Forced to Start Again

Fresh Air At Last

| ABOUT A MONTH LATER |

Xander had been placed back in the room, which was a place he had rarely been since his last time in the lab around a month before now. He hadn't even been close to the table that he was aware of, but instead he was locked either inside this room or another one which was much larger.

The larger room held equipment that Raina said was supposed to make him stronger and healthier, and almost constantly he was in there, either running or lifting things by their instructions.

His entire body was sore and aching and covered with scars. Wasn't he a sight?

Self massaging his shoulders as much as he could, he sighed, sitting uncomfortably on the dirty stone floor, gently letting his head rest against the rock. When he was first brought here he was constantly trying to find a way out and now he knows every single detail about this room, but unlucky him, there were no weak points and it wasn't as if he was strong enough to fight his way out, but what about now? Maybe.

Seeing Raina enter the room, he immediately forced himself up to his feet, trying to appear as large as he could be. He didn't stand too tall, especially for his race. His species usually stood with a towering height with broad shoulders, but he was scrawny looking and sickly pale skin, only about 5'7 and weighing no more than one hundred pounds. He was used to being small, but not this small, this was mostly just from the lack of proper nutrients and food intake.

"Great, you're up.. you'll be glad to know that today is the day. We're letting you go."

The short girl, which was saying a lot coming from him, held out her hand for him to take. Hesitantly he did. She guided him out of the door and through the halls as if she owned the place, well, he guessed she did. Multiple people stopped in their tracks at the sight of her, straightening out their backs and saluting her, all looking to be soldiers of some sort. He remembered when he was treated with that much respect.

Finally, they reached what he guessed was the exit because there was a line of soldiers marking their pathway and the entire time she kept his fingers entangled in her own. As they grew closer to the en trace, he had to squint at the bright stream of light that was spilling in, his eyes watering. He had been in almost complete darkness for so long, a light this bright was foreign to him. Plus, back home he had seven suns which were an orangey red color, not a yellow like it was here, so it was never really this bright and brilliant, though it was absolutely beautiful with a sky of pinks and oranges mixed in with soft reds. From what he had heard, his sky looked a lot Earth's does when the sun was setting.

Shielding his eyes with his only free hand, Raina took to the light normally except for a slight wince. He guessed that everyone here did get their fair share of outdoors time.

After a while his eyes had fully adjusted to the extreme change, he was in awe at their surroundings. Rocky hills and mountains stretched towards the horizon and the sun above was bathing him in warmth and light. He had never smelt Earth's fresh air before, and as it didn't meet the same quality of the candied air back home, it was better than the musty underground filth he had been inhaling.

Everything he had to take in was overwhelming, a hint of a smile curling the tips of his mouth. He had completely forgot why he was out here, the hand holding onto his, forgotten. This was nothing like home, yet it was okay. Sure, he was home sick, but after being locked away for years unknown, seeing all of this.. he was speechless towards the breathtaking view.

Flinching back like a scared puppy when a loud screech was heard overhead, Raina chuckled and shook her head.

"That's a bird, Bambi. Remember? It's not gonna kill you. I told you about anything and everything you'll encounter, and you should know it like the back of your hand by now. I told you what plants were dangerous and everything, so please, don't make us have to come and rescue you because you decided that a it wouldn't hurt to try a poisonous mushroom." she said in a sarcastic yet serious tone, not even bothering to look over her shoulder.

Slightly offended and embarrassed, he nodded and let out a soft hum to let her know he understood. A mix of anxiety, fear, and excitement was filling him, curious eyes looking over the landscape with a child's innocence to the world. As they grew closer to where Raina was taking him, he noticed a whirring sound, a quite loud one at that. Now set on trying to figure out what it was, he tried to peer around and spot it but either they were far away or it was behind a big set of rocks.

Minutes later, a contraption set out in front of them, blades spinning and engines roaring to life from it. Raina pushed him inside, and stumbling through the wide rectangular opening in the side of it, he sat down on one of the seats and she sat across from him, a few soldiers climbing in with him. Racking his brain for what it might be called, he sucked on his front teeth. He knew Raina mentioned something like this before - a helicopter!

Right as he realized, the vehicle was starting to lift up from the ground. He gulped, patting down his hair as the wind blew through the two wide gaps on each side. They went higher and higher and as he did he discovered just how small he was. Ya, he was lanky and thin, but not that kind of small. The rocky textures covered almost as far as the eye could see and the helicopter jumped forward in its adventure, and the landscape changed form dust and rock to various greens. It was beyond beautiful, it was extraordinary.

| SOME TIME LATER |

Night had fallen quite a while ago and a few times they had to land to refuel the helicopter, but the whole time he felt frozen in his seat, mouth taped shut and stomach tied in knots. Where were they taking him? At first, with all the excitement the reason why he was in the helicopter had completely slipped from his mind, but he heard Raina and the pilot speaking about how they just crossed the Canadian boarder. Canada? Why were they bringing him here? It was a mystery to him, maybe they were just flying through, but then if they were, where were they going?

Below him was an abundance of trees as far as the eye could see, and he was deep in through whilst looking out into the view. Jumping when Raina tapped his shoulder, he turned to her in question.

"This is where we leave you. Remember, stay away from civilization and good luck." she spoke, sliding a backpack on over his shoulders.

"What? How am I supposed to get down there?" he asked, trying to steady his visably shaking hands.

"Pull on this," she gently showed him a string with a little knob like thing at the end, "when you feel like it's the right time to, a parachute will be activated and you'll fall down safe and slow. Now," she tightened everything up before smiling, "go on."

Weakly standing on his feet, he started to shuffle towards the way he came in.

"Wait, what about food and shelter.. how am I supposed to survive?"

"Why do you think I'm wishing you luck?"

Feeling a bit of anger towards her that she would just leave him like that, he shook his head before looking back out into the clear skies, brushing his wild hair from his eyes. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he stood at the edge before jumping.