Chapter 15: The Trial Begins
Project Control Room – Level 5 Authorization
The place was not in ruins like the rest of the complex. Not completely. It felt sealed off, an observation lab frozen in time. A thick layer of dust covered every surface. Monitors lined the walls, all dark. A main terminal sat in the center of the room, and at the far end stood a heavy sealed gate – newer than the rest – with a plaque that read: "Emergency Exit: Alpha Line – Containment Elevator."
"That must be it," Rebecca whispered.
"Yeah, but first…" Richard murmured, moving to the terminal and powering it on.
The system hummed for a few seconds and then flickered to life with a basic interface. It blinked, loaded, and displayed a single entry: PROJECT: KREUTZ – TRANSFORMATION RECORD. Rebecca swallowed hard. Richard didn't hesitate. He pressed ENTER.
A record video began – Timestamped May 12, 3:47 A.M. The grainy, gray security camera footage showed a tall, thin man strapped into a medical restraint chair, still wearing his lab coat. On his pocket the name was clear: Dr. Adrian Kreutz. His face was pale and drawn, eyes sunken with exhaustion. In the background, several scientists stood behind a containment glass, watching intently. A robotic voice echoed from the speakers:
—"Initiating conversion protocol. Restrain phase one."
Dr. Kreutz did not resist. He simply closed his eyes in resignation. A drop of sweat slipped down his temple.
"This will be my legacy," he murmured.
A thick syringe was pushed into the base of his neck. The liquid was black and viscous – like living ink seeping in.
What came next was pain.
Kreutz's body convulsed. His muscles cramped and spasmed; his skin bubbled as if boiling from within. He began to scream – not words, just raw, bestial roars.
Bones cracked and reknit themselves. His eyes turned a milky white. One arm stretched out unnaturally long. The other… began mutating into something elongated and jagged, as if flesh were being sculpted from the inside.
Behind the glass, the scientists scribbled notes frantically. One whispered, "Mutation is happening faster than expected. The subject is responding favorably. His preexisting genetic markers are accelerating the process." Another added, "Dr. Kreutz had the H-series marker dormant. That's why he was chosen. He knew he was the one. That's why he volunteered…"
The camera shifted to show the being emerging from the chair: flesh pulsing and live, slick and red. His lab coat hung in shredded tatters. He was no longer a man.
He had become … that.
Rebecca took a step back, speechless. Richard's jaw clenched.
"They knew," he said, rage rasping his voice. "They knew what they'd do to him. And he knew it too…"
"They didn't force him," Rebecca murmured. "He volunteered."
Silence.
Rebecca pointed at the control panel next to the heavy exit.
"That elevator… it might get us out of here," she said softly. "But he probably knows about it too."
Richard nodded without taking his eyes off the darkened screen.
Experimental Sublevel – Emergency Elevator
The door hissed shut behind them. With a hydraulic groan, the elevator began its ascent. Richard and Rebecca were breathing hard, bodies battered but still upright. Tension clung to them like tangible smoke, as if the air itself were watching them.
Then a low electrical buzz. The lights flickered… and went out.
"Now what?" Richard muttered, raising his rifle in the darkness.
The elevator's console blinked red. A voice emerged over the intercom – deep and refined, laced with a serpentine menace that chilled them to the bone:
—"You have come farther than I expected. Impressive… but, sadly, it will not change your fate."
Rebecca stepped forward. "Who are you?" she demanded.
Silence. Then the voice continued:
—"Ah… names no longer matter. I have been watching you from the beginning: every step, every decision… even your mistakes. And now it is time for you to face the end that was reserved for you."
Richard ground his teeth. "What the hell do you want?" he snapped.
—"What I want… you will know soon. But for now, consider this a gift. A demonstration of the true power that lies within these facilities."
The elevator shook violently, then jolted off its track. It had taken a new path – a forced detour.
—"I hope to see whether you survive Test Zone 1," the voice whispered through the speakers. "I'm eager to see you in action."
The panel went dark.
A second later, the elevator's gate opened with a sudden bang, releasing a blast of warm, humid air that felt like the chamber itself exhaling. Richard leveled his weapon.
"Get ready," he said. "They want us dead."
Test Zone #1 – Umbrella Facility
The chamber was immense. A high, domed ceiling soared above. Shattered catwalks and broken suspension bridges hung overhead. Suspended platforms and twisting metal walkways crisscrossed the cavernous space. Red warning lights blinked across exposed cryogenic tanks and machinery. Steam hissed up through every crack. It looked like a vast metallic crater – an arena of execution.
Behind them, the heavy door slammed shut with a deafening thud.
Silence.
And then… sound.
Heavy thuds. A deep, guttural growl. As if something colossal were rousing from the depths.
From the shadows it stepped into the dim red light.
The Proto-Prototyrant. But it was different.
The creature was a grotesque amalgam of muscle and mutation. Jagged bone plates jutting through sinew clung to its body like living armor. Its blade arm had elongated, serrated segments that clicked like jaws. On its back, pulsating fleshy masses glistened faintly.
His eyes… there was no humanity in them.
Only hatred.
He roared. The sound rattled in the dome – the entire chamber seemed to quake.
"Watch out!" Richard shouted, firing without thinking.
The Prototyrant charged with brutal speed.
Rebecca rolled behind a metal support beam as its massive claws gouged deep furrows into the floor. Richard lunged onto a collapsed platform and scrambled up, spraying rounds from his assault rifle.
BANG! BANG!
Tracer rounds tore through the air, but the bullets barely slowed the monster.
With a snarl, the Prototyrant hurled its razor blade-arm like a spear.
A steel column groaned – then split in two with a shower of sparks and twisted metal.
Rebecca screamed as the impact shook the structure. A heavy beam snapped and fell toward them. Richard shoved her aside just in time.
They hit the deck as the beam thundered down. Dust filled the air.
"Vents! To the vents!" Rebecca yelled. "We can use the coolant gas!"
"I'm on it!" Richard called back.
He dropped to his knees and aimed at the thick pipes lining the wall. With a dozen rapid shots, he tore open the coolant lines. A white vapor cloud blasted out and engulfed the Prototyrant.
The monster let out a high-pitched shriek and stumbled back, blinded by the freezing mist. But the reprieve was brief.
Suddenly, its skin began to shift and crawl. Bulging nodules on its back burst open.
FLUSH!
Jets of dark, oily fluid sprayed into the air. The Prototyrant howled as its flesh began knitting itself back together, regenerating right before their eyes.
"What the hell…?!" Richard muttered, stumbling back.
"It's evolving! It's adapting!" Rebecca cried.
The creature lunged. A mutated leg coil beneath its body launched it forward with the force of a freight train.
Rebecca dove for cover just in time. But Richard wasn't so lucky – the Prototyrant's strike sent him flying through the air. He crashed against an electrical console.
Sparks exploded and a surge of electricity jolted through his arm. Pain radiated from a fresh wound on his chest, and his vision blurred. Everything spun.
"RICHARD!" Rebecca screamed.
The Prototyrant seized her by the arm. Her head slammed into the steel floor as she struggled against its grip. She leveled her pistol at point-blank range and pulled the trigger in desperation.
The creature roared and flung her off like a rag doll.
Rebecca landed hard on a lower catwalk, skidding across the metal grate. She coughed, gasping for air, blood trickling from a cut on her forehead.
Richard groaned and pushed himself up, every muscle on fire. Pain lanced through his body, but he wouldn't fall. Not now.
Not yet.
He spotted an industrial crane arm suspended above.
There. It might do some good.
He staggered toward the control panel as the Prototyrant bore down on Rebecca.
"Come on... come on..." he panted, slamming the activation switch.
The mechanical arm creaked and began to descend.
Just as the Prototyrant raised its blade to strike Rebecca…
CRASH!
The crane's massive metal claw slammed into the monster's face with bone-crunching force. It let out a banshee scream as it flew backward into a row of cryogenic tanks.
Glass shattered and a cloud of icy gas burst out in an explosion.
Rebecca coughed and crawled away from the swirling smoke.
"Thanks…" she whispered hoarsely.
Richard gave a bloody nod, pressing a hand to his side.
But it wasn't over.
Through the mist, the creature emerged – more deformed than ever. One of its arms had reformed into multiple whip-like fingers.
The Prototyrant howled as its trembling body stabilized.
And then, without warning…
It leapt.
Straight onto the ceiling.
"What the hell…?" Richard managed.
They looked up. From the girders above, the beast stared down at them, moving like a gigantic insect crawling along the beams.
Rebecca squeezed the trigger. Richard did the same.
But the Prototyrant had become too fast – unstoppable now.
A final, earth-shaking roar filled the chamber.
And it descended with murderous fury.
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