The Worlds Obsession

The Last One

Alan's morning had started like any other he had got up early like he always did and headed in to start his shift. It was not a fascinating job, he was a janitor at a company that had opened on the outskirts of town. He had never been told exactly what they did there. Science stuff was what he had always told people when they asked. It had never really mattered to him as he would just he would put his headphones on, grab his mop and bucket and get on with it.
As usual, Allan did his regular cleaning route around the facility mopping when needed and emptying the bins. It was always quiet this time of the morning but he began to become suspicious of why he had not seen anybody else walking around the halls for the shift changes. Not that any of them ever took the time to notice him, but he noticed them. He looked at his watch and realized that it was almost six-thirty so at least a few people should have walked by. Not a single person. He turned off his music and tugged at his headphones, letting the band hang around the back of his neck. It was quiet. Quiet enough to hear the handle of his mop clank against the wall as he set it and his bucket aside. Sometimes they had meetings, he pondered, that might explain it but at this time of the day?
The young janitor checked around the corner to see if anyone would come walking down but...no, no one came. He started to wander the vacant hallways and tried knocking on doors and peering around, looking behind him nearly every minute. Allan had his route and his keycard would only allow him access to rooms he was required to go in. Even the cleaning cupboard required him to swipe it before he could get in.
Just as he reached to put his headphones back on and get back to work the silence was broken. A metallic clatter, trays maybe, perhaps broken glass too. "More mess.", he sighed to himself out loud. "Well at least someone is here". The happiness at not feeling alone down there was shattered within seconds. After the crashing sounds had ceased he heard a long distorted growl that spun his head as he tried to figure out where the noise had come from. Any thought that it could hopefully be a faulty fan from the ventilation system grinding against its gears was lost when he heard a scream. It all came from the same direction. His eyes followed the colored lines that ran along the floor, it was somewhere down the green zone corridor.
His hand snatched at the shaft of his mop handle and he set off down the corridor running. He regretted it moments later. As he swerved around the corner his feet slipped, he skidded, slamming into the wall with a crunch. He hadn't mopped this area yet, why had the floor been wet, and if it wasn't him then why had no one put up a sign?
The answer was clear when he got his bearings and looked at his feet. Along the floor was a trail of blood, now with a smear through it where he had slipped. It led along the hallway through an automatic door. He never got to see inside most of the laboratories normally. Very few of them had windows, the doors were always sealed and they closed automatically. That should have been the case here too. Was it broken? Something had dented the metal panel, making it so that the door slid to a certain point and went back to try again in a loop.
Stepping through the door he followed the trail of blood, he saw some type of containment zone. Cages lined the far wall, each running from floor to ceiling. Various screens displayed spiraling geometry, walls of text, graphs, and monitors. Those were the ones that were not cracked, broken, and covered with splashes of something dark.
"What were they doing here?", he asked out loud. "And why is there so much bl-", he stopped talking, no longer need an answer to his question. The body of a fallen coworker lay twisted against the polished steel leg of a work table. The lab coat had been white once and used to have two sleeves. Now one was missing and the arm it had contained with it. He had to look away as he had not seen as much blood in his life.
His feet moved on their own, stepping him back as he tried to get the picture of the body out of his mind, it was as if it was carved into his brain. Allan stood there a while staring with empty eyes at the mess scattered across the floor. Trembling and unable to even scream he took in the sight, he should have looked away he knew. Then something dripped onto his shoulder and he yelped. Feeling foolish as soon as he did so, realizing it must have been from his mop. Except for the head of the mop was on the floor by his feet.
Allan's heart skipped a beat as he heard loud breathing over his shoulder then more drops dribbled down onto his head. Warm and thick and soaking through his hair. He screamed in terror and span around, stumbling backward and falling over.
As he looked up, he saw what had killed the woman in the lab coat. It stood so tall he was amazed it had fit in the cage, or perhaps it was just that he was laying on the floor.
Allan knew what it was, or thought he did. He had seen them in enough films over the years though they had never had feathers. Standing above him on two bent back legs that looked terribly strong despite being so thin in places, was a dinosaur. Specifically a velociraptor. He stared up at it, and more surprisingly it stared back down at him, cocking its head from side to side, its eyes never losing track of him. Allan found himself mimicking its movements with his own head, his own gaze locked on the red stains coating its muzzle. If he had not been so scared, he might even have found it beautiful. Trying to get to his feet and move toward the door away from the creature. His feet thrust him into a sprint that lasted only a second. He screamed in pain as he felt its dagger-like teeth pierce his leg. He stumbled, his forehead bouncing off the smooth cold floor, he knew this was his last moment, and though his last breaths were mumbled, quietly while slowly being eaten he could not help but think, "I love you, Violet. Please take care of our Ronnie..."