Chapter Two : Endangered
At the sound of another explosion, a screechy cry of pure terror poured out from my trembling lips.
Now is not a good time to panic, I told myself. With a sharp inhale of breath, I tried to calm my frantic nerves but the thought of imminent danger was making it far worse.
Cold sweat chilled my face and my thick glasses started to slip off of the bridge of my nose to hang loosely off the tip. Not even the thick layer of makeup I caked onto my face could hide how pale I was getting.
From what I remembered, Asuka said that the alarms in this facility has never sounded over the last 13 years she’s worked here.
And if I’m not wrong, those supernatural beings that we experimented on are going to kill us and there was nothing that we could do about it.
We have nothing here other than needles and glass beakers, nothing that could kill powerful werewolves or bloodthirsty vampires.
Had they killed all the guards outside the labs, then we would be screwed.
Totally and completely screwed.
Amy and Daryl, my other lab partners, were both trying to hurriedly call for help when our fortified bulletproof walls came shattering down in a massive array of glass.
And I swear, my heart stopped beating for a split second. Once the glass windows shattered, the sounds of people screaming and running amuck were loud to my ears.
My brain wasn’t working at the moment but my instincts were quick to kick in.
I immediately pulled out a lab chair and ducked underneath the table before pulling the chair back into place to cover me. Seeing my actions, my other lab partners did the same.
Then, I caught sight of the intruders.
Big, tall, and muscled men infiltrated the lab rapidly with sharp canines peeking from their lips and nostrils flared as they searched for our scents.
From my position on the floor, I could see their razor-like teeth glisten terrifyingly in the light.
Werewolves.
I scooted further back into the desk, back touching the wall when one of them picked up a desk nearby and tossed it into the wall.
A thunderous crashing sound subsequently followed.
Daryl’s quivering form was easily revealed from underneath of the desk. He covered back and attempted to crawl away, but we all knew that it was useless.
I could hear a vicious growl come from the werewolf’s throat as if Daryl had angered him by trying to run. The guttural sound bounced from wall to wall when the werewolf stalked over, corded muscles bunching underneath of thick flesh in signs of power and strength. He picked Daryl up by his shirt, pulled the poor guy upwards until they were face to face.
Daryl looked like he was about to puke. His face became so pale that it matched his white lab coat.
“Where the hell is Lucas?” he growled out into Daryl’s face, long claws completely piercing through the fabric.
“I-I-I d-don’t know,” Daryl replied shakily, words barely audible due to fear.
“Don’t play dumb with me. Where are you keeping Lucas?” the werewolf spat out. Daryl slipped from the werewolf’s grasp when the coat started to rip, that was until his other hand grabbed Daryl’s neck in a tight grip.
“P-please! I-I don’t kn-know,” Daryl wheezed out.
His feet dangled and his face became abnormally red. He choked from the werewolf’s hold with tears leaking from barely open eyes. I could see his chest heave up and down in rapid succession. Daryl started to sob uncontrollably.
The time seemed to slow, all of us holding our breath, hoping to god that they didn’t kill Daryl.
The poor guy didn’t deserve it because I know for sure that Lucas Hensley was one of Amy’s experiments. She had previously stated that he was her hardest specimen to control and that taking samples from him was extremely taxing.
If she didn’t speak up now, Daryl will definitely die.
I tossed her a hard glare, to which she ignored.
And my lips pinched tight together in displeasure at her stubborn countenance.
“I don’t think he’s lying, Beta." One of the other taller werewolves stepped up, glass crunching like sand underneath his feet.
At the other werewolf’s statement, the Beta decided to toss Daryl away like a piece of used paper.
Daryl landed onto the floor in a heap. His head slammed onto the marble while his body scrunched up towards his chest from the impact.
I could see his eyes roll closed upon descent.
He stilled on the floor while dark blood started staining the white marble a deep shade of red.
We were all stunned still, unable to process what had happened before our eyes and what was going to happen next.
By now, Asuka was sobbing uncontrollably, unable to hold her tears back while fear completely enveloped us all.
This wasn’t a dream.
This is a nightmare.
And we all just might die.
“Set the building on fire,” came the Beta’s deep voice. The male turned away from us and walked towards the shattered door.
“What do we do with them, Beta?” one of the werewolf’s asked.
“Take them with us, their government will want them back. And by then, we can trade them for Lucas,” he stated.
Amy, Asuka and I cowered back in complete fear and terror.
My jaw gritted tightly and I willed down the urge to run or throw up. If I try to run now, they might just kill me the same way they killed Daryl. I didn’t dare to think that they would have any mercy on those who experimented on their kind.
“Come with us willingly or we can drag you out by your hair, choose wisely,” the Beta threatened. His eyes narrowed as if he was daring us to do otherwise, but he knew that none of us had the gall to.
In fear that they might become impatient, I took the lead and shakily stood up.
We were led outside and tossed inside of a giant black van with our hands tied behind our backs and blindfolded like prisoners.
I could clearly smell smoke and hear screams of terror that resounded loudly in my ears.
It was a massacre and we were the ones who started it.
My mind was a jumbled mess, no longer able to hold any sort of thought because I felt seemingly numb at the turn of events.
I didn’t even realize that I was crying halfway through the ride, wetting the black fabric of the blindfold and the front portion of my shirt. Almost all of us were crying by now, except for Amy who seemed to be extremely quiet.
Once we get some privacy, I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.
.
.
.
I don’t know what time it is anymore.
Hunger came and went multiple times but I didn’t dare to make a peep to our kidnappers. I was too afraid of the consequences to do so.
It almost felt like a full day or two when we were dragged out of the black van, not capable of fighting back because we know what we were going against. The consequences would be far too deadly.
They dragged us by our coats and I’m sure that we went through the front door because I could hear the voices of all kinds of people from young to old. They talked in hushed whispers and greeted our kidnappers rather enthusiastically.
We weren’t there very long to hear full conversations. Eventually, the noise died down.
They dragged us pitifully down flights of stairs until we reached the bottom.
I surmised that we must be in a cellar of some sorts. The stench of mold and rot was prominent in the air.
And I don’t want to know what else is in here.
The werewolves dragged us some way from the stairs and forced us to sit on the cold cement floor.
Some of them spat onto the ground at us before I could hear their heavy footsteps ascend the stairs. Then, the door was slammed shut.
The silence quickly ensued but I was sure that it wouldn’t stay that way for long.
"Why?” Asuka whispered as quietly as she could, her anger and despair barely concealed beneath her trembling breath.
“Why what?” Amy replied with a bare wisp of air. A hint of annoyance was laced in her voice.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell them that you were the one who experimented on Lucas, that you knew where he was!” Asuka whispered harshly, her voice cracking as she suppressed a sob.
I think her and Daryl had something for each other or else she wouldn’t have been so upset.
“That wouldn’t have changed anything,” Amy said with a hiss.
“Yes, it would have! Daryl’s dead because of you!” Asuka cried, breathing heavily. “Why didn’t you tell them where Lucas Hensley was?”
I tried to shush them in case the werewolves would hear but Amy continued anyways.
“How can I tell them when that damned werewolf died two days ago, they’d kill me.” She whispered angrily with a trembling voice as if she was crying underneath the strong and confident facade that she kept up.
Asuka and I froze in both shock and disbelief.
I have never killed anyone before. To hear that this was something that had happened at my workplace was beyond horrifying.
I knew what I was getting into when I enrolled for the program and I knew that they killed a lot of these supernatural beings. But never was it by my hands that they had died. A lot of times I pretended like I didn’t know what was actually going on in hopes of calming my guilt.
Most of my experimentation was on their blood. The only samples I was given was blood samples to test during my short experience working for the facility.
Even if I wanted to help them, there’s not much that I could do.
I couldn’t even save myself.
How could I think to save any of them?
“H-how?” Asuka shakily breathed, sniffling here and there as she tried to calm herself.
“Sanders and I made a mistake when we tried to extract his--” Amy choked out when a deep and horrifying growl made the walls tremble from its fierceness.
Oh no.