Present Day

Death Toll: 44,927,456

The burn of the needle was a feeling that Axel had grown used to since he was a teenager. The sting was comforting, as gruesome as it sounds. 

Looking down at his thigh as he used the hand made needle gun he had fashioned out of a pencil and a sewing needle. Reaching up and dipping the needle into the black ink on his white bedside table, he brought the needle back to his skin one more time to finish the project. Smirking and looking at his handy work, he used an alcohol cloth to sanitize the fresh ink. Wiping away the excess ink as he did so. 

"you shouldn't be doing that..." 

Axel muffled a sigh as he looked up at the younger guy standing in the doorway. His thick brimmed glasses riding low on his pointy, freckled nose. His dark brown eyes narrowed 

"Lincoln. Go away," Axel mumbled, wiping off the hand made tattoo gun and stuffing it under his bed. 

Lincoln crossed his arms over his chest, wrinkling the white t-shirt they were both forced to wear all the time. He leaned a boney shoulder against the framework of Axel's dorm pod.

"If they catch you doing that to yourself they'll-"

"they'll what? Send me to bed without dinner? Good. Anything to get away from the slop they feed us every fucking day," Axel grumbled, laying back down on the all white bed. Resting his head on his arms, and looked up at the glass ceiling. His own reflection staring back at him.

"It may be slop but its better than starving to death on the outside," Lincoln said "We're safe here,"

Axel snorted and closed his eyes "Listen kid. I've been here the longest. I know the ins and outs of this place like the back of my hand. I have it in with some of the guards here. I'm fine. Now kindly fuck off so I can catch up on a nap," he said.

Lincoln huffed and turned away, walking away from Axel's dorm and walking down the hall. His bare feet barely making a noise on the freshly polished white tile floors.  The harsh LED lights that lined the halls were starting to give him a headache. 

He had only arrived here a month ago. After living life on the outside for so long, he hadn't imagined a clean, nice place like this even existed anymore. Especially one that felt so safe. 

He was taken care of here. He was fed here. Given clean clothes and a place to sleep. He would forever be thankful. 

He and Axel were the only ones rescued, so far. Axel was a tough person to get along with, but he wasn't all that bad. 

Except for the fact that he always referred to him as 'kid' which was entirely irritating. 

Turning down the long corridor, he finally reached his dorm. 

Stepping forward onto the sensor, he closed his eyes as he felt the wind blow his hair across his forehead as he was gently sprayed with a disinfectant. Something he had grown used to. 

A little damp and annoyed by Axel's tone, Lincoln climbed into his bed and sat down. He gently touched the drawings he had made and hung up on his walls. Just a little something to make the white brick not seem so... Cold. 

It was the little things that helped the most when your entire world was falling apart at the seams. 

Axel sighed as he plopped his tray of 'food' down onto the table. Taking his seat, he grabbed the plastic fork and dug around the plate. His stomach yearning for real food. Something with a little more substance. 

Dinner time was always at the exact same time each night. 6pm. 

He wasn't even sure what day it was anymore. Or if it really even was 6pm. He had lost track of things outside a long time ago. 

He was sure it hadn't been as long as he imagined. But when you go months without seeing real sunlight, the days start to all blend together. 

The most exciting thing that had happened for him since he got here, was when Lincoln arrived. It meant he wasn't alone anymore. He had someone else to suffer with. 

As though his thoughts has conjured him up, Lincoln sat down across from Axel, his own tray of slop placed delicately in front of him. Axel blinked with heavy eyes and took a bite out of his apple. It was so red. The only source of color is the all white world he now lived in. 

Lincoln went right into his food, not caring about the consistency. And from the looks of his skinny the kid was, he needed every last bit of food. 

"So where are you from, kid?" Axel asked, swallowing another bite of his apple. Lincoln pushed his glasses up on his nose 

"I.. Don't really remember, honestly," Lincoln confessed. 

Axel nodded a little. 

Ah yes. The memory loss. He too had faced it when he first woke up in this place. But eventually little things made their way back. Like where he came from, and how he got there. 

The people from the outside were still a very, very foggy haze to him. 

"That's fine. It'll come back to you eventually. Don't worry," Axel reassured him. Lincoln swallowed hard and nodded a little 

"I hope so. I have an awful feeling I'm from Boston and I really need assurance that I'm not," Lincoln joked. Axel chuckled a little, the mood lightening a little. 

There came a commotion from the entrance to the cafeteria. Axel looked over to see a bunch of guards swarming around the entrance. Some shouting. 

"What the hell?" he mumbled, slowly getting to his feet and walking over. His white scrubs moving uncomfortably with him. Lincoln quickly followed, keeping behind Axel as he pushed his way through the crowd. 

Once he was in the clear, he took in what he was looking at. 

"Let me go!" 

The girl was trying her best to yank away from the guards that held her. All dressed in black. Just like the men who captured Axel and brought him here. 

She was putting up one hell of a fight. Her long hair falling out of the messy bun is was contained in. Her dark gray eyes wandering around the room in a craze, she had a few bruises on her face and chin. 

"It's.. A girl?" Lincoln pondered. Confused. So far it had been only men who had been taken into the compound. 

"Where am I?" The girl shouted "Let me go! I have to find her!" 

The guards yanked her past them, Axel met the girl's eyes for a brief moment before she was pulled down the hallway and towards the labs. 

"Who does she have to find?" Lincoln whispered. Axel blinked a little and looked down at him, shaking his head 

"Like I'm supposed to know. I didn't ever think they were gonna bring another one in," he admitted. Watching as the doors closed behind the guards and the girl. 

"Stay here, I'm going to go see if I can get some answers," Axel said to Lincoln, who rolled his eyes but didn't move as Axel walked down the hallways towards the lab slowly. 

2 Years Ago

Wren and Avery

Unlocking the door, Avery opened the door as Wren came in behind her. The car ride back had been a long stretch of silence. Both sitting in confusion after their encounter with the police officer

"So... you mean to tell me, he smashed through your windshield, lost that much blood, and somehow managed to walk away?" the police man said, his eyebrow raised behind his dark sunglasses. 

Wren crossed her arms over her chest, her jean jacket stained with blood "Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. You seem to not believe me," she said, annoyance in her voice. She had pulled her short dark hair back into a low ponytail. 

Avery slowly reached over and placed her hand on Wren's shoulder, trying to get her to calm down 

"Officer, we know how insane this all sounds. But it happened. And you not believing us really isn't helping with our emotions in the moment. You see the blood, you see the windshield. We have blood on us for Christ's sake." Avery said, Wren leaned into her a little, thankful for the help. 

The officer slowly blew out a long breath, writing something down on his notepad 

"Is there any chance it could have just been a deer?" he asked. 

The girls stared at him in disbelief. The blood on their skin had dried, leaving their skin stiff and dry. 

"No," Wren said through gritted teeth "It. Wasn't. A. Deer," 

The police officer slowly looked back and forth between them, before sighing and motioned towards the woods "Then show me where you think he could have gone," 

Avery led the way, her eyes glaring at the man as she passed him. Following the blood tail into the woods, where a clear path had been made by someone... Or something, bleeding. The brush had been knocked down, unclear footprints sunk into the dirt. 

Avery felt her nerves rise again, she wasn't sure if she was about to walk upon a dead body. 

After walking around for a while, it became very clear that they weren't going to find anything. 

"I don't understand.." Wren whispered shaking her head "How he could have gotten so far after we hit him," 

"Deer tend to run on adrenaline after they're hit, so it would make sense," the officer said, a hint of arrogance in his voice. Avery whipped around 

"You aren't honestly telling us we imagined the whole thing?" she gaped at him 

He sighed, and placed his hands on his hips "Look, ladies. You say you killed a man. But there is no body. You see my dilemma? I think you should both just go home, and let me and my team come out here when there's a little more light in the morning so we can scope a little more clearly. But for now, go home. And relax. From the looks of it you simply hit a deer, and your adrenaline made you believe you hit a man. This could have been much worse for you girls. Be thankful," 

With that, he radioed in another squad car to come pick them up, as Wren's car could not be driven anytime soon. Until the windshield was fixed. 

Sitting down on her bed, Avery looked at Wren as she placed her keys onto the desk. 

"You're staying here tonight," Avery said, getting up and coming over to her, gently placing her hands on the side of Wren's neck, stroking the skin with her thumbs. Wren reached up and gently wrapped her long slender fingers around Avery's wrist. Closing her eyes and relaxing into Avery's touch briefly.

"It's a short 5 minute walk to my campus from here," Wren whispered. Avery raised her brow and cocked her head to the side. Something she always did when she wasn't about to change her mind on a subject. Wren knew the look all too well. She wasn't about to lose this debate.

"Okay, okay," she whispered, half smiling. Avery leaned in and kissed her gently, before pulling away and resting her forehead against Wren's. 

"I'm gonna shower, I have to get this blood off of me. I can't stand to look at it anymore," Wren whispered, pulling away after a moment. Avery nodded and wrapped her arms around her torso, trying to hold herself together.

"I'll put a movie on and get us something to eat," Avery said. Wren nodded and walked to the bathroom in Avery's dorm, gently closing the door behind her. Avery heard the shower start up, and she blew out a long breath. 

She looked down at her finger nails, there was dirt under them. At least... She hoped it was dirt. 

She whimpered and walked over to her tiny kitchen, and turned on the sink. Washing her hands, making sure to get under the finger nails. Leaning down, she cupped some of the warm water and splashed her face gently with it. Washing off the blood. She needed a shower too, but she wanted Wren to get however much hot water she needed. Especially after today. 

That's when she felt cold hands slowly move the hair away from her neck, off of her shoulder. 

"Why waste more water and take turns?" Wren's soft voice whispered into her ear. Goosebumps rolled up Avery's arms. A smile appearing at her lips and she turned around to see Wren in a towel. 

Wren's lips came in contact with hers. Her hand slowly sliding up and tangling in Avery's long blonde locks. Avery melted into her and wrapped her arms around her neck. Avery reached up and gently released Wren's short hair from the clip it was in. 

Avery laughed as Wren smirked at her, pulling her towards the shower. 

Axel

Axel swallowed hard as he walked down the hallway. He followed the guards to the lab, and just barely caught the door as it closed behind them. He slipped in, looking around for the girl. He pushed through the heavy set of double doors, and halted. 

He watched as the guards held and strapped down the girl to a bed. She was still trashing as they did. Her beautiful blonde hair fully out of it's hold now, tangling down around her shoulders. 

"Who are you people? Let me go! I have to find her. I have to know she's okay!" the girl pleaded. She looked to be about Axel's age. With a dark set of gray eyes and a slender figure hidden under the thick purple sweater she was wearing. Tears leaked out of her eyes, as she watched them strap her wrists and ankles down

"Are you going to kill me?" she cried, her voice breaking. 

Axel watched as a man came forward, a syringe in his hand filled with a clear liquid. 

"You're safe now," he said

Axel was hit with a wave of familiarity. These were the same men who had captured him.

She let out a weak whimper as the needle was stuck into her neck, her breathing began to slow

"Please... I have to... Find.." she croaked, before her eyes closed, and she went limp.

Axel started forward "What have you done to her?" he demanded. The guards and men looked over at him, as they cleared away and an older women walked forward. Dressed in a lab coat

"Axel, go back to your barracks. I promise you, she is safe. She's here now. She's safe," the woman said, her slightly wrinkled face gave him a warm smile. Axel gulped a little but nodded. 

As he was led out by the guards, he looked back at the girl once more. 

Who are you?