Run…

 

Just keep running…

 

Rain poured heavy in the moonless night. A tall figure tripped through the muddy field as he ran blindly. Why did it have to be so dark and wet tonight? It was just his luck.

 

Don't look back...

 

It was getting difficult to keep going, but he couldn't risk stopping now. Who knew how far behind him they were? He just knew they wouldn't make the same mistake again if he got caught. The fear alone was what kept his legs in motion but with every passing second he could feel his adrenaline seep out of his cold, weary body.

 

Why did the facility have to be built in the middle of goddamn nowhere?

 

"!" The boy screamed as his foot struck a large fallen branch and he flew headfirst into the muddy ground. He groaned and pushed himself up tiredly, trying to wipe the mud off his face frustratedly. It was a useless attempt. The aching in his muscles became much more obvious and he thought just maybe he could just stay there for a few minutes... catch his breath.

A light emerged from the blackness and his energy spiked back up as he stumbled towards it desperately. His vision was still almost nonexistent but as long as he went towards the light he should be fine, right?

 

Run faster...

 

His feet suddenly hit solid ground and the light grew as it moved towards him. His heart swelled with hope. He was so close to freedom, he could taste it like the rain that hit his lips. This was his chance. He'd rather die than be taken back to that terrible place.

 

I can taste the freedom…

 

A beeping noise cut through the heavy falling rain followed by a terrible screech that rang loud in his ears. Suddenly, he was struck with something huge, pain shooting through his body and he dropped hard on the ground. The last thing he remembered was hearing doors opening and two silhouettes quickly running up to him. A hand shook his shoulder but the worried words were drowned by the storm.

 

"Just please take me away..." he mumbled incoherently before blacking out.

 

------

 

"What is experiment 61's progress, professor Choi?"

 

"Well, Mr. Tak, his powers are getting impressively stronger everyday, but he's becoming more aggressive to the staff as well."

 

Footsteps bounced across the perfectly white walls as two men made their way down the hall. The professor flipped through a few pages in a manila folder showing stats of the subject to the man in charge.

 

"And? Can't you just sedate him when he's too difficult?"

 

"I mean yes, but not without repercussions. He knows he's getting strong enough to take on multiple people at a time. Just yesterday nurse Lee Ji Eun was admitted to the infirmary due to severe burns where he kicked her."

 

"They all knew the possible dangers before joining your team, professor. Choose some stronger employees if you're so concerned."

 

"The problem isn't strength, though, when 61 can essentially incinerate them."

 

Mr. Tak closed the folder, "Sounds like you're unprepared for the very job you're meant to accomplish. Should I be looking into a new hire in your position instead?" The professor blanched and clamped his mouth shut for fear of making that a reality.

 

They to a new hallway to a set of heavy duty doors and the professor shakily swiped a keycard granting them access to the cells. Most were  already occupied by an experiment and hefty glass separated the two men from the subjects as they proceeded down the hallway. Soon enough they made it to the cell labeled Experiment 61.

 

Inside, a young man with pink hair and unnervingly light blue eyes turned his head from where he lay limp in his cot, shooting an icy glare at his visitors. The boss stared back coolly, humming slightly in thought.

 

"Seems to me that you still have it under control, am I wrong?"

 

The professor cleared his throat, "Only somewhat. We're losing more control over him everyday. It won't be too long until we have an Experiment 94 incident." As if to solidify his statement, 61's clenched fists burst into flames, nearly catching his sleeves on fire before the flames died just as quickly.

 

"Not to worry, professor." Just as Professor Choi turned to make an objection Mr. Tak held his hand up, "With the new drug being shipped in tomorrow, you'll have him back into submission real quick. Isn't that right, our darling 61?"

 

The subject bared his teeth unable to move much else at the moment and Mr. Tak let out a hearty laugh. Professor Choi seemed unconvinced, "But I heard these chemicals could have detrimental effects. Are you sure you want to use it on our subjects when it could push our agenda back?"

 

"Do you have a better option, professor? Besides, it's just a temporary replacement. Once he's begging for the old stuff, we'll know we've broken him."

 

Mr. Tak gave experiment 61 one more glance before turning on his heel out of the cells with the professor close behind. 61 watched them until they disappeared from his sight, continuing to stare in that direction for some time. He had to get out of there. He had to get away. 61 wasn't ready to see what new torture they had in store for him…

 

------

 

", I knew it was a person! This is so bad, this is soo bad..."

 

"It could be worse… You were already going slow, he shouldn't be dead."

 

"I killed someone?!" Baekhyun screamed, clutching the steering wheel even tighter as he stared at the limp body lit up by the headlights. "No, no I said he shouldn't be dead," Xiumin replied, his face just as pale as his friend's. "But someone should still go check on him..."

 

When the other boy stayed silent, Baekyun shook his head vehemently, "I can't, I'm in shock! You go out there." Xiumin shot him a look before shoving him toward the door, "I'll go out with you just because I'm your friend, but you're checking on him."

 

They both agreed on that and exited the car into the heavy rain. Once they made their way to the figure, Baekhyun knelt down and shook his shoulder. "A-are you okay?" He said loud enough for the guy to hear. Unfortunately whatever the guy managed to croak out was too hard to make out before he went still. "Hey. Buddy. Wake up, man, we've gotta get you out of this rain," he said, shaking him some more. There was no way Baekhyun would survive in jail. He had so much to live for, but this guy just had to run right in front of his car like a ing lunatic.

 

"Check his heartbeat," Xiumin said from behind him. Baekhyun took in a shuddering breath before he pressed his fingers against the boy's neck searching for a pulse. Badump badump. He breathed a sigh of relief after finding it fairly quickly. "Still a pulse, but he's definitely knocked the hell out. What should we do?"

 

"Well let's take him back with us so we can get him dry and patched up. We can figure everything else out later." Baekhyun nodded and they both picked up the rather tall stranger, dragging him up to the csr and laying him across the back seat. "Great, it's gonna be soaking wet in here..." Baekhyun grumbled. Xiumin just slapped the back of his head before moving back to the front passenger seat, "You don't have complaining rights, idiot." Baekhyun just grumbled more and got in the driver's side, taking a deep breath before driving once more toward their apartment.

 

Baekhyun glanced in the rear view mirror at the boy in the back. "We'll figure everything out later," he whispered to himself, trying to settle his worries.