Level B5

The silence that followed the explosion was almost deafening. The distant sounds of the fight outside, though muffled, were far more welcome than the ringing in my ears. I was alone, battered, and potentially about to be collateral damage in a superhuman brawl. Fantastic.

I reached out blindly, my fingers brushing against the cold metal of the stool. I needed to get out of here. This place was a death trap, and my luck wouldn't hold forever.

"Okay, okay, think," I muttered to myself, trying to ignore the throbbing in my shoulder. "Escape route. Where would they have an exit?"

I remembered the layout of the corridor, the turns I had taken, the rooms I passed. This was some kind of research facility or base. Logically, there had to be a loading dock or some kind of industrial exit.

Gripping the edge of the stool, I pushed myself to my feet. The room swam momentarily, and I swayed, fighting to maintain my balance. "Right, heading back the way I came," I mumbled, shuffling forward.

The air felt heavy, thick with the smell of ozone and blood. I could hear the occasional groan of a dying guard, a grim reminder of the carnage I had wrought. I didn't relish violence, but survival trumped morality in this situation.

As I stumbled back into the corridor, I heard a faint, but distinct, squeak. It was a sound I recognized instantly: rubber soles on polished floor. Someone was approaching.

My heart hammered against my ribs. Friend or foe? I had no way of knowing. I pressed myself against the wall, trying to meld into the shadows. My hand instinctively reached for the empty space where my rifle should have been. Useless!

The squeaking grew louder, closer. I could almost feel the presence of the figure approaching me. I held my breath, preparing for anything.

Then, a voice, hesitant and shaky, broke the silence.

"H-hello? Is anyone there?"

It was a woman's voice, young, almost girlish. Not the voice of a hardened guard. Curiosity, once again knocked at my door. Someday I might truly meet my demise.

"Who's there?" I called out, my voice raspy from pain.

"I... I work here," the voice replied. "I was hiding. I heard the explosions... the fighting..."

I hesitated. Could I trust her? Was this a trap? But the fear in her voice sounded genuine.

"Show yourself," I said, keeping my tone neutral. "Slowly."

After a moment of silence, a figure emerged from the shadows. It was a young woman, maybe in her early twenties, wearing a white lab coat. Her face was pale, her eyes wide and frightened.

"I... I don't know what's happening," she stammered. "The guards... they were all... then there was that noise... and the woman who flew through the roof..."

I could sense genuine shock in her tone. She wasn't lying. She was just as lost and scared as I was.

"I'm trying to get out of here," I said. "Do you know the way to an exit? A loading dock, anything?"

Her eyes widened. "Y-yes! I do. There's a service elevator near the research labs. It goes down to the underground levels. There's an emergency exit there."

A service elevator. Underground levels. It sounded perfect. Suspicious, but nevertheless perfect.

"Take me there," I said. "Now."

She nodded, her fear momentarily replaced by a spark of hope. "Okay, okay, follow me. It's this way."

Turning, she led me down the corridor, her footsteps quick and light. I followed close behind, my senses on high alert. Maybe, just maybe, I had finally found someone who could help me escape this forsaken mission. But in this world, hope was a dangerous thing. It was often the first thing to be extinguished.

We moved quickly, weaving through the abandoned corridors. The woman, who introduced herself as Sarah, seemed to know the layout of the facility intimately. She pointed out blind spots in the security system, and shortcuts I never would have found on my own.

"This place… what is it?" I asked, trying to catch my breath as we rounded a corner.

Sarah hesitated, chewing on her lip. "It's… complicated. Officially, it's a research facility for advanced materials. But… there's other stuff. More… unethical stuff." She glanced at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and anger. "They experiment on people. Enhance them. Weaponize them."

My gut clenched. It all made sense now. The enhanced guards, the superhuman fight raging outside… I had stumbled headfirst into a hornet's nest of clandestine experimentation.

"And you worked here?" I asked, trying to keep the judgment out of my voice.

"I was a research assistant," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I thought I was helping to develop new medicines. But then… I saw things. Things I can't unsee."

I didn't press her for details. I could imagine the horrors she had witnessed. It was enough to know that she was now on the right side, helping me get out of this place.

We reached a heavy steel door marked "Restricted Access." Sarah swiped a card she retrieved from her lab coat, and the door hissed open. Beyond was a small, utilitarian service elevator.

"This is it," she said, her voice trembling. "The emergency exit is on Level B5."

We stepped inside, the metal doors clanging shut behind us. Sarah punched in the code for Level B5, and the elevator began to descend. The silence was broken only by the hum of the machinery.

As we dropped deeper into the earth, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were heading into the heart of something truly dangerous. What awaited us on Level B5? Why am I anxious beyond my usual level? Ah!! I didn't eat lunch before heading for the mission... So... Hungry.

The elevator shuddered to a halt. The doors opened, revealing a dimly lit corridor, lined with pipes and cables. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and something else… something acrid and chemical.

"This way," Sarah said, pointing down the corridor. "The emergency exit is at the end. It's a reinforced blast door that leads to a maintenance tunnel."

We moved cautiously, our footsteps echoing in the oppressive silence. The deeper we went, the more uneasy I felt. This place felt wrong, like a violation of the natural order.

Suddenly, a low growl echoed from the shadows ahead. I froze, my hand instinctively reaching for a weapon I didn't have. Sarah gasped, her eyes wide with terror.

"What was that?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Sarah didn't answer. Instead, she pointed a trembling finger down the corridor.

Slowly, a figure emerged from the darkness. It was humanoid, but twisted and deformed. Its skin was pale and mottled, stretched taut over bone. Its eyes glowed with a malevolent red light. Saliva dripped from its fangs.

It was a monster. A product of the unethical experimentation Sarah had described.

It snarled, a guttural sound that sent shivers down my spine. It took a step forward, then another, its eyes fixed on us with predatory hunger.

"Run!" I shouted, grabbing Sarah's hand and pulling her after me.

We turned and fled back towards the elevator, the monster's growls echoing behind us. I could hear its heavy footsteps pounding against the concrete floor, gaining on us.

The elevator seemed miles away. We were running out of time.

Suddenly, the monster lunged. I felt a sharp pain in my leg, and I stumbled, falling to the ground.

Sarah screamed and tried to help me up, but I pushed her away.

"Go!" I yelled. "Get out of here! Save yourself!"

She hesitated for a moment, her face etched with anguish. Then, with a sob, she turned and ran towards the elevator.

I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the pain in my leg. I had to buy her time. I had to distract the monster.

But one thing remains settled...

"There's no fuckin way I'm dying today."

(TO BE CONTINUED)