The Legend Of Tangen

Escape

I quickly forged a plan. I decided to try out this power thing. Without the powerless wrap stuff I could probably do something.

I willed my bones to bend into a thin shape so that I could squeeze through the netting surrounding me. Nothing happened. I tried it again, thinking even harder and wanting it more badly than ever.

I began to shrink and curl up into a ball. It actually became quite comfortable for me. I walked over to a woven wall and began to climb with my one useable arm.

The camera was still trained on me, the person behind it probably watching my attempts to escape. After I was halfway up the wall, I tried to squeeze my head through the cage surrounding me, but the weaving tightened and pushed me back. A voice came to me through a speaker. I heard laughter in his voice. Real nice try miss. Real nice.

I really hated those people. They made fun of me because I was a mutant who just wanted to go home. Why couldn't they just leave me alone. The world could be better if it weren't for those sick and awful people who wanted to keep me and experiment on me. I slowly returned to my normal form as the lights in my woven cage dimmed to darkness and my eyelids grew heavy. I found myself drifting to sleep.

***

I woke up in a chair. I tried to stretch and found that my hands were strapped to the sides. My legs were tied at the bottom and the chair was on wheels. Over in the corner of my room was a tray containing a syringe with bluish liquid inside. I instantly became concerned and nervous. If there is anything I hate more than the situation I was in, it's needles. A scientist carefully opened the door and came inside, followed by two others. They each put on a blue medical mask and the first one picked up the syringe. My body tightened and I felt the urge to hurt him. I wanted to kill him.

The woman came over to me with a cloth and tied it around my eyes. I immediately wanted her to fall and then I heard a crash. The woman cried out in pain and called to her partners. "Activate the gear. She is using her abilities to weaken us. Hurry Patrick!"

The blindfold was removed from my eyes for a moment and I was able to see the plastic wrap-like armor that covered the scientists under their coats. I realized that they were afraid of me. A heavier blindfold was placed over my eyes and a thick cloth pushed my tongue to the back of my mouth. My heart started to rapidly beat like a horse's hooves on a race track. I felt a small pinch in my left arm and the syringe was pulled away. If not for the gag, I would have screamed bloody murder.

A person with gentle hands was stroking my arm and releasing the restraints on the chair. My arms were free as well as my legs now. The same person picked me up and set me down on a soft surface, presumably a bed. "Name: Carti Lagen, age: 15, species: mutant, examination date: April 4..."

Those were the last words I heard before the injected drug took effect and I fell into a deep sleep...

***

I remember pain. Inflammatory, painful, pain. I sat up on a bed and looked around. I was still in the same woven cage that I'd been in for the last few days. I looked down to see that I was wearing a blue paper dress. A man in a lab coat came over to me once he saw that I was awake.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me.

I managed to say, "awful."

The man chuckled and pulled the bed over to a screen and tapped it. Images came up on the screen. I scowled. It was me.

They were pictures of me. The man went through the images with me, explaining what they were. He told me that they hadn't figured out why or how I was mutant. I felt relieved. I never want anyone to know...not even myself.

Before he left, the man helped me into new clothes. I hoped that he would bring me my clothes, but instead he brought a green t-shirt and jeans. The worst part...the shirt had the name of the place I was in on the front-and in the back it read 'MUTANT'.

I hated the shirt, but I didn't have anything else so I reluctantly slipped it over my head and put it on.

Another scientist-a woman this time-entered the room. She wheeled the screen and bed out if the room and brought in a table with food. She pulled up two chairs and motioned for me to sit.

I hesitated, but decided that food wasn't going to kill me. I ambled over to the table as sat in the chair across from her. She spread some butter in a roll and put in on the plate in front of me.

"How ya doing hun?"

"I'm fine now."

"That's good hun. That's very good. I know it probably hurt, we're real sorry about it."

"Sorry that you've imprisoned me here?"

The woman sighed. "No hun...Sugar, the world is afraid of mutants now. After Daniel went crazy we realize how much harm they can bring us."

"Tell me about this Daniel. The one that is always mentioned around here."

She sighed again. "Maybe later hun. Eat."

"I won't eat until you tell me."

"You've got attitude hun, you know that? I'm not supposed to tell you."

I got up from my chair and pointed at her. "Then I'll make you tell me."

She got a terrified look in her eyes and tried to back away from me. "Why didn't I bring the cover.."

"Too late. "

The woman crumbled to the floor. She tried to call for help, but her jaw was stuck tight.

"Are you going to tell me now?"

She nodded hastily.

"Good." I released her jaw.