Undead Rewind

Chapter 3: Remnants of a Dark Discovery

The metallic clank of their boots echoed as Leo and his squad ventured deeper into the dimly lit corridors of the forgotten research facility. The oppressive silence was occasionally broken by the distant hum of flickering lights and the groaning of old machinery. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of rust and decay, a reminder that this place had been abandoned for a long time.

Sophie was the first to spot it-an old terminal tucked away in the corner of the room. She crouched down, brushing away a thick layer of dust that had settled on the keyboard. "Looks like some kind of database," she murmured, typing quickly. The screen flickered to life, displaying files upon files, all encrypted.

Marcus joined her, narrowing his eyes at the screen. "Military encryption," he muttered. "This isn't just any research facility. These files... they could hold everything we need to understand what happened here."

Leo stood beside them, his eyes scanning the dimly lit room. "Can you break the encryption?"

Sophie shook her head, her eyes narrowing. "It'll just take time-time we might not have." She glanced at the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard. "But I can copy the encryption. It won't be perfect, but it'll get us through the first layer."

Leo shifted, impatience bubbling under his calm exterior. "We don't need perfect. We need fast."

Jenna, standing near a large metallic door at the far side of the room, called out softly, "Guys, you might want to see this."

The rest of the squad hurried over, and what they saw sent a chill down their spines.

Behind the thick, reinforced glass was a pod-large and cylindrical, its surface covered in frost. Inside, a creature lay dormant in a viscous liquid. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before-far more grotesque and menacing than the zombies they had encountered above ground. Its elongated limbs, sharp claws, and disturbingly humanoid features suggested something far more dangerous. Its mottled gray skin was streaked with strange, pulsating veins.

The creature stirred, its body reacting to the vibrations in the room as the team moved closer to the pod. Each step, every clank of their boots on the metal floor, seemed to resonate through the chamber. The creature's once-motionless form twitched, its muscles rippling beneath its distorted, veiny skin.

"Guys," Marcus whispered, his voice tight with fear. "I think we're waking it up."

Leo's heart pounded as he watched the creature's chest rise and fall faster, as if the very presence of life in the room had triggered something primal. It wasn't just the machinery or the files; their movement had set off a chain reaction, disturbing the once-dormant monstrosity.

The team held their breath, watching as the creature inside the pod began to thrash and writhe. The liquid surrounding it churned violently, and the glass of the pod creaked under the strain of the creature's movements.

Sophie's eyes were locked on the terminal, her fingers flying over the keyboard in a frantic attempt to finish decrypting the files. "We need to hurry!" she shouted, her voice laced with urgency. "If we don't get this information now, we might not get another chance!"

Leo's gaze remained fixed on the creature, its once-dormant eyes now glowing with a cold, unnatural light. The thing seemed to sense their presence, its gaze piercing through the glass with an eerie intelligence. Leo could almost feel its hatred, a palpable force that seemed to fill the room.

The pod's glass was starting to crack under the strain, sharp, splintering sounds adding to the mounting tension. The creature's claws scraped against the glass, leaving deep scratches as it tried to break free. With each passing second, the situation became more dire.