New World

Dark, wet and hungry.  Those were its first senses upon waking.

The wetness it could deal with.

The hunger required action.

Stretching, it cracked open its eyes. They shone blood-red eye, glowing in the darkness. Two plasma flames floating in the dark.  They were as small flames, they shone and flickered bright and hard. Then as if calming they faded to a duller sullen red, like freshly burnt out coals.

Its eyes flicked around the room. Taking it all in at a glance.

The ten foot ceiling.

The cramped feeling of space.

White walls, white floor, white ceiling, white…door.

Its hunger lurched. A quickening of the heart. A squeezing of the belly. Food. Food lies this way the door beckoned.

He rose and a shell fell from around his body. Shattering on the ground, like porcelain. It was not food, so he did not pay it any mind.

The door however that had his full attention. The door had no handles, no window, just a seam. A vague imprint of freedom.

He placed his huge clawed hand on it. It was cold against his pads, his claws clicked against the metal, scratching away white polished paint to show a steel interior underneath.

He pushed almost casually. And the door squealed and bulged. Paint chips flew, as a dent, two feet across bent the door. A gap appeared where a lock would normally be.

A small gap, but with it let in air. A fresh current brushed his nose.

And the scents, oh they twirled and danced with his hunger. Promising a pleasurable hunt, a glorious chase, blood and flesh to fill his belly.

This happens in the span of a second…because as the air washed through his cell, three things happened that would forever change the world as we know it.

A siren sounded.

Red lights flared.

And the beast erupted into motion.

It hit the door first. Shattered, it spun away, a broken heap of metal.

It landed on all floors and rocked back on its heels. Breathe roaring into his lungs.

And he howled

Long

Hard

Fierce






Chapter 2 - Project Omega
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Agent Bryce was pudgy. He wasn’t fat, but people certainly would not say he was slim.

His face wasn’t striking. His hair was brown, slightly curly, evenly cut, and ordinary. He looked thirty-ish but might have passed for someone in their late twenties.

His nose was average. Fit his face rather well actually. In a just right ordinary way.

As a matter of fact, Agent Bryce had a way of not standing out in any sort of way.

Currently he stands in front of an ordinary looking building.

An ordinary man staring at an ordinary building.

But in this building strange men, did very strange things. And it was Bryce’s job to assess the damage done by their curious minds.

Take tonight for instance, at 3 AM his mobile alarm had gone off. It was a priority three alert. Which meant he had to act immediately. He did. He arrived at the front of the building 14 minutes later one minute ahead of Protocol.

But he was confused.

These things had a protocol which was to be followed. Protocol allowed Bryce to handle the situation. Protocol informed Bryce about the situation. Protocol gave Bryce a handle with which to push any disaster in a more favorable direction. Protocol made Bryce’s life easy.

But Protocol was not being followed.

Which made Bryce very, very nervous.

You see, Protocol states that 2 minutes after the alarm is given, Bryce is to be given a phone call. There was no phone call.

Protocol states that 5 minutes after the alarm, the building would be locked down. Yet there were no metal shields across any of the windows.

Protocol states that 10 minutes after the alarm, the building would be evacuated. Bryce could see at least three cars that belong to researches, still parked on the curb.

Protocol states that 15 minutes after the alarms sounds, it would be turned off. Beacon Labs did not want the police to handle its disturbances.

Even from the street, Bryce could see the red lights flashing through the windows. And the faint wail of the siren could be heard even from across the street.

Something had gone very, very wrong.

His phone vibrates. He reaches up and answers through his ear piece.

“Bryce here”

An unnamed voice on the other end replies “The alarm is still on.”

“I can see that.” he replies, “Protocol is not being followed. What can you tell me?”

“Cell seven was the source of the alarm, and we have no…human…heat signatures.”

Bryce reached under his jacket and took out his gun. He started to move toward the front door in short steps, gun down but ready to react.

“What sort of heat signatures are you finding? And what was in Cell seven?“

“We are not quite sure, the heat signature seems to be all over…everything.” The operator paused for a moment. “I am sorry Sir, but information about the occupant in Cell seven is classified.”

Bryce paused at the door. “I’m not going in without knowing what got loose.”

The phone clicked, once, twice, three times. Then a deep voice growled through the line.

“You will go in. You will secure the building. You will shut off the alarm…Agent”.

Never in Bryce’s ten years had he talked to anyone other than an operator. Never. There was a protocol to follow!

“Who is this?” He said.

“I am the Director. I am giving you an order.” That voice growled at him.

“Damn your orders, I need to know what I’m dealing with”.

There was a long silence on the line.

“Alpha, we lost Alpha”

Bryce backed away from the door. There was a time for Protocol and then there was not. Now was not the time for Protocol.

He felt a little safer once he was back across the street. He holstered his gun. “Sir, there is no point in me going in there. I know what I will find. The walls are covered in blood. That’s your heat signatures.

If Alpha is in there it will kill me.
If it is not in there, I don’t need to go in.”

“Well then Agent Bryce, what do you suggest we do?”

Bryce paused and looked at the building. “Burn it. Burn the whole building down, Sir. Immediately.”

It seemed as if only a moment had passed when flames began to lick from out the windows. Beacon Labs was nothing if they were not efficient.

Again the voice growled “Done. Now what about Alpha?”

Bryce ran a hand through his hair, with a frown on his face he said “You need to active Omega”

The voice replied, “Omega is not controllable, he is not reliable, he is not an active asset.”

“I know Sir, but he is our best option. Either we use him or we die. Everyone dies. The clock is ticking, Sir. You do know what Alpha is don’t you?”

Silence

Three clicks came over the line.

Then the voice of the original operator came on. “Agent Bryce, please rendezvous with Agent Omega in one hour. Location and history has already been sent.”