Chapter 2

The next day, Lydia entered the lab to check on her patient’s vitals. Faith blood pressure, respiration and heart rate were high. Her body drenched in sweat. The Medscan showed evidence of higher than normal brain activity during sleep. Her dreams might be more vivid than normal. Without warning, Faith opened her eyes and saw Lydia.

“What’s happening?” Faith yelled, struggling to get out of the metal straps.

Lydia leaned over Faith and pressed down on young woman shoulders. “You need to calm down,” Lydia said in a soft tone. “You are going to hurt yourself.”

Faith tried to relax and she couldn’t. Her heart was pounding. Sweat flew off her brow and her hair as her head shook from side to side. “What did you do to me?” The metal strap holding her right arm ripped from the table. Before Lydia could react; Faith grabbed Lydia’s neck. “Release me,” she said in a raspy voice.

Lydia tried to break Faith’s grip but couldn’t. She tried to explain to Faith that the wall panel controls the restraints. Faith was unaware that she was killing the doctor. Faith was able to break the other restraints without Lydia’s help. She got off the table. The tubes and wires fell off her body. She was still holding Lydia by the throat lifting the doctor off the floor.

With Lydia’s feet dangling in the air, feeling the breath escaping her body, but she was able to muster enough strength to tell Faith these few words. “You’re killing me.”

Faith released her grip and Lydia fell down to the floor. Amulius and two soldiers entered the room with their guns on Faith.

“What did you do to me?” Faith yelled. Her hands clenched in her hair. Hundreds of thoughts danced and raced in her mind. Focusing became a problem as head pounded and she fell to the floor.

“I made you better,” Amulius said. He walked closer to her. “Your strength. Your speed. Your reflexes. Your stamina. Even your senses are enhanced. You have three times the strength and speed of an average man. You heal faster. An injury that takes weeks to heal will only take days. An injury that takes days will only take a few hours. You are the ultimate of human perfection.”

Faith pulled herself off the floor, stared at her hands and then she clenched them into fists. “How?”

“AMPED increased your epinephrine to unnatural levels,” Amulius explained. “Right now, you feel like you want to jump out of your skin. But your body will adjust. Over twenty men and women had died in the past experiments, but you survived. There is something special about you. I am a man of science, but there are things that science can’t explain. You should have died on the table, but you didn’t. You survived for a reason. Call it faith.” He smiled when he realized the connection. “You will be humankind champion. You will eliminate issues before they become problems.”

Faith eyes closed as she massaged them with her fingers. Her head pounded. She felt the only relief was to crack her head wide open.

“There might be some side effects,” Amulius said, “like headaches, anxiety and vivid dreams. But over time, you will learn to control them.”

Faith grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and lifted him off his feet. “I don’t trust you.” The whites of her eyes drenched with red veins which made her blues irises stand out more.

“You don’t have to trust me,” Amulius said. His voice stayed at a steady pace as well as his volume and breathing. He didn’t want to give her an excuse to go off on him. She was dangerous before. Now, she was downright deadly. “I have to trust you. I have no control over you, Faith. You could kill everybody on this ship and escape with little effort. I prefer you don’t do that. I would love to test your new-found abilities.”

Faith released him. “I should rip your beating heart out of your chest and tear it apart.”

Amulius smiled. “That is the AMPED talking. Focus!

Faith closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed as the pounding in her head subdued to small blip. Her eyes open and the redness turned into a light shade of pink. “What do you have in mind?” A calm tone returned to her voice.

“Meet me in the training room in an hour. Lydia will show you the way. After she takes you to your quarters to clean up and finds you more,” Amulius’s eyes scanned her from head to toe, “appropriate attire.”

“You are not in the position to order me around, Amulius.” Faith stared at his neck, thinking about the hundreds of ways to execute him. “Some matters would be nice.”

“Please,” he said. “Would you give me the honor of meeting me in the training room?”

A smile came to Faith’s lips. “Politeness is underrated.”

Lydia composed herself and got off the floor. “Follow me.”

“Sorry, about the almost killing you,” Faith said.

“It’s okay,” Lydia answered. “Maybe you don’t like my face.”

“You weren’t unpleasant to look at. You’re pretty.”

The comment brought a small smile to Lydia’s face and a slight blush to her cheeks. People had been telling her for years how pretty she was. Her long natural red hair was rare, but a beautiful trait. Her green eyes would draw in anybody. Her skin was flawless and had a healthy glow and her smile lit up the vacuum of space.

The two walked down the hallway to Faith’s quarters. The automatic door opened. A full smile came to Faith’s face. Her quarters had a living room with a couch and coffee table. There was a full bath, bedroom with queen-size bed and a small office. No kitchen, but there was a dining hall a couple of meters away from her quarters.

“I could get used to this.” It had been a while since Faith smiled.

“You have a pretty smile,” Lydia said. “You should do it more often.”

Faith rolled her eyes in an attempt to show that she didn’t care, but she blushed. She liked the attention. “Thank you.”

Faith had several striking features, her porcelain skin almost glowed in the dim lights in the corridors. The long raven hair passed her shoulders to her mid-back. It provided an interesting contrast against Faith’s fair complexion. The most noticeable features were her eyes, only the bluest star rival them. Her cute oval face circled around her slightly pouty lips.

Lydia walked to Faith’s closet and the door hissed open. The sound made Faith flinched and her eyes closed.

“Are you okay?” Lydia asked, noticing a quick change in the young lady.

“Yes,” Faith responded. “I’m just feeling emotional.” She took several deep breaths attempting to calm herself, but it didn’t work. She sat down onto the couch and started to cry. Lydia saw an opportunity to establish trust with the girl. Lydia sat down and put her arm around Faith’s shoulder.

“I never told you what happened to my mother,” Faith said. Her voice softened and timid.

This was the first time Lydia saw fear in Faith, the doctor saw a chance to dig deeper into the girl’s background. “You said the Drilli killed her.” Lydia’s voice matched the tone of Faith’s. She wanted to keep the girl calm and relax.

“That’s not all they did.” Faith wiped some tears from her eyes and turned to the doctor. “My parents taught me two things if the colony was ever under attack. Run and Hide. When the Drilli’s attacked, I ran. I dodged shots and climbed over the dead bodies of the colonist.” Faith’s hands were expressive when she was telling the story. “I was scared. My heart was pounding. I saw hundreds of people being killed.” Her eyes widened as she continued to talk. “I ran into dad’s office. He told me to go to my new hiding place, a small panic room. The panic room wasn’t complete, so there was only enough room for me. Mom hid in the closet and dad hid behind the desk. Dad had a shotgun waiting to waste any Drilli that enter the office.”

Faith’s hands covered her eyes as she found the strength to continue the story. “There was a peephole in the panic room. I watched and hoped the Drilli would skip the office and move on. I could hear the screams and the cries of the colonist. They blasted the door down. I covered my mouth. I didn’t want them to hear me scream. Three Drilli entered the room. I only saw videos of them. Now, I saw and heard them up close. They were big monkey-like monsters. They snorted and growled as they searched the room. They walked towards the closet. My dad, I don’t know what he was thinking, just snapped. He sprung from behind the desk. ‘Die Monkeys,’ he yelled and shot one of them in the head. It was stupid. He didn’t stand a chance. One of them jumped over the desk and landed on him. I heard his chest crack. Then the Drillus grabbed daddy’s arm and pulled. The sound of cracking bones, tearing ligaments and muscles were unbearable. I saw those bastards tearing my daddy apart. I screamed, which was stupid. They walked in my direction. Then my mom screamed, giving her location away. The Drillus ripped open the closet door. Grabbed her and flipped her over on to the desk. The crash of her hitting the desk was deafening. Then they...” More tears ran down her face, she had trouble breathing and couldn’t continue the story.

“They raped her,” Lydia said. The Drilli were known for this practice during combat.

“For hours,” Faith’s face turned red from all the tears that she shed. Her legs and hands shook. “I tried to block out her screams, but I couldn’t. I heard them grunting and laughing as they raped her over and over. When they left, I ran to her and climbed on the table. She opened her eyes. She was beaten, bruised and bloodied. They showed no mercy. She whispered to me. ‘I love you. Run and Hide.’ I did neither. I cried and held her in my arms until her life slipped away.” Faith gave Lydia a hug. It was the first time in fifteen years she hugged another human. Her mother was the last.

“You poor girl,” Lydia said working the nurturing angle with Faith, providing comfort to the warrior that just turned into a scared little girl.

“I haven’t thought about that in a while. It just came back to me.” Faith wiped her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. She let out a long sigh and got back on her feet. “I’m okay. Let’s continue.”

“You want to talk about it some more?” Lydia said in a concerned tone.

“No!” Faith screamed and punched her fist into the wall leaving an indentation in the metal.

Lydia’s body flinched and her eyes widened as she witnessed Faith’s raw power. Lydia held her hands up in a subconscious attempt to shield herself. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

Faith noticed the fear in Lydia’s eyes. “Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you. Just continue please.”

Lydia noted Faith’s outburst, but pretend it wasn’t a big deal. But it did serve as a warning to her.

w she thought. Lydia continued to show Faith the wardrobe, but Faith lost interest. Then, Lydia showed Faith the dress.

Faith gravitated to it. She hasn’t seen or wore a dress since she was five. It was beautiful. It was made from a reddish silk-like material that changed to a lighter shade in the light.

“Maybe after your test, you can try it on,” said Lydia. “But this was not the attire that Amulius wants you to change into.” Lydia continued to look until she saw the training outfit. It was white, nothing fancy, just a two-piece outfit. It practical for this task.

“Okay, that’s nice too,” Faith said in a sarcastic tone.

“Just put it on, so we can go.” Lydia handed the outfit to her.

“Fine,” Faith said as she grabbed to outfit and put it on the couch. She tossed off the medical gown, showed no signs of modest in front of Lydia. The doctor noticed that Faith didn’t practice certain grooming routines most human followed.

“You are no longer among Drilli, or a member of the naturalist colonies of Woodstock,” Lydia said.

“What do you mean?” Faith asked as she raised her hands up to fix her hair exposing dark hair under her arms. Lydia looked down to Faith’s crouch and legs noticing a large amount of unsightly hair.

“I don’t want to embarrass you,” Lydia explained. “Most human usually remove hair from certain parts of the body.”

Faith put her arms down. “I see.” Her porcelain skin blushed.

“Please,” Lydia said. “Let me take care of this for you.” Lydia walked into the bathroom and returned with a twenty-centimeter long black metal wand with a five-centimeter red luminous tip.

Faith’s eyes grew in size. “What is that?” she asked.

“Hold still,” Lydia said with a big smile. “This won’t hurt a bit.” Lydia waved the luminous tip over of Faith’s legs and the hair removed. She moved to Faith’s bikini area, but didn’t remove all the hair from the crouch, but trimmed and tidy it up. “Raise your arms,” Lydia asked and Faith did what the doctor ordered. Lydia removed the hair from Faith’s armpits until they were as smooth and soft as Faith’s legs.

“Now, ” Lydia said. “You don’t look like you got a Drillius in a headlock.”

“Thank you?” Faith answered came off more like a question.

Lydia handled Faith a towel. “Go take a shower,” she ordered. “You know how they work?”

Faith snatched the towel for the doctor. “I’m not an animal,” she commented back with a cute smirk.

After Faith’s shower, she walked in the bedroom and put on the training outfit that Lydia laid out. It was revealing, but not as revealing as the old slave clothes, which was just a bikini made up of discarded animal skins.

The two walked out of Faith’s quarters and passed several soldiers in the hallways. The soldiers stared at Faith. Some of the soldiers admired her, but most wanted her dead. Shocked to see how short she was, barely standing a meter and a half tall. The form-fitting outfit did nothing to hide Faith’s figure. It hugged every curve of her ass and her breast. Every muscle in her legs and stomach flexed when she walked. There was an aura of confidence about her. The way she moved with her shoulders back and chest sticking out. Her black hair framed her face. The soldiers found her appealing and would be thinking about her later that night. Only in their dreams, they could have her. In reality, they never could, because she scared them to death.

They arrived at the control center. There were several monitors on the wall, so the Amulius could evaluate Faith’s progress.

“Right on time,” Amulius looked at his datapad as he entered a code. “Are you ready?”

“Sure,” Faith replied.

“Good,” Amulius handed Faith an ear communicator. It looked like a tiny metallic sphere. She placed it in her ear. Once in, it was unnoticeable. “If you need to talk, just touch the earpiece.”

“Got it.”

“Walk to the door.” Amulius guided her in that direction. “Wait here until I tell you to start.” He walked back to Lydia and whispered in the doctor’s ear. “Is everything okay?”

“She is emotional,” Lydia whispered back. “Is it one of the side effects of the AMPED?”

“Her senses are heightened. Her memory has improved. Maybe she is recalling suppressed feelings. We can use it to our advantage.” A wide smile appeared on his face.

“How?” Lydia asked “One that is emotional can easily be manipulated.”

“I understand.”

“Faith,” he ordered. “Enter the room.”

Faith walked into the training room. There were several small video drones flying around to capture every angle. The room was cold, but that didn’t bother her. The AMPED elevated her core body temperature several degrees. The air was fresh, unlike her holding cell. The walls and the floor were made of a dense black metal that wasn’t familiar to her. At the other end of the room was a large door. Amulius’s voice rung in her ear.

“Behind the door, there are thirty large individuals. They were told two things: To rape you and to kill you, but not necessarily in that order. Your job is to not to let that happen.”

The door crept up, only moving a couple of centimeter at a time. Faith could hear the men lusting over her. Screaming and yelling and telling her what they were going to do. The noise didn’t bother her. She pulled her hair back into a tight pony-tail. It kept it out of her eyes. The woman blocked out the voices and prepared. Her heart rate increased, her body tensed, and her fists clenched.

They banged on the door. They wanted her and couldn’t wait to get to her. The door crept up some more. Some of the men reached underneath. Faith jumped up and down in place, she felt like she was going to explode. The door opened. The men were free to do what they wanted, but there was a problem. Faith wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Let’s do this, you bastards!” Faith charged, she remembered everything that Roat-At-Tat taught her.

. Her flips were higher and faster than normal. She glided through the air kicking and punching on her way down. Her attacks sent men twice her size flying to the walls and crashing to the floor. Breaking limbs was easy, they snapped like twigs. Faith broke necks to the point that their head was facing the opposite direction. The woman ripped out eyes, dislocated shoulders, legs, and arms with no effort. Fracturing skulls, killing some with one strike. Blood, teeth, and pieces of bones were flying in the air. They could barely hit her and when they did, she didn’t feel it. Some double, triple team her, but they failed. They all failed. Amulius noticed something pleasing to him while he was watching her. It wasn’t her strength or speed. It was her smile. It wasn’t the sweet pretty smile that she showed Lydia earlier. This was a more sinister grin. She loved what she was doing and wasn’t going to stop until every one of them was dead. After the last man fell, Faith yelled, “Who’s next?” Covered in blood, she stared at the floor which was a gravel yard.

It took Lydia a moment to process all the carnage, she looked at Amulius. “Roat-At-Tat made her a fighter, you made her a weapon.”

He smiled. “I will wield it at will.”