Fallen

Chapter 1

The cell wasn't dark, damp, or nasty like those of the past. It was clean, well lit with bright flourescent lights, and decorated with that of a normal bedroom. One wouldn't be able to tell it was a cell at a quick glance. The only thing that gave it away was a thick metal door with several locks on it. The cell was occupied by a girl whose shoulders were lifted in defiance, chin jutting out, the epitome of confidence. Her eyes scanned and analyzed the room carefully, looking for anything that could help her escape. She wore a thin, white cotton t-shirt and comfortable athletic shorts. Bruises imprinted on her skin were visible all over her arms and legs.

Not more than five minutes ago, the girl was forced into the cell by ten highly trained guards with five others standing at ready, guns pointed straight at her face. The girl walked casually over to the desk and sat down. She snatched a pencil from within a cup, and grabbed a piece of paper. Then, she took the pencil sharpener and began to fiddle with it.

"Emily," a voice boomed. It was a deep, rich voice, commanding with authority. It seemed to come from all over. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Emily shrugged, and set down the pencil sharpener. Her posture was still of self-assurance, as if she knew that she would get out within the hour. She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms lazily.

"Good," the voice said, although there was a hint of fear and doubt within it. "Soldiers will come tomorrow morning for your session again."

Emily rolled her eyes at this. "As if I didn't know they would come tomorrow morning." Her voice was tinged with hostility. "See you tomorrow, General Adler."

A quick silence followed. Then the General spoke again. "You can address me as Frank," he said. "No need for formalities."

Emily snorted. "You know I won't comply with you. You're wasting your time."

Adler sighed, and was silent for a moment. "You also know that I won't stop telling you."

"Meaning you won't stop the experiments, huh?" She furrowed her brow in anger. "How long are you going to keep me here, under lock and key?"

"You know this is for the good of our country."

Emily noticed he had avoided her question, but decided to let it pass for now. "You mean for the good of science? For the sake of becoming more advanced and competing with other countries?" She smirked, and scratched her head in mock thoughtfulness. "Hmm. I wonder who else has died today for the good of our country?"

"Nobody has. And no. As I stated before, these experiments are for the purpose of helping the country in the war against our hostile enemies. Good will come of it in the end." Adler was becoming angered, his voice touched with annoyance.

"Right," Emily retorted. "To help the country become more powerful against other nations in order to be the top dog."

"Emily, this conversation is over. Goodnight, and we will see you tomorrow. Don't forget that there are monitors 24/7. Make sure you don't try anything."

A faint buzzing noise, barely audible, clicked off. Emily let out a frustrated sigh. One of the "sessions" a couple weeks ago left her with an almost destroyed memory. She could barely remember any details from her life or the world around her. The only thing she retained was that there was some sort of competition or "war" occurring within the world. She kept her natural sense of survival and other instincts, but her memory of others and places were patchy at best. Sometimes, snippets of scenes from her memory would come in dreams. They were always of war, famine, disease, torture, and, more recently, of experimentation.

The "sessions" or, more correctly called, experiments were excruciating. They shook Emily's body with spasms of pain, leaving her with throbbing limbs and a stabbing headache. The bruises across her body didn't come from any physical harm; they came from the injections. Every time, Emily was injected with some kind of experimental liquid. Her body's response was that it would weaken and the feeling of extreme fatigue would occur. Almost every time, bruises would pop up soon after the injections. The last injection, yesterday, was a sludgy purple liquid with a putrid smell.