Child Control

The Escape

A/N: This symbol ******* means a flashback 

Finally, my opportunity had come.

I slowly edged open the door of my cell and ran through the cold sterile-looking halls. My heart was racing and my eyes darted back and forth, scanning for any signs of the guards that were supposed to be around. Thank God I didn't run into any of them. I had no idea where I was going and my bare feet slapped the cold ground hard as I ran. My lungs and legs burned because I had never been allowed to move like this before but I ignored it. This was my only chance at freedom and I had to succeed.

A hand shot out and grabbed my arm as I ran around a corner and another covered my mouth when I opened it to scream. I was pulled flush against a large, strong body I knew I'd never be able to escape from if I tried. This is it, this is the end. I thought to myself as a tear trickled down my face.

"Who are you?" A male voice whispered in my ear. He pressed his hand tighter to my mouth for a second and then slowly released it, he kept his hands clenched tightly around my arm though and flexed his grip, reminding my how trapped I was.

"Number 559," I said, my voice strained with fear.

"What are you doing?" Do I tell him the truth? I wondered. Well, he's already caught me, I'm in trouble either way.

"I was trying to escape," I said, another tear making its way down my face and dripping off my chin.

"Ok. I can help with that." He said and my eyes widened. As he released my arm I turned to look at him and realized there was a group of terrified children who looked between the ages of 8 and 16 staring back at me. All of the children were pale and sickly-looking, like me.

"Who are you?" I said and looked up at him. He was wearing all black with only part of his face showing. It was hard to make out his exact features but from what I could tell he had sharp facial features and deep-set eyes with bold brows above them that were currently turned down.

"My name is David and I'm here to rescue you." He said. It sounded very rehearsed by glancing at the group of children behind him I assumed he had said it to all of them. I looked him over again. He was in an all-black ensemble and had a couple of knives strapped to his legs. He didn't look or act like a guard so I decided to put my trust in him. Going with him couldn't be worse than staying here, what did I have to lose?

"Ok," I said and wiped the tears from my face. He nodded and started creeping forward, motioning with his hand for us to follow him. We all crept as quietly as we could behind him as he led us to the exit. At least I hoped that's where he was leading us and not to our deaths.

I ignored the rest of the children beside me and let their harsh breathing and footsteps become background noise. I focused all my attention on David, not wanting to miss any signal he gave. His back and shoulders were tense with stress and he walked carefully like he was trying not to make a sound and tried my best to emulate him.

We walked through the twists and turns of the Facility, the bright lights and empty halls increasingly unnerving to me. Every so often I heard a cry of pain from inside one of the many doors lining each side of the hall. I blindly followed our leader until we reached a large door. Something about how easy all of this was nagged a little suspicion in the back of my head but I ignored it and kept moving.

When David reached the door he put up his hand to stop us several feet away. He went to the keypad and shifted his body so we couldn't see what he was doing. As soon as the door lifted off the ground I felt a rush of cold air and some earthy scent.

When I stepped outside it was a sensory overload. I felt a bunch of hard and soft things under my feet, there was wind in my hair, and something bright was just starting to climb over the horizon. I looked down and recognized them as twigs and leaves from when I was forced to learn through pictures about the basics of nature. Suddenly, I heard strange high pitched noises and flinched and covered my head.