The Experiment

It was a beautiful summer night, but Leyna could not enjoy it for she had to work late. To enter the company's terrain she first had to pass through security. The man on duty looked rather bored as he noted down her name, phone number, and the building she would be working in.

As she walked to the lab through a small park, she looked up to the sky.

Full stars, a small crescent moon.

A smile crept on her face. She didn't mind coming back to work at this hour, as she enjoyed her job.

To enter the laboratory building, she needed to use her badge to unlock the doors, and again to get into the laboratory area itself. She exchanged her jacket for a lab coat, put on safety goggles, and swapped her sneakers for special laboratory clogs. A yawn escaped her throat before she entered the lab and got to work.

-

It was almost three in the morning when she was finishing up her work when a loud bang shook the building. Wide-eyed and heart racing, she ran through the entire lab area, but whatever it was it had not been from in here with her.

She quickly finished cleaning up her workspace, checked if she had noted everything down, and started to hurry towards the exit when the lights went out.

With the feeble light coming in from outside she made her way back to find a phone and call the security desk.

The line was dead.

She had been slightly afraid, but now she was ready to panic. She hurried to the exit of the area and exchanged her lab outfit for her normal one. With trembling fingers she tried to tie her shoelaces when someone knocked on the door.

She shot up and looked through the small window.

It was a security officer.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips. She unlocked the door to get into the hallway and speak to the man.

"Are you Leyna?" he asked quickly.

She nodded and pointed at her badge. "What happened? I heard a loud bang and—"

"We have to evacuate. I'm not sure yet what's going on, but I've been given the order to get everyone out. Back-up is coming."

"B-back-up?" Leyna asked, startled. "Did a gas cylinder or something explode? Is a clean-up squad coming?"

The security officer shook his head. "Look, I don't know much more than that and—"

A gunshot sounded outside.

Leyna's eyes widened in shock. "W-what was that?"

"Quickly!" He pushed Leyna towards the staircase. "Get into the basement and exit nearest to the reception." As he spoke he kept his eyes on the door leading outside. His hand went into his jacket and got out a gun.

Leyna was shocked by the fact that he carried one, but before she could ask more questions another gunshot was heard outside—closer this time. Without saying a word she slipped towards the staircase and went down into the dark.

The light of her phone illuminated enough so she could see where she was walking. Still, she had no clue where to go. The basement connected all the buildings of the area and thus resembled a large labyrinth.

Is it a terrorist attack or something? she wondered. But the research we do here can't be important enough to attract something like that...

As she exited the basement under the original lab building she had to use her badge to open the door; that is, if there had been power and if it had still been locked. At the intersection, she stood still and tried to get her bearings. Biting her lip she looked at the path left, then at the path straight ahead. Both hallways looked identical with the bare concrete walls. She sighed, and started down the left hallway.