The water that beat down on my skin from the shower was very hot but it still didn't wash away the fear and horror that I felt. I had missed so many years of my life and didn't really know how to live as an adult. The fact that I could hold my own against the jerks at the lab that had made me feel like nothing but a lab rat; but the truth is that I was just guessing and hoping I got it right. I wasn't sure how useful I could be feeling like a vulnerable child. I remembered that when I was young I used to watch shows about superheroes that were fearless in battle and knew how to fight against great odds. I wanted to be fearless too but in reality it's a lot harder than my hero's made it look.
I stood there under the water for another five minutes before I turned off the water and wrapped the towel around me. I stepped out of the tub and walked over to the mirror that was fogged from the hot water. As I wiped away the condensation I looked at the woman I had become while I slept for so many years. Though I knew just by examining my reflection that I could never be a normal person. Oh I suppose I was attractive enough if a guy liked his girl rather short but my eyes and hair were colours that did not appear in nature and the scars that I gained from years of experiments would never go away. My eyes stared back at me the colour of a harvest moon with a ring of gold around them; my hair looked as if it would be at home in the sky during a sunset. No, as I looked in that mirror the only thing I saw in that moment was a monster that still had the mind of a child. I grabbed the brush from the bathroom counter and went to find Cate to see if she would help me brush out my hair. I still found it hard to look after my hair as it weighed heavily down my back to just above my ankles as I walked out to the living room.
I woke the next morning in my bed; the room was dark thanks to the heavy curtains that were drawn across the window. It was strange that I didn't remember going to bed myself; the last thing I did remember was Cate brushing my hair and braiding it while we watched the screen in the living room. I shrugged it off as I got up and wrapped myself in the soft robe that Cate bought just for me. I still didn't understand why they were being so nice and giving me all these wonderful gifts. Well no I figured that Peter was playing nice so that I would help him and those freaky doctors that lived in the basement of some building. I still didn't know much about Cate even though I was living with her.
I padded quietly down the hallway to the kitchen and listened to see if there was anyone home. I heard the strong thudding of a heartbeat, but only one, which meant that either Peter hadn't gotten here yet or Cate was already gone for work. I turned into the kitchen and saw Peter sitting at the table with a mug in his hands. He had a serious look on his face and didn't even look up when I came in and got a mug out of the cupboard to pour my own drink. Coffee was way too bitter for me, even after drowning it in sugar and milk. I did however like the tangy, sweet taste of orange juice so Cate started buying it just for me. I got the juice from the fridge and poured it in silence. It wasn't until after I put the juice away and sat at the table that Peter looked up at me. His face looked tired and worried. "What's wrong?" I asked as I slowly placed the mug on the table.
"You really don't remember last night do you?" He asked me quietly.
"No…should I have?" I sat and tried to think about what happened last night between my shower and my getting up this morning. It was like a piece of my memory was cut out and was replaced by…nothing. I took a deep breath to try to calm my fluttering heart then stopped and sniffed the air. "What is that smell?"
"I don't smell anything other than my coffee." Peter replied
I looked over at him and saw that he wasn't just worried now, he was nervous and…I felt it, he was scared and trying to cover it up. "But you know what it is that I can smell." I got up from the table and sniffed the air a few more times. Then I turned around and followed the scent to the living room. It looked clean and there was a scent of some cleaning chemicals, but it wasn't the cleaner that I smelled. I glanced back at Peter. "What are you hiding from me?" He shook his head and looked down at the liquid in his mug. "You don't want to know." He mumbled into his drink. As he brought the cup to his lips I noticed the bandage that was wrapped around his wrist. "No…" I whispered as I backed up farther into the living room. I stumbled and fell over the arm of the couch. The fabric was damp on my skin and smelled of different cleaning products, but again that other smell lay just underneath the chemical smell. I put my face to the fabric and took a deep breath memorizing that smell that jumped out at me. I then slowly got up and turned around to see Peter slowly backing down the hallway to the door. "You're hiding something from me. Why?"
"Just leave it alone, Nine. You don't want to know."
I dashed over to Peter and grabbed his bandaged arm. I looked up into his wide fearful eyes before unwinding the bandage and looking down at what it was hiding. The moment the cloth lifted away from the wound I was engulfed by that same smell from the fabric of the couch; but this scent was undiluted by cleaning chemicals. The smell was so intoxicating that I wanted to feel it on my tongue and slide down my throat. I had to shake my head to clear it and focus on what I was seeing. There on Peter's wrist was a bloody set of teeth prints that were red and had started to scab over. The thought hit me so hard that I staggered backwards and started shaking my head. I could not have been the reason for this. I was supposed to be their hero, their shining light. "What happened to Cate?" I asked in a shaky breath.
"She's at the hospital." Peter whispered.
"Did I…?" I couldn't even get the words out as I felt the first warm tears slide down my face.
"It wasn't your fault, there is no way we could have predicted your reaction."
"My reaction to what!" I was starting to lose it. I had started shaking as the tears slid faster and more frequently down my face.
"You don't remember, do you?" Peter moved forward and slowly slid his uninjured arm around my shoulders. I just shook my head in response. "Cate was sitting on the couch brushing your hair last night while I was making dinner. I cut my finger on the knife I was using to peel some vegetables. When I walked by to get a bandage from the bathroom you smelled the blood and went crazy like some feral animal. You were planning to attack me but Cate tried to stop you and you attacked her first to keep her from blocking your path. The only way to calm you was to feed your blood lust."
"My What?" I pulled away from Peter as if his skin burned me.
"It's ok, we thought that something like this might happen. Although we figured it would be months before you started…"
"You knew this would happen?!" I watched Peter as I slowly backed away down the hall and into the bedroom. There was no way I was going to trust him.
'"Listen to me Nine, I'm only trying to help you control your…" Peter tried to explain his intentions but I didn't want to hear any excuses.
"I don't need any help from you or anyone!" I moved about the room and quickly packed the few belongings that I had in a small duffle bag then grabbed my coat off the nearby chair and turned to walk out of the room only to find Peter there blocking my path.
"Out of my way Peter!" I snarled. I didn't want to hurt him anymore than I already had.
"No, I can't let you leave in your condition. You are a danger to everyone like this."
I looked around the room for something to help me escape. I turned around and eyed the window. The curtains were drawn and the light that filtered in was grey and promised rain. I must have been crazy for thinking it but the window looked like the only means of escape. I backed up towards the window and opened it while Peter slowly started to cross the room towards me.
"All the more reason why I should be leaving now. I really don't want to see you in the hospital either…or worse." I hopped up onto the windowsill and braced myself with my free hand.
"Don't be stupid Nine, we are on the 30th floor! A drop like that would kill you." Peter pleaded.
"We will see won't we." With my heart hammering in my chest I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and leapt out the window to the street below.
The moment I landed there was an explosion of red behind my closed eyelids. I could hear the cracking of my bones breaking on impact and a fierce pain lance through my entire body before I lost consciousness and my world turned black.
I wasn't sure how long I was out but when I came to I could hear the sound of sirens in the distance. Likely one of the neighbours had seen me jump and called for help.
I slowly tried to move and groaned when I felt my body protest in pain. I knew I had to move before those sirens got any closer. The last thing I needed was to be taken away and poked and prodded again.
I managed to roll over on my side before my head exploded with pain. Once I stopped moving and my head stopped spinning I noticed that I had made a rather large dent in the top of someone's car. I actually had to slide myself out of the crater and down the hood of the car to get free of the twisted metal.
I managed to shuffle my way over to the nearest ally where I emptied the contents of my stomach in a nearby garbage can while my brain threatened to leak out of my eyeballs. I was sure that my ribs were broken in a few places along with a handful of other bones but I was determined to leave the area before I was dragged off to a hospital to get poked and prodded or even worse, experimented on.
The world around me looked like a hazy blur and my vision was starting to fade rapidly as I slowly made my way to the other end of the alley. At this rate I would pass out due to my injuries in the middle of the street.