Chapter 09 Approaching Danger and Lab 114

Mia’s flashlight cut across the darkness in sharp arcs, trying to catch whatever was making that dreadful sound. Clunk… clunk… scrape… It was louder now, echoing like something heavy and mechanical dragging itself closer.

Sable whimpered, clutching his holo-device to his chest.

 “W-what’s making that noise? Where’s Dune? Where’s Reed?”

“Quiet. Stay behind me.”

Clunk… clunk… scrape…

Then, silence.

For a moment, the sound stopped entirely, as though whatever was making it had realized it was being hunted. The stillness made the air thick and suffocating.

“Maybe it’s gone…” Sable whispered hopefully.

Mia’s reply never came. Instead, the hallway exploded with movement.

From the darkness burst a mangled horror—another Abominator. Its form was much smaller than the last, its torso a mess of stitched-together machinery and decaying flesh. A mechanical jaw hung loose at the side of its face, rattling as it moved. Its legs were uneven, one a steel prosthetic that dragged with that awful scraping noise. Mounted on its back were two auto-turrets, their barrels glowing to life.

“MOVE!” Mia shouted.

She shoved Sable hard, knocking him out of the line of fire as the turrets opened up. Bullets shredded the air with a deafening roar, sparks ricocheting off walls and floor. Mia dove into cover, sliding behind a fallen piece of steel debris just in time to avoid getting torn apart.

Sable hit the ground hard, gasping for breath as bullets chewed into the walls mere inches from his head.

 “W-what the hell is that?!”

“Stay in cover! Do not move!” Mia barked, already reloading her rifle. She popped up for half a second, her scope locking on one of the auto-turrets. With a thunderous crack, her shot hit home. One turret exploded, a shower of sparks erupting from the creature’s back.

The Abominator staggered but didn’t fall. Instead, it turned its attention directly to Mia, its red eyes glowing brighter. It let out a distorted, robotic shriek—a sound that made Sable cover his ears and whimper in terror.

“Get down!”

Dune’s voice rang out as she leapt from the shadows, steel beam in hand. She slammed her weapon into the charging Abominator’s side with enough power to dent its mechanical torso. The impact sent the monster stumbling to the side, giving Mia enough time to reload.

Reed was right behind her, laughing like a madman as he swung his massive wrench at the auto-turret still mounted on the creature’s back. 

“Looks like we missed the party!”

The wrench smashed through the turret with a satisfying crunch, sparks flying as it sputtered and died.

The Abominator roared in fury, its head jerking around to face Dune. Its chainsaw sword for a tail, dragging behind it, revved to life, teeth spinning as it raised the massive weapon for a strike.

“Take cover, I got a shot!” Mia yelled.

“Dune! Watch it!” Reed called, diving for cover himself.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dune shot back, wiping dust off her cheek.

“Let’s see if you can take this one, freak!”

Her rifle thundered as she fired, the black-tipped .50 caliber bullet hitting the creature square in its exposed chest. The impact blew through its torso, sending shattered metal and decaying flesh spraying outward. The Abominator let out one last, distorted wail before collapsing to the ground with a crash.

Sable, still shaking, peeked out from his hiding place. 

“Is it… is it dead?”

Dune slung her steel beam over her shoulder, glancing at the remains of the Abominator with a critical eye.

 “Well, that was fun. As dead as it’s gonna get. But I have a bad feeling that we will see more of them soon enough.” 

Mia gave a small shake of her head as she inspected the destroyed Abominator one last time.

 “Whatever experiments they were doing here… we’re only scratching the surface. This one is much different than the first one we fought. I just hope we won't get ambushed by a group of them.”

Dune adjusted the massive machine gun she had taken from the earlier Abominator, giving the weapon a loving pat. 

“Good thing we came prepared, then. Now let’s move before anything else wakes up.”

Reed and Dune approached Sable. 

“Got some bad news,” Reed began, running a hand through his hair.

 “We scoped out the area. No vents, no side passages. Nothing. That hallway’s sealed tighter than a mech cockpit.”

Sable groaned, clutching his holo-map like a security blanket. 

“What do you mean, nothing? There has to be something—anything!”

“There’s no ‘has to be’ in the wasteland, professor,” Dune said, her tone as dry as the desert outside. 

She placed a reassuring hand on Sable’s shoulder, squeezing lightly.

 “But don’t start hyperventilating just yet. I’ve got one more idea.”

 “You do?”

“Yup.”

 Dune gestured at the holo-map. 

“Pull that thing up again. Let me see the layout.”

Sable tapped at his device. The map flickered to life, a three-dimensional hologram of the science city glowing faintly. 

Her finger hovered over the projection before tapping on a section of the map. 

“Here. Lab 114.”

Sable squinted at the spot she had chosen. 

“Lab 114? What about it? Clearing the rubble should be our priority, not scavenging through some random lab for who-knows-what! What if it’s empty? What if we’re just wandering into more danger?!”

Dune held up a hand to stop his spiraling.

 “Trust me on this, okay? Besides…”

Her expression turned serious, her eyes locking with his.

 “You really want to risk setting off another collapse by digging through that rubble with our bare hands?”

“I… suppose you have a point.”

Dune grinned, slapping him lightly on the back.

 “There’s my smart professor. Now, let’s get moving before something else decides to take a bite out of us.”

 Sable reluctantly guided them toward Lab 114. Dune took the lead. Reed walked beside her, wrench in hand and his usual smirk plastered across his face, stealing glances at her curvy body. Mia brought up the rear, her rifle slung over her shoulder but ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Sable shuffled nervously in the middle, mumbling under his breath about time and danger.

Reed broke the tension with a low whistle.

 “So, boss, what kind of goodies you think we’ll find in Lab 114? A laser cutter? Maybe one of those fancy plasma torches?”

 “Stay focused. We’re not here to loot. We’re here to find what we need and get out. Fast.”

“Relax, Mia. Dune got this under control. Right?”

 “Oh, absolutely. Nothing bad ever happens in creepy abandoned labs.”

They reached the door to Lab 114, its surface covered in warning labels that had long since faded. The control panel beside the door was still intact, though it looked like it hadn’t been touched in decades.

“Let’s hope it’s not busted. Professor, think you can get this open?” Dune said, gesturing at Sable.

“Give me a moment.” He connected his holo-device to the console, bypassing the outdated security protocols.

The door groaned loudly as it began to open, the gears grinding from years of neglect. A blast of stale air rushed out, carrying with it the faint scent of chemicals and decay.

Dune wrinkled her nose. 

“Well, that’s not ominous at all.”

Reed coughed.

 “Yeah, definitely smells like something fun went down in here.”

“Stay alert,” Mia warned, gripping her rifle tightly.

As the door fully opened, the group peered inside. The lab was in a state of disarray, its once-sterile environment now cluttered with overturned equipment and shattered glass. Broken ceiling lamps flickered weakly, casting eerie shadows across the room.

Dune stepped inside, her steel beam at the ready. 

“Let’s make sure we have no guest inside.”