captured in silence

beginning

track practice always ran a little long on thursday nights, it was dark out by the time Lora had changed and begun her walk. It was only about a mile back home, but the rain had started to fall when she walked out the gym doors. This happened pretty often, even more since it was the beginning of April. She was going to be sixteen in two months, when school got out and she got to travel around the country with her mom in their camper. Their first stop this year was Yellowstone, for the third time, but she never got tired of the tall green trees and good Old Faithful. The rain was falling pretty evenly now, it was chilly enough she put her hood up, and started to jog a little. a city bus drove up next to her, opening the door. a friendly woman smiled at her, "need a ride sweets? where ya headed?" Lora smiled back, genuine. "thank you miss, but my house is just up the road here about a block, i can make it on my own" she lied, in all honesty, she had only
travelled about a quarter of a mile. she didn't want to trouble this woman. plus, she knew the 84 bus was gonna take a left turn in the next block, the complete opposite of her direction. "you stay warm dear, don't need our track star getting a cold." she shut the doors and peeled out from the sidewalk, Lora watching as she turned left on fulton avenue, her tail lights disappearing into the rain. she was walking close enough now to see the ocean, coos bay was definitely a spot to come if you wanted to see the waves. she stood there for a minute, until a man walked from the street infront of her. he was wearing a black hat, and a long black coat that went to his knees. she started walking, passing him on the sidewalk. "hey sweets, don't want our track star getting a cold out here." he said as they passed, making her stop in her tracks. she started to hurry now, running. her breath sounds were strangled as she tried to keep her breathing even. but as she looked back, the man was following her. she could see the lights of her house, she could see her mom through the front window setting the table, the cat sitting on the counter. she started to shout, but thunder sounded over head as a black gloved hand covered her mouth. she struggled under his grip, biting at his hand, but he shook her a little bit, making her cry out. she couldn't tell if she was blinded by tears or the rain as he dragged her backwards, her feet still kicking for thin air. he tossed her in the back of a van, where another person in all black was waiting, this time a woman. "I said i wanted a boy this time, Christopher." she was still kicking her feet, trying to scream for help, for anything. "well she was the only one around in this shithole of a town." the woman shook her head, "i told you we should've gone up to Seattle or Portland - what, are you just gonna hold her? get her in here, for gods sake man, you're acting like this is your first rodeo," she reached out for her, but lora kicked at her. "this ones so small though, she's pretty too. i feel bad." the mans voice was slow. "just get her in here Chris." she felt herself being pushed away, tossed even. as she hit the metal bottom of the van, she could feel his hands press her legs down as she struggled. the unnamed woman pressed her arms down under her knees and shot a substance into her neck. she cried out in pain, "there there - it's nap time for you my dear." it was like falling asleep, soon enough, her arms got heavy and her legs, and then her eyelids.
-
she woke up in the back of a moving vehicle, jerking awake, hoping she would be in her bed and this would all just be a dream. But it wasn't. she was in the same van, there was a divider between her and the front seats, kind of like in a cop car. "How are you feeling after your first dose?" the woman called into the back. she couldn't say anything, as vomit was rising in her throat. she sprayed puke everywhere, and the woman just chuckled. "that's normal, honey. you'll get used to it." lora moaned, flopping down on the metal. "what did you do to me" her voice came out unfamiliar, she covered her eyes with her hands. "we're just working on speeding up the process. you're a little small for the amount we're giving you but you should be alright. we were hoping for a male." lora rolled over, groaning in pain. it was like every inch of her being was on fire. "we have people back at the lab who will envy how quick this is moving along. your transformation should only take around 12 hours." lora couldn't believe what she was hearing. "12 hours of this shit?" the woman looked back at her. "for most - it took days, feel lucky. feel superior. be grateful to us." she could feel the van jerk to a stop as they pulled over. she threw up again, her throat burning with stomach acid. the back doors open and she was welcomed with another needle full of stuff that scorched her veins like liquid fire. she didn't scream for long. she fell back into a deep sleep.
-
it was dark the next time she woke up, on her stomach so she didn't choke on her own vomit and die in her sleep. she was pulled out of the van, and laid down on a stretcher. she was too tired to object. they were at some sort of a facility, she could hear people talking over her. the stretcher started to move, she was being taken inside. it was colder in the building than it was outside, most likely freezing. "why do you keep giving us kids covered in their own vomit?" she heard a man say, as he started to unbutton her shirt and pants. soon enough she was in her underwear, and they transferred her over to a hospital bed. she was covered with a blanket, an IV drip injected into her arm. she winced a little. "there there, you'll be here a couple days - and then you can go meet the others." A ref light started flashing and an alarm sounded. "it's the damn bear again" all the scientists left the room, and the last thing she heard was the door locking. the room was boring, plain, like a hospital room without the television, or the plant. she could remember being in a room like this when she broke her arm playing rugby. she remembered she wasn't able to throw javelin that year, that year they lost state. she wondered if her mom had called the police, if they were looking for her. but she knew she was far away from home, in a place they wouldn't ever find her. she rolled over, and tried to get some sleep.
-
she didn't know what time it was when she woke up, there were no windows in the room. the air was cold, so she wrapped the blanket around herself tighter. she wasn't like this, some scared little girl who wanted her mom and a warm cup of tea. she was a fighter. the doctors came in again, wearing white lab coats. "what's your name dear, we need to know for your chart." she opened her mouth to say something smart assed back, but was interrupted. "Lorelai, i just saw her picture on the news. country wide search," so her mom was looking for her, the whole country was looking for her. all she knew now was that the search would go on for about two months, and when they never found her alive - they would start to look not for her, but for her body , in ditches, in abandoned warehouses. and soon enough after that, they wouldn't be looking at all. the doctors said she was improving quickly and her transformation would begin soon. what transformation did everyone keep talking about?
-
she woke up with the lights hurting her eyes. she crawled from her bed, and hid under it, curled up on the cold concrete. "what kind of cat even is that?" she heard a voice from somewhere, she couldn't exactly pinpoint. "i think it's an ocelot, let's look it up" lora twisted under her bed, checking herself for any bruises, when all she found was fur. she felt primal, stronger than before, she crawled out from under the bed on padded feet, and they turned off the lights. she could see better with the lights off, a small ray of light coming in from the square window on the door. her bones started to bed, enlarge, and she cried out as the pain became unbearable. her wailing had turned into screams and when they turned the lights on, she was human again, half naked and on the floor. A doctor rushed in, a smile on his face. "It's time for you to meet the others."
-
she was strapped down to her hospital bed this time, pushed into an elevator, and taken down. the ride was quick, but she could tell she had just gone really far into the earth. the doors opened and it was extremely warm down here, her skin wasn't burning as much. she could hear the sound of animals and running water, and as they picked her up and carried her into a small glass enclosure, she had enough strength to look around. in the glass room she was in, there was a small stream, running through the stone ground, a couple of potted plants were around her, green and beautiful. there was a cot, with two blankets and a pillow, there were her clothes, folded up. she rushed to get her clothes on as the door shut, pulling her black leggings on and her grey zip up hoodie. she didn't bother with her shoes. sitting on her cot, leaning against the glass window. she felt someone's warm breath on her ear, and when she turned around, a huge grizzly bear bellowed at her through the glass. She yelped and slammed herself against the glass on the other side, curling up in a ball. a boy was on the other side, to her left, his long blond hair splaying out in different directions. "i'm kit- that's alex, she's having a bit of a melt down. welcome to the glass hell hole."