Chromium

11.1

First draft

Dia felt no pain when she touched ground, landing on her feet so naturally, it didn't seem she had jumped off a moving train. It wasn't that surprising since her muscles, tendons, bones—her entire body was fundamentally different from that of a regular human being. Usually, this would have worried her, reminded her of what she had become, but not now.

Now she ran, ran without turning back, constantly afraid the mechs would chase after her or worse, that Gibson's horde would be able to catch up with her.

She could almost see the scientist's hollow eyes, the blank look on his face as he first sedated her, and then experimented on her. She could imagine Gibson tearing her body open, his cold mechanical fingers delving into her as he tried to unravel the secret that made her so unique. She knew he wouldn't worry about the consequences or care if he ripped her to shreds. However, that was just her head playing tricks on her. No one was following her.

Still, it didn't really matter if those enemies were real or not. She had been pushed way beyond her breaking point and the last revelation, what the mech had said to her, was just the final straw. 

She wasn't even panicking but hazed, her brain a bit like a locked car; the engine was still working, but she had no way to get inside it, let alone turn it on.

Soon everything became a blur, and the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own steps, her bare feet on the cold asphalt as she escaped from everything that was hurting her.

When she finally came back to her senses, she was completely out of breath. Dia had no idea how long she had run, but one thing was sure: she was lost, half-naked and defenseless. Well, maybe not defenseless, but she was still unarmed since she had no idea how to use her augmentations.

Maybe it was just her perception, that fear born out of the realization that she was underground, all alone in the dark, but the walls seemed to distort, the road to stretch forever like the tunnel was endless.

Even worse, no matter how fast she ran, it felt like she hadn't moved at all. The ceiling, the wall, even the rails never changed.  She softly clacked her tongue ring against her teeth, a nervous gesture bound to become a habit. 

The fact she was wandering in that dark maze was bad enough, but when the temperature began dropping she started panicking for real. Semi-organic skin or not, it was getting way too cold for her taste. She crossed her arms over her chest, her teeth rattling as she forced herself to keep moving.

That's when she saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. She threw caution to the wind and started running, staying on the tracks until the tunnel curved. After that, it started getting wider, the rough concrete of the walls replaced by white marble.

A feeble light glowed as she left the train's platform, the antiquated light bulbs flickering on the ceiling of the old station. Old but still in use and well maintained, judging by the lack of dust and dirt on the worn-out tile floor. Yet, she couldn't see anyone nearby. The place looked deserted.

Dia squinted her eyes, covering them with her hand. It took her a few minutes to get used to the light after the hours she had spent wandering in the darkness. She looked around and saw a sign. "Bedford station" was written on it,  and right below it, Bedford town. Someone had drawn the picture of a hammer and chisel crossed on a coat of arms on the wall behind the sign.

A mining town?

"Is anybody there?" She asked, but no one answered her.

She walked across the train station, looking around for clues, signs of human presence, but everything was still and quiet.