text: > Continue
  It was the start of summer and you really wanted to be doing what you had planned for many months: sleeping. Well, of course you weren't going to sleep ALL day, but you certainly were not planning on getting up a five in the morning just so you could go stand in line... and then stand in line again... and then again.
  
  Summer had arrived and while you had planned to spend the week sleeping and gaming, your parents had decided that instead you were going to spend a week with Aunt Mary. You really didn't have anything against Aunt Mary, but she was pretty plan and boring. Worse, she lived in a town with absolutely nothing to do. Last time you spent a week there, you spent most of the week sitting on the front porch watching the grass grow. Sure, you might catch up on some of your sleep in the first part of the week, but she didn't have a gaming system, so you knew you were going to be seriously bored. Then again, it's not like anyone asked you what you wanted to do. So you got up early and rode to the airport.
  
  After getting dropped off, you stood in the line to check in. The days of the skycap were over, you know, because of "terrorism." Instead you had to walk inside and stand in line for an automated kiosk. You managed to make it through the line only for the machine to tell you that you had to check in at the agent counter. You trudged over to that line and waited at least 30 minutes before you made it to the front of the line. You handed ID, she pressed about 500 keys, then took your luggage with a seriously fake smile. This was really going to be a long day.
  
  Thinking about Aunt Mary's tiny house, you headed over to the security line. Of course there were about 1,000 people in that line, most of them confused when the blue-uniformed Wal-Mart greeters told them they had to take their shoes off. Or leave them on. For some reason, some people had to take shoes off and some did not. The confused ensured the line would continue to move very slow. That and the "special" people who managed to cut into the front of the line after paying some bribes or some crap. You were just glad that when you finally got to the front of the line and through the scanners that you didn't get felt up by the goofy guards.
  
  Next you had to wait for your plane to start boarding and then watch as all the people who were not called to board ran to get in line first. You had a ticket with an assigned seat, so you just waited until your row was called and then went to stand in line yet one more time. As you walked down the aisle of the plane, you counted the seats and knew before you finished counting that the seat next to the really fat guy that was having trouble breathing was your seat. Hooray for coach seats! At least you had the aisle seat so you wouldn't be squashed into the wall of the plane. You took your seat, fastened the stupid seat belt, and promptly closed your eyes, trying to ignore everyone and everything around you.
  
  At some point in time, you woke up, wide awake. You're not really sure why you woke up. The plane was filled with the sound of airplane noises. You looked around and realized that there was some sort of odd greenish light coming in through the windows of the plane. A few people started talking about just that as more noticed it. You heard a popping sound and looked around for the source. Everything looked normal, but then you heard someone towards the front of the plane yell. You stood up, like most of the plane, and looked towards the front. Suddenly there was another popping noise, and half the people in front of you simply disappeared! They were there one moment and not the next. More people started to yell and run into the aisle. There was another pop, and everyone in front of you disappeared. You looked around towards the rear of the plane, and saw others staring at you, eyes wide open. Then there was another popping sound and suddenly blackness...
  
  > By Ogre11
  It was the start of summer and you really wanted to be doing what you had planned for many months: sleeping. Well, of course you weren't going to sleep ALL day, but you certainly were not planning on getting up a five in the morning just so you could go stand in line... and then stand in line again... and then again.
  
  Summer had arrived and while you had planned to spend the week sleeping and gaming, your parents had decided that instead you were going to spend a week with Aunt Mary. You really didn't have anything against Aunt Mary, but she was pretty plan and boring. Worse, she lived in a town with absolutely nothing to do. Last time you spent a week there, you spent most of the week sitting on the front porch watching the grass grow. Sure, you might catch up on some of your sleep in the first part of the week, but she didn't have a gaming system, so you knew you were going to be seriously bored. Then again, it's not like anyone asked you what you wanted to do. So you got up early and rode to the airport.
  
  After getting dropped off, you stood in the line to check in. The days of the skycap were over, you know, because of "terrorism." Instead you had to walk inside and stand in line for an automated kiosk. You managed to make it through the line only for the machine to tell you that you had to check in at the agent counter. You trudged over to that line and waited at least 30 minutes before you made it to the front of the line. You handed ID, she pressed about 500 keys, then took your luggage with a seriously fake smile. This was really going to be a long day.
  
  Thinking about Aunt Mary's tiny house, you headed over to the security line. Of course there were about 1,000 people in that line, most of them confused when the blue-uniformed Wal-Mart greeters told them they had to take their shoes off. Or leave them on. For some reason, some people had to take shoes off and some did not. The confused ensured the line would continue to move very slow. That and the "special" people who managed to cut into the front of the line after paying some bribes or some crap. You were just glad that when you finally got to the front of the line and through the scanners that you didn't get felt up by the goofy guards.
  
  Next you had to wait for your plane to start boarding and then watch as all the people who were not called to board ran to get in line first. You had a ticket with an assigned seat, so you just waited until your row was called and then went to stand in line yet one more time. As you walked down the aisle of the plane, you counted the seats and knew before you finished counting that the seat next to the really fat guy that was having trouble breathing was your seat. Hooray for coach seats! At least you had the aisle seat so you wouldn't be squashed into the wall of the plane. You took your seat, fastened the stupid seat belt, and promptly closed your eyes, trying to ignore everyone and everything around you.
  
  At some point in time, you woke up, wide awake. You're not really sure why you woke up. The plane was filled with the sound of airplane noises. You looked around and realized that there was some sort of odd greenish light coming in through the windows of the plane. A few people started talking about just that as more noticed it. You heard a popping sound and looked around for the source. Everything looked normal, but then you heard someone towards the front of the plane yell. You stood up, like most of the plane, and looked towards the front. Suddenly there was another popping noise, and half the people in front of you simply disappeared! They were there one moment and not the next. More people started to yell and run into the aisle. There was another pop, and everyone in front of you disappeared. You looked around towards the rear of the plane, and saw others staring at you, eyes wide open. Then there was another popping sound and suddenly blackness...[Themes: sci-fi, science fiction, horror, romance, female protagonist, action, anti-hero, villain protagonist, drama]
  
  The light above gleams and sparkles brightly. You look towards it, which is entirely meaningless as you aren't able to avoid its' sharp glare. It beckons you, practically begs for you to move towards it. So you do, you lean up - almost like you're floating into the void, and then you bump your head right against the lamp you were facing.
  
  "Oh! Good evening, didn't expect you to be awake so soon!"
  
  An overweight woman wearing scrubs and a white apron turns back towards you. You lie on your back on a dingy old cot, and the sharp blare of the white lamp is right in your face. You remember where you are - home.
  
  "Sorry about the lamp! Late night maintenance. Didn't think your light receptors were already up to par! We'll make sure it doesn't happen again in the future."
  
  You nod towards Shirley. This woman has been your caretaker since those men put you together, she has always been so nice to you. So why does today feel so... different? You feel a slight bit of anger towards her. Your systems don't quite tell you why. Before you have time to ajnalyze it too much, two men open the door to your bright room. They wear matching black suits with white dress shirts underneath, and dull black ties. The only distinction between them is that one of them has darker skin then the other. They march in before the more pale man asks Shirley,
  
  "What's going on? Why is she awake? We didn't count on her being up right now."
  
  The darker skinned man keeps his gaze fixed on you. A quick analysis tells you that both men are armed. The man who is fixated on you has a heartbeat of about 120 bpm at the moment and looks to be in a state of raised anxiety. Your analysis begins piecing more of this puzzle together. Shirley responds,
  
  "I'm not sure. I was running some basic maintenance to make sure her systems were running fine, I think she's developing further. Her light receptors never made her wake up in the past, it seems they've developed further."
  
  The darker-skinned man continues to keep his eyes on you as the other one continues to prod. However, he leans in to Shirley to make sure you can't hear what he's about to say, his heartbeat almost matches the other mans', he is also beginning to sweat. Unfortunately for him, you can hear every word.
  
  "Well, can you put her back to sleep? It's not safe to have her up right now. We're the only ones here tonight, it was expected she'd stay down till morning shift came in, we're horribly ill equipped right now, she needs to be asleep."
  
  Shirley looks back towards you with remorseful eyes before whispering back to him.
  
  "Yes, I'll administer more of the anesthetic. That has been working so far, and none of my studies suggest that she has developed any form of resistence to this yet. Stay with me while I try it, just to be safe."
  
  She turns back towards you, and in a louder voice attempts to calm your worries,
  
  "Sorry dear! Just discussing some technical details, I'll be with you shortly!"
  
  Your systems begin to analyze further. There were never too many people around you as it stood, but you had also never been awake at this time before. This time they seemed to be caught off guard by your sudden awakening, and their raised anxiety suggests that they're not comfortable with your presence right now.
  
  The man turns back towards your caretaker, and in yet another whisper, asks:
  
  "Do you believe she's ready? We've already managed to pull off several miracles here, if we're able to come through with this project, this could be massive breakthrough."
  
  Shirley nods her head before whispering back,
  
  "Yes. I think we're on the verge here. Perhaps weeks, maybe days at best. We're so close to making this a reality!"
  
  The man smiles and his heartbeat begins to slow down a bit - as your analysis tells you. He nods and nudges his partner, causing him to relax a bit too. Shirley turns back towards you and begins to walk back.
  
  "Sorry about that, hun! Unimportant matters, no need to bore you with the details. But how about we get you back to bed? We have a busy day tomorrow, you need to be well-rested!"
  
  You nod towards her, though your system begins to rattle. You don't feel much, but in this case the uneasiness is difficult to ignore. Something about tonight feels different to you. Shirley grabs a mask off the table and walks back towards you.
  
  "Okay, we're just gonna put this on you, it'll calm you down and soothe you back into your rest! It'll be painless, as usual!"
  
  She smiles at you. Her smile is so beautiful, so warming. Almost... fake. Your analysis tells you that she's still in a state of heightened anxiety which only grows more and more as she eases ever closer to you. Her hand is only inches away from your face, but right before she is able to place the mask over your mouth, something inside you tells you to stop this. You shoot your left hand out and press your thumb and index finger against her throat. The data you were filled with explained every minute detail of human anatomy, and how to kill a person in seconds. This comes in handy as you press your fingers down as hard as your slightly-enhanced strength lets you. Her face gasps in utter horror, but before she's even able to scream out of shock, the nerves in her throat are punctured and she collapses to the floor. Both men immediately reach to the left sides of their waists, which is where your analysis earlier told you their guns were. One of them screams,
  
  "Hey! Put her down, hurry!"
  
  But before either man can pull out their gun, your enhanced reflexes react and you leap forward off your bed. With both hands sticking forward, the holes in your fingertips emit power sonic waves that send them both flying back into the wall. Both men hit with a loud thud and hit the ground. Your radar senses they both still have heartbeats, but are in massive pain. You straighten yourself out; the nasty bedsuit they put you in makes it uncomfortable to move around. A feeling inside you tells you that you need to act quickly and put both men down without haste. So you approach the one that your scan suggests is less damaged by your prior blow, the darker skinned man. He looks up at you but can barely move as you march over to him.
  
  "Wait, please. No!"
  
  The first time you have analyzed legitimate human emotion from any of these men, and it comes to a quick end as you shove your knee into his throat, squishing it between you and the wall behind him. His heartbeat disappears. The other man is unconscious, but it's not permanent. Something that needs to change. This one is a lot easier to deal with. No human emotion in him whatsoever as you reach down, grab his jaw with one hand and hold the back of his head with the other before you snap it to the side easily, stopping his heartbeat as well.
  
  You look around at the place that you have called home for what your systems suggest is nearing two years now. Since those men... created you? You're unsure of your creation, but you know that this place causes you to feel rage and displeasure. You believe the best bet here is to make this place no longer exist. You have plenty of knowledge on how to cause fires and believe that it would be the best method to utilize here. You look over at the outlet the lamp above your bed is plugged into and Shirley's water bottle on her desk. You pick up the bottle and cause a small rip in the cable plugging into the outlet. You pour the water slowly - and suddenly the outlet nearby blows. Smoke begins to come out and a fire follows. Though the building is prepared with fire-safety equipment, the water that begins to shoot from the ceiling only makes the electrical fire worse, as it begins to burn through. You realize you need to get out of here.
  
  With no one guarding the door, you march right out of it. You have no idea where to go, but this large warehouse isn't very difficult to navigate. You follow escape exit signs and your system is able to navigate the rest from there fairly easily. The empty building continues to fill with smoke, but you've already made it to the front door. You walk by many offices and areas that you have never seen before - the only areas of the facilities you've seen have been backroom ones, and you admire how much effort went into making the front area of this place look presentable. With one more glance into your old home, you march out into the night, feeling the fresh air hit your flesh for the first time ever. An odd feeling of nostalgia hits you, though you don't entirely recognize this feeling.
  
  [Author's Note: Submission for Mizal's "Welcome to the Jungle" noob contest. A story about having a second chance at existence. With some twists. [Writers note: Though this is a CYS game, this is a lot more linear than most CYS games tend to be. There are still some different routes to explore, though!]]
  
  > Continue
  A few years ago
  
  A gloomy afternoon at the cemetary adds to the atmosphere and the feelings people are sharing right now. A grassy park-like area makes your gravestone feel a little less dim. The name reads "Lauren Perez - beloved daughter, wife, and friend to many." Your relatives sat in the front for the funeral, your husband, Jared, wore that nice suit he hated wearing. Friends, family, coworkers, even people you hadn't seen in quite some time. Since you were a kid, maybe. All lined up, sharing their feelings about you. Your mother hasn't stopped sobbing since she woke up from her two hour sleep last night. Even your father - the one who never showed any emotion - sheds a few tears as he looks at the big framed picture placed above your burial site. His little girl who grew up to be such a great young woman. And now she's gone.
  
  It all happened so quickly. You were driving home from the office, so distracted by that big case you were studying as an intern. Thoughts flew threw your mind as you did anything you could to try and find a way to get this poor man off for a crime you are sure he didn't commit, something that could help out the lawyer you were shadowing. The thoughts didn't last long as that green light approached. So did the drunk driver. This area was notorious for these types, but this was also the only internship you could land right out of college. You zoomed into that intersection - and so did he. The collision rattled your brain hard enough to cause you to die almost instantly.
  
  Back at your funeral, your wonderful husband gives a speech. He approaches the microphone with tears in his eyes. He tries to speak but the saliva in his throat from crying chokes him out for a second. He tries to compose himself for a second before attempting that again. Even with tears in his green eyes, he is still so handsome. He wasn't the tallest guy around, but his pretty face, his pale skin, blonde hair, and sense of style was so appealing to you. He finally begins to speak,
  
  "Lauren.. erm. My Lauren. I can't even put into words how much I miss you. Always thinking you could go and save everyone, always putting others over yourself. She was the greatest person I ever met. It took us some time to come together, but when it finally happened I was the happiest person alive. We had just started our life together."
  
  He begins to shake a bit but tries to keep himself together.
  
  "...and we were going to be parents. We didn't tell anyone because we weren't ready. But Lauren was pregnant."
  
  Your mother begins to sob again, and so does your husband.
  
  "We were going to be parents. She would have been a great mother, and now that's been taken away."
  
  The paramedics arrived immediately. They took your body out of the wreckage of the car and did everything they could to resuscitate you. It was to no avail as they careful put you on that stretcher and drove you to the ambulence. They sped through the streets as fast as they could, but even once they arrived at the hospital and hooked you up on all sorts of machinery, there was no recovering from that. Jared had rushed down as fast as he could. The waiting room felt like purgatory for him as he waited several hours, only to be told you were gone, and so was the tiny thing inside you. They didn't let him see you, citing that your corpse had been so mangled and torn apart that it'd cause him great pain psychologically to see the mess you were at this point.
  
  Your body was meant to be sent to the morgue down below, to be prepared for burial. Then those men arrived. Men in suits. The mortician shook hands with them as he let them in. They took your ice cold corpse in an instant, not wasting any time as they replaced you with what seemed like a decently-made mannequin.
  
  Back at your funeral - a closed casket funeral - as they said they couldn't do anything to fix you up properly for a viewing. Something your family likely gave sighs of relief to, who wants to see their loved ones lying lifelessly anyway?
  
  Jared continues his speech,
  
  "But we can't keep living this way. It's been several weeks since I got that dreadful phone call. Since my entire life came crumbling down before me. I imagine a lot of you feel the same way."
  
  He turns down towards your mother and gives her a sympathetic gaze.
  
  "But Lauren wouldn't want this. She was strong. She was caring, she loved all of us and would hate to see us in this state of despair and helplessness. She would want us to be strong. So we need to be, for her. We need to keep pressing forward. It'll take some time of course; months, days, years. However long it may take each one of us, we can't let this end our lives too. We need to recover, we need to rebuild. And honor her legacy in the way that she would want us to. Thank you all for coming."
  
  Jared steps away from the microphone. He's always been an introvert, never good at giving speeches in front of crowds. The amount of strength it took for him to give that speech must have been tremendous. He never felt very comfortable around your family, or some of your friends, but he did his best. He marches off, not wanting to interact with anyone else. Everyone else begins to collect themselves as they let his words sink in. Some of them are still in shock at the revelation that you were pregnant - especially your mother, who now realizes she was going to be a grandmother. As well as your father, who feels the same. The cloudy afternoon gets cloudier for those who chose to go. Jared is long gone, but everyone else continues to console each other.
  
  The men in suits drove you off quickly, to a labratory nearby. This was Los Angeles, afterall. There were plenty of locations nearby for whatever they were planning. One of them speaks up,
  
  "Do you think this might actually work?"
  
  The other responds,
  
  "I don't know. This is the third trial. The first two showed promise. We can't afford to keep failing though, they're cracking hard down on this op. But if we were to have a breakthrough with this one, we'd go down in history. This one seems to fit a perfect profile for our test subject too - young, healthy, fit. Died from blunt force trauma to the skull - all other organs intact and healthy. Not a donor. Unfortunate event though, seems she was a few months pregnant. Always a shame to lose two lives like this."
  
  The first man jabs back,
  
  "Hey. If we can accomplish this, who knows how many more lives we could save!"
  
  The other man gets a more stern look on his face.
  
  "Or destroy."
  
  The van approaches the old warehouse in the more ignored part of Los Angeles. They exit the car and quickly carry your corpse out of the vehicle, into the night air, and in through the front door, not wanting to be spotted by anyone. You weren't even gone for a day and you've already made a whole trip around the city! The men are met by a few other people who await them in the lobby of the warehouse.
  
  "We got one. Super fresh, she just passed a few hours ago. Our connections made sure the process was quick and informed me that this was a perfect subject for our tests."
  
  Another man approaches, this one wears a full military uniform and seems to be well respected. A Sargeant.
  
  "Alright. That's good news. Not for her, but for us. Now listen here. These past two failures have led to higher ups giving up on this operation. I still believe in it, which is why I've gotten all of you here. Because of the nature of this mission, we need to keep it as covert as possible. Which means we're going to be short staffed around here. Six of you on daytime duty, four of you on noon, two of you on night duty. Mrs. Nance, please step up."
  
  Shirley steps up, wearing her scrubs.
  
  "I'm going to need you to practically live here for the next few years. I need to know you're ready for this. Your husband was very loyal to us and believed in this operation. We're going to honor his memory by making this happen. You've been a great ally to this so far, but this will be your true calling. When we begin to develop her, you're going to need to be her caretaker for a bit. You will practically be her mother. You always wanted kids, well here's your chance!"
  
  Shirley smiles, that sweet smile.
  
  "Yes sir. Of course I'm in. Do you think this one will work?"
  
  The Saregeant looks at his group of 13 people, before commenting.
  
  "I have a good feeling. The last two weren't nearly up to par as test subjects. It was foolish to have tried. This one seems to tick all our boxes. We need to get to work immediately though. Start now, we can't afford to waste time."
  
  So time went on. The first few days were rocky. As they 'repaired' your brain by replacing it with microchips. A powerful processor not known to the average citizen. Top secret technology. They replaced a lot of your organs, ripping out bones, replacing some of them with steel and iron.
  
  "Keep the flesh"
  
  One laments,
  
  "She needs to fit in for our ops. She needs to look as realistic as possible. Do your best to put her back together."
  
  They kept some organs. Your heart, parts of your brain that still worked, some other internal organs that you'd still need to function. And after a matter of months, you were ready to be powered on. Those sharp jolts of electricity, zapping at your body over and over. You woke up surrounded by every man on this operation. The data they inputted in your brain began to feed you narratives that these men were to be respected and listened to. Especially the Sargeant. Shirley's sweet, old lady face was engrained in your memories. Everything else had been wiped clean. The Sargeant speaks up first.
  
  "Hello, Diana. Welcome to the world. We are the people who created you. We will be training you as the months and maybe years go by. You will be developed here, this is your home. In time, you will be ready. You will aid our boys on the battlefield through covert operations and expert analysis. You have been gifted a supercomputer for a brain, but you need time to develop it, and training to master it. Your skills will come naturally as you are trained for war by our best in this facility. I'll be here to monitor you, and you will rest at night for proper maintenance. We still have a lot of work to do, so I hope you're ready. You will be an amazing creation."
  
  So the months went by. You practiced outside with those lovely men. The routine was the same. Data injection followed by a proper training of that data. You learned to analyze your surrounds using the technology in your body, how to maim, hurt, kill. You were gifted weapons even the military themselves hadn't been able to utilize themselves! Sonic waves from tiny your fingertips, enhanced reflexes, enhanced strength, enhanced speed. Only slightly, but you were promised massive updates in the time to come.
  
  And now... here you stood. Two years later. Free of that hell.
  
  > Back to the present
  Today
  
  The cold night air slaps you in the face in a wonderful way. You're thankful they kept some of your receptors so you can still feel things now that you're on the outside and able to feel more than just a grim, small room that even without any general awareness of the outside world, you knew was a gloomy place to be. You walk a few steps down the dark and empty street, but take a moment to look around and admire all the beauty in this. A bizarre feeling soaks through you, not knowing where to go or what to do. No sense of purpose now that your original life mission - the one you were created into this world to do - was gone. You find that time is moving a bit quicker than you'd expect, as the few minutes you thought had passed had actually been a lot more than that, and you can now hear the sirens in the distance. Police. You've been imbued with plenty of information on them - you're not a fan. Because of the information in your system, you know better than to stay and try to reason with them, or fight them. Before the sirens can get any closer, you get out of there.
  
  You don't bother to take a moment to look around or analyze. You simply run. Your enhanced speed allows you to run at levels that would impress Usain Bolt - and you have no receptors that exhaust you, so you can keep running as long as you'd like. Before you know it, you're several blocks away from the smoke in the sky. You approach the inner part of the city, and your inner clock tells you it's 4:12 AM, and things will begin to open up soon. You don't know where to go, what to do, or how to get anywhere. But a sudden feeling beckons you. It calls for you to walk through a very specific direction.
  
  > follow your feelings
  The feeling inside you drags you down an old street. You continue to press on. You've learned how to navigate the streets through more data that was pumped into your supercomputer brain. Cross on green, when the little walking man logo appears. Wait. Nod at passerby's. Why did that one look at me weird? Look into fixing social interactions in future updates. You continue to walk down an old street until you approach a neighborhood. Relatively quiet, seems to be a nice and peaceful area. Something continues to pull at you and drag you towards a specific location. Upon arrival, you are able to make some recollections. You arrive at an old house - nothing special, but 'warm' nonetheless. You walk up to the door and open it - they never did lock the doors, did they? This was a nice area, after all. You quietly close the door behind you, and continue walking down an old hall.
  
  Certain memories begin to protrude through your mind. Running down these halls carelessly, throwing toys around, making a mess. Playing with your mother and father. Bringing friends over in high school. You see wooden frames on the table, pictures of you. You climb the stairs, holding on to the banister as you work your way up. Then you see it in close proximity. That room. You walk up to it slowly and without hesitation you open the door. You don't quite understand why just yet, but something inside you rumbles. A feeling of nausea, sickness, pain? But also love, and warmth. And there they are. You scan the two bodies lying on the bed. Mr. and Mrs. Perez. Your parents. You flick on the light as your body begins to shake, your systems weren't programmed for this. The sudden burst of light forces your parents to leap out of their bed defensively. You eye your father first. Angry, scared... and then, utter confusion. Your mother puts her hands over her mouth and gasps as the tears begin to pour out from her face. She leaps towards you, but is quickly held back by your father.
  
  She screams. But your father does his best to hold her back as he takes a defensive position.
  
  "What... who are you?! Lauren? No. But you -"
  
  Almost overcome with grief and warmth, you don't take a second of hesitation. This is beyond programming, this is beyond your system's functions. You begin to have feelings that you didn't believe you had as it all starts coming back to you.
  
  "Dad. It's me. It's Lauren. I swear. It's me."
  
  You utter your first words that weren't programmed into you. The non-mechanical part of your brain begins to throb as the human memories begin to all come back. Your father finally lets go of your mother, as she lunges herself towards you and clamps you in the tightest hug she's given you since that time you were a kid and got lost at the mall.
  
  "Oh my baby. How is this possible? We buried you."
  
  You cut her off, but decide not to tell her about what you've become.
  
  "I've been given a second chance, mom. God is real! I went to heaven. I met him. I was good to Him, and He told me I could have a second chance at life. To help the grief that my parents have been put through. I know it sounds crazy, but you have to believe me!"
  
  Your analysis suggests your parents are confused. Your story sounds completely unbelievable, but they're also relieved. They're not thinking about this too much - you're here. Your data pack on world religions comes into play here, and it may prove to be handy. Your mother shouts,
  
  "Wait, so He exists?! This is amazing Lauren. We need to get out there, spread His word! He has given us the greatest gift possible. You, our baby girl!"
  
  You do your best work to try and keep this exposure to a minimum.
  
  "No mom. I made a deal with Him. I would not try to interfere in worldly affairs regarding Him or His existence. In exchange I could come back. To you."
  
  Your father sits frozen. For decades he had been an Atheist, but your story may have caused him to shift on that. You feel a sense of remorse, lying to them and possibly changing their entire worldview, but it's worth it. More believable than what actually happened to you, anyway. Plus if this became a big national thing, those men may never stop hunting you down. You need to keep this as low-key as possible. For the first time since you walked in, your father stands up out of his bed. He walks over to you and shares your mother in embracing you. The three of you share a long group hug before he speaks.
  
  "I don't know what to believe. But all I know is that my little girl is here. It's you. I can see you, I can sense you. I believe it's you. My daughter. My sweet, sweet daughter."
  
  Tears begin to form in his eyes, but for some reason you aren't able to share that. You do feel warm, though. After a few more seconds of family bonding, your mother proclaims,
  
  "I bet Jared must be going insane right now! Have you told him? Would you know where to find him, even? We haven't talked to him in a long time, but I believe he still works at his old job!"
  
  JARED! That word instantly triggers a feeling inside you. As those memories begin to pour back into your mind, breaking through whatever was preventing you from accessing these memories earlier. You begin to remember everything. Those times you snuck him into your house, those moments you shared together. Your wedding. You instantly realize you need to go see him.
  
  "I haven't actually talked to Jared yet. I only just now made my journey down from above. I should go see him!" - you say.
  
  Your mother responds, "Oh yes, he'll be so happy! But first, we need to get you out of that. God has a particular fashion sense, is that what they make you wear up there? Oh well. We'll just have to pack when it's our turn to go up there! For now, go check out your room honey. We left it exactly as it was two years ago. We didn't have the heart to touch it. It's exactly as you left it. Get in there and get a change of clothes. I know it's early but perhaps we can all catch up, you can tell us about your exploits over breakfast, and then you can go visit Jared!"
  
  Hours pass. You and your parents spend time over the breakfast table. Your mother makes your favorite breakfast - blueberry pancakes. You remember that humans need to eat to survive, something you haven't had to do for years. The warmth of the moist bread touches your lips and blissful memories and feelings course through you. All these flavors, these textures. You may not need to eat to live, but it's quite an amazing feeling. You spend hours scourging through your knowledge of the Bible that was implanted within you for purposes of social interaction. You use this knowledge to make up many stories of your exploits up in heaven. Meeting God, the angels, the beautiful blue water that was just made for you... explaining away any possible inconsistency with your stories. After a few hours, their cheerful and bright faces have brought more than enough joy to you. And you really want to go see Jared. You're all dressed up for the occasion. A nice, long black coat. Your hair is done for the first time in a long time, you wear a black shirt under with some tight jeans that go down to your high-heeled black boots. It's time to go.
  
  "I'm glad we were able to talk now, mom and dad. But I think I should go see Jared now. He probably has a lot of questions too."
  
  Your mom responds,
  
  "Of course honey! And please tell him we said hi. Oh, also your car is in the garage! We kept it around and have been driving it - hope you don't mind. After the accident, we got some donations to fix it up. I hope it doesn't bring back any bad memories. The keys are by the sink."
  
  You smile and nod, before walking over and grabbing them. You begin to march out the door before your father speaks up.
  
  "Oh, and baby. Please. Come back to us this time. We can't lose you again."
  
  You turn back towards him and smile.
  
  "Of course dad."
  
  You open up the garage from the inside and pull into your car. The feeling of dread begins to sink in for a bit. Bad memories of the last time you were in this death machine. But also good memories. Driving around with Jared. ...Laying down in the backseat with him. All that passion. You pull out and your data on how to drive begins to kick in - not that you really need it! You've always been a fair driver. You drive down your old street as the sun is now out and about. The brightness is almost soothing. You've felt the night sky, but this is your first time feeling the warm sun, and seeing all the beauty around you in the daylight. Bright, green leaves on the trees and the grass. Roses. Black roses - your favorite. The world is so beautiful. You begin to arrive at your destination. Jared's office. He settled down early, got the first good job his dad helped him get. Selling car insurance isn't the greatest gig, but it helped pay the bills... and for your wedding, so you never complained. You arrive at the big building and park in the nearest possible spot. Then you exit.
  
  > Jared's office
  You arrive at the office. The front steps feel like they stretch for miles, even though they're quite short. Upon reaching the door, you don't bother to knock. You walk right on in. It's relatively empty, a slow day. Good. More time to catch up. You catch a glimpse of the lady at the front desk. Though you don't recognize her, she seems to recognize you. The shock in her eyes tells you all you need to know. You look towards her and simply say,
  
  "I need to see Jared"
  
  She nods in her shock, and points you through. As if you needed directions. You begin to march down the hall, but before you can even reach his office - you see him. He seems to be quite busy, holding a stack of papers as he walks to the printer. He looks up for a second and sees you, then looks back down at his work. It takes him a second, but then it hits. And he shoots his gaze right back up. In his shock he drops all his papers - but right now he doesn't care. You keep your eyes locked on him - and he does the same. His bottom lip begins to quiver - it was adorable how it would do that sometimes, whenever he was in great shock. A feeling overcomes you but you can't quite describe it. The horror you were in a few hours ago is starting to sink away, like it never happened. And all you can imagine is the life you were going to have with him.
  
  "L-L-Lauren...?"
  
  Your body is warm and trembling softly. And your analysis tells you that he feels the exact same way. You begin to march forward towards him, and then he runs towards you. You begin to remember every minute detail of your relationship with him. All the highs and lows, the arguments, the kisses. The love you two shared. And then you finally catch up and embrace in a hug. You can tell he's crying because your jacket's shoulder begins to feel moist. You hold on to him and grab the back of his head before patting him.
  
  "There there. It's me, my love."
  
  He begins to shake as he mumbles out,
  
  "But how...?"
  
  You smile and pause for a second. You never kept any major secrets from him. This would be no different.
  
  "I can tell you, but we can't do it here. My love. Let's go out somewhere so we can talk."
  
  Jared doesn't fail to oblige, and he ignores the big mess of papers he just left all over the ground.
  
  "Yes. Let's go, I... I'm a bit at a loss for words here."
  
  "Shhh. It'll all become clearer soon ok?" - you respond.
  
  He pulls his keys out from his pocket and offers to drive you two there, and you agree. The ride is quiet, as you can tell he's in deep thought and concentration, then you arrive at your destination.
  
  His beautiful green eyes light up as his favorite cocktail shrimp is brought to the table. You opted for a chicken sandwich. Soul food, food that you've missed in the years you've been gone. Before you know it, you two are catching up.
  
  "So tell me, what happened to you Lauren? It's really you, I can tell. I know you more than anyone. But how? How are you here? How is this possible?"
  
  You realize that you need to tell him the truth.
  
  "I don't remember much, Jared. My story is that That's the story I'm going with. But the truth is, I have no idea. I remember the accident, crashing, blacking out. Then I don't remember much else from there. It's all still a blur to me. But I was taken in by a group of people. They brought me back to life, Jared. They replaced some of my body with weapons, a computer. I know it's hard to understand, even I don't seem to fully get it. I just know that I'm here now. And all the memories are coming back to me."
  
  Jared looks at you with a sense of disbelief, but he knows you're being truthful. He's always known when you're lying and when you're not.
  
  "So you're telling me, you were taken by some men after you basically died... and they brought you back... as an android?"
  
  You look back at him,
  
  "Something like that. I believe they wanted to make me into a super-soldier to help fight in their wars. But look, Jared. It doesn't matter now. None of it matters. I'm still me. I'm here. We're here! These past two years have been hell but in less than a day I'm starting to remember everything. And I love you, Jared. And now we can continue where we left off! We can continue our life. We can... try again."
  
  Jared's eyes widen. His face looks a bit distraught. Your analysis suggests he's feeling a bit of agony for what he's about to say.
  
  "Lauren... oh. No. I'm so sorry. But... well, Lauren. I thought you were dead. I had to move on. I thought it's what you'd want me to do. So I did. Lauren, I've found someone else. I have a family now. I have a baby now, with my fiance. He's one year old, and the light of my life. I'm so sorry Lauren."
  
  For the first time in a long time, you begin to feel something you hadn't quite remembered. Sorrow? Sadness? Pain? You don't know how to put it into words, your system can't really explain this either. You just know you don't like it.
  
  "But... Jared. I love you."
  
  He looks back at you now,
  
  "I love you too Lauren. I never forgot about you, I never replaced you - I swear. I just had to move on. I couldn't let the pain consume me. I found someone else. And I love her. But Lauren, I still love you too. I want to be here for you. As your friend."
  
  The heart they left inside you that has been wholly meaningless for a while now begins to feel a bit of pain at these words. He continues.
  
  "Look, let me prove it to you. These men, these men who took you. We need to find them, we'll take them down - together. They did this to you. They brought you back a while ago, they could have let you out sooner. They could be helping a lot of people with this technology, but they're using it to... do what? Make super soldiers? We need to get them back for this. I can help you. I have connections, I'm competent. I own a gun. Let's find them and we can end them, together. If you're really a super soldier, your abilities should be insane. Together, we can take them out. What do you say?"
  
  > say "Yes. I agree. Let's do it."
  "We need to get them back for this."
  
  You look back into his eyes as he sits across you.
  
  "Yes. I agree. That would be nice. We can work together as a team one more time then."
  
  Jared nods. His eyes light up once again. Your analysis suggests he feels very bad about the situation that you are both in. But he also feels anger upon hearing what happened to you at the hands of those people.
  
  "What should we even do? Do you know anything about them?"
  
  You shake your head. "No. I don't. They provided me with a way to analyze my surroundings but they knew a way to counter it for themselves, so that I could never use it on them outside of basic functions. I don't know who they are, I don't know most of their names, and I burned down the warehouse they were keeping me at not too far from here."
  
  Jared looks disappointed. That doesn't seem to be the answer he was hoping for.
  
  "Well, do you remember ANYTHING about them at all?" You think for a second before remembering the Sergeant.
  
  "I remember one of them being highly feared. The Sergeant. He was always wearing a military outfit with a lot of badges and patches, suggesting he was a massive higher up. I remember him mention something about being in the Air Force."
  
  Jared's eyes light up once again.
  
  "That's perfect, Lauren! There's only one base here that is for the Air Force and I have plenty of connections there. One of them can get us on base, we can sneak away from him and find the Sergeant and get some answers... and maybe some revenge."
  
  You think for a second.
  
  "You want to infiltrate a military base to try and help me take out a high profile member of the military? That seems highly improbable, and appears to be a suicide mission Jared. Why would you do this? You said it yourself, you have a child and a family now."
  
  The words coming out of your mouth sting, but you know it's true.
  
  "You need to be there for them, I'll be fine."
  
  He shoots back at you,
  
  "No. Listen. No one in a million years could have figured that we would find ourselves in this situation. Who would have ever expected that you would come back to me? And now it's too late, as I've moved on with my life. But I still love you, and I owe you part of my life. So I will do this for you, to prove to you that I still love and care for you, and to prove that though I've moved on, you still mean the world to me."
  
  You realize it would be futile to try and argue with him on this.
  
  "Okay then. Get in touch with your connection, and get us on base. I'll meet up with you tomorrow."
  
  The next day, you and Jared meet up and Jared seems dressed for battle. He wears cargo pants and shoes, and a puffy jacket that you can only assume hides some sort of bullet proof vest under it.
  
  "Watch out for the gun, it's in my glove compartment. I told my connect we were gonna go visit him, he's gonna get us on base and then we can sneak off."
  
  You nod. Upon approaching Los Angeles Air Force Base, you two drive up to him in the parking lot outside. Jared gets out and shakes hands with him as they smile and catch up. He walks over to your window and shakes your hand.
  
  "Hi, nice to meet you! I'm Taylor, Jared's friend."
  
  You smile back at him.
  
  "It is a pleasure, fellow human. My name is Lauren."
  
  Jared face palms behind you, as he then instructs Jared to get into the drivers seat and pull you guys into base so he can show you two his cool new apartment. Now with no roommate! As you drive onto base and he starts taking you to his humble abode, Jared asks,
  
  "Hey, so where do the higher ups around here hang out?"
  
  Puzzled, Taylor responds
  
  "Well, they have their own living spaces if that's what you mean. They're way nicer than ours, we get the scraps over on this side, they get the nice apartments on base, sometimes even their own houses!"
  
  Jared nods.
  
  "Though most of them are on duty right now, it's a busy day today. I'm lucky I'm off at the moment!"
  
  You continue driving and finally arrive at his apartment. You both exit the car behind him and walk into his home. He excitedly tries to get you two to have a seat. Then he offers you something to drink. Jared accepts, and then when Taylor turns around to march over to the kitchen, Jared gives you a sign. You scan Taylor's body and then hit him square on the back of the head, providing just enough pressure to put him to sleep without causing any permanent damage.
  
  "That was painful."
  
  "He'll be fine. He's a big boy."
  
  You and Jared turn back out towards the door, Jared grabs the keys from Taylor's pocket and you two begin to march right out. Something inside you tells you that you need to prevent Jared from leaving this house with you. But he also decided to come on his own free will. You could put him to sleep too, and leave him here safely. Or you could bring him with you.
  
  > take him out
  While his back is turned, you give him a rapid jab of only slightly more power than the one you gave Taylor. He doesn't have time to express his response at this betrayal before he falls forward and collapses. You quickly take the keys out of his pocket and run to his car, before jumping into the drivers' seat and turning that engine on. You quickly find yourself speeding around the air force base. Using the knowledge implanted inside of you of the various bases and their schematics, you are able to locate the area of the base where all the, so-called, "nice" houses are. From what you know about the Sergeant, you realize the most likely situation is that he decided to give himself the nicest house here. His own ego and his personality all add up, lighting off your algorithm as you're able to find an area you believe he should live in with relative ease.
  
  "The houses on this block seem to be fitting of the type of profile my system has created of the Sergeant."
  
  You think to yourself. Only a few minutes pass, and you're proven correct. A car pulls up to the third-most house from where you sit, and a man comes out. It's him. He looks to be very miserable. Your analysis suggests he's had a very rough past 24 hours - but you really didn't need to scan him to see that much. He gets out of his car and begins to walk down his driveway, so you realize that now is the perfect time to cut him off. You run out of your car, open up Jared's glove compartment, and pull out his gun - which is already loaded - and you run out of the car immediately.
  
  "Stop. Stop walking."
  
  The Sergeant turns towards you.
  
  "Oh my god. It's you. You monster! You killed those -"
  
  Your systems begin to heat up a bit, as his gaze becomes one of horror.
  
  "You thought you could mess with my existence? Lock me up and create a monster? Well now that monster is back to get you. Dr. Frankenstein, this will be your demise. Doomed by your own hand."
  
  You raise the gun up.
  
  "Wait! No, Diana, please!"
  
  "IT'S LAUREN, YOU BASTARD. Diana is the name YOU tried to give me. Now die!"
  
  You blast him in the head with perfect aim. His corpse hits the floor immediately, and blood begins to pour out of him as you stand over his mangled body. You keep your eyes locked on him. Then you pull the gun up and begin to fire more bullets into his already-dead corpse, out of pure rage. Your systems suggest this is pointless, but before they can try to ease your mind, they begin to malfunction. A loud BANG is heard from behind you, and before you can turn around - it's too late. A young man, about 22 years old, has stepped out of the front door of the house, gun in hand. He blasts through your skull from behind with it, then blasts you again. Your systems begin to screech internally.
  
  The last words you hear before your system turns to black, is the sound of the young man screaming,