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Description

So here, of course, I find myself running for my life. Again.
In my business, this isn't too unusual. One mistake, and you've got at least an entire city up in arms against you. Two, and you can't go into a country for six months without risking death, a year without risking bodily harm. No life or health insurance. But hey, at least it pays well.
I don't even know what I did wrong this time, what tipped them off that I was an outsider. I've been doing this job for eight years now, it's been two since my last slip-up. But, of course, the guys chasing me don't care whether I'm the best or the worst at what I do. Just that I do it.
So I'm running down dark alleyways in the rain. At least it's warm. I've had to run in cold rain before. Everyone's in a worse mood. I round a corner and find three more pursuers coming at me from that direction. That's what, ten? Wheeling around, I dart down another off-shoot. It's a blessing the alleys are so scattered and chaotic here. I doubt my pursuers have any idea where one stops and another starts. Neither do I, but all I have to do is run until I lose them. Worst case scenario, I drop to the sewers.
I've been running for what feels like hours. Probably no more than one, but I'm starting to get worn out. They have enough guys that they can chase in shifts. I haven't got that luxury.
"Stop!" I hear one of them yell from behind me. "Stop or I'll shoot!" Took 'em long enough.
Bullets ricochet off the walls as I leap into a side-alley and keep running. I'm not tired anymore. Adrenaline's kicked back in, and I feel great. Sort of. The chase keeps on as I try to find some way to lose these clowns for good. I just need two minutes away from them. Two minutes to pause, and I'll be okay with whatever happens after that. I just need to have time to report back to Command before I get caught. Of course, after I report that the mission's been compromised, I'll be able to dump all my excess gear and really run. Everything's rigged to self-destruct under certain conditions, so no evidence is left behind.
I round another corner and find a two guys waiting for me. "Fire!" one of them yells, and they both shoot. I spin to get out of the way, but one gets me in the belly. Gut shot, very messy. Very painful. I think I just lost a kidney. But I keep running. Kidneys are replaceable. The info I have? Not so much.
I can't keep running like this with a gut-shot. Worst case scenario, I'm shot in the gut and still running. Well, here I am. I find a sewer grate hard around a corner, and have enough time to open it, get in, and close it before my pursuers will be able to see it. That's all the time I need.
As soon as the lid is closed, I'm engulfed in the darkness of the underground. I can hear water flowing below me a sI quickly climb down the ladder to the walkways I know will be on either side of the flooded sewage streams. If I can get down there, I'll only have to run far enough to get out of sight of the ladder. A short sprint, and I'll be safe for maybe five minutes. Plenty of time to relay the message and destroy everything I don't need to escape.
That's about when the ladder gives way.
I don't know exactly how high up I am, not being able to see and all, but I know I'm too high to land comfortably. I scramble to get a hold on something not already breaking away, but can't. I start falling, and realize I'm gonna land on my back. Right about where I got shot. Joy. The doctor's not gonna be happy with me. Only when I land, I hit the water. Sewage splashes up around me like luke-warm spite as I hit the bottom of the shit-stream. More accurately, my head hits the bottom of the shit-stream. Which is why I black out.

I don't know how long I was out, but when I came to, I was still underwater. So it couldn't have been long. But the water was still and warm. I couldn't figure which direction was up, so I stretched out in all directions.
It felt odd. My muscles felt weak. The water was enough to make them strain against the motions. but not enough to stop me from finding walls. On every side. I was trapped. Underwater.
Breathing wasn't an option but, I realized to my surprise, that it didn't seem to be a problem. One unexpected advantage. Another registered soon afterward. My gut-shot felt warm, but not painful. It felt good. The analytical part of my brain said that neither of these was actually a good sign. More likely delusion caused by lack of oxygen and blood-loss. Lack of oxygen would explain that loud throbbing I heard.
Then loud noises came in from all around me. They were muffled by the walls and the water, but I could recognize what sounded like one voice screaming in pain. So they had caught me while I was out. Well, I can do torture. I'd been trained for that. I am more useful to the enemy alive. If they can crack me.
A door opened below me at least, I'd thought that was below. The light was so bright after being in this darkness that it burned my closed eyes. Then the walls started closing in on me. They were soft, as far as walls go, but firm enough to push me toward the door. I braced myself, but was surprised when the water drained from around me.
My feet were the first things to pass through the door. It was then I realized I was naked. They'd stripped me before they put me in here. And the door was too small. I wasn't going to fit through. Unless they planned to pull me out with enough force to break some of my bones. Or the door stretched.
A vise closed over my ankles, and began to pull me. Guide me, really. Whoever was controlling it didn't seem to have the desire to tear them off, at least. Small comforts. A rope closed over my neck, but I couldn't seem to get my hands to my throat to get it off. Now I was choking. The shouts got louder as the main part of my body passed through the door. The screams were a woman's. I'd never heard anything so heart-rending. I hoped I wasn't going to go through whatever she was.
The door grew tight around my chest, just below my armpits. Too tight. I was stuck. Then the woman screamed again and the door stretched open wide enough for me to be pulled out into the light. The rope pulled tight, but then came loose as someone pulled it loose with a shout. The room grew silent.
The air was sweeter than I would have imagined possible, but also smelled of chemicals. I opened my eyes to the brightness. My eyes were disoriented. I must have hit my head harder than I'd expected. There was someone over me in blue, with a mask on, I think. But I couldn't be sure. My eyes weren't working right. My limbs felt heavy, and something was holding me up. Or I was lying on a shoddily made table. I couldn't be sure.
I started moving--rather, being moved--and realized my balance was off. I found myself reeling toward the blue man and put my arms out to stop myself. They seemed far too small. Was he a giant? My head lolled against his shoulder, and I felt him swat me. He slapped my ass!
"Ow!" I tried, to say, but it came out as part-way between "Ah!" and "Awa!". He seemed satisfied with the sound, though, because he stopped hitting and started moving me again. I was on my back, moving, looking up at the giant man. He moved farther away and I heard his voice.
"Mrs. Ward, congratulations on your new daughter."
Shock rocked through me as I was passed from one giant to another. I looked up, stared, glared, tried to focus my eyes. I couldn't see right, but I would recognize that face anywhere. Even if it was thirty-odd years younger than it should be. Hi, mom.
I thought your life flashed before your eyes when you were dying, but this is dragging. Ten minutes dedicated to my birth? Or was I somehow reborn?
"Oh, hell no!" I tried to yell. It came out very different, but I didn't even care. Mom heard the screaming--not much more than loud mewling, really--and did what every new mother does. She smiled. That of course, just made me more angry, and the yelling-turned-crying picked up until I realized I was really tired and hungry.
A strange thought crossed my mind as I heard them cutting the umbilical cord and my mother got ready to feed me. I'd never eaten before. This would be my first meal all over again. Déjà vu.
I hoped that this dream would end soon, even if it meant I'd died. This was just too weird. Far too weird for reality.

Description

So here, of course, I find myself running for my life. Again.
In my business, this isn't too unusual. One mistake, and you've got at least an entire city up in arms against you. Two, and you can't go into a country for six months without risking death, a year without risking bodily harm. No life or health insurance. But hey, at least it pays well.
I don't even know what I did wrong this time, what tipped them off that I was an outsider. I've been doing this job for eight years now, it's been two since my last slip-up. But, of course, the guys chasing me don't care whether I'm the best or the worst at what I do. Just that I do it.
So I'm running down dark alleyways in the rain. At least it's warm. I've had to run in cold rain before. Everyone's in a worse mood. I round a corner and find three more pursuers coming at me from that direction. That's what, ten? Wheeling around, I dart down another off-shoot. It's a blessing the alleys are so scattered and chaotic here. I doubt my pursuers have any idea where one stops and another starts. Neither do I, but all I have to do is run until I lose them. Worst case scenario, I drop to the sewers.
I've been running for what feels like hours. Probably no more than one, but I'm starting to get worn out. They have enough guys that they can chase in shifts. I haven't got that luxury.
"Stop!" I hear one of them yell from behind me. "Stop or I'll shoot!" Took 'em long enough.
Bullets ricochet off the walls as I leap into a side-alley and keep running. I'm not tired anymore. Adrenaline's kicked back in, and I feel great. Sort of. The chase keeps on as I try to find some way to lose these clowns for good. I just need two minutes away from them. Two minutes to pause, and I'll be okay with whatever happens after that. I just need to have time to report back to Command before I get caught. Of course, after I report that the mission's been compromised, I'll be able to dump all my excess gear and really run. Everything's rigged to self-destruct under certain conditions, so no evidence is left behind.
I round another corner and find a two guys waiting for me. "Fire!" one of them yells, and they both shoot. I spin to get out of the way, but one gets me in the belly. Gut shot, very messy. Very painful. I think I just lost a kidney. But I keep running. Kidneys are replaceable. The info I have? Not so much.
I can't keep running like this with a gut-shot. Worst case scenario, I'm shot in the gut and still running. Well, here I am. I find a sewer grate hard around a corner, and have enough time to open it, get in, and close it before my pursuers will be able to see it. That's all the time I need.
As soon as the lid is closed, I'm engulfed in the darkness of the underground. I can hear water flowing below me a sI quickly climb down the ladder to the walkways I know will be on either side of the flooded sewage streams. If I can get down there, I'll only have to run far enough to get out of sight of the ladder. A short sprint, and I'll be safe for maybe five minutes. Plenty of time to relay the message and destroy everything I don't need to escape.
That's about when the ladder gives way.
I don't know exactly how high up I am, not being able to see and all, but I know I'm too high to land comfortably. I scramble to get a hold on something not already breaking away, but can't. I start falling, and realize I'm gonna land on my back. Right about where I got shot. Joy. The doctor's not gonna be happy with me. Only when I land, I hit the water. Sewage splashes up around me like luke-warm spite as I hit the bottom of the shit-stream. More accurately, my head hits the bottom of the shit-stream. Which is why I black out.

I don't know how long I was out, but when I came to, I was still underwater. So it couldn't have been long. But the water was still and warm. I couldn't figure which direction was up, so I stretched out in all directions.
It felt odd. My muscles felt weak. The water was enough to make them strain against the motions. but not enough to stop me from finding walls. On every side. I was trapped. Underwater.
Breathing wasn't an option but, I realized to my surprise, that it didn't seem to be a problem. One unexpected advantage. Another registered soon afterward. My gut-shot felt warm, but not painful. It felt good. The analytical part of my brain said that neither of these was actually a good sign. More likely delusion caused by lack of oxygen and blood-loss. Lack of oxygen would explain that loud throbbing I heard.
Then loud noises came in from all around me. They were muffled by the walls and the water, but I could recognize what sounded like one voice screaming in pain. So they had caught me while I was out. Well, I can do torture. I'd been trained for that. I am more useful to the enemy alive. If they can crack me.
A door opened below me at least, I'd thought that was below. The light was so bright after being in this darkness that it burned my closed eyes. Then the walls started closing in on me. They were soft, as far as walls go, but firm enough to push me toward the door. I braced myself, but was surprised when the water drained from around me.
My feet were the first things to pass through the door. It was then I realized I was naked. They'd stripped me before they put me in here. And the door was too small. I wasn't going to fit through. Unless they planned to pull me out with enough force to break some of my bones. Or the door stretched.
A vise closed over my ankles, and began to pull me. Guide me, really. Whoever was controlling it didn't seem to have the desire to tear them off, at least. Small comforts. A rope closed over my neck, but I couldn't seem to get my hands to my throat to get it off. Now I was choking. The shouts got louder as the main part of my body passed through the door. The screams were a woman's. I'd never heard anything so heart-rending. I hoped I wasn't going to go through whatever she was.
The door grew tight around my chest, just below my armpits. Too tight. I was stuck. Then the woman screamed again and the door stretched open wide enough for me to be pulled out into the light. The rope pulled tight, but then came loose as someone pulled it loose with a shout. The room grew silent.
The air was sweeter than I would have imagined possible, but also smelled of chemicals. I opened my eyes to the brightness. My eyes were disoriented. I must have hit my head harder than I'd expected. There was someone over me in blue, with a mask on, I think. But I couldn't be sure. My eyes weren't working right. My limbs felt heavy, and something was holding me up. Or I was lying on a shoddily made table. I couldn't be sure.
I started moving--rather, being moved--and realized my balance was off. I found myself reeling toward the blue man and put my arms out to stop myself. They seemed far too small. Was he a giant? My head lolled against his shoulder, and I felt him swat me. He slapped my ass!
"Ow!" I tried, to say, but it came out as part-way between "Ah!" and "Awa!". He seemed satisfied with the sound, though, because he stopped hitting and started moving me again. I was on my back, moving, looking up at the giant man. He moved farther away and I heard his voice.
"Mrs. Ward, congratulations on your new daughter."
Shock rocked through me as I was passed from one giant to another. I looked up, stared, glared, tried to focus my eyes. I couldn't see right, but I would recognize that face anywhere. Even if it was thirty-odd years younger than it should be. Hi, mom.
I thought your life flashed before your eyes when you were dying, but this is dragging. Ten minutes dedicated to my birth? Or was I somehow reborn?
"Oh, hell no!" I tried to yell. It came out very different, but I didn't even care. Mom heard the screaming--not much more than loud mewling, really--and did what every new mother does. She smiled. That of course, just made me more angry, and the yelling-turned-crying picked up until I realized I was really tired and hungry.
A strange thought crossed my mind as I heard them cutting the umbilical cord and my mother got ready to feed me. I'd never eaten before. This would be my first meal all over again. Déjà vu.
I hoped that this dream would end soon, even if it meant I'd died. This was just too weird. Far too weird for reality.