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| Strong Hold | |
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Strong Hold: The Series |
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| Strong Hold © Chapter 1- No Escape I ran. I had no choice. I had to run. This time I couldn’t go back. They would kill me if I did. Now I can never stop running, not for anything because they would catch up with me. My number is 39812-06 but my friends call me Lyra. I came from a government facility in Russia. My hope is I can make it to America that’s the only place they won’t follow me. The Russian’s trained us, the children to be the ultimate soldiers. We were trained in military tactics, weaponry, survival, and becoming the fittest creatures on Earth. Everyday we went through more vigorous exercises than the last day, if you couldn’t make it you were shipped off. My group broke out of the base, they never considered a revolt. Much of my group was shot down or captured. A couple of us made it past the fences and guard posts but we were split up when the trucks came out on the road. I might be the only one who escaped, but others might have too. Now I am alone somewhere on the Poland and Czechoslovakia border. I am writing my journey in this book. Some stories may not make sense because you don’t know what the government is hiding, they have technology that others still dream of achieving. Here is my story, if I survive into America I will make another journal of my stories. If you find this, I am probably dead. Here is my story. The sirens and the intercom rang, “Break out in block zero six. Break out in zero six. If any pass the gates they must be shot!” My group was prepared for this. We knew what was going to happen. None of us were surprised when our group members were shot down or captured. But that wasn’t supposed to bother us, we had been trained to not care for each other to only fend for our selves. But when I was split up from Hawk I was hurt. I hadn’t known this pain, all I knew was physical pain. This was new. I felt as if I had to turn and find him, even if that meant I would be killed. But I didn’t. Now I must find him, when I got somewhere safe I knew I would. I ran barefoot through the snow with ease. We were trained to withstand all temperatures, and now I had an advantage. We were also told to keep moving in enemy territory, so I did. I ran non-stop mile after mile until I couldn’t breathe. I sat down on a big clump of snow and started to melt some in my mouth to drink. There were the usual things around me, trees, rocks, and other various vegetation. This was a good place to set up a camp but I couldn’t. I still had to run, I was still in an easy place for them to reach me. While thinking I fell asleep in exhaustion. I awoke to a roaring noise. It ripped through my ears like a knife. Animals scattered everywhere all the birds flew away. Only I was left. I got up and started to run but they would find me! I hadn’t covered my tracks. So I ran to a tall thicket of woods and climbed one of the trees. I swung from branches till I got to the other end of the thicket. I stayed there until I was sure that the sound was gone. I got down and started to run again. This time I was sure to covered my tracks. All the training now came into use. I was able to go over twenty-four hours without food and water. I could also run faster than most adults with a mile time of four minutes and twenty-nine seconds. When I was in danger I could also find places the Russians wouldn’t look because I knew their training. But finally I had to stop running. I needed food and water. I wasn’t starving, I knew what starving was. I set up a simple trap for a small rodent of some kind. While waiting I climbed up a tree and dozed off. I didn’t sleep long till I was woken up by a horrible squeaking noise. My trap had been successful! I opened my trap to find a large rabbit inside. I killed the rabbit and ate it raw. It was wonderful, the only thing we got to eat in the barracks was old raw meat. This was fresh, it tasted wonderful. When I finished I climbed back up the tree and fell asleep on the edge of a tree limb. Chapter 2- Voices? I don’t know how long I slept but when I awoke it was dark. It didn’t scare me, I had lived in darkness. I studied what was around me. In most areas it was open maybe a tree here or there. There wasn’t any snow until you got to the foot of the mountains. The area had no cover and I needed to cross it. I had to move now when it was still dark. I climbed down the old trees. I started to walk. There wasn’t any danger, so I thought. When I got to a small pool of water I bent over to drink some. As I brought a hand full of the cool water to my lips, I noticed someone’s reflection in it. It was moving towards me, fast. I ran towards the mountains as fast as I could not looking back. I thought the mountains would give me sufficient cover so I ran into a cave on the edge of a cliff. I stepped in and sat down. What I heard next still haunts me. “Come out, Lyra. Come out. Run away with me back to the base Lyra,” said a voice in my own language. Only us proto-types and high-commanding officers knew this language. My mind raced, “Who is it?” I thought over and over. Was it one of my one kind or an officer? I didn’t know. So, I stayed there awhile, in thought. I didn’t sleep or eat for days. I just sat there doing exercises, knowing I had a hard journey ahead. Only one thing was wrong that voice. That voice is what made me stay. It haunted me day and night. It played itself over and over in my head. It was a familiar voice, but it had an evil twist in it that made my stomach churn. I wanted to know whose voice it was? I listened and watched but I couldn’t find whoever it was. But something told me it was out there. I felt the person in me, searching for where I was but I blocked him with my mind. He would never get to me, never! While he was out there I had to stay in the cave. I explored it much of the time to keep my mind busy. The cave was medium sized, dark, gloomy, but it wasn’t very wet which pleased me. I liked the cave. I constructed a crude bed of rocks, wood, and leaves that I gathered from the tree right outside my cave. The place I spent my most time was in the very far back of the cave there was a perfectly flat wall with a strange looking rock jammed into it. This wasn’t normal but I dismissed it over time. After I knew every part of the cave I devoted my time to strength training. I moderated my time so I didn’t wear myself out too much so I could still runaway if that person came up here. Twenty-four hours a day was some kind of exercises or stretching. I didn’t eat on the account I had no food and I didn’t sleep since I didn’t need to. Sleep was now a pleasure to me. Finally, whoever was out there left. I don’t know why but they did. I slowly came out of my home, the cave. All along the base of the mountain was foot print over foot print. By the looks of the ground there might have been a hundred people down there. Foot print came up the mountains searching but always turning back right before they could have seen my cave. I knew whoever it was might be back soon, so I had to get moving. I went up the mountain making sure that I had enough oxygen. The lack of oxygen was bad if you got it; it tricks your brain into crazy things. I was about three fourths of the way up when I saw it. There were about ten little red dots on the snow. They had found me again. I looked back and saw a dozen soviet soldiers with AK-47’s aiming right on me. I had to run, I didn’t care about oxygen. I stumbled as I ran. My mind was getting cut of from its life source, oxygen. It felt as if someone cut my brain out with a knife. I zigzagged up to the top of the mountain. My foot hit something hard and I lost control of my leg. I stepped down on it and a pain shot up my body. I fell down on the opposite side of the mountain, facing away form the soldiers. I slowly drained away. I tumbled and rolled down the mountain and I couldn’t stop. I fell into a ditch at the bottom of an over-hang. Then I blacked out. Chapter 3- High-noon I opened my eyes and saw a fuzzy figure in front of me. I tried to move but I couldn’t. All I could tell is that it was a human face, its features were impossible to make out. “Be calm, I won’t hurt you!” said the man as he walked away. I didn’t trust whoever it was but I had no choice. I couldn’t move, I had a searing pain in my head. Later the person came back. “Don’t worry. I am just going to bandage your head. I also have some food for you,” said the person. He took out a roll of gauze and wrapped my head up in it. He poured some water in my mouth, which I drank up gratefully. He laid a pack down by my head and then left. I stirred in and out of conciseness many times but I never saw him again during that time period. My foot and head healed rapidly. I could walk and see again in about two days. When I first got up I felt pain in my foot every step I took but after a while I was accustomed to it. I ate the food the man gave me with great glee. This food was very good, dry but good. It was freeze-dried and it would last so I saved some for later in case I needed it. I knew that I couldn’t hide here forever. Someone had already found me. They didn’t hurt me but someone found me. The soldiers could stop him and ask him questions and find out where I was. I knew that so I had to move. Even if it wasn’t very far, I had to move. So I did. I got up with a painful step and walked. I walked down the whole mountainside with a pain in each step. But I was moving and that’s what I needed to do. I moved until nightfall. I then stopped and ate a very small amount of food. I didn’t think there was much food up here so I knew I would have to store up. The mountains looked like they went on forever. Wherever I looked there was another mountain. Some smaller mountains at first but one huge one right in the middle of my path. I stared right at it. “I’m going to get you,” I yelled at the mountain “ You’ll have to kill me to stop me you hear that! No pain is gonna stop me, no hunger will make me stop and hunt, and no god damn Russian is gonna shoot me until I get to you!” So, I ran again. I ran until my feet were raw and stung with blood. I looked at the mountain, it seemed so far away. A new emotion took over me then. I cried. The tears rolled off my face and poured into a puddle on the ground. I didn’t think I could make it there. My mind raced with thoughts. “If you ever quit, and the enemy doesn’t kill you, I will!” yelled my commander. “ You will never quit, You will slit those Americans throats!” his voiced echoed in my mind. I couldn’t quit! I had been trained not to so I wouldn’t. I put some snow in my mouth and melted it. The cool water felt good as it ran down my throat. I curled up under a bank of snow and went to sleep. The next days few I ran, rested, and ran keeping enough energy in case of Russians trackers. I kept going for my goal, the mountain. Every painful step I took I reminded myself that each step was one closer to the mountain. My mind went wild as I ran. Pictures and voices ran through my head. I saw my bunker in the corner of my mind. It was a metal block with bulletproof glass windows surrounded by bars. Inside were old wooden bunks crammed together so tightly that you couldn’t see the floor. On top of each bunk was a dingy old rag. My mind flashed again but now to mealtime. Some soldiers brought us outside and made us stand in the snow. One of them pulled out a couple of scraps of old meat. Everyone raced for the chance of food. Just for the taste of rotten meat we hurt each other! We were treated like animals, in a way we were animals. I flashed back into reality. Days were going easily now as they melted into weeks. I constructed a crude igloo and crawled into it. My feet were killing me. They were raw with frozen blood. I dismissed my feet and ate small amount of the packaged food I had. I then went to sleep. I awoke to a barking noise. I shot up immediately thinking of attack dogs. Chapter 4- Uninvited Company _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ (note to me: not sure if I like next part under the line) My neck chilled, as I hit the back of the Igloo and a little of the snow trickled down my back. I heard the dogs stop outside and start sniffing around. A head shoved its way in my doorway. I froze for a second, a second too late! It barked loudly, alarming whoever else was out there! I raised my hand and hit the dog on the back of his neck! It fell limp, blood spurted out of its neck, I realized I had stabbed it with my nails, which had been growing for sometime now. I pushed the body away limping outside of my little doorway. I looked around ready to be shot or taken. But all I saw was a dogsled, with a man on it, the dead dog, and one other dog sniffing around. |
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