All we heard was a dull thud. It sounded like a body fell to the floor. The noise jolted me and Jack, the anxious father beside me whose eight-year-old daughter with cancer was in lab 116. Our eyes met, sharing a moment of unease. My thoughts spiraled back to Diana inside lab 118 and the chilling thought that something just went terribly wrong.
Earlier that day, Diana and I were on our way to Second and Pch to go shopping at Urban Outfitters when our conversation was cut short by the screech of tires. A black van pulled up sharply, and before Diana could react, she was blindfolded and bundled inside. Without thinking, I leaped onto the van's side, only to be pulled in with her. They tied us back to back and stripped me of my vision. I knew this was all her fault. She plays on the wrong side of the internet. It was only a matter of time before something like this would happen. I just wasn't expecting to be dragged into it.
"Isn't this exciting?!" She said.
I couldn't believe my ears.
"Diana, what the actual fuck? No, this is not exciting." She leaned her head back on my shoulder and whispered,
"We're going to be rich."
That's when it hit me: this is the thing she was talking about, the experiment. She had been ranting about it nonstop for about a week now, but I never expected her to actually go through with it. She said that they were offering one million dollars to run some tests.
"Diana, do you really think it's going to be that easy to make a million dollars?! They're not just going to draw blood and then let you walk out in perfect condition with all their money. Think!"
She thought it over for a second.
"I am thinking...about those dollar bills!"
"Diana-"
"Lucy, you, of all people, know I need this. I'm working three jobs, and I'm still three months behind on rent. Don't act like you don't need this either. I saw your eviction notice."
She was right. I did need money and fast.
"...Fine...But they're not touching me. This is all you."
"Deal."
It felt like it took the entire day to get there. Diana even peed her pants it took so long, and I had to go really bad, but finally, we arrived. They removed our blindfolds, and the van's doors swung open outside a grim, enormous, unmarked building with no windows in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but grass for miles all around. We weren't even on a road. A man awaited us in front of the building.
"I apologize for the abruptness. It's purely precautionary," he assured.
His apology was empty and practiced like he had done this a thousand times. He gestured towards the blank building, and two men in lab coats opened the double doors to reveal a cold, sterile interior.
"Please, make yourselves comfortable."
I looked over at Diana. She was nervous but tried to hide it by being the first one to step inside. He took us up an elevator to a luxurious waiting room with couches and TVs. It looked like a modern living room. Behind the sofas were the laboratory doors. 110 - 120. There was a man sitting nervously on the couch, watching The Hangover, but it was evident something else was on his mind.
"I'm Dr.Dagon." Said the man who had taken us up the elevator. He stuck out his hand to Diana.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Diana." She shook it.
"I understand you must be nervous, but I promise you there's nothing to fear. We'll give you a shot, and you'll be in and out."
"What's in the shot? Why is this illegal?" I asked.
"Ah. Questions. I never liked them. The shot contains a substance unapproved by the FDA. We've tested it on animals, but we need to see its effect on people."
"What's the substance? What's in the shot?" I said, not letting him evade the question.
"You wouldn't recognize the name. It's new. Right this way, Diana."
He took her into room 118, leaving me alone with the man. I went to find a restroom, which was surprisingly really nice quality. The building looks so much worse on the outside than it does inside. When I finished, I joined the man on the couch. We got to know each other in an attempt to distract ourselves from our current situation, but we ended up just talking about it. His name was Jack, and he was here as a last resort to try and cure his daughter's cancer. She had six months to live, and Dr.Dagon claimed to have a cure. He was willing to try anything, even this. He wasn't getting any money. Just his daughter's life back, and that's all he wanted.
Thump.
Me and Jack looked at each other, a knowing feeling. The dull thud that broke the silence was like a signal, a harbinger of doom. Minutes passed—each second stretching into eternity. Jack gave me a reassuring glance.
"It's probably nothi-"
Suddenly, a horrendous crash cut through his words, silencing him mid-sentence. The door burst open with such force it flew off its hinges. Diana stood in the doorway, her appearance monstrous, her humanity stripped away by whatever substance they had injected. Her eyes were bloodshot, her forehead balloon-like, her ears enlarged, her kneecaps twisted inwards, her fingernails yellow and ingrown, her veins purple, and her elbows flipped upside down. Just past her was a room drenched in blood. It painted the walls and dripped from Diana's fingertips, now awkwardly extended. The lab staff lay mutilated around her, their intestines sliding down the white walls and onto the floor. It looked like a bomb went off. Jack stood abruptly.
"I need to get Abby."
"No, wait-"
Diana's attention became focused on Jack as he ran to 116. He tried to open the door only to discover it was locked. She charged at him, and he quickly dodged her, causing the door to cave in, revealing Abby. She screamed as Diana ripped off her head in one swift movement. Jack fell to his knees, hyperventilating. He couldn't breathe. I hid behind the couch as I watched her kick in his ribs with her inverted legs, then she grabbed him by his legs and ripped him in half. Then, she ate him.
Click.
Dr.Dagon was trying to grab the black phone. Diana's eyes shifted to him. He ran to the elevator and rapidly clicked the button. It closed just in time, but that didn't stop her. She slammed through the doors and hopped on top of the elevator. I don't want to think about what happened next, but he had that coming. This was his fault anyway. He made her like this. That was my chance. I ran faster than I'd ever run before, trying to find a way out. Then I saw it: stairs. I only made it down the first staircase when there was a bang. Something metal had slammed down hard on my back. It was the door. I couldn't move. Then there was pressure. Diana had crawled on top. She opened her mouth to reveal receding gums and elongated teeth. I mustered up all my strength to turn over and stuck my thumbs in her eyes, causing her to scream. She fell off, and I slid out from underneath the door. It would take too long for me to run down the stairs. They were spiraled in a circle, so I hopped on the railing and slid down. Luckily, I was wearing my jeans today. She recovered after about twenty seconds, but that was all the time I needed to get to the bottom. That's when I saw a red button with the words "Lockdown." Little did I know, she wasn't taking the stairs. As she jumped straight down the middle to where I was, I hit the button and ran out the door. Alarms blared. Steel doors slammed shut, sealing Diana within. There was a thud, a hard clunk, and then a screech. She was trapped. I wanted to feel bad, but that wasn't Diana anymore.
As the reality of escape settled in, another realization dawned—I had no idea where I was. The blindfolded journey left me disoriented, with no sense of direction to even guess a way back. The car that took me here was gone; there weren't even tire marks on the grass. All I could do was walk.
