Curiosity Killed the Cat

Brooding Shadows

Kat's POV

The very moment I pull the trigger, I instantly regret it. I shouldn't. It doesn't make any sense. I was assigned to kill him, I shouldn't think anything of it. But the blast of the bullet escaping its prison is horrifying.

"Jason!" A girl screams, trembling like a leaf from shock.

What have I done...

I stand there, frozen. The screeching of alarms seems twice as deafening than before.

We are your people, Kat! His voice yells in my head. The shocked and horrified looks burn into me. Like these people weren't expecting me to shoot him.

And why is that? How do they all know my name? They look at me as if I have betrayed them, when I've done no such thing to gain their trust in the first place.

All this is starting to add up. I'd be an idiot not to see it. There's something that is bothering me, something that has to do with everyone here. But I can't quite pin down what it is. Every time I chase after it and think I have a hold of something, it skitters away. I'm left to stage one, all over again.

You need to run, before it's too late, says an annoying, nagging voice inside my mind. I shake my head to clear my thoughts. All this doesn't matter. I'm a soldier now, and these people are trying to keep me from my duty by messing with my head.

I take one last look at the bullet hole weeping blood, destroying his left eye with a gaping hole, most likely leaving him dead. It'd be a miracle if he walked out of this one. His friends are too struck with grief to go after me.

I sneak around the building, searching for any signs of my people. It doesn't take long to catch the scent of blood. And not just any blood, but the modified and enhanced blood of people like me. The scent is old and is exceptionally faded from the smell of bleach, which they probably used to clean it up.

The smell follows in an almost perfect trail to the door. People have been dragged in here. I try the knob, expecting it to be locked, but it isn't.

Trap! Screams the little voice. I ignore it this time.

I'm too high on adrenaline to be skeptical. This is it. I'll let all of them free and we can escape here for good.

The scene that I find behind the door makes bile rise in my throat. Horror and dread threaten to induce vomiting.

Prosper, who is strapped to a metal table, groans in agony. Holes that seemed to have been drilled into him cover his body. I see others like this too, and the remaining are locked up in cages like animals waiting to be slaughtered.

Why...

Quinn said they were all safe like me. They had a nice little prison with good food. Was she talking about only a few of us, who were spared from torture to be studied?

The door closes behind me loudly. I don't turn around. I can't. The Walls had no way of preparing me to see what is before my eyes.

Naturally, I begin to hurl. A few sickening splatters are heard until Quinn speaks up.

Stupid, on her part. She's extremely injured and facing me again isn't such a good idea. I'll kill her.

She clears her throat dramatically. "Yes, I guess I forgot to mention this room. You see, you and your friends have something extraordinary. Immune systems that can fight any sickness or disease, unflawed DNA. With you, we wouldn't have to worry about plagues ever again. We can genetically engineer a perfect race for future generations. But in order for this to happen, we can't just take blood. It is necessary to extract bone marrow and such."

I can't lie, it is a pretty good plan. The best part about it is they can bring us to the brink of death, and we could easily heal in a day or two. The Walls granted us with this healing ability as soldiers, something that'll make us withstand almost anything. Even torture, but no matter how desperately we want to die, our bodies refuse to stop working. A blessing and a curse.

"Why aren't I locked in a cage like them?" I question. I hold off on killing her. Not the right moment. Besides, she doesn't seem afraid of me. She's expecting me to lunge at her.

"That other group of kids seem to care much about you. Or at least, their leader, Jason does. As long as you're here, they stay here, and we need them for something as well."

My eyes narrow. "What if Jason gives up on me? I don't know him or any of the others. Besides, I kinda just blew his face off a few minutes ago."

Her lips curl into a smile, like she knows something I don't.