Flaw

Chapter 15: F

Flaw could not understand it at first. When her cocoon of safety broke, and she was struggling to face her new embodiment. Invisible strings held her in the middle of an egg-shaped tub, that stood upwards. Flaw could feel the claws in the back of her neck, and when the fog cleared from her eyes, she could see the yellow tube connected to her head.

The liquid that encapsulated her in her shell was green. The outside of the shell looked like green moss that spread over an abandoned lake, but when she reached out and touched it, it felt like a hard-plastic sheet. Her touch made it wobble ever so slightly, and it made circular waves that you could only see from the inside. Flaw dug her claws into it, but it was no use. The plastic just wobbled, and the circular patterns cleared up the moss just for a second, before it grew back its patches.

It was an odd experience, but Flaw found herself in the same position that she had been in before. She was stuck in a pod again. She was being grown again, but this time not to sell off to a husband, no – this time she was being experimented on, and the isolated room that she was in made it evident that it was not intended for public knowledge that she was here, nor that she was being poked and tested on.

Flaw reached back, her muscles aching with every move, and pulled at the yellow tube. When it pulled at the hooks that were inserted in her brain, electric fire shot through her body, and she screamed as though it helped. She couldn't give up; it was her only chance.

Flaw pulled at it again, pushing through the pain as she was electrocuted, until the claws released their filthy grips from her brain, and she was free from their chemicals. Blood from her head danced around her, and the water felt like it was spinning. In her mind, it seemed like she was stuck in a vortex during a maelstrom. From others perspective, she was running out of oxygen and drowning.

The claw no longer fulfilled her desire to live, and so it was releasing chemicals to kill her. Flaw acted quickly, knowing that she had to get out of the pod, not only because she was going to die, but she could also sense Blake. She knew that she was close. And she knew that she was going to get herself in trouble.

Flaw took the claws, and jammed it into the plastic sheet. It took a few times before it ripped opened, and the world gave birth to a mass of green liquid, and one woman who scaled across the tiles before getting pounded into a tall metal cupboard. Flaw coughed up red paint, and gasped for the crisp air that she desired more than anything.

Being out of the pod, Flaw could already feel that something was different with her. She didn't even stop to try and find her balance like the first time she had to escape, no this time she was steady, and she found herself moving in the direction of where Blake's soul was calling her. Flaw flew past the guards as if she was a ghost, and they didn't see her before they felt her presence. A presence that intended to do everyone harm except Blake. But Blake was about to make a mistake, and Flaw knew it. That's why she had to rush.

She drifted up the stairs, not even noticing the plantation of new women that lay in utter absolution of their future lives.

She neared Blake, and she saw that she was about to destroy the whole facility. Flaw felt her voice echo, not only in the room, but through the whole building.

"No, stop!"

Blake froze for a second, not sure that she heard correctly. Blake turned around and almost collapsed in relief when she saw Flaw. Before Flaw knew it, Blake had her wrapped around her arms. Blake's warmth and joy emitted into Flaw like a hot sunny day, blistering through her veins.

"You're alive!" Blake gasped in relief. Flaw hadn't noticed up until that moment that Blake was wearing a strange plastic covering, and she herself, was naked. Blake didn't seem to care, as she was just relieved to see a familiar face – a face that could help her get out and back to her village.