A scream in the darkness

I slammed into the wall as I turned the corner hard to dive into the alleyway, but my legs continued to carry me forward. I could feel my head pounding, my heart raced with fear, and the only thought I could make clear was "I must keep moving." I couldn't stop. I knew this so thoroughly, beyond any doubt, that I didn't even have to think about it. Adrenaline coursed through me, quite possibly the only thing that continued to carry me as I could feel that shadow behind me follow unerringly.

I tried to knock trash cans and stacked boxes over as I passed them, hoping beyond hope that it might slow down the force that was behind me, knowing deep inside that it wouldn't. If anything, it probably just needlessly ate away at what little energy I was running on, but I did it anyway, in the small chance that it might help.

My entire body was exhausted. My arms swung heavily at my sides, my ribs seared in pain from the couple of broken bones, and my legs felt like they were on fire. I had been running for what felt like an hour already, though it was probably closer to only twenty minutes. But when you are constantly running at full tilt, twenty minutes is a very long time.

I felt my toe catch onto the rise of broken concrete a split second before I fell. In that moment, I knew that I could not save myself, and I knew that I had lost. Time slowed as I fell. I saw my life flash before me.

It was not a pretty sight.

Torturous experiments. Searing pain as my DNA was rewritten. Rigorous testing to see the results. An entire childhood was erased from my memory, replaced by fear and agony. My entire life had been thrown off kilter in order to lead to this very moment.

I hit the ground hard. I tried to catch my fall, and in the attempt I felt the bone in my arm snap. I would have screamed, but only a moment later the air rushed from my lungs as my chest hit the ground, and two more ribs shattered. Even my face made contact, and blood splattered onto the pavement from my nose.

It took only a second to regain myself and turn over to see blackness surge over me. In it, there was silence. I could feel it trying to drain the pain away. To give me peace in my final moments.

And that was when I finally screamed.

The air rippled in front of me. I could see the shadows physically tear apart and fall back away from me. But as I screamed, my own body began to shake, the vibrations pulling at my muscles and attempting to tear them apart as well. I barely had any air in my lungs, and all of it was being pushed out in this last ditch effort.

The shadows finally fell away just as I ran out of air. I lay on the floor, barely able to breath, and completely unable to move. I shook with the aftershocks of my efforts, not to mention the immense pain. I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to stand up again. But I had stopped the darkness. The experiments had worked.

"I can't believe I volunteered for this," I muttered quietly, before I lost consciousness.