Synthetic Beauty (re-posted)

Chapter Nine: Phoebe Goes Bad

Chapter nine: Phoebe Goes Bad

                   Phoebe heard gunshots all around the room. She couldn't see anything because of the drugs circulating through her system. She moans and lies on her side, tears tainting her face. She hears grunts and shrieks coming from the doctors and nurses. The boy seems to be raiding the room as if it were a piece of cake. For a moment the only noise in the room was Phoebe's moaning and some dripping sound nearby. Phoebe manages to open her eyes.

The red haired boy stands over bloody unconscious bodies. They each had a small hole in their arms. He must have shot them. Phoebe watches as the boy drops all his equipment and runs to her side.

          "Oh, Phoebe! If I knew they would have done this to you I wouldn't have..." the boy says, going deep into thought.

          How do you know my name? Phoebe wanted to ask, but couldn't. She just lay there, barely able to open her eyes. The boy turns around, hearing the backup coming. He grabs Phoebe by the waist, gently, and slings her limp body over his shoulder. She could barely see the ground moving beneath the boy's feet. He must be running... Phoebe could faintly hear voices in the distance.

Suddenly, Phoebe was thrown to the ground, sprawled out on top of the boy. His black gear had weapons bulging out the seams. One of them poked Phoebe in the stomach. She heard angry voices. All of them talking about her. Everything feels so faint. It doesn't feel real to Phoebe. Phoebe just lays there while being the ropein tug of war between doctors and the boy. She barely screams, feeling her sore body be tugged on in every direction. Phoebe feels the number of hands on her decrease. Phoebe is again flopped over someone's shoulder. She bets it is the red-haired boy. When she peeks through her eyelashes, her bet is confirmed.

                The boy glances at her quickly with a look of concern. It is then that Phoebe realizes that her head ached painfully. Everything else was so unbearable, but now the gash on her head gushed blood which violently took Phoebe's attention away from all other pain. Her head ached with horrifying pain.

           Suddenly, light blinds Phoebe, making her dazzed. She screamed again as she feels dust edge its annoying way into her wounds. It feels as if someone shoved salt into Phoebe's wounds. The rhythmic sound and feel of the boy's jogging starts to put Phoebe to sleep. Her eyes close, letting darkness surround her until her body slackens in unconsciousness and the bliss of sleep takes her to the world of dreams.

     Her slack body lay in the arms of her father. Phoebe stirs and slowly opens her eyes.

     "Hello, Phoebes," a man with vibrant white hair smiles a dazzling grin towards Phoebe.

     "You," her dad puts her down and furrows his brow at the abrupt and painful comment, like a daggar slicing through the air and finally hitting its target.

     "Phoebes. I'm not here to screw things up again. I'm sorry I left you and you're mother, but right now, I need to tell you something," her dad says, gripping her by the shoulders. The light around her bounce off of pure white walls. She shivers as it reminds her of a psychotic person's room in need of therapy. Like her dad.

       Before Phoebe could reply, her father silenced her with a wave of his hand, "I want you to listen to me. Listen closely. Don't trust anyone. You got that? No one. Not even you're loved ones-"

       "So how can I trust you?" Phoebe says inquisitively.

       "Because I'm dead. I know more than you can imagine, Phoebes. For instance, I know what will happen to you, and I wish with all my heart I could keep you from it, but this world is corrupt. Protection is not available," Phoebe's father says with a sad gleam in his eye.