. All terror, panic and crippling agony melts away as she utters those single words. Fury rips through my veins in the form of adrenaline. I won't let you hurt them.

I stare at the cold metal clasp squeezing into my right wrist. Gritting my teeth, I pull my arm as hard as I can, the edges of the metal cutting my skin. At first, nothing happens.

My heart pounds in my ears as I pull harder and harder.

50 beats per minute.

Suddenly, the clasp snaps, throwing my body back from the force. The applause covers the sound as the crowd keeps clapping.

I don't waste a single moment. Spinning to my left wrist, I yank at my arm. As I pull I expect the familiar stabbing pain to shoot down my arm. But it doesn't come. Instead, power surges through my body, electrifying my muscles.

I grit my teeth and pull. The clapping slowly fades as murmurs spread through the crowd. Sneaking a glance at Perres, I expect her to turn around, to see my efforts to escape. But she doesn't. Instead, she throws her arms open and takes a bow.

Pulling with all my strength, the clasp suddenly snaps.

Almost free.

I reach down and begin working on the restraints trapping my ankles. Another wave of electricity surges through me, making me tremble.

"Come on!" I grunt.

Snap!

One ankle comes free. In the corner of my eye, I see her now. Perres stares at me, her jaw open and eyes wide.

Cries and screams spread through the lab.

I zero in on my last restraint, the last thing standing in my way from killing everyone in this room. The metal intertwined in half my foot catches my eye. I roar as I pull, hate and fury pushing me to a new limit.

Snap!

I jump up on the table and snap off all the wires, with nothing stopping me from tearing this place to shreds. People scatter in every direction as they rush for the exit.

Before I can make another move, Perres suddenly appears, pointing a device. At me.

She slams her fingers into the buttons.

All at once, a pain strikes me in the back of the head. I scream and clutch the base of my skull, unable to move. Frozen in place, the pain stabs at me like a hammer ramming through my head over and over again.

Two seconds later, the pain subsides. I gasp as I open my eyes and focus back on Perres.

You're dead.

She pushes buttons in a frenzy, looking back and forth between me and her device. Nothing happens this time. The device slips through her fingers as she begins backing up slowly.