Mother Nature

Chapter 6

I ran across a slippery surface. The floor swiftly approached my face; a thick loop of metal wire solidly tangled around my ankle. My hands shot up towards my face, stopping my body just in time. Rolling onto my back, I wrestled with the death trap, hopelessly attempting to free it somehow from the section of the wall it escaped from, knocking over the loose panel next to it that had been so carelessly balanced. In less than a second later, my hands were tugging uselessly at the cord that bound me there. Something dropped down the corridor. My eyes widened.

A new desperation overwhelmed me. It's coming. Scavenging around for a way to loosen the wire, which wasn't particularly easy in pitch black, my hands grasped a revolver. Without questioning its placement at the time, I lined up my shot, not totally confident if I was doing it right. As the cold metal of the wire bit icely into my skin, I bit my lip and my breath hitched from anticipation and nervousness. I pulled the trigger.

A gunshot echoed through the deserted building, sending all chances of stealth running for the hills. The grip on my foot released. However, before I could start celebrating, a agony beyond explanation fired just above my ankle. I could feel the hot, sticky river of blood run down my foot and pool under my heel. I let out an ear-splitting scream.

It must've been the bullet. It went through the wire into my flesh. I grimaced from the pain, choking back a sob. Tearing off a strip from the bottom of my blood stained, dust-covered lab coat, I fastened it as tightly as I could around my wound, acting like a dressing, hoping it would stop some of the bleeding. Perhaps all this medical training and biology studies I've been doing will pay off when I most need them. Then it dawned on me. It knew where I was. A fresh layer of terror constricted my heart. From all the noise I was making with the wire and the gunshot and let's not forget my screaming, it probably knows exactly where I am right now.

I pushed up off the ground, causing me to feel every last bit of pain from the deep cut. I bit my lip so hard to prevent myself from screaming, that the familiar metallic-y taste of my own blood entered my mouth once more. Red-hot tears streamed down my grime-incrusted cheeks. I'm or entiredly sure how but I managed to make it through the corridors, around the turns and through doors. Well, until I reached the dead end.

My breathing rapidly sped up, my heart almost bursting from my chest. I'm going to die here. I pressed my back against the wall, which happened to be half decaying, like the rest of this wing of the research physicality. A sharp click from the other end of the corridor rung in my ears as a spark illuminated the hallway, making the room flood with light.

The labs are all decorated in a very industrial manner, with white wall and light grey, flat-tiled flooring.  The doors white with one way glass so you can only see from the inside out not the other way around. You almost wouldn't notice how abandoned this wing of the building was if you didn't look hard enough.

The paint was flaking at the corners from age, accompanied by many a spiders web. Dust lay untouched for decades, caking the few shelves and little furniture there is and the floor, flying graciously in the air, awoken by my clumsy, one-sided movement. Certain tiles were missing from dull flooring, revealing the thick ugly cement foundations underneath. A spider scuttled up to me. I raised my foot to crush it, when a soft, childish, feminine voice came from my source of light.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." It said. I squinted my eyes at the blinding light trying to get a successful glance at my pursuer. I finally made out the silhouette of a little girl. The terror slipped away like water over rocks. She couldn't hurt me.

"Why not?" I asked confidently, raising one eyebrow.

"His life isn't worth any less than yours just because he's smaller." She said crossing her over he stain-free, white party dress, her hair in long brown, luscious curls resting at her waist. Her pale complexion made her blue eyes pop, and contrasted against the decaying building, giving the impression of an angel in hell. She took a step towards me, now a couple of metres away.

"You're right. Why are you here?" I asked propping myself up against the wall to a sitting position.

"Fate told me to stay." She shrugged. What? She was already here?

"To stay?" I pushed.

"No, my question now. What's your name pretty lady?" She asked smiling, her haunting eyes peering into mine, not once blinking.

"Lara Miller. What's yours?" I said maintaining the eye contact. I lowered my foot on the spider killing it. She won't notice anyway, she's too interested in our conversation. I was wrong. Her head snapped down the dead spider, breaking our eye contact, the smile immediately changing to a darkened expression. Then I realised something.

The gun. Hadn't it been awefully near to the containment area. Surely there would've been someone in there that heard me and would've come to help? Maybe there was no one awake to help me. And I assumed that the liquid I slipped on was water, could it have been blood. I ran my finger along the bottom of my boot and held it up to the light. It was blood. She killed everyone... someone must've dropped the gun as she killed them and it slid along the ground. Wait a minute. I looked over at the girl. My eyes travelled from her fuming face to her hand. My jaw dropped in shock. The light was coming from her hand.

She rushed towards me so her face was in mine.

"You will pay for that." She whispered in my face. I remained silent, too shocked for words. The light in her hands grew into s large flame. I raised my hands to my face at the sudden intensity of the heat. "Avery." She said, her lips pressed tightly, "I'm Avery." In one movement she gently blew behind the flames and watched as they speedily engulfed my body. I screamed.