"Hold your fire, I repeat, hold your fire!!" the soldier at the front of the strike team yelled out, his gun still trained at the blood-soaked man standing in front of him, handgun in hand. When they breached the compound door, they expected many things - a lone researcher was not one of them.

"Oh," the man said with a tired voice, "Mr Harding, is that you under there?"

"Doctor Marchetti?!" the soldier yelled out with audible shock.

"Yes, yes, I- I apologize for my manners, it's just-" Marchetti said and turned around, yet his demeanour was off, slowly, sluggish, like he was in a daze.

"Get me a medic! Doctor, is anyone with you?"

"It's... not my blood," he chuckled slowly. "No, I... don't think, I- I was alone in my office, the gloomhags overrun the facility- there was a breach you see- I-" he said but stumbled forward, unable to stand properly.

"Doc, come on, sit," Harding said and helped the man. "Let me take the gun."

"The... gun? Oh, yes, yes, the... you know, I'm a better shot... than I thought. Maybe I missed... my calling," Marchetti said and slowly handed the soldier his firearm. It was splattered with blood and stank of gunpowder. It seemed that it was not only fired numerous times but used as a blunt weapon as well.

"Alright Doc," Harding continued, "let's get you looked at." He looked the man over and noticed his other hand was clenched tight to the point where the doctor's knuckles turned white. "What's in your other-"

"NO!" Marchetti yelled suddenly with far more vigour than expected, "no no you- you mustn't touch it! It's..." he slowly opened his hand and showed Harding the thus far tightly held brass pocket watch.

"A watch?" Harding said incredulously.

"7663-B," Marchetti said with a slight smile as he slumped back down, his outburst of energy taking its toll.

"Wait, that's-" Harding's face turned pale and he shifted slightly away from the doctor.

"I know... I know, Martin," Marchetti said quietly. "I just- I thought that I could help some of the survivors but there... were none."

Another soldier approached the duo.

"Sir, I need you to step back, I need to take a look at him," he said. Harding turned and saw the red cross on the soldier's uniform.

"I'm- uh, Jenkins, I-" Harding stuttered.

"What he means to say is that you can't help me, sir," Marchetti said. "Used the watch, you see?" he said and weakly lifted his hand. The medic looked at the two men confused.

"It's..." Harding croaked, "it's one of the unique items we store. Compresses the rest of your life into one hour. Gives you..."

"Speed and vigour of many years in one hour to fight off a tide of ugly critters," Marchetti chuckled. He looked at the watch. It was one minute 'till twelve.

"Is there anyone you want us to contact?" Harding solemnly asked.

"Everyone I knew here is dead," Marchetti said. "Just... Miss Laurits in HR, she recruited me."

"I know her, yes."

"Tell her not to blame herself," Marchetti continued. "I may have died here, but... because of the things I have seen here... I've lived as well."

Harding nodded and put his hand on Marchetti's shoulder.

"It's been a pleasure, Doc," Harding said.

"Don't let anyone touch... the watch..." Marchetti said and went limp. The brass timepiece slid out of his hand and hit the concrete floor with a metallic clang.

And the minute hand ticked to midnight.

The smell in the building was acrid, the creatures overrunning the facility having carried something foul with them as well as destroying dozens of vats holding dangerous fluids. Doctor Polmo sat with a gun in hand, staring at it in shock. He had emptied the entire clip, and every bullet met its mark in the head of a creature no matter how quickly it charged at him or how wildly it was flailing. He weighed the gun in hand, trying to see whether it had any special properties to it before crawling toward the deceased guard thrown into the room. He refilled ammo and peeked his head around the door that sat ajar ever-so-slowly, his breathing erratic as he witnessed more creatures on the far end of the hallway.

"Is... is anyone out there?" a quivering voice asked on the intercom. Doctor Linda. "I'm... Me and Doctor Ryans are sticking together, but we think we might be the last ones alive. But he's really hurt and the creatures are right outside. Please hurry, we're in the--"

The creatures were furious at the sound of the intercoms and dove at them, tearing them out of the ceiling and crushing them beneath their large feet. They lumbered around, searching for prey as they bared their silver, hungry teeth. Their eyes were a red glaze, watching for movement from any corner by darting their heads around maniacally as if trying to pop their necks, but not finding the right angles.

Doctor Polmo clicked the magazine of his gun shut, immediately startled by the ragged snarls of the creatures at the end of the hall. One began darting toward him while the other walked slowly, like a proper gentleman grizzly bear.

"Ah!" Doctor Polmo gasped as he trained his gun and fired in an instant, the first creature toppling, motionless. The second creature picked up its fallen ally and held it in front of his face, shielding him from a bullet.

Doctor Polmo didn't have the time to marvel at the intelligence displayed by the bloodthirsty thing lumbering toward him, only had the time to make a plan as fast as possible. He breathed deeply, ignoring the pungent odors filling the room, and shut the door behind him. He then ran to the back end of the small room and pointed his weapon at the closed door. He figured the creature would use the dead creature to break the door down, leaving him a moment to take it out.

The door bulged inward. Polmo swallowed, his shooting hand shaking. His sweat stung his cheek as it rolled down his face. Another indentation of the door. Polmo's eye twitched involuntarily. Then the door collapsed inward, the shine of the red eyes absorbing all of Polmo's focus.

BANG!

Just as he fired, the creature pulled the deceased body back to his face and protected himself. Polmo groaned for a moment then reevaluated his plan. He threw the gun toward one wall and ran to the other. When the sound of the gun made its way to the creature, it turned left whereas Polmo turned right. He slid behind it and grabbed the gun as it clattered to the floor. The creature threw the body at him as he fired, killing it, but was hit hard by the large dead projectile. The air was knocked out of him, but he was able to get to his feet after a few seconds, limping his way down the corridor.

He knew where Doctors Linda and Ryans were based on the only room with an intercom that wasn't already overrun. He stumbled his way over, his lungs screaming in pain as he finally had a moment to consider his before-unforeseen abilities with a gun. Was he always this good with a gun, or was there something with the creatures that made this latent ability come out? He had never fired a gun before today, and the harrowing events of watching friends and colleagues somehow made him hyper-focused. He didn't understand it as he climbed over another dead creature, the stench overwhelming.

He finally saw the room he was looking for, surrounded by five creatures scratching at the steel door. Polmo raised his weapon and fired four times before the gun clicked, out of ammo. He looked at the empty gun, then back to the single creature remaining standing and staring at him with its evil red gaze.

"Arrgghh! Booo!" Polmo raised his arms rapidly, trying to make himself seem bigger and scare the creature.

The creature acknowledged him and roared an ear-piercing scream, deafening one of Polmo's ears and he shrunk down to try and protect himself from the noise. The creature began to bound toward him like an eager, hungry dog and Polmo could only stumble backward in fear.

He threw the gun at the creature and the door behind the creature was thrown open, a woman in a gas mask stepped out and fired something rapidly at the creature. She missed most of them, but the last one landed. The creature tripped, turning around and pulling out a dart from its rear before another dart sprouted from its chest and it fell.

"Doctor Polmo!" Doctor Linda shouted at him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alive!" Polmo coughed, struggling to stand and stumbling his way into the room.

"Are you... are you sure?" Doctor Linda asked, shocked.

"I'm sure... why?" Polmo asked.

"You're not wearing a mask!" Linda pointed to her covered face. "Your breathing in all the air."

"It's just fetid creature stink, right?" Polmo said, finally inside the room, the door closed behind them.

"If only. Most of our chemical vats were spread through the air. Your senses are probably really heightened, right?" Linda asked.

Polmo swallowed hard, his throat burning.

"I might have noticed something like that," Polmo agreed.

"That same thing never got out of testing because it'll burn your brain along with all the enhancements," Linda explained. She pointed to Doctor Ryans who Polmo only now noticed. He was unmasked and catatonic.

"This isn't much of a rescue, is it?" Polmo asked Linda as his vision started blurring.

"Not for me, it isn't," Linda sighed, refilling her dart gun as more creatures began scratching at the closed door.

/r/Nazer_The_Lazer

The alarms overhead blared their announcement: Defcon 3: Defcon 3, to which I had no choice but to believe its noises as I had programmed them myself. I rounded the corner hot, another gaggle of beasts at my heels, blood of my coworkers dripping from their mangled maws. As I headed a left through another corridor I saw sudden salvation left on the ground: a standard issue Septum-B sidearm. I had never been much of a shot in the training courses, but today? Well today my life depended on it.

I scooped it up on my pass, hearing another roar of wet snarls at my heels sending my body moving forward faster than I'd thought possible. My destination was just within reach, the blast doors to my office, jammed nearly closed (once again installed by yours truly). With any luck they'd hold long enough for the ODS Strike Team to arrive.

With a final desperate movement I rocketed myself through the thin gap between the two hunks of metal, the sounds of chaos left behind on the other side of the doors. The beasts now opposite of me roared and clawed, piled their bodies upon one another in frustration heaving their combined weight like a battering ram. But the doors barely flinched at the initial onslaught. If the experiments could read then they'd see my name lasered into the steel: Peabody Designs: Love it or Leave it. Too bad we hadn't gotten to the literacy portion of the testing before this mess.

I looked down to my stolen prize, the Septum-B handgun. Not a design of mine, but I knew...or rather had known the man who had crafted them up. Now when I aimed the sights down to the crack in the door it was solely for curiosities sake, whats science without a proper test? But when I pulled the trigger. When the bullet found that stream of air and rode it down, down through the head of one of the beasts long down the hallway, well I just had to try a second time. For a proper conclusion to be drawn the experiment must be repeatable, no?

And the second result proved to be the same as the first, another head exploding into a purpley goop to a roar of displeasure from the beasts. The conclusion being: Maybe Dr. Sherman Peabody wasn't such a bad shot after all.

Maybe all was not lost. Maybe the facility could be saved, and it could be days before ODS arrived after all. The facility could be saved, and all the less likely, by me. My old heart jumped in my chest at the thought, then my fingers twitched on the trigger letting off another round, another head gone. One by one, shot by shot the bodies piled. I couldn't, literally couldn't miss. Soon I was stepping out into the hall, pushing them back as if I was taking the lead score in a shooting gallery.

The beasts cluttered the hallway and up to the ceiling to get a taste at me, their gaping jaws dripping with saliva at the thought. Some were so desperate they pushed their way through others entirely. Initially my hands shook; my ears rang after shot. But before long I was a natural.

When one gun clicked empty another was miraculous at my feet, tethered to another body. If I didn't know any better I'd say I was giddy, excited to be doing so well and almost laughing at my success. Before long I had made my way back through the corridor from which I came to the start of it all Unit A: Testing.

The smell. The blood. The bodies of my colleagues stacked like sabdbags. Broken tubes and metal doors torn like paper (not my design). Then came the horde, the horde of demonic creatures tearing from their binds in the lab and pouring out towards me in a pile. There was more than I thought. More than ODS could handle, and certainly too much for one man. They were...multiplying it seemed.

With a click I pulled the magazine from the gun. One round left. I checked the floor to no avail. It seemed my luck had run dry. With one round left I felt good as to where it belonged. Felt lucky that I had done myself so proud, so confidently torn through the crowds. My name was engraved into this place and when they came, well they'd know who had laid waste to the many.

Dr. Sherman S. Peabody, Love it or Leave it. Luckily, my last shot wouldn't need skill to take.

The horde slammed against the weakly-barricaded door, their limbs turning to mush but denting the metal all the same. It wouldn’t hold. It couldn’t.

I gripped the gun I tripped over tighter. I never held one before. Never saw the need to despite the work we were doing here.

One of the horde managed to break through the glass of the door. To my growing horror, it didn’t just mindlessly wave its arm around but tried to reach for the door handle. It wouldn’t do anything since there was a heavy cabinet blocking the way but it was still disturbing how quickly they were learning.

I checked the magazine again - it was full. Good. I counted around fifteen of these things. If the worst came to it, I still would keep one just for myself.

They broke through. I wish I could say that I roared in defiance but it was more akin to the startled cry of a particularly pissed chihuahua.

I shot once, fully prepared to miss and be devoured.

To my surprise, the closest one to me fell, it’s head reduced to a memory. I was shocked. As was the horde.

It lasted but a moment until the rest ran at me. Everything turned to blur as I just kept shooting. One after another, the monsters fell to the ground.

I was almost out of bullets but there were no things nearby anymore. I looked at the gun again - was it some kind of prototype? Some self-aiming gun?

“Aaaah! Help me!”

I looked at the dead things and then at the gun. I am not sure why I didn’t use this lucky break to run away there and then.

Maybe I was going through some kind of episode.

Maybe I was just going crazy.

Whatever the reason, I found myself running towards the screams.

“How is this possible? Dr. Jaeger pondered as he loaded another clip into his gun. He was a molecular biologist who had never fired a gun in his life. Shrieking yowls of a creature reverberated down the hallway, announcing to Dr. Jaeger the position of one of the loose specimens. He inhaled deeply, preparing to round the corner. He turned around the corner and caught a glimpse of specimen BH90201, an agile creature, like a hairless mountain lion but with neon-green saliva dripping from its gaping maw. Upon seeing Dr. Jaeger, specimen BH90201 catapulted into a sprint down the long hall, its claws struggling to make traction against the smooth facility floors. For a fleeting instant, Dr. Jaeger thought he saw… crosshairs? He shook his head, raised the gun with steady hands and pulled the trigger. The cerebral cortex matter of specimen BH90201 splattered against the wall.

Dr. Jaeger darted his eyes in quick assessment for any further threats in the immediate area. He rushed down the hallway, feeling the air lifting his long white lab coat like a cape. Fluorescent lights flickered as he approached the door at the end of the hall. A woman’s wail from inside told him all he needed to know. He scanned his badge on the keypad… even in an emergency he had to badge in. He opened the door and witnessed the carnage before him. Chunks of flesh and organ meat were strewn about the room. Dr. Jaeger estimated 10 dead, though it was hard to tell in the jigsaw puzzle of severed limbs. Dr. Damasell was entangled in the thick tentacles of specimen 10TAI, a 14-foot squid-like creature with five eyeballs and the mouth of a lamprey eel.

Standard bullets wouldn’t cut it, Dr. Jaeger knew. Fortuitously, he noticed, under the disembodied arm of one of the slain guards, something with a little more kick. Dr. Jaeger was confused why one of the guards had an AT4. They were run of the mill security guards, why would they be armed with anti-tank weaponry? Even more baffling to himself, was that when Dr. Jaeger picked it up, he instinctively knew how to use it. Specimen 10TAI’s tentacles swung towards him, but Dr. Jaeger fired. Somehow, despite the magnitude of the weapon, Dr. Jaeger’s hands and body were unperturbed by recoil. He jumped backwards, narrowly missing the thrashing tentacle.

The projectile made its way directly into the center of 10TAI’s mouth, past the rows of razer sharp teeth. Specimen 10TAI exploded, its flesh splattering across the room like meaty confetti. Dr. Damasell thudded to the floor. Dr. Jaeger dropped the AT4 and began stepping over the fallen tentacles and chunks of flesh. Dr. Damasell lay on the floor, untangling herself from 10TAI’s lifeless tentacle. Dr. Jager offered her a hand. She had a small cut above her eyebrow but was otherwise unharmed.

“Thank you, Dr. Jaeger!” she exclaimed, giving him a kiss. Words flashed in the air, as if by magic. “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! 10,000 XP!”

“And THAT,” my thirteen-year-old cousin Damian exclaimed, “is how you play the game, LOSER.” He tossed the controller unceremoniously across the room, flipping me the bird as he strode towards the hallway, hollering to my aunt Carol, asking her when lunch would be ready.

Dr Myrtle Twistlethwait of the Edgecombe-on-stuttley Twistlethwaits sighted down the barrel of her guns and picked off the three zombies who had been foolish enough to breach the cafeteria during tea time.

Bang, bang, bang She put them all down with a single shot.

"Doctor er, or is it Professor Twistlethwait?", asked the general who hadn't had time to put down his teaspoon before Myrtle whipped out her gun and dealt with the rotted bastards.

"Both. I am a doctor of Microbiology and a professor emeritus of Cornell University. You may call me Dr Twistlethwait."

"Er, yes Doctor T....where did you learn marksmanship?"

"At the firing range, of course."

"Seems a peculiar hobby for a microbiologist."

"Not for one that grew up playing Duck Hunt."

"What?"

"I beat all 99 rounds."

"Really?"

"Damn dog kept mocking me. So I thought you know what I'll show you...and I signed up for lessons at the nearest shooting range."

It was a gamble, but it seems to be paying off. A squad of soldiers yell and attempt to breach my position I drop them all with a single shot each. My reflexes and actions are no longer fully my own, but well it is the only thing keeping me alive right now. I try not to think about what this will mean for my future, there is only now and surviving the night. I step over the soldier's bodies and move towards the door. There will be more and only a matter of time before they discover what happened to their comrades. I stick my head around the corner and my hands follow, unbidden, killing another soldier before I was sure what I had ever seen, then the other three, in quick succession. I have control again, time to reload, I fumble my gun skills rusty, but luckily not my aim.

I find the body of my workmate and flip it over, fuck it's Andre. I go to check for a pulse, but I am moving again, going for cover, I get there just in time before the flash grenade detonates and the sounds of soldiers yelling fill the corridor in which I was previously standing. Pop pop pop, another squad down. How many people did they send to take the facility? How long before they give up and just bomb the place? What will I do if they do? no stay focused on the now, deep breaths, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. I amble down the stairs not quite sure how to do this action hero stuff, I was trained a little when I took the job but it's not core to the job if you know what I mean.

The main office space is wrecked they were definitely looking for something, but they'd have been better off heading straight to the server room, these research computers are linked to the shared database. I hear a noise, but no reactions this time, I follow it somehow still in control. A chair moves and a figure crawls out, bloodied. "John!" I said out loud before thinking better of it, there are likely still soldiers here. I bend down to help him. " John, it worked" I whisper. He looks at me, clearly struggling to breathe, collapsed lung, a bullet in the chest, my eye scans him quickly. Blood on his shirt. He finally recognises me, looks at my gun and similes, his life's work complete he gives up the fight. Bastards they are going to pay for this.

I sat up slowly, in a daze, as the sirens wailed and the lights flashed around me. I could hear the automated message, but couldn't make out what it said. My heart was racing as a million scenarios flooded my brain at once, each more terrifying than the last.

I stood up, feeling unsteady as I walked to my desk looking for something I could use to defend myself should the worst occur. I heard a noise behind me, and a large shape rushed towards me, horrific noises bellowing from its maw. I reached behind me and grabbed my 3-hole punch, swinging it at the head of the monster with all my strength.

I connected with a resounding thud and the creature went down hard. Feeling strangely elated, yet ill, I looked out the window and saw more flashing lights.

I sat up slowly, in a daze, as the sirens wailed and the lights flashed around me. I could hear the automated message, but couldn't make out what it said. My heart was racing as a million scenarios flooded my brain at once, each more terrifying than the last.

I stood up and looked around the room, trying to figure out what was going on. There, on the floor between me and the door was an armed security guard lying in a puddle of blood, his head bashed in by something. His gun was in his hand, and I armed myself with the gun and all his ammo, and headed for the hallway, hoping to escape the building and the monsters within.

I heard noises in another office and saw two monsters that seemed to be communicating to each other. They turned towards me as I tried to walk past, and they moved towards me, one of them raising an arm above their head. I felt sick as I fired the gun and one of them collapsed to the floor.

The other monster shrieked as it turned towards its dead companion. I fired again and that freak died too.

I headed for escape again and found my exit cut off by more of the monsters. I fired, over and over again, reloading as needed. Each shot brought down more of those monsters.

Some of the beasts I killed had been attacking me, while others seemed to be trying to escape the building. I saw the dead bodies of my coworkers everywhere.

Eventually, I made it to the exit and saw the swat team pointing their guns at me and yelling at me. I dropped my gun and put my arms up.

"I think I got them all...every last one." I couldn't help but feel proud of myself that all those years playing video games had obviously paid off.

"You are under arrest, anything you say may be used against you. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be appointed to you." One of the officers secured my arms behind my back and patted me down as he read me my rights.

"Why am I being arrested? Did anyone else get out alive, or did the monsters kill them all?"

"Yes, 2 of your coworkers managed to escape to tell us how you shot everyone inside"

I got a lot of shit from my friends for working at this research facility, but I have almost ten years of student debt to pay so I can't be picky. There are tons of rumors about what the company does with our research at the higher levels, but I just research this one mold likes to eat. It seems to love most plants but seems to almost get a boost when it comes into contact with bits of meat. This made a tear in my glove terrifying when I noticed it, but after doing all the proper procedures to decontaminate it seems I was either lucky or this mold doesn't have a taste for alive flesh. Out of worry, the company had some higher researchers run tests on me for a few days, but they said nothing turned up. They still insist on a blood sample once a week and a visual check-up once a month but I don't mind since they pay for it. Plus, they found out I had a cavity in my molar that one time and paid for it to be fixed so this is kind of a sweet deal.

After the first week after the glove incident, I was allowed to go back to my research. It is a bit mind-numbing since there are normally no new findings. At lunch today Carl was complaining about how he had still not received the mandatory gun training. He was shocked to hear I had been here for years and still only watched the video. It is odd they want us trained with guns, but they give you a pay bump if you get through the entire training so it is kind of nice. I personally think it is a bit silly to have the researchers training on how to weld a gun. We have state-of-the-art security tech, so many checkpoints it is annoying, and tons of security guards. I don't think even Fort Knox is so well-guarded.

The batch I'm preparing now is supposed to see if the mold likes Garter snake eggs or Pygmy snake eggs better. Apparently, another researcher found that it liked the Garter snake eggs over bits of Garter snake, so now we are seeing if it prefers certain snake eggs over others. There is talk that it might just be eggs in general, but there is a lot of time and research before we can figure that out. As I said, a bit mind-numbing. I had just finished putting all of the containers back in the air-sealed tank when the alarm went off. I'm glad I didn't have anything important in my hands, as the alarm startled me so badly that I dropped my notepad to the floor.

Looking over at the door, where the lights for the alarms were, it was red. It meant... something bad? I ran over to my desk to find my work manual, my hands were shaking so hard I could barely hold the book. Red meant danger of death and to evacuate to a designated safe room. The sound of the alarm suddenly turned off but the light was still flashing, my ears felt relief even if my heart didn't feel it. I grabbed my issued pistol, was it always this light? I swear when they gave it to me it felt so heavy. Standing at the door, I tried to listen through it but then felt like an idiot when I remembered they were soundproofed. I didn't want to open the door, I just wanted to go back to my normal boring research where I didn't have to worry that if I walked out this door I could die. I could also die here though, the only safety was to get to this section's safe room. That was the thought that finally got me to open the door.

The hallway was quiet like always, only the flashing red lights told you that there was something wrong. It just needed to go to the closest intersection and hang a right to get to the safe room. I could do this. I can do this. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest as I slowly moved down the hallway towards the intersection. As I got closer, I strained to try to hear any footsteps but heard nothing. Where was Carl? His lab was further than mine to the safe room, did I really take that long to get the courage to leave my lab?

Steeling myself, I leaned forward a bit to see to the left, nothing. I leaned a bit more to the right and almost screamed. In the doorway of the safe room was Carl, laying in a growing pool of blood. Over him was a… thing. It swayed like a leaf in a gentle, nonexistent wind. It was an off white, humanoid but only barely. As its’ skin shifted in the light, it hit me it looked like the mold but in human form??? I heard a drawn out moan behind me and turned to see another one shuffling its way towards me from the left side of the intersection. A wet slapping sound made me look back at Carl to see the mold creature take a chunk of Carl’s flesh and eat it. Where in the hell was security?

Another moan reminded me I had one behind me and I jerked back when I noticed how close it had gotten to me in such a short time. It lunged for me but I was able to kick it back, it felt like kicking a pillow with how much its body gave into the kick. In a panic, I lifted my pistol and fired rapidly, hoping just something would hit. In my amazement, all three bullets hit the center of its forehead, causing it to dissolve into ashes. Okay, maybe I could do this. Something slamming into me and into the floor proved me wrong almost immediately. I couldn’t stop screaming, the mold creature biting through my left hand didn’t help matters. In a daze of pain, I fired point blank into its head while it was gnawing on my finger bones. My previously connected fingers landed on my chest as it too, faded into ashes.

I felt like I could barely breathe from the pain in my hand. I tried to stuff my hand into my shirt so I could slow the bleeding but just gave myself more pain instead. The sudden rush of new pain caused me to quickly lean over and vomit my barely digested lunch. Was it really only less than an hour ago I was eating lunch with Carl? My eyes focused on my slightly gnawed fingers on the floor, they must have slid off my chest when I got sick. Is this shock? I swear it looked like those fingers were becoming less gnawed-looking as I stared at them. I poked them and felt a burning in my hurt hand, looking over I started screaming. How are my fingers growing back? What the fuck is going on with me? What the fuck is going on with this facility? Mold doesn’t just randomly grow into people-like things that want to eat flesh. What in the hell were the higher researchers working on?

I need to get out of here. I got up carefully, being mindful to not step in my vomit or blood. Hoping for the best, I went towards the safe room, maybe there would be someone there hiding while this happened. As I neared the door, I tried to not look at Carl’s body while stepping around the thickening pool of blood, I didn’t need to get sick again. I paused before entering and shouted, “Is anyone hiding in the safe room? I took care of those… things, out here.” Silence closed in around me. “Um, Carl is… not okay… but it turns out those things are easy to kill so maybe we can get out of here?” Nothing. I heard nothing in reply. I leaned into the doorway, my heart dropping as I saw more blood. It was Sarah and a guard this time. It looked like Sarah was trying to use the computer in the safe room but got her neck ripped into from behind. I couldn’t tell where the guard was injured until I stepped around him to see his whole arm just gone.

No one else was in the room. I could hear my breathing become more rapid and the panic setting in. Was I alone? Was I the only alive non mold thing in this entire facility? I slammed the safe room door shut and locked it. There were no more people on our floor so no one to wait for. I need to calm down. I will get myself killed if I can’t calm down. Think. Come on Henry, think! There are tons of people who work here, I remember Sarah saying it was insane how many security guards they had here, over a dozen apparently. Carl complained said they had enough guards to match up to each non-security staff member, so there had to be at least twenty-four people here including myself. There is no way that all of them are dead, just the ones on my floor. I just need to contact security with the computer like Sarah was trying and they will know I need help.

Having a plan helped to calm me. I didn’t realize until I stopped panicking that I had backed myself into a corner with my pistol raised. I gently moved the chair that Sarah’s body was in so I could access the computer. It took me a minute, but I found the emergency contact button for security. I clicked it and started typing out what had happened and that I needed help. All I got back was an automated message, “The facility is in maximum lockdown, stay in safe rooms until a guard comes to your safe room. Please be sure to use the computer in the room to check who is at the door before opening it. This is an automated message, no one will reply to you. Please stay safe.” My heart felt like it fell into my feet. An automated message? Where were the guards in the security office? They are supposed to stay there to help us. Are they also dead? How long should I wait?

-more to come soon.

Edit: I was having issues replying to my original comment so I posted it and part 2 on my profile if you want to read more.

As I closed the last door I started to pray. The specimens have escaped. Dozens of them are out there. There was no way for me to escape, there was too many of them, and the Government has probably already quarantined the facility.

I sat against the door, thinking of my inevitable death. My wife. My children. My family and friends. I would be leaving all of them behind. I thought I should at least leave a note for them. As I took out my notebook and pen to write, I was interrupted by the screams of the people around me.

Then I heard them banging on my doors. I panicked and dropped my pen. As I looked around I saw a gun sitting on a table with bullets. I’d never killed a living creature outside of something like a fly, and I hadn’t used a gun before either. As I hesitated the creature clawed it’s way through the door, and as it’s hand reach through the steel door I panicked and began rushing to the gun. As I grabbed it the creature got through the door and I turned around to shoot it.

As soon as I saw it I fired. My ears began ringing but I couldn’t worry about that now. The creatures had to have heard the gun fire. As they began rushing in to the room I stared at the door.

One came into the room

Then 2

Then 3

Then all of a sudden I was standing over dozens of the otherworldly creatures. It felt like it happened in a instant, but my clock told me it has been over an hour. As my racing heart began to slow I realized I was standing in a pool of blood.

I gagged as I dropped my pistol. I’d killed so many creatures. I could even smell the iron from the blood. Even if it was to protect my life, I felt like I’d done something wrong. I stood there contemplating what I’d done yelling came from another room. This time it wasn’t of terror or pain but commands. The military was finally here.

“HELLO, ARE THERE ANY SURVIVORS?”

“Yes” I wisped with all my effort

I don’t know how long it took them to enter my room, but I was overjoyed when they did. The clicks of their shoes had meant safety to me.

“Are you okay” he asked me

“Yes I-“ I passed out of exhaustion in that moment

The next thing I remember I woke up in the hospital with my daughter siting next to me, consumed by her phone.

“Hey sweetie” I said somberly

“Dad?”

“Yes?” I made a half crooked smile. As she turned to me I realized her face had been puffy-red, like she been crying while I was asleep.

“Thank god!” She cheered as she reached out to hug me

This is my first post lol, also I'm not a professional pls give me constructive criticism, anyways

​

Day 1: "Warning, facility shutdown", "I repeat, facility shutdown" the sirens blared out. I quickly ran inside and barricaded the door, looked for rations and prepared to be shut in for a while before authorities arrive. While looking for food I found a pistol, I checked the magazine and found out it was loaded, "At least it's better than nothing" I muttered. As I sat down and rationed out the food I had I heard multiple thuds coming from the door, in a high, nasally voice something said "Let us in, I know you want to" in a sort of teasing tone but I didn't listen and continued with my business but the voice wouldn't stop, "let us in" "let us in" it said, the voice getting more and more distorted as it continued. After that I slept for the night with it's voice echoing in my head.

Day 2: After waking up the voice has disappeared, though I can see visible stresses start to form on the barricade. I search the room for stuff I've missed and find some food, enough to last me one more day. I'm still fine though I don't know how long this will last, I look at the clock and count the seconds until the next hour. At around 9:30 the voice and banging started again though the voice seemed more agitated this time, "let us in!" "let us in!" each time hitting the door, stronger and stronger each time. I decided to stay up and keep guard fearing that the barricade would break and they would get in but at around 1 a.m. it stopped.

Day 3: I woke up to the barricade almost destroyed and multiple voices all yelling "let us in! Let us in!" all in unison. Disturbed and concerned about this I grabbed the pistol and prepared for the barricade to finally break.

Thud

The barricade finally fell releasing the mutants into the office I've been living in for the past 2 days. When the first one of those "things" entered it felt as if time slowed, my heart was racing, sweat dripping down my face, I aimed the gun to the creatures and pressed the trigger.

BANG!

At that moment time went to normal, I was shooting down the abominations left and right, I have never felt an adrenaline rush like this before. After a while the room and my pistol's magazine were empty, I checked the hallways to see if it was clear, and to my utter fear I saw tens of them in the halls alone. I searched some cabinets outside and my "home" for another pistol or magazine, to my luck I found one of both in the janitor's closet, "odd, why he have this" I thought but I quickly brushed it off as I needed to survive. I loaded the pistol, now I have 2. I ran outside killing more of them off going to the surveillance room to check the cameras, when I checked the cameras I saw whole troops of them walking in the hall and in the testing area the egg where these things would emerge from. Seeing this made my heart sink so I hatched a plan, to avoid anything at all costs, my top priority was to get out but I felt tired so I blocked the door. Good night.

(give me your criticisms in the comments, thx)

He couldn't steal his gaze from it.

The eyes stared at him through the wire reinforced window as it experimented with its talon-like fingers in the lock. The skittering sounds of others running up and down the corridors punctuated only by quickly cut off screams. He didn't hear any of this though. He didn't hear the sirens screeching. He didn't hear the explosions in the distance. He could only hear the scratching at the door, then the clicking of the lock.

The clicking of the lock? As it unlocked?! As this...creature had unlocked the door! It could unlock doors?! Dr. Paorus' mind whirled with the implications for just a split second before the fear returned. The creature's hands slipped through the small crack and began prizing the door open, making light work of the upturned furniture.

Paorus reached for the pistol, it felt cold in his sweaty palms. He raised it towards the creature and it paused for a second. Head tilting as it clambered over a filing cabinet, it seemed almost as though it understood. The being's eyes narrowed and it lurched forward. Paorus squeezed the trigger instinctively.

Time slowed for a second as Paorus watched the bullet carve a hole in the back of the creature's throat as it flew towards him, maw wide. It twitched mid leap and collapsed in an instant in front of him. Then nothing. No death rattle, no blood, nothing. The creature lay face down, and then just... disintegrated.

Parous stood frozen until roused by a scream just outside his office. He looked at his pistol and decided in a moment. Paorus flew into action, he ran out into the corridor as Gail ran past, pursued. He turned to see her pursuer and again raised the pistol. He waited, heart pounding in his chest. The creature slowed, curious almost, then leapt.

Once again the bullet exited through the back of its neck, and once again it crumbled to dust.

"Adam?"

The trembling woman looked at Paorus confused. His eyes fixed ahead and he barked.

"Stay behind me!"

[deleted]

Tammy gripped the kinetic pistol with both hands. "Just like the VR, just like the VR, breath, and squeeze," she said to herself in between gasping for air. She could hear the banging on the door and knew she didn't have long; the half-window was cracking. Her colleagues were scattered, most were dead, and she was probably about to join them. As the window shattered, Tammy took a deep breath, stood up, turned around, and took aim. She could see the first of the gremlins clambering over through the broken pane. She imagined the goofy VR targets, took aim, and fired. With a squishy explosion, the head of the nearest gremlin exploded sending its body limply to the ground. "Holy shit....." She took aim again, breathed, and fired. BLAM, another head exploded. She didn't have time to think, so she repeated the process until every red-skinned mover in her immediate area lay still.

Fast forward, Tammy raced down the hallways clearing room after room. She didn't question her aim anymore, she only focused on doing what she could. She had a tail of guards and coworkers as she worked her way to the docks below. Turn a corner, run to the first door, listen, twist, aim, fire until clear, and repeat. She wasn't perfect, and her scrubs were slashed through red, but she kept moving. A few brave souls stuck with her while the rest took to the boats for safety, racing to escape the island. Tammy continued on, clearing the research of gremlins one by one.

I was barricaded in my office when I found the gun, with it was plenty of ammo, the creatures were still slamming against the door. When I began loading the pistol I struggled to remember how I did it as a kid, I'd been hunting a handful of times as a kid and my dad always went on and on about how important knowing how to use a gun was. Of course that being over a decade ago didn't help much so I wasn't expecting much to change. Even with the gun I just hoped to be of some help before my death, I had to take as many with me as possible.

I stepped back from the door realizing it was about to break down. I wasn't sure where to aim since I wasn't exactly involved in these things creation, I wasn't exactly involved in anything being an outcast among others, but I out all people ended up barricaded in my office with a gun. So to make the most out I stood pointing the gun towards the door, the creature slamming against it every 2 seconds slam slam slam! Only this time it stopped for longer before bursting through the doorway.

It was surprisingly short about four feet tall with unnecessarily long arms, bubbly fleshy skin with clumps of fur. It had sharp claws, teeth, and blood shot eyes. It crouched on the ground cocking it's head toward me and seemed to smile before rushing at me.

I aimed the gun towards its head and the first bullet went perfectly through it's skull but the creature almost didn't react still running at me. I shot two more bullets through it's head before aiming toward it's chest, it froze as the first bullet pierced it's heart, two more bullet to the stomach left it on the ground. Six bullets and 2 seconds of silence before four more burst through the door, I managed to kill them all with a bullet to the heart each. I then stood shocked, their almost black blue blood covered the floor. Finally mustering the courage to move I headed towards the door.

I cleared the west wing with ease a shot in the heart for each creature, there were about a dozen not including the five I already killed. As I stood at the doors leading towards the rest of the facility the only thought I had was why not? I could always retreat if it was to much.

I easily cleared the rest of the facility. killing any that were alone with ease then retreating when I ran into a bigger group. Most of them stayed in groups of about five to ten. I found a few people locked in their offices that the creatures didn't notice and a bigger group that held the door closed. In total there were about twenty survivors and I probably ended up killing about fifty of them, but as I passed the dead security guards on my way to the basement where they came from, I was horrified when I saw it.

I killed fifty of them. Of course I knew some of them must have escaped into the large forrest that surrounded the facility, but the 200 empty containers that must of held them was more then some.

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The facility sent out an alert around 9:30 AM, thought to be no big deal until the reports started getting worse as the morning went on. Guards were being taken down by aliens they couldn't even describe while the calls for help multiplied. The first responders were never heard from usually as soon as they entered the facility, National Guard was mobilized to no better results as the day dragged on. An elite military unit, the HECU was sent in late that day but not to help. The situation had to be shut down with no witnesses to the strange experiments that had gone so wrong. The HECU had a bit of early success but quickly got bogged down by increasing amounts of alien forces and something else unexplained. A few pickets stopped reporting in after sighting an armed employee, as the sightings (and deaths) grew more attention started being paid to this scientist in the strange orange gear, better ambushes got set up on an old rail system. The scientist barely slowed down while chewing his way through the ambush on the way to a rocket that was believed to be his target. Now there was real concern, one civvie was tearing through Marines and aliens without stopping to accomplish something as yet unknown. There was brief chatter that he had been caught but contact was lost shortly afterwards in that sector. Whatever had happened there clearly didn't hurt the unstoppable scientist because he ambushed and destroyed a brigade in a shipping terminal. It was time to get serious, the alien attack was ramping up and pushing back on the gains made by the HECU and this rogue scientist wasn't helping. A massive trap was set up at the hydroelectric dam with a smaller trap at the main entrance of the biological labs. The first trap was hit soon afterwards, all radio contact lost after a massive firefight. Despite it only being one man it sounded like the squad got hit with ten at once. The ambush at the damn waited, then sprung the trap as the orange figure was seen, the soldiers on the ground were dropped fast but the gunship chased him into a large warehouse. The remaining troops relaxed, now it was over. That stopped when the man stepped back outside and shot down the gunship with some strange particle cannon, probably looted from a lab. The last two soldiers charged him from behind, firing as the ran. The scientist turned and shot one with the particle cannon, turning him to a steam cloud. The second marine got close and kicked the cannon out of his hands and tried to bring his pistol up and he struggled to un-holster it, which stopped when a crow bar broke his wrists then crushed his windpipe. As he lay dying, watching orange and red boots receding he heard a last transmission, "Watch out for the Freeman guy, been wiping out every ambush for the last twelve hours, if you see him he is considered extremely dangerous"

"We really just want to help you, Doctor Milloy. Please, open the door. I will send in one man, unarmed, to escort you out. On my honor."

Director Holmes' voiced crackled from the loudspeakers. He'd orchestrated a goddamned insurrection of the facility. Surely to secure the Hominid for himself. I saw the bodies of my peers. Brilliant and beautiful minds, extinguished.

"Doctor Milloy just let me in." Thomas, head of security, called from behind the door. "I'm your friend, right? I would never hurt you, or anyone else in this building. It's my job to protect all of you, that's what I do."

He was right. Thomas was my friend, along with many others on the security team. Why were they going along with this?

"Thomas...what's going on? Why are you killing us?" I called back.

"Debra, I'm not killing anyone. There was an accident, some people got hurt. It's okay, just trust me and open up the door."

"Debra?" I yelled back.

"Yes...Debra Milloy is in there...right?" The voice behind the door replied. It seemed unsure.

Whatever was speaking to me was not Thomas. It did not know me. I prayed it wasn't the Hominid attempting to lure me out.

"My name is not Debra!" I yelled.

The door exploded open. Dust and blood and sparking metal everywhere.

When it was over I found myself in a hallway, ten security lay dead around me, one bearing Thomas' face. My shirt had been ripped where several bullets had glanced me. A pistol in my hand.

I navigated down the hall, caught one by surprise and got him between the ribs, a knife in my hand. Two more spot me, they fire. My tie is cut in two by the hail of bullets. I roll behind a vending machine, return two controlled bursts and they fall, a rifle in my arms.

A shotgun on my back, I draw it and engage the offices in close quarters. A grenade on my belt, I take out four men on the stairway.

The violence terrified me. I did not know how I still lived. I had to stop Holmes from releasing the Hominid. I took the shuttle down to it's containment chamber.

As the doors opened, all strength left my body. I fell to the floor. I could only move my eyes. I was lifted into a chair, my head rolling on my shoulders. Across from me Director Holmes sat in an office chair.

"You really don't know?" He said.

I could only utter a moan from my slackened jaw.

"I will lower the energy level." He turned to a control panel then looked back at me. "Really, it's hurting me more than you."

I watched him lower the rare ambient field to 90 percent. I'd never seen it over 40. I regained little motor function. I could close my mouth, move my tongue. A knife was not on my hip. A pistol was not in my hand. No matter how hard I tried.

He swiveled his chair to face me, wiping some blood from his nose. "So, you are Doctor Milloy, hm? But not Debra?" He studied me. "A research fellow here at Almera, I'm assuming."

I nodded reluctantly.

"You seem to be quite the combat specialist. Twenty five killed in the last half hour."

I blinked slowly.

"Although.." He poked at a large hole in my shirt. "Being bulletproof certainly helps with that, no?"

I looked down at my clothing. Riddled with holes, partially burnt.

"I have a question for you, Milloy. What was your theory on the Hominid? You pursued it for quite some time, you should remember."

I shook my head. I could not think.

"I will give you a hint, then. Our higher-ups assumed it was a weapon. Sent to infiltrate humanity, impersonate leaders, collect intelligence. But you, Debra, you were an optimist. You understood that when the Hominid absorbs a person, it copies more than just the face."

"Aninismind" I mumbled through numb lips.

"Exactly!" he laughed "Any 'intelligence' needed would already be in it's mind! Why then, would it continue the impersonation?" He leaned back and looked into his lap. "They wouldn't hear any of it, would they? So frightened of the unknown that they obscured it even further."

A muffled explosion went off somewhere above us.

"That's the big guns." Holmes sighed. "They'll kill me for what I've done here." He stared at a blister forming on his palm. "Probably won't have the chance."

He reached behind and turned off the field. In a moment my body returned to me. I aimed at my captor, a pistol in my hand.

"You can only create weapons, then?" He let out a pained laugh. "No, you're not the anthropologist she imagined. "

"You fed me to it." I said.

"I fed her to you, yes!" Holmes cried out. "I just...I thought if you were given the right person then perhaps--"

Two blasts at the door of the chamber. It warped slightly. Radio chatter and equipment whirring outside.

Holmes stood up. "That is not the security team. They won't be shooting bullets at you." He frowned at me. "You're quite fucked, I'm afraid."

The poor fellow dissolved rather slowly. The team of HUGO thugs were already cutting through the door. I should've never taken the damn job. They always blame the director for these things.

I hurried out the auxiliary entrance toward my escape tunnel, a keycard in my hand.

holy shit. did you see that? i just shot 7 guys in the head! this was an alien sensation. not entirely unfamiliar, but his hands tremble as he stares at them, clickity clackity clickity clackity, the sidearm lays between his fingers, heavy, in his right hand, comforting his nerves, gently, it settles in his palm. the pistol, it speaks to me. this machine is built by those who understood the exact purpose it was meant to exact. they knew what it meant, they knew what it did. as do i. i must use it to clear out this facility, reclaim my lunchbox, and save the demon lord!

ps this is a synopsis of some kind. i have the whole story in my head. if you'd like to read more, please lmk!!!! tyty