Checkmate

"Shh it's clear follow me" I said as he peeped at the corner to see if there was any enemy in sight when he saw that it was clear he beckoned the others over.

"The control room is just up ahead, be ready for anything, we don't know how powerful the shadow is or what kind of traps he has laid in stock for us" I warned as he crept forward and then paused as the image of spider's face flashed in his mind.

"Hey what's wrong" Christina who was behind him asked.

"It's nothing, that's strange, why would that image just appear in my mind but it's probably nothing" I shrugged as he kept moving, he placed his hands on the doorknob and twisted it slightly as the door opened, he glanced up ahead as he saw the sign above a door sign read 'Control Room'.

"We're finally here" I said with a grin as they walked towards the door.

"After all this trouble, we're finally here" Rash smiled as he sighed at all that they had gone through.

"Yeah, it almost se…"

CLICK

A clicking sound rang out as they quickly turned around to see the door click closed as it was locked from the outside.

"What the fuck" I said as he stared through the glass in the door at a figure who was clothed in white lab clothes and wearing a gas mask, as he saw that he had been spotted, the figure raised its hand and waved to them.

"You.." I was about to attack the door when he saw the figure press a button.

FWOOSHH

A greenish gas flooded the room as I grabbed his throat and coughed, the gas flooded into his nose and he felt his vision going blurry, he turned around and found Rash, Tasha, and Christina on the ground coughing and choking.

"Damn, I have to.." I muttered as he tried to reach for the door but instead felt his legs go weak as he fell to the ground, he tried to extend his hands towards the doorknob but felt his hand lose all strength as it also fell to the ground, his consciousness fading as he heard a click before the door opened and the figure walked over to him.

"A strong one I see, you'll make a fine specimen" The figure spoke with excitement as I tried to command his body to move so that he could strangle the figure but it seemed like his body had gone offline and his mind too was but before he did, he suddenly thought of something.

'Why does that voice sound so familiar' Those were his last words before his mind shut down.

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"Doctor, how is he?" A middle-aged man asked a man wearing a lab coat.

"From my perspective as a doctor, I would say that he had less than a year to live but with all that's happened, I'm starting to question my perspective, how long he has managed to stay alive is a wonder to me, because his mind has almost shut down, it's like he's in a coma and he's not, his body functions also operate normally so even without us supplying him with the necessary nutrients, he's body would still somehow be able to get those nutrients, it's fascinating actually.." The doctor said as his eyes started to shine at the end of the sentence.

"My son's condition isn't fascinating, he has been in a coma for 2 years" The middle-aged man rebuked angrily as the doctor apologized.

"Dada, I want some water" A young boy around the age of 14 said to the middle-aged man who smiled as he nodded his head.

"There's a vending machine just across the hallway, and make sure you don't go anywhere Dom" The middle-aged said to the kid who nodded as he left the man and the doctor to continue their conversation.

"Hey come back here Rash" A middle-aged African-American male shouted as the kid watched a black kid his age drift past him with a mischievous grin, he watched as the kid ran away with the man on his chase, the kid shook his head with a sigh as he headed towards the vending machine when he heard the sound of crying.

"Is that a child's voice?" The kid asked himself as he traced it to a door on the side with a sigh he didn't recognize, he placed his hands on the doorknob and slowly twisted it as the door opened to reveal a dark room.

"What is this place?" The kid asked himself as he walked inside slowly, his heart beating fast, in the dark he could see several beds, at the edge of the room was a singular bed with light concentrated above it.

"Huff" The sound of unsteady breathing could be heard in the room as the kid walked towards the bed slowly, as he neared the bed, he caught sight of a kid lying on the bed.

"A boy" The kid muttered in shock as he saw something that looked like burned skin all over the boy, it was like the boy had been rescued from the flames, on the table near the bed was a bottle that contained something. The boy walked towards the bottle and he finally saw what was Inside, it was a spider, pained breathing and inaudible cries could be heard as the kid inched toward the bed for a closer look.

"Hey you can't be in here" An angry voice rang out behind the kid who turned around in fear as he saw the doctor approaching him with an angry expression so he quickly ran out of the room and accidentally bumped into a girl.

"Sorry" The kid apologized as he helped the girl up.

"Christina, are you okay?" Another girl the same age as them asked the girl who nodded.

"Hey watch where you're going" The new girl said with a frown to the kid who placed his two hands together as if to say sorry then took off.

"Hey wait up, hmmm, what a jerk" The new girl sneered.

"It's okay Tasha, it was just an accident" The girl said with a sigh as she stared at the kid who was running away.

"Hey kiddo, where have you been?" The father of the kid asked the boy when he arrived.

"There was…the man…a boy.." The kid tried to explain but was too tired so his words just ended up being jumbled up.

"Hey slow down I, there's no one chasing you" The man laughed at his son's behavior.

"No there was.." The kid stopped as he turned to see the doctor coming out of the room which he locked with a key and placed in his pocket then glanced at the kid then walked away.

"What were you saying?" The man asked the kid.

"Oh, it's nothing" The kid replied with a shrug as he stared at the door.

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"Uhhh" I groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey get the fuck away from me man" Rash's voice sounded as my vision slowly focused.

"What..where am I?" I asked as he shook his head and then glanced at his surroundings in confusion before the memories slowly returned.

"Wait the reaper, the control room, the gas" I muttered as he found himself in a white room, he was tied to a bed, both arms were tied together with his feet, he looked around and saw the tied figures of Rash, Tasha, and Christina, he also saw someone he didn't recognize wearing a white lab coat with his back facing him.

"Hey Dom, you're awake, well I introduce you to the shadow" Rash said with a gaze of scorn directed toward the figure who turned toward me who finally got a good look at him as he opened his mouth in shock.

"It's you" I blurted out in shock as he recognized the face of the doctor in his memories.

"What do you know me?" The doctor, a middle-aged man with a head filled with white hair, had black circles around his eye, he held a scalpel in one hand as his other hand was in his pocket.

"Your..your son..the kid with the burns" I said while piecing together things from his memories when he said he saw the drastic change in the doctor's expression.

"You, how do you know about my son?" The doctor asked with a crazed expression.

"So the spider was…" I said in realization as everything became clear as day to him.

"My son" The doctor completed with a look of disdain.

"All along I thought we were dealing with an enhanced zombie or an intelligent mutant, I never thought in my wildest dreams that we were dealing with a crazy scientist and a manipulative father, I thought you were in jail"

"Shut up, you know nothing about me"

"I know everything about me, 8 years ago you were thrown in jail for using the bodies from the morgue for experiments on how to regrow human skin to save your son who was caught in a fire a year before, a fire you set to kill your wife" I said with mockery.

"I said shut up"

"I guess you got out on the day of the apocalypse, you just happened to be in the hospital at that time, your son was turned into a mutant, he fused with his pet spider and somehow this gave him control over the zombies, you, on the other hand, was just a normal human, but you took control of the situation and used your son as a puppet for your gain, I bet he didn't even know that you were the one who set the fire" I said coldly as the doctor snapped.

"I said shut up!, you don't know what I went through because of that incident, I was taken away from my son for almost 10 years and when I returned, I saw him like this, you think that's easy to take" The doctor said with anger.

"I never said that but do you think that's enough to justify the fact that you used his to kill all those innocent people, you do not get to choose who or who doesn't get to live, no matter how much privilege you have" I blasted the doctor with the truth.

"Hahaha, don't you dare talk to me about taking the lives of innocents, I saw your expression when killing the zombies, you enjoyed it, accept the fact that you are just like me" The doctor smirked.

"I'm nothing like you" I sneered.

"Well just think that, cause I don't care how you see me or what you think about me, the world made me like this, and now that the world exists with no rules and that is why people like us who understand the way the current world works and have seen the true face of the world will rise above the rest, once I find out what's special about you, I'll have your power, yes, I saw what you did to the tentacle monster, how you subdued it, it's related to your tattoo isn't it, hahaha" The doctor laughed wickedly as he held the scalpel tightly.

"Shit." I cursed as I watched the doctor tighten his bonds as he placed his hand on the tattoo.

"Hey stop" Rash yelled as he tried to break free of his bondage and help me but the straps were too strong.

"I" Christina yelled out as she also struggled with her bondage.

"Wait wait" I said as he felt the cold edge of the blade on his skin followed by the sharp pain.

"Arrg" I groaned in pain as his eyes darted to the cut, immediately his eyes landed on it, and he suddenly felt a familiar feeling that he had experienced when the apocalypse had started, that familiar rage, the familiar anger, and the familiar bloodlust.

"Urrg, you idiot, you don't know what you've done" I said with anger as he tried to control the rage within him.

"Are you okay?" Rash asked as he noticed my weird behavior.

"No, I'm not, I feel..I feel….HUNGRY" I said as his eyes glowed red, the latter part of his words sounding like a roar as the binds, holding him in place snapped.

"Wh.." The doctor wasn't even given the chance to talk as he was grabbed by the neck and hoisted into the air easily.

"I.." Christina called out slowly.

"I don't think that's I" Tasha replied with a frown.

"Sorry guys, Dominic is on vacation in here, aw it's been so long, all these years sealed up, hahaha" I laughed menacingly as he glanced at the doctor who was struggling in pain.

"Ah..this guy is really tenacious, hahaha, I better do something interesting before he takes over again, say the doctor didn't you say that I would be an interesting specimen, that disrespect needs to be rewarded with your death" I grinned as fang grew out from his mouth.

"I can taste it already" I smiled as he clasped his teeth onto the doctor's neck, sinking his fangs deep as the doctor released cries of pain, within seconds, the face of the doctor had become as pale as a sheet, his breath ragged as he felt the blood within him drain.

"I..told..you..we..are..the…same" The doctor whispered weakly into I's ears as his eyes closed, his life fading from his body.