The air was thick with tension, the metallic scent of blood already tainting the lab. The Prime Subject stood in the center of the room, chest heaving, red eyes locked onto them like a predator playing with its prey.
Sebastian didn't hesitate. He raised his gun and fired directly at its head.
The bullet hit.
The creature jerked, but then… it smiled.
And moved.
Faster than anything Sebastian had ever faced.
Before he could react, the Prime Subject closed the distance, a blur of motion, and slammed into him.
The impact sent Sebastian flying backward. He crashed into a row of glass tanks, shattering them on impact. Thick, black liquid spilled onto the floor, mixing with the blood from the guards they had taken down earlier.
"Sebastian!" Claudia shouted, unloading her rifle into the creature.
The bullets tore through its skin, but instead of dropping, it merely turned its gaze to her. Its grin widened.
Then, it vanished.
In a blink, it was in front of Claudia.
Before she could react, a massive clawed hand wrapped around her throat and lifted her off the ground.
She choked, struggling against its grip, her feet kicking uselessly in the air.
Dominic was already moving. He grabbed a discarded pipe and swung with all his strength. The impact cracked against the Prime Subject's ribs, forcing it to loosen its grip just enough for Claudia to drop to the floor, gasping for breath.
Marcus groaned from across the room, shaking off the hit he had taken earlier. "What the hell is this thing?!"
"Something Alaric shouldn't have created," Sebastian muttered, forcing himself up. His ribs ached, but there was no time to stop.
The Prime Subject turned toward him again.
Its lips curled back, revealing jagged, unnatural teeth. And then—it laughed.
A deep, guttural sound that sent a chill down Sebastian's spine.
This thing wasn't just strong.
It was enjoying this.
---
A Desperate Plan
Sebastian gritted his teeth. They couldn't win in a direct fight. It was too fast, too strong.
They needed a different approach.
"Chloe!" he barked into his earpiece. "How do we kill this thing?!"
Her voice crackled in. "You… can't."
Sebastian's stomach dropped. "What do you mean, can't?"
"It's not just an Ascended. It's been modified beyond that. Standard weapons won't work."
Marcus cursed. "Then what the hell are we supposed to do?! Throw insults at it until it dies?"
"No—but I do have an idea," Chloe said. "There's an emergency lockdown protocol built into the lab. If I trigger it, I can trap it in there long enough for you to escape."
Sebastian's eyes flicked to the massive steel-reinforced containment cells along the walls. "How long do you need?"
"Two minutes."
They didn't have two minutes.
The Prime Subject lunged at them again.
Sebastian moved, dragging Claudia out of the way just as the creature's claws sliced through the air where she had been standing.
Dominic sprinted toward the opposite side of the room, drawing its attention. "Come on, you ugly bastard!"
It worked.
The creature snapped its head toward him, then bolted after him.
Sebastian saw his chance. "Marcus, plant charges on the support beams!"
Marcus didn't hesitate. He grabbed the remaining explosives and dashed toward the pillars lining the room.
Sebastian turned back to Dominic. "Get ready to run."
---
The Trap Closes
Dominic led the creature in a wide arc around the lab, dodging its strikes with pure reflex. Each attack came too close, claws slicing through the air inches from his face.
Finally, he darted past the center of the room, heading straight for the containment units.
The Prime Subject followed.
Sebastian shouted, "NOW!"
Marcus detonated the charges.
The explosion rocked the facility.
The reinforced ceiling above the containment cells collapsed, sending massive steel beams and debris crashing down. The Prime Subject barely had time to react before it was buried beneath the rubble.
Sebastian didn't wait. "Chloe, seal the doors!"
"Already on it!"
Massive steel doors slammed shut, locking the lab down. The only thing left behind was the muffled, inhuman roar of the creature buried beneath the wreckage.
Sebastian exhaled, his body still tense. It wasn't dead—but at least it was contained.
For now.
Marcus groaned. "I swear, if that thing gets out, I'm quitting."
Claudia wiped the blood from her lip. "If that thing gets out, we're all dead."
Sebastian ignored them, pressing his earpiece again. "Chloe, we're getting out. What's our best exit?"
"…That's the thing," she hesitated. "Alaric knows you're here."
The room fell silent.
"He just locked down the entire facility."
A beat of silence.
Then alarms blared.
Red lights flashed across the walls. Doors hissed as they sealed shut. The facility was in full lockdown.
Sebastian clenched his jaw.
Alaric wasn't just trying to trap them.
He was planning to kill them.
---