He bit his lip in frustration and turned from the henchman before continuing down the hallway. Every room he passed caused him to pause. A number of corpses and injured men in varying states of disrepair were the only thing his efforts rewarded him. The distinct sound of buzzing lights offered his search a tense background symphony.

The end of the hall was just up ahead. He peaked around the edge and saw it was more of the same. Opening after opening of small rooms.

He immediately got to work.

Dead, dead, maimed, dissected but alive, just a torso, unconscious man, and many more. Thankfully none were the tattooed man he had been searching for nor matched the horror of what he saw in the first room. Repulsive but digestible.

The sound of muffle grunts stole his attention away as he was making his way to the end. He rushed for the room and froze as he saw the cause.

Another familiar sight, but one he wasn’t all that happy about. The sole surviving member of the Julio Reapers was thrashing on the restraint chair like a mad man.

Not that Sean could blame him, he had done the same thing not five minutes before.

‘Why did it have to be him?!’

He didn’t know what to do. If it was anyone else, he would have instantly gone to help him but this prick was the exact man he was hoping to avoid. He weighed his options.

‘Get an extra body in case things go wrong and risk this piece of shit blowing my escape or leave him here to get tortured to death?’

He turned from the door and took a few ginger steps away. The man’s effort redoubled in intensity. His shoulder fell.

‘Aw shit. I really hope I won't regret this.’

Sean stopped in his tracks. A deep breath filled his lungs. The air felt perfectly sterile in a way he had never experienced in his whole time within the confines of Milenicadia.

‘Maybe he wants it clean to do his…surgeries. Fuck me.’

He moved forward, stopping in front of the struggling man. A clear wave of confusion overtook his features. A single finger went to Sean’s lips as he began cutting one of the man’s arms free. The grunts died down as he got his message across.

The straps were a horrible pain in the ass to deal with as they refused to loosen but the slow process of chopping away at them eventually bore fruit.

Finally, he had freed an entire arm and the man reached for the gag in his mouth.

“Hurry the fuck up.” His command came out in a harsh whisper.

Sean grit his teeth in annoyance but kept working. The scared man’s vision kept flicking to the door with worry. His body thrashed harder as more and more of the restraints disappeared.

“Stop fucking struggling. It’s making it harder.”

He grabbed the man's leg to hold it still while whittling away.

“Suck my dick. Pick up the fucking pace.” Sean’s hands stopped their rabid movements, drawing the bastard's attention instantly.

“You know, I could just let you get tortured to death in here. It might be easier than helping you out.”

He could see a freezing terror overtake the man. He had been hurling abuse at his only means of escape like he was still a feared member of the Julio Reapers.

Reality was not so emboldening.

“I-please.” His words fell away as he visibly tried to calm himself down. “I am sorry. I don’t want to die. I can't die.” The harsh tone disappeared in a split second in favor of scared pleading.

“Just listen to me as I get you out. Don’t go running into the hallway as soon as you are free and, more importantly, stay quiet. Whispering only. We will need to find my friend before we get out of here. What is your name?”

“Victor.” Sean nodded before handing the forceps to the man's free arm while going to town with the hooked scalpel.

The fibers of the restraints proved much tougher to get through with the sharp object compared to the brute force of the bone crushers, but he made it work.

They were almost done when they both stilled in the same moment.

A distinct noise broke through the electronic buzz of the monitors nearby. The measured footsteps of the mad scientist grew closer with each second.

Sean ducked behind the chair, hiding behind the concrete structure. Victor froze in uncertainty. The shorter hispanic man grabbed the gag and put it back into his mouth. The noise slowly passed the room, lowering their tension significantly before it halted completely, far too soon for either of their liking.

“Hmmm?” He could hear the familiar voice as the man peak around the entrance. Sean quickly got to praying.

‘Please, please, please. Don’t look too hard. Come on.’

The side facing the door was still mostly intact with only the head restraint removed. A small blessing in disguise. His heart was pounding in his ears when the prisoner began grunting once more.

“Murph, hrmph,eerrrrrr, cruuhh.”

“Aw, music to my ears. Don’t worry you rude bastard. I am sure I'll be able to find an anesthetic that works for you and if I don't then we will just have to do the spinal cord cutting game. Should at least stop the thrashing.” The footsteps picked up again as the psycho laughed his way down the hall.

Sean shot up to get back to work while Victor went wild with much more frantic cutting.

The very last restraint fell from his leg and the man shot up to his feet, clearly ready to put distance between him and the monster down the hall.

“He is gonna notice I am missing in less than a minute. We need to get moving.”

He nodded along, choosing to go silent instead of instigating anything, much to Sean’s surprise. They ran out of the exit into the hallway.

“Check for a white guy with a black suit and a ton of tattoos everywhere but his face.”

They ran down the hallway, checking room after room before reaching another dead end. The hallway split in two, going on for dozens of feet before branching off once more.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Fuck.” They had no way of knowing where to go or where the exit might have been. “We keep searching for my friend and hope we find the exit in the process.”

Victor silently agreed and rushed after Sean as they investigated the rooms. Some were empty white others were filled with varying states of horror. All they needed was to get lucky one time and they could start searching for the exit.

“Where the hell are you!?” A blood curdling scream hit them like a banshee's, rattling the overhead lights and sprinkling them with dust.

They exchanged a wide eyed glance before speeding up. Secrecy was thrown out the window as they ran from room to room. Devon was nowhere to be found despite their efforts. They neared the end of the hallway when a new noise stole their attention away.

A wet slapping echoed down the path. The pair ducked into one of the rooms as it drew near.

“What the fuck is that?” Victor whispered to Sean as they ducked behind an empty chair.

He didn’t have an answer. The noise crept closer by the second. It sounded like a fish flopping around at a crawling pace.

They waited with bated breaths, watching the doorway. Slowly, the source of it entered their vision through the doorway. They yanked their heads back and prayed it hadn’t seen them.

Slap, slap, slap.

It was a creature like Sean had never seen. Its grotesque body was made up of exposed muscle fibers that shined with a bloody gloss.

It crawled forward like an inchworm, smacking onto the concrete with a wet slap whenever it moved. There was a single pair of small arms near its head and no legs. Numerous pairs of eyes covered the horror, flicking around in search of its prey.

Them.

Its disgusting cadence didn’t falter for a moment.

They listened as it made its way down the hall and to the end they hadn’t explored. The pair ducked out of the room and followed the slimy track of the monster around the corner. They were welcomed by a dimly glowing red cat that looked eerily reminiscent of blood.

“Definitely not this way.” They crept back and looked to the other end.

It was much the same. Another pit.

“Fuck. I think we need to follow that freak.” Victor spoke up.

He couldn’t disagree despite so deeply wanting to.

They moved with ginger steps as they followed after the thing’s slimy trail. The rooms had changed slightly from the sterile concrete of the surgery section. Metal panels covered the surfaces and random complex machines lined the hall. Their purposes entirely unknown.

Sean could feel hope slipping from him as they passed more and more alcoves devoid of life. His coworker was nowhere to be found.

“How much further do you think we have to go?” He could only shrug as Victor peaked around another corner only to freeze.

“What?”

The man stumbled back, falling to the ground. Sean took a few steps away from the scene.

Sharp clacks filled the space. It reminded him of a dog walking on hardwood floors. He held his breath as the beast walked into his sight.

The legs were the first thing he could see. They looked like stick insects curved at strange angles to support the fleshy sight that came next. A large, bulbous head wobbled as it walked forward with one massive eye trained on the young hispanic man cowering against the wall.

He tensed up as the previously aggressive Julio Reaper struggled to do anything but whimper in fear.

Without even thinking, Sean swiped at the creature's lower half with his leg, a move copied from the thieves he brawled only a few days prior. The kick shattered the surprisingly fragile appendages with ease. The big head dramatically smacked into the ground mere inches away from the man, popping its huge eyes as it landed.

Sean grinned with the easy victory freshly crushed before him. A mixture of blood and thick clear goo poured from its face while Sean pulled Victor from the floor. He was pale white and refused to acknowledge what had happened.

A loud smack filled the hall. Sean shook his hand as sharp stinging sensation took over. Victor raised his trembling fingers to his cheek where a bright red handprint glowed with warmth.

“Get your shit together. You aren't scared of thugs, but that thing has you shaking in your boots? It doesn’t even have a way to kill you if it wanted to. Just an eye with legs. Let’s keep going.” He dragged him along for a few steps before he could walk on his own.

‘Are these things Drake’s experiments?’ He almost couldn't believe how horrific they were until his mind flashed back to the first room he had glanced in.

He swallowed back the trickle of spit that rose in his mouth, the first signs of his rissing desire to spray chunks of his last meal across the floor.

‘I guess it makes sense.’

They rushed down another hallway only to stop as Victor shouted for his attention.

“Over here.” Sean made his way over and looked into the room.

Sitting in a chair, Devon was staring at a black screen with drool running down the side of his mouth. A series of large antennas surrounded him with the chair as their focal point.

“Good job, Victor. Help me cut him free.”

They rushed inside with their tools ready. The restraints were thin and few in number compared to what the pair had been subjected to.

“Hey, Devon. Wake up.” He patted his cheek with gentle slaps in hope of startling the large man awake. His shoulders fell as he looked into his coworker’s eyes. They were devoid of life, dull like matte paint. Sean’s hand fell to his sides.

‘Is…is he dead?' Sean crouched to his knees with his heart rapidly sinking.

"I don't think he is still in there.” He spoke through gritted teeth. Victor looked up at his savior's rapidly paling complexion.

“Naw, he still has a heartbeat.” A surprising show of optimism left the reaper as he of finished the last of the restraints

While Sean looked to the floor in despair, a loud slap shocked him from his doom and gloom. The tall blonde looked towards the tattooed man in confusion His head lolled to the side as bright red welts raised across his cleanly shaven chin.

“Damn it. I hit him wrong.” Victor shook his hand in hopes of lessening the pain.

“Did you just slap him?” He asked in disbelief.

“Well, you did it to me and it worked pretty fucking good so I don’t see why I can’t do it to him. After all, you don’t know until you try.”

A series of complex emotions flooded Sean. Anger, uncertainty, disgust, and annoyance stood out the most.

“He’s fucking brain dead or something. Slapping him won’t do shit. What was the-” Another slap rang out from the man's other hand. "Just st-"

“Uh-wha-*cough*” A sputtering cough filled the room.

The pair of onlookers turned to the chair where the man stirred. Devon’s hands reached up and massaged his temples as a few more dry coughs left his lungs.

“And you wanted to give up. I knew that shit would work. A ton of problems can be solved if you hit things hard enough.”

Sean wanted to argue, but held his tongue.

‘It…definitely worked this time.’

He grabbed the large tattooed man by the shoulder and shook him vigorously. Victor joined him, jostling the groggy man to attention.

“What’s happening? Where are we?”

“Glad you’re still with us. You looked pretty gone when we found you.” A smile spread across Sean's face.

Devon looked at the two men with undisguised confusion.

“Just answer me already. What’s going on?”

He took a deep breath.

“Hero union did a bust on the warehouse. We got captured. A bio-engineer villain named Drake ambushed the convoy and brought us here. I got out and we came to free you. There really isn’t much time to waste. Can you stand?”

The pair lifted the large man onto his feet. He took a few aided steps before managing to walk on his own.

“A little light headed but I should be good in a minute of two.” He turned to look at the young Hispanic man watching the spectacle. “Aren’t you a member of the Julio Reapers and why the hell does my face hurt so much?”

The question earned him a timid nod from Victor as they moved towards the door.

“Don't worry about that...we just need to watch out for the abominations, um, monsters that the scientist created and probably the man himself. He is crazy as can be.” Sean peeked outside, looking for any signs of danger.

The other two stepped closer. The overhead lights buzzed incessantly as they listened for any movement nearby.

Nothing. The coast was clear.

The trio moved into the hall and down the path in search of an exit. The rooms were filled with strange jars that housed gross amalgamations of creatures and machines that kept them alive. The clear human influence in all of them spoke volumes for what they would be used for if they couldn’t escape in time.

“How did you get out?” Devon spoke to Sean in hushed whispers as they rounded another corner. The concrete tunnel was slowly beginning to carry a familiar stench.

“A flair up of my power broke me free.”

They slowed down as the rapid pitter patter of clawed feet drew their attention. The group ducked into the nearest doorway and hid behind a few of the large machines that dominated the metallic cube.

Sean peaked around as the sound grew closer. In a gray flash, the creature they had been waiting for flew by the opening and down the hallway. It had taken less than a second for it to come and go. The pitter patter of its feet quickly disappeared.

“That thing was…fast. And I think we need to follow it.”

They piled out of the room and down the way the beast left. A sickening breeze blew through the corridor with a distinct rotten stench that awakened a recently formed memory.

“I think we are in the sewer system.”

He turned to the pair behind him. Victor had his hand to his nose while Devon had a small frown plastered over his face.

“Glad we agree.”