The Wastelands

Chapter 20

The warm rays of the winter sun beat down on the snow and icicles. Droplets of crystal clear water melted from the trees, adding to the frozen tundra. The temperature was higher than it had been in over a month. Still below freezing, but when standing in direct sunlight it lessened the cold.

Blue ran deeper into the woods than usual. She passed the cabin she discovered two weeks ago and kept going. The blur of the world passing her by was not strong enough to release the aggravating tension from her nightmare. Her heart raced frantically while her mind refused to forget the man's voice echoing in the trees. Those demented eyes bore down on her like lightning striking a streetlamp. His face glared at her from the sun, burning straight through to her core. Every scraping branch, every bird chirping in the sky, every noise falling on her ears reminded her of that man's voice. It devoured the small sense of normality she had left and she was completely at the will of her monster. That beast dwelling in her head burned with rage, wishing to destroy the man who gave it life.

She pumped her legs for another minute longer until they eventually gave up the fight. She collapsed to the snow, dropping to her knees. Warm tears kissed her cheeks and fogged her vision. She tugged at her hair and screamed into the nothingness of the forest. She hated those memories and flashbacks of a portion in her life she'd rather forget. They became a constant reminder of what she gave up and the only thing causing her the slightest bit of regret for what she did.

Please stop thinking!

No matter how hard she fought, those instances in her life floated to the surface with the full force of a thousand machine guns.

The handsome doctor was so polite when she first met him. He treated her with kindness and his jokes made her laugh. The darkness of his eyes melted her worries into simple mishaps that faded when he spoke. His witty responses and brilliant smile had brightened her first couple of weeks at the Hospital and she expected it to be smooth sailing. She failed to realize that he was the main part of the ruse created by the President.

He injected her with the first dose of the magical serum and his humility shifted courses. The joking darkened and his laughter became the first thing to haunt her every dream. He looked forward to spending his torturous times with her, adoring every scream she made and the cries for help ripping from her throat. The smile on his face deepened as her body and mind transformed into the creature he sought out to build. His eyes enjoyed watching her succumb to the experiments knowing there was no way she could ever stop him.

Get out of my head!

The memories would never stop.

Never leave her alone.

Blue endured her torturous fate for far longer than she wanted. Each time they dragged her from the cot in her cell and carried her to the Operation Room, a part of who she used to be died a most terrible death. She'd never forget those days of begging or crying or fighting through the agony of her life and she had to live with those scars always burning her soul. Everything that man did to her scarred her memories deeper than any bullet ever could.

The things he did to me. The things he continues to do.

"It won't stop."

She searched for that man the day she made her escape. She went out of her way to hunt him down with her own demented plans to erase him from existence. The offices were empty. The labs were filled with the wrong people. Of course, she couldn't let them go. Every person at that Hospital was tied in with the game they played with her life. Her maniacal grin was the last thing they saw before the bright light took over their vision and she brought the axe down on top of them.