Jeff, frowning in disappointment, got back onto the chair as he put all the important things into his pocket, including the documents, albeit folded up, and took a jump of faith. His fingertips gripped the bloodied surface, but barely. He tightened his grip, as his knuckles turned white from exertion, he slowly pulled himself up, planting each hand further onto the tile as he did. Through more willpower than strength, he was able to pull himself onto the ceiling tile.
He reached up, and felt more viscous blood, but this time it had a hint of red. Feeling around he felt a flashlight. He grabbed it, flipping it on. It barely lit anything up, and was flickering, probably from low battery. 'Goddammit.' Jeff thought, pointing it around, only to see there was nothing up there, only more blood dripping from somewhere above, through all the pipes and metal plates that made up the inside of the ceiling.
Jeff dropped back down, most of his clothes and hands now covered in that thick, viscous blood. Jeff now further inspected the mirror, careful not to touch the mirror itself, as it was the only thing that could give him a view of himself.
After inspecting it, Jeff tore a piece of his shirt off, and used it as a cloth to clean his hands up a bit. After cleaning his hands, he looked back through the runic papers, making sure to check the back this time. He found 3 numbers, and 2 letters on the back of 2 papers.
1. 6. 5. G. Y. Those were the 3 numbers, and 2 letters he found. He took out the slip of paper, and began wondering how it went together. He eventually decided to just trial and error. He walked over to the keypad and entered the code.
0, 5, 6, 5, 6, 1, G, Y, B, 7, O, 0. It beeped. Then, flashed red, before a number appeared. 3. That 3, became a 2. Jeff immediately knew what this was. He only had 2 attempts to get this code right. Before he got locked out from it, he assumed...
Jeff entered another combination. 0, 5, 6, 1, G, 6, Y, 5, B, 7, O, 0. To Jeff's surprise, it flashed Green, and he heard something unlatch. He tried to pull the door open, but it was still locked tight. He tried his key, and it wouldn't budge. He looked back at the keypad, noticing it slide to the side, showing a slip of paper. it had only 4 things written on it:
[RESEARCH ID: 5677a2bq9]
[CASE FILE: 4875A2]
[RESEARCH ID: 5678abq9]
[CASE FILE: 634B1]
Jeff grabbed it, and walked back over to the terminal, turning it on. The same login screen that required a full name, research id number, and a case file number appeared. Jeff imputed the only name he knew of. Adan Jonah Juett, and put in the first research id, and case file on the paper he got.
The terminal clicked, before displaying 3 things.
[REPORT #4874]
[REPORT #4874A]
[REDACTED]
Jeff, clicking on the first report, read through it...
[REPORT #4874]
After capturing [REDACTED], we transported it to the facility. it didn't resist, and showed no signs of hostility, despite being [REDACTED]. When we put it in it's containment cell for study, it told us we'd be [REDACTED]. It didn't bother us. We knew it'd happen sooner or later, even though
The rest of the report displayed as random characters, and symbols. 'It must be corrupt.' Jeff thought to himself, as he closed it and clicked on the second report.
[REPORT #4874A]
After [REDACTED] took place, we started taking in human specimens. Specimen #345 showed promise, but died in the augmentation process. Specimen #346 showed resilience, before dying from internal bleeding. But, with the intervention of [REDACTED], specimens #347, #348, and #349 survived with no fault. They had no memories, despite being alive, and functioning like a human. We sought to improve this with specimen #350. However, they all died from the same issue in mere days. This concludes report #487A.
Jeff closed the report, before trying to click on the redacted one...
Upon clicking on the redacted report, or, what Jeff assumed to be a report, the terminal flashed black. He heard a click, as the terminal's hum stopped. Then, it booted back to the login screen. Jeff logged back in, but using the 2 other credentials he found.
Name: Adan Jonah Juett
Research id: 5678abq9
Case file number: 634B1
The terminal flashed, showing 4 reports:
[REPORT #634B1]
[REPORT #634B2]
[HeLp]
[dAnGeR]
Jeff, wanting to know more before clicking on something that might shut off the terminal again, clicked on report #634B1.
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{REPORT #634B1]
Specimen #344 said something before it [REDACTED]. Specimen #344 said: "You know what will happen. When it comes, you all will [REDACTED]..." We initiated more research into this event, before including that such a thing is not possible. At least, not without [REDACTED]. This concludes report #634B1.
Jeff clicked on the 2nd report.
[REPORT #634B2]
It came. [REDACTED] appeared. Just like Specimen #344 said. most of facility [REDACTED], and [REDACTED] are heavily damaged, with an occurrence of breach. We initiated a Code: Orange. Every door in facility [REDACTED] is sealed shut. I went through all subnet systems, and expunged almost all sensitive information. All specimens of project [REDACTED] have gone missing. We initiated Operation: [REDACTED] to try to recover them, but it's taking time. Until then, we continue our progress with specimen #351. This concludes report #634B2.
Jeff, unsure if he should click the other 2, looked around for a moment, making sure it was safe. Of course, it was. 'I'm sealed in here, how is it not safe...' he thought to himself.
Clicking on the 3rd option.
[HeLp]
It happened. Operation: [REDACTED] failed, and specimen #351 died, just the same. But, this time, it was heart failure. I can hear it coming closer. [REDACTED] breached the facility. All specimens are dead.
Jeff closed it, before wondering if he should continue reading the entries...
Jeff, deciding to continue, clicked on the 4th entry.
[dAnGeR]
We're [REDACTED]. Specimen #344 warned us of this. But, we didn't think it would happen so soon. Specimen #351's heart seemed to have restarted, but not for long, before giving out again. [REDACTED] is rampaging in the facility, all exits seem to have some anomaly near them. I heard loud crashes and... forget it. I'm initiating a Code: Red. All systems will be expunged, all sensitive information will be censored, and all doors in facility [REDACTED[ will be sealed tight. But, not before I try to get out of here. [REDACTED] cannot be allowed to happen. The world cannot know of [REDACTED]. If it does, [REDACTED] will come back, again, and again...
The entry ends there, the rest being corrupted, displaying as random symbols and characters.
Jeff, getting up, hears a click from the terminal. it pops out, almost like it got pushed from behind. But, this time, it keeps sliding out, before falling onto the floor with a loud thud, revealing a long, dark passage. As Jeff reaches into the dark of this passage, he feels nothing but smooth tiles. He moves his hand around, before feeling a key suspended in the air on a string. He grabs it, but the passage collapses, Jeff just barely pulling his hand out as it does.
He looks at the terminal, it's cracked, broken screen, and the hum is silent. He tries to turn it on, but it doesn't boot. "Fuck" Jeff thinks to himself, looking around once more, before trying the key on the door. Again, it does not turn.
Jeff, inspecting the mirror again, touches it. The mirror, almost like a liquid, ripples, a keyhole appearing in its big, bulky, metal frame. Jeff inserts the key, turning it, before the mirror goes black. he touches it again, but nothing. He takes out the other key, before pushing it into the mirror, and turning it, making the mirror go from black, to a blood-red, the smell of corpses getting so strong, Jeff gags...
Jeff reaches his hand into the mirror, as something grabs him and pulls him into it. Everything is black, with the floor being ankle-deep blood. Jeff looks back, the mirror being gone. He looks around, seeing a lone tree in the darkness, just barely glowing against the darkness around it, lighting up the blood. Jeff walks towards it, sloshing in the blood, as he hears deranged laughs, and shadows that seem to be a splitting-image of himself.
As he reaches the tree, one of them attacks Jeff, wildly trying to choke and punch Jeff, before Jeff manages to fight it off, running towards the mirror behind the tree. As he reaches it, something roars, stomping, making the blood splash towards Jeff, just as Jeff goes into the mirror, falling back into the room he was just in.
"What the fuck...!" Jeff yells in his mind, as he gets up off the floor, looking back at the mirror, but it was just... reflective, as a mirror should be. Jeff reaches out, touching it, but nothing happens. He looks around the room, and it's the same as when he left. Jeff went to the door, trying all his keys, but finally, one of them turns. Jeff, slowly pulling open the door, feels the cold chill of the air on the other side, like trillions of tiny needles against his skin.
Just as Jeff opens the door, he sees the other side of it frozen, with a layer of ice on it. The hallway’s walls, ceiling, and floor is covered in tiled metal plates, with numbers on the walls. The number Jeff read is 16E.
Jeff stepped out into the ice cold hallway, shivering a bit, before looking around. Jeff, looking to the right, saw a dead end. He turned to the left, seeing a long hallway, with flickering lights. There was a door, almost like there was a room right next to his. Jeff stepped out into the hallway cautiously, the metal groaning under his steps. He approached the door, seeing maimed bodies inside it, with a destroyed chair, and deep claw marks in the walls. The door, however, was locked tight. No keyhole, keypad, or anything to turn to open it...
As Jeff turned, continuing down the hallway,he saw pipes, going from wall to wall, and from floor to ceiling, marked with numbers and letters. As Jeff passed more destroyed rooms, dead bodies, he came upon an office door. Jeff slowly opened it, entering it. It was warm, and lit up nicely. He went to the one and only desk in the middle of the room that had a terminal on it. Jeff boots the terminal on, seeing entries for specimens.
[SPECIMEN #344]
[SPECIMEN #345]
[SPECIMEN #348]
[REDACTED]
[SPECIMEN #350]
[SPECIMEN #351]
[SPECIMEN #352]
[REDACTED]
Jeff, looking around, decided to click on #351, since he thought that might be the... "specimen" he was.
[SPECIMEN #351]
Name: [REDACTED}. Family: Orphan. Speaks: Nothing. Specimen #351 knows no language, so we had to forcibly take them, and teach them, but they seemed rather stubborn, learning only runes. Specimen #351 seems to know things about [REDACTED].
Jeff, knowing that's obviously not him, clicked onto the next one down.
[SPECIMEN #352]
Name: Jefferson.
Family: [REDACTED]
Speaks: [REDACTED]
Notes: Specimen #352 has been unconscious ever since we found him. He was affected by [REDACTED]. We have conducted many studies on specimen #352's body, and specimen #352 has survived these operations, without the assistance of [REDACTED].
Jeff, narrowing his eyes, wondering what he was affected by. Just as Jeff was about to click on specimen #344's entry, the power shut off, and everything went pitch black, before it came back. The terminal however, booted to a login screen, so Jeff got up from the desk, and peered into the hallway...