A Few Moments Earlier, Subject 168 fought the icey cold wind, nipping at his sweat drenched face.
Frosted air rose from Subject 168's mouth in ragged, uneven puffs, vanishing into the endless white of the blizzard. His breaths came sharp and shallow, his small frame trembling with every step.
"Keep moving," he muttered under his breath, his voice cracking from the cold. "Don't stop. Don't stop. Just... keep going."
The countdown echoed in his ear like a slow death knell.
00:10… 00:09… 00:08…
His heart pounded, each beat faster than the last. The thin jumpsuit clung to him, offering little protection from the relentless bite of the cold. His dark brown skin had turned ashen, the frost creeping up his arms like vines of ice. His fingers twitched, stiff from the cold, his lungs burning with each breath he sucked in. His eyes—wide, wild, and darting in every direction—held nothing but raw terror.
"I can make it. I can still make it."
00:06… 00:05…
The blizzard howled louder, a swirling white storm that chewed away at his vision. His eyes locked on the clearing ahead. Hope sparked in his chest like a match in the dark. If he could just reach it, maybe—
CRACK.
His foot caught on a jagged chunk of ice hidden beneath the snow. His body pitched forward, weightless for a moment before he slammed into the frozen ground. Ice met flesh with a brutal thud. The shock shot through his arms as he caught himself, palms scraping against the rough frost. Blood smeared the snow beneath him, tiny droplets staining the white.
00:03… 00:02…
"No! No! No!" he screamed, voice hoarse from the cold. His hands clawed at the ground as he pushed forward on hands and knees. The clearing was right there—just five more feet. He could make it. He had to make it.
00:01… 00:00.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The soft chime echoed through the frozen wasteland, soft yet absolute. He froze, face down in the snow, his breath shallow and sharp. Silence followed. No more countdown. No more noise. Only the whistle of the storm and the deafening, hollow quiet.
"Please…" he whimpered, voice cracking, barely louder than a whisper. "Please, I tried. I... I tried."
The timer didn't care.
His body jolted.
Not exhaustion. Not fatigue. Something else.
His heart leapt to double speed. The nanites were failing. They'd been injected at the start of the test, crawling through his veins, holding the parasites at bay. But now the countdown was up. Their control had ended.
The pain was immediate. Sharp. Blinding.
"AHHHH!" He clutched his chest, fingers digging into his ribs as his heart thrummed with a sick, unnatural rhythm. It felt like something inside him was breaking—tearing. His spine arched. His head snapped back, every muscle in his body locking into place.
Pop. Snap. Crack.
His fingers stretched unnaturally. The bones in his hands snapped like dry twigs. New bones pushed forward. Claws jutted from his fingertips, blackened and sharp. He gasped, tried to breathe—but his throat closed up, constricting, forcing him to choke on his own breath.
His teeth fell out in pieces, clattering onto the snow like tiny white pebbles. Blood and spit poured from his mouth as something sharper, deadlier, pushed up from his gums. Serrated fangs jutted from his jaw.
"No—NO—NO!" he screamed, voice garbled through bloody teeth. His face stretched unnaturally. His jaw elongated, his nose flattening into a broad snout. His screams twisted into snarls, the last threads of his humanity snapping one by one.
The change wasn't clean. It was brutal.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Bones snapped, his legs bowing backward with a sickening crunch. His heels split open, reshaping into clawed talons. His spine sharpened into a prominent curve, his back hunching as tufts of fur erupted from his skin. His ears stretched into long, pointed tips like those of a wild beast.
He dropped to all fours, clawed hands pressing into the frozen ground. He gasped in short, sharp breaths. No more shallow breathing. It was deep, guttural, like an animal that had caught the scent of prey.
His eyes darted around. His pupils had thinned into sharp slits. His breath slowed.
The boy's thoughts drifted, soft and fragile.
I'm still here… right?
The hunger answered first. It scratched at his mind, gnawed at his gut. He could smell it now—the snow, the blood on his hands, and something further away. Something warm. Something fresh.
Meat.
Jessie fought the storm with every step. Ice and snow blasted against his skin, his breath visible in sharp, painful puffs. His body was stiff, fingers numb, but he kept moving.
"Move, Jessie. MOVE!"
He couldn't stop. Not now. Not with them behind him.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The sound echoed behind him. Quick. Precise. Calculated.
He glanced back. The penguins.
They skated across the ice like bullets, their slick bodies darting between patches of snow. No waddling. No hesitation. Their wings, now clawed appendages, scraped against the ice for traction.
"Not stopping," Jessie muttered, gritting his teeth. "Not stopping, not stopping—"
CRACK.
His foot slipped on a patch of ice. His body flipped forward, slamming shoulder-first into the ground. Cold. Wet. Freezing.
"Shit!" Jessie hissed, pressing his hand to his shoulder. The dull throb of pain pulsed with his heartbeat. Claws scraped behind him. Beaks clacked. Closer. Closer.
He flipped onto his back, eyes locking on the Alpha. Bigger. Smarter. Meaner. It didn't rush like the others. It circled, watching. Calculating.
"Yeah, yeah, I see you," Jessie growled, slowly rising to his feet. His eyes flicked to his right. The cracks in the ice were faint, but they were there. Thin ice.
Perfect.
The first penguin lunged. Jessie twisted, barely dodging. His foot skidded, but he kept his balance. His breath fogged the air.
The second followed, its claws scraping his back. Jessie spun, slamming his elbow into its head.
CRACK.
The penguin's head jerked, stunned. Jessie didn't stop. He grabbed it by the flipper and hurled it into the ice. It slid, tumbling, screeching the whole way.
"Who's next?!" Jessie barked, heart hammering in his chest. "WHO'S NEXT?!"
The Alpha didn't blink. Just watched.
He's waiting for me to get tired.
"NOT HAPPENING."
Jessie charged, his muscles surging with heat. His claws dug into the ice as his vision narrowed on the Alpha. His blood burned in his veins. His muscles strained but didn't quit.
The Alpha cocked its head. Just a second of hesitation.
CRACK!
Jessie's fist drove into the Alpha's jaw. He twisted, claws digging deep as he threw the Alpha down. His heart thundered in his chest, his arms trembling from the force.
But it wasn't over.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The ice quaked. Something big. Something wrong.
Jessie's eyes darted to the ice beneath them. The water moved. Ripples flowed beneath the frozen surface.
A red glow flickered from below.
CRACK!
The ice exploded. Shards flew everywhere. Jessie shielded his face, his ears ringing. But he saw it. He saw it.
A hand.
Massive. Clawed. Fingers the size of boulders dug into the ice with impossible strength.
The Alpha shrieked in terror, its glowing eyes darting frantically.
Thud.
Another hand. Another pull. It rose from the depths. Bloated. Twisted. No face. No eyes. Just the raw, red glow under its flesh.
Jessie didn't look back.
He ran.
He ran, and he didn't stop.