Rest allowed Lisa to regain some of her strength. All her supplies had been taken away, including the food she had brought. Something to eat would probably restore even more of her strength. But for the time being, Lisa was just happy that no one was hitting her. What was she going to do? How was she going to get out of here? The fearful thoughts swirled around in her mind. She was outnumbered and surrounded by people who only seemed to want to hurt her. She had already tried explaining herself. Talking had proven to be useless. Her mind frantically tried to take note of everything that it could. At one point when she was visited she heard one of the guards address the man as Zack. Maybe learning people's names would help her in some way. Or maybe she just needed to pretend like she was learning useful information.
What could she use to fight back? What did she have that they didn’t? Well, she was a Forma. There were things Formas could do that humans couldn’t. It had been years and years since she had practiced shifting. There wasn’t any need for her to shift. Lisa was happy with her appearance and hadn’t tweaked it since she was a very small child. However, it might come in handy now. That was if she was still able to do it after all the time that had passed.
The door swung open. Lisa flinched and shrank back. Instinctively, her hands covered her face, and she braced herself for another blow. No blow came. She recognized the voice of the man from yesterday. He seemed to be the leader. He and two others stepped into the room.
“Alright, move her down the hall. We need this for storage space,” the Zack was muttering. Lisa didn’t resist as her arms were grabbed and she was yanked to her feet. Fresh pain exploded through her body and dizziness washed over her. For a moment, her vision went black. She was being dragged through long halls now. People passed by, shooting her glares of death as they did so. Lisa’s stomach twisted. Don’t vomit, you need to stay focused on the environment and surroundings, Lisa told herself. The halls became less narrow as she walked onward.
The groups of people she passed grew larger too. Everyone was wearing the same green and black uniforms. This place was far larger than Lisa had expected it to be. She felt like she was walking through a small city. A dark city made up of twisting halls and unfriendly faces. Keeping track of where she was turned out to be a very difficult task for Lisa. All the halls looked the same. There were no windows. She had totally lost track of time and had no clue what the outside world looked like.
After a few decades of walking, Lisa was shown to an even smaller, even darker room where she was locked away. The air around her was full of dust. Soon she was coughing, and her eyes were burning. She pressed her ear to the door and listened. What did they want from her? What use was she to them? Should she stop asking these questions and just focus on escaping? Most of Lisa’s questions were answered soon enough.
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“We can’t just keep her here. At best, she is a waste of space. At worst, she’s a danger to us. We don’t know why she’s really here. She could be a spy for all we know,” a voice was saying. Spy? Lisa found herself feeling especially thankful for her sharp hearing today.
“I know. Once things calm down, I’ll find somewhere far away from the city where her body won’t be discovered.” A chill ran down Lisa’s spine. They were going to kill her then. Just let her die and leave her in the woods to never be discovered. How awful. Had the Formas ever done anything like that to the humans? Guilt, fear, panic. Lisa sank to the ground and buried her face in her hands. There wasn’t enough time! She needed to plan and think things through. Another image of the sisters came to Lisa.
This time they were playing together in the garden. Lisa could see their beautiful smiles and hear their soft laughter. They needed her. She had promised them that she would come back. Lisa gritted her teeth. That was a promise she meant to keep. She was never going to let anyone down ever again. Planning was something she couldn’t afford to do. It was time to take action. It had been at least ten years since Lisa had changed her form. Could she still do it? No time for fear, no time for hesitation. The sisters were waiting for her. Her right hand tingled slightly as she closed her eyes. Her mind was fully occupied by the shape she wanted to become. Her mind blocked out the world around her.
She needed to be something small, something that they wouldn’t even notice. Something as small and quiet as a speck of dust, drifting through the air. A stinging sensation prickled its way across her skin. She was doing it. She was shifting. The world around her grew larger and larger as Lisa grew smaller and smaller. She drifted down to the ground softly. Excitement and adrenaline pumped through her veins. Lisa had forgotten just how amazing it felt to shift. She could be anything and do anything. The feeling of helplessness vanished from her soul as she drifted under the door and out into the hallway. She was tiny, but she was unstoppable.
She would drift through the halls until she found her way out into the open. Once she was far away from this place she would return to her old form. Would people come looking for her? If they thought she was a Forma spy they might. Was it safe for her to return to Jason? She didn’t have anywhere else to go. But the last thing Lisa wanted was to be a danger to her friends. This place wasn’t what Lisa had expected. How many places like this were there out there? What were they for? War. That awful word filled Lisa’s mind once again. War.
“Where did she go?” A voice demanded from somewhere far behind Lisa. She had made it out just in time. Shouting and footsteps filled the air as tiny little Lisa hurried through the halls, looking for a way out. Her girls were out there, waiting for her.