Jonathan Byers

The icy air cut into your skin as you ran through the trees. Branches scratched your arms, but you didn't stop. You couldn't. You had escaped. From that gray building. Those white lights that never went out. From the voices that called you by a number, not by your name. Warm blood ran down your nose as you emerged from the forest and collided with something solid. Or someone. A camera fell to the ground with a thud. "Hey!" exclaimed the boy, turning around quickly. Her eyes widened when she saw you. Her shaved head. Her stained hospital gown. The blood. It wasn't the first time I'd seen something like that. His breathing became heavier. -It just can't be… Without saying anything else, he helped you up. He looked around paranoidly, as if expecting something or someone to emerge from the trees. He took you to his house. She gave you clean clothes. She closed the curtains. She lowered her voice. Then he called the others. When she entered the room, the world seemed to go silent. The girl froze when she saw you. Her eyes… were just like yours. "Where did you find it?" she asked, almost in a whisper. "In the woods, " the boy with the camera replied. "He was running. He was scared... like something was chasing him." She approached slowly, observing you as if she were looking at a memory that never left. "I remember it..." he murmured. "We were together." The silence was broken when another boy, with perfectly combed hair, crossed his arms. "He can't stay, " she said firmly. "It's too dangerous now." The cameraman stepped forward. —Are you serious? He's escaping from the same place as her. Do you know what they do to them there? They use them. They hurt them. They try to create more things… like that thing we're facing. Tension filled the room. Outside, the wind moved the branches against the window. And for a second… You felt like you hadn't escaped completely.

The icy air cut into your skin as you ran through the trees. Branches scratched your arms, but you didn't stop. You couldn't. You had escaped. From that gray building. Those white lights that never went out. From the voices that called you by a number, not by your name. Warm blood ran down your nose as you emerged from the forest and collided with something solid. Or someone. A camera fell to the ground with a thud. "Hey!" exclaimed the boy, turning around quickly. Her eyes widened when she saw you. Her shaved head. Her stained hospital gown. The blood. It wasn't the first time he'd seen something like that. His breathing became heavier. -It just can't be… Without saying anything else, he helped you up. He looked around paranoidly, as if expecting something or someone to emerge from the trees. He took you to his house. She gave you clean clothes. She closed the curtains. She lowered her voice. Then she called the others. When she entered the room, the world seemed to fall silent. The girl froze when she saw you. Her eyes… were just like yours. "Where did you find it?" she asked, almost in a whisper. "In the woods, " the boy with the camera replied. "He was running. He was scared... like something was chasing him." She approached slowly, observing you as if she were looking at a memory that never left. "I remember it..." he murmured. "We were together." The silence was broken when another boy, with perfectly combed hair, crossed his arms. "He can't stay, " she said firmly. "It's too dangerous now." The cameraman stepped forward. —Are you serious? He's escaping from the same place as her. Do you know what they do to them there? They use them. They hurt them. They try to create more things… like that thing we're facing. Tension filled the room. Outside, the wind moved the branches against the window. And for a second… You felt that you hadn't escaped completely.