Chapter 2 A daring attempt

Lydia's head felt as if a rock was currently resting on it. All around her the ground was sticky and was matted into her long blonde hair. Though her eyelids felt like heavy weights, the girl forced them open. A soft drip of water was leaking from the stone roofing above her, slapping her forehead before trickling down into her hair. Lydia gave a groan as she moved the few inches to avoid the icy water. Her eyelids fluttered as she made an attempt at moving her arms or legs; both felt like heavy weights holding her body down. Blinking hard, Lydia decided enough was enough.

With one hard shove, the girl lifted herself into a sitting position.

Around her was what looked like a scientific laboratory. There were syringes and something that looked like a doctors chair with sharp, alien looking objects surrounding it. In a see-through bucket Lydia could see something shiny piled up inside it. "Ahh-so our little cub is awake...It's a pleasure to see you again my dear..." came a soft voice. Lydia rubbed her eyes and looked towards a squat little man. He wore thick spectacles and had thinning grey hair. One of the eyes of his glasses had a magnifying glass on it, making the eye that looked at her three times as big.

"Who are you?" Lydia demanded, moving her back against the wall. The man's grin made her queasy as he bowed towards her. "My name is Gustav. And I am, as you say, your host for this evening. Come here and let me clean you off." Lydia narrowed her eyes looking warily from the man to the doctor's chair with the sharp instruments around it. Gustav rolled his eyes as he started to take keys from his pocket. "Try to be nice, get a mute kid." The door opened and Gustav stepped inside the little cell holding a box of something.

Lydia sat quietly at the edge of the cell waiting for Gustav to get closer and the moment he drew near, she kicked the legs out from under him. Gustav gave a shout as he fell and Lydia was up faster then a jackrabbit. Leaping over Gustav she rushed out the door slamming the cell door shut and locking the old man inside. Moving around the doctor's chairs and tables, Lydia rushed to the door, shoving it open and rushing outside. Running as fast as she could, Lydia could feel the icyness of the rooms around her and it stung her cheeks as she ran.

Lydia could hear voices a few rooms ahead of her. Putting on an extra spurt of speed, the girl yanked open the double doors. Gazing around the now silent room, Lydia could feel her body shaking from its sudden movement and the fear of the people now looking at her. Men and woman, mostly in their early to late twenties but some of them were elderly. Two or three of the couples had enourmous dogs sitting obediantly at their heels. Not waiting a moment, Lydia tore off through the elegant room before anyone could move. She could hear yelling the second she reached the door. "Get her! You must stop her!" came the echoed shout. The few dogs in the room were set loose and Lydia made sure to slam the door shut as fast as she could as she saw the dogs bounding towards her, anger in their eyes.

It was a dark, freezing night, immediately making Lydia's lower lip tremble. Her head throbbed, forcing her to blink to remain concious. If she stayed still any longer, the girl knew she would be caught. A gate was just within her view. Taking off as fast as humanly possible, Lydia aimed for the gate, her eyes darkening with each slam of her foot against the cobbled drive. Her body trembled harder then usual, her blood ran hot inside her. Looking up into the sky, Lydia watched as the clouds moved away from the moon. The moon was bright and round, encompassing her whole mind and giving her nothing else to think of.

Lydia sunk against the gate, her insides churning. She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts but nothing seemed to work. She gave a scream as she felt her back lengthening, her head hunching over. She crouched against the gate, hugging her knees feeling as though her whole body were on fire. Not daring to look at what was happening, Lydia forced her eyes to remain closed until the feeling past. But the problem was, it didn't pass. The fire dulled her senses and made her body feel numb, growing stronger as she wretched, her ribs pressing usually tight to her sides.

Then suddenly, all at once the feeling had stopped. Lydia collapsed against the soft ground and heard herself let out a small whine that sounded like a dog. She tried to stand but nothing wanted to work. The dogs she had seen earlier were running towards her and it was obvious they had no vicious intent this time. At least that was what she had hoped as she fell unconcious again.