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Hi! I wrote this a while ago, so please tell me how I can make it in any way better :) This is my first uploaded story so...enjoy! :D
~ UniChloe
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The Academy

Chapter 1

Run.

That's all I think to myself.

Run.

This simple word keeps me going as fast as I can without hesitation.

I have to get away. I will escape this time.

Rounding the corner that I pass almost every day to get to my cell, I almost run into the wall. Sparing a tiny second, I look over my shoulder to see four Monitors shouting at me, as if this will somehow make me stop.

In their dreams, I think.

Up ahead I see the massive double doors that mark my exit. A new streak of hope races through me, causing me to go even faster. My hand clenches around the enormous golden handle. For the first time, I hesitate.

Opening this door would mean alarms, at least a hundred more Monitors, torture and punishment, even, if I am caught. But it also means sunlight, freedom, and fresh air.

They could let me go, of course. Anybody who escapes the Academy is doomed to die in the everlasting forest outside. Considering this, I only hesitate for a millisecond before opening the door and peering through the tiny crack.

Alarms go off, and I hear fifty sets of feet crash through the hall. I ignore the booming noise, and listen to the quietness that is waiting for me.

Outside is the still forest that's soothing yet deadly. There is nothing but trees, grass, and clear blue sky. I inhale the tiniest amount of fresh air and step outside, hypnotized by the luxurious sound of peaceful silence, only to feel a rough hand clutch my shoulder and jerk me back so suddenly, I lose my grasp on the door.

I am pulled into a sea of guards, pushing me, kicking me to the floor, and pulling me back up in a way that bruises my arms. It is only when the door is closed that a man holding a long rod steps forward. A thin, almost invisible wire is curled around it. My deep brown eyes widen as I realize what my punishment is.

Sure enough, as the man gets closer, I can hear an almost silent hum of electricity that gets slightly louder with each step he takes.

The rod is electric.

The Monitor points the end toward my chest and playfully threatens to stab me. As soon as he gets close enough, though, I kick the rod out of his hands and to the floor. I know it's pointless to delay the inevitable, but it doesn't matter anymore. When the man goes down to pick it up, I kick it again so it jabs him in the chest, electrifying him for a few moments before the other guards pull him away.

I am shoved to my knees while another man picks up the rod and jabs me in the shoulder. It isn't for a few moments, though, it's for what seems like forever. I feel the electricity coursing through my entire body, and burning my shoulder until it's raw and bleeding.

I have entered a state of unbearable pain, worse than I have ever imagined. It goes on until dotted stars dance across my eyes in a flurry, and my eyelids droop as if they weigh a ton. The Monitors release me and I drop to the floor, swallowed by darkness.

When I come to, I'm back in my cell. The Monitors must not have even bothered to lay me on my stiff mattress because I wake up on the floor. I sit up and roll my long sleeves back to see at least ten bruises. My right eye throbs painfully to signify I have a black eye. My hands are cut and stiff with dried blood. My shoulder is completely raw and a lot of the skin is black. I have to bite my lip to keep from screaming from pain.

That was probably my last chance at escape. I've already tried everything else. But in a way, it was worth it. To see that there was a world outside the metallic walls and gates gave me a whole new flush of hope and adrenaline. Even though now the hope may be lost, the adrenaline is still there. And I know that I won't stop trying to escape from this prison, this hell, no matter how useless it will be.

I am determined to find a way out, to perhaps one day see the family I was taken from almost two months ago.