Mind Control

Booms

I run away from William, ripping the earpiece out to stop the incessant scolding. I sprint for a while, weaving in and out of the thick bog of trees, before I have to stop. Leaning against a tree, I take a painstakingly slow breath in. As I continue to try to breathe quietly, a man walks out of the shadows ahead of me and ominously stands before me. I move slowly away from him, angling my body behind the tree.

I hear him speaking into his earpiece, but I can't make out what he's saying. Suddenly, he turns towards me and shouts, bringing another man running towards me. Turning on my heels, I sprint as fast as I can.

As I once again dodge the roots and branches, I hear shots going off behind me. Suddenly, a sharp jolt of pain rips through my shoulder, causing me to stop abruptly. Leaning back to inspect the damage, I see a bullet lodged deep inside my flesh.

I'm suddenly picked up by my arms, causing me to hiss in pain from the movement in my shoulder. One man punches me, but the grip on my body is too strong for me to double over as I'd like.

I elbow the man behind me, hearing most likely what is his nose breaking. The second man charges at me, pushing me against the tree and taking out the gun and grenades I had on me. My shoulder is now burning a whole through my body, but I swing my arm back and punch the man. Picking up the grenade on the ground, I run far from them, rank the safety with my teeth, and fling it in their direction.

As I turn around, another pair of arms engulfs me and holds me hostage. He throws me on the ground and kicks me, while speaking into his earpiece, "I found her. The little brat keeps squirming and causing trouble. Get your ass here now,"

I lie on the ground, groaning in pain. Slowly, I inch away from him and break off a branch on the tree, causing him to sharply look at me. As he approaches me, I ram the branch into his groin, causing him to double over hissing obscenities.

I once again run away from my attacker, this time paying more attention to the sounds of footsteps. After about half an hour of backtracking and avoiding people, I reach the cave. Running, or rather limping, towards the cave, I notice that there is no one here. No footsteps, sounds, or voices. It's rather eerie. I slowly walk inside, all the while quivering at the sound of gunshots and bombs going off in the distance.

The temperature suddenly drops, or so it seems, and I sit against the wall of the cave. I shouldn't have come. There is nothing here and I've only put myself in dang-

BOOM.

I jump into the air at the large noise. Looking quickly back and forth, I'm unable to find the source. Slowly, a black, shiny ball falls from the ceiling of the cave. When I go closer to inspect it, it explodes, leaving behind metal debris. At this point, I'm a little bewildered. I have never seen this ball in all my time in this cave.

Just as I begin to limp out, hoping to go back to William, the walls and floor of the cave begins to glow with a faint blue light. Exhausted, I figure I must be imagining it, and collapse at the entrance.