Our Manufactured Reality

Chapter 17: A Lost Search

[Charlie's POV]

As soon as I felt my body awaken, I opened my eyes and jumped out of the hospital bed.

Immediately a jolt of pain shot up my leg.

"Ah!" I gasped between a grimace. Keeping my mouth shut now was the most important part. I had prepared for this outcome. There was no way my wound was stopping me from this night. I grabbed a roll of bandages from the bedside table and wrapped my leg, taking the rest with me.

My breathing was still uneven with strain, but I willed myself to leave the hospital tent.

Outside, the air was cool and comforting. I took a deep breath and practiced putting weight on and off my leg. It was beginning to feel better...

I took off.

As fast as my leg would withstand, I held fast to my beliefs, to my hopes, and to my knowledge; I ran. The edge of the camp was so close. I could see the dim cloaking device/force field shimmering ahead of me. Then, without hesitation, I ducked past the barrier.

The clearing no longer existed. It was me and the woods now. And I had only one mission: Rescue Harper.

Suddenly, I heard voices up ahead. The search party for Harper had to be close. If I keep their voices in range, I could follow the team to her.

I'd thought about walking with R.E.P. search team, but I figured they'd never let me go. They'd just send me back because of my wounds.

This was the only way.

~~~

Time passed slowly. Every minute brought more aches in my leg, more bandages wrapped, more time spent limping, and more time spent away from Harper. More time wondering, hoping... That she was still alive.

But she had to be.

Each moment, I reminded myself that A.I.M. needed her for a reason. That he had taken her to advance his plan, to further his information, or to do something.

My mind ached at the thought that he had her somewhere. There was no telling what he could do to her or what he had already done.

After all... There were fates worst than death.

But I couldn't think about that. Now was not the time to ponder what her state was. Now was the time to plan.

Yet, as I walked along the beaten path to the unknown with a badly injured leg and breaking hopes, my thoughts wandered only to Harper. The one person that made all the pain worth it.

~~~

[Harper's POV]

"Why are you doing this?" I asked A.I.M. with tears in my eyes, "Why does the whole world have to suffer for your dreams?"

"Oh, try to understand, Atkins!" He sounded childishly fed-up with my ignorance. "It's for the greater good! Besides, if a new race of humans is coming, there is no room for the old versions!"

"You monster!" I lunged at him with impulse and was met with a dagger to the face.

"Foolish, girl!" Straight anger I had never seen in him before presented itself. "You could've died, you idiot!" There was no concern in his voice, only misunderstanding. He retracted the sharp, metal arm into his body.

Blood dripped down my face, but it didn't matter.

"Just think about what I could do to you," His words cut like the knife he held. "You are lucky to be alive. At least right now." He turned and exited the cell.