Prologue Part One: Choice

“Think we leave today?” a cold Evelyn asked from deep within Markus’ arms.

He stared at the door in front of them as lights turned on around them, neon fluorescence buzzing.

“Maybe.” He whispered, brushing her hair from her eyes.

With practiced silence, he tore open two silver, cellophane wrappers: revealing two brown bars. He gave one to Evelyn, then ate the other himself. As the two ate in silence, Markus readjusted his grip on the freezing steel of the gun in his hands. He had only used it once, and the memory terrified him deeply. Shook him to his core.

“Are they going to take you again?” Evelyn asked, tightening her hug on his arm.

“Probably,” he sighed.

A scream echoed from outside the small closet they rested in. Neither flinched, neither of them moved at all. The screams were all too normal now. As was killing. They’d seen more blood than they could’ve possibly imagined existed by now. The facility loudspeaker crackled to life, informing everyone of another death in the trainee group. Markus slowly repeated the names of everyone who had died, everyone announced at least, ending on one name in particular. Reese Ferry. As he said the name his grip tightened again, his entire arm shaking. Evelyn gazed up at his eyes in a mirror-like anguish. She sat up, gently rubbing his shoulders and neck before sitting next to him, leg over leg.

“Maybe we should move?” she asked.

Markus pondered the thought, checking the box of supplies they had. A soft footstep caused both their heads to swivel before he answered. Both of them silently shot to their feet, Evelyn grabbing a long metal rod leaning on the wall behind them. Markus held the gun out in front of him, glaring down the iron sights.

The footsteps continued until they stopped, ending right outside the door.

“Markus Leyman,” the voice outside said, “Let’s not be difficult.”

Markus lowered the gun and his face fell, his soft but careful expression replaced with one of defeat.

“Come on out.” the voice ordered, and Markus obeyed.

“Stay, please.” he whispered to Evelyn as he left.

She nodded, a heavy lump forming in her throat as the man taking Markus glared at her, a look that signified his utter disgust. Once the two figures receded down the hallway until she could no longer see them, she fell to her knees, hands still shaking.

“It’s not fair.” she growled to herself, tears of rage forming at the corners of her eyes.

The cold dark blue floor froze her through the thin, tight uniform that everyone there wore. Everywhere around her was the horrendous dark blue, every wall, every surface, was a horrible blue that she had grown to despise with every fiber of her being. Her rage subsided, leaving her exhausted, and afraid.

“I’ll wait for you, of course.” she mumbled, it had become a ritual between the two, whenever he was taken.

Despite the labyrinthian design of the facility, he could always find his way back to where he’d been taken from, bloodied and shaking. Evelyn tried to expel the memories of his returns, but they were burned into her mind like she’d been branded. She ducked back inside the room, shutting the heavy blue door behind her, putting the rod through the handle as a makeshift lock. In miserable exhaustion she curled into a ball and waited.

Markus walked behind the man escorting him, careful not to make any noise. The man kept checking behind him, as though he thought Markus would make a mad dash, even after all this time. They finally arrived at a much sturdier looking silver door, and Markus was ushered through. The man didn’t join him, and instead shut the heavy door behind them with an ominous thud.

“Markus.” a smooth voice called from within.

“Director.” he said, acknowledging the man who sat across the room, sitting next to a medical chair that was fit with restraints.

“Come, sit.”

Markus reluctantly laid back into the chair, the director's sinister sword hovering by his side.

“Tell me, Markus. Have the …augmentations produced any results yet?”

Markus swallowed hard, “No sir.”

The director’s face remained a mask of emotionlessness, “Markus. Have they?”

Markus closed his eyes, breathing unsteadily.

“There's," he paused, "it’s like there's someone else in my head.” he said in fear.

“Another of you?”

“It’s like me but … not.”

“How vexing.” the director mused, “I suppose if you wish to stop you may, the experiment’s will restart on the rest of your group.”

“No. I can handle it.” Markus said, squaring his jaw.

“Then show me.” the director said fervently.

Markus focused, forcing his mind into a deep concentration. He directed all the focus onto his shoulder, and with great effort, felt an unnatural sensation along his arm.

“Magnificent-” the director said, in awe like a child receiving a toy.

Markus glanced at his shoulder, greeted with the dark gray appendage that jutted out next to his real arm. The arm quickly turned to ash as his concentration broke.

“Sorry, that’s all I could manage.” Markus said, trying to hide his quivering lip by wiping away the blood dripping from his nose.

“It was more than enough, beyond extraordinary I assure you.” the director murmured, letting the ash fall through his fingers before picking it up again.

“Am I free to go?” Markus asked stiffly, the faintest darkness creeping into the sides of his eyes.

“Take him back to the facility.” the director ordered without looking away from the ash.

A large man escorted Markus back through a door and shut it loudly behind him, the door merging back into the wall, barely visible.

“Release the shade,” the director said once the door was closed. “I want to see what that power can do.”

Another scientist reluctantly relayed the information. The voice on the other end of the line sounded tense, full of fear. Through the dark blue corridors came a horrific howl, and then utter silence that came paired with the lights dying and plunging the facility into darkness. Markus felt his way through the tunnel uneasily, keeping a hand on the right wall at all times. The strategy for finding their room again hadn’t failed him yet, however he was used to being able to see the door he was trying to reach.

“Director, are you sure this is a sound idea?” a scientist watching Markus on a thermal monitor asked.

“If the hypothesis was guaranteed, there’d be no reason for the study.” the director replied, eyes not wavering from the screen, intently watching every second.

Markus tripped slightly, his foot clapping down hard on the cold metal floor.

“Markus?” called a hushed voice.

“Evelyn!” Markus replied, whirling around.

“Markus, why are the lights out so early?” Evelyn whispered.

“I’m not sure. Do you know where we are?”

“The room is just behind us, you must’ve missed it.” she said, pulling him into the safe room they’d been using.

Suddenly, the smell of blood filled their nostrils. An odor of a fresh kill. But there was no announcement, only the faint stench growing more and more potent.

“Please tell me the door is closed.” Markus prayed.

A squeeze from Evelyn’s hand confirmed his fear. The pair stood in utter silence as the smell hovered directly outside the room. The smell was overwhelming as death hung in the air. Markus bit his tongue to stop from gagging and pinched his side to keep from shaking. An eternity passed as the two stood and the creature waited until, finally, it turned its head. The crimson eyes of a predator stared at them, boring holes into their skulls with malice. The glowing red orbs glistened with blood that dripped off the filmy mucus that covered the creature's irises. It drew closer, until the eyes sat directly above Markus’ nose.

His mind raced, thinking desperately how to escape the creature. Then, he felt Evelyn’s hand slide from his own, the gun he held slowly taken. He wanted to shout at Evelyn, but before he could speak the glint of the gun barrel reflected in the creature's eyes.