Silence envelops the white stainless room. Lights blink on and off rhythmically. A cryopod rests in the corner. 

But then it awakens.

*Critical Alert*

Internal battery at 5%

Preparing emergency release protocol…

Initiating release of the occupant in 3…2...1...

*Splash* *Thud*

You awake suddenly, everything a blur as you fall to your shaking knees and take a deep gulp of air. You feel the world float and spin around you as your limbs struggle to support themselves. Gut-wrenching pain grips your stomach, and you throw up cryo fluid to relieve it. 

Now feeling marginally less horrible, you look down at yourself and notice you are wearing nothing but a pair of black shorts.

“Where-” your voice croaks before a coughing fit wracks your body.

Spitting some of the vile taste from your mouth, you slowly take in this strange lab room bordered by complex machinery you can’t make heads or tails of. The last helpful memory you can access for this was…actually, you can’t recall anything. 

That’s… probably bad.

You notice a notepad on the singular desk in the corner of your room. Stumbling over, you read the hastily scrawled text on the pad:

Heed my warning:

Monsters are lurking around the building, and I can’t guarantee that they mean well.

I don’t know how long you will be asleep or if my plan works. But no matter what, please keep yourself safe if I’m not around to protect you. 

Forgive me for everything I had to do. I didn’t want it to end like this.

‘Monsters…? And what’s this about a plan?’ you ponder.

*Bang* *Bang* *Thud* *Slush*

Sounds emit from a vent in the corner of your room.

‘What was that?’

You don’t have to ponder for long as something white and slimy begins to squeeze through the gaps of the vent, pouring out onto the floor. You have no clue what that thing is or why it was in the vents, but you know it is alive.

It squeezes all the way through before laying motionless on the floor, just a tiny puddle of goo. It then extends upwards and ‘looks’ around as if searching for something in the room, pausing when it faces your direction. Your blood quickly freezes in dread.

Does it see you?

The goo starts crawling in your direction. You watch in horror, thinking quickly about what the note said about ‘monsters’ and realize this is one of them. Alarmed, you quickly back against the wall to gain as much distance as possible from the sentient ‘thing’ as it wiggles its way towards you.

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Countless thoughts run through your head as you think of the possibilities of what will happen. Is the goo poisonous? Will it melt your body if you come into contact with it? Or is there something worse that will happen?

A quick scan of the room reveals a door, and you rush to it, only to find it is locked by a keycard scanner. You grit your teeth and turn around to see the blob has tracked your movement and has been closing in on you the whole time. You’re beginning to accept the fact that your journey will end pathetically in the very room you started when-

*Splash*

‘Huh?’

You watch in disbelief as the goo monster falls into a drain. It’s miraculous enough you can’t help but stare a little longer. After waiting cautiously, you approach the gutter to confirm that the goo monster isn’t coming back out. Well, just in case it does come back out, you should find a way to unlock that door.

Looking back at the desk, you notice a red keycard hidden under the note. Perhaps the writer of the message left it there for you? Picking up the keycard, you go to the scanner and swipe the card into the reader. The scanner beeps with a green light, and a loud click indicates the door’s lock releasing.

You mentally thank the person who left the card there for you.

Without hesitation, you open the door and escape your containment, pocketing the keycard to take it along with you.

As you enter the wide white-walled hallway, you notice boxes scattered around. You also notice a row of doors that probably lead to other cryo chambers. Heading to one, you peer through the door’s window and see nothing but white from the other side.

‘Okay, totally not freaky at all…’

You take the keycard out of your pocket and swipe in the reader, hoping to unlock the door. The scanner beeps in response…but nothing happens. You try to pry the door open a little to see if it is stuck, but it doesn’t budge. You sigh in defeat and head to the next room, praying that there isn’t anyone trapped inside like yourself.

Checking the second room, you find the door is unlocked as it slides open automatically. You head inside, quickly confirming your hypothesis about the rooms being cryo chambers as you notice the empty stasis pod. The room is identical to yours, save for the splotches of black goo scattered about. You decide to keep your distance and leave the room, just in case that black goo is alive.

Peering through the third room, you notice that the door is locked, so you look through the window to ensure no one is inside. Instead of a human occupant inside the stasis pod, you find an army of agitated blobs who all cease their activities to collectively ‘stare’ at you, just like the first goo you met.

*Splat*

“AHH!” you scramble away from the door after witnessing one of the blobs launch itself into the window from their side.

Realizing they haven’t gotten the door to open, you take a few deep breaths to calm down. You then notice that the window now looks as white as the window from the first door, and a shiver travels down your spine.

‘Was I trying to open the door for a group of those…things?’

Somewhat shaken from this, you’re thankful the first door you checked didn’t open when you swiped the keycard. Otherwise… you’d rather not think about that.

Deciding that it is best to leave as soon as possible, you skip the fourth cryo chamber and head towards the door at the end, which you presume is the exit.

*Slosh*

You quickly turn around to see someone…or rather…something, stepping out of the first room you inspected.

This creature makes the goo puddle seem friendly by comparison. You would describe it as a solid-white anthropomorphic wolf with slime dripping from its body, much like what those goo puddles from before were made of. 

The white wolf steps into the hallway. Its triangular ears flicker as it scans the room until it faces you with white eyes that drill into your own.

You feel every hair on your body standing straight. The wolf blinks in surprise, tilting its head as it examines you, but the look wears away quickly as the wolf slowly forms a mischievous grin, its large fangs glinting in the light.

Its eyes… reek of hunger and excitement.

Feeling your instincts kick in, you quickly throw your hands onto the door to try and pry it open before the wolf makes a meal out of you. You quickly remember that you need the keycard to unlock the door and reach into your pocket while shooting a glance behind you.

The wolf is casually approaching you, its eyes growing brighter and brighter the closer it gets. The wolf does not need to rush, as it’s noticed that you can’t escape.

You pull out the keycard, fumbling as you nearly drop it. You swipe it at the keycard reader only to miss and hit to the left of it. Cursing, you swipe again, and the door clicks as it unlocks.

You then hear the sounds of goo splatting on the floor as the wolf realizes you are about to escape and charges into a full-on sprint. You quickly try to pull the door open, but it remains shut.

‘It’s a push door, you idiot!’

You push the door open and nearly tumble from the sudden entry as you rush forward and slam it behind you just in time to catch the heavy thud of a wolf splattering into it. 

You look through the door’s window and see the wolf fall onto its hip, dazed from the impact. It shakes its head and tries pushing the door open with no success. It then pounds against the door with a growl, frustrated that it lost its prey. The wolf glares at you as if promising it will catch you next time, and with a final startling thud against the door, it slinks out of sight.

You are safe…for now.

You slowly sink to the floor and clutch your chest, where your heart is still pounding. Your adrenaline rush from the near-death experience slowly fades away.

But really…your journey has only just begun.