A/N: Hi all! Well, I hope you enjoyed that last chapter :) I certainly did! Now things are starting to get interesting! Yay! As always, leave me a comment or a vote if you enjoy this chapter!

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01 - 24 - 2089

I watch the sunset with Cade until the earth is completely cloaked in darkness. Then, and only then, do I turn away from the window and face Cade. I can hardly breathe, much less speak. My mind, which is normally so full of scattered thoughts, is empty. I cannot form a single thought.

Cade lets out a shaky breath, and I catch a glimpse of his shaking hands. He grasps the edges of his pants and grips the fabric, trying to till the tremors. His eyes edge up to mine, and we lock gazes. I want to say something. I want to thank him, and I feel there is so much to be said. But my mind doesn't cooperate.

Footsteps out in the hall cause me to snap out of my reverie. I turn to the door, my nerves immediately taut. Cade comes to stand beside me, his eyes on the door as well. We don't breathe until the footsteps pass by and fade into nothing.

Then Cade grabs my hand. "I have to get you back to your room," he says, his voice urgent. "Our fifteen minutes is almost up."

"It's only been fifteen minutes?" I say, surprised. I would have guessed at least an hour. It certainly felt like a longer time to me.

"Yes, now hurry!" Cade pulls me to the door, and after listening to make sure no one is out in the hall, opens it. We head out into the hall, wary of everything around us. I follow behind Cade, watchful for anyone else.

I focus on my breathing as we move, trying to keep my nerves under control. It's no easy task, for certain, but Cade is steady which helps me to be so as well. My nerves jump and worrisome thoughts enter my mind about what might happen if we are caught.

We turn to the left into another section of the hallway, but this time it isn't silent as all the others were. I hear voices up ahead, though they sound muted. I cast an uneasy glance towards Cade, but he doesn't look my way.

Then, up ahead, I see the source of the voices. An open door on the left side of the hallway. The voices are coming from inside there. As we near and they become less muted, I am able to make out what they are saying.

"...new and improved. It will be the answer to all our problems. Indeed, not even cancer will be an omen of death any longer."

My interest is peaked. I strain my ears to hear more as we creep towards the room.

"What all has been tested on it, Doctor?"

"Well, we began with the simple viruses..." Doctor Acosta? "But we have already worked up to some strains of diseases including Parkinson's and even Ebola. So far we have seen positive results, with the participant only having mild side effects."

Cade and I come to a stop just outside the door. I peek inside to see a large A-book mounted on the wall. Several orderlies and guards watch the A-book from seats around the room. On the screen, Doctor Acosta talks with a woman holding some sort of metal stick. I stare, fascinated, as their conversation continues.

"...and this participant, the Genetically Induced System, is fully responsive?"

"Yes, well, we call it Gis. But it is fully responsive. And completely controllable. We have trained out all aversions and strains of possible rebellion."

I can't breathe. I can't speak. I can't think.

I stumble back, hitting something hard. Someone whispers to me, maybe Cade? I can't focus. The room sways around me, I feel sick. My stomach heaves, and I can't hold it in anymore. I lean over and retch no the white tiles, clutching my stomach.

"...Gis...!"

Someone grabs for my arm, but I swat them away. Doctor Acosta's voice is all I can think of. Is all I can hear.

I'm an 'it.'

I'm not human.

I'm just an experiment?

No. I can't be. I can't let this continue. Wiping my mouth, I shove off Cade's supporting hand and stand, using the wall to balance. I lock eyes with him, seeing his worried expression, then I turn and run.

I sprint down the white hallway, hearing shouts behind me. But I don't stop. At the end of the hall, I make a right, running past Cade's room. I keep going, not knowing where, but knowing I can't stay.

I'm nothing to them. I'm less than human. And all those tests... they were lies? They purposefully infected me with diseases?

I force the thoughts out of my mind to keep from falling and trembling on the ground. If I let the thoughts devour me then I won't be any good. Then I'll be just as Doctor Acosta said. Controllable. Easily manipulated.

I won't let her win.

My breath comes in hard and fast as I push myself beyond what I've ever done. Never in my life have I felt these emotions. Have I felt such a strong need to get away from these people.

I turn down another hallway, this time an unfamiliar one. My mind scrambles to come up with a plan of escape. I don't know where I am. I don't know how to get out of this place. And I know they are searching for me at this moment. How can I get out?

Up ahead, I see something that finally breaks from the white monotony of the hallway. A sign. I can't read it, but as I get closer, it comes into focus.

In black letters, an arrow points to the left and reads, "Loading Bay." Another sign beneath that one has an arrow that points to the right. It reads, "Cafeteria."

I read both words again, trying to decide which way to go. I don't know what either of those places are. My frustration grows as I read and reread the words over and over again, wishing they would be clearer. Wishing that the answer would just come to me. What do they mean? Where is the exit?

"This way! Close off the doors. No one comes in or out until she's found!"

Panic seizes my lungs at the voice, and I swivel around, locking eyes with the dark skinned guard as he turns the corner towards me. He freezes for a split second, then points at me and shouts, "Freeze!"

I take one gulp of air, forcing it past the vise grip on my lungs, and bolt down the left hallway. The man swears behind me, and I hear the heavy thump of his boots as he makes pursuit.

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My knees press against my chest and I keep them tight against me, my other hand against my mouth to silence even my breathing. I can't risk even a breath or he might hear me. The thin sliver of light from beneath of the door of my hiding spot moves and becomes blocked as footsteps near.

I shake against my will, praying they don't check this room. It's pitch black inside, and as far as I can tell, just a closet of some sort. I've been here for less than a minute, barely ducking inside before that one guard saw me.

A click from outside the door, then the sound of static before I hear the guard's voice. "She went down this way, but I've lost her. Just make sure to lock down the Loading Bay and all other exits. This place isn't that big. We'll find her sooner or later. Holmes out."

The static turns off, and all goes silent except for the faint sound of his heavy breathing. I strain my ears to hear him, my body tense. More of the light disappears from under the door as he takes a step closer. My fists clench and unclench; I take in a slow, heavy breath as quietly as I can, then hold it. If I have to fight, then so be it. I won't go down easily.

To my relief, a moment later the light returns beneath the door. The guard moves away, his footsteps growing fainter until the sound is gone. I still hold my breath, unable to move.

Once I'm certain that I am alone, I rise, my muscles sore from being so tense. I reach for the handle of the door and turn it, peeking out into the hallway as I crack it open. My eyes scan the hallway, looking for dangers.

I'm alone.

I take one last glance down the hallway I came from, before running towards the Docking Bay with one thought in mind. I have to reach it before they close it. From the guard's words, it is an exit. I chose right, now I have to follow through.

I'm so close, the adrenaline pumping through my veins, that I don't feel the fear right now. All I feel is anger, and it pushes me on. Anger at Doctor Acosta, anger at Barr, and most of all anger at Cade. They all lied to me. They all pretended to care, only to use me. And I won't forget it.

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