Freedom

How long had it been? She could not tell. She itched at the numbers tattooed on her neck, matted hair tangling in front of her face as the realization hit her. Yes, it was time to leave.

As she brushed her fingers over her face, spitting blood to the side. She was covered in the crimson substance, her white gown splotted disgustingly with guts and fluid, but she didn't mind. Foolish for them to think they could contain a monster. The wound around her stomach was closing rapidly, only visible through the bullet holes in her gown. It wasn't as if anyone was there to see it.

She didn't know what she was, but she knew she didn't like these people. They made her feel bad. Put these thin sharp things in her skin, made her what she was. Memories swirled around her head, every day there had her in a daze. But she felt her head clear a little with the spell of death in the air. Moving a little bit forward, a squelch beneath her foot stopped her almost as quickly as she had started.

Looking down, she was greeted with the face of her tormentor, a face she would see every day through the thick glass of her cage. His eyes were wide open, green streaks dulled and stained with the blackness of his pupil. Blood was also dripping down into his eyelid, the sight almost made her sick. Part of her was perfectly calm, the other part absolutely mortified. The smell was sickening, blood and urine leaving a nasty stench that made her want to puke. She felt so disgusting, she had never encountered blood like this, nor remember it if she had. As far as she could look back, she'd always been in her cell.

She was also human, she was sure of it. She had no name, but she could read and write, understand language, and eat and drink like all the other workers there. She could get tired, and she could get injured. Although she wasn't sure how it healed up so quickly. Even tearing her limbs off left no permanent damage, although the pain seemed to get worse each time. Sometime halfway through her rampage, she had realized she was out of her cell and leaving a trail of bodies behind here. Her claws were out, or rather her very sharpened nails. Blood was dripping from her fingers onto the floor, the little droplets merging together to form a puddle.

After seeing another one rush towards her, she had blacked out again and ended up where she was now. Her body had done the dirty work for her, and she felt grateful for her loss of control.

They always mentioned in their experiments how she was "in tune with her whole body." It's true, she could feel her nerves buzzing all the way down to her fingertips. Her entire body felt stimulated, her muscles clearly having increased in size spontaneously during her escapade.

If everyone was like that, she was sure she'd never escape, nor would they have any use for her. She guessed, in a way, it made her... special.

No matter how in tune she was with her body though, the stench would not go away. She had to leave, or she felt she'd be sick.

Scratching the numbers on her neck, a nasty habit she had picked up on during the boring days in her cell, she tiptoed around the bodies, eventually reaching up to her nose to squeeze it and stop smelling the smell. What even was smell? She pondered how she knew what things were when they were never taught to her. Perhaps she had learned before and simply could remember. If there was anything else in her body that she couldn't control, it was her memories. Everything was always mixed up, like the picture had shattered like glass and all the pieces got mixed with other memory glass that also shattered and made a big jumbled mess that no one would ever be able to decipher. That was her mind.

She twitched and groaned, trying to make sense of her mixed up memory made her head ache horribly. She had also somehow lost her way in the twisting corridors and that was making her head hurt, because she couldn't remember where she was and the headache only got worse the more she racked her brain for answers.

She let her eyes roll to the back of her head, her skull pounding. Sinking to the ground, she covered her nose and mouth in an attempt to get rid of the smell. She felt sick again, the acid running up and down her throat, leaving a burning feeling in her mouth. She panickedly glanced around the room, looking for an opening that could let her leave. She ran down the hall, tears streaming down her cheeks. Banging against a wall in her rush, the side of her head began to bleed slightly, still she paid no mind. Tripping over the bodies in her path, she spotted a cracked open down with wind blowing in a suspicious white stuff. Where was it coming from?

She slowed her pace to a quiet tiptoe, approaching the door from which the wind was blowing and the mysteriously beautiful white flakes were being drawn along with it.

A chill went up her spine, her bare feet. The concrete just in front of the door was covered in a pile of this "white stuff". Leaning down, she scooped some with her fingertips, bringing it up to her lips and giving it a lick. It was surprisingly cold, the delicate flakes melting instantly when they touched her tongue, sending a delightful chill down her throat. She no longer felt sick, instead her lips stretched upwards. She wanted more of this stuff.

Swinging the door open with excitement, snow immediately rushed in, like kids who had been out in the cold for to long with rosy cheeks and noses, awaiting the hot chocolate their Mother had surely prepared for them.

It mingled in her hair and gown, her eyes glowing with fascination.

She sprinted outside, letting her bare feet sink in and lift up the snow in a flurry of white. It was freezing, but she paid no mind, the joy in her head clouding out any other thought.

The blizzard left such a thick veil of snow that she could only catch a glimpse of pine trees surrounding the building she had wanted to escape for so long. She skipped away, dashing through the trees as the snow was caught around the ranches, clearly her view enough so she could find her way.

She ran for hours, her toes having gone blue. She paid little mind, however, because of her amazing bodily resistance to injury, she was able to continue with little discomfort.

The snow storm had calmed by now, only little flurries falling in front of her and on her tongue.

She giggled quietly, the end of the forest coming into view.

In front of her was a long stretch of ice, the flowing water underneath barely visible through the cloudy layer of ice covering it.

The sight was breathtaking, the little clouds of breath slipping from her lips as she panted, the long run and exploration proving to be quite tiring even with her exceptional abilities.

She delicately placed her bare toes on the ice, the chilling feeling rushing up her spine. Taking a step onto the frozen surface, she could hear it creak and groan under her weight, but showed no visible cracking or damage. She processed that the ice was thick enough for her to step on the ice.

She slid all around, falling on her arse multiple times. After falling again, she laid down instead of getting back up, looking up at the cloudy white sky. Her eyes strained to stare at it, so she quickly turned her head to the side and closed her eyes.

"49278, huh." She scratched at her neck again. "From today on..."

She sat up again, a look of determination showed in her eyes and her furrowed brow.

"My name is Four."

Four had obtained her one wish. Freedom.

-Thank you for reading, please leave any feedback in the comments!