Free Inhuman by Danielle Q. Lee Page A

above it. Backlit with a hot red light, the letters leapt out at me as though screaming the words of my salvation.
    EXIT.
    Pushing the silver bar in the center of the door, I winced as the hinges squeaked in protest. Praying that there wasn’t an alarm that would scream as soon as I opened it, I sucked in a deep breath before I pushed.
    “Hey!” I heard the sound of angry men yelling and running up behind us. Jessica screamed and pulled on the back of my jumpsuit. Turning my head sharply, I saw five agents in black sprinting for our location.
    Agent Meyers was in the lead.
    Making eye contact with him, I saw fury behind his eyes. Giving him a defiant glare, I shoved my shoulder into the door as hard as I could. A piercing pain shot down my arm as the big metal door flung wide open.
    Air. Sunshine. Wind.
    All the elements which I’d been deprived of for so long rushed to greet me.
    I didn’t care what happened at this point. I didn’t care if I died anymore. Feeling the rays of the sun kiss my face for the first time in months was heaven enough.
    My maternal instincts, however, kicked in with another scream from Jessica. Bolting from the facility, I pulled Jessica along as I ran across an asphalt-covered yard. Littered with army vehicles, I surmised we were trapped on some kind of military base. Sprinting for the edge of the pavement, my eyes darted left and right as they searched for a way out.
    Corralled by an electric fence, sharp barbs snarled from their perch atop the metallic latticework. Beyond the fence lie acre upon acre and mile after mile of grassland. Even if we’d managed to escape the enclosure, we’d have to run for days to find civilization.
    Tired and frustrated, I stopped running. Jessica looked up at me with confusion as I suddenly came to a halt.
    There was nowhere to go.
    The five agents that had been chasing us had grown to over a dozen as they surrounded us. Falling to my knees, I covered my face with my hands and wept. Jessica hugged me hard. Realizing I didn’t get the answer to my question earlier, I looked up and grabbed her by the shoulders.
    “Jessica! Quick! Do you have a birthmark here?!” I pointed to my chest. The agents rushed in, forming a circle of black around us.
    Jessica cried openly as one of the agents picked her up and whisked her away. Reaching her little hand for me, she screamed the answer. “No! Cassia! I don’t!”
    A familiar sensation of cold loneliness overwhelmed me. Watching them take the little girl back into the building, the numbness of alienation swept over me.
    Alone.
    I barely noticed as Agent Meyers took a step towards me. Lifting my face to him, I glowered at him like a feral cat that had been cornered. Raising his right hand and balling it into a fist, he brought it down across my cheek. Shock jarred my senses as a sharp pain ripped through my jaw. My head bounced off the pavement as I hit the ground. Crying, I coughed and spit blood out of my mouth. The stun of his strike made my head spin as I struggled to lift myself off the ground.
    Pushing myself onto to my hands and knees, I noticed him pull back his foot, readying himself to kick me in the stomach. Right before his release, I heard a familiar voice holler from the doorway that I’d just escaped from.
    “Stop! Don’t hurt her!” Keanu ran up, breathless as he stooped over, slid his hand around my waist and helped me to standing.
    “Why not? She’s just a freak.” Meyers sneered as he rolled his eyes at Keanu.
    Keanu’s entire body tensed beside me. Tired and beaten, I reluctantly leaned against his broad chest. Memories of our night together flooded back and I silently cursed the tears fighting their way to the surface.
    The heat from his body. His scent. I closed my eyes for just a moment to bask in it. Just a moment to pretend I was somewhere else. Someone else. Some thing else.
    The tension between the two men heightened as Keanu thrust his pointer finger into Meyers’ face. “Just