Rage

Chapter 1

     Her lungs stung with every sharp breath she took, legs burning with every stride. Strands of brown hair blowing in her face as she looks back to see if they're following her. This wasn't her first time running, in fact, this was her third time. They really need to up their security, she thought. She was running on a road, with nothing but dirt around, nothing for her to use to her advantage. Her best option was to run.
     Mila was getting tired, and the guards were catching up. Her heart was pounding rapidly. Eventually, she slowed down and they tackled her. Mila's head hit the ground and began to see stars, her vision blurred, she felt like she was spinning.
     "Put your hands behind your back!" He yelled.
     She did what she was told. She made it farther than her previous attempts, but it wasn't good enough. This just motivated her to be smarter about her escape and get out for good.
     "You're a crazy bitch," one of the guards spat, zip tying my legs together.
     Once her vision cleared, they stood her up. "Fuck you." She snapped, spat in his eye. He quickly wiped it angrily, throwing a punch and knocking her out cold.

     "Wake up." Said a gruff voice.
     She slowly blinked awake. Her head hurt tremendously, he must've hit her pretty hard. "What do you want?" She groaned.
     "The doctor will see you now," he said. Mila rolled her eyes. Her arms and legs were strapped down on a wheel chair so she wouldn't move. They started rolling her into the doctor's office to have a little chat, per usual.
     Dr. Byers was sitting at his desk with his reading glasses on, he was reading the newspaper. He looked up, lowered the paper, and took his glasses off, placing them neatly on his desk. "Leave us," he said. The guards nodded and walked out the office, closing the door behind them.
     He looked at Mila, studying her cold face. She hated his man's guts.
     Mila glared at him, not breaking eye contact. "Mila, why'd you run?" He asked, calmly. "You know how important you are to us."
     That statement alone infuriated her, "Oh, really?" She said sarcastically, "Is that why your guards are taking their anger out on me?"
     "They were de-escalating the situation—-"
     "Bullshit." She growled.
     Byers took a deep breath. "You're our most important asset, Mila. You cannot leave," he said, coldly, glaring right back at her. "We're on the brink of a breakthrough, we need to work harder, continue to study your abilities, and run some more tests. Imagine the things we can create, Mila. The endless opportunities and possibilities.You are the key." He said, pointing his index finger at her.
     "I want to leave."
     "Well, unfortunately sometimes we don't always get everything that we want in life, sweetheart," he said, standing up and straightening out his white lab coat. He was wearing a navy blue tuxedo underneath, with a matching tie. Byers is a professional man and always looks the part too.
     She was disgusted, "Don't call me sweetheart," she snapped.
     Byers smiled. "You're my daughter, I'll call you what I want," he said, walking around his desk, he had a needle in his hand with a vibrant red liquid.
     Mila's eyes widened. "Wait, what is that?"
     Dr. Byers jabbed the needle into her neck. Mila yelped in pain. He injected every last drop.
     Mila tried to fight the restraints, but her muscles became weaker and weaker. Everything was becoming slow motion. "What's...happening..." She mustered, before her eyes rolled back and closed her eyes.

     When Mila woke up, her head was still hurting and her left eye was throbbing, almost completely swollen shut. She was enclosed in a bulletproof glass chamber, no longer restrained. Doctors stood outside the chamber with clipboards and pens in their hands, ready to take notes. Dr. Byers smiled and walked up to the glass. There was a small speaker built into the glass to be able to communicate. "Good morning, Mila."
     She shot him a cold look.
     "On your left, there's a generic house plant," he stated. "I want you to manipulate and enlarge it."
     "And if I don't?" She asked.
     "I'm glad you asked. If you don't comply, you'll be taken to The Room." He calmly explained. "We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice." He shrugged. "You and I both know how much you hate The Room."
As much as she hates to admit it, he's actually right. The Room is where they take Mila to punish, more like torture, her until she agrees to do what they ask. Last time, they locked her inside a freezer room until she begged to get out.
     "So," he said, "Shall we get started?"
     Mila looked down, closing her eyes and nodding.
     "Very well." Byers said, backing up from the speaker and walking over to a control panel. "Please begin."
     She locked her eyes on the house plant and focused. Her breathing slowed. The room fell silent. Silent enough to hear her own heartbeat. Mila felt everyone's eyes on her, waiting for her to do something.
     Then suddenly, the leaves of the plant began rustling around, growing larger by the second. The stems become longer and thicker. Roots and dirt started spilling out of the small ceramic pot, eventually breaking into 3 pieces. The plant kept growing until it was 6 feet tall and the leaves were 5 times bigger than before. It looked prehistoric.
     "Very good, Mila." Dr. Byers said, cheerfully. "However, I know you can do better than that."
     "I did what you asked," she said, "what else do you want me to do?"
     Dr. Byers mouth curled into a crooked, mischievous smile.