“So how are you doing today, Erich?” the psychologist asked, folding his hands in his lap and offering that smarmy smile that his patient absolutely hated.

Erich glared at him. “I want to go home.”

The psychologist nodded and checked this off of his clipboard.

“Homesickness is a common symptom during prolonged isolation,” he said. “But unfortunately, you did sign away your personal liberties when you took our money.”

“I was told I’d be helping sick people,” Erich said, feeling his blood boil. “I needed that money.”

“And the money you shall receive. Three years of your life will guarantee you quite a generous amount of backpay. Might even be able to afford yourself an upgrade for that arm of yours,” the psychologist commented.

He pointed his pen at Erich’s artificial arm. It was cumbersome and bulky, nowhere near as efficient as the models that they had started pumping out before his imprisonment.

“Anyways, have you still been experiencing those recurring nightmares?” the psychologist asked.

Erich nodded. “Like always, it comes right after my injections.”

the psychologist scribbled down this detail, writing quite the lengthy note with how little information Erich was willing to provide. It was strange, what could he honestly be getting from that these stupid talks? It wasn’t like anything had changed.

“Any changes?” the psychologist asked.

Erich now shook his head. “I’m trapped inside of a room and bombarded on all sides by a strange voice. It isn’t speaking English or… any of the other languages, you guys have been making me listen to. I can feel something that kind of almost feels like fear but… it’s perverted.”

“Perverted how?” the psychologist inquired.

“It doesn’t feel human,” Erich said.

The psychologist nodded slowly, scribbling at his board.

“Do you know what they’re injecting me with?” Erich asked, biting his lip.

The psychologist shook his head. “I’m afraid that knowledge is kept secret, even from me. All I know is that the lab coats seem very pleased with the results.” He smirked. “You might be curing the sick as we speak, Erich.”

Erich snorted. “Yeah, sure.”

The psychologist frowned. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to prescribe you some form of antidepressant. They’ll improve your mood.”

“I figured that you’re already putting them in my food,” Erich grumbled, glancing at his half-eaten tray of canteen mashed potatoes and steak.

“That would be…” the psychologist searched for the right phrase, “highly unethical.”

“As unethical as keeping me locked up in here for two years without letting me even see the sun?” Erich asked, feeling a fury bubble within him.

The psychologist looked up from his board and raised a brow. Erich could see the faint glow of red that ignited under one of his irises.

“Your pulse is elevating, Erich,” the psychologist noted. “Maybe it’s best that we cut this meeting short.”

Erich sighed, drawing in a deep breath. “My apologies. I just…”

“You’re homesick, anxious, and kept out of the loop,” the psychologist interjected, flipping to a fresh page. “It’s natural that you would be reacting in such a brash fashion. But you need to know that we are a pharmaceutical company, not some shadowy organization. We want to help people, just like you.”

“Do you?” Erich asked.

The psychologist nodded. “Now I’m going to try recommending that you be allowed back in with the general population of test subjects.” He pointed at him. “But I need a promise from you. I need you to tell me that you won’t take this opportunity to try and escape. Being cooped up like this is not good for your health, Erich.”

It was a carrot.

And Erich could really use a carrot right now.

“Thank you, doctor,” he said.

The psychologist smiled. “You’re very welcome, Erich. You’ve shown tremendous progress these last few…”

Suddenly the lights within the cell dimmed, fading to nothing. A second passed, then two, and on the third the lights returned though they were now a sickly red. It wasn’t long before the klaxon started to blare.

As Erich looked at his psychologist, he saw that he seemed nervous.

“I think I better return to my station,” he said, getting up. “Sorry to cut this session short, Erich”

Kill him.

Erich drew in a breath, looking around to see where that voice had come from.

The psychologist hadn’t appeared to hear it. He seemed to be in a hurry though as he went for the door, using his card to open it.

The guards are distracted, this is your chance.

Erich stayed put.

I want to get out of here just as much as you.

Erich swallowed a lump in his throat and rested his hand against the bed.

The voice had a point, even if it likely meant he was going insane. Clearly whatever had set off those alarms would be keeping security busy.

Do it!

Erich gave it one last passing thought before leaping to his feet. The psychologist noticed this and reached for his stun gun. Though before he could grab it, Erich’s fat metal arm rose high above his head.

It might’ve been old.

It might’ve been clunky.

But it was heavy as it crashed down against the man’s skull.

---

Sirens blared and people rushed around. They frantically shouted orders and looked at the various monitors littered around the room.

Jasmine stood off to the side, knowing that she’d only be in the way. She’d be called upon if or when she was eventually needed.

Still, she could pick up on plenty from her spot.

The situation wasn’t exactly good. Before the incident there had been four hundred cameras active within the complex. Within five minutes of the breach, there had been three hundred and forty. Now, as they approached the tenth minute, they were down to a little under three hundred.

Similarly, there had been thirty-five security personnel. Now they were down to twenty-four.

“Echo team,” one of the officers shouted. “Report!”

No response.

Make that nineteen.

The complex’s chief executive stormed by, shouting orders to two subordinates who typed away with a fury on their iPad.

“-with the doors shut, we need to concentrate the remaining security assets on-”

Then he was out of ear shot.

Jasmine swallowed a lump in her throat.

“Intern at Ambrosia, my professor said,” she whispered under her breath. “It’ll be a good experience, he said.”

This was the textbook example of a situation getting out of control. There were a whole lot of people screaming, yet no results seemed to be coming out of their vigour. There were a whole lot of people storming about in a frantic fashion, but no amount of energy seemed to make the situation any better.

Yeah, best to just stay put.

Jasmine swallowed down her anxiety.

It wasn’t like they were going to be left for dead, right?

Surely, there was some lifeline, some form of support that was on the way. Ambrosia was a big company and this seemed like a fairly important research centre.

She noticed the complex’s chief executive approach a console in the middle of the room. The second-in-command for the compound walked around it and took up position on the other side.

The executive loudly cleared his throat. “Folks!”

The chatter suddenly died down, all eyes looking to him. Their Cincinnatus in this time.

He offered them a shaky smile. “As you can probably tell, the situation has unfolded in a very unfortunate direction.”

The tone almost came off as humorous and it seemed that some people thought so as they awkwardly chuckled along.

“Now I have some fairly unfortunate news,” he said, swallowing. “In the event of a containment breach, I’ve been given complete authority to… well…” He sighed. “Flood this compound with a vicious neurotoxin that will kill everyone and everything within it.”

Jasmine’s eye twitched.

Did she just hear that…

The room erupted with fury, all of it aimed towards the two men in the centre. Insults and angry jeers were thrown quiet liberally, making each of the two men flinch as they impacted.

Insults and jeers then turned into action as one of the guards rushed towards the executive, tackling him to the ground. Soon the two men were scuffling as the second-in-command just watched in awe as his superior was ganged up upon by his staff.

What had they honestly expected? These were scientists and personnel here to make a paycheque, not give their life for crown and country.

A bad situation turned worse as a woman, looking at one of the many monitors, barked. “The vent system has been breached in Corridor A5.”

Jasmine looked to her left, seeing a vent right next to her feet. She sidestepped away from it, glancing at the door.

Should she make a run for it?

She bit her lip, waiting for someone above her paygrade to make some sort of decision. Anything, even the fleeting promise of rescue.

Except that didn’t happen.

Instead, a bad situation devolved into something straight from hell.

One of the vents on the other side of the room burst open and a large black tentacle emerged from it. It was darker than the night sky and dripped onto the floor with a mixture of black and gory fluids.

A large bone fell away from the mass as the tentacle hovered there, frozen with indecision. The femur was utterly clean, every bit of fabric and flesh devoured from it.

Jasmine felt a scream building up within her throat, just begging to tear loose.

One the guards reached for their holster, drawing forth a pistol and taking a shot. The round tore through the beast’s flesh, spraying black goo against the wall behind it. Though it seemed to have done no meaningful damage as the ‘wound’ promptly sealed.

What it did, however, was enrage the beast.

The tentacle lashed out like a spear, stabbing right through the guard’s chest. It splattered a barrage of red behind the man. For a moment, the guard was shocked, looking at where their organs had once been. Then their brain caught up with the reality of the situation, ceasing the functions of life as the body went limp.

Only the tentacle was not done. It drew the guard’s lifeless form towards the vent. Once there, it belched forth a fresh ration of its black goo. When the body was utterly coated, in this brackish fluid, it started to dissolve, joining the monstrous mass.

That’s when Jasmine screamed in terror. Though by that point, she was just one terrified yelp among many.

Soon another vent popped open, and then another, each revealing yet another black tendril which lashed out.

They cut through the command centre’s staff like hot butter, turning technicians, guards, scientists, and managers to bits. At the same time, it also tore up the room, smashing computers and light fixtures, rapidly darkening the space.

Jasmine was spared, at least for the moment. She was pressed against the wall and hopefully out of sight. As she looked to the left, she noticed a closed door with a console. Though it required a hand scan that she knew she didn’t have clearance for.

Suddenly she heard a scream from in front of her and as she snapped towards it, she watched as her former manager was bisected in half. Though clearly whatever monster was doing this wasn’t pleased by just one act of brutality. It sliced through the woman’s arm, sending her hand flying towards the wall directly next to Jasmine.

It thudded and sprayed blood in every direction, some of which had the misfortune of speckling Jasmine’s face.

She went pale, realizing that this was likely going to be the end.

Then her gaze went to the hand upon the ground. It was the hand of one of the highest-ranking officials in the complex.

Jasmine grabbed it, without thinking, and rushed for the console.

She pressed the palm against the control panel and waited as the computer attempted to line up the fingerprints.

Thumb, index, middle…

Error does not register.

Jasmine winced and flipped the hand over, seeing that the ring and pinky fingers were utterly coated in blood.

She gritted her teeth and wiped them off on her lab coat. “Ew, ew, ew.”

Then she tried again, looking left and right. There were tendrils on either side of her. Thankfully they seemed occupied with her coworkers and hadn’t seemed to notice her yet.

Thumb, index, middle, ring…

It buffered and buffered. Every passing moment made the number of corpses next to her shrink, becoming biological material for whatever creature was at the source of this.

The console chimed and Jasmine turned back to the screen. It displayed a green checkmark before going over to the door’s interface. Jasmine hammered her finger against the open button repeatedly until finally it started to open.

And, of course, it was dreadfully slow.

Not surprising considering that these were blast doors that were designed to survive a nuclear apocalypse.

“Come on… come on… come….”

The gap finally widened and Jasmine dove through, bolting away from the command centre. She held onto her boss’ severed hand, however, too petrified to dare let go.

The hallway was littered with similar carnage to the control centre. These must’ve been the remains of the fabled Security Team Echo who had gone silent just a few minutes prior.

Jasmine gulped and ducked down, picking up a security pistol and clutching it in her other hand.

Sure, the security teams had been torn to shred but there was just something about a gun that made everything feel so much better. Like yeah, her entire staff had just been slaughtered but at least she was packing heat.

“Please don’t be chasing me, please don’t be chasing…”

Jasmine glanced over her shoulder, seeing that there was no blackness emerging from the opened security door. It was enough to garner a shaky sigh of relief from her.

“Not going to die today,” she wheezed.

Her pace slowed as her chest started to burn. If there was ever a time to kick herself for not getting enough exercise, it’d be now.

She turned a corner and came to an immediate halt, bending over and panting for breath. Her chest rose and fell swiftly, her eyes opened in utter terror.

As she slowly settled, she became very aware of the fact that she was still holding onto her boss’ severed arm and was covered in the blood of at least four or five coworkers. Soon the burn in her lungs was replaced by one in her throat as she hunched over and spilled her union mandated mid-shift meal all over the floor.

“Fuck,” she whispered. “What the…”

There was movement down the corridor, in the direction she wanted to go. It sounded like quite the storm, with plenty of crashes.

Jasmine grimaced and aimed her pistol, waiting for the monster to face her once again.

“Please, please, please…” she whispered, pleading to have it miss her for a second time.

It whipped around the corner with such fury, storming right for her.

She pulled the trigger, only for the pistol to click.

Though the second after doing so, she realized that it was another person, another human being rushing towards her.

“Thank fuck,” she breathed. “I thought you were…”

And he promptly tackled her to the ground.