Chapter Text
Friday, May 16, 2003, at 9:00 a.m
The previously undisturbed Genetic Experimentation Research facility was suddenly filled with monstrous beings and creatures that would make any person fill with abject horror. The building itself was suddenly fragile and weak, and yet somehow more secure than ever. Openings and windows covered and blocked by rubble, doors once built to protect the workers now sealed them in a tomb of their own making. A safe haven now turned to a labyrinth of horror.
Dr. Burner sat crouched beneath his desk. It used to be something he knew like the back of his hand, a workspace he knew well, he knew where every screwdriver, paperclip, or even pen sat. Tucked away like a child's discarded toy, his face covered from the dust and rubble that was floating around him. He could hear others screaming in the hallways, it was only a few minutes ago he had been talking with his coworkers, his friends, and even sooner since then had he sat at the chair, now thrown across the room when suddenly the whole building had begun to shake. Creatures coming out of seemingly nowhere lunging at scientists, tearing through flesh and taking control in mere seconds. The world around him was suddenly a war zone. Burner was terrified, his whole body shook. He was alone, and no one was able to come to save him. He could hear the creatures walking around him, but he couldn’t move. He shouldn’t dare, seeing what they had done. He couldn’t make a single sound, otherwise, they might find him, and what would he do then? He couldn't fight, he was a scientist for pitties sake, he had only graduated college a year or so ago. He would get killed, just like everyone else-
He froze. Everyone else, including his dearest friend Lam, his mentor, and even the sweet receptionist lady who no matter how cold she acted toward them, seemed to go out of her way every day just to talk to the Genetic Experimentation crew. If they have gotten hurt, well he didn’t quite know what he would do. They were all of the people, all of the friends he had left. His body pumping with adrenaline, he slowly uncovered his face and sat up. Burner silently crawled out from the desk to peak over the top. He looked around the lab he was in. The creatures, no doubt alien in nature, seemed to have left the room, perhaps to search for another living being to hunt.
Burner gulped, and slowly moved into a crouched position, so he could more easily move. He slowly opened his desk drawer, doing his best to not make even a single sound. If he was going to find his friends he would need some tools, and maybe a flashlight or some light source. He looked in his drawer and saw all of his belongings, a mug he once got as a gift from someone dear to him, a couple of scattered pens, and a photo of him and his friends from when he just joined the team. Tears welled in his eyes as he thought about the fond memories, even though they had never met before Lam had treated Burner like they had been best friends for life. He slowly took the photo out of its shattered frame and tucked it in his pocket. He needed to find them. He would do anything to find them. He wouldn’t rest until he did.
He opened his other drawer and pulled out a flashlight, one of the large black ones the security guards always had on hand. He borrowed it one day to look in the vents after a rat escaped the experiment room but had forgotten to give it back. The guard told him he could just keep it, seeing as “who knows how many genetically enhanced rats could escape this place.” Burner smiled to himself at the memory. He then took a large Phillips screwdriver from the drawer, hoping it would be a better defense than just his hands. He looked through the rest of his drawers to no avail.
Burner slowly walked over to the lab table situated near the center of the room, careful to not make a single sound, where he picked up a box of matches. He slowly rooted through the glass cabinets on the far walls, rifling through them and taking everything he thought would be useful. He managed to collect a first aid kit and some extra bandages, some scalpels, and a few bottles of a strange green liquid that he used to see Hastings carry everywhere, it seemed really important. He shoved everything into a cross-body messenger bag he took to work every day.
The doctor took one last look around the testing room, partly to scan for any leftover things that could be useful, and partly to say goodbye. He knew once he left the door, it would likely be the last time he ever had to step foot in it again.
Then, holding his breath, he opened the door and peeked outside.
Burner quickly moved his hands over his mouth to stifle a gasp as he looked out. The corridor was ten times worse off than the inside, filled with piles of rubble exposed worse drifting through massive puddles of water, doors jammed shut and bodies littered everywhere. He felt sick.
But luckily, he didn’t spot any of those… creatures. He wasn’t sure if he should call them zombies or monsters, but he did know he had to avoid them at all costs if he wanted to get out alive. Quietly, he crawled across the hallway, weaving through the piles of rubble. Burner paused for a moment, to look over the bodies of one of the scientists who had been taken over by one of the creatures. The scientist's mouth was open, far wider than what was natural, their eyes gouged out. Their ribs exposed, nearly all of them either missing or broken. A gaping hole sat where many of their organs should have been before. The scientists' hands had been distorted, the fingers elongated and curled inwards. Burner felt sick. He couldn’t bear to think of what may have done this. He was terrified.
Suddenly, he heard movement behind him.
The shuffling of fabric, the sound of sloppy steps. He quickly grabbed one of the scalpels out of his bag. The steps were growing louder as he fumbled to get the blade out of its casing. He saw movement rounding a corner. Tears were forming in his eyes, his hands shaking too hard for him to affix the tiny blade to its handle. He could see it now, one of the corpses he had passed walking toward him. He felt like he was suffocating, gasping for air. The creature heard him now and was heading straight towards him. Burner dropped to his knees, attempting to use the uneven surface below him to get the blade put on the handle. He could barely see through the tears in his eyes. His whole body was shaking, his hand slipping off of the cold steel handle cutting his hand on the paper-thin blade. He was done for, he could nearly feel the creature standing in front of him ready to kill him. He closed his eyes hard. He couldn’t even save his friends in the end, he could only sit and cower, dying mere seconds after exiting safety.
Then, he realized he couldn’t hear anything but the rushing of the blood in his ears, and a loud ringing. Burner opened his eyes, frantically looking around. Before him lay the immobile body of the creature mere inches away, dead this time for sure. He shot backward, scooting away as far and as fast as he could from it. Still gasping he looked to see what had saved him. Standing before him was a man wearing a security guard's uniform. The man turned to him.
"Can I see your passport?"