The hallway stretched before them, a tunnel of shadows and decay.
Ethan led the way, stepping carefully over shattered glass and crumbling debris. Every sound echoed—too loud, too sharp—as if the building itself was listening.
Blaze sniffed the air, ears flat. Shadow slinked ahead, tail flicking.
They could sense it too.
Something was waiting in this place.
Deeper into the Lab
"Where do we start?" Olivia whispered, sweeping her flashlight over the broken walls.
Valerie studied the rusted plaques on the doors, reading faded words beneath layers of dust. "We need the main database. If this lab was researching the outbreak, they would've stored their findings somewhere secure."
Noah scoffed. "Yeah? And what are the chances it still works?"
Ethan didn't answer. He had a feeling they wouldn't like the answer.
The air grew colder as they moved deeper.
The building was too quiet.
Too... untouched.
Like it had been left in a hurry.
And no one had come back.
The Server Room
After minutes of searching, they found it—a reinforced metal door labeled:
RESEARCH ARCHIVESECURE DATA STORAGE
It was slightly ajar.
Which meant someone—or something—had been here first.
Ethan exchanged a glance with Olivia before pushing it open.
Inside, the room was lined with massive, humming servers. Red emergency lights flickered in the corners, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
A single terminal still glowed, its screen waiting.
"It's still powered?" Noah muttered in disbelief.
Valerie moved quickly, hands flying over the keyboard. "If we're lucky, the research logs are intact."
Ethan wasn't sure luck had anything to do with it.
Something wanted them to find this.
Adrian's Name in the Files
Valerie's fingers hesitated. "...Oh my God."
"What?" Olivia asked.
She pointed to the screen. Ethan leaned closer.
FILE: EXPERIMENT #A-001SUBJECT: ADRIAN BLACKWELLSTATUS: TERMINATED—PENDING ANOMALY REVIEW
Ethan's stomach dropped.
Olivia exhaled sharply. "They experimented on him?"
Valerie clicked on the file. The screen flickered, lines of corrupted text running down before stabilizing.
A video file loaded.
Noah muttered, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Ethan hit play.
The Recording
Static filled the screen. Then—
A dimly lit lab room. Adrian sat in the center, strapped to a metal chair. His face was bruised, his eyes dull. Electrodes lined his arms.
A voice spoke from off-camera.
"Subject A-001. Exposure to anomalous material complete. Begin phase three."
The screen flickered.
Adrian twitched. His breathing grew uneven. Then his head snapped up—golden light flickered behind his eyes.
Ethan's pulse pounded.
The scientists' voices became frantic. Something was wrong.
"He's stabilizing, but—no, his vitals—wait, what's happening?!"
The recording glitched.
Then—
Screaming.
The restraints snapped. The lights failed.
A golden glow consumed the screen.
Then, nothing.
The Warning
Silence filled the room.
Noah swallowed. "...Well. That was horrifying."
Olivia turned to Ethan, face pale. "They made him into this."
Ethan nodded slowly, his mind racing.
Adrian wasn't just a victim. He was the first.
A whisper ran through the room—low, eerie.
"Now you understand."
Ethan froze.
The whisper wasn't from the recording.
It was behind him.
He turned—
And golden eyes stared back.