The Cure

The Nightmare:

Gwen:

   I trudged my way past my kitchen, past my living room and I forcefully pushed into my work out room. I had so much on my mind but one question swimming around in it constantly, "Why me?" Why was I chosen to lead? I knew the dangers about sneaking into the laboratories, I could be accused of treason. But its not like I had a choice, If the general wanted me to do it, then it was no question. I had to. I picked my boxing gloves up of the floor and threw a hook at my punching bag. "I didn't ask for this" I punched the bag again. "I didn't want to join the army" I spun around and hit the bag with the back of my fist and jabbed it. "I just wanted to belong somewhere." I pulled my arm back and thrusted my elbow into my bag with force. All the hits were making it swing back and forth. "I just wanted peace. I wanted to be different." I threw an uppercut and raised my knee and kicked the bag with the balls of my feet. "But even when I try for something to stay calm, something horrible happens." I turned my body so it was perpendicular with the bag. "First it was mom. And then dad. And now," I rotated quickly and let the flat part of my foot send the bag swinging dangerously from side to side. "THIS. How am I supposed to lead them there? How am I supposed to stop them? What am I going to do?" I skipped to my right so I was following the bag while it was swinging. I heard something crack but I didn't care. All I saw was red and I had to get rid of it and control myself. I spread my feet apart and lowered myself to the ground, so I was crouching. I crawled backward a few feet and stood up slowly. "I can't do everything. I'm only 17 and people expect me to lead 6 people into a government laboratory and end this madness. Yea like that's gonna happen. Why can't they see that I'm not a superhuman?!" I jogged forward and picked up speed as I went. Air whistled passed me and when I was a few feet away from the bag, I jumped off the ground and twisted my body sideways and stuck out my foot. I heard a large crack when I landed back on the ground and I watched as my bag crashed onto the floor along with a hunk of drywall from the ceiling. I felt my shoulders slump and I raked a hand through my hair. I leaned down and pushed the bag to the opposite wall and walked out of the room thinking, "That's the third one this week."

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   I heard them coming towards me, I heard the pounding of their huge feet on the gravel. The sky was turning a dark shade of blue and I knew that the safety of the day was running out as the darkness of the night was inching closer. I took in labored breaths of air looked behind me. I had lost them for now but I could hear their screeching and I knew they were close by. I looked around frantically and saw a pine tree, "Better then nothing" I thought. I quickly jumped and scaled up the tree and looked in the distance when I say them rushing in. Their hunched backs and large feet pounding up the ground, their tangled and mangy hair was falling in their eyes but they seemed to see perfectly because they spotted me right away. They stumbled over to the tree and their talon like nails scratched at the bark until they finally got a grip and climbed up after me. I scrambled around and I reached for the branch above me I pushed up with my feet and gripped the branch when I heard a large snap. I looked closer and saw the branch below me drop down to the ground below me. "No!" I screeched. I had to survive. The squad needed me. I saw one of the savages look up at me with his crazed, veiny eyes.They were practically bulging out of his eye sockets and he licked his bloody mouth and stared up at me and reached for my leg and scratched it with his talons. I screamed out in pain. I felt him wrap his arm around my foot and I tried shaking it off. His hand slid my leather boot off and I tried boosting myself up while he was distracted. My arms were shaking and my hands were slowly scraping against through bark of the tree. I was falling.

   I heard the monster beneath me cackle in delight knowing he had won and he grabbed at my foot and yanked me down. My hand was bloody from my palm scraping against it and it hurt. The pain coursed through me and I felt my eyes get watery, this was it. I would leave my squad and I would leave Derek. What would Derek say when he found out? I just hope he forgets this happened, I can't stand the thought of anyone mourning over me. I felt another sharp tug and I let go. As I hurtled to the ground through the branches of the tree my final thought before everything turned black was, "I'm sorry Derek"