Escape

Cade

No. Not me. Please not me. I don't want to do this. Not after Jason. Not after seeing everyone's faces. I can't go back to that. Not again. "Well?" Falcon demands. I look into his deep brown eyes, looking for the least bit of kindness. But all he does is glare even more. I stand, trying to hide the fear.

"Alright. My turn." I swallow. Let's get this over with. I walk toward the room, and Falcon slams the door on me, hard. I'm left to the room of red dots. Let the horror begin. Bring it on, you evil Jabberwocky.

This is far too familiar. Though, I remember it a little differently.

"Meet in the middle like always. Right!" Sara commands. We all nod, giddy to get this over with. Claire had just installed a new game system in our common room. The guys are super excited to show us stuff. The dark skinned female looks to everyone, using her bright blue eyes to make sure we are all on board. I nod when Sara comes to me. "We've got your back." She smiles reassuringly.

"You've got this Cade!" Claire cheers. It's hard not to feel happy once Claire cheers you on. Her short blonde hair and hazel eyes are impossible not to smile at. She leans on my shoulder and leans in to whisper in my ears. "I programed the game center to prank the boys, it's gonna be awesome!" I laugh and get a strange look from Ben.

"What's so funny?" The tall, tan, brown eyes, curly haired brunette inquiries. Lucas shakes his head and steps into his spot in the simulation room. The dark skinned boy is tall and broad, has spiked up brown hair, and a full of himself personality. But his sweetness is also present. Believe it or not. Ben and Tucker follow him, taking their places on the outskirts of the large simulation room. "If it's a computer room type thing, you know exactly what to do, right Tucker?" Sara asks the short asian boy. He nods, running a hand through his short black hair.

"I've got it Sara." Sara smiles and takes her place in the room. My heart starts to thump a little faster than usual as I make my way to my spot. I always get nervous before a mission. Then again, who wouldn't? It's like walking to your death or severe injury. But at least I'm not alone. Plus, we've been trained for this kind of thing.

"Fire it up!" Sara shouts at Dr. Grey. The old woman nods and nudges one of her followers. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I've always hated the way the visual of the simulation transforms around me. It always makes me feel awkward. And nauseous. When I open them my breath is caught in the crisp mountain air and a blast of cold air hits my face. I've always hated the cold. And it's almost perfect that this time we get shot onto a steep, snow covered mountain top.

"C'mere you little brat." I hear a deep throated female say from behind me. I race my head around to see the large female jump at me fist prepared to swing. I dodge the throw, causing the girl to fall ever so slightly forward. I chuckle and jump on the girls back, wrapping my arms around her neck. Simple. I move my arms apart, snapping her neck with them.

"You ready?" Falcon questions, a hint of glee in his voice. I glare to the loudspeaker, and stick out my middle finger, up like a flag. "Sounds like a yes, scaredy cat." I roll my eyes, sick of his attitude. I close my eyes, still hating the feeling of watching the simulation change. When I open them, the calm forest appears. The guards show up, and I crack all my knuckles. I sprint to the female guard, catching her off guard.

She gasps at my speed, and I flip over her, landing in a crouch. Before the woman can turn around, I leap up again, wrapping my legs around her neck. She tries to pry me off, but to no avail. I've had people try harder than this. I use my body weight to flip her head over heel. While the guard slams into the ground, I land unto my feet, having to catch my balance for a moment.

I spin on my heel to face the next opponent. I sprint up, and hit the major pressure points in his arms, legs, torso and neck. He collapses to the ground, useless, paralyzed and finding trouble breathing. Ragged breaths escape his probably open mouth. I kneel down, and punch the visor, getting to shards in my hand, and the shards rain down around my hand.

I grab a particularly sharp and large piece of glass, and jam it into his skull. It makes a sickening yet satisfying crack. I drop the shard. Blood flows onto my hand, both his and mine from where it became cut on the shard. I shake the blood off and stand up, having dispatched them. "Impressive. Surprisingly." Falcon jeers. I flip him off again and close my eyes allowing the computer room to show up. Crap I was always bad at this.

When I open my eyes, I'm in the same computer room as the one from my days back in Project Lone. I scrape my mind, trying to think of something, anything Claire had taught me. I think I remember a few codes. I glance around myself, making sure the coast is at least a little clear before I run to the computer. Numbers scroll across it when I press the button I remember Claire using to prank the boys. Too many numbers. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and start typing in a small bit of the code.

I'm making what I think is good progress until I hear the sound of a bullet fly past my face. Crap, they're here. I turn and knock out one guard as he nears me, before turning back to the screen and hitting enter. A loading bar appears and it Quickly fills, closing the doors, leaving me with about five guards. Shouldn't be too hard. I run up to two of them and knock their skulls together. Dodging a fist I jam my hand into a knee cap, jumping up to knock out another person. Luckily, the last guard passes out in fear before I can get to her. There's a moment of eerie silence. I bite my lip, waiting for the room to change to, my least favorite room.

Then, with a flash, I'm standing in an all too familiar room, a memory, slightly altered. My feet are drenched in red, my shoes touching the pool of ruby blood. I swallow in a mangled scream. Deep blue, bright green, dark hazel, and simple grey eyes stares up at me emotionlessly. Jason, Seth, Ryker, and Scout's mangled bodies, are in the exact same position as the others had been. I open my mouth to scream but all that escapes me is a broken breath.

Before I know it, I'm in the simulation room, staring at the floor. I close my eyes and swallow hard. It's ok, you're ok, It wasn't real. It's never been real. Those nights you woke up, sweating, doing your best not to wake up a snoring Scout, weren't the real thing. This was fake. It was a simulation, like before, and this time it wasn't real people.

"Thank you for your participation." Falcon grumbles over the speakers.