Story 801: The Awakening (Series HS: ZE9)

The stench of rot clung to the air like a deathly fog. Dr. Evelyn Carter stood in the dimly lit lab, her hands trembling over a microscope. The sample under the lens wriggled—alive. It wasn’t just a virus. It was something else. Something evolving.

A distant crash echoed through the facility. Evelyn’s heart pounded as she grabbed her flashlight and moved toward the sound. The overhead emergency lights flickered, casting eerie shadows along the blood-smeared walls.

“Hello?” she called out. No answer. Only the distant hum of machines and the rhythmic dripping of something wet.

Then—movement.

A figure stumbled from the corridor ahead, its body convulsing, limbs twitching unnaturally. It was Dr. Malcolm Voss, the head of research. His face was twisted in agony, veins blackened beneath his skin. His jaw unhinged, releasing a guttural, inhuman growl.

Evelyn stumbled back. “Dr. Voss?”