Panic ensued as many scattered around the facility. The place shook as if multiple earthquakes were hitting them one after another. The aftereffects caused uncountable debris to come crashing down. With quick wit, Clyde pulled a vulnerable Cade behind the cover of an overturned table. Not a moment too soon and a chunk of debris could be seen smashing its massive weight into Cade's initial position.
But the journalist did not have the time to collect himself as his head jolted like it would burst into unknown heights. A thunderous roar shook the whole building, and the source was none other than the gigantic figure, nearing the height of a four-story house.
It was a hideous creature with the face of a canine, but with a lanky figure. Powerful claws and fangs were borne by the grotesque monster. Its charcoaled fur enhanced its terrifying appearance. The behemoth stood on its hind legs for balance as its two arms were spread apart grasping on the edges of the massive hole it created.
With the lights also going dark at the most unfortunate time, fear struck the hearts of those who bore sight on the cause of terror. Fortunately, the hole it created seemed smaller than its size. This prompted the creature to screech in frustration as it forcefully tried to get inside. Security personnel from both inside and outside the research lab luckily mobilized in quick fashion. Some brandished all kinds of weapons, while others activated various techniques and bizarre abilities to their utmost. However, despite Cade being a noncombatant himself, he instinctively understood that this was still not enough to stop the unbeatable creature.
The situation was far from the word 'safe.' The monster had long arms and it was using them aggressively to reach for anything it could get its hands on. As demonstrated by the few unfortunate souls that had their lives struck from their body as they were swathed like ragdolls.
"Holy―"
"Take cover! Damn it, how did a near S-Class appear out of nowhere! Mr.Reid, do we have a backup generator?!"
Clyde let out a cry as he raised his head to check the surroundings, only to find out that the man in question was on the run! Reid was quickly seen escorted to safety along with a few others through a passage different from where they earlier came.
The hunter cursed as he raised his body to motion. His eyes fortunately caught the figure of Dr. Hohenkrause scrambling to help another researcher. The other person looked injured from the torso below. Cade too, followed close behind whilst squinting one last time towards where Reid had run off to.
'Typical Hastings.'
"Dr. Hohenkrause, I need your help. Does this place have a backup generator and emergency comms?"
Dr. Hohenkrause looked back and bit his lip. "We do, it's supposed to function automatically the moment we lose our primary source. But as things stand, I think turning it on manually is our only option." He then shifted his eyesight towards the woman lying in his arms. Her weak breath indicated her declining condition.
"Come on Melanie, we'll make it out of here," he persuaded himself desperately by grabbing her hands tightly to his chest.
However the situation was too dire for Clyde to not interrupt, so he insisted Dr. Krause to help.
"Can you help me turn the power back on? We need to at least reach contact with the outside world. Meanwhile, I'll do what I can to stop this creature from―"
"I'M DONE TAKING F**KING ORDERS FROM F**KING ANYONE!"
At that instance, Dr. Hohenkrause bellowed in defiance. His outburst took out both the journalist and hunter duo by surprise.
"...Hastings? USHA? The government? Who gives a sh*t!? You don't get to tell me what to do or when and where I should die―when my f**cking direct superior fled the scene to save his *ss!"
Dr. Hohenkrause spewed those words that seemingly came from his soul.
"Oh, so you want to turn the power back on? Do it yourself! Even if I reached the backup generator, this whole facility would've already collapsed on itself by then!"
Amidst all this, both Clyde and Cade were quiet. Though Cade noticed that Clyde was also seething in anger at the situation. Hence, before the powder keg exploded, the journalist patted Clyde's shoulder just in case.
"Calm down, hunter. Don't worry, I'll do it," Cade said. He wasn't sure how much of an assurance he provided to the hunter though, as his body had been trembling the entire time. Cade then pointed his head towards Dr. Hohenkrause. "Doctor, can you at least show me the way?"
Clyde sighed as he calmed down, but not before sending a thankful glance towards Cade for the assistance.
Meanwhile, Dr. Hohenkrause stayed silent for a while before his hands reached for his pockets. From there he took out his identity card and threw it towards Cade.
"You see the exit where that snake Reid escaped? Go there and take the stairs to the left. Go down three floors. The generator room is not far behind the entrance of that floor. Turning it back on is easy as you only need to move the large manual switch right down the middle. The emergency comms is one floor above the generator room…so now you know what to do."
"Thank yo―"
"And don't forget," Dr. Hohenkrause cuts in. He shifted his position and rose up. He carried the woman named Melanie in a princess carry while staring at Cade in the eye. The indifference was palpable. "These automatic doors are equipped with their own dedicated batteries. They'll manage without the backup, so use the ID card to enter. They won't last long though."
"How long do I have?"
"...15 minutes."
"Thanks. But what about you?"
"I have my own way. Her ID's with me."
Cade nodded and without further ado he decided to go on and get to the backup generator.
"I'll get going then," he tapped Clyde up for confirmation and the hunter merely shook his head. His sight though, had started to focus down on the massive creature who finally managed to force its way inside while simultaneously being distracted by Hastings's security personnel. A fortunate occurrence for the two, as they were able to buy some time. But alas, for how much longer were they able to hold on?
The once bustling place is now in dark ruins. Through glimpses of light, mangled body parts and people crushed by countless debris were seen everywhere. Some were fortunate enough to have evacuated to safety while the remaining people that were still willingly inside were busy confronting the monster.
The sight wasn't as pretty as you want to expect. It's definitely not like in those action movies where the hero miraculously doesn't bleed. As currently both Cade and Clyde saw the monster easily ripping apart multiple people to mincemeat with relative ease.
Despite obtaining a higher tolerance for such atrocities for the last few years, Cade was fairly certain that his stomach would suffer from loss of appetite for at least three straight days. Sudden respect rose from Cade's eyes as he glanced towards Clyde who maintained a stoic face through all this. Perhaps this sight was a much more common occurrence for him.
Unable to read his inner thoughts, Clyde inhaled a deep breath and whispered loudly.
"Right, me too. They need me down there."
From his pocket, Clyde took out what seemed like a pill before gulping it down in haste. His eyes then turned in a glowing hue of light blue and from the tip of his fingers to his arms were gobbled up by diamonds.
"Hey, Cade."
"...Yeah?"
"I owe you one."
"Then take me out for dinner sometime. I like expensive meals."
Clyde grinned for the first time since a while.
"I will."
And with that, both men separated.