Evolutionize

Chapter V

Something isn’t right. Daisy plowed through the woods, keeping a keen experienced eye out for guards. I’ve been in this part of the world before... this isn’t Russia!

Her mind started to slip into a guilty memory, but she shook her head. No, she told herself, this is no time to lose myself in memories. I have to find Sera!

Daisy paused for a moment to rest. Her lungs were on fire but Sera’s tracks were fresh, she couldn’t stop now. But then, when she paused, and let her guard down for just a second, the memory she dreaded the most took over. No! Daisy screamed to herself. If there was one thing she couldn’t control with hours of training was when her body chose to drop everything and relive the past. Her body would shut down and she’d lose who knew how much time reliving the memory instead of finding her friend.

No! Please no…

But she had no choice in the matter. Daisy collapsed onto the cold, frozen ground and her mind faded into a vivid nightmare.

~

“Wake up, agent!” Daisy’s younger eyes opened and she saw her old captain, Jay. Daisy’s memory self yawned. “Shut up, Jay,” she teased, “I’m not an official agent of the KIO yet!”

Jay smiled a crooked smile.  “Not after this –and not if I have anything to do with it. I’m so proud of you, I’m sure you’ll do great in this mission.” he ruffled Daisy’s hair playfully.

“All we have to do is, get past the Russian guys, and rescue the KIO trainees! And even if we’re not one of those high and mighty specialty teams, we’ll come home heroes!” The other members of the team nodded eagerly. Willy, the red-haired technician. Lyla, the eccentric disguise master. Jo, the reclusive weapons and martial arts master.

And the leader, Jay, who specialized in combat. She was his apprentice. Daisy, the rookie.

“Come on,” Jay grinned. “Let’s go.”

~

It had all gone wrong. Everything had fallen apart. They had walked right into a trap. The bombs had gone undetected. But not for long. Somehow they’d known. And they fell, one by one. Jay had died in her arms.

She was crashing through the forest now, and she could barely see. Suffocating darkness. It was only be her most primal instinct that she managed to curl up in the roots of some hollow tree.

~

After leaving Jay’s body curled up in the ruins of the foreboding stone building, she had gone to see if there were any other survivors. Picking through the wreckage, she had spotted two shapes curled next to each other. The trainees...

They had looked up to her, with big frightened eyes. The little girl was crying quietly, her face buried in the boy’s chest. The boy had looked up at Daisy, his bottom lip cut and bleeding.

“Help us.”

Shouts came from outside, and footsteps echoed through the ruins. The guards were coming..

She could only save one. The boy stood up, and drawn up to his full height, much taller than Daisy. Thrusting the blond haired girl at her, he had run off. He knew. That she could only save one. And she did.

~

In all her 16 years of life, Daisy had seen more and heard more than she could scream about. But she had learned one thing. Life goes on. After the biggest tragedy in KIO history, there had not been a day were she didn’t think of the boy, and how he gave his life to save Lena .

Daisy taken the girl under her arm and watched with pride when she was inducted as an agent. But still, even with all of Lena’s achievements, Daisy always remembered the dying bodies of her team. Her leader. She never stopped wondering what had happened to the boy. But now she knew. It was Lucas.

Daisy shook her head and got up, she had to find Sera before it was too late.

~

Stumbling, through the forest, Sera stopped and fell against a tree. Her tears had frozen on her cheeks.

Why did it have to be so damn cold?!

Wiping her cheeks, she sat on the ground and rubbed her hands together, trying in vain to regain some feeling. Moonlight shone through the leaves, the night was deathly quiet and snow filtered softly, descending on Sera and covering her in frost.

Angry and sad, she fell asleep nestled in the crooked roots of a tree. She was woken by a slight swishing sound, blinking quickly she caught sight of two beady eyes that were gazing at her with inhuman steadiness. There was a weight on her chest of a little snake. Sera didn’t move, sleep still clouded her eyes, and watched the snake blearily. The poor thing was cold...

Circling the snake’s eyes was an infinity sign. Just like the Evolutionist’s logo... Are you their little mascot, baby?

The snake curled around her neck, its thin scaly body seeking warmth in her collar. Opening its mouth slightly, it bit her, venom dripping from its fangs. Ouchie, Sera thought idly. The snake encircled itself around her wrist, his black scales etching into her skin and marking it with mysterious black ink. Then he slid off into the night.