The Experiment

Walking around in the dark with only her phone's light filled her body with adrenaline. She couldn't hear anything from whatever was going on above of her. At some point, she tried to make a call, but the concrete around her blocked the signal.

She was starting to doubt if she was going the right way, as the path seemed to go slightly down. Also, the amount of normally locked doors requiring a badge seemed to be more than there were buildings between the lab and the reception.

She was just about ready to turn around and try a different path when she heard something in the distance. Hoping it was a security officer, she called out.

No answer.

Yet the sound continued. Leyna couldn't quite place it. Fast footsteps?

Fear gripped her heart and she found herself nailed to the ground as the sound closed in.

The light of her phone cast ghastly shadows due to her hand shaking badly. The footstep-like sound was coming closer faster and faster, and she could now hear it was not just a single pair—nor was she sure it were shoes that were making the noise.

Her heart skipped a beat as a low shadow suddenly came into view.

It was a warthog, pristine white, and seemingly running for its life.

Leyna eyed the beast as it disappeared the way she had come from.

What the fuck?! I thought our animal research department had no animals bigger than rabbits?

Then shock hit her. If it is a lab animal, how did it get out? Is it dangerous?

She looked at the direction the beast had run off to. For a moment, she doubted about what to do but then decided to continue on her way. A special team would need to capture the animal, as she had neither the training nor the equipment to capture the poor thing.

One thing comforted her, though: if that was a lab animal, and the abnormal white skin suggested so, she was going the right direction, though seemingly with a slight detour.

Not even half a minute had passed since the white warthog had come running by, when a loud shriek echoed through the hall.

Eyes wide and heart beating in her throat, Leyna managed to take a few steps back until she stood against the wall.

Something else was closing in, fast.

She tried to illuminate the dark with her phone so she could see what it was, but the sound the creature made before appearing already gave it away.

It was a horse.

The white beast was galloping madly, foam at its mouth, yet it slowed down as it came closer to Leyna.

The light cast vivid shadows as her hand trembled uncontrollably; the horse had stopped at the edge of the darkness and was now turning back to face her.

Is it rabid? she thought, the rushing of her blood loud in her ears.

The horse emitted something akin to a scream and walked up to her, lip pulled up exposing pearly white teeth covered with foamy saliva.

Oh, fuck, Leyna thought and she started to shuffle away from the beast alongside the wall.

Suddenly the horse stared into the darkness of the hallway where it had come from. Leyna saw its eyes move wildly in their sockets as pure panic took control, just before the horse turned away and ran off.

I have to get out of here, Leyna thought as she watched the horse disappear into the dark.

She turned around to run to the reception—figuring she was close—but stopped after only a few steps.

There, at the edge of the light, something stirred.

Leyna trembled so hard that her phone's light only illuminated what was out there for fractions of the time.

She took a step back.

The light receded with her, but a nearly translucent white hand without nails appeared out of the dark, followed by another.

The rather thin arm attached to it was long—too long.

The creature's head freed itself from the shadows.

Long, tangled raven hair covered the face of the humanoid thing that was crawling closer towards her.

Leyna stumbled backwards and the thing leaped at her like a grotesque frog, landing almost at her feet.

It looked up, pitch black eyes glared into her brown ones. The mouth opened up in a high-pitched scream.

Those teeth...

They were silver and shark-like.

Metal.

Leyna couldn't help but stare at the creature, paralysed by fear and disbelief.

The rumours, she thought, they were true...

The mouth opened more and more, the jaw unhinging itself like a snake's.

It's been more than half a decade...

Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

The Nazi human experiments...

The creature lunged at her.