Work Text:
“Stay calm,” says Stratt, and she waves a hand at the door. “Please, come in.”
An unfamiliar man in a white coat pushes open the door. My eyes lock onto the case he carries in a gloved hand. Behind him stands a pair of cold-faced security guards.
I stand suddenly. “What is this?” I ask Stratt.
“Mission will state that-” she begins saying, but I can't-
I can't listen to her try to make excuses while a stranger drugs me.
The doctor and guards advance slowly. Even without looking, I know there's a second door behind me. The windows don't open, but they're ordinary glass.
My heart pounds in my ears. I take a trembling step back to the corner adjacent to the second door. Stratt's still talking, but her words are meaningless to me. Every step I take away from her feels distant. Beneath my skin, something begins to itch uncomfortably. “You can't do this to me,” I gasp out, cutting off whatever she's saying.
Her lips purse. “I have to.”
“You don't!”
“You're the best hope for Earth.” Stratt's voice shakes ever so slightly, but she doesn't falter. “It's you or billions of lives.”
I choke on a sob. My back hits the corner. The countertop behind me digs into my hip. Both of the guards draw closer, the doctor hanging back to allow them to do the dirty work.
Words begin spilling from my lips without me really thinking about them. “Please, please, you can't- don't take me from Earth, I can't leave humanity!” I tap a shaking finger against the window. I have two options.
The guards step past the conference table.
I lunge. The one closest to the window startles as I grip the back of the nearest chair and swing with all my might. Glass shatters. While everyone else is still recovering from the shock, I dart right past the second guard and out the second door. Slamming it shut, I run right for the nearest exit.
Someone shouts as I shove past them in the doorway. I leap the couple steps to the ground and thankfully don't trip – though I have no idea how I've managed to avoid that. My body feels tight, skin crawling, and my mind is almost disconnected from what I'm doing. Every footfall jolts up through my spine. In the distance, I see the fenceline.
The nearest gate is too far. Fence it is.
Things feel wrong as I continue running. My consciousness feels tight within my body. I gasp for air as I put every bit of energy into getting away.
In a blink, the fence is right in front of me. Barbed wire will hurt, but I’d rather tear my flesh open than die in space.
Then a human – what? – slams into me from the side.
I hit the ground with a cry. As soon as my side collides with dirt, the whole world trembles. Alarms wail to life as an earthquake shakes everything. The only thing louder is my screaming. Faintly, I hear metal twisting and stone cracking apart. I feel my bones rumbling in time with the earthquake.
The guard that tackled me is struggling to get to his knees with how violently the ground is rolling. I thrash under him, screaming wordlessly.
Somehow, another group of guards appears, staggering across the moving dirt. They go for my limbs, flipping me over onto my stomach. One of them tries to press my head against the dead grass.
I choke out a sob. Thunder rumbles in the distance.
The earthquake finally begins to subside, but never completely. As I struggle, cheek against the dirt, I can still feel the faint trembling from deep below. With the larger shaking quieted, I can finally hear the cries of wildlife; birdcalls, mammals shrieking, and even the hum of insects. Guards try to pull at my wrists to yank my arms behind my back. I howl along with the animals and fight as hard as I can.
Footsteps. I catch a glimpse of a white labcoat through my tears, through the misty rain that’s begun to fall. “No, no no no,” I gasp, “no, please-”
The doctor drops to his knees. I feel the sharp point of a needle going into my neck.
“NO!” I scream, and feel heat blaze through my veins. There’s warmth on my back, like the sun on a hot summer’s day, and I hear shouting. The guards let up just enough for me to blink up at the sky.
Through the gathering clouds, the sun is still visible. As is the plume of light erupting from one part of it. I blink away tears and spots alike.
Then hands return to forcing me down. “How is he still awake?!” the doctor hollers, and there’s the sound of that case clicking open.
I start thrashing again. The trembling of a near-constant earthquake deep below my body begins strengthening again. I’m used to earthquakes, but I’ve never felt one this long before. If it’ll help get these guys off me, then I’ll take it.
Another needle in my neck. Heat in my veins. Warmth on my back. I wail and twist desperately beneath firm hands. More footsteps, people running towards me.
“Please, please, you can’t take me from- I can’t leave-” I sob without control over what I’m saying.
Gloved hands are gripping my jaw. A finger pushes my tongue flat and what feels like pills are dropped into my mouth. I gurgle as the finger withdraws, as my mouth is forced shut. Someone pinches my nose and tips my head back. The pills slip down my throat.
As soon as they’re down, the hands let go of my head. I feel heat in my stomach, boiling hotter than I’ve ever felt before. I grit my teeth and try as hard as I can to free my limbs.
I have no idea how much time passes before another needle, bigger this time, goes into the other side of my neck. The rain is heavier now, blending with tears on my face. People are shouting and talking over me.
With a surge of energy, I manage to rip an arm free. The guard who’d been pinning that side of me goes tumbling, and I cry out as I dig my fingers into the dirt. “Lemmie go!”
“Give him everything we’ve got!” a familiar voice orders from a ways away.
It feels like my heart is breaking as I twist just enough to get a glimpse of Stratt standing and just watching me struggle. I don’t get to look for long before hands are grabbing my head again and forcing even more pills down my throat. Half a dozen needles pierce me right through my clothes, across my body. As soon as I can, I scream, muscles tensing up as I fight the wave of drowsiness.
Through ears that feel full of cotton, I hear explosions, things shattering. Stratt hollers orders but they’re lost to me. Lightning crackles across the sky above.
Another set of needles. By now, I can’t tell if I’m shaking or if the earthquake is getting stronger again. My skin feels tighter than ever, like something beneath it is moments from bursting out. Things flash before my eyes, things that don’t make sense.
But slowly, it’s getting harder and harder to fight. My legs stop responding first; then my arms.
“You’re murdering me,” I gasp out, eyelids fluttering. “Why are you- please.”
The last thing I see is Stratt’s horrified, fearful expression. It’s the most emotion I’ve ever seen her display.
My eyes slide shut.
In the fraction of a second before I lose consciousness, I feel the whole world go still. Animals fall silent. The air stills. The constant earthquake halts, and the rain ceases.
Numb, I finally succumb to the drugs.