Samantha Porter drifted into a foggy, lucid dream, her mind losing its battle against exhaustion. The incessant beeping of alarms blared somewhere far away, the sound muffled as if it were underwater.
Red. Everything was red.
Her eyes squinted through the crimson haze, her vision swimming with disjointed shapes and indistinct movement. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized she was trapped, her body suspended in thick, warm liquid. It pressed against her bare flesh, every inch of her skin tingling from the sensation. She tried to move, but her limbs refused to respond. Her lungs burned, her mouth opened in a silent scream as she fought against the suffocating weight.
Move! MOVE!
Her mind screamed commands, her muscles straining against the unseen force that bound her. She thrashed, her heart slamming harder and faster. The panic became a fire in her chest, her thoughts wild and frantic. Her body jolted as the world shifted. She was falling.
Her eyes widened, and her breath hitched. The freefall seemed to last an eternity, her body bracing for impact.
SMACK!
Her body hit cold tile with a brutal thud, the sharp crack of bone-on-floor echoing through the room. Samantha rolled to her side, clutching her bruised elbow as pain surged up her arm in sharp pulses.
"God… damn… mother… fucker…" she hissed, each word dragged out through clenched teeth. Her breath came in uneven gasps as she struggled to regain her bearings.
She gripped the edge of the desk with one shaky hand, using it to pull herself to her feet. Her head felt heavy, her thoughts disjointed, like trying to piece together a shattered mirror. Her eyes scanned the dimly lit lab, the flashing red lights casting elongated shadows across the room. The alarm's shrill beeping had become a relentless pulse behind her eyes.
SKRAAA! SKRAAA!
Her heart jumped into her throat at the sound. The unmistakable screech of something sharp raking against metal.
Grrrrrrr…
Her eyes darted to the row of animal cages. The noise had roused them. They thrashed in their enclosures, the sounds of frantic paws scratching and thumping filling the room like a wild orchestra. She moved on instinct, already knowing where the source of the problem lay.
"Fenrir!" Her breath came in short gasps as she ran to the farthest cage.
The creature inside was no longer the playful, curious dog she had grown attached to. His once soft, gray fur was now patchy and marred with thick, sharp protrusions of bone-like plates jutting from his shoulders and back. His body trembled as he lay slumped against the back wall of his cage, his chest heaving with labored breaths. His paws scratched at his snout, his nails raking fur and flesh in desperate, painful scrapes.
Her heart twisted with guilt. I should have been here.
The crow in the neighboring cage let out another sharp caw, hopping down to the mesh floor between them. Its beady eyes locked on Fenrir, its sharp beak tapping the metal bars in mocking rhythm.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Fenrir went still.
Samantha's breath caught in her throat. Slowly, Fenrir's head tilted, cocking unnaturally to the side. His ears, or what was left of them, twitched. His eyes locked onto the crow with a predator's focus. His body shifted. The bones in his neck popped with a grotesque crack as his gaze tilted upward.
No. No, no, no.
His lips peeled back, his teeth parting. No. His jaw unhinged, splitting open wider than any normal canine should have been able to. A guttural, inhuman scream tore from his throat, rising in pitch with each second. The sound wasn't natural. It was something primal, something wrong.
Before she could react, he launched himself upward.
"Shit!" Samantha stumbled back, eyes wide as she watched him claw his way to the top of the cage. His bony claws latched onto the steel rods, legs thrashing like a wild animal caught in a snare. He thrashed his head, bang, bang, bang against the metal roof, his blood-slicked muzzle slamming against the bars with wet, sickening cracks.
The crow darted upward, flapping its wings furiously as it retreated to the upper perch. It let out a sharp caw, mocking him with each flap.
He didn't stop.
Fenrir's claws dug into the metal, his body writhing as his head twisted at an unnatural angle. Blood poured down his face, coating his eyes and matting his fur. The more he pushed his muzzle through the bars, the deeper they cut into his flesh. Bone and sinew tore in strips, his muzzle splitting into three jagged sections down to his neck.
He doesn't feel it, Samantha realized in horror. He doesn't feel anything.
Her body moved before her mind caught up. She bolted to the supply rack, pulling open drawers, fingers moving with frantic precision. Nanites. I need the nanites. Her fingers found the small glass vial, and she gripped it tight, spinning around so fast she nearly lost her balance.
Her fingers trembled as she jammed the vial into the injector, breathing in rapid, shallow bursts. The glass vial clicked into place with a hiss. Her eyes locked on Fenrir.
Not him. Not Fenrir.
She sprinted back, her shoes skidding on the slick, blood-smeared tile. Her mind drowned out everything but the sound of his thrashing. Her heart thundered in her chest as she dropped to her knees in front of the cage.
Fenrir was still hammering his head into the bars, each impact driving the metal rods deeper into his broken, mutilated face. His eyes, once full of warmth, were swollen and blood-filled, his eye sockets empty hollows. His jaw hung in three distinct pieces, each one moving with a mind of its own.
"Stop! STOP!" Her voice cracked with desperation as she reached for him. She thrust the needle through the mangled mess of his flesh and injected the serum into him. The syringe hissed as the nanites flooded his bloodstream.
His body jerked. He went limp for a moment. Then, with a wet, meaty thud, he slid off the bars and collapsed into the pool of blood below.
Samantha dropped to her knees, her eyes fixed on his still form. Her fingers pressed against her mouth, her breath shaky and uneven. Her heart ached with guilt. She'd failed him.
"I'm sorry," she whimpered, burying her face in her hands. Her tears were hot, her sobs choked and muffled against her palms.