What Was Left Behind

Chapter 20: Awakened Nightmare

The room pulsed with an eerie hum, the machine behind them vibrating with growing intensity. Maia's heart pounded in her chest as she stared in horror at the figures stepping out of their chambers. The once-human subjects—her father's preserved creations—were no longer trapped in stasis. They were awake, and whatever they had become wasn't human anymore.

Their eyes glowed a sickly, unnatural blue, their movements jerky and disjointed, as if their bodies hadn't adjusted to being alive again. But their gaze—those cold, hollow eyes—locked onto Maia and Levi with a deadly focus, filled with a raw, dangerous hunger.

"Run," Levi growled, his voice sharp with panic as he grabbed Maia's arm, pulling her back toward the passage. "We need to get out of here now!"

But Maia couldn't move. Her legs felt frozen, her mind spinning with the terrifying truth of what she had just learned. She had been the first. The first subject, the prototype for everything her father had created. He had tested his horrific experiments on her, perfected them, and then moved on to these poor souls. Her entire life had been built on lies, her memories manipulated, erased, twisted into a version of herself that wasn't real.

"Maia!" Levi's voice snapped her back to the present, his grip tightening around her wrist as the first of the creatures stepped toward them, its fingers stretching out, twisted and claw-like. "Move!"

Maia's body jerked into motion, her feet stumbling as she followed Levi toward the exit. But the chamber was large, and the walls that had once offered shelter now felt like a cage. The creatures were blocking their way out—slow, at first, but with each passing second, they seemed to grow stronger, their movements more coordinated, more deadly.

One of the creatures snarled, its eyes locking onto Maia, its twisted face contorted into something that almost resembled a smile. It lunged toward her, faster than she expected, and her heart stopped as she realized it was too close.

Levi reacted first, grabbing a piece of broken metal from the floor and swinging it toward the creature. The sharp end of the pipe struck it across the face with a sickening thud, sending the creature staggering back, but not down. It let out a low, guttural growl, the sound vibrating through Maia's bones.

"They're stronger than they look!" Levi shouted, his voice filled with panic. "We need to get to higher ground!"

"Over there!" Maia gasped, pointing to the far wall where a rusted set of metal stairs led to a platform above. If they could just reach it, they might be able to buy themselves time, maybe even find another way out.

Levi nodded, yanking her forward as the other creatures began to close in. Camilla was lagging behind, her body weak and sluggish, and Maia could see the terror in her friend's eyes as she tried to keep up.

"Camilla!" Maia screamed, rushing back to grab her hand. "We're getting out of here!"

But Camilla's eyes were wide with fear, her body trembling uncontrollably. "I can't... I can't do this... Maia, I can't..."

"Yes, you can!" Maia shouted, her voice shaking as she pulled her friend forward. "I'm not leaving you behind! Not again!"

The creatures were getting closer now, their distorted forms moving faster, their snarls filling the air with a palpable sense of dread. Levi was already at the base of the stairs, looking back at them with urgency in his eyes.

"Now, Maia!" Levi yelled, motioning for them to hurry.

But just as Maia and Camilla reached the stairs, one of the creatures lunged. Its clawed hand grabbed hold of Camilla's ankle, yanking her to the ground with terrifying strength. Camilla let out a scream, her body crashing to the floor as the creature began dragging her back toward the center of the chamber.