Street Life

Glancing at Mel, Alyss also attempted to free herself. However, she soon found it to be too difficult so she eventually gave up. To her luck, the pain had begun slowly subsiding. She was able to think more clearly. Turning to look at Mel, she smiled weakly. She doubted that they were still friends, but honestly that didn't matter to her in that moment. Hopefully, Mel would help her escape. Then - she'd take on the Purple Dragons. She didn't care if Mel would go with her or not. She could kill them all on her own, she knew that she could.

"Me too..." Alyss replied, trying to get free again yet still failing.

Erica met the eyes of the young, but older than her scientist, careful to not let her thoughts make it past her lips.

Humanities best interest should never come at the unwilling cost of such young lives! Maybe it would have sat better with her if the subjects had been entirely willing to be here and subjected to such treatment.

But none of her thoughts made it past her mind. And then halted entirely when he asked her out.

Her cheeks darkened. Not in the way they had several times that day earlier with Raph.

Raph... did she pop into his mind as he was doing right now to hers?

And she thought of the parting when her fingers had toyed with the gifts she'd given him, the accidental lip smooch that she did not regret...

His churrs.

She clears her throat shyly and desperately thought over how best to let this young man down gently.

It was just a dinner invitation...


Her phone beeped making her jump and fumble in her pockets for it. "oooh um... I have to get this, important.. Family... Um... Raincheck?" she begins backing away, it was not a yes, but not a no and hopefully he'd take it in the polite sheepish apologetic way she was saying it and let it go for now as she backed off hurrying for the tiny little room that was her 'office'.

It was more of a janitors closet... But is had a little desk and she was able to slip inside and check her phone. It was just LH wishing her a good night. She texted him back she needed to talk to him about his new roomie and that she wished him a good night too and decided to stay here encase Baxter needed her . If he did not after midnight she was time herself out and head home.

Mel continued to struggle in the restraints finally to semi get the latch with her teeth slowly but surely loosening it. With that struggle she was finally able to get her right hand loose and free from the restraint.

" Got my arm free but barely they make it look easy in the movies." She panted as she got her other arm free before pulling off all the wires taped on her body. She then got her legs free throwing them over the edge of the bed trying to stand up but quickly lost her balance and landed on the ground.

" Well that's a minor problem." She fumed as she crawled to Aly's bed pulling herself up loosening one of the straps on her arm so she could free herself. The teen needed to regain her balance and practice walking on her new leg despite the pain even with the painkillers. Their survival was depending on their stubbornness.

Even with one arm free, Alyss found it quite difficult to get herself loose. She couldn't understand why it was so hard to function with her new arm! When she had finally freed herself, she slipped and fell hard onto the ground. Once down she was unable to stand back up. She whispered a swear.

"Everything hurts and I can't get up...thought this'd be more fun..." She huffed, pouting.

" Well it's not fun nor is it supposed to. Now fight through the pain Aly we can't give up now." Mel said as she continued to do just that it was tough and she wouldn't be able to walk for a while it seemed so she scanned the room for an air vent at least. She spotted one and of course it was up high which made her curse.

"Buuuuut, who says we hafta escape?" Alyss inquired, slowly moving into a sitting position and grabbing hold of the bed with her normal arm. It was really difficult, for the pain was still nearly unbearable and she still wasn't really sure how to properly move her new arm (which really annoyed her).

"He promised to let us go, 'member? And anyways - we can't really move so there's no point. You're just really stubborn. 'Sides, you already said you didn't wanna be my friend anymore, so why help me? I can take care of myself!"

" Aly just because he said he would let us go doesn't mean he will. He will just keep us and continue to experiment until we're no use to him. And I didn't say I don't wanna be your friend and who helped you get loose? But I do know we can't stay here what happened here was just the beginning they're gonna do more to us." Mel explained as she tried to get her leg to move through sheer force of will no matter how much it hurt.

the young scientist was a little upset that she seemed too busy to have some dinner. But she didn't say no. And if she was working here now he would have other times to take her out. When Erica walked away, the man opened the door to the girl's room to check on them. seeing one of them sitting up he sighed and walked up to her.

"I know you want to get out of here, but it really is safer for you both to at least stay a night or two. Baxter will let you leave. Just like he's let other's leave. We will be keeping track of you, and every now and then one of us will show up to do check ups. also you will be getting paid for this...Uh...I think he failed to mention that. We don't want our subjects living on the street, so you both will get a living quarters and some spending money for food and what not. That is IF you stay in here. If you need entertainment I can bring in a TV and maybe get some games or something."

Alyss glanced over at Mel, mouthing the words 'I told you so'.

She then began to think about the things that the man had just said. Money? Living quarters? TV? This sounded too good to be true! But...it was true, right? Had to be.

"Really?" she said, her eyes widened. Not only would she be able to kill the Purple Dragons, but she could have her very own home too!

" If you think I'm gonna just believe that you're crazy! He may have told you that crap but it's not true he's experimenting on humans! We're nothing but things to him and you're either blind or to stupid not to see through his crap!" Mel yelled at the scientist knowing better than just to blindly trust what an adult said especially when that adult helped in causing hurt and pain. Besides it was all to good to be true and usually that meant it was a complete lie.

The scientist gave an annoyed sigh.

"You are Mel, right? If I were you I would be more compliant, like your friend. I'm not here to tell you lies, and frankly I don't care what you believe. This is how it works. we take people off the street, we improve them, if they live through the experience they are rewarded. There are two others like your selves that have been transformed and lived. They live in an apartment together and have no complaints that we know of. If you want to leave now, you will not get paid, you will not have a living quarters, and you will be considered a failed experiment. You will be terminated. Do you understand?"

" You really believe that? Then prove it who are the other experiments then? Show them to us then I will know if you're telling the truth or not. If you are telling the truth it shouldn't be hard to show us that." Mel challenged him words were words but actual proof was different.

"No. Just like at a doctor office, patent information is private. Sorry. I'll go get that TV for you two now. My name is Sammy by the way. As soon as Baxter says so, we can let you go from the bed, just not the room. I'll be back in a bit."

with that Sammy walked out the room locking the door behind him.

Ah. How cute. Alyss could practically smell 'Sammy's' lie. Buuuut, she wouldn't say a word about it. Not yet. She was a 'naive and gullible child', and she could play that role right now. As long as she could get her revenge on the Purple Dragons soon, she really didn't care at all about whatever 'Sammy' had to say. So, she sat smiling as if nothing peculiar at all was currently happening.

"Mel, TV! I've never really seen one before! Have you?"

" Yeah I have back when I was little then at the foster homes they're really nothing special. But now we know for sure these people can't be trusted otherwise we would get to see the other experiments. We have to get out of here." Mel replied now more determined than ever in getting out of the lab she wasn't in the mood for being some sort of plaything.

As promised, Sammy soon came back to the room with a large TV on a rolling cart, under was some video games and things. He hooked everything up then walked back out the room only coming right back in with a pizza and some soda, chips and dip if they wanted.

He then went over and let them go from the bed so they could move around, though Baxter didn't order that, or the food, or anything else Sammy was doing. It could cost him his job, but, these were kids. He fully supported Baxter's work, but he also believed that the subjects should have a bit freedom while stuck here.

"ok. the bathroom and shower and stuff is through that door." He said pointing to a door. "That closet has some cloths. Nothing special, just hospital gowns really. So yeah. have fun."

He walked out, shutting the door and locking them in.

Highly interested in the TV, Alyss crawled over to it and began flipping channels. She didn't bother stopping to actually watch anything - she was merely impressed in its existence. She'd only ever heard television mentioned here and there, but never got to actually see on for herself. 'Nothing special'? She began to believe that Mel didn't actually like anything.

She still didn't fully trust Sammy, however she didn't hate him either. He had yet to truly get on her nerves. The TV was wonderful! Aly just hoped to leave soon. She had stuff to do.

" No it's not really special tons of places have tvs besides there's never really anything good to watch on them anyway. Surprised where you're from didn't have a tv and I had more important things to worry about than the tv." Mel explained as she started to eat a little bit of food she needed her strength to escape but before she could do that they needed a plan. The door probably locked from the outside but the vents while high with the right stuff stacked could be accessed. Video game controllers and wires could be used as makeshift weapons as well. The foolish scientist left the wrong stuff with the wrong girl and he had no idea.

Alyss merely shook her head. Mel was rushing into things, and was going to get herself killed. Alyss, on the other hand, was biding her time. Though she currently had no solid plan, she knew that the best thing to do now was remain on their good side. There was no need for fighting yet. She was saving that for the Purple Dragons. Besides, she was still finding it difficult to move. Forcing things would only cause more problems. She didn't mind the wait. For now. The TV was an enjoyable distraction.

She finally stopped flipping channels when she came across a commercial for dolls. There were two girls, probably around nine or ten, smiling and playing together. Alyss began to zone out in front of the screen. She hadn't noticed until now just how long it had been since she'd slept. She was getting sleepy.

Mel sighed as she got up and started to work out with her new leg trying to get used to it as fast as she could. She wouldn't admit it but she was scared out of her mind and was just putting up a front showing how tough she was. Showing any weakness in any form would hurt her chances in survival and she couldn't risk it. Slowly she got used to her leg and for the most part she was sort of walking with it but no chance in running at the moment but that could change.

She walked/limped around the around surveying it checking for any cameras in every possible spot but didn't see any. She knew the vent was pretty high and screws kept the cover on it but that wasn't a huge problem. Mel looked at the life support machines and smirked as she grabbed the wires and started to split them to get the insulation off and twist the copper part into a point that would help with the screws.

Continued from: Code Red

---

Dammit. Bonesteel had bled through his favorite shirt. It took the Hunter some time to establish what blood was his and what belonged to his captor. Most belonged to the highly valuable Turtle, but he had sustained a pretty nasty injury from the animal's weapon. Once the critter was locked securely in the transport cage, Simon closed the back of the Humvee and took up position behind the steering wheel. He knew that time was against him. Whenever the drugs wore off, that beast would no doubt be trying to bust out, but he needed to patch up his shoulder. What a shame it would be to bleed out before collecting the rest of his money.



It was a quick patch job, but it would have to do for now. Though he was still fuming about his shirt. Surely no place in this yippy city sold his kind of attire. Remembering the Japs that he's sold the female to, Simon grabbed his phone and made an international call. Luckily the professor on the other end remembered that the Southerner couldn't speak his lingo. A short but excited conversation on the other end confirmed another means of income, though Bonesteel himself wasn't too keen on collecting the sample they wanted. Though it seemed as if the scientist was willing to make the trip with his specimen if a sample could not be collected. For whatever reason, the scientist felt it was crucial that the female be bred. No doubt to produce more subjects to experiment on. With a 'clutch' of these things, a few could be spared to cut up.


It didn't matter. All that mattered was, big buck for him. Of course it would ultimately be up to Baxter to allow this breeding project, or the collection of sperm from this beast...


A half-hour later and Bonesteel arrived at Baxter's facility. It was only a matter of time before they knew if the madman's holding cells would hold up. The beast in the back was beginning to come to, though fortunately it would be a slow process...


Reaching for his phone again, Simon dialed Baxter's number and waited for him to pick up. There was no way he would leave his bounty unattended.....

Baxter was elbow deep in Hun's body when his phone rang. One of his assistants grabbed the phone from the wall and placed it between Bax's ear and shoulder.

Yes? Stockman speaking? I hope this important.

____________________________

Sammy was sitting in a cool security room watching the girls. No one told him to do this, but he wasn't doing anything else. And the usual security guys always had good pot on him. So the two sat in their chairs with their smokes and cheetos.

When Mel started walking around and acting suspicious Sammy pressed the button for the intercom in the room.

"What are you doing?"

Just as her eyes began to close, the sound of the intercom caused her to awake with a jerk. She turned to look at Mel and sighed. Luckily for her, this was all on Mel. She wasn't going to get blamed. She was innocent! It reminded her of the times she and Emily had miraculously escaped blame. It was fun to see the other kids get in trouble now and then.

" None of your damn business." Mel replied flipping off wherever the camera was but keeping what she was doing hidden. She was going to escape from this room and no one was gonna tell her otherwise she wouldn't be controlled. She had gained her freedom once she could do it again.

Clearly this girl didn't understand the term, terminated. He should have just let the girl go. But if he did then Baxter would ask questions, paychecks would be cut, it would be a mess.

"Uh...ok. I wouldn't be trying to get out if I were you. It would be bad for the both of us. Me...Getting fired. You being poisoned."