Beyond the Truth

A story that my English class had to write in an hour for a GEPA prep and the concept was superheroes. My teacher thought it was pretty good, but please rate and comment!

            I awoke to the sound of footsteps hitting the ground. Blinking a few times, my tears washed away the dust gathered near the corners of my eye. My sight was still clouded with haze as I distinguished the obscure figure of a man grabbing the scruff of my neck. He dragged me across the cold metal floor, passing hundreds of cages filled with various agitated animals. I managed a low growl as I heard a click, and was thrown into a cage. The smell was atrocious, a mixture of rotting flesh and putrid wood.

            A memory. Doctors carefully injected me with a new medicine for tuberculosis, giving me a type of anesthesia first. They promised me that there would be no pain, while mumbling to each other, “…he’s the four-hundredth twenty-third we’ve done this test on. He better survive. We’re running out of families willing to sell their children to this kind of cause.

            Was I sold?

            I immediately felt the effects of the medicine, losing complete control of my arms, then the rest of my body. Falling face first onto the cold exam table, my eyesight was useless.

            “Who’s there?” a low growl came from somewhere within the darkness.

            My eye’s, now fully functional, scanned the shadows for any hint of danger. I crouched up as I saw a mangy, emaciated brown wolf stagger into the sunlight, his teeth bared. Blue eyes glared furiously at me, clearly with the intention of a fight.

              “They just threw me here,” my voice quavering in an attempt to explain and pacify his anger.

            “Get out.”

            I recoiled from the vehemence in his voice, forcing incoherent words through my mouth, “The door’s locked. The doctors…testing…needles…” I struggled to gather my thoughts.

            Another memory. Hundreds of needles stabbed my back as I lay there.

            “How much should we give him?”

            “Not too much, less than the other girl’s. The director was pretty angry when she died.”

            I was aware of the sharp pain spreading through my veins as each drug was injected into my bloodstream. I could feel the poison eating me up, and my system doing everything it could to adapt to the precarious situation. I was changing, the medicine reprogramming my structure in its desperate attempt to survive…

            He seemed to understand my ambiguous explanation, the fury completely erased from his voice, “You were caught by them too?”

            I relaxed slightly, although still reproachful. His tone seemed composed, if not amiable. The tension slowly eased itself from the cage as a conversation emerged.

            I learned his name was Jason, thirteen years old – two years younger than me. He told me his appalling experience with the doctors.

            “The needles – they were the most frightening. I couldn’t move, and they just stabbed my eye and blinded me. The pain was excruciating.”

            I cringed; the image he illustrated in my mind was horrific.

            He also discovered a considerable amount of information; that certain scientists in the world were performing tests on different humans, disguising the procedure as a miraculous cure to any disease, and offering thousands of dollars to anyone who would volunteer themselves or another to the cause. It caused mutations that were so abnormal they built an imprisonment to house the hundreds of test subjects. 

            “Our genes are mutated so they resemble certain animals that we are similar to. I suppose that I’m wolf-like, and so are you,” Jason assumed, continuing his explanation,

            “I overheard something about advancing the human race via genetic mutation. Both physical and intellectual perfection, and we’re the test subjects. You know, infect us, study us, and throw us away. This is probably the basement, where they keep us; they don’t care if we die – they’ve already learned what they needed from us.”

            I contemplated the situation carefully, still shocked by the circumstances. If Jason were correct, then the result would be certain death.

 

            That night, I barely slept, the constant thought of the probable future looming over me. As the moon crept up the sky, I felt a sharp nudge at my side. Jason was pacing excitedly at my side, urging me to get up.

            “Look at this,” he exclaimed, as I meandered to him, “the ground’s softer here.” I walked over, scrutinizing the patch of dirt that sunk lower when I put weight on it. “You could dig at it,” he suggested. I noticed his tone had changed from reproachful to reverence within the few short hours I had known him. Perhaps authority did come down to age, and I was eager to become the superior.

 

            Armed with fresh enthusiasm, our paws scratched at the ground for hours, the hole gradually growing larger.

            As the moon started to wane into the morning, Jason and I stood on the other side of the door, looking into an empty cage.

            I raised my nose into the air, catching the scent of an incoming breeze. The wind contained hundreds of different scents, though I concentrated on the one I was least familiar with. Rusting metal, sickness, death. I trembled slightly. Within the collection of odors, there was a hint of leaves, grass, and warmth.

            “This way,” I motioned to Jason, who was absentmindedly facing the extensive lines of cages surrounding us. A chorus of yelps, whimpers, roars, and angry hooting burst from them erratically.

            “Jason!” I spat irately, “what are you doing? They might come down any second!”

            “You know,” he murmured, “wouldn’t it be cool if we saved everyone?”

            “Are you some daydreaming ten-year old?” I asked incredulously, “you can’t be the hero if it means you’re going to die!”

            “But aren’t they us, just a few hours ago?”

            A few hours ago, I was dying. The drug had destroyed most of me, my current state too weak to overcome the remnants of the poison. If it weren’t for Jason finding our way out and stealing a few scraps of food, I would be dead. The dull eyes of trapped animals and the glistening eyes of angry creatures bore into mine. They all watched me tear the piece of meat apart, their own mouths thirsting for a portion – and I devoured it on my own.

            “Fine,” I agreed reluctantly. Proceeding to the closest cell, housing two lions, I clawed at the lock, nail and teeth scrapping against hard metal as the lions watched. The rusted metal bars snapped easily, letting two gratified animals out.

            I watched them dart away towards the exit, resisting the urge to sprint after them. I repeated the process hundreds of times before every cage was empty. Most of the animals had gone; the ones who stayed were eager to attack the main building. Jason didactically pointed out the massive disadvantage we had. They were armed with technology beyond our understanding; we were acting on impulse and rage.

            “I want revenge too,” Jason said, “but we should probably we more careful about it. After all, we can’t be heroes if it means we’re going to die, right?”

 

            As the moon climbed through the clouds, a large collection of various animals marched into the dark building. Inside, each room held certain medical instruments that seemed hazardous, connected by long trains of wires and pipes. I found the room from my memories, the moonlight illuminating different shadows. Attacking the equipment, my teeth only dented the metal.

            My parents drove me to the hospital, falling leaves swirling around us. I was only going to receive a few shots. But of course, I should’ve realized this by now:

            Adults lie.

            It starts with the harmless white lies. Lies that are more for humor rather than convenience.

“Mama, is grandpa still sleeping?”

            “Yes.”

            “For five whole years?”

            I bit harder, this time the metal made a distinct cracking noise.

            “Papa, why’d you just hit mama?”

            A slap across the face silenced me, giving me all the wrong answers.

            I was thrashing wildly now, my unbridled force hysterically lashing out. Blood flew onto the white walls, coating my black and gray fur.

            “Why are we going to a new doctor this time?”

            “Because it’s better.” Lies.

            “I don’t understand.”

            “You don’t need to.”

            A few seconds of silence, the car’s engine filling the emptiness.

            “Am I going back to school after this?”

            “Yes. Now stop asking questions, Yunho.”

            Jason appeared at the door, whispering urgently, “The police are coming. They’re still five miles away, but it’s best if we go now.” Sniffing the air, his nose wrinkled slightly at the smell of blood.    

         I snapped the monitor off another device before following him out the door. Other animals were already rushing outside as I heard the sharp wail of a police siren, and impulsively ran into the dense forest. I felt Jason’s footsteps following closely.

            “Yunho!” Jason called.

            I slowed my pace until the brown figure caught up with me.

            “That was fun,” he said uncertainly.

            “Yes it was,” I confirmed surely. Panicked shouts rose from the building, the police discovered what we had left for them.

            I had changed, by immeasurable means, physically and emotionally. The world I knew before shook my mind like the wind, and this new life came crashing down on me like a wave of hope. What was probable is definite; what was the future is the life I live now.

Author's Note

Sorry about how concise it is - I still only had an hour for writing/revision/etc.

Reviews

[Edalene Connell]

Wow this is amazing! A very well written story.

[Hyacinth]

its nice!
love it!