by Greg Ramsay
She was in a giant sterile room with few features besides the stylized sheet metal that covered the walls, jutting out at points to form gaudy architectural decoration. Bars of shaped metal ran along the uppermost parts of the walls flowing like waves, intersecting pillars built into the walls at consistent intervals that spanned all the way to the floor to give a sense of support. The only other distinctive feature was what looked to be a faux water fountain that no longer functioned, leaving only two shiny metallic doors as potential escape routes. Good thing this building doesn’t have any windows; if it did the added light might blind people, she thought to herself sarcastically. From where she stood behind the desk Lia was able to get a quick look at her only options: a double door all the way on the far end of the room, and a single door by the desk to her left.
Lia looked to the double door exit through the long slit-glass windows that were situated in the middle of each door and leading into a long non-descript corridor that had a large bay of windows serving as a wall. Whereas the other door was closer to the desk on the wall behind her, and only had a small window. She could just make out a side wall, but nothing more from where she stood. A quick check revealed it led to a small stairway with whitewashed stone walls. Not having any prior knowledge of the building’s layout, it seemed the most sensible option would be to try the stairway. The creatures’ strength suggested glass wouldn’t protect her, ruling out the distant corridor, but if she could get out of easy eyeshot she might have a chance of getting around her pursuers long enough to find a different exit. Or perhaps something she could use to defend herself.
Lia’s train of thought was interrupted by a large cracking sound announcing the sudden arrival of a pitch-black claw as one of the creatures managed to bust through the big wooden door. The single penetration only managed to form a small hole, but the number of holes multiplied as subsequent attempts succeeded. Large splinters of wood quickly littered the entranceway. Lia ran to the single door closest to her. Grabbing the small recessed handle, she pulled as hard as she could, but it didn’t budge. The eerie clicking growling sound the creatures made seemed to resonate around her more frequently like a taunt. With desperation setting in, she ran back to the desk to find one switch remained that she hadn’t yet tried labelled ‘Security’.
Flicking the switch resulted in the comforting sound of a small lock disengaging in the door nearby. This was immediately followed by the horrible screeching of metal buckling, then snapping, followed by a loud crash as the wooden door finally gave up, its snapped metal hinges leaving gashes in the polished stone floor on impact. Rushing air blew with such force, she was forced to step back to avoid falling over. The creatures were closing in on her, prowling like predators ready to pounce. Lia tensed, the creatures’ muscles seemed to coil under their armoured exoskeletons as they formed a semi-circle in front of her, blocking her path to the single door. Running to the double doors, Lia felt dread in her gut when the creatures strangely remained behind.
Upon opening the door, she could feel the tremors shaking the floor getting worse as something drew closer. Stepping through the doorway, she heard a familiar growl reverberating in the glass wall to her right. The Alpha’s shadow etched closer as it climbed down the side of the building towards the window at the far end of the hall. With vicious speed, it smashed a large section of glass inward toward her, scattering splinters of glass that tore into her clothes leaving searing superficial cuts from her chest down. Quickly she went back through the door, closing it like a shield to protect herself from the continuous barrages of glass it caused by smashing each consecutive window in the same way. Luckily, she could tell from a quick glance most of the glass hadn’t penetrated deep enough to stick into her skin, so she surmised it couldn’t have done serious damage. This did nothing to aid the creatures still behind her, but at least she wouldn’t bleed out. The alpha reached through the window to latch onto the ceiling; one swift pull brought it inside effortlessly then it let go to land in front of her just beyond the door.
Heart racing, Lia turned to face the lesser creatures blocking her path to the stairway. The alpha roared behind her and they attacked. A clawed hand arced towards her but she ducked, evading the strike so she could throw herself under its arm. As she slid underneath the first creature she kicked off from its knee, using her weight to attempt to damage the knee as she had similarly done to the man in the mall. The creature didn’t budge, but the effort wasn’t all in vain; she managed to propel herself a bit farther behind them. The others joined in the attack; one swung toward where she once stood, narrowly avoiding its ally, while the other had the sense to attack lower, only narrowly missing her foot. Seizing the slight opportunity she’d won, Lia rolled, rose to her feet, and ran for the door.
An enraged roar tore through the air behind her; the alpha slammed into the doors that once separated them so hard, they curled around his arms before slamming into the walls warping the sheet metal and cracking the brick behind it. A sudden breeze from his insanely fast movement left no doubt it was already behind her. She turned towards the stairway door just before its arm connected with her back, sending her flying across the room. Already unable to draw a breath, what air remained in her lungs burst from her mouth as her body slammed into the door like a helpless ragdoll. Lia slowly slid down the side of the door coming to rest on her knees. Her body screamed in pain and every part of her felt broken, but she had no clue if she could still move. Suddenly all she could see in her mind’s eye was what the alpha had done to the man in the mall; she wasn’t going to let that happen to her. She slowly brought her aching arms under her. The alpha stood behind her watching her slowly rise to her feet; she knew he was still there, but focused on getting through the door. As futile as it was to think the door would slow them anymore, she hoped perhaps they’d go back to the cat and mouse game, at least that might buy her a couple of minutes.
Unfortunately for her, the alpha was no longer interested in playing that game; it waited till she’d begun to pull on the door handle to attack. She just barely managed to lean to the right as its clawed hand streaked past her head into the door frame. When it reached with its other arm, Lia let herself drop to her knees; it got a handful of her hair but its claws inadvertently cut it. Quickly Lia dropped onto her side, crawling away from the door as she did so. Angered by her escape, the alpha ripped its other arm free taking the door with it. Lia got on her hands and knees and turned towards the doorway. The alpha turned towards her, reaching for her with one arm. But the door was still stuck to it, so when it met the alpha’s leg, it held the alpha’s arm just above her momentarily. Lia quickly ducked under its grasp while the door’s metal body crumpled as it was bent into itself like a pop can. Nearing the stairway, Lia grasped the handrail to support herself so she could stand. Even with adrenaline coursing through her veins, she could feel the complaints of her muscles, but that didn’t stop her.
The other creatures pushed into the alpha vying to be first to tear into her. Angrily the alpha ripped what remained of the door off its arm, slamming it like a hammer into the nearest lesser creature which knocked it clear across the room. The other creatures suddenly rebelled against the alpha; one jumped on its back to tear at the back of its neck with its teeth while the other two came at it from the sides. The alpha roared in pain as a section of its neck plating was ripped away. Reaching with its left hand, it grabbed one of the creatures by the throat when it attempted to slash at its legs, only managing to inflict minor scratches. The alpha used the body of the lesser creature it now held to bash the other off its back while simultaneously backhanding the other away with its free arm. Lia was amazed at their sudden shift in focus, but wasn’t fool enough to stand there watching the show. She instead made her way down the stairs as fast as she could, hoping the fight would drag on for a while. While she descended, the creature that the alpha had hit with the door regained its bearings in time to join the attack. Still holding one by the throat, the alpha smashed it int
o the body of the one to its left slamming them both into the ground, the force crushing the jaw of the one on the bottom. With its other arm, the alpha grabbed the chest section of the top creature, easily ripped off a section of its armoured body, and rammed it into the dark void of the creature’s guts separating countless dark tendrils holding it together. Black ooze poured from the severed tendrils as the impaled creature struggled to rise, coating its trapped companion beneath.
Content the two creatures laying in front of it were no longer an immediate concern, the alpha turned toward two remaining threats that were both rushing toward it together. The alpha raised one arm, claws outstretched toward one of the creatures, letting loose a stream of deadly serrated tendrils that ensnared its limbs, then waited for the other creature to get within reach. Once it was within striking distance, the alpha slammed its clawed hand straight into the creature’s chest, lifting its entire body into the air in a deft movement. The creature clawed desperately at the arm impaling it, leaving minor gashes. Growling in pain it was helpless to do anything as the alpha’s tendrils began to draw it in faster. The blade like protrusions covering them tore into the one they held before doubling as a slow decapitating saw for the creature on its other arm as the alpha lowered its neck into them.
Finally, only one remained hanging helpless in the alpha’s grasp still clawing ferociously at its arm to little effect. A sudden burst of tendrils exploded from its armoured body, dragging the trapped creature closer as the rest tore it apart. The alpha waited while bit by bit its tendrils destroyed and assimilated its defeated adversaries, drawing their power into it. Once its leisurely meal had concluded the tendrils receded, re-immerging like small sewing needles that near-instantaneously mended the damage it had sustained leaving no trace. Satisfied the alpha headed for the stairs to continue the hunt.
Chapter 3 – Still Alive
Lia found herself in a small locker room of sorts that was in complete disarray. Locker doors were left open, personal belongings strewn haphazardly all over the floor like their owners were in a rush to leave. Looking through the lockers as she passed, Lia headed towards a desk with a safety cage that looked like a check-in station. As she passed one of the open lockers she noticed something that looked solid poking out from behind a leather jacket. Stepping over torn discarded clothing she reached into the locker, finding a black knife tucked in a leather sheath hanging on one of the locker’s hooks. Lia drew the blade from the sheath. Impressed by its blackened blade, she sheathed it and clipped it to her pants.
Above her she could hear growling and what sounded like something being sawn apart; her body ached all over in response. She knew it wouldn’t be long before one or more of the creatures would be chasing her again so she strode over to the enclosed desk. All she found was a busted entry door that led into the small interior of the space, a neglected clipboard, and a small blue cushioned rolling chair stained brown with blood. A quick glance of the papers on the clipboard revealed it was a sign-in sheet segmented by timeslots and shift times with corresponding signatures to prove someone was on duty as required. What caught Lia’s eye next was a striking logo consisting of a black spiraling structure resembling a DNA strand with a bright red M overlaid on top of that, both perfectly centred so the strand appeared to originate from both ends of the M’s middle point.
Lia jogged past the desk into a barren concrete corridor that split off in multiple directions. Making her way down the corridor, she could make out signs for the different areas illuminated by pot lights above. To her left was General Storage, her right, Shipping, two more farther down the hall on opposite sides read Science and Research & Development. Hoping desperately to find weapons of some kind, Lia walked up to General Storage and found to her dismay it was secured by a card lock so she ran back to the security desk.
Racing into the desk space, she pushed the chair back out of the way, then rummaged through the drawer quickly. All she found were useless records and office supplies. With every passing second Lia could feel her heart rate increasing, her mind constantly flashing back to being thrown like a ragdoll. She shook away the thought and set into the next drawer. Sitting beside a stack of banded lanyards was a key card marked “Master”; a smile emerged on her face. Lia couldn’t believe her luck. Stepping back so she could reach in further, her fingers brushed something solid. Quickly Lia snatched the card and stuck it in her pocket so she could reach in again –– her muscles tensed –– she knew it was there before its footsteps announced its presence. Lia yanked her hand out, her fingers closed around the grip of a pistol. Calmly she disengaged the safety while looking into the alpha’s eyes. Inwardly, Lia could feel herself shaking slightly, but she maintained her composure with a sense of confidence she didn’t understand. Crossing the threshold, she raised the pistol aiming for its head; the alpha flexed its claws, and she fired. The bullet hit it square in the face, its head snapping back on impact. Immediately Lia ran for the corridor. Behind her, the alpha tilted its head forward, slowly baring its teeth like a dark smile as the bullet clattered to the floor, its face unscathed.
Her boots thumping on the ground, Lia ran as fast as she could for the end of the hall. The alpha walked after her like a hunter stalking its prey. Lia made it to the Research & Development entrance breathing raggedly; she inserted the key card, and the door slid open. Quickly she removed the card then proceeded inside; the door slid closed behind her locking automatically. Lia looked ahead of her. All she could see was a barren walkway leading up like a long ramp with strips of rubberized texture laid on top at consistent intervals. Turned toward the door, Lia leaned against the wall as she carefully walked backward up the ramp. The alpha walked up to the door menacingly. With one swing of its clawed hand the door caved in, its locking mechanisms falling loose like silver rain. The alpha tore through the door with its claws, ripping it entirely from the wall, then threw the door into the corridor behind it. Lia opened fire, one shot hitting it in the chest, three more hitting it in the face when it tried to poke its head through.
Bullets were useless against it; they merely ricocheted off its armour-like exoskeleton into the wall. The alpha didn’t even bother flinching anymore. Thankfully the doorway was too narrow for the alpha to enter so when it tried to reach for her, all it managed to grasp was air. Enraged roaring accompanied the heavy thumping of impossibly strong clawed hands on concrete walls as the alpha tried to bash its way to her. Lia could see chunks of concrete and dust breaking away from the walls at the alpha’s feet. Hair-thin cracks emerging on the walls reached for her, but the walls still didn’t give. Relaxing slightly, Lia ignored the alpha, letting her fingers trace the wall gently for a moment as she walked forward. Part of her wanted to stay there surrounded by massive cement walls, but she knew she couldn’t. At least she had somewhere to run if needed, as if hiding would accomplish anything.
Ahead she could see another, much heavier sliding door. The card mechanism looked fancier than the first; there was a numeric keypad with a screen at the top affixed to the front of it. The keypad concerned her since she hadn’t seen a code in the drawer, though there wasn’t much sense in turning back now. She’d have to guess, if it came to that. Carefully she slid the card into place while eyeing the keypad. A small reader locked the card in place while the screen above the pad illuminated. To her surprise the number 831826 popped up quickly then disappeared, a series of heavy clicks followed unlocking the door. One more click announced the key card’s release from the mechanism followed by the release of the door as it slid silently aside. A gust of cool air that had been restrained by the door greeted her upon opening; she shivered slightly, sliding the card back in her pocket.
Stepping into the room beyond, she found herself faced with a large sterile square space. The entire room was whitewashed brick. A line of small fluorescent lights running vertically along the middle of the ceiling split it in two, more than adequately illuminating the room. Ventilation fans in the ceiling on either end of the room q
uietly hummed, sucking up the heat emanating from two bays of various machines arranged against the walls to each side on black support racks. Circular air ducts covered with grates in the floor provided cool air that maintained a suitable environment for the machinery. Some of the machines had flashing lights above their connection points while others were dominated by switches labelled with designations that were nonsensical to Lia.
All the machines were interconnected with various dark cables that snaked up and around the support structures from holes drilled in the floor so the space could be navigated without their hindrance. A separate hole near the cabling allowed thick metal tubes to transfer unknown material into specific machines in each of the bays. Some machines had metal tubes coming out of them leading into other machines with rotating parts that Lia assumed mixed their contents. Beside the output tube Lia could see a door marked “Input” on the mixing machines. The final output of each bay looked to have been extracted from the mixers into separate reinforced cylindrical storage tanks via tubes which appeared to run under the floor before immerging to connect to the tanks’ top ports. Each of the tanks had a tube emerging from their base with cut-off valves to restrict their flow until the desired volume was met. This could be ascertained through digital readouts displayed on screens attached to their front face.
A partially dislodged tile in the centre of the floor caught Lia’s attention as she proceeded toward a much heavier looking dark metal door set into the brick wall at the back of the room. She bent down to see what was underneath. A sharp grinding sound accompanied the tile as she twisted and lifted it out of its recess to reveal a large connection point for the two output tubes. It either merged the two into one larger tube or allowed the contents to continue separately into the room beyond. Lia let the tile drop back into place, her fingers ached slightly, but not enough to affect her movements. As she approached the door blocking her way to wherever the tubes had gone, she was struck by the sturdiness of it. The door appeared to be at least three times the width of an average interior door and made of solid steel. Alongside the door was a small lever and on the other side a red button. When she pulled the lever down the loud mechanical whirring of electric motors kicking in could be heard. Slowly the door was drawn into the wall. Above the sound of the motors she could hear its bottom edge sliding roughly against a poorly greased track.