The last time I watched the sunrise was on my eighteenth birthday. It reflected off of the pure white snow that had fallen that morning, and I was complaining about my numb feet. That was three long months ago.
Now I'd give anything to see my numb feet.
Ever since Government shut us Deformed down here, none of us have seen the sun. Once a day, at feeding time, the plastic-clothed men bring us water and vitamins, which we can only see with their artificial green lights they have strapped to their foreheads. Other than that, us Deformed see no other light, not unless we're being sent to be tested on.
But that will change tonight.
I whistle a three-noted tune and it echoes on the concrete walls. At least, it feels like concrete. A four-noted tune returns my call, sharper and stronger than mine. Good, he's ready. The other's copied his four-noted call, harmonizing with each other. A spitting noise appears next to me, only two notes. Little Emily is still trying to learn how to whistle, the stubborn little bugger, but she cannot see my lips when I whistle.
I promised her I'd teach her properly, when we got out. I hope I can keep that promise.
"June-bug." She says, barely more than a whisper. "When will we be able to see the-"
"Shh." I say, holding out a pointer finger she cannot see. "Soon, but keep quiet. Last thing we need is for the Plastics to know our plan."
"Okay."
I feel to my left, trying to find Emily. I can feel a small knee, scarred with no lower leg attached to it. Her hand grabs mine, shaking. Whether that's from the cold or the fear, I don't know.
I have a feeling it might be both.
I can hear the light sound of plastic hitting the floor, like footsteps, and green lights turn on. Two Plastics walk around the room, handing people a glass of water and two chalky vitamins. I look at Emily, who's looking at me through her dark hair.
One of the Plastics hands me my vitamins, then my glass of water. "The little girl over here, the three-year old, is the next one for testing!" He shouts across the room. "Come help me with her, I hear she's a biter!" A small green light nods, then heads in our direction.
The Plastic farther from us is only three feet away, and falls over screaming before he can come any farther. One of the Deformed has bit him, causing the distraction. Now the part of the plan I'm in charge of is about to happen.
The rest of the plan.
I take off with Emily in my arms while the Plastic who gave me my feeding tends to the other. I run in the dark, toward where they entered from. I skid to a halt, as practiced, but run into the wall anyway.
I suck air through my teeth, and hold Emily closer. "Are ya okay?" I ask. I would put my other arm around her, but it's only half of an arm, not long enough to do any good.
"Mm-hmm." She says, clutching my shirt even tighter than before.
The other Plastic has noticed I'm gone, and has alerted his friend. The small green lights start heading toward me, faster than I've ever seen them go before. I feel with my half-arm for the lever, balancing Emily in the other.
The Plastic's feet pound against the ground, probably fifteen seconds away. I stomp the lever into the ground with my foot, and it cuts open my shoe, and into my foot.
I ignore the pain as light floods the room. The rest of the Deformed rush out, letting their eyes adjust to the light as they go. I lift Emily higher, and she swings her lugs around my neck and grabs my hair.
Both of the Plastics are only feet away from me when I leave, just behind everyone else. Bare feet slap against the ground, enjoying their freedom. I look up as I run, hoping to see the sun. Instead, I see artificial light, the same color as the kind from the sun.
The Plastics are behind be now, just over an arms reach away.
"They're getting closer!" Emily warns, clutching my hair tighter, giving me a headache.
I get a burst of speed, and rush ahead to the front of the Deformed pack. I stared at the skin of everyone I ran past, remembering all the colors they could be. My dark chocolate-colored skin was a sharp contrast compared to the paleness of theirs, but few were like me. Still, I felt like an outsider. Most deformed are here for mental issues. Only me and Emily had physical problems.
Just another thing to connect us.
I hear a loud crash, and turn to see a Plastic with his back standing to me, standing over a small girl. Emily had fallen off me, and I hadn't noticed. How did I not notice? Am I that selfish?
No, I'm just in a rush. That's it.
I dash over to the Plastic, who has Emily's hair in his hands. "I said, this one's for testing." He says, lifting her in the air. She tries to kick at him, but both of her legs are too short. Before he could turn around to see what was coming, I jumped on to his back. He fell to the ground, taking Emily with him.
I roll off of him, picking Emily back up, wondering how I got such a loony idea like that. I didn't have much time after that to wonder, because the Plastic had gotten up. Just as he stood up, his friend came around the corner with reinforcements.
I spun around on my heels and took off again, holding on to Emily instead of her holding onto me this time. I can't afford to waste time, the alarm is going off now.
I turn the corner to see a wide gate, slowly closing, with the other Deformed running off into the pasture. There's no way all of them could be caught, not with the small amount of Plastics.
I run to the door, with the Plastics gaining on me. The door is at least fifty yards away, maybe more. I'm having trouble breathing, but I don't have an inhaler. They took that away last time I saw the sun.
I'm fifteen feet away now, and I don't know how I will fit in there. I throw Emily as far as I can, and she flies on to the grass, and moans. She drags herself to the side, out of my sight. I jump out of the door, but not in time. My legs are still inside, and I can't move them.
The door is still shutting itself, crushing my legs.
I hear a crackling sound from my leg, and pain explodes in my legs. I hear a click, then a bang, then my leg fills with pain again. I reach for something to grab, but my vision is blurry now. The only clear thing is the spots in the air, and those are getting blurry too.
One of the Plastics shoots my leg again, and I scream as loud as I can, trying to call for someone. Another shot into my leg, I scream again, but no one comes. "I can help." A quiet voice says, it's Emily. She grabs on to my arm and starts pulling, but I can barely tell.
"Promise me... promise two things." I say, almost lower than a whisper.
She grunts and pulls my arm again. "What?"
"First off, stop helping me, now. You won't be... you won't be safe if you do."
She stops pulling on my arm, but she starts to stroke my half-arm like it's a cat. "No." She says, sniffling.
I look to the small gap between the door and the wall, and my legs is half the size it was. I can see half of the Plastic's face, but I can see all of his gun. He has it pointed at my head. "Second, make sure you learn how to... how to whistle." I say.
The Plastic puts his hand on the trigger, but I don't see him pull it.
I just see instant darkness, just like the room where us Deforms were kept
ns 15.158.61.45da2
