For a 14-year-old, I've dealt with a surprising amount of armed men trying to shoot me. At this point, I should have expected an attack, but I didn't. The Chinese men caught me completely off guard.
The attackers had rifles and were shooting very fast. In one second, I was walking through a gate. In the next one, I dodged a bullet. So many projectiles were coming our way that it was like a storm. We hid behind a giant mushroom, but it didn't take long for the Chinese to notice us. Additionally, they managed to destroy the mushroom along the way. It fell over, nearly crushing us.
As we ran, the onslaught of bullets left several holes in the leaves. One of the projectiles hit another stone-like blob, which exploded like a water balloon. I felt bad for the bioengineered flora, even though I should be far more concerned about my own life.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xdqc84aTb
After a while, we were getting tired of running, but the men still continued, as if it was normal for them to chase people for so long.
- Why are they chasing us? We're registered as employees! - Amber asked.
- Maybe this place has a higher acess level than ours? - Claudius assumed.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOoTCWUtLw
Along the way, we passed by another fence, with a sign attatched to it, reading: "Access Level 5". I guess that our access level was much lower and we're tresspassing. Still, it was weird to shoot your own employees.
Eventually, we hid in what I assumed was a lab, but as we entered, it turned out to be some kind of living home. It consisted of two orange blobs, with the larger one at the bottom. I thought that the windows were normal, but as I looked closer, they were made of a thick, transparent membrane. Outside were several yellowish roots that supplied the "house" with nutrients from the artificially enriched soil.
It felt very strange, being inside a living organism. It was made to look like a small home with a funny shape, but it was far more than that. Perhaps BIORBITAL wants to grow entire cities like this?
The armed men were getting closer, so we stood against the walls, hoping that the guards won't enter the living house. They didn't, but for good measure, they threw a test tube with a strange fluid inside.
- That doesn't look good - Sebastian commented.
We didn't know what the substance was, but its effects were quickly revealed. The house started growing strangely. The sudden expansion limited the space in the house, as tissue grew inside too. We had to flee the organism before the entrance is blocked and we're crushed by the growth. Harold was the first to escape, with the others soon following. I made it out as the last and had to slide under the narrowing entrance.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFqkZz1NNn
Looking back, the house was significantly larger than before.
- Why was it left here? - I thought - Is this a failed experiment of some kind?
I quickly ran into another problem: my allies vanished. It seems like they ran away without me, leaving me alone in the bioengineered jungle. Worse still, the armed guards were nearby and clearly saw me, as one of them exclaimed something in Chinese. I wanted to explain my presence, but I was to scared to say anything. Instead, I just ran in the opposite direction.
- The intruder is running away! We need to catch him! - one of the armed men said. Thank you, translator.
I crawled under a comically small tree with orange leaves, which the men obviously noticed. One of them lunged and tried to grab me by my legs, but I slipped away at the last moment. Thinking about a way to stop my pursuers, I touched a nerve-like tendrill hanging of a large mushroom, hoping that it would grab the chasers, but it didn't react at all.
While running, I encountered the group of genetically modified arachnids. They weren't happy to see me, but I was, because I had a trick up my sleeve.
I lured the spiders in until they started chasing me. Then, I turned back to the armed men and led the arachnids to them. Right as they were about to shoot, I jumped away into a bush and the spiders jumped onto the men, who were clearly surprised by my tactics. The arachnids repeatedly attempted to bite the guards, who weren't pleased about it. I realised that they may want to shoot the creatures, but they seemingly forgot about their guns during the attack. They just ran away with the spiders in hot pursuit. This meant that I was safe, for now.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Qdv997ebf
However, I was still alone in the middle of nowhere in a hostile environment. I sat down on a log, with purple leaves surrounding it. I grabbed a leaf and examined it. It looked like a normal leaf from Earth covered in paint, but it wasn't. After a while, I got bored of watching motionless leaves and looked up.
- Where do I go now? - I asked myself.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TqKJaP6wk
The stars above seemed incredibly tranquil. I hoped that they'd to give me an answer, or at least a hint, but they, being hot balls of plasma, they did not. I felt abandoned and lost. I looked back down, thinking about all the ways in which I could die in here.
I also remembered about Justine, whom I forgot amidst the chaos. She must be concerned over my dissapearence. Maybe she's investigating? Maybe she'll learn the truth? How would she react if she did get to know?
I snapped out of my reverie when I saw a spider being litearlly thrown at me. I squeaked with a mix of fear and disgust as the creature landed on my chest. Impulsively, I pushed it off, annoying it. It tried to attack but I managed to dodge its rage. I realised that the armed men threw the arachnid, hoping to distract me. I saw one of them shooting before I got to run away. The bullet flew towards me at blistering speeds.
My whole life flashed before my eyes and I was ready to feel the pain when someone knocked me over as the bullet missed me by a tiny bit. As I turned around to face my savior, I saw the last person who I expected to see.
My father.
ns216.73.216.208da2
and then Add to home screen.