Running • Iggy

Count

I woke up to the sound of a body being thrown into one of our cages. I had instantly snapped awake, forcing myself to be alert and ready. I watched as Ari closed Iggy's cage, stepping away from his seemingly unconscious body. Nudge gasped at the sight of his bandaged face, the white wrapped around his entire eye-area carelessly. I began hating myself almost instantly. Why hadn't I been awake to stop it? I shot to my feet before Max could, wrapping my hands around the bars, watching Ari slide the lock card through the receiver. Iggy's lock slid into place harshly, the sound piercing through the almost silent room. Angel was crying softly in the cage next to Iggy, trying to shake him into focus. He was breathing and awake, but slightly out of it. "What the fuck did you do to him?" I growled at Ari, who turned to me with a grin.

"Just a small surgery, he lost a lot of blood though. I'd be surprised if he makes it through the night." Ari told me with glee, walking over to my cage. "Don' lis'en to him.." Iggy spoke weakly. "Didn' even lose that much blood." I wasn't listening to Iggy, I just stared at the boy in front of me. "Look at you, in your little zoo cage." Ari grinned, not getting close enough to the bars for me to grab him. "You know, boss gave me permission to kill the cripple if he acted out... So maybe he did act out on the way here, in the areas with no cameras." He turned to Iggy's cage.

I had been carefully planning an escape the best I could the past 3 days, making sure there were no flaws in my plan. But that very second, everything broke. I threw myself against the bare, screaming at the young boy. He turned, staring directly into my emerald eyes, which were going blurry with tears. "Leave him alone! Don't hurt him you asshole! He did nothing to you, nothing!" I screamed. Nudge stared at me with wide eyes, everyone but Iggy and Ari did. They had never seen me this desperate. Even I hadn't seen me this desperate. "Why would I do that, you failure?" Ari growled, slowly stepping towards my cage. I threw myself at the bars again, harder this time. I swear I could feel them give way slightly. If I just hit hard enough...

"What's around your neck, bitch?" Ari asked, grabbing my shirt through the cage and untucking my necklace harshly. "Aw, how cute." He snarled, tugging at the chain, breaking the silver in the process. I sucked in a harsh breath. "Who gave it to you, your little boyfriend?" He gestured to Iggy. "Figures, hoping to win her over with jewelry, huh Iggy?" He laughed. Iggy groaned in response, clearly in too much pain to think straight. I was too angry to think straight. "Your little birdie friend here has a brain dissection due in a week." Ari kicked Nudge's cage to make her flinch back. "Say your final goodbyes, eh? No one comes back from those things in their right mind, if at all."

That was the final straw.

I threw everything in my being, my strength, my anger and my hatred into one hard kick to one of the bars. Suddenly, it flew across the room, smashing hard against Iggy's cage, falling to the floor. Ari growled, clutching my necklace tight as I jumped out of the cage, facing him. He pulled out the remote from his pocket, grinning at me. "Nice try, bitch." He said as he pressed the button. I stumbled back in pain, my nerves screaming in agony. I refused to fall. I slowly distanced my consciousness from my body, forcing myself back into the corner of my head. Fight. I thought. Suddenly, I sprung forward. Ari actually yelped in surprise, but my fist never connected with his face. He was thrown back against the wall, dropping the remote and my necklace in the process. I quickly snatched up the remote, turning the small device off and snapping it in half.

"Yeah, a very nice try." I grinned, forcing myself back into my own head as I held my hand out to my necklace, feeling my stomach tug slightly. It flew into my hand after a second and I held it tightly in my palm. I spun in a full circle, listening to each lock unclasp once after another. "Max." I barked. "Get them out, now. 3 doors down on your right. 11 down and to your left. Out that door." I instructed shortly, watching Ari stand up slowly, dazed from the impact. "Fang, help Igs. Be out in 10 minutes and if I'm not out in 10 minutes, leave and don't turn back." I said flatly, shoving the necklace into my pocket. Max nodded swiftly, waiting until Fang had hauled Iggy to his feet. He was protesting, but I wasn't listening to his words. Ari had already sprung at me, completely blinded with white-hot anger. I ducked under his fist, slamming my own into his unsuspecting stomach. If I could just keep the upper hand, I won't get hurt. I thought, slamming my foot into his ribs, knocking him to the floor. I had registered the rest of my flock had left, but I didn't have much more time to react. Ari grabbed my ankle, throwing me hard to the floor. I rolled as fast as I could, standing up. I was in a daze, but I knew what I had to do. I turned and sprinted out the door. I turned left instead of right, sprinting down the hallway. Some white coats and Erasers were on my heels, but I was faster than them all. I was always faster.