To Be A Survivor

Chapter 68: Road To Nowhere

The lights flash on suddenly, and I hiss at the pain it brings my eyes. It's been dark for so long in this room that I'm trapped in-this lab. There's a bruise on my arm from the sedative that was injected in me to keep me from fighting Van Ark's men off. I managed to snap one's neck and break another's leg. If only I'd been able to grab a gun before I was sedated. Now I'm just handcuffed to this treadmill, with Sarah standing beside me.

She looks at me expectantly, but I say nothing. I have nothing to say to her, although it seems she doesn't feel the same.

"Five, I-"

The door opens, the sound loud and like nails on a chalkboard to my foggy mind. And in walks the man-the evil, cruel, insane man who wants to live forever-who can live forever. He holds a satisfied grin on his face, and there's a gleam in his eyes-the eyes that no longer age.

I hate him.

"They're not even bothering to encrypt their transmissions anymore," He says airily, happily. "You know, quite honestly, I'm a little disappointed that they crumbled so easily. The Major dead, the traitor fled, the radio operator fretting over vanished Runner Five, and that woman, Janine, with a broken arm. It hasn't taken much for then to fall into complete disarray."

I pull at my cuffs, but it does nothing but cause a loud 'cling' to echo in the air. It's a sound that no one really cares to hear. They both know my struggling is pointless.

"We knew that killing the Major would break them," Sarah says. "She was... she kept that place together."

"It's all very satisfying, Sarah. I do like an economical plan, just like a zombie-the head removed, the whole thing dies," He says, before pushing a few buttons on the treadmill to start it up, but I put my feet on the outer edges, glaring and pulling at the cuff on my right wrist.

"Yes, that's how it works."

"And a new test subject for me. One whose fitness I've caused to admire in the past." Van Ark sends me a smile. It's the type of smile a spider would give to the fly right before it eats it. "Runner Five, I did specifically want Sarah to bring you in."

The treadmill beeps as the pace starts to pick up, and I stare down at moving belt, keeping my feet on the outer edges.

"Ready to go then? Just hop on the treadmill and start going. Don't let that gun Sarah's holding throw you off. We have a few tests to preform. So, well... if you want to live, run."

I look over at Sarah, who points the gun at me before jerking her eyes toward the moving treadmill's belt. I take in a deep breath, before placing my feet on the treadmill.

And I run, like I always do.

I keep my gaze ahead. I don't look at Sarah or Van Ark or the little thing that tells how fast I'm going or the monitor screen that tells my heart rate. I just keep my gaze ahead, and I pray. Because it's going to take a miracle to get me out of here. No amount of wit or quick thinking or recklessness is going to get me out of here. I need God.

I'm afraid. I'll never show it, not to them. I won't let them have that satisfaction. I let them see the anger, the rage. I let them see the gleam of murder in my eyes. I let them see that because it covers up the fear of what will happen to me in this lab, on this treadmill. What will I become if the tests fail? What will I become if they succeed? How do I want this to turn out? Do I want to live or would it be better if I just died?

I don't want to die.

But I don't want to turn into a monster that lives forever.

My breathing is beginning to turn into a slight pant, but I'm not sure if it's from the running or from the panic. My heart is beating in my chest so quickly I can't even hear it. It is beating? I'm sure it is.