Ayda sprinted down a corridor, long dark hair flowing out behind her like a majestic cape of pure black. All around her was an eerie quiet. Nothing moved. Any ambient noise which could be present in a cement hall simply did not exist. She looked briefly to her left to regain a bearing on the wires running along the wall. They served as her only guide, her sense of direction.

It was fortunate she did turn her gaze leftward, otherwise she would have completely missed the gray door up ahead. Ayda ran up beside the door and planted herself against the wall right of it. A moment to gain her composure. Slowly, she reached down and turned the knob. With one smooth heave she pushed the door open. A second later, she spun a half turn into the jam, rifle held at the hip like an action movie hero.

Her eyes scanned the room. It looked like a doctor's office. An operating table dominated the dead center. Cabinets lined the wall on either side. There was a metal table on the west wall, a lighted display board on the east. These features were the only things of note. Zero hostiles occupied the space. Seeing it was clear, Ayda packed up and moved on.

Back down the hall she continued on her quest. It turned off to the left up ahead. Ayda hung the corner, and immediately wished she hadn't. She disappeared back around the wall just in time to avoid a torrent of bullets. Two soldiers stood in the middle of the hall. Ayda took a few deep breaths to steel herself into action. She popped around the corner and unleashed a whirlwind of lead from her gun. The weapon had no recoil because, obviously, she was more than strong enough to completely control it. The soldiers shot back, but they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. All of their shots missed. Ayda, however, was not so sloppy. Both enemies died in the blink of an eye.

The threat dealt with, Ayda resumed her quest. Again she followed the wires on the wall. They were like a map, signs on the road showing her way. At the end of the shaft was another left turn. This time, Ayda was more cautious. She stacked up on the corner. A cautious peer into the next hall. It was clear. Ayda completed the turn.

All was quiet, far too quiet. Ayda held her gun at the ready, expecting an ambush. When she had traveled about halfway down the passage, her suspicions were confirmed. A duo of soldiers appeared from around the right turn at the end. They opened fire. Ayda executed the most logical maneuver in this situation. She dove forward, shooting her gun madly. The enemy bullets covered the air around her, yet none made contact. Again, Ayda proved herself far more skilled than these generic henchmen. Her spray hit true, neutralizing the threat.

Ayda landed in a frontward roll, unsure of how exactly she managed to pull of such a feat without imparting any sort of rotational force prior to hitting the ground. She put that thought from her head, for the moment. She was just that good, clearly. Ayda stood from the somersault without missing a beat and took off in further pursuit of her goal.

More guards awaited her around the corner. At this point, she was much more confident. Both groups opened fire at almost the same time. Once again, all of the bullets simply sailed past Ayda, while hers struck like lasers. The men fell to the ground, dead, and she progressed right past them. She took the left turn at the end.

Immediately ahead of her down this path was a set of double doors. Ayda stopped for a moment to contemplate how best to continue. Through these doors was the motor pool, and the final obstacle between her and freedom. Doubtless, it would be well defended. The doors were the only entrance, so a stealthy approach was impossible. She could try to use the doors as cover and enter gradually, but they wouldn't stand up long against gunfire. These men were so poor with their weapons, she could probably just burst through without much danger of actually getting shot. Yeah, that sounded like the best plan: a bold, frontal assault. Ayda bent her knees, put her left shoulder forward, and barreled through.

Immediately, as predicted, a hailstorm of hot bullets came upon her like a tidal wave. Ayda began to return fire, and realized she suddenly had two rifles now. Ayda raised them both and opened up a can of unfiltered domination. The eight soldiers directly in front of her fell in seconds to her merciless torrent.

Four guards appeared on her flanks, two on each side. Ayda outstretched her arms, dedicating one rifle to each group. All the while, she remained focused on running forward. Even though she wasn't looking at her targets, they gave over to her.

With those four gone, Ayda resumed shooting both of her guns at targets ahead. More men died, helpless to stop her overwhelming assault. She was the queen of death and they her lowly peons, little more than spiders facing down a giant. It was their fault for daring oppose her. They deserved a painful end. Ayda happily dished out fitting punishment to them.

Ayda stepped into the center of the room. All eyes and guns were upon her. Again, Ayda held her weapons outstretched at her side. She spun in a slow circle, fingers never letting off the triggers. Enemy slugs flew all around her. Some whizzed through the air while others impacted at her feet, but none made solid contact with her.

The troopers, though, were not so lucky. With every projectile which ensued from Ayda's gun, another man died. Unrighteous was the slaughter. Burning lead was indiscriminate in murder. The dying screams of doomed men almost drowned out the cacophony of gunfire.

Gray smoke filled the room. It stung at Ayda's eyes as she spun, but was little more than an unimportant distraction. She was above such annoyances. After all she'd been through, a simple haze would not be her undoing. No, Ayda had control over all the elements around her. She possessed absolute power. She was the judge. She was the executioner. All these men were guilty. They had to die.

Ayda spun several rotations more. Never once did her bottomless magazines require reloading. Heroes never ran out of ammo. As she continued to spin, the room slowly began to quiet. The guards were finally thinning. Not long now, and the fight would be over. Nothing could stop her whirlwind of pain.

A few more spins, and the bullets ceased altogether. Ayda realized it was over immediately after the action passed, so perfectly tuned were her senses. She stopped spinning and lowered her guns. Steam billowed from their muzzles. The smoke in the room began to settle. As it did, revealed was the devastation around her. Not a surface had been spared a bullet hole Bodies lay all around her, some mostly complete, others torn to pieces by her attack. Ayda, though, had not suffered even a scratch.

Ayda began toward the garage door, when she heard someone clapping. Slow percussive reverberations echoed off the concrete walls. From out behind a truck appeared the source of all her anger, the reason Ayda was in the situation in the first place, and the person she wanted to kill most of all. Dr. Vahlen gave her a condescending smile, staring at her like a proud father.

"Good job, Ayda," he said. "You did it, you won. My men were no match for you. Now I see how wrong I was to try and keep you locked up like that. I should've known I could never keep you. It was a bad thing, but I'm sorry now. Could you ever forgive me?"

Ayda did not answer him. Instead, she raised both her guns. Dr. Vahlen did not flinch at the sight of her weapons, only smiled deeper. Ayda pulled the triggers. Fully automatic fire tore into Vahlen's body. He laughed maniacally as the bullets ripped him apart. His wounds did not bleed, but leaked black smoke and ash. Vahlen did not have a soul. He was nothing but dark on the inside.

Vahlen's legs gave out. He fell to the ground, slumping back against the truck. Ayda continued to shoot him, intent on removing any trace of his existence from the face of the Earth. All the while he laughed as if in complete rapture, like her bullets were the greatest joke he'd ever heard. His smoke filled the air around him, making it hard to see. Still, Ayda maintained fire. This could not end until Vahlen was gone.

Even after his head had been completely removed, Vahlen continued to laugh. All his limbs were gone now. He was nothing but a damaged torso. Ayda shot into him, removing chunks at a time. Skin, muscles, organs, they all melted under her punishment. When all was said and done, the only remaining piece of Vahlen was his heart. His merriment vanished, but the heart still beat there on the ground.

Ayda contemplated it for a moment. So, he did have a heart. After all that, something beat inside his chest. Not that it mattered, of course. She raised her foot and brought it down as hard as she could. A vicious stomp from her big black boots squished Vahlen's heart. Black blood squirted out in all directions. Some even got on her face. Ayda licked it from her cheek. It tasted like victory.

All at once, the smoke disappeared. The air in the room lightened considerably. With Vahlen gone, a great weight had been lifted from the world. It was a better place, and it was all thanks to Ayda. She smiled and turned once again toward the door. What she saw took her breath away. Standing there were her mother and father, hand in hand, smiling at her.

"Mom? Dad? You're alive?" She said, astonished almost beyond words.

"Yes, Ayda, you saved us," her mother said.

"We're so proud of you." Add her dad.

"But... how is this possible? I saw it, you were dead!" Ayda tried desperately to wrap her head around what was happening.

"Oh, honey, we were never really dead, just gone for a little while." Although her father's words were honest, something was off. His skin began to darken. His hair withered and died. Ayda looked at her mother and found she suffered a similar fate.

"Mom, Dad, what's happening? Are you okay?"

"We're fine, thanks to you," her mother said.

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Despite her words, the older couple continued to deteriorate. Their skin melted. Blood drained from their bodies. They were nothing but muscle and sinew in seconds. Ayda cried out in horror. She dropped her guns.

"What's wrong, Ayda? Aren't you happy to see us?" Her father reached out a hand. The flesh melted off his fingers, leaving only bone behind.

"No, don't touch me!" Ayda took a step back and then curled up into a little ball. She hugged her knees and turned her back to them. From out of nowhere emanated the sharp sound of metal impacting against metal. It had no explanation, no place in the world. It seemed unnatural. It unsettled Ayda almost more than her decaying parents.

"Ayda, what is it, dear?" Her mother asked. Another metal sound.

"We just want to help you. We're your parents," added her father. More metal sounds.

Curiosity got the better of her. Ayda looked over her shoulder. Her parents were now just skeletons. They made no attempt to get closer to her, but both reached out to her.

"Just take my hand, Ayda," her father said. "Let us help you, Ayda."

"Let us help you, Ayda," her mother echoed. Metal sounds.

"Let us help you, Ayda," they chanted in unison. Metal impacted metal.

"Let us help you, Ayda." The chants exchanged with the metal sounds, a horrifying concoction of noise.

"Let us help you, Ayda."

"Let us help you, Ayda."

"Let us help you, Ayda."

…

Ayda's eyes flew open. She flailed her limbs and somehow ended up in a sitting position. Brown eyes darted around their surroundings in an attempt to take it all in at once. Five dirty children occupied the space with her. All of them were penned in by thick iron bars. None of them moved. They barely breathed. This was the cell. Ayda was not free. She was still captive to the will of a madman.

The metal sound went off again, louder than ever. Ayda scurried to the front of the cell. She grabbed the bars and snaked her head around to get a view of the hallway. About halfway down, one of the soldiers stood in front of a cell on the opposite side of the hall. Behind him is a rolling metal cart with several matching platters atop. He knocked on the bars with his pistol and then slid a dish underneath a slot in the base of the bars.

The moment his hand left the dish, the children inside pounced on the food. Ayda startled. It was the most life she'd seen from any of them since she arrived. They ate like savages; starved birds fighting over carrion scraps. Ayda recoiled at the repulsive sight of them. Despite herself, her stomach growled. A bite to eat would not be remiss. She hadn't partaken even a sip of water since the day before.

The trooper turned around and served the cell directly behind him. Ayda watched him hungrily. At this rate, her group would be last. The process was nearly identical. He pounded on the bars, slid the food underneath, and stepped back. Of course, Ayda could not see what went on in this cell, but the audible clues were more than sufficient. They were barbarians, all of them.

Ayda's eyes never left the guard as he distributed breakfast. Or, at least, she thought it was breakfast. There was absolutely no indication of the time. It could be six at night for all she knew. That seemed impractical, though. Ayda didn't think she'd slept more than twelve hours.

Finally, the soldier stopped in front of Ayda's cell. She scooted back from the bars but stayed close to the slot, determined to be the first to eat. The man knocked the bars, but this time did not slide the meal underneath. Instead, he fumbled around with his keys.

"Not right now, girl." He looked directly at her. "The Doctor wants to see you." The guard swung the door open and held out his hand to her. "Come on."

"But, I'm hungry." Ayda protested.

"You can eat after. You get your own private meal," explained the guard. "But the Doctor needs to see you right now."

"No, I want to eat first!" Ayda remained defiant, pushing her boundaries. Perhaps it was simple hunger or some carnal desire to withstand authority, but she would not budge willingly. The guard sighed.

"Why can't they ever just listen?" He rolled his eyes and took Ayda by the bicep. His grip was not gentle. She could already feel herself bruising. He yanked her up to her feet. Ayda did not fight back. She knew it was useless. Never in a million years could she overpower him.

She had almost made it all the way out of the cell when a hand grabbed her by the wrist. Her first reaction was to pull away in fear, but the grasp was firm, almost unnaturally so for a child. Ayda looked down at her captor. It was the blonde boy she'd spoken to the day before. He looked up at her with pain in his impossibly pale blue eyes.

"Try not to struggle. It's not as bad if you don't struggle." This was his cryptic warning before releasing her. Strangely, Ayda hadn't been the least bit anxious until he said that. Now her heart slammed against her sternum at a thousand beats per minute.

The guard paused her just outside the cell. With his free hand, he closed the door and then slide his last food platter beneath. Ayda peered back into the cell. The idea of being an animal in a cage didn't exactly appeal to her, but at the moment she longed to be back in the cell. It was safe in there.

All but one of the children began pouring over the food. The blue-eyed boy remained locked on Ayda. The guard began to take her away, back up the hall. Ayda gazed at the boy as long as she could. When he disappeared from view, every organ in her chest collectively dropped. Never in her life had she felt such a profound sense of dread. What could possibly wait for her around the next corner?

It turned out Ayda had quite the long walk to contemplate her destiny. They maze of identical corridors ahead seemed endless as it was boring. How did anyone get around in this place if everything looked exactly the same? The only thing of note she passed were the double doors leading to the motor pool She didn't know anything about the facility, but she did remember her way that far.

After what must have been more than twenty minutes of walking, Ayda and the guard arrived at their destination. It was another set of double doors set into the end of a comparatively short passage. The guard led her through. She would've frozen in place were she not so forcefully pulled along.

It was a circular room, walls covered in partially reflective long sheets of metal. Perfectly in the middle was a metal operating table. Two separate wires ran up from the floor to it. There was a switch on the wall which also met with a couple cables. Several leather strap restraints were placed strategically along the slab. To the far side behind the table was an x-ray display board and, underneath it, a workstation complete with drawers, cabinets, and a sink. Standing at the station was Dr. Vahlen, his back turned. By the way his shoulders moved, he was working on something. Ayda could not see around him to know what it was.

"Dr. Vahlen, sir," she guard said.

"Thank you," he returned. "Restrain her."

"What? No!" Ayda looked rapidly from the guard to Vahlen many times.

The guard dragged her over to the table. Ayda kicked and pushed every step of the way. Every instinct in her body rejected the current situation. She didn't know what was going on, but if she needed to be restrained for it, then it must be very bad.

Her struggling had little effect on the soldier. Indeed, he hardly seemed to notice. With a great heave, the man placed her atop the table. One hand on her midsection kept her firmly in place. With his other hand, he slid her right wrist into one of the restraints. Quickly, he tightened the leather. His fingers were swift. Ayda didn't have time to try and escape.

She pulled at the strap, trying vainly to break it. At the same time, the guard continued to tie her down. Next was her other hand, followed by her feet. Try as she might, Ayda was completely and utterly powerless to resist him. He was simply too strong. A strap across her belly kept her firmly in place. She could hardly move, now.

The last restraint to fasten was around her forehead. For the first time, the guard hesitated. Ayda's thrashing about probably made her head difficult to get a grip on. Good, let him struggle. Gently, the man took both her temples in a soft yet firm grip, intertwining his fingers in her hair for a bit more control. He laid her cranium against the slap and quickly did up the leather with one hand. Now Ayda was completely immobilized. With her neck held in place, she found it difficult to move the rest of her body. She never realized just how much her finer motor functions relied on fluidity of motion with her spine.

"It's done, sir." The soldier stepped away.

"Good. Leave us," Vahlen ordered. The man complied instantly, disappearing through the doors without further ceremony.

It was just Ayda and Vahlen, now. She squirmed and shimmied in an attempt to get even a partial glimpse of him, but it was useless. She couldn't move enough to have any real effect. Instead, all she could do was listen to the clinks from his metal workstation.

"I hadn't planned on starting so quickly, you know." Vahlen spoke as if they were acquaintances. "But, the General just kept bringing me so many good specimens, I really didn't have a choice." He cleared his throat. "I would've liked to give you time to adjust to your new surroundings, but then I'd be behind schedule, and we can't have that. The foundation of science is prudence, after all"

Vahlen walked over to her. Ayda could feel his presence looming over her like a great specter. She strained to look up at him. The picture she got was blurry, obscured by her brow, but she could see enough to tell what he was up to. He held in his hand a drill with a large cup on the bit, the kind used to drill holes in concrete.

With his foot, he messed with some controls on the floor. The table tilted up at a forty-five degree angle, Ayda along with it. She could no longer see him. She tried to scream, call out for help, but the words caught in her throat. All she could do was sit there and tremble. That grizzly tool inspired nothing but the purest form of terror in her very soul.

"Now, I won't lie to you, this will hurt a lot," Vahlen began. "I'm sorry, I really am, but there's no way around it. This is a very delicate procedure. We can't have anything messing with the chemical balance up here in your noggin. Otherwise, it will kill you. ...Probably, anyway. That means no anesthesia."

"What are you gonna do to me? Get away from me!" Ayda found her voice. She resumed struggling, even though she couldn't do much more than wiggle in protest.

"Don't be like that, Twelve. Oh, did I tell you your number yet? You're subject number twelve. It doesn't mean anything. The number just wasn't taken yet, but I digress." Vahlen gave the drill a few test spins. Ayda could hear it whine to life behind her.

"No, please, Dr. Vahlen, don't use that thing on me. Please, I'll do anything!" Ayda pleaded. Terrified tears streamed down her face.

"I can't do that, Ayda, you know I can't." His gentle tone was almost patronizing, given the circumstances. "If it makes you feel any better, you'll pass out after a second or two. Then you won't feel anything." With that, Vahlen pulled the trigger. Ayda could feel him inching closer to her head. The drill got louder in slight increments

"No, Dr. Vahlen, I'm begging you. I'll do anything you say, just please, for the love of God, don't—"

Piercing, blood curdling screams replaced the words in her throat. Vahlen bored through the top of her skull, drilling out a broad hole with the saw cup. Ayda's screams reverberated off the walls, completely drowning out the drill. Vahlen's prediction was correct. Her body went limp, held up only by the restraints.

He didn't drill for long. Such a hefty implement could dig through bone without much trouble. When he'd made it through her cranium, Vahlen extracted the cut out hole by pulling on her hair. He took a moment to untangle the dark locks from the bit. He held it out to the side in one hand, undeterred by the gruesome business he committed.

"It's a good thing you have so much hair." Vahlen spoke to his unconscious patient. "This is so much harder when they don't have long hair."

Vahlen commenced the real meat of the procedure, humming as he worked. He put the drill down on the counter behind him, and exchanged it for some sort of futuristic device. It was a rectangle about the size of an index card, made of thick metal and wires. Vahlen lowered the thing into her head, letting it rest upon her brain. The press of a button activated the foreign instrument. The device beeped twice. Metal cables shot out from each side, their tips embedding firmly in the surrounding bone. The good Doctor gave the device a little jiggle, just to make sure it wouldn't go anywhere. Satisfied it was firmly in place, Vahlen picked up a staple gun and began to put Ayda's head back together, still humming all the while.