Coming Back Down

The 48

  Waking up while gasping for air, I shot up and wildly looked around. Everything was bright and white and....clean. Clambering out of the bed that I was apparently laying in, I saw an IV in my arm and pulled it out without ripping my vein. Stumbling to the door, I saw a small, round window. Looking through it, all I could see was an equally white and bright hall, and another room right across from me. The other room, however, was empty.

  Completely losing my cool, I picked up the IV stand and swung it at the door. Shattering the glass in the window, I cleared the hole of any glass and reached through to unlock the door. My breathing was coming out heavier as my heart was pounding. I was in unfamiliar surroundings with unfamiliar sights and sounds and smells while wearing unfamiliar clothing. Everything was a sterile white as I ran through the hall.

  My bare feet were slapping against the floor as I raced past more rooms and more lights. When the floors and walls turned to concrete, I had to turn right because the hall ended and that was the only way to go.

  "Stop right there!" A man's voice shouted a few yards ahead of me as more stood by his side. Skidding to a halt, I covered my eyes from the lights on their guns. "Return to your room immediately to be decontaminated." Seeing all of their guns, I knew obeying would be the smart decision, but feeling like a cornered animal had me going against my head.

  Glaring firmly while bending my legs at the knees, I bounced on the balls of my feet a couple of times. Taking in a deep breath, I ran at them. They didn't fire but tried to block me off using their guns. Dodging under them and weaving through, I got stuck in the middle when some red gas filled the room.

  The men with guns pulled out masks from their belts to cover their faces while I was left to breathe in the gas. My limbs began to feel heavy as my vision was going blurry. I could hear one man shouting at another, but it sounded distant and far off as my eyelids grew too heavy to keep open, and I fell to the ground.

~

  "Viper, am I correct?" A voice said as I was coming to. "That seems to be what everyone is calling you since we can't seem to find your real name." Snapping my eyes open, I saw that I was back in the white room. Slowly sitting up, I saw an old man standing at the end of the bed.

  He wore an old, dark blue suit and had short, white hair. The old man had his hands behind his back as he was smiling down at me. "You seem to be quite the fighter with the trouble you caused some of my guards, but your friends assured me that you're quite peaceful when calm."

  "I just ran past your guards." I simply stated while carefully getting out of bed while not looking away from the man. "And I have no friends, only allies."

  "Well," He chuckled. "your allies are waiting for you. Once you get changed, you'll be taken right to them." He waved a hand, and a couple of people wheeled in a strange suitcase. Opening it, they revealed various types of clothing on the inside before leaving.

  Looking at the door, I then narrowed my eyes at the camera above it. Positioning the odd suitcase to block the camera, I sifted through the clothes and found a pair of faded, ripped jeans and an old, grey, long-sleeved shirt. Finding a pair of sneakers, I got changed and grabbed a loose jacket with a faded wolf on the back and the hood.

  Coming out of the room, the old man smiled at me and waved in the direction I had run in earlier- At least, I think it was earlier, but there was no way to be sure how much time had passed from then to now without any natural light sources.

  "Now, why is it, might I ask, that they call you Viper? They say it's just what they call you because they have no idea what else to call you." The old man chuckled.