April 30, 2094
CAMILA
I felt entrapped. I felt myself losing consciousness by the second. Everything was going black while the moon quivered in my watery eyes as Lauren's hands gripped tighter around my throat. My efforts to break free had long passed. Instead, I held her forearms as she tried to end me. Her fingernails dug into me, leaving rows of crescent shaped valleys in my skin. The veins in her arms were bulging with rage, and I could feel the full weight of her on top of my body as she made it near impossible for me to move. Her breathing was ragged as I lied like a stone underneath her, feeling myself getting colder as the life was slowly draining out of me.
As I took the last breath I would ever take, I opened my eyes fully to see a pair of neon ones staring into mine. I tried to decipher what was hiding behind the glowing irises, but all I could see was hatred. Her sweat-covered face was starting to become blurry, and the grip I had on her forearms was loosening. I tried to say something, but nothing came out. I thought back to when I first saw Lauren, when I had really seen her for the first time.
It was one day in the facility, no day in particular. She had woken me up per usual, and I had went on about my day. I was working in the library when she and her friend Luca walked in. They were talking about Lauren's apparent date from the night before. I had finished putting the books away, and I was sitting on the floor trying not to focus on their conversation, but it wasn't working. I pulled my knees to my chest and gazed down at my book to make it seem like I wasn't eavesdropping on their conversation.
"How was it?" Luca asked.
"It was fine," Lauren shrugged.
"Just fine? Where did you all go?"
"I took her to a restaurant downtown and then to a movie...just a typical date."
"Why?"
"She's a typical girl."
"Ouch, that's harsh, Lauren. What did she ever do to you besides not getting you laid?" Luca nudged her in the ribs playfully as he laughed, and I felt my face heat up at the accusation.
"It's not about that for me, Luca." Lauren started walking down another aisle of books, and the stout boy followed.
"You're Lauren Jauregui. You could have anyone in this city you wanted!"
Lauren shook her head. "That's not what I want. I don't want someone to like me for my last name...I want someone who's not ashamed to have it." Lauren picked a book up off the shelf, and I felt myself shift uncomfortably because they were in the aisle right in front of me. Luca slapped her on the shoulder as a smile crept onto his face.
"You are such a sap, you know that? Do you have that girl's number from last night? I'm pretty sure I saw her looking at me, too. Maybe she just got confused."
Lauren shook her head with a grin as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it in front of Luca's face as he quickly typed the girl's number into his device.
"Thanks, Laur, I owe you one. You sure you're okay with this? I mean, if you still like her—"
"No, it's okay," she interrupted. "I have someone else in mind, anyway."
If my heart wasn't beating as fast a hummingbird could fly, I could have sworn she turned her head to look at me for a split second. I quickly returned my attention back to my book in fear of getting caught and suffering a round of electrocution...though I knew the brown headed guard would've never done that to me on purpose.
***
Breaking the memory, I could feel Lauren shaking me slightly with her hands still around my neck.
"Why aren't you dead yet?" she asked out loud. I felt a tear roll down the side of my face, wetting my ear. Thinking back on what she had said that day about wanting someone to be with her regardless of her last name...I would wear it if she wanted. I'd be hers if she asked.
Before closing my eyes and succumbing to death, I reached up and lightly touched her face, her raven hair cascaded around my face. It was loving her that brought me out into an unknown world...and it was my undying love for her that would take me out. Love is both wonderful and tragic.
Shooting up from my spot on the ground out of breath, I looked around me in a panic to see that I was exactly where I was when I had fallen asleep. It had all been a dream. I reached up to wipe the sweat from my forehead as the chill wind bit my body, instinctively wrapping myself tighter in a blanket that I wasn't aware of having until now. Lauren must have draped it over me once I had fallen asleep. Lauren.
I looked across the dwindling fire to see her leaning her head against a log with her arms crossed over her chest. Her grey shirt hugged her body tightly, and her black pants were dusted with dirt. Surprisingly, she was asleep. Her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling evenly. I looked around at the dark woods that we were encompassed by. This was my chance. If I could sneak away and get enough distance between us, maybe I had a chance at living...maybe I had a chance at finding the others.
Pushing the blanket off of me and standing up as quietly as I could, I searched around for her bag and thankfully found a backpack instead. I began filling it with items I would need if I managed to get away: a couple bottles of water, some crackers, a flashlight, and some matches. Tiptoeing over to where I had been sleeping and folding the blanket to fit it in the backpack as well, I looked over at a peacefully sleeping Lauren one last time before easing my way towards the pitch black woods.
I wished it didn't have to be like this. I wished that nothing had happened, and we wouldn't have ended up here. How does anything ever turn out the way it does? It was inevitable, right? Maybe my dream was just trying to make me see what was right in front me. I was going to die. That was it. I could tell you this, though...I never thought I would have been the one walking away from Lauren.
Once I was at the edge of the forest, I turned around to look at her to see that she was still asleep against the log. Sighing as I stepped backward, my heart stopped beating at the sound of a twig snapping, and I froze. It was like time was standing still, every other noise cancelled out. I could feel the blood in my veins turn ice cold. I lifted my head slowly, and undoubtedly Lauren's glowing green eyes were staring right back at me.
Without wasting another second I turned on my heel and sprinted for the woods, hopping over a fallen tree with the backpack on my shoulders securely. I wasn't sure where I was going, but my main priority was getting separation from Lauren. I could figure out the rest once I knew she wasn't anywhere near me.
The blood was pounding in my head, and it was like I was in a real life horror movie with the dramatic music and all. I was being hunted, stalked...preyed upon.
"I don't know why you're running from me, 5001. You know I'm going to find you eventually," Lauren said from somewhere behind me. Panic began to set in as I continued trudging through the thick, overgrown forest. Branches where snagging my clothes, and I kept tripping over roots and rocks. I found a drop off and hurriedly made my way down the leafy slope to hide under the land-made cave. It wasn't big enough for me to fit in, but it was big enough to hide me. I tried to slow my breathing, but it only became worse when I heard footsteps. "I know you're close, I can practically smell you from here."
