Trials of the Test Subjects

Chapter 2: Into the Unknown

As we stepped into the hallway, the flickering fluorescent lights overhead cast unsettling shadows on the cracked walls. The air was thick with an unsettling stillness that wrapped around us like a suffocating blanket. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest, each beat echoing the anxiety that churned within me.

“Stick together,” Lyn whispered, glancing back at us. “We don’t know what’s out there.”

I nodded, clutching the fabric of my jumpsuit nervously. I felt utterly exposed in this place, surrounded by unfamiliar faces in the darkness. Lyn led the way, his footsteps soft and deliberate as he navigated the narrow corridor. The others followed closely, Sera right behind him, while I took up the rear.

“Do you think we’re in a hospital?” Sera asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “It feels… wrong.”

“More like a prison,” I replied, glancing at the cold metal doors lining the hallway. Each one was sealed shut, like secrets waiting to be uncovered. I could feel a sense of dread creeping up my spine as I imagined what lay beyond those doors.

Lyn stopped suddenly, holding up a hand. “Wait. We need to be careful. I heard something.”

We all fell silent, straining our ears to listen. In the distance, I heard a faint sound, like a shuffling of feet followed by a low, grating voice. My stomach dropped, and I exchanged worried glances with the others.

“What do we do?” I whispered, panic rising in my chest.

“Night vision goggles,” Lyn said, pulling a pair from a small backpack that I hadn’t noticed he was carrying. “They’ll help us see in the dark. We need to stay hidden.”

He handed a pair to each of us, and I fumbled with the straps, my hands trembling. As I secured them over my eyes, the world transformed into shades of green and black. The darkness around us became less daunting, revealing the faint outlines of doors and the shadowy figures of my companions.

“Let’s keep moving,” Lyn instructed, his voice steady despite the tension in the air. He led the way again, and we crept down the hallway, the soft sounds of our movements muffled by the thick atmosphere.

The shuffling noise grew louder as we approached a door at the end of the corridor. I glanced at the others, and we all shared the same worried expression. “What if it’s… one of them?” I whispered, referring to the massive nurse or the security guard we’d heard about.

“Then we run,” Lyn said simply, though I could tell that he was trying to maintain his composure for our sake.

Lyn reached for the doorknob, and I felt my heart race. “On three,” he murmured. “One… two… three!”

He swung the door open, and we rushed inside, pressing ourselves against the wall. The room was dimly lit, filled with strange equipment and an array of medical supplies scattered haphazardly across tables. My eyes darted around, searching for any sign of danger.

“Looks like a lab,” I said, my voice barely audible through my goggles. “But why is it abandoned?”

Before anyone could answer, the shuffling sound we’d heard earlier echoed outside the door. My breath hitched in my throat as I strained to listen. “They’re coming,” I whispered urgently, panic rising in my chest.

Lyn quickly scanned the room. “We need a place to hide,” he said, pointing toward a large storage cabinet in the corner. “Get in there!”

We scrambled to the cabinet, squeezing ourselves inside just as the door swung open. The massive form of the nurse filled the doorway, her silhouette a grotesque figure against the dim light. I could hardly breathe as I pressed against the cold metal, my heart pounding in my ears.

“Where are you, little mice?” she called out in a sing-song voice, her words slithering through the air like a predator on the hunt. My body trembled as I felt her presence draw closer, and I clutched Sera’s arm, trying to keep my panic at bay.

“Stay quiet,” Lyn whispered, his breath steady but low.

We waited in suffocating silence, listening as the nurse’s heavy footsteps echoed around the room. I could feel the heat radiating from her body, and every instinct screamed at me to run, to escape from this nightmare.

But we couldn’t move. We had to stay hidden, to survive long enough to find a way out of this place. All I could do was close my eyes and hope that whatever darkness lay outside the cabinet would pass us by.