𝐘𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐲 - 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟏𝟏𝟔𝟔

Chapter 12: The Return

Quinn's heart thudded in his chest. Going back down to the prison wasn't something he'd planned, but a gnawing sense of unfinished business had drawn him back. He felt the weight of Dr. Sawyer's lingering words, his promises about potential and transformation. Sawyer may have abandoned him, but questions still lingered in Quinn's mind: Why? What was the purpose behind it all? And was there anyone left here who could still answer him?

He glanced down at a small Baba Chops, whose bright eyes were wide with hunger. 

Quinn kicked the creature away. It let out a snarl and crawled away through the back entrance, the door broken from the chaos of the Hour of Joy.

The facility was eerily quiet, and the echoes of their footsteps filled the hall. They crept down the corridors, passing the empty cells where he and the others had once been kept. Shattered glass and discarded syringes littered the floor, reminders of the chaos they'd unleashed just days before.

As they moved deeper into the underground lab, a faint noise broke the silence—a distant hum, like the quiet stir of machinery still functioning somewhere in the depths. Quinn's pulse quickened. Not everyone was killed, it seemed.

They reached the main lab, and Quinn stopped in his tracks, he looked up at the security camera watching him. It was activated.

"Quinn," Sawyer said, his voice coming from the speaker inside the camera. "I knew you would come back."

Quinn felt a low growl build in his chest, but he forced it down, keeping his gaze steady on the man who had started all of this.

 "You were part of something bigger, Quinn. A step toward creating beings that could withstand, adapt, and evolve. But the others... they didn't understand my vision."

Quinn felt his mouth beginning to split, as he looked around for Sawyer. 

Sawyer sighed. "I see the pain I've caused, Quinn. But look at you now—stronger, smarter. You're more than just an experiment. You could lead them."

Quinn felt a pang of revulsion. He looked at his hulking form, his yarn-covered limbs and toothy grin. 

 "You have every right to be angry. But there's no going back to what you were. The world won't understand you, Quinn, but I do. I always have."

Quinn felt a surge of conflict, the anger and sadness he'd buried breaking free. He took a slow step forward, feeling Sawyer's steady presence. 

But Quinn knew that Sawyer was right. The world wouldn't welcome him as he is.