Dr. Reynolds hated helicopters. They were loud and flew unbearably high. He hated heights. Yet, how could he turn down an offer like this? When the Doctor had chosen him for the most important mission Reynolds had ever had, he'd completely overlooked that fact that he'd end up sitting in the open side door of a helicopter over a mile in the air.
He swallowed the bile rising in his throat, and peered through the telescope, scanning the streets of people. He had memorized the criteria and knew it like the back of his hand.
16 years old. Brown Hair. Brown Eyes. Intelligent.
New to city, unknown by many.
An average girl that no one new. Good. No one would notice her absence.
Except he'd been searching for hours and had seen no sign of her.
He stroked his graying beard as he peered through the telescope, the power lens reeling off information about every person he looked at trough it. Fifteen years old.. Dyed blonde hair. Two sisters and a brother. Divorced parents. Lived in the same place for twelve years. None of which he was looking for.
He sighed and leaned back, yelling over the din of the helicopter blades, "Take us to the slums!"
He gripped the edge of the doorway and squeezed his eyes shut as the helicopter lurched to to the right, his lunch almost making a reappearance as he came nearly parallel to the ground. He could feel how white his knuckles were. Forty-six years old and he still couldn't control his stomach.
The helicopter leveled put, and he breathed a sigh of relief, detaching his fingers from the edge of the opening. his fingers had a thin cut across them from the sharp edge of the opening.
He cleared his throat and looked down, watching as the quality of the buildings slowly downgraded. No one was in sight. He pressed his eyes to the telescope again and passed it over the barren landscape, but no one was around.
He stifled a groan of frustration and threw his head back, mentally rehearsing his failure speech to the Doctor. He imagined it ending in a burst of flame.
He sat up, and a flash from below caught his eyes. Once again, he looked through the telescope and caught sight of a girl. She was in a knee-length black dress, running for all she was worth.
Information immediately flashed in front of his eye.
Name: Lisa Richards
Gender: Female
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Resident: 2 weeks
He smiled. Perfect.
He pulled the tranquilizer dart gun from the holster across his back and prepared to aim.
"Hold Steady!" he yelled to the pilot. the helicopter hovered, and he lined up the scope with her running figure. What is she running from? he wondered
He looked and saw three boys chasing her. They were scraggly, with hungry looks on their face. each held a rock in their hand.
Their quarry turned down an alley, and she hit a dead end. They laughed darkly and advanced upon her. A dark-haired boy came forward and put a finger to her collarbone, just brushing the collar of her dress. His finger slid down, hooking the fabric.
The boy bent over and seemed to whisper something into the girl's ear.
Dr. Reynolds started as the boy yanked his finger down, the fabric tearing. there was a scream from the girl.
Then, she struck, her fist flying into the boy's jaw.
--------------------------------
She was terrified. Lisa Richards had already decided that she hated this city. "We'll move to New York!" her mother had said, "It'll be fun living in the city!"
So, naturally, she ended up running from the three maniacs who wanted nothing more than to shove their hands down her dress.
Yeah, Mom. Real fun, she thought.
She turned down an alley, stopping short as a graffiti-covered wall loomed in front of her. There was a cackle from behind her as the boys saw her trapped. She turned, baring her teeth.
"Pretty dress," said the dark-haired boy as he placed a finger on her collarbone, 'What's it for?'
"Funeral, if you must know," she spat.
He smirked as his finger traveled down her chest. He leaned forward, 'Well, it becomes that pretty chest of yours," his breath was hot on her ear.
Then, he tore his finger down, the delicate fabric separating. Lisa screamed, throwing her left arm over her chest. She glared at the boy with smoldering hate.
Then, she struck.
Her right fist flew into the boy's jaw, and he yelled out. His gaze turned back to her, and he drew a pocket knife. He charged at her with a yell.
Lisa braced herself for the stabbing pain of the knife.
Instead, there was a short prick on her shoulder, and the world faded to black.
YOU ARE READING
Merge
Science FictionLisa isn't expecting moving to New York to be much fun, so she gets much more than she bargained for when she is kidnapped by a gang of freelance scientists. At first, Lisa has no idea what they want with her, but as their plan unfolds, she realizes...
