Brokenly, Restored

#293

     I'm panting as I continue to zigzag across the arena floor. Balls of fire are constantly thrown at me, and I'm barely still able to dodge them. I almost skid into an explosion of flames. I whirl around to see the number who's been attacking me. She has dark red hair with twisted horns and a scaled tale. She hisses at me and sends another fireball my way. I jump to the side just in time to avoid it. This is one of the more unstable numbers. This is the first time that she's been forced to fight like the rest of us, but she already seems out of control. Anything human in her has been wiped away. They put me in here for her to kill me.

And it's not like anybody would expect me to win. I was so close to death that they never finished experimenting on me. I'm lucky to be alive. But they did make it so that I would be helpless against the other numbers. They took away the only thing that could of helped me escape: my wings. Feathers grow along the top middle of my head, tailing down my neck. A few of them even grow on my upper shoulders. The rest of my back is all scared up, with twin scars running from my shoulder blades to my lower back. I also have a four foot tail of silky feathers at the base of my spine. Hey, I've seen worse looking things than myself in this place.

     I yelp and duck underneath another fireball. The feathers on my head are slightly singed from that last one. I dash again to the left. If I stop moving, I'm probably dead. I've lasted this long, so I really can't give up now. Pete would never know what happed to me. I'm not sure if Matt would tell him or not. Dodging like this is just wearing me out. I quickly change direction and run straight for the demon girl. Matt says that predators are confused when you run straight at them. They might freeze, theoretically. I almost smile in glee when she does stop moving with a confused face. We're only a few feet apart when she snaps out of it. Her barbed tail comes flying at me as I barrel into her. I punch her collar bone, a cracking sound making me want to vomit. Her tail slices my leg at the same time. The demon girl squeals and frantically tries to crawl away from me. It's not like I wanted to hit her......

     I'm back up on my feet in matter of seconds, stepping away with my back to the wall. I'm limping from her tail. Blood is soaking into my pant leg. The demon girl hisses and growls from the other side of the arena. She's more focused on keeping me away now. One of the arena doors swings open, and five heavily armed guards march in. They're all wearing armor at least an inch thick. Three of them grab the demon girl
while the other two come for me. I have my hands behind my back before they're even close. There's no point in fighting. It would just get me killed faster.

     They ruffly grab onto my arms and start leading me out of the arena. None of them say anything to me. It surprises me when they slow their walking to account for my limp. They usually end up dragging me when I'm too injured. I'm lead out into the hall, and I briefly catch a glimpse of another number being lead into the other arena door. Their skin is letting off a warm glow. I'm quickly lead away and back towards my cell. I've pretty much memorized this place. The halls are designed exactly the same, just to confuse us numbers. Unfortunately for them, Matt's like a walking computer. He probably has this entire place mapped out. Or maybe they want him to know.....

     When we get to the hall with the obsidian cells, I almost freeze in surprise. It's him; the guy running this hell whole. Nobody here even knows his name. I'm marched over to him, my feathers flattening themselves close to my body. I'm slightly glaring at him even with how much he scares me. He's staring me down with an almost amused look.

     "Aren't you just full of surprises. Not a single enhanced skill, and you still end up surviving time after time", he says to me, "Maybe after my plan is complete, we could find some use for you". I don't answer him. He makes a clucking sound before turning and walking away. After a few feet, he stops, saying, "And by the way, tell...... 'Matt', that I said hi". Then he turns and keeps walking.

     "What did you do to Matt!", I scream at him. I squirm and kick at the guard holding me. I'm punched in the face and thrown back into my cell. I land on my bad leg and crumple onto the floor.

     "Choco!", Pete yells, keeling by my side. Matt says that he's been here for 11 years now, 7 since Pete was put in here with us. I gave Pete his name since Matt and I have them.

     "I'm ok, Pete. I'm sorry if the yelling outside scared you", I tell him, sitting up.

     "I'm really glad that you're back. They brought Matt back while you were gone...... but he won't talk to me", Pete mumbles, glancing over at the corner. I look too, seeing Matt sitting with his head facing us. He's just watching with a blank face.

     "He's not talking? He always at least responds, even if he can't feel emotion right away......", I trail off. Matt has new plates on his mechanical arm, looking a bit like glass pains. Electricity crackles underneath. He literally needs to be charged once a day to keep from shutting down. If they put a new energy system on him, doesn't that mean he might be away from this lab?