Trials of Survival

Chapter 2: A Muddled Recovery

!!! There's a few rooms which you might not know from the way I explain it, so let me just tell you here !!!

Server room = Flooded Zone
Waste Disposal= Gas Area
Supply Room= Spawn
Break Room= The Locker Room in the Security Hallway
Entrance= Elevators


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1:25 PM

I startled awake, gasping heavily and clutching my chest. My body ached all over, my face especially... I ran a hand down my cheek... though I didn't feel the muddled, scarred and open wounds, rather I felt the soft fluff of bandages, still the mere process of touching it hurt... 

The fact that I could actually see shit, meant the blackout had passed already. Still, the light was blinding from my time in the dark.

Urgh... my head... I clasped my skull, only to feel the once smooth, now rough and uneven surface of my helmet. What happened? Think, Tane, Think!.... Acid... Darkness... Glowing creatures... Jack... 

I looked down at my body, I was patched up everywhere. My fists had been entirely wrapped in the stuff, a few splotches along my arms and legs had been heavily woven with the clean, white bandages too. My vest had been taken off, presumably hooked up in those lockers behind me. My chest only had a single bandage, and that was around the base of my neck, from when that... thing grabbed me.

I hurriedly looked about the room, the lights were on, and from what I saw, I was in the supply room, the secondary supply room to be precise. I'm pretty sure this place used to be an office for a high ranking official long before I worked here.  

I was lain upon a dingy old couch, the cushions were red, bound in leather... they weren't too uncomfortable, much better than whatever I could've got my hands on earlier. Also, there was someone of the couch opposite to me... 

Dave from what I could tell. He was in horrible condition, still unconscious though. His mask had been taken off, lain on the metal shelf, that stood firm against the back wall. His head was wrapped entirely with bandages, aside from a few splotches of skin that stood out in the gaps as well as his eyes, nose and mouth. 

His arms had almost been entirely wrapped, same with his legs. His vest had been taken off him, having been laid against the couch. From what I could see, his chest was relatively fine, all thanks to that handy dandy bulletproof vest. His breathing was choppy, dry and labored... hell, I couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. 

Jack was sat in the office chair by the computer. Head slumped, cigarette in his mouth. He slightly raised his head, looking to me with calm eyes, before sending me a toothy grin. He looked worse for wear, bags under his eyes, slouched over... very very different from his usual stance. 

"Rise and shine! Took you long enough, old man." Jack said, leaning back in the chair, which squeaked in protest. Awfully chipper for a man with such a deep voice.

"Urgh... What... What happened? Fuck my head hurts..." I groaned, setting my head on the dusty old armrest. It was true, my head was throbbing and it felt like it was going to burst. It was like my skin was covered in fire ants which were dutifully marching along through my pores and wounds. 

"Hmmph. Well, here's a recap for ya. There was a huge blackout, we went down through the support cave. There were those... weird rabbit things, they tore Dave apart, turned your face into a Van Goh painting, then we killed them! That ring any bells?" He tapped the ash from his still lit cigarette, raising a scarred brow down at me.

Yep, everything was coming back to me now. The struggle, the pain, the anger... also, the sheer and utter dark that encompassed us the entire time. I groaned in discomfort as the surge of intel flooded right back into my skull, didn't help with my throbbing headache, not one bit. 

"Guessing from your reaction, I'm pretty sure you remember." He scoffed a little, before finally flicking the cigarette to the floor, and stomping it out. 

"Did some things while you were out, patched you two up and brought you down here. Needless to say, you gotta lose some weight, fatass!... Also, I was never really trained to be a medic, so sorry if I broke your arms while uh... tryna fix you up." He chuckled, standing up straight and leaning against the wall.

I just lay there, breathing deep with my eyes clamped shut. It took a good moment for me to actually settle down. The pain from yesterday or maybe just a few hours ago was muddled, but still ever present. I sat up on the couch, slowly making shifting and shuffling till I was sat up 'straight'. 

"So... did you fix the power grid? Or at least spot anything else on the way back?" I cast Jack a brief glance, before collapsing back into my seat, slumped over.

"Hell... what the fuck were those things?" I mumbled under my breath.

Jack scoffed a little, wiping his nose with his free hand. "Nah, the power just came back on by itself. Been like that for a good few hours now. But weirdly enough, no, I didn't see anything, really." 

"I didn't spot any more of those freaks, but strangely... I didn't see any people. Not the researchers, not the workers, not the storage freaks nada. Not a single person. I even ventured into the cavern... And I'm telling ya, ya really don't wanna go there." 

He shuddered a little, hitting his chest with his fist. 

"Not without a gas mask at least, down in the deep parts, there's a thick smog, stuff burns your lungs, but it still tingled through my gear... I'm just taking a wild guess here, but it's probably something a bit more than just an air contaminant."

"On another note... it's really creepy in there, tons a weird noises... it felt like I was being watched..." He sighed a little, scrunching his nose up a little.  

"There's also these weird glowing crystals growing on the floors, ceiling and walls. Don't touch those." He raised his left hand, untying the bandages wrapped around his palm to show off a nasty burn wound

"They burn. It's a good thing I grazed it with my off hand... dunno how I would fight only using my left, the thing can barely hold a pencil!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose but quickly pulled away from the sharp burning pain that followed. "So... let me get this straight, you didn't find anyone, didn't see anymore of those mutants and there's crystals that burn you in the caves?" I was... just too tired for this.

He nodded briefly "Yep. Also, I checked down in the entrance... elevator's fucked. We ain't getting outta here any time soon... well, not until the higher ups come down here. Plus, the blackout seemed to have knocked the power out for all the secondary systems. The intercoms don't work, and for some reason, the radio is busted... things are getting fun!" 

I stared dumbly up at him, before simply closing my eyes and falling back on the couch with a groan. Of course he'd think this is fun... why wouldn't he?! Hmph, that man is fuckin crazy. Not saying we aren't, but I don't exactly find fun in being trapped underground with a possible outbreak of mutants, that want to tear us limb from limb! 

I sighed, trying to keep my composure before looking up at him. "We. Are. Absolutely. Fucked." I wanted to pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration... but I'd already learned my lesson. "Fucked, tied up and bent over, gagged and shackled fucked." 

Jack raised a brow, chuckling a little at my remark. He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to me, unclipping my mask from my belt and pushing it into my chest. "Nah, you're wrong man. We'll be fine, plus, Laminax Labs got some of the best med tech out there. You'll feel fine in no time. Now, get that mask on, you're blinding me." He smirked, then walked off to the chair, collapsing back in it. It rolled a good foot back right into the desk, rattling the computer atop it. 

I ignored him for the time being and glanced down at my mask. I let out a shuddering sigh, then pressed the tough gear to my face and did up the strap. The visor was tinted, so everything I saw was a little muddled, but hey, at least I didn't have to breath in the smell of cigarette smoke anymore. 

My wounds screamed in protest, but the pain died down eventually, as the mask finally came to settle on my scarred, bandaged face. 

"See? You look so much better now!" Jack noted, glancing back at me. 

"Shut up." I replied simply, shakily getting to my feet. My voice rang muffled through the thick filter. The only thing that really took damage in that fight, was my face and my fists. I would be able to move just fine in a day or two, Dave though? He'd probably be down on that couch for a day, maybe even a week at most. 

The medical services down here were good... even without any of the nurses or first aid guys, but I doubt being almost melted to a steaming heap of flesh would heal fast. I wasn't sure what they put in that med-spray, but the ability to regenerate heavily damaged muscle tissue in just a matter of days was revolutionary. Too bad they hadn't released it to the public yet. 

"I'm going to get somethin to eat. Wait here would you? Just in case there's still something out there." I said, with a wave of my hand. I began to walk, all in all, it wasn't that painful. My knees shook a little and my legs tingled, but I could walk... no, run just fine. 

Jack stared at me, then shrugged. "Well, you oughta grab yourself somethin' new to keep yourself alive, why don't ya? That nightstick you got was melted to molten slag once I got a good look at ya." 

My eyes widened a little, and I quickly looked down to my belt. As expected, my truncheon wasn't there... I groaned inwardly, then glanced over my shoulder at Jack. 

"Well, got any ideas?" I asked.

He was silent for a moment, tapping his chin in thought, before he looked at me with a knowing smile. "They keep a crowbar in the computer room, off to the side of that one room that got flooded... what was it called again?" 

"The server room." 

"Right! Plus, if you're feeling spry enough, you could go down the Library, I overheard from the Desk Lady that apparently, some nerd came in here with a katana and hung it up in the Library for display. If you're not quick enough, I might grab it before you!" 

"I'm not wasting time on rumors Jack. Thanks for the info, I'll make sure to bring you and Jack something, whaddya want?" I turned to the hall from the main supply room, slipping the heavy flashlight from my belt right into my firm grip. If I never end up finding that crowbar, this could always act as a substitute.

"Yeah, uhhhhh... Get me a Burger and a Bloxy Cola! I... dunno what Dave likes, so grab him like... I don't know, an apple or something." Jack said, scratching the back of his neck with a slight grimace.

"Whatever you say." I shrugged a little, and headed off just down the hall to the right. I walked... well, more like hobbled down towards to the Computer room. Though, as I did, I swore I saw something moving out from the corner of my eye... ripples in the water... was there something out there?

Eh, I'm seeing shit. 

The doors parted away automatically and I walked on in. I looked about, there were a few shelves with crudely wrapped cardboard boxes, from a single glance, I could tell they were filled with random wires and computer parts. There were a few desktop computers lined up neatly along the window side wall, next to a few empty lockers which had been strewn about a little more carelessly.

Though, to my luck, there was a crowbar... kinda just, sitting against the wall. Ehh, who was I to complain? Maybe someone wanted to get a crate open, and left the thing here. I hobbled over and grabbed my purchase, slotting my flashlight back into my belt, and hefting the thick metal tool into my hands. 

It had a nice feeling, the smooth steel running along my bandaged fingers, the nice heft it carried, the smooth, comfortable grip it had (for some reason). If I had to guess, this was a very well maintained crowbar!  

Ah... Ahem... I hobbled out the door, letting the crowbar fall to my side, while I walked down the barren hallway... Out the corner of my eye, I spotted a blueish figure in the pool... it disappeared down into the side room, followed by loud splashing noises... I quickly turned to face it, crowbar held taut in both hands...

Nothing.

Was I hallucinating things? Well, a face full of acid would do that to ya... though, it never hurts to be careful, I'd tell my co-workers about that once I got back. Having something lurking in those waters... it didn't leave a good taste in my mouth. 

I shook my head, clearing my skull of all those worriable thoughts, before continuing down the hall at a steady pace. Jack was leaned up against the wall, looking relatively dismissive as I trudged onwards. 

Before long, I'd made it through the main hall then past Storage Bay 1, and then to the Cafeteria. The best part about this facility is that it wasn't all too big, this place was only a couple rooms down after all. 

The doors slid open before me and I was met with a very... odd sight. There were big spills of coffee everywhere, sizzling, bubbling puddles that looked like literal lava... eurgh... I'm tired, but not that desperate for caffeine...

I hooked my crowbar over my back and walked on down to the counter, grabbing whatever from the discarded food bins. A relatively fresh, hand-crafted (by yours truly) hamburger, and a luke-warm Bloxy Cola from the counter. Then, with my other hand, I just barely managed to squeeze in an apple with the rest of the stuff... to think this little would fill my hands so quick! If only they had trays here- 

A indignant huff of air brushed over the back of my neck...

I dropped whatever I had and quickly unhooked my crowbar from my back. I spun and glared towards the... oh... 

I looked up, and up, then up a little more. There was a giant behemoth of a creature standing there. Deep lime eyes bore through my visor, nothing but aggression in those wide eyes... Before me stood a winged mutant, coffee brown fur with a beige underbelly, thick, toned limbs with freakishly sharp claws at the end of it's paws. Two giant wings sprouted from it's back, and it stood a good two heads taller than me, with a pair of giant ram horns on either side of it's head. 

Then it bore it's teeth, one single row of razor sharp teeth. It's upper lip curled, snout scrunched... clear signs that it wanted to kill me...  

Without much thought, I rammed the blunt end of the crowbar into it's stomach and shoved it far away from me. Caught off-guard by my sudden attack, it stumbled back a good few steps, hacking and coughing, the wind knocked out of it's lungs. 

I DEFINITELY didn't want to be on the opposing end of those claws, or those teeth, so I was most definitely going to take advantage of this small opening... I swung the crowbar up, slamming the hook into it's lower jaw, dragging it down a tad before quickly kicking my boot into it's chest and pulling. 

I put my full weight into that pull, and in turn, a satisfying pop rang out, followed by the sickly sound of tearing flesh. I watched the fur and flesh stretched and stretched, before the entire thing came flying off. 

I stumbled back a few steps, glaring at the towering beast. It's jaw was still imbedded on the end of my crowbar, but as I cast it a glance, it turned to mush, dropping to the floor with a wet splat.

Huh, that's odd- 

Before I knew it, I had been rammed. I went flying over the counter, and smashed into the metal shelves. I groaned, pushing myself to my feet, but by then the thing had already vaulted the counter, growling deeply at me... Despite the fact that it had no jaw. 

I felt a twang of fear, but it was immediately swallowed by an overwhelming sense of indignation. I'd been through worse, what's one big mutant, when you've brought many to near death?

I grunted, rolling my neck (and hopefully not breaking anything), before readying myself for the next strike. 

It charged at me recklessly, arms wide as if to tackle me, head lowered, horns poised to break every rib in my chest. I took a quick glance over my shoulder, quickly grabbing a thick survival knife from the shelf and throwing it into the dragon/cow/... into the mutant's skull. The knife had dug shallow, barely into the bone at all. It roared loudly in pain, though it hadn't stopped...

But, it had lost focus. 

I swiftly dashed out the way, and unable to stop it's charge, it crashed into the wall. I just barely managed to get out of the way, it's claws just BARELY scraping the edge of my vest. I then started to back up as the shelf began to teeter...

The metal shelf fell forth onto the beast, crushing the mutant's body under it's weight. A series of sickly wet cracks rang out, but despite that, it thrashed and roared, eyes wide in fury. 

I scoffed, stepping up onto the shelf and placing both hands onto the butt of the knife. Then, I began to put my weight into it...

Push, push, push....

 It thrashed, roaring out in anger, which devolved into cries of pain, which, devolved into weak whimpers, then... silence. 

The knife had fully plunged into it's skull, the handle being the only part which wasn't dug deep into it's brain. I looked down at the creature for a moment, then I ripped the knife from it's scalp, settling the weapon in my utility belt. Brown gooey blood dripping from the tip of the blade. 

I'd just uh... leave it there for now. Maybe I'd get Jack to help me get the shelf back up, maybe lug the corpse over the fence in the support cave, maybe dunk it's body in a barrel of acid... I shrugged, that's a problem for future Tane. 

Strangely enough though, it's blood wasn't corrosive, not at all like the rabbit's. It was hot, it burned a tad, but it didn't melt through my skin like butter. Hmm. 

Seeing how the door was currently blocked by a giant metal shelf, I climbed over the counter, looking to my co-worker's now ruined meals. The Burger was on the floor, crushed, with a hefty pawprint left in the buns. The Cola was fine, but it'd probably explode if opened. The apple was too, unreasonably damaged... it was a little bruised.


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1:30 PM


Within due time, I hobbled back to our 'Main Base' of operations. Jack had brought a radio into the secondary Supply Room, and was listening to some upbeat, chipper bit sounding tune. Dave was awake, though still laying flat on the couch. Looking a little sad... probably because he was covered head to toe in burns. 

I set Jack's new burger and drink on the desk, then gently placed the new, delectable and shiny red apple on Dave's chest. I'd already eaten back in the Cafeteria, just helping myself to a few fruits from the tables. I know they were probably dirty, but hey, food is food! 

"Thanks mate! Ah, I was lookin forward to this! Well like, before the blackout and all that. You get what I mean." He nodded to me, settling back in his chair. 

Dave looked to me with a weak smile, slowly and carefully reaching for the apple on his chest, as to not flare up any of his wounds "T-Thanks..." 

"Don't sweat it. Plus, I know the feeling." I smiled beneath my mask, slowly unclipping the thing and setting it down on my couch. I pointed to my face, covered entirely with bandages, if anything, it was like I was staring right in a mirror, looking at Dave. 

"Also. Got some bad news. More mutants. One in the Cafeteria, one presumably in the Flooded Room. The first one looked like a mix between a dragon, and a ram, with brownish fur... it was tall, beefy... ehh... that's about it." 

I clutched my ribs, wincing in pain. I really regretted not bringing my vest with me on that trip... Dave's eyes widened in surprise, a little in fear, mostly in surprise. Jack only smiled, he would've made a remark, if his face wasn't stuffed with food. 

I looked to Dave with a genuine smile "And don't worry, their blood doesn't burn like the rabbit's. It's only hot, like freshly brewed coffee... oh, it's also dead" I ran a thumb across my throat, clicking my tongue. 

Dave seemed to relax at that, but he still seemed on edge. I see how that could be... well, traumatizing for the young lad. To be assaulted, almost killed, tortured with acid... And at such a young age too!... 

"Now... the second one... it was in the pools. It was greyish, maybe blue? I couldn't tell, it ran too fast. But still, I wouldn't suggest taking any detours through there. Who knows, it could be fitted for aquatic pursuit..." 

"..." 

"PPFFFT HAHA! There's like a foot of water there! What difference is that going to make?! HAHAHAH!" Jack burst out laughing, slapping his knee and coughing up bits of burger, which luckily enough, didn't reach far enough to stain me or Dave. 

"T-That's not what matters. What matters is there is a potential threat lurking. It could attack if we aren't careful, it could try to kill us in our sleep, it COULD... You get my point," 

"So, what you're saying is... we hunt it?" Jack asked, tilting his head a little.

"What? No! I'm saying we avoid it! It's better to not get in unnecessary conflict, which can and will, only further our injuries! We have no clue what it could be, or what it can do. So just stay away from the Flooded area, alright?" I squinted my bloodshot eyes at Jack, who only scoffed, going to open his Bloxy Cola. 

"Pssh, fine whateve-" The can then proceeded to burst in his face. 




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I don't know who I am... I don't know where I am... I'm an enigma, really... I only get brief flashes every now and again... 

I remember... white halls, a confined room... a blue thing in my hands, a searing hot pain... I get those flashes every now and again...

For as long as I could remember, I'd been confined to that room for a long time... through one of the black see through walls, dark figures would stare down at me... I shied away from them... they scared me...

But I, along with a lot of other creatures recently managed to escape. The lights suddenly went out... the walls opened up... hordes of many like me poured out into the outside!

Shouts and screams of unseen people, muddled in the croc pot of animalistic noises... sizzling and bubbling... gooey squelching and then a cacophony of barks... yips... chitters...

Now, here I stood in the shallow waters of a flooded room...

In my weird memories, I didn't look like what I do now... I had fleshy hands, loose flappy fur that hung off my body, I seemed to shed it at will and put it back on... But now... My hands weren't hands, they were... paws. 

My fleshy skin was covered with a thick fluffy layer of light blue fur, my belly had thinner white fur. I have two bushy tails now, small yet sharp claws, whiskers... Is that really me in those memories? I look so different... the memory me used to be so bold, so loud... I don't feel like I can be anything like that...

As of recently, I saw someone... someone who looked like me in my memories. The others looked like animals, they were nice to me, some were mean to me... but I never felt anything but fear towards them... this one, I... 

He reminded me, of who I truly was. Only for a brief, fleeting moment, everything rushed back to me, who I was, where I was, what I am, my purpose, my meaning! Only for it to be whisked away in the next second. 

He was like the others... but he looked different, he had an odd... face? He had unblinking, wide black eyes, with a constantly open mouth. He walked weird, but he had that loose flappy fur... it looked weak, and worn... holes that were covered with white strips of fur... 

He glanced at me! I quickly dashed away behind a fallen object... a... locker? It is foggy to me... But, when I looked back, he was gone...  I stayed, worriedly glancing back and forth for the evocation... could it have been my mind...? No, he was back! From nowhere! Oh, he looked at me! 

I quickly sped off, my paws splashing clumsily through the water as the shorks glanced curiously at me. There was about 4 of them, scattered about the split pool room. They were indifferent towards me... Though they growled whenever I got close...

I settled on dry land, leaning up against a... shelf? I seemed tired, huffing and puffing, but not because I was out of breath... more like, I just had an epiphany... A brief, genuine smile crept up my face... tears building up in the corners of my eyes...

This... Hue-Man?... I used to be... a Hue-Man.