Boom. Boom. Boom.
The sound echoed through the small apartment, shaking the walls. Sakura's mother froze, her eyes wide with fear. She turned to her daughter, her voice trembling.
"Sakura, you have to leave. Now. If you stay, they'll take you from me. I can't let that happen."
Sakura shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "No, Mom! I can't leave you! I won't!"
The banging grew louder. "Open up! We know you're in there! If you don't open this door, we'll break it down!"
Her mother grabbed Sakura by the shoulders, her grip firm but gentle. "Listen to me. Go out the window. Run as far as you can. Don't look back."
"I can't leave you!" Sakura cried, clutching her mother's arms. "We have to stay together!"
Her mother's voice broke. "Sakura, please. Go. Go!"
The door exploded inward, the force of the blast sending Sakura flying to the ground. Smoke filled the room, blurring her vision. She coughed, her ears ringing as soldiers in black suits stormed in, their guns raised.
"Where is she?" one of them barked. "The girl with Erythros Syndrome! Find her!"
Sakura's mother lunged at the nearest soldier, her voice a desperate scream. "Leave her alone! Don't touch my daughter!"
The soldier shoved her aside, but she fought back, clawing at his mask. "You won't take her! You won't!"
A gunshot rang out.
"Mom!" Sakura screamed, scrambling to her feet. Her mother collapsed to the floor, blood pooling beneath her.
The soldiers turned to Sakura, their voices cold and mechanical. "There she is. Grab her."
Sakura backed away, her heart pounding. She turned to the window, but a soldier grabbed her arm, yanking her back.
"Let me go!" she screamed, kicking and thrashing.
The room erupted into chaos as a group of infected burst through the door, their guttural shrieks filling the air. The soldiers opened fire, their bullets tearing through the parasites, but the distraction was enough for Sakura to break free.
She scrambled to the window, her mother's voice echoing in her mind. Go, Sakura. Go.
A soldier grabbed her again, but she bit down hard on his hand, her teeth sinking into his glove. He cursed, releasing her just long enough for her to leap out the window.
She hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the wind out of her. Behind her, she heard the soldiers shouting.
"Get her! She's too important to lose!"
Sakura ran, her legs burning as she pushed herself to move faster. A shot rang out, and something sharp pierced her side. She stumbled but kept going, the world blurring around her.
The last thing she saw before blacking out was the soldiers closing in.
THE FACILITY
Sakura woke up to a cold, sterile world. The sharp scent of antiseptic burned her nose. Her arms were strapped to a metal table, the restraints cutting into her skin. Bright lights above her flickered, casting eerie shadows on the walls. She tried to move, but pain shot through her body like fire.
A man in a lab coat loomed over her, his eyes void of warmth. He held a syringe, tapping it lightly. "Subject 47 is awake. We'll begin now."
Panic surged through Sakura. "Let me go! What do you want from me?!"
The man ignored her. The needle sank into her skin, a cold rush spreading through her veins. Then came the burning, like molten lava crawling under her flesh. She arched her back, screaming, but no one cared. They only observed, scribbling notes as she writhed in agony.
Days blurred into weeks. She was no longer a person—just an experiment. They injected her with chemicals, forced her into tests, and documented her suffering with detached interest. Hunger gnawed at her stomach, but food was scarce. Sleep was a distant memory. Her body weakened, but her mind refused to break.
One day, they shoved her into a glass-walled chamber. On the other side, a parasite writhed in a cage, its grotesque body pulsing with glowing purple veins. Scientists watched from behind reinforced glass.
"Release it."
The cage opened. The parasite slithered toward her, its deformed limbs twitching. Sakura's breath hitched. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but there was nowhere to go. The creature lunged—
Then stopped.
It tilted its head as if confused, letting out a deep, guttural hiss. It did not attack.
"Remarkable," a scientist murmured. "Her immune system rejects infection. Increase exposure levels."
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't know how much longer she could endure this.
Her only solace was Aiko.
She met the girl during a transport from one test site to another. Aiko was younger, maybe thirteen, with dark hair and wide, frightened eyes. She clung to Sakura like a lifeline.
"Are you okay?" Aiko asked one night as they lay in the freezing cell, their bodies aching from the day's experiments.
Sakura didn't know how to answer. Was she okay? Would she ever be okay again? She turned her head slightly. "I'm still here."
Aiko nodded, her voice barely a whisper. "Me too."
They weren't friends by choice—circumstance had bonded them. But in this place, having someone to hold onto, even just in words, was the only thing keeping Sakura from drowning in despair.
One night, Aiko reached for her hand. "We'll get out of here, right?"
Sakura hesitated, then squeezed Aiko's hand gently. "Yeah. One day."
She didn't know if she believed it. But she wanted to.
The sterile white walls of the facility felt suffocating as Sakura was dragged down the hall. The low hum of machinery echoed through the corridors, a constant reminder that she was nothing more than a test subject, a specimen. The guard's grip on her arm was firm, unyielding, but it wasn't the physical pain that made her stomach churn—it was the uncertainty, the fear of what awaited her.
She had been through so many tests already. The injections that burned through her veins, the chemicals that made her vision blur and her body convulse, the constant barrage of pain that made her wonder if she would ever be whole again. And yet, each time she survived. Each time they tried to break her, she came out on the other side, somehow still intact. But how long could that last? How much longer would they keep pushing her until she shattered?
Her heart pounded in her chest as they reached the door to a new room. It was a stark contrast to the dark, cramped cells they kept her in. This room was blindingly bright, its walls lined with cold steel tables and medical equipment. The smell of antiseptic was even stronger here, mingling with the faint scent of something metallic, something that made her stomach twist in revulsion.
The guard shoved her into the room, his voice cold and indifferent. "Subject 47. Prepare for testing."
Sakura didn't respond. There was no point in resisting. No point in begging for mercy. This was her reality now.
She was no longer just a girl. She was an experiment, a piece of data, a number on a clipboard.
A man in a lab coat stepped forward, his face obscured by a mask. His eyes were cold, calculating, as he studied her with an air of clinical detachment.
"We'll be trying a new procedure today," he said, his voice smooth, professional. "A new serum that could potentially enhance your immune response. We'll need a blood sample first."
Sakura felt her blood run cold. The thought of them injecting something into her again, something that might cause more agony, more damage—it was too much. She had been through enough. Her body had been through enough.
But she had no choice. There was no escape.
A sharp needle punctured her skin, drawing her blood as the man worked with practiced efficiency. Sakura flinched, but she didn't resist. She couldn't afford to. The pain had become a constant companion, an unbearable presence that never left her. She had to endure it if she wanted to survive. She had to keep going.
As the man finished, he turned away, nodding to the guard who had been standing by. "Prepare for the next phase."
Sakura's eyes flickered toward the door, wondering if there was any way out of this—any way to escape. But she knew there wasn't. She had tried before. They were always watching, always waiting. The walls of the facility were inescapable, a prison with no hope of freedom.
The guard stepped toward her again, this time with a syringe filled with a pale blue liquid. Her breath caught in her throat as he held it up, his gaze never leaving hers.
"Don't fight it," he said, his voice almost comforting. "It will only hurt for a moment."