The screams were never ending in the blue hall. Through the walls echoed the most agonizing screams, dreadfully and pitifully, a plea to the never ending torture, a grasp for reality. It was enough to drive one insane, if the disease hadn't already.
She would have said she was used to it by now, but she knew, more than anyone that the screams still rattled her bones, still gave her chills.
Linnet laid on her back, her bed more of a mat on the metal bunk. Her legs leaned against the wall, an arm under her head, a few bruises here and there. But they'd heal soon, she had been told.
But there was no healing inside the Blue hall.
Her eyes were closed for the shortest moments, before snapping open at the sound of the metal door groaning. She sighed, dreading the experiments yet knowing there was no way of escaping it.
"Dawn, you're up next." The male bodyguard said, his voice a lifeless drone.
Liquid brown eyes moved to him and she almost smiled. Swinging her legs down, she stood up, her brown baggy pants covering the few cuts on her leg.
She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the madness to come. She followed the guard out, walking two steps behind him, trying hard not to look into the cells that lined that the hall. The sight was enough to make her gag, or give her a never ending nightmare.
Maybe that was why she was his favorite lab rat. She didn't succumb to the fear. She didn't get beaten down by all of it and she knew he was eagerly waiting to break her resolve. He took joy in watching the others crumble.
Just as she started descending the stairs, there was a loud scream, then a crash, followed by several others. She paused, taking a moment to get a grasp of what was happening. From the way the guards ran to the experiment room, she knew it had happened again. He had pushed too hard and instead of getting the cure he so desperately wanted, he got the madness instead. He had created another victim.
"It's a lockdown!" A guard bellowed from the bottom of the stairs.
A lockdown meant no more experiments until the victim was taken care of. All the prisoners, locked away, quarantined even. There'd be no contact between anyone until it could be ascertain they were clear of it. But, it could also means her escape.
Just as the guard turned to usher her back to her cell, she kicked him hard in his abdomen, making him loose balance. She had taken him by utter suprise, or else, she was sure he wouldn't have budged if he knew what was coming. She took a moment to watch him fall down the stairs, before running down a few steps then jumping over the railings. As her feet touched the ground, she buckled and her knees almost grazed the floor but she picked herself up immediately. Jumping over fenced and getting scolded by her mother and paid off in the end.
She took to her heels, taking the hall she knew would most likely be deserted during a lockdown. She passed by countless cells, all empty, its occupants given to the madness in the search for a cure that most definitely didn't exist. At the end of the hall was a large metal door.
She pushed it open, straining as she did. She was left gasping for breath when she finally opened it. Just as she stepped in, she noticed two guards had spotted her, probably because of the loud groaning of the door.
They were running towards her as she strained to shut the door, not sure how much time it'd buy her.
She turned around, suddenly enveloped by the darkness, saved for the flickering lights that lined the stairs leading to the tunnels, her destination. She hurried down the stairs, the sound of the door opening, a reminder of her pursuers.
She jumped over the remaining stairs, landing on her stomach with a groan. She cursed as she picked herself up, and entered into the dark tunnels with a limp in her steps. Placing her hand on the wall to steady herself, she moved forward in the darkness, with nothing but a faint memory guiding her.
Rays of light filtered into the tunnel as she moved further, promising her an end to the darkness. She was enveloped by the darkness that she had failed to register the absent of the steps that pursued her.
She stood at it's mouth, waiting, holding her breath, listening. Until she heard it. The groaning of wheels against the railings.
With bated breath, she waited until it whizzed past her, before jumping on the first entrance to the train she saw.
***
Orion stroked his chin as he stared at the now deceased woman.
His expression was tight, calculating, his emotions untold. In as much as he loved experimenting, he hated when he lost patients. He was running short of them and wasn't even close to finding what he wanted.
He had gathered these people who were believed to be immune. But the more he experimented on them, the more he was sure that they were all nust lucky. They weren't immune. The disease had just skipped over them.
With a sigh, he turned away from the corpse that laid on the floor.
"Take her away." He said with a wave of his hand.
He took off the blue coat, the insignia of the Blue Hall on it. He rolled his shoulder in exhaustion, walking towards the exit of the room when the door opened.
The guard who stepped in couldn't look him in the eye.
He had, of course, heard the rumors of his eyes. The devil's eyes. A reflection of hell just at a glance. Darkened like the depths of his soul. That was, of course, because of the unusual color of his eyes.
Definitely, red isn't a usual color.
"What is it?" He asked, walking past the guard.
"S-she escaped."
"I know." He said nonchalantly over his shoulder. "Let her play around for a while. She'll crawl back home."