Chapter 9: The Forgotten Laboratory
1153 Words
The truck barrels onward, the wasteland stretching endlessly in every direction. Kade sits at the wheel, his eyes fixed on the horizon, while Lila and Finn rest in the back, their weapons within arm's reach. I lean against the window, the wind whipping through the cracks and carrying the faint metallic tang of irradiated air.
“What’s the plan?” Finn asks, breaking the silence.
Kade doesn’t look back. “We keep heading northeast. There’s a place I’ve been tracking—a facility that might have answers about the creatures.”
“A facility?” Lila echoes, her tone skeptical. “You mean a bunker? Like the one we just crawled out of?”
“No,” Kade replies, shaking his head. “This one’s different. Older. It was built before the fallout, during the height of the war. If the Sentinels’ intel was right, it was a research lab. Might be where this mess started.”
The thought chills me. A place where monsters were born. “How far is it?”
“Two days,” Kade says. “If the truck holds up.”
Lila snorts. “And if we don’t run into more of those things.”
---
By the time the sun begins to set, we reach a small ridge overlooking what used to be a town. The buildings are half-buried in sand, their roofs collapsed and walls eroded. A rusted water tower leans precariously, its shadow stretching long across the ground.
Kade parks the truck at the ridge’s edge, cutting the engine. “We camp here for the night. Town’s too open to risk going in after dark.”
We pile out of the truck, setting up a small fire among the rocks. The sky above is a dull, grayish orange, the sun’s light filtered through layers of ash and haze. The temperature drops quickly, the wind biting and relentless.
Finn scavenges through the truck’s supplies, pulling out a few cans of food. “Dinner’s served,” he says dryly, handing them out.
I sit beside the fire, my back to the truck. The heat is a welcome relief, but my mind keeps drifting back to Kade’s mention of the lab. If it really exists, what will we find there? Answers? Or just more questions?
---
In the dead of night, I wake to the sound of distant howling. It’s faint, carried on the wind, but unmistakable. I sit up, my hand instinctively reaching for my knife.
“Relax,” Kade’s voice comes from the shadows. He’s leaning against the truck, his pistol resting on his thigh. “They’re far enough away.”
“What are they?” I ask, moving closer.
“Wolves,” he says, though there’s an edge to his tone. “Or what’s left of them. Radiation didn’t do them any favors.”
The howling fades, replaced by the steady rustle of the wind. Kade glances at me, his expression unreadable. “You should get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”
I nod, lying back down. But sleep doesn’t come easily.
---
Morning arrives with a pale, sickly light. We eat quickly, pack up, and head into the town. The streets are eerily silent, the buildings casting long shadows across the cracked pavement. We move cautiously, weapons drawn, our footsteps echoing in the emptiness.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Lila mutters, her knife gleaming in her hand.
Finn stops suddenly, his gaze fixed on something up ahead. “Tracks.”
We gather around, staring at the faint impressions in the dust. They’re clawed and uneven, leading toward a collapsed building near the center of town.
“Something’s been here,” Finn says, his voice low.
“Recently,” Kade adds, his eyes narrowing. “Stay close.”
We follow the tracks, our nerves stretched thin. The building they lead to is little more than a hollow shell, its walls crumbling and roof caved in. Kade motions for us to spread out, his pistol at the ready.
Inside, the air is thick with dust and decay. The floor is littered with debris—broken furniture, shattered glass, and what looks like the remains of long-dead animals. A faint, acrid smell hangs in the air, making my stomach churn.
Then we hear it—a low, guttural growl, coming from the shadows.
“Get ready,” Kade says, his voice steady.
The creature steps into the light, and my blood runs cold. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before. Its body is hunched and grotesque, its skin a patchwork of scars and tumors. Its eyes glow a sickly green, and its mouth is filled with jagged teeth. Long, bony limbs end in razor-sharp claws that scrape against the floor as it moves.
The creature lunges, faster than I expected. Finn fires his rifle, the shot striking its shoulder, but it barely flinches. Lila dives to the side, slashing at its legs with her knife. Kade’s pistol barks, the bullets tearing into the creature’s chest, but it keeps coming.
I stab at it with my knife, the blade sinking into its side. It screeches, a sound so piercing it feels like needles in my ears. It swipes at me with its claws, knocking me back into a pile of debris.
“Fall back!” Kade shouts, grabbing a metal pipe and swinging it at the creature’s head. The blow lands with a sickening crunch, and the creature stumbles, black ichor oozing from its wounds.
Lila seizes the moment, plunging her knife into the base of its skull. The creature collapses, twitching violently before going still.
We stand there, breathing heavily, staring at the corpse. Its blood pools around it, hissing and bubbling as it eats away at the floor.
“What the hell was that?” Finn asks, his voice shaking.
“Another experiment,” Kade says grimly. “We’re getting close.”
---
We leave the town behind, the encounter with the creature weighing heavily on our minds. The road ahead grows rougher, the landscape shifting into jagged cliffs and deep ravines. The truck struggles over the uneven terrain, the engine groaning with the effort.
By late afternoon, we spot it—a massive structure built into the side of a mountain. Its walls are reinforced with steel, and the remains of a fence surround it, half-buried in sand. The facility is old, its surface rusted and scarred, but it still stands.
Kade parks the truck at a safe distance, cutting the engine. “This is it.”
We climb out, weapons ready, and approach the facility. The air feels heavier here, charged with an unexplainable energy. The entrance is a massive steel door, partially ajar. Faded lettering above it reads Project Genesis.
“What is this place?” Lila asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Ground zero,” Kade says, stepping inside. “Where the fallout began
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