Nova tried to steady her breathing. The air in the bunker felt heavier, as if it held secrets that should have stayed buried.
Axel stepped further into the room, cautiously scanning the surroundings. On one side, something caught his eye—a long wooden table covered in faded photographs.
Nova followed, peering at the photos. Carefully, she picked one up, squinting to see the details.
The photo showed several people in lab coats, standing in front of a building that looked like a research facility. Behind them, large iron cages held shadowy figures.
Axel picked up another photo. This one was more disturbing. A gaunt man with empty eyes stared at the camera, his body marked with what looked like injection scars.
Nova swallowed hard. "What were they doing here?"
Carter, standing a bit further away, heard something. "Hey... did you hear that?"
They fell silent.
In the distance, a faint buzzing sound echoed.
Nova followed the sound and found an old television, still running, though its screen was dusty. A video was playing.
Hesitantly, Nova pressed the play button.
The screen showed a middle-aged man in a white coat, speaking into the camera with a serious expression.
"The final stage of the experiment has begun. Subjects are showing significant increases in aggression. We've found that exposure to sunlight weakens them, but they're evolving faster than we anticipated."
The video changed. This time, footage from inside a caged room.
Inside, a man sat on the floor, his body shaking violently. He began to growl softly, then slowly raised his head.
His eyes were pitch black.
Then, suddenly—
CRASH!
The man slammed against the iron bars with terrifying force. His bones seemed to break, but he still tried to break through.
Nova held her breath.
Beside her, Carter was sweating profusely. "We need to get out of here..."
But Axel was still transfixed by the screen.
The video changed again. This time, bodies littered the floor, while someone recorded from a corner of the room, their breath ragged.
"They've lost control. Nothing can stop them. This is no longer an experiment... it's a massacre."
The recording stopped.
The room was silent.
Nova turned to Axel. "What does it mean... they've lost control?"
Axel's jaw tightened. "It seems the people on this island aren't just ordinary residents. They're part of this insane experiment."
Nova swallowed hard. "And maybe... the creatures we encountered in the forest are the results of their experiments."
Carter was frozen. "So... this island is truly hell."
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the bunker's corridor.
Someone—or something—was heading their way.
Axel immediately raised his knife. "We're not alone."
Nova grabbed her flashlight and shone it down the hallway.
A dark figure moved quickly, approaching with a limping gait.
The figure drew closer, echoing through the narrow, damp bunker corridor. Nova gripped the flashlight tighter, its beam shaking in her hand.
Carter nearly stumbled backward, his eyes wide with fear. "N-no way... that's..."
Axel stood in front, his knife ready. "Who are you?!" His voice was tense, wary.
The figure finally stepped into the flashlight's beam.
His face was dirty, covered in wounds and dried blood. His body was thin, his clothes tattered as if he'd survived extreme conditions. But what made Nova's heart nearly stop was his eyes.
Not the empty black eyes of the creatures in the forest. But human eyes.
Logan's eyes.
Nova gasped. "Impossible..."
Carter trembled behind Axel. "We... we buried him! I remember! I threw the last handful of dirt on his grave!"
Logan stood there, swaying slightly as if losing his balance. His breathing was heavy, and when he opened his lips, a hoarse voice came out. "I... am not dead..."
Nova stepped back, her mind reeling. "How is this possible? We saw you die! We checked your pulse!"
Logan coughed, a trickle of blood escaping his mouth. "They... they took me... I don't know how long I was in there..."
Axel's gaze sharpened. "In where?"
Logan raised his trembling hand, pointing to another part of the bunker, to a large iron door at the end of the room.
Nova and Axel exchanged glances.
Axel moved first, pressing the iron door handle. But it was locked.
"Carter, find something to open it," he ordered quickly.
Carter, though still terrified, rummaged through a nearby table, looking for a tool. Nova remained alert, watching Logan, who still looked weak.
"Do you remember what happened after we left you?" Nova asked, trying to gather information.
Logan shook his head weakly. "I woke up in a dark room... tied to a bed... voices talking around me... They injected me with something..."
Axel tensed. "Experiments?"
Logan nodded slowly. "I could hear screams... I don't know how long I was there..."
Carter finally found a crowbar and handed it to Axel. With one strong jerk—CRACK!—the iron door began to open. A foul stench wafted out, making Nova cover her nose.
Axel raised his flashlight, illuminating the inside of the room.
The room was large, bigger than they expected. Along the walls, rusted iron cells stood empty.
And inside...
Nova held her breath.
There were human bodies.
Or rather... the remains of humans.
Some still wore hospital gowns, others were just skeletons. The walls were covered in blood-written scribbles, fragmented and terrifying words:
"Don't trust them."
"They will change you."
"The sun is the key."
Carter covered his mouth, nearly vomiting. "Oh God..."
Axel narrowed his eyes, noticing one cell that was still intact. There was something inside—an object lying on the floor, covered by a white cloth.
Slowly, Nova walked closer, pulling back the cloth.
And saw a different body.
The body was intact, not decaying like the others. As if it had just died... or just been left there.
Nova swallowed hard. "What happened here...?"
Axel pointed to a corner of the room, where an operating table stood, with rusty surgical tools. "It seems they weren't just experimenting on the people of this island... They might be trying to create something."
Logan shook his head, his voice hoarse. "They're not creating... They're changing..."
Nova turned sharply. "Changing what?"
Logan opened his mouth, but before he could answer—
THUMP!
A heavy sound echoed from the end of the bunker.
THUMP! THUMP!
The iron walls shook. Something was behind them.
Carter backed away in fear. "W-what is that?"
Nova grabbed her pocket knife, bracing for the worst.
THUMP!
Then, suddenly—
CRASH!
Another iron door at the end of the room was thrown open, slamming against the wall.
A creature leaped in.
Tall, larger than the creatures they had encountered before. Its body was no longer human, with decaying skin and eyes that glowed red in the darkness.
But the most terrifying thing was that it wore remnants of a lab coat.
Nova froze. "He... used to be human."
The creature growled loudly before lunging at them.
Axel reacted quickly. SWISH! The knife in his hand flew, piercing the creature's shoulder.
The creature snarled, but didn't retreat. Instead, it became even more ferocious.
Nova pulled Carter back. "Run!"
They all rushed toward the bunker exit. Axel tried to hold the creature back, but its strength was far greater.
With one blow—THUMP!—Axel was thrown against the wall.
Logan, though still weak, grabbed a piece of metal from the floor and swung it at the creature's head. CRACK! The creature staggered, giving them time to escape.
Nova pulled Axel to his feet. "We have to get out now!"
They ran through the dark bunker corridor, the creature's footsteps echoing behind them.
After what felt like an eternity, they reached the bunker exit and burst out.
Once they were back in the forest, Nova looked back.
Nothing emerged from the bunker.
Carter collapsed to the ground, panting. "What did we just see...?"
Axel wiped his bloody forehead. "The truth. This island isn't just a place of castaways... It's an experimental site. And they're still here."
Nova turned her gaze to Logan, who sat weakly.