Changed by Time ✔

prologue.

The feeling of water running down one's spine is a sensation most people know. The cool liquid dropping down onto the back of your neck, starting to slowly creep down your nape, past your shoulders and between your shoulder blades.

The droplet quickening its pace as soon as it reaches the clear path of the spine. Racing down as if the world were ending and the only protection was at the end.

Chills ran up Mark and Andrea's backs as the raindrops fell harder and harder, followed by the crack of lightning and the rolling thunder. Their gray jumpsuits were great in the cold and heat, protecting them from the dropping and raising temperatures. But their fatal flaw was that they were hardly waterproof, sticking to their arms, backs, and legs like it were their own skin.

Mark grabbed Andrea's hand, holding it tightly as they ran out of the facility and through the woods. The trees barely did anything to protect them from the rolling waves of the storm.

"I don't think we're going to be able to keep going for any longer!" Andrea called out to Mark, who was continuing to pull her behind him. He looked back every fifteen or so feet and would quicken his already fast pace each time.

"We have to!" he responded, pressing his feet against the ground as his boots sunk into the forming mud.

Andrea managed to stop just enough to not knock them both into the ground. She snapped her head back towards the direction they were running from, her caramel curls with dark blue streaks now soaking waves that stuck to her cheeks and neck with every movement.

"What are you doing?" she questioned, attempting not to scream out to him as the panic in her voice became more apparent. The alarms in the distance had grown quieter, but the sound kept sending chills up her spine with every passing second. She knew that with the alarms came armed operatives – operatives who wouldn't hesitate the second they saw them.

Mark turned back towards the direction they had been running from, letting out a huff as he fully turned towards Andrea. He scooped her legs out from under her, picking her up bridal style in one swift movement.

"Mark, no—"

"We don't really have any other choice, Andrea," he snapped back, sucking in a deep breath as he started to run again.

He took a couple larger steps, which soon turned to what seemed to be skipping. He spotted a tree stump just a couple feet ahead – one that Andrea spotted as well and tightened her grip on him in response, bunching up the soaking fabric between her calloused fingers and against her dirtied palms.

Mark took one more skip and stepped onto the stump, pushing off of it and into the air. It felt as if a secondary force had taken ahold of him and lifted him into the air.

Andrea's grip hadn't loosened as they flew through the forest, their speed three times as fast as when they were running. Mark glanced between the forest ahead of them and Andrea, rubbing her back as he said, "I know it's a lot more obvious than running, but we won't have to worry about being obvious to them if we're so much further ahead."

Her grip loosened slightly. "Yeah, I guess that's true. But two flying people isn't exactly covert."

"I'm done being covert." He pressed a kiss to her wet forehead. "I'm ready to go out there and be with you."

Andrea felt her face heat up, rolling her eyes as she looked back over Mark's shoulder. She watched as the trees they knew disappeared and new ones came into view. Her muscles relaxed as well as her grip as they grew further and further from the deepest part of the forest.

"We're almost there," Mark stated, prompting Andrea to turn back ahead.

Just outside the forest was a single road, past it a small town with a large sign that said Wadesburg, New York. The occasional car came by, but not many were out most likely due to the growing thunderstorm.

Andrea couldn't help but let the smile that she had been waiting to show cross her lips. She looked to Mark and he had the same expression: a smile filled with excitement and relief.

A slight tingle in the back of her head overcame her smile and forced Andrea to turn back around and towards the path they originally came. She widened her eyes as she saw a dart fly through the air and strike a tree not four feet beside them.

She watched as a second came, then a third. All of them continued to miss – a relief for them but concerning for the group that targeted them. Andrea then spotted the sixth dart that came by, watching it come right for them almost in slow motion.

"Watch out!" Andrea screamed, grabbing Mark's shoulders and pulling him to the side and out of the dart's path.

"What are you do—" Mark was cut off as they began to lose altitude, falling hard back to the earth.

They spun through the air as they went back towards the ground. Mark quickly shifted his grip on Andrea, holding her close to his chest as he covered her head with his hand. He landed first on his back on the muddy ground, skidding once before he let go of her and the two rolled onto the road just before the town.

Andrea let out a slight groan, rolling onto her side as she pulled herself up. Her eyes went straight to Mark, who was on the ground and in and out of consciousness. His chest shakily went up and down. An open wound on his shoulder tore through the fabric and bled onto the ground below them.

Andrea pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the aching pain spreading through her body as she made her way to Mark. His dark hair stuck to his forehead and was slightly doused with the crimson liquid as she quickly discovered another wound on him.

"Come on, Mark. Come on." She pulled him up, wrapping his arm over her shoulders as she got him to his feet. "We have to go. Come on."

--

Andrea watched as the operatives scoured through the streets, searching every nook and cranny for the two escapees. Mark laid against the wall, wet bandages made from Andrea's torn sleeves shielding his wounds as much as they could in the little time they had.

He let out a quiet moan, opening his eyes once again as he kept going in and out of consciousness. He looked around slightly, his vision becoming clearer as the pain in his head and shoulder kept him awake.

"Where... Where are we?" he quietly asked, causing Andrea to snap her head back towards him.

Relief filled her dark brown eyes as they met his green ones. She crawled over to him, giving a gentle hug as she avoided hurting his shoulder any more than it had already been.

"We're in one of the shop's cellars," she said, gesturing to the various storage containers around them. "It was the only nearby place that wasn't obvious and didn't have a lock."

"Hm." Mark shifted in his seat against the wall. "This isn't how I thought this would happen, but I suppose it's one way to start out a new life."

Andrea let out a slight chuckle, her lips curling into a smile as she shook her head. "We're going to need new names. The program supervisors are just going to find us again."

"We can probably keep our first names." He pulled himself up, crawling onto the stairs as he peeked out the cellar doors and into the street. "It's our last names that we'll need to change."

"What were you thinking?"

Mark looked out onto the street. He watched as what appeared to be the final operative leave the town and give up on their search for them (for now). His eyes trailed to the street sign above them: Myer Road.

"What about Myer?"

Andrea thought for a moment. "Mark and Andrea Myer," she said, the names rolling off her tongue. "I like it."