Fan Fiction ❯ The Tales of Lady Midnight and Jason Dark ❯ And So, It Begins ( Chapter 1 )

My name is Melissa, or at least that’s what I’m told. He hasn’t told me much, but there hasn’t been time to say much either. I am about to tell you of what I can remember. It may be sketchy, but it is all that I know. The reason I’m telling this story is so that I do not forget how it began.

I was going to college at a local university. I wanted to become so many wonderful things that I had four different majors, but none of which prepared me for what I have become. At the time I was pretty hard on my luck. My scholarships were running out and I couldn’t find a job. I was "over qualified" according to every interview that I attended. Don’t smart people have bills too?

I was walking down a campus sidewalk wondering how I was going to buy groceries for the week. Then it was as if fate smiled upon me and said,

"Melissa, you shall eat tonight." At that moment a newspaper blew into my face. At first I was just aggravated that I had been hit with a dirty newspaper, but my eyes fell upon the article that changed my life forever.   "Young men and women needed for testing of new health enhancing program. All applicants receive fifty dollars, but only two will be selected for further testing. Come to the following address on Thursday."

I looked at the date on the paper. It was from this Sunday and, with what I

thought was great luck, today was Thursday. Fifty bucks here I come. Who knows? I may get picked as one of the two participants. Which means a job for me.

I went to the address in the article. I don’t remember if it was a good or bad neighborhood, but I’m sure if it were too horrible I wouldn’t have gone in to that alley.

I didn’t see a soul or a door in the entire alley. All of a sudden I was pulled straight through the wall behind me. Literally through it. I was in complete darkness, then a small "click" and a dim light flickered on. There stood a small, crazed-looking, white-headed man with thick glasses.

"You will be perfect." were the only words that he uttered. He clicked the light off and he must have flipped a switch because my eyes were flooded with a bright light. Once my eyes adjusted I saw the little man holding a really big needle.

"Hey, wait just one second." I mumbled backing away.

"This won’t hurt one bit." He cackled. My backing off was abruptly stopped when my back hit a large metal table. From nowhere two huge arms held me down and a low "sorry" was whispered from behind. The little man injected me and I couldn’t feel anything or move my body. Someone that I couldn’t see strapped me down and everything went black. I heard all sorts of mechanical noises and things that sounded like bones grinding, breaking, being scraped. I was almost happy that I couldn’t see what was going on. At one point my head started to ache horribly and I began to see. What I saw scared me to death. I was dressed in a strange black outfit. I was trying to shake off the fog that my pounding head was stuck in.

"Ah!" cackled the little man, "You seem to be awake. Now it is time for the behavior modification." A large laser came down just in front of my left eye. " It won’t hurt……. for long." He hissed. The laser started to whirr and a yellow light shot out of it, but just as I felt it burn through my eye I heard the little man wail.

"Nooo. She is unstable." Then the laser shut off and powered down. I felt someone or something pick me up and the blurry shape of a face close to mine appeared.

" You’ll be O.K. and I’ll come back for you." Then it set me down and I passed out.