Chapter 2: Strange Territory

The smell of thick dew and molten metel hovered in the air, the sprawled body of a female, curled in a ball, was barely noticeable against the under brush. The form moved, a groaning sound coming from the woman as she rolled onto her back.

Where was she? Who was she?

Her lips barely moved, whispering a name, “Haylee… Experiment”

That’s right, her name was Haylee and she had participated in the testing of a machine that went… somewhere. She lifted a hand towards the sky, her eyes squinting to study it. Part of her black rubber suit had been peeled away, burn marks evident along her fore-arm.

But…. there was something odd about it… no pain…

Why didn’t she feel any pain?

Haylee slowly pushed herself up, the world spinning from her weakness, her mind getting impatient as she calculated the next few things that she needed to do, ignoring that question of the lack of pain. Shouldn’t she be returning now?

Standing up she got her bearings, forest growth was black and bits of metal were flung about. She placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath. At least she was in one piece…

Something stirred nearby, and her hand immediately dropped to where her gun was usually. Only her hand grasped nothing. She grimaced, that’s right, she’d left all of her gear in that one room because she wasn’t suppose to take anything other than herself due to the
unpredictability of what could happen with the extra objects.

Not that she had much to worry about as the culprit making the sound dashed up the side of a tree and turned to look back at her.

“CHIT-CHIT-CHIT-CHIT-CHIT” It smiled, showing razor sharp teeth before turning and running back into the tree branches. Great. She definitely wasn’t back on Earth.

With that thought, she turned on her foot and walked into the woods… grabbing one of the strewn metal pieces as her only source of protection.
*****
A breeze stirred the trees as Haylee crouched under bushes. A medium sized rabbit looking thing nibbled on the plant growth just in front of her. the woman’s mouth watered with anticipation. How many days had passed since she’d eaten? Too many to account for and with each passing hour, the more she knew she’d ring the necks of two particular scientists if she ever made it back.

Haylee shifted slightly, lifting and shifint one of her arms back. In her hand, she held a thick branch with a piece of debris from her transporter strapped to it. Just a little closer…

She leaped! Stabbing wildly at the ground… I mean animal… before her in a panicked, hunger rage, dirt chunks flew everywhere.

Then Haylee stopped. Mostly because the animal had gotten away from her. In a groan of defeat., she tossed herself backwards and closed her eyes.

So far, her exploring had shown little animals with a human’s intelligence. Haylee was thinking about this as her mind wandered to other things. Like how dirty she felt, her clothes not providing much in the way of protection against the elements. Her hair was a matted mess and scratches with bug bites covered her exposed skin.

A small voice echoed in her ears, as she rolled on to her side and started to cry out of frustration.

“Because I can’t do this anymore, Cloe.”

There was a giggling and then a crashing of leaves. In sudden realization, Haylee sat straight up. She was all alone… so how could she have been talking to someone else?

No no no. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. This place… being so solitary, she was losing her mind. She sucked in breath and was preparing to drop her hands when something cold was placed against her neck, “I wouldn’t make any sudden movements.”

The new voice was male and he leaned forward, pushing the pistol of his gun into her neck as he reached down and snatched Haylee’s make shift weapon up. He tossed it away, “Now get up slowly.”

The woman held her breath, moving her hands away from her face and then manuvering her feet to get up slowly. Who was this? Why was he threatening her? Most importantly, why hadn’t he shown up until now?

“Don’t say a word or I’ll shoot. Walk where I tell you to and don’t look behind yourself or I’ll shoot. Now walk forward.”

The man told her to move forward, and Haylee did, one step at a time. The whole time, he stayed behind her, not allowing her to see his face at all.

“Turn left.”

The sun began to shrink behind the trees, hiding from the assassin known as the moon–like a bird ducking into swamp grass. All around them was silence except for their moving feet.

“Turn right.”

And his constant voice. Haylee was not in the least perturbed by the fact she had a weapon to her back and was taking instructions like a mule. No, what annoyed her was that she couldn’t see her captor. Couldn’t judge his movements, determine his psyche.

“Stop.”

The command came abruptly and she almost didn’t comply. Suddenly, the bushes and trees were moving all around her. Haylee was careful not to move from the startlingness of it all.

How? What? Where? When? Why?

Something smacked her hard in the back of the skull causing white spots to flash before her eyes. The ground rushed towards Haylee as she began to lose all motor functions. As she fell, though, she managed to twist her body to see behind her.

It was a brief flash, but she managed to pick up on two faces. A young one, holding the butt of a gun up high and another standing beside him. A face that was familiar because she’d seen it in a day dream. A man in black who had the devil’s eye.