Descent Into Madness

Prologue

Completely oblivious to the movement behind her, a dark haired woman carefully poured an orange liquid into an erlenmeyer flask while humming an upbeat pop song.

She watched the reaction as the chemicals mixed, changing its color to black. A spark lit up her eyes.

As she picked up the flask, a hand landed on her shoulder, scrunching up her lab coat in its grip. A gasp passed her lips, her hold on the smooth glass tube slipping before she regained it.

She spun around, dislodging the hand and casting a wide-eyed stare at the man who had snuck up on her.

"Do you know what would have happened if I dropped this?" she hissed, slapping him on the chest with her free hand.

The man raised his hands in defense. "You weren't holding it when I came up with the plan!" His head tilted. "What is that, anyway?"

Her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

His lips quirked up in a smirk as he leaned closer to her. "What? A guy can't visit his fiancee at work?"

Pulling away, she scowled. "Not when she works here. How did you even get in?"

"I have my ways."

"You should leave."

He tried leaning towards her again. "But I want to see you. You spend so much time here. I miss you."

"You should leave," she repeated. "You're not supposed to be here. This place is top secret; only personnel have clearance to be allowed in."

He rolled his eyes, straightening up. "It's not very good at being 'top secret' if I can not only find it but break in with ease." He paused, then mumbled, "The sign outside that reads 'top secret research laboratory, ignore this sign' doesn't help its secrecy, either."

She froze. "I see." Raising her free hand, she placed it on his cheek and guided him down for a kiss, before giving him a soft smile.

He gave a warm smile back, gazing into her eyes.

Turning back to her work station, she placed the flask back on the table and grabbed a syringe.

"Do you still want to know what I'm working on?" she asked.

He rested his chin on her shoulder as he watched her work. "Yes."

Filling the syringe with the black mixture, her lips tightened into a thin line. "This," she said, tapping the filled syringe, "is the next big new thing in biological warfare." Her voice turned colder with each word.

He blinked. "What?"

In one smooth movement, she spun and stuck the needle into his neck, pushing in the plunger.

The man gasped, eyes wide as he stumbled back from her, hand shooting to his neck.

Watching him with soulless eyes, she twisted the used syringe in her fingers. "You should have left when I told you."

He sunk to his knees, hands clawing at his throat, making pitiful whines as he tried to force his vocal cords into use.

"I am sorry it had to turn out this way, Darling," she purred. "It was fun while it lasted."

His skin paled at a rapid rate. Dropping the syringe onto the table, she shifted her eyes to the camera that blended into the ceiling.

"I need a containment uni-" she cut off with a sharp inhale as something pierced through her middle. Blinking quickly, she looked down at the bloody hand protruding from her. Her body jerked as his hand was yank back out. She clawed at the table as her legs crumbled beneath her.

"It wasn't supposed to work that fast." Her voice carried disbelief as she sunk down into the endless darkness.