Unforeseen¹

Chapter 1- The escape

October 6th, 2014

Blundering.

That was the word that would come to mind if she had to describe her escape attempt.

Everything hurt. Her scraped legs buckled from the pace her adrenaline was yanking her through, air burned against her throat with every hurried breath, and every step made the battered soles of her bare feet scream. The building itself seemed to mock her; every colourless hallway seemed identical, and the frigid tiled floor made her numb feet clumsy. 

It was all begging her to stop, but she couldn't. She didn't have the luxury of time. 

When she found herself slowing down, the loud scuffles of booted footsteps and raised voices from the distant behind kicked her painfully into fifth-gear. She risked a look back and was relieved when she saw no wolves snapping at her heels just yet. She still had a chance. 

Returning her head to face forward, she gasped and slid to a sudden halt. With a hand on the tiled wall, she barely stopped herself from toppling over. The corridor had ended sooner than she was expecting, and she was now in the dilemma of two diverging corners. She froze.

What to do? What to do? 

She never thought she would make it this far. This was as far as her knowledge took her. Beyond it was as daunting as a new world.

Her hesitation was visible, but then Theo cleared his throat. Her head snapped up, breaking from her panic, and she hurriedly pulled a crumpled parchment from her pocket. 

With jerky movements, she unfolded it and brought it up to her eyeline, groaning in frustration. The flashing overhead amber lights, her only source of light, made it difficult for her to see the contents. She groaned again as she lost her place and shook the paper. Her eyes stung as she tried not to imagine what would happen if she didn't get this right.

He may kill her. She would disappear. She would never see the sun or the stars, or even a patch of grass. It all rested on a direction. Right or left? Left or right? 

Her companion above saw it all and lowered himself until he was just over her trembling hands. "Breathe," he said. "You can do this. We're here, see?"

With his long tail, he pointed at the scruffy, pencilled drawing of the corridor on the map. Her shoulders slumped, and she used her thumb to mark the location before she ran left. Not wishing to lose their way again, she kept her focus on the map and trusted her friend to keep an eye out for any danger. They were lucky they hadn't run into anyone thus far, and she prayed it would continue.

She should've known by now that nobody ever listens to her prayers.

"J, we have company!" The shrill voice of her fluffy companion hissed two minutes later, loud enough to cause alarm as she halted to another stop.

The flap of his wings became conspicuous as he drew closer. Her hair fluttered with the breeze they created, and her overheated skin welcomed the break from the sultry air of the lab.

Two stout men were walking leisurely down the long corridor. They acted as if there were no emergency, so engrossed in a conversation that they had yet to spot the escaped prisoners. J swallowed when she spotted the enormous gun the left carried. She shrank into the slight dip in the wall to make a quick plan before they spotted her. There was no option. She had to go that way. 

"We need to hide or go another way!" Theo hissed, landing on her shoulder before transforming into a small four-legged creature that appeared almost like a grey ferret with long ears. His yellow eyes anxiously peered around the edge, taking in their opponents.