A new kind of nightmare

''Mhhhh,for now,why don t we just wait and see...when I will need you I will let u know.''

Flustered by this response,Hugo just laid off on the bed he was given.

The test subjects were all grouped in one room,there were white boxes made of plastic to allow people to change into the night suit,but they were too frail to use them in any way.After changing into the night suit some went to the refectory to get dinner,while Hugo was in the bed.But he wasn't sleeping,he was just feigning to sleep,waiting for people from the lab to come at night.

He didn't want to eat not because he wasn't hungry,but since the lab assistants would come to examine them in the night,they would be fed sleeping drugs for dinner,and Hugo knew the chances the doctors came at night were very high,since they just got in here and they probably needed more samples from them.

And so he waited,after some hours of him staying still in the bed he heard something:

''Shhhhhh, we do not want to wake up these sleeping babies''miss Sinalta was here with her assistants''Now you three go to the last one and start from there,you instead will help me in scanning the changes brought to them by the serum we injected'' ''yes miss Sinalta'' Hugo could hear 4 other people in the room answer,then three of them walking past him to the other corner of the room to start examining the fatty.

Miss Sinalta instead,started near him,and would soon come to examine his status Hugo couldn't wait to be free from this madness,he didn't bring any of his tools with him since the detector would have found them,so he had to make this hazardous move.

But when he could hear miss Sinalta come to him finally,he heard her say:''ohh this one is special!His genes were already different,and he can even fake being asleep so well.''

knowing he was discovered,he sprung up from the bed,and decided to take her hostage.But he was too slow,or so he believed,since miss Sinalta was on him the moment he tried to go for her,sitting on his chest,keeping him from moving with who knows what strength,he was having difficulty even breathing,for how much hard she was pressing on him.

''See,you have to sleep to allow us to do our work,and we have to let you sleep to allow you to do your work,i hope that you do not disappoint me since i was the one who chose you.''

After that,she thightened her grasp on Hugo's chest,almost suffocating him and causing him to collapse. But he didn't feel his consciousness slip away,quite the opposite,he was wide awake. He was on the ground,feeling the warm iron floor under himself he started to look around. All he could see was black iron,he also felt a thumping under himself,as if there was a heart beating near him.and just in front of him was a black door. While trying to get up he could see clearly,he was in a little room,large not more than a meter,with a brooms and buckets near him.

But he could still not get up since he felt a soft and fresh stream get inside his head,starting from his ears,then his nose,mouth and even from his eyes,this stream descended along his body, until he cold feel it going away from his feet.''HELLO!''

''...''

''Hello!''''No you're not,I'm your subconscious self,your hidden desires. Awakened whit the kindness of Gcorp and prepared to help myself on this quest to be the best!''''while talking with himself Hugo finally got up,and tried to go outside the closet he was in.''if I was you,and I am you,I wouldn't go out so soon''''no,but I have some info provided from Gcorp that I know I want to know'' ''okkkkkk,fiiiiiiine,just because you asked:this place is called Harenae,it is a desert made by the ash coming from nearby volcanoes,what u are in is a iron bulwark,a part of the iron castle,trying to join the main one from which it got separated in a ash storm.''''Ah this one i don't know,i only know where we are,maybe you could reach the captain cabin and look at the road it is marching on. It probably is at the top of the bulwark.''

Once out of the closet,borrowing a broom and a bucket from there,he started walking. The air was full of particles and smoke,he could see around him little dudes walking by,and sometimes human looking males "Lava elves dominate Harenae,they have a matriarchal society,since they are all females,they also kill the partner while mating,since they are literally made of lava,a fascinating species indeed,the people you are looking at are the captain of this bulwark future mates,since it takes a lot of tries to bear a child,most of them will be sacrificed before she will be finally pregnant."

After walking a bit Hugo arrived to a spiral staircase two meters large,it could calmly fit a carriage,he could hear the rhythmic thumping coming from under him strongly here,wile all sorts of sounds came from upwards. "Go up,follow the smell of burnt meat,that's where the captain cabin is""Well,I suppose going as an offering is off limits,everyone of these people is stronger than you so barging in is impossible too,wait,take a look at your skin first!"

As he looked at himself Hugo discovered his skin wasn't anymore the pearly white it was before,following the color of the ground,it was slowly turning black,while the hand holding the broom was becoming of the same green color. "It's Gcorp gift to all new players,they changed one of your genes for free,i thought it would be something about nimbleness or strength,it appears their stuff it's better than it seems.''

immediately releasing the broom from his hand she could see his skin turning back to normal,it felt as if he had scales on him,that were shifting their position to change color.

Unfortunately,the broom he released fell on the ground and started sliding down the stairs until he couldn't see it anymore. Hugo could only hear a woman's angry voice saying:"WHO DID THAT!COME TO ME NOW!I'LL USE YOU AS COMBUSTIBLE FOR MY FLAMES!