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Hey guys,

I'm writing this new story, but I'm not entirelly sure I'm liking how it's turning out. What do you think of it so far? Is it worth continuing on with? I'd love to hear from you.

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Sirens blared and red emergency lights flashed against the smooth, concrete walls of the underground base as a synthetic male voice announced over the PA system, "Alert! Subject Eleven has broken containment. All non-military personell, proceed immediately to designated safety areas." Thoughout the maze of corridors, several fireteams of black armored soldiers scrambled this way and that, rifle-shaped weapons clutched at the ready in their gloved hands. As a group of soldiers trotted down the hallway, a shadowy form dropped from its hiding place among the pipes that lined the cieling and ran in the opposite direction. The piercing alarm filled 25-year-old David Marcus's ears as the made his way through the base towards a certain sector of the top secret facility, pausing every once in a while as he dodged the soldier's patrols. His whole life, his whole meaning of existence had been warped beyond recognition not two hours ago. If there was anything in the known world that David knew for sure, it was that he had to get out of this place, no matter what it took. However, there was one more thing that he needed to take care of first, a thing of great importance to him.

He took an immediate left turn and approached a red-lined doorway, striding purposefully into the equipment-filled laboratory beyond. A few scientists and a couple of guards populated the room and they reacted to David's presence immediately, but collapsed moments later as beams of blue electricity erupted from David's hands and struck them full on. David didn't bother to examine his handywork, knowing that the shock he gave them wasn't large enough to kill them, just to knock them out for a while and give them a pretty killer headache when they woke up. He ran over to a nearby holding cell and got to work on figuring out how to deactivate the force field walls surrounding the woman inside. "David?" the woman said in confusion, "What's going on? Why aren't you in your cell?"

"We're getting out of here, Jess." David replied, not looking up from his fiddling with the wall-mounted control pannel, "It's not safe here anymore."

"What are you talking about?" the woman, 23-year-old Jessica Barnes and David's long-time friend, questioned, "The Protecterate said that this is the only safe place for us in the world. How can we be in danger?"

Moments later, David found the power crystal he was searching for and fried it with a small burst of energy. The control pannel sent out a fountain of sparks and the force field instantly vaporized. "Listen to me." David said as he placed his Caucasian hands firmly onto Jessica's thin shoulders, "The Protecterate lied to us. Everyone we ever trusted lied to us. Everything we've been taught to believe is a lie."

Jessica's blue eyes stared back up into his own, "How could you possibly know that?"

"If you'd seen the things that I've seen, what they're doing to the others, there'd be no doubt in your mind that what I'm saying is the truth." David told her. Images of disected bodies piled high in an abandoned closet, faces frozen in an expression of extreme pain and terror, flashed through his mind and he fought to keep his horrific feelings buried from view. There was a gruff shout and the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the outside corridor, causing David to glance in that direction to make sure they hadn't been discovered. Thankfully, the runing boots continued on down hall, but that didn't mean the two of them were hidden for good. He turned back to Jessica, "Do you trust me?"

A brief conflicted look passed through Jessica's face before she nodded, "Yes."

"Alright." David said, relieved that she was willing to come, "There's an auxiliary access hatch not too far from here. If we can get to it without the guards noticing us, I think we'll be in the clear. Come on."

With that, they ran out of the laboratory and out through the dimly lit corridors of the underground base. It was slow going at first as they repeatedly forced to hide for several minutes at a time from the various groups of soldiers searching every nook and cranny for the one who managed to escape, but the foot traffic fortunately thinned out as they entered the more desolate sections of the base. They rounded a corner at a T-intersection and suddenly ran face to face with a small fire team of the security personnel. “Hey, you!” one of the soldiers said through the external speakers on his facemask as he and his men aimed their weapons at David and Jessica, “Stay where you are!”

A combat instinct instantly took over David’s body and rivets of blue energy pulsed up and down the sleeves of his black jumpsuit. He didn’t want to have to fight them, but after knowing a bit about what was really happening in here, it really didn’t seem like a bad idea. “David?” Jessica stated.

“Stay behind me.” David said, “I know what I’m doing…I think.”

“Get down on your knees now!” the soldier ordered, gesturing with the muzzle of his rifle.

“How about…no.” David said with a smirk. Suddenly, there was a surge of energy within his body and bolts of electricity shot out of his fingertips, slamming into the black armored soldiers and knocking them back a good twenty feet. All four of them lay still on the floor, not dead, but close to it. David forced himself to relax and the energy that covered his arms disappeared as he calmed down. Moments later, another soldier came around the corner, aimed, and fired a spear of red light towards the pair. David saw it coming, but it was too late to do anything about it and he braced himself for the inevitable pain of the stun gun’s projectile. The bolt, however, never hit David’s skin as Jessica extended her arm and caused it to reverse its direction, instead stunning the understandably surprised guard. David gave a nod to his friend, "Thanks."

Jessica smiled, "Anytime."

The sounds of heavy boots began to pound from the corridors behind them and David siezed Jessica's hand, sprinting for the run down access hatch before them. Once they reached the hatch, David pulled the release latch and was shocked when it opened with ease. He had thought for sure that it would be securely locked, but he guessed that someone got lazy and failed to complete their rounds effectively. Mentally shrugging, he pushed the metal hatch open with his shoulder and the cold, winter air of the outside environment overwhelmed the warm temperatures of the base.