Chemical X

Set in a lab, a girl is dropped into a vat of Chemical X, and survives. Written 2006. Part of the same story as 'The arena'.

The liquid closed over my head, and I tried to scream, but it was if my lungs were being flattened. All of a sudden, I thought; “I will not die like this!”  I could hear a sweet voice calling to me, but I ignored it, instead trying to figure out how to survive. I felt a hand on my brow, and I looked up, straight into a pair of tawny golden eyes. He smiled at me, and I could feel something in me change. All of a sudden, I could breathe, and I felt wonderful, like I was the most powerful being in the world.

 

The face disappeared, and I shot to the top of the vat, and sprang out. I saw a guard jump to his feet, startled, and then my eyes fixed to the face of the man who had tipped me into the vat. I heard a feral snarl, and suddenly realized that it had come from my own throat. In one lithe movement, I stood on the walkway in front of the man. I scented the air, barely knowing what I was doing, and in that brief instant, I knew he was scared of me. I also knew that there were two guards coming up behind me, armed with stunners.

 

I went down on one foot, and swept their feet out from under them in one movement, snatching their stunners and training one on them, and one on the other man, all in the same movement. They didn’t even register what had happened, until they were lying on their sides, winded. I sensed the dart coming, and as I dropped the stunners and spun to catch it, I wondered where all this was coming from.

 

I’d been clumsy and slow before, and not particularly good at defending myself, but here I was, catching a tranquilizer dart with my bare hand. I stared at it, wondering what had happened to me, just standing there, waiting for the second one to hit me. I saw it coming towards me, but it was too far to the left. If I stood still, it would just miss me.

 

I was scared, but I figured they wouldn’t hurt me too much if I just gave in, so I stepped lightly to the side, letting the dart sink slowly and gently into my shoulder. The guard who had shot me seemed surprised and puzzled, and as the fog overcame me, I wondered if he knew I’d stepped in front of it on purpose.

Author's Note

Unedited. Younger me was strange... Although not as strange as I am now. :P