The creature stood before Lauren, staring at her with all of his eyes. There were at least twenty or so eyes scattered through his body. His head, surprisingly, had no sockets, but there are five large eyes on his torso. The body was composed of flesh and skin, yet it was rearranged in a way that makes it inhumane. Muscles, organ, and blood vessels covered him as if it was his skin. Or his new skin. He had one mouth that ran through his chest. It was a gaping maw that had several rows of teeth that varied in size and shape. His tongue swirled in his giant mouth, waiting to lash out or wrap up his next meal. Doing some slight movements, the creature flexed his left hand in and out of a fist. Taking a closer look, it seemed like he has murdered someone, spotting the flesh blood on his three fingers. His three digits have been tampered with, making grotesque, thick knife-like fingers. It somehow recreated its fingers to be 24 inches longer than a regular human, revealing more bones and meat that made its hideous form. The tip of its fingers has bones sticking out, making three sharp talons. The right hand was nonexistent as there are no fingers. The former hand was shaped like a round ball, reminding Lauren of a sledgehammer surface. Compared to the left arm that has a resemblance to a human arm, even though its thicker and more grotesque, his right arm was more of a brick. The elephant-like legs and feet were thick enough to support his large upper body. Blood dripped off of him, not dying from the amount of blood loss, but the thing that got to Lauren the most was how it added skin to its body. 

Flesh human skin.

"Ah, YOu LiKE mY SKiN? I hAD to... cOVeR mYseLF sINcE iT's A CrIMe tO bE NAkEd... HaHAhaAha!" The abomination joked. Lauren ignored it though, her attention was on the sloppily stitched skin. The color varied and the areas it covered were random. The abomination did a bad job of covering himself properly, seeing its tender flesh and muscle. Lauren can guess where the skin came from, giving her an uneasy feeling about his past victims. Her eyes looked at the decaying flesh beneath his skin, realizing that the horrible smell was coming from him. The smell was so horrible, it made her gag for a bit. Unable to stop herself, Lauren started to hurl onto the floor. If the creature was insulted by this, he said nothing. Her body trembled violently at the reality of such a monstrosity. She gripped her stomach, trying to gather her wits.

"This can't be real..." She whispered.

"OH, BuT iT IS!" the creature laughed, hearing multiple voices echo within each other. Male voices of different pitches and tones were jumbled together, making a ghastly, terrible voice. Or voices. It was close to the voices of a human being possessed by a demon. A voice that highlighted the supernatural. "I WOndEr wHAt NUMbeR i aM oN? FifTy? FiFTy-NiNe?"

The blonde understood his intentions. It was obvious and clear as day. Slowly, Lauren backed up, preparing to leave.

"HoLD iT. YOu RuN WIthOUT seEinG thE MEsSaGE, I WIlL kiLL yOu." Freezing in place, Lauren debated on her options. This could be a trick to stop her. Yes, that is possible, yet he had the chance to kill her on several occasions. The moment she had a panic attack when he revealed himself, the moment she puked, and this conversation itself, he could have ended it. And what was stopping him?

"M-Message?" Lauren asked weakly. Her hand was against the wall, using it as a support. She might as well buy some time. Her body was not in a good state to run from this abomination. She needed time to also regain her composure. Being in a frightened state will surely get her killed. The creature nodded his head at Lauren's compliance.

"YeS... WOn'T MaKE a DIffeReNCe, bUT THeY'Re ORdErs, aNd I ObEY." Using his left hand, he started to touch the air in front of him. Lauren watched the creature, puzzled by his actions. Could he see something that she can't? It took a minute, hearing the creature muttered a few things. Pushing at the invisible device, something appeared before the blonde.

A sudden image of a dark-haired woman stood before her. Displaying the woman from her head to her chest, she looked at Lauren with a raised eyebrow. There was a moment where the image was consumed by the woman's face and her dark purple eye. Staying silent, Lauren noted the woman's strange behavior. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was doing. Minutes flew by, the mysterious woman still eyeing the blonde. By now, Lauren felt like an exotic animal in a cage. Even the abomination was puzzled by the woman's strange behavior.

"What... the... hell? Hey, Hannibal, why did you pull a weird one?" The woman, acting as if she was there, turned towards the creature. The abomination tried to shrug, unable to do it properly with his body structure. Or maybe he did shrug his shoulders. There was a slight movement in them.

"I doN'T knOW. It'S rAnDoM." Facing Lauren, the woman propped her chin on her right hand. Her eyes squinted at Lauren, trying to read something. Their target of interest, standing absolutely still, remained silent. If she says anything, it might anger this being. For all she knows, this dark-haired woman is the master of this creature. Well, it seems like it. Sweat ran down her head. She wanted to run. To leave, escape, and warn someone about this, yet her survival is her utmost priority.

"Say, why are you boring?" That question stabbed Lauren a bit too deeply. It shouldn't have, but she was... bothered by it. Maybe it was a lure to get her to talk. Or a test? Regardless, Lauren could not ignore it. But what was boring about her?

"Excuse me?"

"You... haven't had any fun in your life. It's like you're a generic gal with no huge interests. You seem dead. No, you are dead in a strange way. I wonder why?" She looked at Lauren once again. "Say, you interested in a better life? You want power?"

"No." Lauren gave an immediate response, surprising the woman.

"Why are you rejecting my-"

"I don't trust you. And even if I want to stay deadpan with little goals or interests or none at all, I know that being evil is not on my agenda." The woman frowned at Lauren's answer. Rubbing her chin, she muttered a few things to herself in a different language. Her eyes locked onto Lauren from time to time, showing a... determined expression. A chill ran down her spine. Putting her hand down, she seemed extremely serious for some reason.

"Hannibal."

"YeS?"

"Do I give off an evil presence?"

"DePEndS." He doesn't explain. The woman did not ask him for one, still thinking.

"Ain't I attractive?"

"YeS."

"I will have to dwell on this. Here is a special order. If this girl is unworthy, I want you to capture her. INTACT. Knocking her out will be the best possible action." She looked into Lauren's eyes. She said, "Human, you piqued my interest, so no matter what, you will have my mercy. Regardless, you will be tested. Know that if you fail, we are going to see each other face to face. If you succeed, I will award you. This world will turn into my game. A game for my amusement. I will unleash Pandora's box onto this world and spread chaos. This little interaction here is a little gift to lucky individuals like you. You are not the first to get this offer, but this is if you can beat my testers. Most contestants have been... disposed of. Show me what you got, I will be watching. You have one minute for a head start. Good luck, dearie."

The messages disappeared after those last words.

Hannibal unleashed out a ferocious roar that shook the very air. Lauren quickly ran away from Hannibal, sprinting down the many hallways. She grabbed the edge of a corner, swinging herself into the next hallway. There was no way she could beat the damn creature with her bare fists! No amount of martial arts can tackle a giant blob of muscle and flesh! She needed a weapon.

Why not get help? Why not run to safety? Even if she did, there was no way that a human could destroy such an abomination. And help? Who would believe her if the creature doesn't follow her? And if she was the target, why would she endanger fellow students with such a monstrosity.

No, she had to take care of this herself, even if she didn't want to.

What foul luck.

Lauren quickly checked the rooms in her current hallway. She took a quick peek inside the room she opened. The place was filled with junk. There were weights, bars, some baseballs- nothing that could damage a giant monster. There was nothing useful in this room. 

Run, open, look, repeat. Lauren prayed that she can find a decent weapon. There has to be some military equipment stashed away in this section of the gym. Breathing a bit heavily, a booming voice stopped her for a brief second.

"HErE I COME!" A malicious laugh rumbled through the hallways. Picking up the pace, Lauren continued her process. She tossed a few items across the floor in a couple of rooms. She did this to confuse the creature. She wanted to throw it off course. Make the abomination believe that she could be in this room.

Hopefully, he wasn't so bright.

Scattering more items in a different room, she did this for several other rooms. 

A few more minutes passed by as she rested against a wall. Sweating badly, breathing heavily, her body started to feel the fatigue.

This was bad.

She went through fifteen rooms or so. There was no useful weapon that can combat the giant blob. Anything can be used as a weapon, but she needed something that can damage the giant hulk.

Sadly, she found nothing.

By running deeper and deeper into the gym, Lauren hoped that she could stumble upon a weapon cache. On the plus side, with all this running, she was able to ignore the cold temperature. The lack of light was still an issue though. It made it harder to-

A tongue wrapped around Lauren's left arm, pulling her to the ground. She released a yelp, staring at Hannibal. Laughing, he slowly reeled Lauren towards him.

"SmARt. BeTTEr thAn otHeRs..." Impossible! Why was he here?!

"How did you find me?!" Lauren could not contain those words. She thought she fooled the creature pretty well. She made each room look like a mess, making as little noise as possible while she ran for her life. There was no way it could have found her so quickly! Did he know this trick already?

"EAsY. OnE, yOUr sWEat. SECoND, smELL." Lauren stared at the creature in disbelief. She took note of this.

She unzipped her hoodie. It was weird for this creature to have a weak grip on her, making her feel like some priceless antique. Regardless, she made him regret his careless action. "MaKE tHIs eaSy-"

The blonde quickly slipped out of her hoodie, pulling her captured arm out of his grip. She sprinted down a hallway, turning around a nearby corner. Seeing this, Hannibal stared blankly at the abandoned hoodie.

Hannibal eyed at the hoodie. His mind was trying to process what just happened, and why he allowed it to happen, He growled at his own incompetence. He was enraged by his own mistake because of Pandora's command. His tongue pulled the hoodie into its mouth. Teeth slashed and shred the hoodie into tiny bits. Spitting the remains out of his maw, he unleashed out a terrifying roar. Ramming his right fist against the wall, he pursued his prey. "GeT BaCK HeRe!" 

Lauren continued to take random turns deeper into the gym. Hannibal was hot on her trail, violently slamming into the walls. Abandoning the smaller rooms, she has to look for a big door.

Cursing at her stupidity, that should have been the first thing she did.

Worse, the fact that this abomination followed her because of her sweat and smell made her feel like she wasted too much time on her previous actions. Instead of trashing a room, she could have widened the distance between them. She should have known that these little tricks would not work on him.

Better yet, she should have known that his senses were still intact.

Of course, he would have some way to find her. He most likely hunted down his other prey in the same way. No, he might have a couple more tricks up his sleeve, but he won't say what they are. He was an abomination after all.

But Lauren can be reckless.

She does not have to stay quiet anymore, running in earnest. And with her escape, she seriously pissed off the monster.

The monster was right behind her though.

As Lauren grabbed the edge of a corner, a door flew past her. The blonde did not halt at the sudden object. She figured out what the abomination was doing. Hannibal ripped out a wooden door, flinging them at her. Her time was still ticking along with her stamina. He planted his feet firmly into the ground, opening his giant mouth. Hannibal got into a fighting stance. His tongue was coming for her.

Lauren saw this. She immediately entered a nearby room. The door right behind her was pierced by Hannibal's long tongue. Laughing, Hannibal slowly walked forward.

"StUPiD! YOu JuST trAPPeD yOUrSeLF! YoU'Re MiNe! ComE ON oUt MOrtAL or eLsE-" He never finished his words. The moment he bent forward, a sudden flash blinded him. "UuggUGgHGGHGH!" He heard the human's footsteps. "YoU BItCh!!!"

It must have been sheer luck. The room she just left had a couple of weapons she could use. It wasn't part of the storage though, which puzzled her.

Why would someone leave those items in that room?

She obtained a couple of flash grenades, a holster with a 9mm in it, a barbeque lighter, a small combat knife, and a couple of magazines. Despite the random placement of these items on the floor, she decided to take them for her survival. The gun and knife will do nothing against the abomination. but it gave her some reassurance. The flash grenades will be a huge help, but they're limited. She has to use these four flash grenades correctly. A barbeque lighter by itself would not do any true damage against Hannibal, but if she can get a carb cleaner with a spray... 

It can produce a decent substitute for a flamethrower. A small one. It may not be enough to handle such a monster. Shoving her thoughts aside, she continued to sprint for her life. The creature in question will be hell-bent on killing her. Well, punishing her. His mysterious master said capture, but she didn't tell him NOT to punish Lauren.

"HuMAN!!" It seemed like Hannibal snapped out of his daze. As she was going to run. All of his eyes landed on Lauren, tossing a chunk of wood. Going around a corner, Lauren barely dodged the attack. It smashed into the corner, the door exploding into tiny fragments. Hannibal rushed towards the corner. The moment he turned into that space, flames engulf his sight and body. He growled at the impact, swinging his arm at Lauren. She was aware of the distance, trying to avoid any contact with his arm. She did not notice the sudden expansion of his long fingers.

His sharp fingers scratched Lauren's stomach. She contained herself, holding in her screams and the pain as she backed away. She redirected her tiny flamethrower at his face. The only damage inflicted on the abomination was his scorched skin. He was unfazed by this, laughing at the blonde. Lauren distanced herself further from the creature, watching Hannibal fling his arm again.

The one with his blade fingers.

She tossed a flashbang at him, blinding Hannibal once more. As she turned, Hannibal had fired his tongue. Lauren felt an intense amount of pain coming from her back, letting out a scream as she slammed against the wall. She forced herself to run away from her spot, taking the precious seconds to get away from the abomination. Her body was trembling at the overwhelming pain coursing through her. Her breathing, her condition, her nerves getting the best of her. She felt sluggish.

Weak.

The creature was right behind her, towering over Lauren as he boasted his actions. 

"YoU buRn ME, I hUrT yOU!"

Lauren fired her pistol right at his head. The monster protected himself with his club-like arm, laughing at the student.

"Is THaT aLl?"

Before Lauren could do anything, Hannibal fired his tongue. She evaded it, but the monster immediately tackled her. His movements did not match his physic. He moved at an uncanny speed that was outside Lauren's predictions. His large size should slow him down. Not the other way around.

Lauren flew across the air until she slammed against the wall. She ushered out another scream, trying to ease the pain from the impact. Trying to push herself off the ground, the creature whipped one of her arms, making her fall flat on her face. She grasped her burning arm from that quick strike. He used his own tongue as a weapon. The creature mocked her, letting out a laugh that echoed through the halls.

"CaN'T TrUsT yOU foR ONe SEcOnD! YoU aRE sOmeTHING!" 

Lauren tried to muster up some plan, figure out a way to avoid the creature's attacks. She had to do something or else he'll-

She rolled on the ground, avoiding his sudden appearance. She barely evaded his leg. 

How did he do that?

He teleported?

Lauren eyed at her former spot where Hannibal's giant foot was at. If she was a second late, he would have pinned her down. Without a second hesitation, Lauren covered her front with both arms, feeling a heavy kick against her forearms. She slid across the ground, hitting another wall. She felt the crushing weight and impact against her arms.

"ToO sMArt..." The creature muttered, irritated. "CaN seE." 

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

She had to make a move. Her body was a mess right now, but she had to force them to move.

As she tried to get off the floor, Hannibal fired his tongue. It traveled through the air in a few seconds. Lauren rolled out of the way, tossing a flashbang at him. It exploded a few feet in front of him.

Lauren was going to make a run for it, but her gut told her to stay put. She listened to it as an arm flew into her view. The arm clawed into the wall.

"...AdAPtING!"

Hannibal was unaffected by the flash. His eyes were locked onto her.

How did he...

"eNOuGH of tHaT. YoU shOULd-" Lauren unleashed another blast of fire. Hannibal allowed the flames to wash over him. "PaThe-" All of Hannibal's eyes stared at the sudden flashbang. Unlike the other times, the flashbang was not this close to his face.

This one was right in his face.

It exploded. Hannibal roared in agony, swinging his body around violently. Lauren took her chance. She ducked under his swing, moving to a corner. She took out another flashbang and aimed it at his face. 

Hearing the second explosion, Lauren sprinted down the hallway. 

She was low on items. She could not- will not win against this abomination. The monster was capable of many things. She should no chance against him without any help.

She needed to get her hands on military-grade equipment.

As she got to a corner, someone pushed her to the floor. She yelped at the action, seeing a gun to her face.

"What are you doing here civilian?" An armored man stood before her. There were several other soldiers staring at her. Lauren eyed at their equipment. This was not your normal soldier within the university. They were well geared- decked with some advanced protections. They were active military personnel with dangerous weapons.

They wore a clothed mask over their bottom face as they had goggles over their eyes. The goggles were attached to their helmets as their body had military vests on. There were bits of armor plating over their limbs, but they were ready for combat. 

"Hold on, she's hurt." One of them pointed out.     

"... think we found our target boys. You three, get her out of here." They picked her up, carrying Lauren away from the others.

"W-What..."

"Don't ask. Let's just say that we were hunting for the thing you're up against..."

"You are?" Lauren noticed the strain in her voice. She coughed at her dehydration. A soldier offered his canteen as they went down several hallways. She took the container, drinking the water.

"Yeah... something you don't want to know." The other soldier concluded, "Best that you let us take care of this and forget everything."

"Hey, do something about her injuries." The soldier on Lauren's left stated, "She will bleed to death if we don't!"

"Stop moving." The soldier who was not holding me by her side took out some spray, "This will sting." 

Lauren felt the spray touch her wound. It stung a lot more than she thought, making her scream a bit. 

"Damn... that thing did a number on you! How long have you been dealing with that thing?"

"I don't know!" Lauren replied, "You know that monster had been slaying a lot of students?! Why are you lot here now!?"

"What are you talking about? We have been here for some weeks now. We didn't have any contact or clue of this creature until now. You are our first survivor."

Lauren stared at the soldier. 

She was the first one? And these guys have been here for that long?

"How many of you guys are in the building?"

"There are-" 

"Hey, she's a civi." 

"Doesn't matter. She fought against that thing. At the least, we can tell her some stuff." The soldier on Lauren's right answered, "There are seven groups in this building hunting down this monster." 

Lauren would have been grateful, glad, at their arrival. She would have been relieved at their presence.

But this doesn't make sense.

if they have been here for this long, why didn't they spot this creature already? How come she was their first survivor? 

There were more questions, but she knew that this wasn't right. 

And sadly, she had an answer to this.

"...where's the military cache? Your storage area?" 

The soldiers eyed Lauren in a confused manner. 

"Excuse me?"

"We have to get to the weapon cache. We have to arm ourselves. Hell, we need more than a few soldiers against that thing." Lauren explained. 

"Excuse me, miss, you do not need to know where it-"

"The creature is aware. He's smart enough to plan every action of his. He might have killed your other groups."

"Nonsense." The soldier who wasn't carrying Lauren came into her view. "We have maintained our radio communications ever since. Everyone is accounted for. Listen to this."

He pulled his radio out, clicking the side of it. "Tango Delta Five to all squads, sound off."

"Tango Delta One here."

"Tango Delta Two here." 

"Tango Delta Three reporting in."

"Tango Delta Four here."

"Tango Delta Six copies." 

"Tango Delta Seven hears ya."

"See... everyone is accounted for." 

Lauren would have believed him, but three of those responses were the same. Tango Delta One, Two, and Four has the same response. Sure, it could be protocols, but there was a distinct sound Lauren heard in the background.

Radio feedback. 

It was soft, but there was an echo from those groups. Lauren wanted to test something out, but she had no clue if these guys were going to go with her demands.

"Tango Delta One to all squads, has anyone spotted a civilian in the restricted area?" 

Lauren froze in place. 

"Tango Delta Seven to One, description?"

"Blonde haired female. Long straight hair. Green eyes. Roughly in her twenties wearing gym clothes."

The soldiers around Lauren looked at her. 

Lauren snatched the radio from the soldier before he made a response.

"What are you doing civi!?" They point their weapons at her.

"Saving my life!" Lauren gripped the radio in frustration. She needed to expose Hannibal for his trickery. 

The monster could mimic voices. 

"Tango Delta Three to One, we have her," Lauren replied. "We're at the eastern area before you head back into the gym."

"Really? We were in that area Tango Delta Three. You sure you spotted her?" Lauren glanced at the soldiers in front of her. They would have overwhelmed her by now, taking back their radio, but they eyed at the radio.

"... shit." 

"We have to get going... Now. You're right, we have to get to the cache now." The soldiers led the way, aiming their weapons as they rushed down the corridors. Lauren followed them, confused by their sudden declaration. She was going to ask them why they were listening to her now, but the radio answered her question.

"Tango Delta Seven to One, you do remember where you were supposed to be at, right?"

There was no response.

"Fuck. This creature fooled us for this long? What's your name?" The soldier peeked around a corner as the other two went by him. 

"Lauren." 

"And you came from the eastern area, right?"

"Yes."

"The bastard took out One, Two, and Four." 

"The fucker knew what was up. You're right. We need to warn the others and get an army against this thing." 

"If we can survive." A soldier muttered. "How was he able to hunt you down?"

"With my scent," Lauren answered, "He might be chasing us as we speak."

"How good is his nose?"

One of the soldiers stopped the group with a signal. He did not say anything, motioning them to go back and around. Lauren followed the two soldiers, watching the last one follow at a snail's pace. He walked backward. His attention was towards the area they did not enter.

There was only one reason for his sudden action. Lauren wanted to say something, tell them that he will find them in due time.

Their radio echoed through the hallway. A voice exclaimed through it.

"FoUNd yOU!" 

"RUN!" Lauren screamed at the soldiers, hearing a sudden crash behind them. She looked over her shoulder, watching their rearguard get tackled to the wall. He tried to shoot, but the creature whipped his tongue across his head. The soldier's head rolled on the ground.

Hannibal eyed at them.

"EnoUGH!" He teleported in front of the group. He was going to attack, but a volley of bullets stop him in his track.

"Get over here, now!" It was another military squad. They rushed over to them. Rockets flew past their head. Some of them hit Hannibal, but the ceiling collapsed from the impact. The rubble blocked the corridor, separating the monster from the group.

"Guessing you're the civi?" The leader of the military group stood before them. "And... you two are from Tango Delta Five. What happened to the others-"

"Dead." The soldier gave a quick response, "We have to set the alarm."

"It will happen soon." A siren rang throughout the building, red light lighting up the entire place, "Get her out of here. Now." 

"But we-"

"You aren't safe. That thing is still alive. We just brought you some time. Go."

"Hold on, you can't stay-"

"Don't talk back to me, soldier!" The man pointed down the corridor. "If we can't buy you time, you know where the cache is. It can't get in there. Now go!" 

A loud thump could be heard near the rubble. The leader of the squad gave out his orders. "Everyone, position! Load up and spread out! Do not crowd around these damn corridors!"

"Let's go." The soldier dragged Lauren away. The other soldier followed suit.

"The damn bugger won't stay down." The soldier stated.

"It's a goddamn abomination, that's why." The other soldier chided.

"... I'm sorry." Lauren softly said that, troubled by these new emotions. 

"For what? We're doing our job ma'am." The soldier stated with convention. 

"Just in case..." The soldier gave Lauren a keycard. She didn't accept it at first.

"What is that?"

"The keycard you'll need to get into the cache. It's a spare one. If something happened to either one of us, you'll need to get in there and wait for help-"

"Hold on, we're going to get through this together-"

"Please, don't say that shit." The soldier rolled his eyes, "It's not going to be a happy ending woman. That thing just tore through that rubble. I can barely hear the explosions or gunshots... Then again, this blasted alarm is messing with my hearing. He is hunting for you. Whatever the reason, we might as well give a bit of confusion."

"What do you mean?" Lauren stared at the two. They stopped in front of a steel door. The size was big enough to get a System to go through along with other big vehicles. There was a small steel door that a human could do through.

"We have been with you for a while, so your scent is on us."

"Specifically, your blood." Lauren eyed at their uniforms. A bit of her blood was on them.

"Don't tell me you're going to..."

"Yep. Now, get in there. Before the bastard discovers our little trick." Lauren could not contain herself any longer.

"Are you mad!? What the hell is wrong with you two?!" She looked at them, "Aren't you going to run away?! Abandon me?! Why are you still with me even though your squad is dead?! Why are you doing this for me?!"

"Oi... she's being a feisty one." The soldier joked with his pal.

"Yeah... not a bad way for us to go out. At the least, we saved some pretty woman before we die." The soldier opened the door with his keycard. Lauren tried to resist him, but he pushed the student into the weapon storage room. He shut the door before she could escape. Lauren pulled out her keycard, trying to open the door.

She can't let these two die for her!

As the card reader scanned her card, it flashed a bright red.

Access Denied.

"Sorry love... Your card won't work now. I keyed a command for higher-ups only. You will have to wait for someone else to save you. This is goodbye, Lauren." 

Lauren heard them dash off, leaving her be.

She wanted to curse, scream for them to come back.

Yet that would waste their efforts.

The blonde felt a tremendous gap in her chest, tearing up at the action.

Why did they do this for her?

Why did they sacrifice themselves for her?

What for?

WHy?! 

She backed away from the door, pushing away her depressing thoughts. This was one of the many military storages located in the gym. Lauren was looking for this place, but she would have met her demise. Without the soldier's keycard, she could not access this place no matter what. There were huge boxes scattered about. Red barrels could be spotted in the corner along with some other recognizable canisters. What caught Lauren's attention was a couple of System models and some Armored Mechanized Frames (AMF).

AMF is a heavy armor suit for foot soldiers. It was like a miniature version of a mech. She noticed a red button on a metal pillar.

It was a distress button.

Lauren punched the alarm, agitated at her predicament. She could not cope with these new feelings and the dreadful fact that she was shown utmost kindness by some strangers.

It bothered her immensely. It was like a scratchy sensation when she had a cold. Her mind was unable to think, demanding a justification behind their actions.

She just wanted this nightmare to end. She cradled her head, trying her best to ignore it all.

She bumped into something. She glanced at the table with several documents on top of it. Taking a closer look, she noticed a report of a familiar event. 

It was the incident that happened in the Netherlands. There were a few similarities with the article she found online, but this was a military report. Lauren eyed the paper, giving it a good read several time over. Several military organizations have been attacked constantly by some unknown force. Investigating these matters, they concluded on a couple of things. The ringleader is a woman named Pandora. Exact details on her description and goals were unknown. There were a lot of Missing in Actions (MIAs) from the body count. One of their names stood out like a sore thumb.

Hannibal Backman.

Ironically, there was a folder with his personal information right next to this report. Lauren skimmed through it.

Hannibal Backman was a student from ZSEU. He was sent to the Netherland for an internship, doing a joint mission to examine a new System model developed by the Germans. He left the university about a week ago, reporting back to ZSEU every day. It seemed like his reports stopped coming in by yesterday. Academically, he was an average student with decent grades. Most of his physical scores were above average. Looking at his face photo, he looked nothing like the monster that he is now.

A yellow color highlighted his name. He was a MIA.

Once she was done, Lauren turned her attention towards the other documents.

There was a detailed procedure on running into this mysterious woman or anything of... the supernatural? Lauren blinked at that particular word.

Supernatural?

Why did they say that?

Despite Hannibal's monstrous appearance, there was no way that it could have happened magically. There are mutations in the world. It would be better to say something other than the supernatural. An accident, experiment, test subject, or a failed experiment. Why would they use such a... sketchy, illogical word.

But... Hannibal was doing stuff that was unimaginable. He did things that went beyond the norm. He did things that could be explained by magic or by the supernatural.

Putting down the reports, Lauren eyed the other items on the wooden table.

There were five USB looking objects with AMF XIC and a number after it. The number indicated what key is for what AMF. Lauren picked up three of the keys as she walked towards the AMFs. 

The AMF can vary in size, shape, type, and usage. The ones standing before Lauren are the XIC-12 Designed for frontline combat. They inflict a decent amount of damage with their equipment and their armor can take a beating. She had seen a couple of videos displaying their firepower and durability.

Sadly, she has no exact knowledge of what they are made out of. Like making reinforced concrete, the armor for the XIC-12 must have combined various alloys, metals, or other materials to make the interior and exterior to make the armor plating. Underneath all of this plating is the body frame that supported it. Pretty much, power armor from video games and novels were a good comparison to the AMFs.

Anyways, the XIC-12 was open, revealing the interior skeleton body frame. On the back region of the armor, there was a small monitor that displayed a gas gauge and other things that one might find on a vehicle. A port was next to this screen, indicating where the key should be inserted at. Making sure that these XIC-12 are ready, Lauren checked their fuel and their condition. If she needed to use this, she hoped it would be easy to pilot. Thinking about it, she could just get into the machine and test it out.

Test out the controls, get a feel for it, and get comfortable with the machine.

Before she could do anything, the metal doors started to move.

Very slowly.

Lauren decided to get into the suit. Her distress signal could be answered by an officer or higher-up...

Or the worse case scenario, Hannibal killed someone of a high stature to get those doors to open.

Heading for the XIC-12 with the 3 on it, she shoved the key into its hole. Twisting it, the suit activated itself. Lauren stood and adjusted herself within the skeleton frame. Once she stopped moving, the XIC-12 automatic functions kicked in. Sensing the pilot, it closed the top of its armor over Lauren. It locked the armor together, letting out a hiss. Gears moved about, securing the pilot in place. In complete darkness for a few seconds, Lauren's vision became the XIC. Seeing through the eyes of the suit, a small display of a blocky bipedal stick figure popped up on the bottom left of her vision. The figure had a green color to its entire body. 

She did not want to risk her survival against the monster. 

Lauren thought about the previous two soldiers that were with her. She froze up in the suit, forgetting about her predicament. Once again, the new sensations from these new emotions was ruining her focus. Before she got lost in her thoughts, a voice called out to her.

"Hey! Are you an ally or enemy? If you are in the suit, move around a bit." There were a lot of soldiers entering the room, weapons aimed at her.

She slowly moved her arms. There was no difficulties whatsoever. Operating it wasn't too hard, it was like moving her actual body. Disappointed, Lauren thought it would have been a bit harder. Maybe the Systems had a complicated operating system. That would explain the many programs and training for System pilots. 

"Are you an ally? Talk or we will open fire."

"A-Ally." Lauren responded.

"You, what are you doing in the XIC-12?!"

"Hey, incoming hostile at three!"

"What?!" Four soldiers were at the entrance, firing towards the right. One of the soldiers got pierced by a tongue while two died from sharp dagger-like fingers. The two soldiers impaled by the fingers were dragged away from Lauren's view, the last soldier rushing into the storage cache. 

"Get into position, move it! Use whatever you can against that thing!" Hearing their commander, the soldiers ran about, getting into position. Two soldiers picked up the AMF keys on the table, running to the XIC suits. All of the soldiers focused on the entrance, guns at the ready. Lauren watched the two soldiers enter the XIC suit, moving towards an open crate. 

Seconds flew by as the soldiers nervously wait for their target.

Lauren decided to follow the other AMFs to pick up a weapon from the crate. As she arrived at the crate, she heard the gunfire.

"FIRE!" Bullets, rockets, grenades, a lot of projectiles flood the entrance. 

"Wait, hold your fire!" The commander ushered this command, staring at the two mingled bodies of their own soldiers. The bodies flew through the entrance. Half of the soldiers stared at the mutilated bodies.

"BIg mIStAKE!" Hannibal rushed through the entrance, rushing towards the right section of the storage. He flattened a soldier with his huge legs, shooting his extendable arm towards two soldiers with rockets. The commander snapped out of his daze, ushering his command again.

"Open fire! Kill that bastard!"

Hannibal teleported from his spot, smashing a soldier with his club-like arm. He covered his face from a machine gun, extending his club-like arm at them. 

"We have to use heavier ornaments against him! Bullets will do no good!" Lauren exclaimed.

Three rocket launchers were fired, trying to hit the giant monster. Hannibal evades them with ease, teleporting to those soldiers. Before he could kill the last heavy soldier, one of the XIC suits slammed into him. Hannibal slapped him away with his club arm before he charged at a random soldier. The soldier flew towards the wall. Three soldiers with flamethrowers doused him in fire. The creature uttered a cry before their upper bodies were smacked off of their lower halves.

 Lauren tried to hack Hannibal down. The creature noticed her approach, grabbing her sword. He swung his club-like arm at her, sending Lauren into the wall. Before she could recover, Hannibal rammed Lauren's suit with his body. She flew out of the weapon cache, staring at the abomination. He was holding her sword now, aiming the weapon at her suit. 

Even with this protective suit, Hannibal had the edge. He can outmaneuver her. The XIC was saving her from any real damage to her body, but for how long?

He was still nimble, quick, and powerful to hold an AMF weapon. They stood no chance in a normal confrontation. Lauren barely avoid Hannibal's sword as she got back to her feet. Hannibal was ready though. Hannibal pounded his right arm relentlessly against Lauren. Trying to block his attack, the monster changed it up now and then. A swing at her head, slash across her stomach with his left hand, headbutting her, there was no end to his combos. 

He raised a sword, laughing.

"PaTHeTIc! YoU wIlL-" A rocket exploded on his back, interrupting him. Growling, he watched two XIC-12 approached him with rifles in their hands. A line of soldiers aimed their rocket launchers at Hannibal. With this slight distraction, Lauren swung at Hannibal's head. Unexpectedly, the head flew off of his chest, earning an angry reaction from the creature. In a fury, he grabbed Lauren and flung her towards the reinforcements. Slamming into the two XICs, Lauren saw the rockets flew past them. Hannibal waited for the last second to dodge them. He teleported from his spot. The rockets blasted a hole into the wall.

Hannibal reappeared on the outside, leaving their sights. 

"After him!" One of the XICs pursued the creature with the two-foot soldiers. The other XIC pulled Lauren up, handing her a customized rifle and sword. 

"Don't try to engage a tough opponent like that without a weapon. At the least, you gave us time to get better weapons for the situation. Come, we have to kill that abomination." 

"Right." The XIC moved on ahead, not looking to see if Lauren would follow.

She did not follow them, understanding the gap between them and an abomination.

No, he is still Hannibal Backman in a way. Yes, he's an abomination, but he isn't an idiot. He isn't a monster who lost his thoughts and his ability to think. Hannibal was always several steps ahead of her, winning in each engagement. The only real reason to why she's here right now was due to sheer luck.

He would have finished this little game already. He was capable of ending it. If she followed those soldiers, she will lose. It was time to end this.

She went back to the military storage room. Frowning, Lauren ignored the gnawing guilt of leaving those soldiers to die. She tried her hardest to avoid the two soldiers who sacrificed their lives to buy Lauren some time. Their sacrifice won't be in vain.

She will end this.

She will kill him.

Yes, kill. The creature won't kill her, but he will not stop. She cannot ask him not to capture her. She could not tell him to stop. He will follow his orders, so the only possible way to stop it is to kill it. Lauren lets out a small sigh, hating her current predicament. She has to do what she needs to do.

Besides, that woman from before is surely...

She needed to prepare a trap. The chances she'll pull this off is very unlikely. Even if she could fool him through his sight, his other senses may catch onto Lauren's tricks. Regardless, she had to try.

This had to end.

Lauren continued her train of thought on, reasoning with her subconsciousness. Her guilt. There was no possible way to close the gap between an abomination and a machine. When Lauren engaged Hannibal, the difference was quite noticeable. No matter how fast Lauren moved in her suit, the monster was faster. It could have pounded her for ten solid minutes if he wanted to. Even with the numbers on their side, the abomination can easily dodge their attacks. Especially from the XIC, due to their weight and bulky bodies. Hannibal had a flexible body compared to a robotic one.

Another reason was her occupation. She was no soldier. She was dragged into this by sheer randomness. She didn't want some giant freak to chase after her for some strange ass woman. What's worse, Lauren tried to avoid the weapons due to Hannibal's unique position. He can easily steal or hijack an AMF weapon and use it against them. That would be bad. 

Opening the suit, she looks for an emergency button that could close it back up. She remembered this feature on a couple of online videos. Getting out of it was a different story. Lauren has no idea on how to get it out of its state once she sealed it up. No matter, she resumed her plans She positioned the suit inside of the warehouse, having it stand in front of the table. On borrowed time once again, she entered another XIC armor suit and have it positioned at the entrance of the storage room. Lauren passed the table with insightful details about what was going on. Eyeing at them, Lauren decided to shove it into the last XIC armor suit. Doing her same routine, she tested out her AMF to see if everything was operational. Once it was, she walked over to the huge wooden crates. Inside of them, Lauren can see the various weapons. Pistols, rifles, blades, axes, most of them are small or medium arms. They do not have the firepower like a Gatling gun or a rocket launcher. Finding a knife, she took it and went over to the red barrels. Some of them have a recognizable yellow hazard sign with a flame on it. Stabbing three of the drums, she dumped her knife on the ground and picked up one of the barrels.

Walking over to the space between the entrance and the wooden table, she poured the gasoline all over the floor. She did this to the other two barrels she made a hole for. Once that was done, Lauren placed the red barrels around the wooden table and the XIC suit. Next, she went for another tank with a different substance inside of it. Propane. Positioning them around the barrels, wooden table, and the XIC armor, she revisited the XIC weapon box. Taking in a bit more details of the XIC suit, she noticed several weapon slots. She placed her blade on her back, sticking to the armor-like glue until she pulled it out. A belt was strapped around the waist, allowing magazines to be clipped onto it along with grenades and other assortments. It also has a pistol holster and sheath for a knife. Grabbing what she can, Lauren was armed to the teeth now. Sadly, she has no experience with reloading a weapon. Finishing her little trap, she goes over to the XIC suit in front of the wooden table. Moving the limbs, Lauren made the XIC wield the assault rifle. She even made it look down the sights. Making sure everything was set, she got into position. Her trap was ready.

Hannibal knew that she will be right here. She was standing beside the XIC suit that was at the entrance. 

"Let's end this..." Lauren faced the open hole, waiting for Hannibal to show himself. It took a while before the person in question appeared through the hole.

Enraged, he fired a full clip at her and the XIC armor. A few shots hit her, but they did no damage. The XIC suit in front of her took the most damage though. She was hoping that the suit would fall on its front, but it was in a kneeling position. This would make a convincing act though. 

"YoU'RE dEaD!" Hannibal hurled the gun at Lauren. She dodged it, watching him sprint forward. Firing at the monster, he did not dodge the incoming bullets. A sudden flash of red washed over his body for a brief second, stopping the bullets before it touched his flesh.

"So he did have a trick up his sleeve." She thought.

She tossed her sword at him, but he deflected it with a blade. Once he was halfway to Lauren, she went back into the military storage. Being quick about it, Lauren picked up two rifles in each hand and headed to the far end of the hanger. Hiding behind a tall box, she can hear him ram the kneeling XIC. Seeing the XIC in front of the table, he released out a triumphant laugh.

"HaHAhAhaHA! YoU..." He would have finished his sentence if he wasn't annoyed at the wasted time for capturing this one woman. He decided to speak for a second to throw Lauren off guard, but he immediately jumped at the XIC suit in front of the table. Landing on top of the suit, he smacked the weapon out of the XIC's hands, pressing his body against the head of the suit, "aRe DoNe fOR!"

He fell for it. If he was calm and collective, he would have noticed the empty XIC.

"No, you are." The creature noticed Lauren standing at the far end of the hanger. Blasting both clips of her rifle at the propane, gas, and Hannibal- 

Lauren's XIC burst through the storage room walls, bouncing against the ground. Her vision was blurry as hell, her mind was shaken at the results of her trap. She heard her armor scrape against the ground, denting the suit and Lauren's hearing. Everything was still moving, throwing Lauren's senses into disarray. Once the momentum was slowed down, she was rolling. Eventually, she came to a stop at the far edge of the perimeter. The nearby forest was in her sight, but she looked back at her massive explosion. The flames were huge, burning up parts of the gym. There were a couple more explosions, showing how dangerous it was to play with flammable or sensitive chemicals. 

Thinking about it, maybe that was a bit too much... Lauren didn't think it would work due to his senses and the small number of explosions used for it, but the blonde forgot to count the AMF's inner functions. The suit does use a lot of energy and has a very sensitive core. Being exposed to an explosion played a key part in this. Although it seems like it must have gotten to the Systems as well. 

"Ouch..." Lauren felt a tremendous amount of pain coursing through her body. She forgot about the injury on her back. She had not patched it, the wound still oozing out her blood ever so slowly. Luckily, the interior of the suit had soft paddings in the inside, cushioning any damage that could have been dealt with Lauren's body, but her back wound is still an issue.

"Congratulations, you have passed, Lauren Hook." Hearing her name, she recognized the familiar voice. Turning, the mysterious woman from before had appeared before her.

"Pandora."

"In the flesh," she smirked, giving a wicked smile. "Let's talk."