Taken

Taken Part 1

By: Tonya McLean

Intro

She slowly opened her eyes as she felt how cold the room was; the room was very nippy. She quickly pulled up the covers to her chin. Slowly turning to check her phone for the time. Her phone was on its charger stand, she swiped it and when the screen lit up; It read 7:45, she felt a little bit shocked since she never wakes up before her alarm. She took a deep breath and tried to get back to sleep. She thought that it was pointless since it takes her an hour to get back to sleep and she only had thirty minutes.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She tried the meditation techniques that her father told her about. Her alarm startled her awake. She quickly turned it off and took a sharp, deep breath in and took a minute to compose herself.

“Wow those techniques really work.” She said to herself.

She got up and got ready for her day. A half hour later she was out the door on her way to the bus stop. Ten minutes later, she got comfortable on the bus; she was riding till the end of the line. She woke up when she was two stops away from departure, she began gathering all of her things, and as she wiped the sleep from her eyes BOOM! She felt her seat fall from under her, her surroundings went from light to darkness she felt weightless, falling. She looked down and saw only darkness. She looked up and realized that she had already fallen for miles. Before she could think of what to do, BAM! She slams onto the ground below. ‘This is it, this is how I die.’ Those were her last thoughts before she lost consciousness.

She grunted from the pain that consumed her entire body as she slowly opened her eyes. She laid there for a moment to allow her other senses to come into focus. She found herself on a hard, wet, cold floor; the room was completely dark, it was hard for her to see her hand in front of her face. ‘If I’m in a room that means that there has to be a door.’ Ashley thought to herself. So she carefully got to her feet and took baby steps until she hit the wall. She walked along the wall while she trailed her hand along it. Expecting to find the outline of the door; she only to found her starting point. In a panic she started running along the walls while sliding her hand up and down the wall. She didn’t stop until she collapsed from exhaustion. Once she awoke; she was in a smaller, dimly lit room with a single light hanging in the middle of the ceiling; she was chained to the wall across from the door. Her pain was immensely worse than it was before; the main focus point was the left side of her neck, however she couldn’t ignore the fact that her entire back was throbbing.

“No, no, no, no, no, this can’t be happening.” Ashley said panicky. “Why, why me?” She added as tears started to run down her face. There was no more doubt, she knew she'd been kidnapped. As she came to this realization; she started hyperventilating.

“Help! Somebody please, help me!” Ashley yelled in her desperation and in between her sobs that quickly turned into cries. After a few minutes she realized that she was on her own, so she started to take deep breaths and she made her tears disappear. She tugged on the chains trying to find some kind of weakness in them. But they were solid. All Ashley could do was wait.

The mechanical sound of the cell door is what woke Ashley up. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and fill her with determination. ‘If I’m gonna be here, I refuse to be someone's plaything.’ she thought. The door opened and out of the darkness came two people a man and a woman, both were wearing doctor coats holding clipboards. The doctors had very similar features to each other; Ashley assumed that they were family. The door slowly closed and locked behind them.

“Hello, Ms. Knight, my name is Dr. Trinity Cruiser, and this is my colleague, Dr. James Cruiser. How are you feeling today? No more episodes I hope.” Dr. Trinity said.

“Episodes? What are you talking about? How long have I been here?” Ashley asked shocked. But she never got a direct answer. Instead the doctors just wrote things down on their clipboards. “Hello, I see two seemingly capable doctors, but neither one wants to answer a simple question.” Ashley added.

“Please calm down, Ms. Knight.” Dr.Trinity said.

“Then you better answer my question.” Ashley demanded as the pupil of her eyes started to dilate. “What am I doing here?! I refuse to be anyone’s piece of meat.” Ashley barked as her pupils completely took over her eyes leaving a new one that was just a bright white dot.

“Containment!” Dr. Trinity yelled as she ran over to the red button that was next to the door. Once she hit the button the light turned red and a siren went off. The entire staff of ten doctors ran into the room. The door closed and locked behind them. Just then the light blew into pieces. The last thing that shone in the darkness were Ashley’s white glowing pupils, but they too disappeared. And that was when the screams came and went. After 30 seconds the room illuminated under emergency lights, the only ones that were standing were Ashley and both Dr. James and Dr. Trinity. However, all of their appearances had changed. Ashley was in all black and a big sinister smile on her face. Dr. Trinity was in all blue; her eyes were glowing blue. Dr. James was all red with his eyes glowing bright red. Ashley was standing in front of her broken chains, in front of her were the other medical staff that came to help laying dead on the floor. Dr. James, and Dr. Trinity stood in her way to the door. Dr. James on the left and Dr. Trinity was on the right. Ashley let out a maniacal laugh.

“I’m so happy that it’s the two of you. Y'all know how to make things fun. I’m not gonna make this easy this time.” Ashley chuckled. “This time...I promise one of you won’t walk out of here. But that brings up the question. Which one?” Ashley let out another laugh. “Who am I kidding? I really don’t care which one I get as long as I get one.” Ashley said.

Dr. James and Trinity just looked at each other and nodded. They turned their focus back to Ashley and she was down on all fours and charged straight for Dr. James. He widened his stance and braced himself. Right before she made contact she vanished. She tackled Dr. Trinity instead. When they hit the ground Dr. Trinity coughed up blood. Dr. James charged, so Ashley snapped off her nails and jumped out of his way. An oozy substance trailed from her nails. Dr. Trinity started to cough uncontrollably. Dr. James turned to help her but was tackled by Ashley. She tried to pin him to the ground, but he was able to flip her off him. He noticed that Trinity’s coughs were weakening. He got to his feet and started to go to her but was stopped by spikes growing out of the ground all around him.

“Noooo!” He yelled desperately. The top of the spikes folded in on themselves, caging him. The glow of his eyes intensifies then ignites and consumes his body. A fireball forms from his hands he throws one into the air which blasts the top into pieces. He jumps out and throws the other fireball at Ashley. She blocks but on contact the fireball explodes sending her flying to the other end of the room crashing through the wall. James rushed over to his sister.

“Trin. Trin, answer me!” He demanded. No response. He immediately administered CPR. “Come on, Trin, stay with me!” The CPR continued. He was about to give up hope when Trinity gasped her air then coughed and immediately threw up a black, oozy substance. She touched her chest expecting to find a stab wound but found nothing; no blood, no wound, no scar.

“What does this mean? She stabbed me right here.” Trinity asked desperately. James shook his head.

“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out later.” James answered as he got to his feet he extended his hand to help Trinity up, she started to reach out for his hand but they were hit by a wall of water that carried and slammed them onto the far wall. They fell to the ground. They both got to their knees and tried to pull themselves up but the water quickly froze over. Trapping them in a thin, yet powerful layer of ice. They couldn’t move their struggle only amounted to slight shakes. James started to melt the ice by warming his core. Thirty seconds later he blasted his way through the ice then gently thawed out Trinity. They got to their feet and went on the defense as they turned toward the door expecting to see Ashley, but she wasn’t there. They looked all around and found an empty room.

“Where did she go?” Trinity asked.

“Stay alert. She’s more powerful this time.” James explained. Ashley’s maniacal laughter began filled the room, and echoed through the entire medical facility.

“Why thank you for that compliment. However, I don’t feel like wasting my free time on such dull people like you two. I’m sure the townspeople will give me more entertainment.” Ashley said laughing maniacally.

“No! Leave them out of this!” James demanded. He was answered by her maniacal laughter that slowly faded away. “Come on Trin we gotta stop her!” He shouted. As he started to run down the red corridor. Trinity closely followed.

By the time they made it to the town; the place looked like the aftermath of a war. Half of the buildings were nothing more than a pile of rubble, the other was on fire and occupied. James and Trinity look at each other in disbelief.

“We were only minutes away behind her. How could all of this damage take place in that amount of time?” Trinity asked distressingly.

“I don’t know.” James let out a painful sigh. “We need backup, what happened to the E.M.T. ? The soldiers? The rest of the elites?” James asked angrily.

“James, they all work for the boss. Looks like we’re it.” Trinity answered.

“Fine. But what do we do first? Help the citizens? Or go after Ashley?” He asked with a defeated sigh.

“I say we go after Ashley. There’s going to be a lot of collateral this time. If we go after Ashley that would at least slow down that collateral, and once we neutralize her we can focus on helping the people.” Trin explained reluctantly.

James took a deep, disappointing breath.

“Fine. This place is full of her energy. We need to get to higher ground, the higher we get the better chance we’ll have in finding her.” James said.

“Ok. I guess you’re carrying me again.” Trin grumbled.

“Hug or piggyback?” James asked.

“Piggy.” Trin said. James nodded before he grew wings and jumped straight up, and Trin spread her arms to the side. James scooped her up, and flew toward the nearest building that was still standing. He carefully set her down before landing. He turned back to Trin.

“We need a plan.” James said.

“Just get me close. I know what I need to do in order to neutralize her.“ Trin said coldly.

“We not here to kill her Trin.” He said.

“Oh please you know how much damage she can take without dying. We need to injure her enough for her to go down, stop letting your feelings get in the way. That’s why I have to do it. We can’t keep allowing her a pass, James.” Trin ranted.

“Alright, I get it. Back to the plan. I’ll take care of the fire and make a distraction. You deliver the final blow. How’s that sound?” He said.

“It’s as good as any plan. Now we just need to find her.” Trin said.

“Are you two finally finished with your little private session?” Trin and James spun around to find Ashley standing there. “Can we get back to the fight now?” Ashley asked. Trin and James chose a defensive stand. Ashley smiled as she took a step forward, then another, then another she was a few steps away from Trin when she disappeared. Both James and Trin went on high alert. They moved into their best defensive stance of being back to back with no space between them. James took a step to the right and Trin took a step to the left. They were in perfect synchronization. The only problem was that their individual powers were completely opposite of each other; James is a pyrokinetic, Trin is a hydrokinetic.

“Trin.” James said.

“On it.” She replied. As she took a deep breath she covered her mouth before she exhaled. In her hands were two large ice balls. She smashed them together and spread the particles all around them. “Can’t hide anymore. So you mind as well come out.” Ashley’s laughter filled the area.

“Who said I was hiding? I’m closer than you realize. For instance, if I say, ‘fight your brother.’ Trin swung a punch in James’s direction. He blocked and jumped back for some distance. But Trin was right on him. She kept attacking with a fury of punches and kicks. “Then you do exactly as you’re told.” Ashley said. As the fight continued between brother and sister. Trin’s bright blue appearance was quickly getting darker. Before she was completely black she said.

“Do whatever it takes to stop her, it’s the only way to help everyone. This is my last gift to you, little brother.” She locked her hands with his.

“What?” He paused. “No! Trin don’t do it! You don’t have to do this.” Trin gave a warm smile as the ice particles climbed up her face. She shattered into pieces and they covered and sank into James. He groaned in pain as the ice particles sank themselves deeper into his skin. He fell to one knee and once they were completely absorbed into his skin he ignited a fireball in his hand, however, the flame wasn’t red, it was blue. As he stared at it the flame froze over. He looked at it carefully and saw that there was liquid inside.

He could hear Ashley walking up behind him, he waited until she was a couple of steps away before he turned and threw the blue fireball at her. She blocked but the flame completely consumed her. She screamed from the pain of the fire. James took a deep breath in and exhaled in Ashley’s direction; the flames froze her in place.

“Sorry.” James whispered as he formed a fist. When he did the ice around Ashley formed large spear-like shards and impaled her through her chest forming a large X through her. She coughed up blood before going limb. James slowly made his way over to her and melted the ice then carried her back to the medical facility.

Ashley awoke just to find herself in a comfortable bed. She looked around confused. She was in a room that she didn’t recognize. She sat up in the bed and was about to get out of it. When she realized that she was chained to the bed, not just by her wrists but also by her ankles.

“At least they aren’t so tight.” She said out loud. She heard a door open, she looked in that direction.

“Awake at last.” Dr. James said.

“Doctor? Where am I? What is this place? What’s going on?” Ashley asked.

“You should start with a meal before I answer any questions.” He said holding a tray of food. Ashley inhaled deeply and her stomach let out a loud growl. She couldn’t deny that she was starving.

“Why don’t you answer my questions while I eat?” She said accepting the tray. Dr. James took a deep breath in as he sat at the chair that was next to the bed. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I’m just gonna get right to the point. Ms. Knight, you have been here in this place for the past six years.” He said.

“Six years? But how…” She started.

“Please. Let me get it all out.” He paused. “For those six years you have been the top subject. All the tests that have been done to you up to this point are reversible even though you have been experiencing side effects that match up with the irreversible tests. I’ve been given orders to give you the permanent one. If you refuse he will kill you and then just go and get another family member of yours." He paused. "If you accept then forever changed you will be. But at least your family will be safe.” Dr. James explained. Ashley was a statue, eyes dead, and looking at the bed covers. “Ms. Knight?” He said as he put his hand on her shoulder. She blinked and slightly lifted her head; she looked at the doctor with tears in her eyes.

“I remember what I did...to your sister, to you, I’ve killed so many innocent people. To choose peace or none. I don’t deserve that. Not after all the pain I caused. I deserve all the torture that I endured and all that is to come. I don’t deserve to be happy, or at peace." She paused. "So all you need to do is follow orders and give me more pain and suffering. It’s all that I deserve.” She stated. Dr. James said nothing; he just took the serum out of his pocket, he took her arm in his hand, took a deep breath, and said.“Don’t give up on me. You best wake back up.”

“I don’t deserve your sympathy.” She replied.

“I don’t care about what you think you deserve. I need you. So you better survive.” He explained.

“You make it sound like we're married.” She said, holding out her arm. He took hold of her arm,

“I wouldn't mind it.” He said.

"You wouldn't mind being married to a monster?" She paused as she stared at him in disbelief. "That's rich." She added.

"You make it sound like you're the only one that's went through this. We're all test subjects here." He explained. "You're just the most beautiful I've seen." He added in a whisper. Ashley looked at him still in disbelief. He took in a deep breath. "This is really gonna hurt. Ready?" He added looking up at her.

She nodded silently. He pushed the needle into her skin and slowly pushed the serum into her. She groaned and moaned with every milliliter, the more she got the louder the groans became. She began to breath heavily, tears started to form. When he gave her the last of it he quickly took out the needle. She was quietly crying. She was starting to gain control of her breathing when her bones began to bend and crack. This is what made her yell in agony. With each snap of her bones the less she breathed. Gasping for air she couldn’t hold herself up any longer and she fell back on the bed. Gasping for air but receiving none. Her vision started to fade. The last thing she saw was the doctor's worried face, his lips were moving but she heard nothing. Her vision slowly turned to darkness.

-TO BE CONTINUED-