The deeper the reptile went into the complex, the less sense it made. The furniture displays became incoherent, nonsensical. Beds placed in bathrooms, toilets on top of kitchen counters. A diorama of insanity, a vivid idea of what a store made and run by humans might look like. Or perhaps a way to mess with its victims who survived a lot longer than the complex intended. A cruel joke with an inhumane punchline.
Eventually, the reptile found a single corpse of a Disposal Unit agent, their belly split open by what the reptile believed to be some sort of claw, seeing how the wound would’ve happened and where they were struck. Jackson kneeled down to examine the body and search for any useful equipment he could use or of importance. Taking a flashbang, an extra grenade, but most important of them all was the newer model of a retractable buckler.
A magical device that was worn as a glove to make it a convenient tool to take around. At a press of the button located near the knuckle of the index finger. A thin sheet of metal, no thicker than a sheet of paper, would form around the backhand. What made it a unique piece of equipment was the enchantment placed on it. It had what is commonly known as the repeal enchantment. A simple defence enchantment that could repeal twice the amount of kinetic energy back into whatever had hit it. A good tool to deflect melee attacks and injure the attacker or damage their equipment, but someone had figured out that it could also be used offensively. Since it could deflect any form of kinetic energy, using the device as a boxing glove had proven to be brutally effective in knocking down anything or anyone who was unlucky enough to get hit by it.
As the reptile put the glove on, he found the data slate at the back of the agent’s belt. The device that carried the magical readings the Oblus took of the haunted complex. A black box of data that was far easier to carry than the Oblus itself, especially if they needed to escape the area as fast as possible.
The device was important to further the Order’s understanding of the magical threats they face and how they could beat them. Without it, the Order and humanity would be fighting blind. Jackson didn’t hesitate but to pry the data slate from the agent’s corpse and attach the device to the back of his belt.
The reptile raised his shotgun and shifted his body in the direction he heard a light yelp coming from what seemed to be a bedroom-living room display hybrid. Jackson moved towards the sound, his finger resting on the trigger. He went around the corner to see a young woman cowering behind a bed, covering her face to shield her eyes from Jackson’s torch. She shivered at the sight of the reptile, his scarred green scales making Jackson look like an injured by ancient horror that stalked the halls.
Jackson lowered his weapon, making himself appear friendly to the terrified woman while he lowered himself to her level. ‘I’m here to help.’ The reptile bluntly said, his tone coming off insincere and false even when he was telling the truth. Seeing that the reptile had lowered his guard, she pushed him to the side as she sprinted into the darkness to escape him. ‘Wait!’ The reptile ordered as he chased after her. He should be able to catch her, but for some reason, he heard her footsteps become more distant with every step he took. Like she was moving faster than any human should possibly run, or more likely, the complex is ensuring the two kept their distance.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Sniff!
Jackson went to a screeching halt as he turned around to aim his weapon into the open darkness. He sensed something wrong, something close. A large, hunkering form slivered in the dark as a thick white mist formed around it, a huge mass that hid behind the darkness and white smoke.
A humanoid form emerged from the mist, their feet barely touching the ground. To any normal person, it would seem like the person was levitating. But the reptile could tell the body was being held up by a tendril of some kind. Using the corpse like some sort of twisted puppet of flesh and bone.
The reptile reached for his vest and pulled out a grenade, using his thumb to pull the pin before he chucked it to the creature in front of him. The explosion caused the monster to drop the distorted stack of meat on the ground, letting out a thunderous roar as it retreated back into the darkness. Jackson sniffed the air again, to find that the monster had retreated far, or at least far enough to not be a threat.
He approached the pool of meat on the ground; he rummaged through the debris for anything of use or to give him a clue on how the victim died. So far, the reptile could only figure out that the monster scooped out a majority of the skeleton so it could replace it with its own limbs. Though upon close examination, he noticed the body parts were from different victims of various ethnicities and genders. Making its form of mimicry flawed, having to rely on its smoke to hide its imperfections. Though it is the type of monster the Order might not take seriously at first. He knew it would only be a matter of time before it perfected its mimicry of the human form.
As soon as Jackson turned around, he saw the dismembered body of the terrified women laying on top of a kitchen counter. Feasting on her corpse were spider-like creatures with a yellow carapace, clicking and clacking as they devoured her open stomach. The reptile approached her body and grabbed one of the bugs. It skittered, waving its pointed legs around as it tried to break free from his grip and bit his hand.
The reptile determined the creature was a juvenile of some kind, or a scavenger enjoying the kill that it found. Despite the theories he could conjure, the existence of this new creature confirmed one of two things. Either the complex is making horrifica, or it has a pre-existing ecosystem of horrors and the bug monster in his hand is just the representation of that system. Either way, it was a threat that needed to be destroyed.
Before the reptile crushed the bug in his hands and cast it aside, he headed off deeper into the complex once more. He knew he was getting close to something. If horrors began to openly reveal themselves to him, it would mean that he was close to the heart of the haunted building or the birthplace of new horrors that would soon plague the world if he didn’t stop them in time.