Memory Series Sequence 351001002451983...

Memory Series Sequence Sub-002-0909 - Evasion doctrine is active.

When I woke up, there was little light because of the heavy overcast of clouds. We fell asleep beside a large tree that looked like a redwood tree. It had the thickest trunk I had ever seen. Down at the base there was a large arched opening in between the trunks. It was large enough for a tall person to walk through. We took refuge here a little before daybreak when the weather finally caught up with us.

The rain was pouring down heavily around the tree we hid beneath, but we were fortunate to find this tree before the rain came down. There was still a chill in the air, but at least we weren't wet. Diana had helped me out of my exoskeleton, and I was lying on the ground in her lap. We were using each other to keep warm until the rain stopped and we could keep moving again. This was the second day since we escaped the facility and they had to have known by now. As far as we could tell, there wasn't anyone in our area and the forest was quite other than the heavy rain.

"You think they know which way we went?" I asked.

"I don't know. If they did, we could hear the search parties long before they saw us and we would see aircraft searching for us," Diane replied.

"If they were using aircraft with infrared sensors, they would have already found us by now. Maybe they don't know yet," Diane explained.

"I guess. It just seemed too easy for us to have gotten this far. Plus, the Doctors never leave their tablets out for us to get. I just hope we aren't being set up," I replied wearily.

"Even if we are being set up, this is the best chance we have at getting help. Even if we can't make it to the airport there has to be other towns and cities around here. An airport that size would support several cities and towns," Diane explained further.

"If it becomes apparent, we are going to get caught again, I want you to leave me behind. I don't want to slow you down," I replied after a long pause.

"Why would I leave you behind?" Diane questioned.

"I don't know how long my exoskeleton will have power. It doesn't need much energy to operate. If it runs out, I can still use it but not as fast. This one isn't like the ones I have used before. It works differently. I can't explain it really because it should have run out of power yesterday. It's still working like it was the other day. I don't know any other exoskeletons that can do that," I explained.

"Maybe it's a new model DNA Labs is designing. Yours would be like a prototype. I have heard of research studies on new types of assistive devices that can last longer than the ones on the market today," Diane added.

"Maybe, but that's just as convenient as us escaping so easily," I replied.

"It doesn't matter. Whatever they give us, we will use to escape," Diane said with a smile on her face. "Let's get some sleep while the storm is going. We might not get another chance after this,"

I snuggled up to Diane as best I could and we both tried going to sleep. The rain was loud and the flashes of lightning brightened the darkness of the forest. I stared out into the dark forest into the trees as the lightning flashed and tensed up.

"What's wrong?" Diane asked as soon as she felt me tense up.

"Something out there!" I said in a soft whisper.

"What?" She replied.

"Look over there," I responded as I pointed into the trees.

Diane looked to where I was pointing, but the overcast was thicker than it was a few minutes ago. It was darker and I had a chill down my spine.

"Get me back in the exoskeleton!" I whispered.

"I don't see any..." She stopped in mid-sentence.

I felt this intense feeling all around me, but other than the rain nothing else made a sound.

"When did everything stop making a sound? Was it before the rain came or during? I couldn't remember, but what I was feeling signaled danger," I thought sitting up.

Diane helped me into my exoskeleton. We both went as fast as we could, but it was difficult with only one helper. I did as much as I could as I sat on the dirt while Diane got the upper body apparatus ready.

The braces were metal thigh-high boots that fit like armor, but I could stick my legs in. They could also open like normal braces so I could just lay my leg in them. They made them where I could do this part myself while she did the other preparations that I couldn't. I didn't take my eyes off the spot where I saw that dark figure.

We set a record getting my exoskeleton on, which didn't shock me with this dread in the air. When I was ready to move on my own, we looked to where I saw the dark figure right as thunder cracked around us, followed by lightning. What we saw pressured us into immediate action. We both began running in the opposite direction of the figure running out the other side of the tree we were hiding in. From behind us, a terrible howl came from behind us that reverberated through the forest.

Neither of us spoke as we ran through the heavy rain. I followed Diane as she led the way through the forest, dodging tree limbs and bushes as we made our escape from whatever it was we saw.

"What the fuck was that? It was as big as hell and it was bigger than any bear I had ever seen on holo-T.V," I thought as I ran at full speed, not daring to look back over my shoulder.

Directly in the path ahead of us, a massive tree fell from above, blocking our escape. We stopped just short of being hit by the tree and Diane instantly changed the direction she was going and I followed closely behind her. Another monstrous creature came out from behind us, causing both of us to increase our speed. I didn't even feel the pain in my legs.

"I was running like I did when I was in college. I hadn't run like this since the day before my accident. It was the last time I remembered running with my sister. I couldn't believe how fast I was running," I thought as a smile came across my face.

"Leave it to me to make something positive about being chased by a dark creature in a dark forest in the middle of I don't fucking know where I am. Yeah that's me!" I thought as Diane took another path through the forest. We could hear the pounding of the creature chasing us.

Without looking behind us, we couldn't know how far behind us it was. All we could do was run. There was no time to form a plan. If it was a bear, then running was the worst idea we could have done. We have no weapons to fight with. I didn't have time to look around to see what was around us. I kept my focus on Diane's back as we both ran.

"Isn't she running faster than is possible, or is that my eyes? It's dark with heavy raining, but the trees are going by faster than I would expect. She really is running like a jackrabbit. I'm keeping up with her, but does that mean I am running just as fast? I felt normal and there was no effort in keeping up with her. What is going on?" I thought as we swiftly and gracefully zigzagged through the trees.

A loud crack came from behind me and I heard a tree fall over behind me. Within seconds something big dropped onto the path in front of us and we both came to a halt. Diane stood still as she stared directly at what was in our way. I looked into its yellowish eyes and fear went down my spine. It was almost fifteen feet tall and bigger than any grizzly bear could be. It had black fur, dark as midnight, and other than its size, I couldn't make out any more detail. The one thing that stood out was it was upright on two legs and one of its hands was scraping at a nearby tree shredding it.

It hunched its back over and took two steps towards us and we took two steps backwards. The lightning flashed revealed its face to us. I could hear the gasp come out of Diane's mouth.

"What the fuck is that??" I whispered.

"I don't have a clue, but don't make any sudden moves," she replied.

We both stood still as the beast looked at us with such intensity I thought its eyes would cut into us. It stared directly at Diane, then to me as if it was deciding what it was going to do. It took two more steps towards us and howled at us. The force of the howl pushed us back several feet, knocking us to the ground.

I lost track of the unsightly creature but before I knew it; the beast was in the air above me, coming down towards me. I instinctively rolled out of the way before its massive foot crushed into the ground where I once laid. The beast backhanded me off the ground into the air, slamming me sideways into a tree.

"Kristen!" Diane yelled as she got to her feet, running towards me.

The beast turned its attention to her and attempted to backhand her, but she flipped backwards and it hit air. That caused it to once again attack her. She was already out of its way, running around the side of the beast. She ran off into the woods as it pursued her at incredible speeds. Before I knew it, both of them were out of my sight and I was alone with rain pouring all around me.