Overgrown Bloodline

Chapter 1: Learning To Let Go

Everything was black all around me, but my eyes were open. The song jingle bells hummed silently in the background. I sat tightly in an empty school desk, wondering how I got there in the first place, but I didn't want to leave. My two best friends had appeared in front of me, staring through the back of my eyes and directly into my soul.

To my left was the love of my life, Samantha Hill. Her silky blonde hair fell over her head perfectly and she smiled at me without any words. To my right was my best friend, Preston Davis. I had come to know him over the last couple of months and we grew close quickly. His brown hair was a mess like usual, but his facial expression made me uneasy. He gritted his teeth hard and his eyes began to thicken to a full black.

I woke up with a loud screech. That's when I remembered where I was, the control room. I sat in a dark corner furthest from their bodies. The screams were still echoing throughout the halls which meant that the massacre had not ended yet. I had no concept of time.

I tried to get up, but I realized my right arm was way too heavy. Preston disconnected the control from my body with the Kill Switch. I eventually stood up, but not too straight. I swayed around looking for something to help get this dead weight off. I held on tightly to the control room desk, searching through the drawers until I found a blunt pair of scissors. I fell back into my corner hurting myself on the way down and looked carefully at the scissors, trying to find the sharpest end.

I stabbed into my arm quickly, not thinking about it at all. Blood squirted out and the pain was deep. I moaned as quietly as I could, trying not to draw any attention to me. I tried moving it around, but all it really did was hurt me so I began to stab my arm in a fury. Shocks flew out at me and I was crying in pain, I couldn't control the volume anymore. Eventually, my arm hit the ground hard with a loud metal clank, a pool of blood under it. The door to the control room flew open and I quickly grabbed my sidearm with the only hand I had left.

"Jake...?!"

I dropped my gun quickly and broke into tears. It was Sasha.

"What...what happened?"

She was in pure shock to see Preston's body. The door opened wider. Christine supported her messed up leg.

"Jesus christ Jake! What the fuck happened?!" Christine screeched.

There was a silence, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Help him up, go ahead," Sasha motioned Christine to put her down.

Christine reached her hand out towards mine, "We have to get out of here. Come on!"

I grabbed her hand and she helped me up, my blood ran down her fingers.

"Jake what happened to you?!" She said noticing the missing arm.

"I...cut it off..." I finally heard myself speak, "I... couldn't move it..."

Christine looked back at Preston's and Sam's bodies. I could tell she didn't want to ask again so I just started speaking.

"Preston...Preston lost it..." I said very slowly, "Sam shot him with her last breath," I couldn't look her directly in the face, "they're both gone."

There was another silence, but this one was deadly. It didn't seem like it was going to end until the terminal nearby started to roar. A distorted voice came through its speakers.

"Your leader might be dead," the voice said, "but you're still under my orders!"

The ruckus throughout the halls got quiet and you can tell that every single Red was listening.

"That boy, Jake Williamson, is a danger to all of you. I suggest you find him immediately. He is no longer the prize your idiotic leader made him out to be. Don't let him squeeze his way out of Mother Corp just like he did before..."