The Forest Lives [COMPLETED]

Chapter 4 - The Forest

Dr Lockwood stood in a dark room. Four silhouettes surrounded him, each looking down at the man.

They remained silent. Simply staring at the doctor

"Dr Lockwood. Since the incident with Subject - 1244's mutation there have been numerous reports of you telling the other scientists that you are afraid to test."

"We have also had reports and seen footage of you attempting to re-humanise a subject. You refer to them as 'Mr Poole'."

"When we brought you here you knew your place. You knew that it was likely that something would happen that could get you killed."

"Although, we must praise you for the implant. We have used it on your favourite subject and it has worked beautifully. He can't remember any of his past life."

"We will use it on new doctors and subjects alike to ensure a lower amount of defects."

Two security guards entered from the darkness with this, preventing Lockwood from escaping.

"We're sorry for what we're about to do, Harry." One of the guards whispered as they stepped closer to the doctor.

"Despite your achievement. We cannot be seen as forgiving."

"We have collectively decided to demote you. Your new name is Subject - 0289."

————————PRESENT DAY————————

Once the three had stepped through the crack, everything changed. The trees around them were now in new locations and misshapen. Each of them with bulbous growths covering the dead and decaying bark. The sky was now a blood red to match the dense fog surrounding them.

"How the hell is this possible?" Reno questioned. "The sky cant change that quickly, right?"

"I don't believe it has changed. I am surprised I have to point this out: Our surroundings have not changed, our location has. All of the signals I would normally get from other phones and satellites have disappeared." PAI droned. "Perhaps climb a tree to see if there are any landmarks of note."

Reno nodded with this, pulling out a small whiskey bottle he had in his pocket and taking a few gulps before looking at his surroundings. Most of the trees looked far too brittle to support Reno's weight, although there were a few that seemed pretty sturdy.

After picking what looked like the strongest tree, Reno stepped closer. Then, taking off his coat and slinging it over the lowest branch and swinging himself onto it to climb.

As he got closer to the top, Reno began to see red shards of light burst through the foliage and stronger until he finally broke through the top layer of leaves.

Looking around, Reno saw nothing but the dense forest. Looking to the sky revealed that the place had a purely black sun, still somehow casting light onto the place.

It looked as if it went on forever, the horizon remained completely flat.

Reno stared onwards, eyes wide. Quickly climbing back down.

"We need to leave." The man muttered. "This place isn't normal."

Red and Sasha looked at one another, neither had ever seen him this shaken up. "What did you see?" Asked Sasha, her heart pumping.

"The sky is blood red, the sun is black." Reno answered, his voice shaking.

"I don't know if either of you two had noticed, our exit is gone." Sighed Red, shivers running down his spine.

PAI began vibrating with this. "I am getting a strong signal, different to that of the one before. But a signal nonetheless." Noted the phone. "And it would appear that the signal is allowing us to receive a message from an unknown contact."