December 21st, 2028
Pierce sat up in bed, right hand detached, cleaning it. Today was one of his rare few days off and it was due to the approaching holiday season. Typically things at Transigen slowed down as far as research so employees could travel and spend time with their families. Pierce wasn't expected back at work until the day after Christmas. Foolishly of him, he had made no plans. This was the perfect opportunity to get away, but he didn't seize the moment. Something he later came to regret.
Zoe came into the bedroom and groaned. "Babe, what did I say about doing that in bed?" She hated him cleaning his bionic hand on their bed. It just didn't seem sanitary to her. Not waiting for his reply, she headed straight for the bathroom and shut the door behind her. After taking a quick shower, Zoe stepped back into the bedroom to see Pierce unmoved from his area, still cleaning his damn hand. "Seriously?!" With a towel wrapped around her body, Zoe threw her hands up in frustration and went to the closet for clothes.
"What?" Pierce chuckled, trying to act innocent. Throwing on a simple shirt and pair of panties, Zoe marched over to her side of the bed and got under the covers without a word, facing the opposite direction. Pierce belted out another laugh. He knew she was angry with him. Zoe had been pouting and stomping about the house all day. It was all his fault, and he didn't blame her for her attitude. Sometimes he didn't understand how Zoe could put up with so much of his shit but still want to be with him. Locking his hand back in place inside the socket, Pierce shimmed over to Zoe, wrapping his arms around her middle."You mad at me?" He spoke gently, kissing her neck.
"Kinda." She mumbled.
"I know you are. You can say yes."
"If you know I am, then why ask?"
"Because you look awfully adorable when you're mad."
Zoe turned around in his arms to face him. Her eyebrows were knitted together with a slight frown on her face. It almost looked forced. That's because it was. She was trying her best to be annoyed with him, but it was too hard. The entire day felt like nothing but work. She wanted him to suffer, but in seeing the amused look on his face now, he didn't even care she had been rude to him all day. He thought it was cute. "You're an asshole."
"I know, baby." He replied, kissing the tip of her nose, then bringing his lips to her mouth. Zoe didn't hesitate to return the kiss. She never did.
"You promised." She sighed, as he pulled away and pressed his forehead to hers. Pierce had promised back at the beginning of November that they would go away for the holiday. It didn't matter where. Just as long as she was out of Mexico City and he was by her side. He broke that promise by opting to stay on call while a quarter of his security team was away.
"I'll make it up to you. I pro...-"
"Don't say you promise." She cut him off.
"Zoe." He pulled away just enough to look into her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"You can make it up to me now."
"How so?" He smirked, thinking that was a sexual reference. It wasn't.
"We can just pack our bags and leave tonight."
"You know...-"
"We don't have to go far. Just to the United States. We can go to Las Vegas and do something totally spontaneous, like get married."
"Aren't I suppose to be the one proposing marriage?" Pierce chuckled.
"Then ask me." Zoe shrugged it off.
"This wasn't how I planned it." He confessed, and Zoe's heart melted right there. She didn't feel a bit of unhappiness anymore. She was no longer upset. Pierce had planned out a proposal of marriage.
"How did you plan it?" She did her best to contain her smile.
"I can't tell. It's a secret."
Zoe playfully sighed. "Fine. I'll just impatiently wait."
Pierce smiled at Zoe knowing what she was doing. "Fine." He grumbled. "One hint." Zoe giggled excitedly and sat up in the bed, crossing her legs, giving Pierce her full attention.
"Okay. One hint." She agreed.
Pierce thought for a good few minutes before he laughed once more. "I actually can't think of a single hint that you wouldn't be able to guess instantly."
"Well, you kinda just told me." Zoe replied. "But don't confirm my suspicion." She quickly added, changing her mind about wanting to know. "I want to be pleasantly surprised."
"Deal." The truth is, Pierce had planned to take Zoe to England and get married on the spot. No real proposal with a long engagement. No extra nonsense was needed. Just right then and there. He knew what he wanted, and it was her. But the reality of her mutation ate at the back of his mind. It wasn't him who had the problem. He figured it was Zoe. Someone like her couldn't possibly want to marry someone like him. So as a result of his insecurity, he kept holding it, along with everything else, off. "You still mad?"
"No."
"Good." Pierce got out of the bed. "I need a shower." He rounded the front over to Zoe's side. She looked up at him in confusion while smirk graced his face. "And you're coming with me." Zoe screamed as Pierce grabbed her, lifting her in his arms, and tossing her over his shoulder effortlessly.
"I've already showered." She protested, laughing at his friskiness.
"Oh, but not in this way, my love."
Pierce was brought back to reality as a nurse approached him with a tool to help with his hand. The act of fixing his slightly damaged, bionic hand had reminded him of the memory that took place not too long ago. A deep sense of regret filled his entire being as he sat up in the hospital type bed from the explosion. Thinking back, he thought of how selfish he always was with Zoe. It was always his work first and her second. She always just accepted it. No matter how much it hurt her. He was blind to everything she felt. That is his biggest mistake of them all. When she begged him to get away, he should have listened. It never dawned on him that her being a mutant and him having the line of work he did might be overwhelming for her. Yet she always kept a smile on her face for his sake. He should have done all the things he wanted to do with and for her when he had the chance. But he didn't because he's a coward.
Before the nurse walked away, she set a plastic baggie with a picture inside on his small table. "What's this?"
"I was told to give it to you."
Upon examination of the photo, he realized that it was the children from Transigen. One of them being Laura. Flipping the picture over, there were hand written coordinates on the back, and that's when it all made sense. They left behind the most damning piece of evidence. The location of the exact place they were heading. A stupid and careless mistake.
Despite the finding, Pierce couldn't get his mind back in the game so easy. It brought him back to the fact Zoe was here in Transigen custody. "Hey." He called the nurse back over to him.
"Yes, sir."
"The woman they brought in, where is she?"
"I'm not sure I follow?" She replied, confused.
"About 5'11, blonde hair, green eyes. She was wearing a black military type jac..-"
"Oh." The nurse paused, her content face replaced with a look of disgust. "The mutant." The tone of her voice pissed Pierce off to no end, but he had to keep his cool. If there was any chance of him getting Zoe out of here, he had to remain calm.
"Yes." Pierce responded, emotionless.
"They've got her locked up somewhere. Not sure where. I'm sure they'll be disposing of the creature soon." The nurse snickered in amusement, walking away.
Quickly, Pierce jumped out of the bed, stuffing the photo in his pocket. He was still a bit woozy from slamming his head on the concrete due to the blast from the trailer, but he fought against the pain. There was worse things happening now. This wasn't the time for him to worry about himself. The first thing he had to do was find Dr. Rice. He would be the source of anything happening to or with Zoe. Right as Pierce found him, an alarm went off inside the main hanger where the dead bodies were currently placed. Pierce knew it was Zoe. She had to of escaped, or at least made an attempt.
A rush of Reavers blew past him. Pierce turned and ran after them as fast as his legs would allow. His body was hating him at the moment not only from the explosion, but the lack of rest and pure exhaustion over the past few days. But like he had been recently reminding himself, this was all his doing. It's his fault.
"What the fuck!?"
"Where is she?!"
"Find her!"
The Reavers could be heard screaming from down the hall. Pierce stopped in his tracks, letting out of sigh of relief. She was gone, and he knew exactly where she was heading. The problem is, so did the rest of Transigen. Surely they looked at the back of the photo. It's why it was so important for it to be given to him. It was only a matter of time before they sent a team there. There was nothing stopping them. No way for Pierce to get to her first. Zoe was sucked back into a life of fear and helplessness on the run, and it was all because of him.
A little filler chapter. Thank you to everyone who has been reading, voting, and commenting. You're all the best! (:
Also, I don't know how you're all discovering this story but thank you. When I type Donald Pierce in the search bar creepy shit comes up, hahaha