Story dump

Chapter 6

Zath's Story
(Original date: 6/19/22)

He ran into the alleyway, gunfire following behind him. He knew he was on some kind of hit-list of sorts, seeing as it didn't seem like his pursuers were apart of any law enforcement. He would have no reason to suspect law enforcement anyways, seeing as he had managed to hide all the evidence pointing towards him being the culprit of all the recent disappearances appearing in the news. He skidded around another corner, his somewhat long, reptile like tail helping him keep his balance. Even if its drawback was the bright, glowing aqua and orange patterns on it, which made it nearly impossible for him to hide, he found it quite handy for getting out of danger. He looked up as he noticed he was nearing the end of the alley, his heart sinking as he saw only pure wall with nowhere to grip onto to climb up. He stumbled to a halt, quickly turning to face his pursuers as he readied himself. The man chasing him slowed down, his gun still aimed and ready. He smirked, clearly noticing how cornered Zath was. "Finally caught 'cha.." he said, his tone smug as he stepped closer and closer to Zath. He backed away, panic beginning to set in once he hit the wall, though he hid it underneath a glare. "Why are you after me." He asked sharply, his tail lashing back and fourth. The man chuckled, his suit somewhat glimmering in the moonlight. "Well, Tav Corp, which I doubt you know what I'm talking about due to how primitive and savage you are, received a report of a possibly dangerous beast roaming the city streets.." The frills on Zath's tail flared as the man called him primitive, growing irritated. "Just because I have a fucking tail and some horns and spikes does not mea-" he started, the suited man cutting him off. "Shh, I'm not done." Zath did as he was told instinctively, closing his mouth. "Now.. the boss looked you up in our database and has determined that you must be killed on sight. Plus, whoever kills you first gets quite a large sum of money.."

Zath raised a brow as he attempted to figure out why he had a bounty above his head, but the smug agent in front of him interrupted his thoughts. "Now, I'm not just going to let some free cash pass me by.. so.." he said, seemingly ready to pull the trigger as Zath felt himself begin to panic. He was going to die here, shuddering at the thought as an expression of fear spread across his face. 'I don't want to die..' he thought, knowing he had so much more of his life ahead of him. He closed his eyes, bracing himself as he heard the agent's laugh followed by a gunshot. He heard something fall to the ground with a somewhat heavy thud, assuming it was his own body falling and that he was dead. He stood still for a while and, when nothing else happened, he slowly and cautiously opened his eyes. He saw the same alleyway he was in before, although he didn't see the agent anywhere. He looked down, relieved to not see his body on the ground, though he checked his own pulse just to be sure. When he felt he had sufficiently checked he was alive, he looked around, something on the ground catching his eye. He immediately regretted looking at it, seeing as it was the agent's lifeless body that had caught his attention. A wave of dread and disgust washed over him, along with some rather strong nausea, causing him to immediately look away. He had always been squeamish of blood and corpses, despite the things he had been doing recently involving a lot of those two things. He heard the sound of something whizzing past him, followed by a small sting in his neck. He snapped back into reality, wincing and holding his neck. "Damn mosquitoes.." he mumbled to himself, beginning to make his way out of the alley while keeping a far distance away from the corpse. He hadn't realized how long the alley was until he began to walk through it, the path seeming nearly endless. He looked up at the night sky, seeing a shadow duck behind the lip of one of the roofs.

He stood still for a moment, trying to think of what it was he had just saw. He yawned, shrugging as he began to grow drowsy. 'Must've been my imagination..' he thought, beginning to struggle to keep his eyes open. He was confused, sitting against a wall of the alley as he tried to think weather or not he had been this tired moments before, or if he had done anything to make him feel this exhausted. He felt around his neck again, feeling something sticking out of it. He raised a brow, pulling out the item and staring at it, his heart sinking as he recognized the sleeping dart in his hand. He attempted to stand up as he tossed the dart away from himself, though his fatigue got the better of him as he was unable to even move himself. His body felt like it weighed tons as he laid his head back against the wall, hearing another gunshot before he quickly drifted off to sleep, his vision growing dark.

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He opened his eyes after a moment, confused by his surroundings. It looked like a padded white room, though it was difficult to tell if it was white, seeing as the light above him gave off a light blue hue. There was a mirror in front of him, Zath only assuming it was a one way mirror due to the situation he was in. He stood up, hearing chains clanking behind him, causing him to turn to look at what it was. He grew panicked when he saw the chain attached to the wall, attempting to back away from it. He felt a pull against his neck, causing him to place his hands on his neck and feeling around it. He felt what he assumed was a shackle around him, causing him to try and claw it off of himself. He heard a chuckle behind him, causing him to quickly spin around towards the mirror, which was now transparent. His heart sank as he recognized the person on the other side, seeing as it was the agent that had attempted to kill him earlier, except he was now alive. "You can't break out of that, you know.." the agent said, his expression just as smug as Zath remembered. His tail started lashing back and forth, taking on a defensive stance. "Where am I and why am I here." He asked, attempting to mask his panic despite his heavy breathing. The agent chuckled again. "Why, Tav Corp's own laboratory! The boss decided more research needed to be conducted on you.. hence the sleeping dart." He said, walking away and entering the same room as Zath through a hidden door. The agent was now wearing gloves, though still wearing a smug smile as Zath attempted to step away from him. "Come now.. the first experiment is rather simple.." he said, clearly faking a reassuring tone. "I'm not participating." Zath snapped, panic beginning to seep into his tone.

The agent chuckled again, cornering Zath. "Why not? It's just a simple test of your durability..~" he said, his voice distorting along with his appearance. He looked exactly like his corpse, causing Zath to feel ill once again. "Don't worry.. it shouldn't hurt.." the agent said, but his mouth no longer moved as he took out a machete. Zath tightly shut his eyes, readying himself as he felt himself begin to shiver in fear.

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Zath jolted awake, still feeling a sense of pure terror as he panted. He was still shivering, his gaze darted around his surroundings as he tried to get the image of the agent out of his head. He was back in they alleyway, sitting in the same place he had fallen asleep in. He felt a sense of relief wash over him, beginning to attempt to slow his breathing before standing up. He stumbled a bit, still somewhat drowsy thanks to the sleeping dart. He looked at the sky, seeing that the sky was still dark before shrugging. He continued to walk out of the alley, wishing to wander around the city to clear his head, along with pondering who it was that had killed the agent that was after him.