Scarred

Scarred

A slim, short - unnaturally short - figure hurried through the dark streets of New York, pausing for nothing and stopping for no one.

Dressed in a simple black coat and a large scarf, which completely covered her face, the woman stood out hugely from the rest of the few people left on the streets, which were all ready for August's warm weather - not at all what she wanted, but at least her face was concealed.

Without pausing to drop a dollar for a beggar on the road, the stranger turned into a side alley, and came to face with a sliding metal door; the norm in 2087, and much safer than the traditional swinging ones.

Punching in her access code, the woman stepped inside and clapped her hands for the lights.

She took off her coat, revealing a nametag reading "Dr. Kimmins" on a plain blue sweater. Then, with a sigh of relief, she ripped off her scarf.

Three long, twisted scars curved their way around a horribly mutilated face, avoiding the numerous bumps and welts scattered across her green-tinged visage. Her eyes were an unnatural orange, and red, swollen lips completed the horrid portrait, the nose being left out because there was none to speak of.

Plastic surgery was always an option, but Kimmins hadn't the inclination to do so; her scarred image served as a constant reminder of what had happened to her, and of what she had yet to accomplish.

Dr. Kimmin's already repulsive face contorted with rage as she saw her reflection in the spotlessly clean floor. Soon, she would get her revenge on the people who had done this to her...

The doctor pulled her gaze from the ground, and began a slow, deliberate walk down the corridor, struggling to keep her temper down.

Although incredibly smart, Kimmins was only a shell; a mere fragment of the woman she could have been. The woman she could have been if it wasn't for Naix, a company dedicated to "Bringing a better life for all of humanity", even if it meant conducting dangerous experiments on infants.

As a baby, her poor mother, who was desperately in need of money, had brought Kimmins to Naix. There, she was injected with a new kind of drug, which was supposed to make her grow faster, better, stronger.
Unfortunately, it managed to do the exact opposite - and scar Kimmins for life. Ridiculed as a child, she was forced to take tests all her life, and endure her own, scarred visage. In short, her childhood and adolescence had been hell for her.

Now an accomplished scientist, she was going to get her revenge, the revenge she had been striving for all her life.

The doctor came to another door, which opened as she approached. Ignoring the rows of scientific equipment, she increased her pace and came to a small metal safe in the back of the room. After having punched in another code, it slid opened, revealing its contents.

A single tube of a strange, green substance stood in the center of the safe. As soon as she saw it, Kimmin's anger evaporated, to be replaced with cruel, sadistic joy. She grabbed the tube and slid it in her pocket. Finally... after ten years of work, of hiding it from the law's eye... it was ready!

In fact, the strange substance was fungus. A fungus that acted like the most potent poison imaginable, and that spread at an incredible speed, devouring anything in its path - except biological matter, and glass. A fungus created for the sole purpose of destroying Naix, even if it took all of New York down with it. Cackling wickedly, the scientist headed back outside, ready to accomplish her revenge.


At first, there was just pure, pitch, black. Then - a shimmer of light, coming from far away. The light approached, becoming bigger... bigger... Dr. Kimmins opened her eyes fully, revealing a gray, bland scene. Where am I? What's going on? Her head swimming with unanswered questions, Kimmins slowly sat up, and realized she was sitting in a prison cell - Prison? she asked herself. What am I doing here? Then, memories began returning... faint, and few at first... but growing... Naix. The fungus... my revenge... the capture... The memories gradually came together; like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, to form a clear image in her mind. An image that meant only one thing to her - she had failed.

After having left the lab, she went to Naix, and... something happened. Somehow, they had discovered what she was going to do... somehow, they had captured her... somehow, she had ended up in this dump, her revenge incomplete. The pieces of the puzzle became even clearer... and then she remembered. That treacherous, evil employee of hers; the only one she had trusted with her plan... he had tipped off the police.

Doctor Kimmin's face once again contorted with a fuming, untamable rage. She lay back down on her bed, and began thinking.

She now had two causes for revenge.

845 words.