Kevin descended the worn metal staircase, each echoing clang a stark reminder of the laboratory's long abandonment. Fifty feet beneath the earth, the air hung thick and stale, a damp, metallic tang clinging to his nostrils. He adjusted the Plumber-issued flashlight, its beam cutting through the oppressive gloom. "Okay, this should be easy enough," he muttered, his voice a low rumble in the silence. All he needed was a sliver of evidence, a trace of whatever clandestine work had been carried out here.
The room stretched before him, a cavernous space filled with the skeletal remains of forgotten technology. Rust-eaten consoles, their screens cracked and dark, lined the walls. Tangled wires snaked across the floor, like petrified vines. He swept the flashlight beam across the debris, the light catching the glint of corroded metal and the dull sheen of dust-covered glass. An hour crawled by, each minute punctuated by the hollow echo of his footsteps. The silence was unnerving, a heavy blanket that pressed down on him.
Finally, his light illuminated a rack of vials, nestled in a shadowed corner. Their contents, liquids of varying hues, shimmered faintly in the beam. He approached cautiously, his boots crunching on shards of broken tile. He carefully examined each vial, his brow furrowed in concentration. He reached for one, its cool glass smooth against his fingertips. A smirk played on his lips. "Jackpot," he murmured. But as he grasped the vial, his fingers slipped, the smooth glass betraying him. The vial plummeted, a sickening thud echoing through the chamber as it shattered on the concrete floor. The liquid splashed outwards, a cold, viscous wave washing over his boots and lower legs. "Oh, great..." he groaned, his annoyance a sharp contrast to the suffocating silence.
Then, a flicker of heat, a prickling sensation that spread across his skin like a thousand tiny needles. He felt a surge of energy, a burning intensity that radiated from the point of contact, and then began to spread. His blood began to feel like it was boiling, and his muscles began to clench.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author