Kassidy Lee’s eyes flashed open. Where am I? She looked around her and started to take everything in. She was sitting in a metal chair in a dark room. It was hard to see everything around her but she could make out a small machine in the corner. It was hard to see but she could make out its rectangular boxy figure with a big screen in the middle and...what looked like a needle sticking out the side. I wonder what that is for? Kassidy Lee wondered to herself. Then as soon as she started to think about it, everything came whirring back to her.
Her grandfather’s face as he told her to run and not look back, the masked figures in lab coats who chased her down and brought her to this very building. She remembered everything now.
She remembered being told that she was part of a special project that could change the world and that she was so brave for choosing to be a part of this.
She pictured the sympathetic face of the woman who had ordered her to strip down to her underwear for a series of tests that felt like they had taken hours.
After the tests she redressed in a black tight suit made of the strangest material she had ever felt. It was very stretchy, like a rubber band, but had a texture like snake skin with that scaly feel to it. It was itchy, but she dared not complain because she did not want to question any of the hard faces that stood around her.
Kassidy Lee could remember all of those details vividly, but she was missing a gap between the memory of changing into that itchy suit ... until now. How had she gotten into this room? And why was she...tied up to a chair in the middle of the room? And what was that machine?
So many questions whizzed around in Kassidy’s head as she tried to rack her brain for any memory of what had happened to her. Think Kassidy, think! Wait a minute! There’s gotta be something in this room that can give me a lead. She looked around the room some more, really closely this time. If only I could get close to that machine over there. There might be something written on it that could give me a clue to where I am. Kassidy tried to reposition herself a little bit so that all of her weight was forward on the chair, and attempted to lift herself and the chair up. Nothing. Why is this chair so dang heavy? She looked down at the bottom of the chair and saw that it was bolted down. She was about to try and get a closer look at the bolts when the lights flickered on, blinding her for a second. Kassidy jumped as a booming voice echoed throughout the room.
“Hello Kassidy Francis Lee, I am professor Steinback.”I am the main scientist on your project. How are you doing?”
“How am I doing?” Kassidy asked the strange man suddenly gaining some confidence that she didn’t have before. “Well I’m doing just dandy how are you?” She knew that she was pushing it a little with the sarcasm, but she wanted to see who she was dealing with.
The man answered without showing that he had even heard the sarcasm in her comment, “I’m fine as well. I hope you had a nice sleep.”
Sleep? What is he talking about? Kassidy thought to herself.
“I’m sorry we had to knock you out for the past couple of hours, but its procedure to do that while we run your preliminary tests.” The man said as if reading Kassidy’s mind.
“Oh, so that’s why I don’t remember anything after putting on my outfit.” Kassidy said, testing the man to see if he would say more. Unfortunately he wasn’t going to cooperate with her.
The man simply replied with, “Yes,” and nothing else. Kassidy kept getting lost in thought as she looked around the now lit room. All of the walls were covered in windows which showed the inside of the building she was in. She recognized it instantly because every day as she rode the bus home from school, Jack, her best friend would point to the building and say,“That's the place where all the nutjob scientists that the government hires to perform new tests and procedures work.” Kassidy would always laugh it off like it was nothing, but now, as she sat deep inside the building, she didn’t feel like laughing.
That’s it, I have to get out of here. Kassidy thought as she started to remember why her grandfather had wanted her to run away before these people could find her. Grandpa said that these people were planning a horribly dangerous first try at an experiment, and they wanted me to be one of the test subjects. Kassidy’s eyes darted around for anything that she could use to escape. It turns out there was no need to, because as soon as she started looking, a short, round man walked into the room. He walked over to her and unstrapped her from the chair, not caring if he hurt her. Kassidy slowly got up from the chair, cautious because she wasn’t sure what this man was going to do.
“Follow me Kassidy,” the man said to her as he turned swiftly around and started to walk towards the door. Kassidy followed the man out of the door and walked behind him through the hallways that he rushed through. The hallways were narrow, but brightly lit with bulbs lining the ceiling. There were smaller hallways going off of the main hallway, and she kept her eyes peeled for anywhere that she could escape from. No luck.  As they continued to walk through the building, she spotted a door at the end of a shorter hallway that was jutting off to the left. She started to slow down a little bit behind the man who was leading her. He didn’t seem to notice, so she slowed down even more. He was a little bit ahead of her as they were about to reach the hallway, and he didn’t seem to notice how far behind him she was.
Just count to three! It will be easier that way! Kassidy thought as her heart pounded in her ears. She only had one shot at this, and once she started running toward the exit, the short man would surely turn around and follow her. Ok, here we go, 1, 2....3! Go, go, go!  Kassidy swiftly veered to the left without making a noise, and ran as fast as she could toward the exit. Suddenly, some yelling startled her. The man had noticed her absence. Crap! He was yelling at other people now, telling them to catch her. She couldn’t let it faze her. She sprinted through that hallway at full speed, reached the door at the end, and without looking back, ripped open the door, and lunged outside. Right into the disgusting mud pit surrounding the door. She trudged through the mud as fast as she could considering it was very thick, and hard to run through.
Don't’ think about the pain, think about something else. Think about grandfather. You are doing what he asked you to do, you are making him proud. Think about your best friend. Oh my god! Jack! I can’t leave without him, I need him to come with me! But how will I get in touch with him!  Kassidy started to approach a fence that ran all the way around the building with no way to open it. She knew that she would have to hop it.
Don't think about it, it’s just like climbing the tree that you have at home. Ok lets go! Kassidy sprinted to the fence jumped up, and climbed up the fence. She got a little stuck at the top, but she managed to swing her leg over in attempt to drop down to the ground. She was about to drop when she felt a tug on her neck, her necklace that her grandfather had given to her when she was two was stuck on the fence. Through the holes in the fence she could see the people in  black outfits that had security written on them in yellow lettering running towards her. She didn’t have time to untangle herself from the fence, so she just pulled until she felt the necklace break. The chain from the necklace fell to the ground on the other side, but the charm fell into her shirt. She grabbed it and ran. Without looking back she started to run to Jack’s house.
As she turned the corner onto the familiar street and saw the soft yellow house as she approached, all she could think about was what he would say. Would he be mad, would he come with her, she didn’t have a clue. She rushed up the steps to his house and before she could knock, the door flung open and she was in his arms.
He stroke her head and she burst into tears, not sure exactly what she was crying about. When she had cried herself out, he just held her until she pulled her act together.
“Hey, are you ok?” Jack said to her. Kassandra nodded.
“Are you ready for the adventure of your life?” Kassandra asked him.
“I was born ready, let’s go!” Here we go, Kassandra thought, it all starts now.
“Just one more thing Kassidy, I’m going to need you to come inside.” Jack said. Kassidy was about to walk inside when she sees Jack reach behind him for something laying on the table. He grabbed the handcuffs and tried to grab me but I saw what was happening and bolted out the door. Tears streamed down Kassidy’s face as she ran to toward the only place left that she knew. Her grandfather’s house. As she approached the street, she saw smoke in the skye. Terrified, she ran faster toward the area. She arrived at her house finally...or what was left of it. The entire house was burnt to a crisp and her grandfather was nowhere to be found.
Crying she sat down on the sidewalks trying to grasp what was happening. Her best friend had betrayed her, she was running away from an evil corporation, and her grandfather might be dead. She closed her eyes and thought I’m all alone now.