Haunted Part 2

Chapter 9:
It all happened very quickly. They had been heading to the car, when Isaac called Alexei. He was asking him to come back down to the labs. Alexei had hesitated, but Isaac apparently was very insistent. So Alexei had left, leaving Ed and Malcolm alone outside. Well, he had left them in the lobby. Ed had got Malcolm's attention long enough to take him outside. Malcolm was a bit surprised. Alexei had told them to stay inside at all costs.

Now, Ed took a seat on a bench and motioned for Malcolm to do the same. He did, glad no one was paying attention to them.

"Nice day, isn't it?" he said, trying to make a one sided conversation. Ed's face still held the serious look it had worn while he hurried outside. Malcolm frowned. "Are you wondering what Alexei was going to tell us?"

Ed shook his head. He pointed at himself then at Malcolm. Malcolm was confused. "What?"

Ed made several more attempts to convey whatever he was trying to say. Malcolm became more confused with each time. Ed's frustration kept growing and growing and growing.

"I don't get it," Malcolm said at last. "Do you-"

Ed finally snapped. "I think I know what Alexei was going to tell us!"

Silence. Nothing. No sound except for that random bird tweeting on top of a car. Malcolm was frozen. He just stared at Ed, who had begun to look nervous again. Neither of them made any sound. Ed was waiting for Malcolm to do something, anything, but he didn't. He was just too shocked.

Ed, who had said nothing even in the short time he had known Malcolm and Miriam, had just spoken. Yana had made it very clear Ed never spoke unless he really, really needed to. Malcolm just continued to stare, shocked.

Ed decided to get straight to the point. "My dad made an experiment where he tests a substance on things. I think he's trying to replicate it? But he did use the actual thing on someone, and it was the thing that killed Miriam's parents, and he might tell Miriam that. I don't know if he plans to do anything to her, but-"

"Why's he trying to replicate it?" Malcolm managed to ask.

"I don't know. But-"

"How do you even know this?"

"He told me and my brother."

"Okay, okay, okay." Malcolm's brain was about to spin out of control. "So the car crash was caused by something?" Ed nodded. "And Antonio made the thing, but... Do you know anything else?"

"No," Ed said regretfully. "Only what I told you."

Malcolm almost fell off the bench in his haste to stand up. "I'm going to get Miriam."

Ed was got up, too, ready to stop Malcolm from running back inside. They should leave it to Isaac and Alexei. Except Malcolm was way too quick and was already back inside. Ed sighed in annoyance and headed after him.

***

And now everyone is stuck in an extremely tight bind. No one is sure what to do. Isaac, Jacob, and Alexei had searched the underground lab twice as casually as they could, but they hadn't been able to find Miriam and Antonio. Unfortunately, Antonio had been alerted to their presence by a fellow scientist. He had locked the door, making sure it was sufficiently blocked. The few people in the lab did their hardest to make sure Isaac, Jacob, and Alexei didn't reach the room with the foggy big tank.

This frustrated Isaac, who promptly knocked them unconscious. Jacob was starting to get very nervous because his dad's face was getting very red and his hands were clenched in fists. He had seen Isaac explode before multiple times. Nobody got hurt, but he yelled a lot.

Now Isaac was standing face-to-face with a scientist. "Where is Antonio?" he demanded angrily.

"You cannot be here without Antonio's permission," the person said coldly. "Leave now."

"It's important!"

The person simply walked away. Isaac's eye began to twitch, and he kicked a desk. A tablet too close to the edge slipped off and shattered all over the floor. Jacob and Alexei kept their distance as Isaac stormed away.

"Stupid people!" Isaac grumbled. "So taken in by these lies. We'll be lucky to find Miriam alive!"

Jacob and Alexei winced at that. "I'm sure she's still alive!" Jacob said. "It hasn't been long enough. Right...?"

Alexei shook his head. "I wouldn't underestimate Antonio. He has done very bad things."

"I know!" Jacob sighed. "I'm just trying to get rid of the stress."

Isaac's hands began to twitch. "I wish I'd questioned Lydia and Isaiah more," he muttered angrily.

"ISAAC!"

The scream made the three of them jump. It echoed through the labs, loud enough to bounce past the doors, which were all open. They watched in alarm as Malcolm ran into the room, a scientist anxiously hovering behind him.

"You're not supposed to be here!" the scientist said.

Malcolm turned to her. "Then why did you tell me they were in here?" The scientist opened her mouth to reply, but Malcolm spun around to face Isaac, Alexei, and Jacob. His eyes were tiny balls of flame. His face was ice, and his rage rivaled Isaac's.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said. His voice was so hard it could cut through steel.

"Tell you what?" Isaac asked stupidly.

The fire in his eyes leaped ferociously. "Why didn't you tell me Miriam is in danger?"

Jacob, sensing an incoming explosion, nervously backed away to stand behind Alexei. Alexei was not happy to be used as a human shield. Isaac just looked confused.

"Who-who told you?" he said.

"Ed. Now where is Miriam?"

"We don't know. That's why we're trying to find her."

Malcolm slowly turned to the scientist. She took a step away, suddenly realizing why the 15 year old was looking at her.

"Tell us where Miriam is," Malcolm said. "Now."

The scientist shook her head and ran away. Malcolm was about to follow her, but Isaac held him back.

"There's no point," he said. "They will not tell us anything."

Malcolm angrily pushed him away. "Then how are we supposed to find her? You've already searched the entire place."

"No, we haven't," Isaac said. "We were just about to go to another section."

"Great. Where were you headed?"

Isaac pointed at a door on the left side of the room, and Malcolm headed toward it, making sure to push everything off the desks. What better way to mess with the scientists than to break their stuff?

Malcolm looked at the others. "Are you guys coming, or do I have to do this all by myself?"

"You know you just created a safety hazard with the glass, right?" Isaac said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh." Malcolm frowned at the floor. "Guess I wasn't thinking clearly."

They all just stared at him. They did get across the room, thankfully. Then they began to search the final section of the floor.

***

The fog in the tank began to clear. Miriam watched in awe as it dissolved. A loud whirring noise was filling the room. Something mist be vacuuming the fog up. It swirled as it evaporated as if it was desperately trying to get out. Miriam's awe quickly turned to horror as the fog cleared to reveal a strange creature.

It had a strange small head, with matted gray fur covering a human-like skull. It's eyes were big and black, with tiny silver slits for pupils. The hands were covered in scaly skin, but instead of fingers, there were five long, sharp claws. The feet were like wolf paws, with smaller claws coming out from the tips. It lay on it's side, staring directly at Miriam. She froze, suddenly scared.

Antonio noticed and chuckled in amusement. "Don't be scared, Miriam. She does not bite."

"What-what is that?" Miriam tried to get as far away from the tank as she could, but Antonio stood in front of the door, blocking the exit.

"The result of oscuro," Antonio said calmly. "I was desperate to its true effects, so I used just enough of it. It's always good to see the effects of what you are trying to replicate." He looked directly at Miriam. "I have decided to try to use her blood in my new test. Her cells might contain a bit of the particles in oscuro which I believe will give my formula the key it needs."

Miriam's blood seemed to turn cold. Something inside her was telling her that this strange creature's origins were more dark than she thought. She flinched as the creature suddenly rammed itself- herself- into the glass. A desperate and murderous spark had lit in it's eyes. It's mouth had opened to reveal two rows of yellow razor sharp teeth.

Antonio wasn't unfazed, just giving it a small glance. He continued to talk, despite the loud bangs of impacts on glass. "I would take all of her blood if I could; however, I cannot risk anymore oscuro to produce another model result." He looked back at Miriam. She tried to meet his gaze but something inside her told her to avoid it. She looked at the creature instead.

It paused in it's frantic actions to stare back. Miriam chose to stare at her shoes instead. Antonio let out a little chuckle.

"We have things to do, Miriam," he reminded her gently. "Now, I need a tiny portion of your blood."

Miriam didn't know what to say. "What?" she said numbly.

"Don't worry, I just want to compare your blood to hers." He nodded to the creature.

"Why would you need to do that?" The numbness of shock faded away to be replaced by hard suspicion.

"Knowing the differences will help my studies," Antonio said. "I'm sure you'll understand."

"No, I don't," Miriam said, finally meeting his eyes. "I don't understand at all. How will knowing the differences between our bloods help you know how to replicate an unnatural substance?"

Antonio was silent for a moment. "You really are your parents' daughter ," he said at last. "They were always questioning things."

"You didn't answer my question," Miriam said. Her suspicion was growing.

"And I don't need to," Antonio said. He pulled a chair out from it's place in front of a desk. "Now, sit down. We need to get this done quickly."

Miriam didn't move. Antonio waited for a couple of seconds. Still she didn't move. He frowned as he realized she wasn't going to sit down.

"Did you not hear me? I told you to sit down."

Miriam shook her head and crossed her arms. "No. I won't. Not until you answer my question."

Antonio was not used to resistance. "No-no I don't!" he sputtered out. "Ju-just sit down, and we'll get this over with!"

Miriam continued to stand still. She looked at the creature again. "I'll sit down when you answer my question and when you tell me what that thing is."

Antonio sighed. "You're really not going to sit down?"

"No," Miriam said. The word was almost lost in the sound of the creature pounding the glass again.

Antonio's face twisted into a look of menace. "Fine." His voice was cold. "Then we'll do this the hard way." He pulled open a drawer and took out a syringe. Miriam froze at the sight of it. Antonio moved closer to her, making sure to be in the way of the door. The pounding sounds grew louder and louder until they were deafening, and that's when Miriam realized Antonio had her cornered against the tank. She spun around to find the creature's eyes only inches away from hers, separated only by glass.

A needle pressed down into her skin. The prick took her focus off the creature. She turned around as Antonio removed the syringe.

"You should have sat down," he said as she began to feel dizzy. He began to drag her to the chair. Miriam tried to fight him, but he was too strong. She was pushed into the chair, but as she tried to stand up, Antonio pushed her back.

"You really should have sat down," he repeated as her mind and the world went blank.

Chapter 10:
Miriam woke up to find herself tied into a chair. She jerked up against the tight ropes around her wrists, but all she succeeded in doing was scraping her wrists. She stopped when she saw Antonio in the corner, bent over something. She tried to peek around him, but he was blocking all view of whatever he was doing. The creature in the tank was unconscious. Antonio must have sedated it.

Antonio stood up and turned around. He noticed Miriam and smiled. "Good. You're awake. You've helped me so much." He walked over to another table, revealing two vials of blood. She looked away, disgusted. Antonio picked up a small slide and carried it over to Miriam. "I found something very interesting in your blood."

"Great," Miriam said. Her voice sounded choked in her opinion. "What did you find? Blood cells?"

Antonio's smile grew wider. "No. But I need more of it."

Oh, not good. Wait- did he mean to take more of her blood? She shuddered. If he had her tied up, he must intend to take more blood than he should. She kicked her legs, but it also didn't work. Antonio became annoyed as she struggled more.

"You're not going to leave, you know," he said. "You can't."

Dread fell over Miriam. She didn't want to stay here. Why had she ever come? Was she going to die? We're her last memories going to be of that freaky looking creature? She shivered, but only because of the cold. It was pretty cold in the room.

"Why do you need all of my blood?" she asked, scared of the answer.

"I never said I need all of it," Antonio said, amused by her fear. "It won't matter anyway. You're going to die no matter what."

"Why? So I don't go around and tell people you're a psychopath?" Miriam tried to stop herself from shaking.

As her fear intensified, something crawled out from under the desk. Miriam recognized it as the shadow that usually came out of nowhere. No one could see it but her. She knew it was a hallucination by now, but it was too scary. It became more realistic by the second. Her head began to ache. She winced. The pain started to spread, enveloping her chest. She coughed, her lungs fighting against something. Antonio's smile became a grin. He was pleased to see he was right.

Something was in her throat. Miriam coughed harder, wondering what it was. The fear had intensified, and the hallucination had gotten worse. The shadow was pushing things off the desks, and the room was spinning. A thick liquid flew out of her mouth, but it's taste remained inside. It was metallic and salty. She could see red spots on her jeans. Tears filled her eyes. Blood. She was coughing up blood.

"It's killing you," Antonio said. "You'll be dead by tomorrow."

The coughing finally stopped. Miriam almost gagged on the taste of her own blood. She felt shaky, and the ache in her body felt like fire. Like something was burning her alive. She looked up at Antonio. "What do you mean?" she asked. Her voice was hoarse.

"I guess you have the right to know," Antonio said. The indifference in his voice set anger running alongside the fear in Miriam. He tilted his head to the side. "Do you really want to know what is killing you?"

Miriam glared at him. He smirked and grabbed a piece of cloth. As he approached her, she tried to shrink into the chair as if it could hide her. It didn't matter, though. All he did was wipe the blood of her mouth. He noticed her surprise and shrugged.

"Can't waste any of it."

"Any of what?" Miriam was sick of not knowing what "it" was.

"Remember the scar you showed me?" Antonio asked as he put the cloth next to the vial of Miriam's own blood.

"Duh. I've had it since I was nine!"

"She's the one who caused it," Antonio said proudly, pointing at the creature asleep in the tank. "The marks are exactly like her teeth."

Miriam wasn't surprised. She had noticed the creature had a similar shape to the shadow she hallucinated. If it had caused the car crash, it definitely was the one who had bit her. She wasn't an idiot. Any person with eyes could tell her scar was a bite mark.

"I have done many tests and research on her," Antonio continued. "I found a deadly substance stored in her teeth, a venom of sorts. I studied it, memorized it, so naturally, when I found something exactly like it in your blood, I checked immediately." He grinned at Miriam, relishing the quiver of fear passing through her body. "The venom is in your blood, killing you."

"How do you know for sure this venom is killing me?" Miriam challenged bravely even though terror urged her to be silent.

"My tests were four years ago," Antonio said. "A little while ago, I checked on the objects and found them corroding, very, very slowly."

Understanding that that could be happening to her insides was so disturbing Miriam's stomach clenched. She felt sick, but she wasn't sure if that was the venom or her fear. The desire to escape increased tenfold. She couldn't die without saying goodbye to Malcolm, Ed, and Yana.

"I think you'll appreciate it if I take all your blood now," Antonio said. "I will make sure your death was not in vain. You will help me so, so much."

Miriam wished someone would burst through the door and heroically save her. She didn't want to die by Antonio's hand. Her body was shaking now. Ed's father pulled out a pole and bag. The bag. That was where all her blood would go. She'd be sucked dry, with no life left in her.

Death was approaching, and there was nothing Miriam could do about it.

***

No matter how hard they looked, no matter how much they searched, Malcolm, Isaac, Jacob, and Alexei couldn't find Miriam or Antonio. This fact worried them greatly, but they couldn't magically summon the two to them. They were confused. They had searched every room behind every door. They had searched everything, but still they hadn't found Miriam. Had Antonio left? Had he taken Miriam out of the building and left the city? Their worry was starting to eat them alive like the corrosive chemical Malcolm spilled all over a desk. Whether or not he did that on purpose was debatable since he insisted it was an accident while Jacob said he had seen Malcolm punch it.

Isaac and Alexei decided they didn't care. The lab could burn to the ground for all they cared. Well, it could burn once they found Miriam and left. After doing another lap around the floor, they decided to go back to the elevator to discuss. Other than not knowing Miriam's location, the most important thing on their minds was the strange lack of scientists. For some reason, they had all disappeared! Malcolm and Jacob were convinced Antonio had summoned them to do culty things. Alexei and Isaac thought the work day was over since it was seven thirty.

"The work day ends at seven thirty," Alexei told the boys. "They must have gone home."

"And if these creeps' work hours are different?" Malcolm said, unwilling to consider the scientists human. "They might be making a trap to kill us!"

"Calm down, Malcolm," Alexei said. "Antonio might not know we're here."

"Of course he knows we're here! We've met and punched multiple people!"

"Maybe they think we're a bunch of weak cowards?" Jacob suggested half-heartedly.

"If they are still around, we should be quiet so they don't know where we are," Isaac pointed out, annoyed.

There was a surprise waiting for them at the elevator. The immediate assumption would be that the scientists were there. It wasn't, but they still didn't like it.

"There you are!" Yana said, relieved as the guys walked into the elevator room. "We were about to go out and find you!"

She was sitting on the floor next to Ed, who for some reason had a big bruise on his face. Yana had tied her hair back in a ponytail. They were very surprised. Way too surprised. So surprised they just stared.

"Found Miriam yet?" Yana asked. She was starting to get sick of the guys just standing there like statues.

They jumped, startled. "Uh, no," Malcolm mumbled.

"What are you doing here, Yana?" Alexei asked, his worried dad mode activated. "This place is dangerous! Go home now or-"

"Nah, I'm staying."

"What? No! It-"

But Yana was already heading past the guys, taking Ed with her. "Sorry, Dad, gotta go save my friend. I hope you understand Ed and I know where she might be."

"What?" Malcolm followed them. "Where?"

"A room," Yana said.

"You know what I mean," Malcolm said in annoyance.

"Ed didn't tell me what the room is, he just wrote down the directions," Yana said. "I mean, it's a lab, but he doesn't know what's special about it."

"Did your dad seriously tell you all this?" Malcolm asked Ed suspiciously.

Ed nodded.

They followed Yana and Ed through a door they hadn't seen before. It led to a room with only one chair. There was another door on one of the walls. Yana headed toward it.

"Be careful!" Alexei said.

Yana sighed, annoyed. "I am careful!"

Malcolm decided to be the king of impatience and opened the door himself. He stood in the doorway. The giant tank stood in the middle of the room, but it was empty. There was no one inside. Malcolm walked inside, confused. Then he noticed the desk. It was empty except for the tablet showing the rooms he had just left. He looked around, his heart sinking to the ground. Antonio must have seen them coming and left. Where was he now?

Yana and Ed walked inside. Yana eyed the room. "Where are they?"

"I think they left," Malcolm said. He was beginning to feel hopeless. It felt like they were going in circles. Were they ever going to find Miriam and save her? It didn't help that the room was cold.

A growl split the silence that had fallen over the room. The three kids stilled as the creature crept out from the behind the tank. It's eyes were burning slits, and it's mouth was open and salivating. It was very hungry, and clearly it wanted to make a meal out of Malcolm, Yana, and Ed.

"What on earth is that?" Yana shrieked.

The creature headed toward them; they backed away slowly. It's appearance frightened them. It could easily have been a human if all it's other features were removed or modified. It's claws were making scraping noises as it approached. Jacob peeked inside the room and gasped at the sight of the creature.

"What's wrong?" Isaac asked from behind him.

"Some-some monster!" Jacob squeaked.

"Wha- oh no, no, no, no!" Isaac's panicked voice grew louder with each no. "Run, kids!"

Common sense told them not to provoke the creature by running, but hey, why not? The kids ran for the exit as fast as they could. Isaac and Alexei joined them as the creature also began to run. They ran back to the elevator room. Malcolm looked over his shoulder and saw the creature was almost six feet behind them. It would catch them before the elevator would close. At least it was practicing social distancing- for now.

"Don't go in the elevator!" he called.

"I wasn't going to!" Isaac yelled back.

The door to the labs was blessedly still open, and they ran back into the labs. The creature knocked objects past as it chased them. Some broke while some just made loud clattering noises. It snarled and screamed, sending creeped out shivers down their spines.

"Why does Antonio have a monster in the basement?" Yana yelled.

"Do you have to ask things while we're running?" Malcolm reprimanded.

"Will you two just shut up?" Isaac snapped.

"Says someone who just talked!" Malcolm snapped back.

As punishment for talking back to adults, the creature caught up to Malcolm and grabbed his legs with it's clawed hand. He fell when it pulled hard on his leg. Unfortunately the floor was tile, so it really hurt when he fell on his chest. It felt everything had been bruised. Maybe it had. He turned his head around to see the creature's head bent down to the level. The claws dug into his leg. He didn't see the blood, but he could definitely feel it. The creature opened it's mouth, the knife sharp teeth ready to sink into Malcolm.

He was saved when an actual knife hit the creature on the arm. It shrieked and got off Malcolm. Malcolm quickly scurried away like a crab. Alexei pulled him up, and they continued to run. The creature was even angrier now that it was injured, and it chased after them with more determination. It thought they were with Antonio. Why else would they be here?

Speaking of Antonio, the man of the hour just happened to walk out of a door across the hall that the group had gone into. Everyone almost stopped in shock, but as they were in a chase to the death, that option was no longer available. They opted to just RUN TOWARDS HIM. Antonio, on the other hand, chose to stare at them in surprise. What is with Antonio and staring at things in surprise? He had thought the creature would kill the group very quickly. He went back into the room, ready to close the door on their faces.

Malcolm, however, possessed the unknown strength of an enraged brother. He pushed the door back open and let the others in before kicking Antonio out of the way. He shut the door just before the creature could run inside. Isaac threw a chair in front of the door, and Alexei added to the blockade. The creature pounded against the door, and it gave an ominous creak.

"You idiots!" Antonio screamed. "If it breaks in, it'll kill us all!"

Everyone else looked around the room. There was no sign of trace of Miriam. They fanned out in a circle so they could surround Antonio. He didn't seem threatened.

"Where's Miriam?" Malcolm asked.

Antonio sighed. "Is that all you will ever ask? 'Where's Miriam?' Your lives are at a much greater risk than hers."

"You're the crazy person keeping her a prisoner," Isaac said.

"But you have lives to live," Antonio said, slowly looking at every one of them. "She does not."

Malcolm looked ready to punch him in the face. He tried to, but Yana and Ed held him back. Isaac walked closer to Antonio.

"Today will be the end of your experiments," he said. "We have proof now. The police will take care of you once we call them."

"Oh?" Antonio laughed. "How will you call the police if you're in the stomach of a creature?"

As he said that, the door broke. The chairs were either pushed out of the way or crushed. The creature crept over the door, growling. Antonio took the opportunity to push his way out of the circle and run through a door. The others snapped out of their surprise and tried to follow. Antonio slammed the door in their faces and locked it. That door was their only exit out of the room. The creature blocked the other way. It could see they were trapped and grinned.

They were trying to save Miriam, but it looked like they were going to need saving themselves.

Chapter 11:
In the past...

Rain fell from the sky, pooling in puddles on the cement. Two people walked down the sidewalk, holding black umbrellas over their heads. Two children were running ahead, gleefully splashing the puddles. They were getting soaked, but they didn't care. It was just so fun. The water was cold but satisfying, and they tried to splash each other with it. One of the adults smiled, but the other didn't. He turned to his companion, scowling deeply.

"Why would you do this to her?" He motioned towards one of the kids, a girl. "She never did anything."

"It's for the greater good!" the other person, a woman, replied. "She'll help the world."

The man pinched his nose and sighed a deep sigh. "I have told you many, many times. What you're doing is wrong. Why do you not understand that?"

"Maybe you're the one who doesn't understand," the woman said sharply. "This will fix the world's problems!"

The man lowered his eyes in defeat. "I guess nothing I say will convince you." He hurried toward the children. "If I have to take your daughter away from you, I will!" he called over his shoulder.

The woman's eyes widened. "You wouldn't!"

"You may be willing to lose her, but I would do anything to protect her," the man said.

The woman didn't reply to that. The man crouched down next to the children. They looked at him expectantly.

"It's time to go home," he said, careful to not sound angry. "Do you want to get a burger?"

The children nodded excitedly. The man stood back up and led them back to the woman. She wordlessly followed them back to the man's house. The rain continued to fall, a prelude of the storms to come.

***

In the present...

Every bone and muscle in Miriam's body was burning. Her head was heavy, and it hurt to breathe. She wanted to sleep so, so badly, but fear kept her awake. She was scared that if she did fall asleep she'd die. She was still tied in a chair. The ropes were so tight they felt like they were cutting into her skin. It was very uncomfortable, and it was only made worse by her hunger. She hadn't eaten since lunch. When had that been? She couldn't remember...

She wondered what her friends were doing. Antonio had seen them on the cameras and had taken her to another room. Were they close? Were they going to find her? It frustrated her, knowing that they were so close but so far.

Loud bangs and the shriek of metal were coming into the room. She was close to them. They were probably across the hall, if the sounds were coming from them.

Her stomach cramped. She shook her head, trying to ignore her pain, but it just made her feel nauseous. She didn't understand why everything was hurting so badly now. Then she remembered the several times her body had hurt for no reason and realized it must have been because of the venom inside her. If it was venom. Maybe Antonio had lied to her and just simply poisoned her. But if that was the case, why did he want her blood?

She jumped as Antonio barged into the room. He had a look of pleased triumph, and Miriam got the unsettling feeling that it had to do with her friends.

"Now we can go back to business," Antonio said. "No more distractions."

Despair took hold. It was like it was crushing Miriam, breaking her bones and ripping her muscles. Her friends must be dead if Antonio was that happy. She stared numbly at the ground as Antonio began to set up the equipment that would drain Miriam of her blood. Of her life. Her body began to shake in fear of what was to come.

Antonio wanted it to go as smoothly as possible, so he didn't like the shaking. "Don't be scared," he said, managing to sound both gentle and menacing. "It won't hurt at all."

That didn't help Miriam calm down. All the while she noticed the shadows looming out of the ground. They were becoming more and more detailed, strengthened by Miriam's fear. "It's not real," she whispered to herself. "It's not real, it's not real..."

Antonio finished his work and took it over to Miriam. Her shaking grew worse, and her stomach clenched harder than ever. Vomit rose in her throat, and she threw up. Blood mixed with it. Antonio blinked, unfazed, and cleaned it up. He kept it, as it had Miriam's blood in it. Miriam felt more weak than she ever had before. Now she wished she were asleep, so she didn't have to watch her life drain out of her.

***

Malcolm watched in terror as the creature slowly crept towards him, Yana, Ed, Jacob, Isaac, and Alexei. It knew they were trapped, knew they had nowhere else to go. But it was wrong. They did have somewhere to go. And that somewhere was the creature's stomach.

"We-we're not with him!" Isaac cried. His knees were shaking, and sweat covered his forehead.

The creature snarled to express that it didn't believe him. Isaac backed away into the wall. Malcolm desperately looked around, wondering how they would get out of this. The doors were of no option, as one was locked and the other blocked by the creature. Their only chance was to show the creature they meant it no harm, but how would they do that? Alexei literally threw a knife at it!

The creature crouched, ready to pounce. The group huddled closer together, prepared to die. Then Jacob did something that was incredibly stupid. He took his baseball bat and threw it at the creature with all the strength he could muster. It hit the creature on the head, and it screamed in pain. It's eyes glared harder, and it began to run at them, enraged.

"WHY ON EARTH DID YOU THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA?" Malcolm screamed.

Jacob shrugged. Before the creature could rip them apart, a gunshot sounded. A bullet pierced into the creature's torso. Blood, a darker red than a human's, dripped out. The group's jaws dropped in shock as they looked at the gun Isaac had produced.

"Why did you not pull that out sooner?" Jacob asked his dad.

"I was hoping to reason with it instead of hurting it," Isaac said. "It would have been more beneficial." He cocked the gun and shot the creature's foot. It shrieked and clutched it's foot.

The opportunity to run was now. They ran past it. The creature shrank away from them, scared like an animal. Or a poor, fearful child. Malcolm wondered if Isaac and Alexei were leading them somewhere. They still didn't know where Miriam was. They stopped after a bit to catch their bit. Isaac looked guilty as he put his gun away.

"I wish I didn't have to do that," he said shamefully.

They were all exhausted from the running from now and earlier. Ed sank into a chair he wasn't used to running. Everyone was panting. Malcolm twitched impatiently. They should get searching again soon.

When they all caught their breath, Malcolm addressed Isaac and Alexei.

"Do you have any idea where Antonio could have taken Miriam?" he asked.

Alexei tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Normal employees are not allowed down here. There are places we do not know about."

Malcolm angrily began to pace. Not knowing anything frustrated him greatly. He hated not knowing the solution. It unsettled him. Miriam was probably terrified, and thinking about that made him want to punch a wall.

They walked around the building for what seemed like forever. Their search was unsuccessful again. Hopelessness began to drift down on all of them. A dark cloud surrounded them. It seemed like they wouldn't find Miriam at all. Malcolm couldn't bear finding another empty room. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, breathing hard. Moisture was gathering in his eyes. He knew he was about to cry. He rubbed them, desperately trying to fight the lack of hope overwhelming him.

And then a sound came from nearby. A sound that sent chills down all their spines but brought relief, too.

Malcolm ran towards it. It was coming from down the hall. The scream came again, along with yells that sounded suspiciously like Antonio. Malcolm located the door and threw it open. His relief was mixed with horror. Miriam was tied to a chair. Antonio was pointing a knife at the creature, which had knocked down the door and was creeping towards them.

Malcolm rushed over to his sister. Miriam saw him, and tears of happiness filled her eyes. Malcolm found the ties and pulled them apart. They fell away. They had been tightly wrapped around her, and her wrists were red. Malcolm helped Miriam stand up. She wobbled a bit, clearly very dizzy. She was very pale. Malcolm hugged her tightly. She winced in pain.

Antonio pushed Malcolm away and grabbed Miriam. Infuriated, he kicked him in the place you shouldn't kick a guy in. Antonio let go of Miriam and backed away in pain. Malcolm helped Miriam run out of the room. The others were waiting outside. They, too, began to run. They had to get as far away from the creature as possible.

The creature decided that life must not be easy for them. Besides, it had to finish what it started with Miriam. It started to chase after them. Antonio didn't want to lose his greatest chance of recreating the oscuro, so he ran after them, too. Unfortunately for the group, Miriam couldn't completely run. Isaac opened a closet and ushered everyone inside. He managed to close it before the creature or Antonio caught up.

"I thought you had died!" Miriam said, hugging Malcolm.

"Shhh," Malcolm said. "They might be outside!"

Silence fell in the closet, which contained a bunch of brooms. They held their breaths, hoping nothing would happen.

And then Miriam started coughing.

Chapter 12:
In the past...

A girl sat on the edge of a couch, watching a man play the piano in fascination. Soft music echoed around the room as he delicately touched the keys. The pedal lapsed the notes together, creating a smooth, constant sound that enchanted the girl. The man spared a bit of his concentration to give the girl a warm look. Her happiness made him smile. It would have been clear to everyone that he loved the girl, but not as a daughter. He didn't need to love her that way. She was his niece, and that was enough. But at the same time he wished his son were here, listening to him. The poor boy refused to come out of his room, no matter how hard the man tried to get him out.

His son wasn't the only one sad. The man was sad, too. His wife had divorced him, leaving him to take care of their seven year old son. They were coming to terms with this in their own ways.

The man would have crumbled under his stress if his son hadn't needed him to be strong. His wife leaving had been bad enough, but his brother and his wife were doing some pretty crazy things. He looked at the girl again. She was now playing with a pillow. He stopped playing. The girl looked up.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked in disappointment.

"I have things to do," the man said in reply. "It's almost dinner time. Would you like to help me and your cousin?"

The girl wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "No. He pinches me."

The man got up to get his son. Then he remembered something.

"Your parents are coming to pick you up after dinner," he said. "You should pack."

"Okay," the girl said cheerfully before running off.

That was the last time she would stay there for a day. The day after that, the big argument happened. After that, everything went downhill, to this moment in the little broom closet...

***

In the present...

Miriam's throat burned. The metallic taste of blood grew even stronger. Her lungs heaved, trying to dispel the death taking its hold. She put a hand on a wall. Water. She needed water. Bit there was no water.

All her friends hovered around her, concerned. She was coughing very loudly. The creature or Antonio might hear her and come for them. Miriam regretted wearing a white shirt. It would stain, and she'd have to throw it away. A cold plastic bottle was suddenly in her hand.

"Drink it," said Isaac, who apparently had more things in his seemingly unending pockets.

Miriam was shaking very, very badly. Malcolm opened it for her, and she managed to bring it up to her mouth. The water refreshed her, and it helped the dryness in her throat. It was too dark to see her friends, but she was thankful anyway.

"Thank-"

The door slammed open, almost hitting Yana. She yelped and jumped away just in time. Light poured in. Antonio stood in the doorway. He smiled at the sight of them.

"Running is a waste of your energy," he said. "Come on, Miriam. We have work to do."

Miriam glared at him. He laughed at her obvious hatred. Isaac pulled out his gun. Antonio rolled out his eyes and took out his own gun. They pointed it at each other, ready to shoot first. Then Antonio did the unexpected. He swiveled around and fired the gun at Miriam. Her shoulder burst with pain. She shrieked and grabbed it in agony. Antonio moved quickly and pushed Malcolm aside to grab her. He held the gun to her head. It was cold. So, very, very cold. The dizziness began again, and shadows with bloody teeth began to swarm around everyone.

"Move an inch, and Miriam dies," Antonio said.

Isaac tried to aim his gun, but Antonio pressed the gun closer and glared at Isaac as a warning. Isaac reluctantly dropped the gun. Antonio began to slowly back towards the door, keeping an eye on everyone else. He had a tight grip on Miriam's throat, keeping her from struggling. Not that it mattered. Miriam was too weak to fight.

Soon Antonio had made it past the door. He gave the group a last mocking wave before shutting the door... and locking it. Antonio was not stupid. The creature was still around, searching for the humans, so he ran to his destination. Miriam was painfully dragged along with him. Her muscles were starting to feel very heavy. She tried to pull Antonio's fingers off her throat, but he was too strong for her at the moment.

They were back in the previous room, where Malcolm and the others had found her. Antonio, still holding her, picked up a a shirt and pants she hadn't noticed before.

"Your clothes are covered in blood," he said. "You're going to change into these. Like I said before, I can't waste a single drop of your blood."

"Then why'd you shoot me?" Miriam managed to choke out.

"If any blood dropped, I'll simply clean it up," Antonio said. "Now don't try to run away. It would be a waste of energy, and the door is locked."

"Do I look like I can run away?" Miriam said angrily.

Antonio let her go and handed her the clothes. "Change. Now. I won't waste any more time," he said as he turned away.

The shirt was a dull pink with dots, and the pants were black and tight. When she was done, Miriam wondered where Antonio got the clothes. It seemed weird he'd have them just lying weird. She glanced at him. He was still looking away.

"I'm done?" she said, accidently making it seem like a question.

Antonio pointed at the chair. He didn't say anything, but she sat down anyway. The gun was on the table next to him. He would be able to grab it easily. Miriam trembled as he took the bag and needle out. She hoped Malcolm and the others would break out of the closet quickly. It wouldn't be long before she'd be dead. No, she couldn't think about that. She looked away as Antonio stuck the thing that would suck her blood out in her arm. Compared to the aches and pains taking hold of the rest of her body, it was nothing.

"Look at the bag, Miriam," Antonio said, pushing her head to face the equipment. "I want you to watch it."

Miriam hated seeing her blood. She held back vomit as she stared at the bag. The shadows crowded around it. For once, Miriam didn't fear them. The real monster was in front of her, making her watch her life drain into a bag.

Her friends would have to hurry up.

***

Malcolm punched the door. Isaac hit it with his gun. Alexei, Ed, and Jacob kicked. But it was no use. They were back to being in a hopeless situation. They pounded and pounded and pounded, making such a racket that nobody heard Yana trying to get their attention. They were panicking. Malcolm's knuckles ached and were about to start bleeding.

"Come on, come on," he muttered. "Open!"

"GUYS! WILL YOU STOP BEATING UP A DOOR AND LISTEN TO ME?" Yana suddenly screamed.

They stopped their desperate killing a door to stare at her in confusion.

"What you're doing isn't going to work," Yana said in exasperation.

"Do you have a better idea?" Malcolm crossed his arms.

"I do, actually," Yana said proudly. "We pick the lock with this." She held UP a hairpin she'd been wearing.

Everyone stared at it in silence for exactly ten seconds. "That's illegal," Jacob said. "Right?"

"This is a life or death situation, Jacob," Yana said scoldingly. "This is our best chance." She went to the keyhole and began to rummage around.

"I don't think any of us know how to lockpick, Yana," Malcolm pointed out discourignly.

"If we mess around with it enough, we might be able to open it," Yana said. "And don't you dare say that it's a waste of time. It's our only chance, and kicking the door didn't help much, either!"

Malcolm had been about to say that, so he just shut his mouth up.

Several minutes past as Yana twisted the hairpin around. It wasn't working. Everyone was disappointed and hopeless, like they usually are when something doesn't work out. Yana continued anyway because she was right; it was their only hope.

Then the wall broke. Apparently the walls are just that weak. Everyone rejoiced. They were free! Until the smoke cleared and the creature dramatically stepped out. Everyone screamed. They were not free.

Isaac, the only one with sense but was still stupid, prepared to shoot the creature in the head. But it didn't matter. The creature could see that Antonio and Miriam were not among them, so it left, leaving them alone. Why had it been there? It had smelled Miriam's blood and investigated.

The group took their chance. They hurried out of the closet, trying not to attract the creature's attention. They decided to go back to the room Antonio and Miriam were currently in to see if they were there. The creature was sniffing around, so they took their chances and ran away.

When they came to the room, the door was locked. Malcolm angrily kicked it, hoping it was a weak door. A growl sounded from behind the group, and they turned around to see the creature standing behind them. It walked towards the door, and the humans quickly got out of it's path. The creature paused for a moment, making sure Miriam and Antonio were in there by their scents. It lifted it's arms and bashed the door with all it's strength. The door creaked loudly. It hit it again, and it became loose. Then the creature took the bottom if door and pulled with all it's might. The door was ripped off it's hinges, shrieking loudly. It crashed to the ground, inches away from the group. The creature was ready to go inside. The group watched as a bullet hit the creature near the chest. It screamed, but instead of backing away it lunged forward. Malcolm abandoned all common sense and ran inside. Miriam was wobbling to the door. Antonio was pinned under the creature. As Malcolm helped Miriam, the creature became confused. Were the other people friends with Miriam? It growled in annoyance and began to chase after them. Malcolm glanced back just in time to see the creature head to them.

"Sorry, Miriam, but you're going to have to run faster!" he said apologetically.

They ran in the direction the group had come. The others tried to follow them, but Antonio blocked their way. He was no longer smiling; he was scowling. Miriam and Malcolm had already gone around the corner along with the creature.

Antonio held a remote control. "Say hello to Lydia and Isaiah for me," he said as he pressed the button.

The lights turned off, leaving them vulnerable. Isaac didn't want to risk shooting at random. Antonio, on the other hand, was more than happy to. They braced themselves, hoping Miriam and Malcolm would outrun the creature.

Chapter 13:
In front of Isaac's house, a silver car parked in the front. It would have shone in the sunlight had it not been so cloudy. Inside were a woman and a girl. The woman turned around in her seat to smile at the girl.

"Are you excited?" she asked. "Nervous? Both?"

"I'm... not sure," the girl said, brows furrowed as she thought. "I guess... both? And maybe a little bit worried?"

The woman laughed. "Well, there's no need to be worried. Miriam is a nice girl. I'm sure you'll get along."

"I hope so," the girl said, but she still looked anxious.

The woman stopped the car. "I'll go ring the doorbell while you get your things." She noticed the girl biting her lip. "Hey, calm down. They're nice people. They won't treat you badly."

"I know," the girl sighed. "But what if Miriam hates me? What if she wants nothing to do with me?"

"I'm sure that won't happen, sweetie," the woman said. "But we better hurry. It's not good to keep them waiting. And if you get too nervous, just pet Bun-Bun."

The girl's nervous look faded as she looked at her pet bunny. A very fluffy white and brown bunny. The woman smiled at this.

They got out of the car. The girl waited by the trunk while the woman walked up to the door. She rang the doorbell and waited. The woman was known to be very patient unlike her daughter, Yana. Her name was Victoria, and she had been friends with Isaac for a long time. Time passed. She ran the doorbell again in case Isaac, Jacob, Malcolm, or Miriam hadn't heard. Nobody came to get it. Victoria frowned, giving the windows a strange look. The lights were on. She looked at the girl. The girl was starting to look nervous again. Victoria pulled out her phone to discover a very important text from her husband. She read it quickly, and her mouth dropped open in shock. She quickly walked back to the car and opened the driver's door. The girl watched in surprise.

"Are they not there?" she asked, feeling kind of hurt.

"They're in danger," Victoria said grimly. "Get in the car. We have to go now."

"In danger?" The girl was alarmed. "What kind of danger?"

"We don't have time to discuss this," Victoria snapped. "Get in the car."

The girl did, and Victoria pulled away from the house and drove towards the labs, hoping the group would still be alive when they got there.

***

Antonio had clearly lost his mind. He was greatly outnumbered by Isaac, Jacob, Alexei, Ed, and Yana. Add the fact that Isaac had a gun made Antonio seem even more crazy. He seemed to think he could kill them all.

He held his gun pointed at Isaac. Isaac had his gun pointed at him.

"You will all pay for getting in my way," Antonio said.

"Oh? How much?" Isaac replied sassily.

Antonio made a growl that didn't sound human. The lights were still off. They were merely assuming where Antonio was. He moved behind Isaac, keeping the gun pointed at his neck.

"You came here for nothing," Antonio said. "Miriam was always going to die. In fact, her suffering today would have been spared if you, Isaac, had done what Lydia and Isaiah wanted."

Isaac scoffed. "I had already planned on taking Miriam away from them before they could give her to you. I would never have doomed her to those awful experiments."

"Wait, what?" Jacob, Ed, and Yana said in unison.

"Antonio made a rule for all his most important scientists to experiment on their oldest child when or if they were ten years old," Isaac said. "If Miriam hadn't disappeared in that car crash, she'd have been experimented on the next year."

"She's very valuable now," Antonio said. "She may be the key to all my failed attempts. You will not be getting her back, and you will have to live the rest of your lives without her."

"We will not let you kill her," Isaac said, turning around. Antonio had forgotten Isaac would be able to tell he was behind him from his voice. Due to the darkness, Antonio couldn't see Isaac turn around.

Isaac didn't want to kill anyone, so he aimed hoping the bullet wouldn't pierce a vital organ. He pulled the trigger, wincing at the loud noise. The bullet plunged into Antonio's flesh, cutting into it and sending pain through his nerves. Antonio screamed.

Yana had been searching around the wall for the light switch. She felt a bump on the wall and could feel the light switch. She pulled up. The lights were blinding after a few minutes in pitch black darkness. Antonio lay crumpled on the ground, holding his gut. He glared at Isaac with as much hatred as he could muster.

"How dare you shoot me?" he angrily muttered.

Isaac was relieved. Killing someone, even if that someone was a deranged madman, would have scarred him for life.

"Does anyone have their phone?" he asked. "We should call the police now."

"What about that monster?" Alexei asked.

"Oh," Isaac said. "Oh. OH!"

"Miriam and Malcolm are still being chased by it," Jacob pointed out fearfully.

Everyone turned to face the hall worriedly. Except Yana. She picked up Antonio's abandoned gun, lying uselessly on the floor. He watched in dismay as his only weapon was taken away from him. Yana gave him a smug smirk and poked him with her shoe. She kept a careful eye on him in case he decided to run off.

"We have two guns now," Yana told the others. "The creature can't take two guns at once."

Confident now that they had double the weapons, the group walked down the hall. They decided Antonio didn't matter anymore. He was no longer incredibly dangerous. He was still dangerous, but they'd be safer with slowing down the creature. It was the most dangerous thing in the building aside from certain chemicals.

Antonio managed to stand up. The bullet hadn't hit any major organs, but his hand was still covered in blood. The group had left, leaving him alone. Antonio put a hand on the wall and walked slowly. He decided this was an emergency (in his opinion), and that it was time to use his precious substance. Who to use it on though...

The choice was hard. He wanted to punish them all. They all knew too much now. But he could use it all. Such a hard choice. He'd think about it. He had plenty of time since the creature was so fixated on Miriam.

They were all distracted. There had never been more perfect an opportunity. No one would leave this building. No one.

Chapter 14:
Of all the children "donated" to Antonio's experiment, Claudia was probably the most unlucky. All the other kids died from the chemicals and formulas tested on them. You could say that was worse than what Claudia went through, but in her mind that wasn't true.

Antonio had become frustrated. How could none of his experiments work? He decided that an example would help create the desired results.

Claudia had been the unfortunate child to be chosen. She had no idea she was being tested on. They had lied to her, the scientists and her parents. She had never experienced such intense fear since that day. Feeling her body shape into something... unreal was terrifying. She had been convinced she was going to die when the feeling first started. But she had lived!

The scientists had kept her in a tank, trapped and helpless. Antonio had tortured her ruthlessly to crush her sanity and make her less human. He had thought he succeeded when she killed Lydia and Isaiah. She had escaped her prison, yes, but she now despised the scientists and wanted revenge. Lydia and Isaiah had been the most prominent scientists around her, other than Antonio.

Their daughter would not have been spared. But she was still alive, which meant a little bit of her parents remained. Claudia would make sure nothing remained of them before she went after Antonio and his family.

***

Miriam and Malcolm had gone a very long way even with Miriam weakened by the venom. There was no sign of them anywhere, which meant they must have run very far. Unfortunately, this made things harder for their friends, who were trying to find them. Miriam and Malcolm had no weapons, but the others had two guns now. Isaac had his, and Yana had given the other one to her dad. Jacob was without his baseball bat, but he took off his shoes as if they were a good enough weapon against a creature capable of tearing doors apart.

Everything was too quiet. There was no movement anywhere, no sign of anyone's presence. It was concerning. It would be scary if someone ran out of nowhere, but they hoped Miriam and Malcolm would. At this point, though, they were ready to give up. They had spent so long trying to find people. That was all they were doing. They wanted to save Miriam and Malcolm, yes, but the constant looking was getting tiring.

"Maybe we should stop," Yana suggested. Her legs were aching, and she hated it.

Isaac's eyebrows flew up in horror. "And abandon Miriam and Malcolm? No way!" he said, shaking his head.

"Have we found them yet? No," Yana pointed out. "We should try to get help, or shut this place down."

"We could look for the security room," Jacob offered.

Yana rubbed her forehead, irritated. "Why have we not been doing that this entire time?" she sighed.

"Because we're dumb?" Jacob said.

Isaac and Alexei were greatly offended. "We were doing what we thought was best," Isaac said. He didn't want to admit the kids were right. "We'll have to search for the camera room anyway."

"Not if we make Antonio tell us where it is!" Yana said smugly, smirking. She went back towards where they had left, Ed hurriedly going after her. Jacob made sure the adults would follow.

"And if this doesn't work?" Isaac asked, disapproving.

"It will," Yana said confidently.

She didn't bother explaining why she was so certain. Obviously there were cameras everywhere to keep an eye on experiments and test subjects, but they were hidden so that nobody saw them. Though you would assume someone like Antonio would have a strict security. He's a bit of a paranoid man.

Antonio was gone when they got back to the wreckage that was once Miriam's prison. Yana stared at the empty hall, fighting back all the exclamations rising inside.

Isaac did not have that self control.

"That little coward!" he snapped, glaring at the spot of Antonio's blood on the floor. "He just can't let us have ANY sort of chance? UGH! I HATE THAT SON OF A-"

"HEY LOOK, GUYS, THERE'S A TRAIL!" Jacob practically shrieked.

Antonio had forgotten to take into account the fact that he was injured, and there were small blood dots on the floor, leading away into the hall. They stood out on the white tile, and the group followed it, feeling like they would bring everyone out alive.

They found the evil scientist limping across a corner. Isaac ran forward and kicked Antonio over. He hit the ground and sucked in a breath as his wounded side hit the floor. He looked up, ready to fight, but then saw that he was outnumbered. He squirmed fearfully.

"Tell us where the security room is," Isaac said as everyone formed a threatening circle around Antonio. He flinched, covering his wound with his hand.

"It's in the middle of the floor," he muttered reluctantly upon realizing he had no other options. "It's just behind my main lab."

Isaac looked at the others. Alexei nodded and headed in the direction the room with the big tank was. Isaac walked backwards, keeping an eye on Antonio. When he backed behind the corner, they all started to run. Now that they knew where the computer room is, time was pressing on them. They had refused to think about it before, but there was no ignoring it now.

The security room was empty. Whoever had been inside must have left like the rest of the scientists. The screens were still on. Ed was the first to move, looking around quickly. Not every area was shown, and he had to experiment with the buttons to perform an effective search.

"I see them!" Yana said abruptly, pointing at the top left camera.

They crowded around it eagerly, straining for a view. On the screen, Miriam and Malcolm were running as fast as they could; the creature was right behind them, slowly gaining ground. They quickly passed through the area, which was just a blank hallway. Nothing gave any indication of where they had been.

"They're too far away," Alexei noted, eyeing the other screens.

Isaac chewed his lip. He didn't want to agree with that statement, but Alexei was right. They had no idea where that place was, and searching for it would take up valuable time. The creature was very fast; catching up to them in time would be impossible. Even if they did figure it out in time, Miriam and Malcolm would be too far away for them to do anything.

"So what are we going to do?" Jacob asked meekly.

Nobody replied. They didn't have a clue what they were going to do. Getting everyone out alive seemed to be impossible. There was nothing they could. Nothing to stop Antonio from leaving and locking them in.

Ed, though, was willing to take a very great risk. He had no idea whether it would work or not, but it was the best hope they had. It would distract Antonio, and hopefully the creature.

The button was marked with a piece of tape. It's purpose was written on it. Ed pressed it without hesitation. It was their best hope at escaping. Hopefully Miriam and Malcolm would think to get to the elevator, too. They didn't have phones, so there was no way of contacting them.

Isaac, Alexei, Jacob, and Yana jumped as the alarms began to blare. The sound shrieked and hurt their ears.

"Who started that?" Yana said angrily.

Ed hurried to the door and gestured for the others to follow. They stared at him, confused. Ed's patience snapped for the second time that day. He'd have to speak.

"Are we going to go to the elevator or not?" he asked.

The question startled them even more, but they left anyway. They started to get suspicious and assumed Ed was the one who triggered the alarm. The alarms continued to scream at everyone. It would startle everyone else and convince some to leave. There was a chance the creature was sensitive to loud noises.

They all tried to ignore the worry eating at their brains. If Miriam and Malcolm didn't make it to the elevator, they would surely die. Unless they were already dead. They had no idea anymore.

By now, it was probably way too late.

Chapter 15:
The elevator room was empty. A bad sign. The group stared at the silent space, dread freezing their bones. They couldn't move. They didn't want to. Sense told them to leave, to get as far away from the place as possible, but they refused to listen. They still believed that, somehow, Miriam and Malcolm would come, unharmed. Then they could continue with their lives and be happy.

But they didn't know that Miriam was dying. It had always been slowly killing her. They didn't know that, and they were hoping for too much because of that.

Waiting was pointless. So Isaac decided to search for his niece by himself, without anyone else at risk.

"You guys can go," he said, turning to the door. He took out his gun again.

"What?" Jacob's eyes widened as he watched his father. "What about you? And where are you going?"

"Just go and get help," Isaac said, pulling the door. "Don't worry about me."

The others were about to protest. However, the doorknob stayed put. Isaac frowned and pulled harder. Still it didn't work. The door was locked. Isaac was baffled. It wasn't locked a second ago.

"Fine." Isaac turned back to face the others. "I guess we do have to leave."

Outside the door, Antonio limped away, chuckling darkly as he spun the keys in his hand.

***

Miriam's legs were beginning to ache from all the running. Malcolm made sure she kept up with him. He didn't need to. Miriam was putting all her strength into running. She could hear the creature's heavy breathing. It must be getting tired, too. It had a lot of stamina, though, and was keeping up with them easily. It was messing with them. It could catch them with ease, but it chose to watch them wear out. Miriam's breathing was very heavy. She may have loved to run everyday, but her strength and energy were being sapped by the danger in her blood.

They tried to shake the creature off by constantly changing their path. The erratic patterns drained Miriam's energy even more, but she knew it was their greatest strategy. Throughout the entire time, Malcolm kept checking to see if Miriam was catching up. Sometimes she fell behind. Occasionally the creature would growl at them. This only made them run faster.

They were aware the others were not there. They didn't mind. The others were safer by themselves than with a giant starving monster. Besides, there were enough of them to deal with Antonio.

Malcolm chose to go through a heavy metal door in the hopes it would shut in the creature's face. After pushing it open, the two ran inside, desperately hoping to hear it shut. Instead, they heard something push it open again, and the horrible sound of claws against metal broke the silence. Miriam looked down and saw that they were on a metal bridge with no rails. Below them was dusty concrete. The lights were on. Miriam felt dizzy as she looked down at the concrete. They were so high up...

The creature caught up to them and knocked Malcolm out of the way. It wanted to kill Miriam first. It turned it's head to face her, eyes focused on her throat. Miriam was panting hard. Her body was aching more than ever. All the running had left her weaker, more vulnerable, to the venom inside her. It was taking the opportunity wonderfully. Her heart was like a stone, and it was like she couldn't support her body anymore. Her vision clouded at times.

Miriam knew, suddenly, with certainty that she was going to die very, very soon.

It scared her. She didn't want to go so soon. Then she looked at Malcolm. The creature would kill him after it killed her. So Miriam made up her mind. She put all her remaining energy into crawling towards the edge of the bridge. The creature was preparing to pounce. Miriam purposefully placed herself on the very edge. One wrong move and she'd fall. The creature leaped.

The force knocked Miriam backwards. The creature, though, hadn't been paying attention to it's surroundings. It had put too much force into it's jump. The force carried it over the edge with Miriam. It shrieked as they fell towards concrete. Very, very hard concrete.

Miriam didn't try to struggle. The creature had sunk it's claws into her leg, but she wasn't scared. She had been about to die anyway. Malcolm would be safe with the creature dead.

The ground grew closer with terrifying speed. The creature was shrieking in terror. Miriam gripped onto it. It's fur was surprisingly soft. A horrible cracking sound echoed as they hit the floor. Terrible pain spread through Miriam's body. Her spine...

She turned her head to see blood pour out from under her body. The creature had sliced her side. It lay motionless beside her. Everything was growing hazy. She couldn't feel anything as numbness spread throughout her muscles. She was so, so dizzy. Was that Malcolm she could see above her? Taking one last deep breath, trying her best to think of everyone she loved at once, Miriam closed her eyes.

And then her final sleep took its hold.

Chapter 16:
Malcolm's head ached as he sat up. He remembered getting knocked away by the creature while running from it with Miriam. He shakily stood up and winced. He must have hit his head really hard. He looked around. He was still on the metal bridge, but Miriam and the creature were nowhere to be found.

"Miriam?" he called anxiously, hoping the creature hadn't killed her and taken her away to eat her. No, no, no, of course it didn't. It would have killed him, too, and he was perfectly fine.

He headed towards the door at the other end of the bridge, noting that it was closed. He pushed the handle; it didn't budge. It was locked. So Miriam and the creature must have not gone that way. He headed to the other door. Having a bridge without railings was really dangerous. That was just asking for someone to fall.

Malcolm looked down at the ground way below the bridge for a second out of curiosity to see how far down it was. He stopped walking. Everything went still.

Lying on the ground, surrounded by blood, was Miriam. Next to her was the creature, with a huge scrap over one side of it's head. That was bleeding, too.

"Miriam?" Malcolm called down, his voice trembling.

She didn't move. A knife sank into Malcolm's heart. The reality was coming too fast.

He stared at the ground, at the shells of two beings that had been alive not too long ago. He collapsed to the ground, denial still in control.

After all that had happened, why did it have to end like this?

Tears began to pour down his face. His sobs echoed around the room. He was so lost in his grief he didn't notice the footsteps or the figure of a person. He didn't notice the swing of a bat. There was brief bit of pain, then he fell over, unconscious.

"That was easy," Antonio said. He squinted around the room suspiciously. "A bit too easy." Then he looked down. He bit his lip, fighting back annoyance. "Great. Now I'll have to wash the floor." He took a key out of his pocket and slid it into the locked door.

It led to a room. Inside was a box. Antonio dragged Malcolm inside and set Jacob's baseball bat on a counter. He tied Malcolm up with some ropes he got, shifting uncomfortable because of the pain of his bullet wound. Once he was done, he opened another door and went down the stairs it revealed. The stairs led to floor under the bridge.

Antonio walked over to Miriam and the creature. He shoved the creature away from Miriam, a bit angry it had spilled blood from her. He picked up Miriam's body. The blood was not completely dry now. He'd have to wipe it up quickly. The weight made his wound hurt, but he pushed it way.

Malcolm was still knocked out and would be for some time. Enough time for Antonio to begin his work. Their friends were stuck inside the labs, thanks to whatever idiot caused the emergency lock down. They must have been hoping it would distract him. As if he was that stupid. He knew very well nobody was in the security room. Only one of those fools would have triggered the alarm. He may not be able to access the power, but he could still work.

He would succeed, and then his plan would be pit in motion. Those idiots would pay no matter what.

They would never be able stop him.

Chapter 17:
Silence had taken over a street on the far edge of the city. Nobody ever really drove there, as there was nothing of interest. That part of the forest held no interest at night. Only in the day, when the lake shimmered in the sunlight as a joyful sight to behold. If anyone lived on that road, they would have been amazed to see the red car running down the road.

There was a couple inside the car. In the backseat was their nine year old daughter. The drive's purpose was to let her see the stars in the forest before... well, they don't tell people that. The girl was struggling to stay awake because she had had a long day at school. Still, she stared at the trees in awe, even though she'd seen them plenty of times. She was holding a stuffed bunny. It would be torn apart and scorched, but that wouldn't stop her from keeping it.

A shadow was following the car, managing to keep it in its sight. The car was moving slowly, to elongate the ride. It was easy to follow them. The people in the car were not aware of the thing stalking them. It was smart enough to stay out of sight, in the darkness where it would not be seen.

Before they knew it, the thing had leaped onto the car. They had drive around wildly, trying to shake it off, but it held on with it's claws. It was intelligent, and it tore apart the engine. As the car screeched to a halt, almost tumbling onto it's side, the thing had killed the couple. The girl had tried to cower behind her stuffed bunny, but it was tossed out of the way. The girl had fainted, aware only that her parents were dead.

The couple had another child, but she had gone three years before it. She was two years younger than her sister, and they were convinced she had died. The older girl barely remembered her as she had disappeared when she was just a baby.

That girl's name is Amethyst, and at the moment she was following Victoria through the labs to the elevator. She still had her pet bunny. Victoria didn't seem to notice it and continued anyway. Amethyst hadn't asked any questions, but she was starting to get very confused.

"Uh, where are we going?" she asked quietly and nervously.

Victoria pressed a button on the elevator. She didn't answer Amethyst's question. The girl didn't mind. Victoria seemed very worried about something and was clearly focused on that. The elevator opened with a ding, and they stepped inside. Bun-Bun squeaked, his nose twitching fast. Amethyst reached inside and gave him a long soothing stroke. Victoria glanced at him for a split second then looked away.

"When we get there," she said, "you need to stay where the elevator is. Okay?"

Amethyst nodded, still petting her bunny. The elevator was cold, but neither of them minded. She noted that it was going down and not up, which meant this building had basement floors. Soon it came to a stop, and the doors opened. Amethyst froze when she saw several people pacing anxiously in the room. Their heads turned towards the elevator, surprise showing on their faces. Amethyst nervously backed behind Victoria. Victoria's eyebrows raised at the sight of the strangers.

"Yo-you're here?" she said, surprised. She looked around. "Where are Miriam and Malcolm?"

A man with a gun in his hand winced. Victoria saw it and gave him a nasty glare.

"Where are Miriam and Malcolm, Isaac?" she asked him sharply.

Isaac squirmed under her gaze. "We, um, don't really, uh, know where they are, uh, because, uh, because..."

"Some weird monster chased them away, and we came back here, but then Antonio locked us in," the girl with glasses explained.

"Oh, dear," Victoria said, looking worried now. "Have you tried to open the door at all?"

"The door's too tough," the girl said. Then she saw Amethyst and raised an eyebrow. "Who's that?"

Everyone immediately looked at her. Amethyst shrank back even more. The men gave her a friendly wave, but the boys looked suspicious.

"That's Amethyst," the other man said to the girl. "She is, uh... well, we will tell you later." He focused on Amethyst. "I'm Alexei."

Amethyst recognized his name. He was Victoria's husband. The other man must be her Uncle Isaac, now that she thought about it. She hadn't recognized him at first, but she did now. The others introduced themselves. The boys were Jacob, her cousin, and Ed, and the girl was Yana. She still felt overwhelmed and didn't try to talk as they began to talk with each other.

"Do you think we can blast open the door with the gun?" Jacob asked, pointing at Isaac's gun.

Isaac checked how many bullets were in it. "No, I don't have enough to make a sizeable hole."

"Could Yana pick the lock again?" Jacob suggested.

Isaac thought about it for a bit. "Maybe?"

Yana rummaged through her pockets then sighed. "I don't have it. It must have dropped out of my pocket."

And so they stood in a circle for a while, staring at each other awkwardly as silence took hold of the room. They were out of ideas. There was the chair, but it was too weak to break down a door. Isaac began to pace again. He was getting too frustrated.

Amethyst, however, had been thinking about it out of pure curiosity. "What if you found the key for the door?" she suggested quietly.

Her heart beat faster as they looked at her. She hated being the center of attention. She gulped and said, "There should be a key to the door, so..." She mumbled the rest of what she was going to say.

Alexei nodded slowly. "If there is a key," he said, "then it must be in Antonio's office. He must keep lots of stuff hidden in there."

"Then let's hurry," Isaac said, reopening the elevator. "Time's ticking."

"You didn't seem to be thinking about that while you were staring off into space," Victoria said, crossing her arms.

Isaac ignored her. Alexei chuckled at his wife's sass. Amethyst's stomach dropped as everyone went into the elevator. She hated being around people in tight spaces. She nervously got inside. Quickly she began to feel hot and small. Her bunny squeaked again, sharing her nerves.

Yana smiled at the bunny. "Your rabbit is cute," she said. "What's it's name?"

"Bun-Bun," Amethyst said then didn't say anything else. Her legs felt weak. How long were they going to be in here?

The elevator took them to a floor above the ground level. As soon as it opened, Amethyst hurried out, relieved to feel cold air. It had seemed so hot in the elevator.

The adults headed quickly through the floor. The kids had no idea where they were going, so they had to keep an eye on the adults in order to not get lost. Antonio's office was in the middle, and it wasn't locked, for some strange reason. Antonio must have been in a hurry when he'd left last time.

The lights were bright. They all spread out, searching everywhere for the key. Amethyst hung back by the door, feeling very out of place. Everyone else clearly knew something she didn't, and she wondered if they'd ever tell her. So she looked around the room.

The desk was small and littered with paper covered in calculations and words. There was an empty black coffee cup next to a closed laptop. There were no pictures or decorations. It was a very plain office. The only other furniture were the filing cabinets.

Jacob was the one who found the key. It had been in a cabinet filled with other files. It had been slightly open. Antonio had been in a rush to get Miriam to the labs, and he hadn't bothered shutting everything properly.

"Finally!" Isaac said happily as they left the room with the key. "We're getting somewhere!"

The door in the elevator room had a knob like a bedroom doorknob, except the lock was only on one side of the knob. Antonio had made it that way so that only he could get into the labs if someone locked the door. The only key to that knob hung on the small chain in Jacob's hand.

Amethyst didn't know who Antonio is, but it was obvious the others did not like him. She was content to not know, though.

When the elevator door opened, Isaac took the key from his son and hurried to the door. He shoved the key in the knob and turned it, being careful. It clicked. Isaac opened the door and smiled.

"Stay here, kids," he said to them. "Make sure Antonio doesn't come back to open the door."

"And how are we supposed to defend ourselves?" Yana asked. "He might have a gun!"

"We took it, remember?" Isaac said, giving it to her.

Victoria frowned. "Isn't it a bit too dangerous letting the kids have a gun? They don't know how to use it."

"Neither do we," Alexei reminded her. "Except Isaac."

"Wouldn't it be better if we stay together?" Yana asked.

"Antonio might come back and lock the door again," Isaac said. "We'd be trapped."

"We could unlock it very easily," Yana said, pointing out the lock.

"Oh." Isaac realized he was wrong. "Never mind."

"Are you sure we should take them with us?" Victoria asked. "It's dangerous."

"We've been running around with them the entire time, and we're okay!" Yana said, looking at her mother pleadingly. "We can go and be all right!"

Isaac sighed in frustration. His patience was snapping. "Fine. You can come."

Uneasiness struck Amethyst. Would she have to go, too? Man, what was with these people? What on earth was going on? And why was no one telling her anything? She didn't want to go wherever they were going.

"Uh, can I stay here?" she asked quietly.

Isaac immediately nodded. "Sure." Even if he wanted to ignore it, there was a small part of him that acknowledge the chance that they would find Miriam dead. He didn't want to break Amethyst's heart. She had been hoping to meet her older sister for a long time.

Amethyst, relieved, went back into the elevator room. She shut the door and set her bunny on the ground. She opened his cage and took him out. His eyes examined the room rapidly.

Back outside, the others had begun to run around again. Even though they had no idea where to go. It's amazing how people abandon their original purpose when they get even the tiniest hope. They had been stupid to think they'd ever let themselves leave.

But this was different. They knew where to go now. Well, Jacob did. He had discreetly gone through the files in the cabinet where he had found the key. He had discovered a description of a secret area where something called oscuro was held. It said how to get there, and it had been made just in case Antonio forgot how to get there. Jacob had took it and was leading the way to that place, hoping Antonio would be there. It sounded like a place he'd go hide at.

The doors were the heavy kind that were pushed open. Jacob continued to lead the way. They slowed down as they walked on the metal bridge. Ed cautiously looked down and saw a drying puddle of blood on the ground. It disturbed him, and he looked forward at Jacob.

They went into the next room, and it, too, was empty. It wasn't a dead end, though. There was a door. It seemed to be inviting them.

"Do you really think Miriam and Malcolm could be in here?" Yana asked Jacob. He shrugged. If Antonio was here, they could use his knowledge.

"This is along the way Miriam and Malcolm were running," Jacob replied. "They might be here."

He walked carefully up to the door. He pulled on the handle, and the second he did a shrill alarm began to screech. Jacob jumped away as though his hand had been burned. Which it had. The handle had suddenly become as hot as a stove. It must be a defense mechanic Antonio had built in to protect his precious storage. The alarm stopped beeping after several seconds. Jacob stared at the handle, not willing to try and pull it again. Isaac took his gun and tried to use the butt to push it. Sadly, it was another locked door.

"Should we try the key?" Alexei said.

"It might get too hot," Isaac said. He scowled at the handle. It was yet another obstacle, and he hated it.

But strangely, the door suddenly opened, to their amazement. It revealed a lit room full of supplies, and a sight that sent chills down their spines.

Antonio stood in the entrance of a wide doorway. A triumphant grin was etched across his face. In one hand he held a jar of a strange murky substance as black as the night sky. He smiled at their confused faces as they looked at it.

"You came for Miriam and Malcolm, didn't you?" he said mockingly to disguise his shock at their presence. He had thought they would never find him.

"Where are they?" Isaac demanded.

Antonio passed over the question and said, "I hate wasting resources, but I'm afraid I must in order to rid myself of you pests." His grin became psychotic. "I wouldn't look at the ceiling if I were you."

Before they could question what he meant, he closed the door. With a click, he was barred from the rest of them. His parting words still in their minds, they looked up at ceiling to see what sort of trick he was trying to pull.

There was a pipe directly above them, and it's end pointed to the ground. It had been closed and was opening. Everyone froze, unsure what to make of it. The pipe rattled a bit then water gushed out of it's mouth, directly onto the group. They hurried out of it's way, now soaked.

The pipe was pouring water relentlessly, and the floor had already begun to fill.

"Ugh! I hate that guy!" Isaac screamed.

"Get to the door!" Yana cried.

They hurried out of the room to find the larger room with the bridge was also flooding. The sounds and the rising water caused them to panic. They ran back through the building, Jacob taking the lead again.

Amethyst jumped as they barged into the elevator room. "What's wrong?" she asked as Isaac desperately pressed the button.

"We might die," Yana said as casually as she could.

Amethyst's eyes widened, and she pressed Bun-Bun to her chest. "What?" she almost shrieked. Somehow her voice still managed to be quiet.

The elevator opened, and they hustled inside, carrying Amethyst with them. As the elevator began to rise, they all let out of sighs of relief. Hopefully the flooding was only happening in that specific floor, and they hoped it wasn't the entire floor. They were trying their best to stay hopeful, but it would be very hard.

Because they never found out that Miriam had died.

Chapter 18:
After the flooding of the building, the question on everyone's mind was: What happens next? What will happen to us? What will happen to our lives?

We don't have that answer. We still don't know that answer. None of us went back into that building. We avoided it like it was a disease. Our guilt and shame was what kept us back. It constrained us, bound us together in an unbreakable rusted chain made of pain. There have been times where I tried to push against it, to be free. The restraint exhausted me, and I always gave up. We all did. No matter how hard we tried, the lock keeping the chains in place never fell off. It was as firm as a thousand year old tree. There was no way to be freed from it.

Miriam and Malcolm never came out. We haven't seen them. We just assumed they died, that they drowned because we didn't try and find them. It was our fault if they were dead, because we knew about the flooding but didn't try and find them. Knowing that has haunted us for days after that.

There has been no news of Antonio. He's never appeared since that day. Dad and Alexei think he might have died, but I disagree. It wouldn't make any sense. He's a crazy scientist obsessed with his work, and he'd probably do anything to continue it, whatever it is.

But I do not want to talk about Antonio. Not after what he did to Miriam. And this isn't about him. It's about Miriam and Malcolm. We all think they're dead, but I decided to write this like they're still alive out there, even if I am convinced they're gone.

Even though we knew each other for only several weeks, I thought Malcolm was a cool guy. He's funny and a bit too relaxed. He acted like a calm person, but at the lab, he was like a completely different person. I liked him, especially since he was the one who saved Miriam from being eaten alive. I wish he could come back from wherever he is so I could teach him video games. Dad hates video games, so I've never played with another person in the room. A shame Malcolm seemed to avoid me.

My relationship with Miriam had always been complicated. Before my mom left, we were so close, almost like siblings. Afterwards, though, I drifted away, depressed because I thought my mom hated me. She tried to help me out, but I guess I was too angry with her, and she started to dislike me. In all the time I thought she was dead, I was going through such a horrible time I almost set the house on fire with a toaster.

Then she came back. I was happy because I thought we could reconcile, but she stayed distant. I never got the chance to really make up all that time and errors. I know Dad had his own share of problems with Miriam that he never got to resolve either. Thinking about it hurts, and if she comes back, I'm not wasting anything.

Other than Dad, Miriam was the closest person to me. I always believed she'd be beside me. I like to think she felt the same, but maybe not. The months after her first disappearance were quiet and sad. Dad and I barely spoke to each other, each of us lost in our heads and grief. I am not ashamed to admit I cried multiple times.

And now she might be dead, taken away from us permanently, unable to know my regret for the past. If she is alive, she might never come back. If she is alive, I hope she will see this note.

If she is dead, I would give anything to apologize to her. Anything.

- Jacob Hoffman

Chapter 19:
Blood dripping.

It stank.

Everything hurt.

This place is unfamiliar.

Why's everything hurting?

Screams...

Beeping...

Beep, beep...

So tired...

The tiles are red...

Weren't they white...?

I don't understand...

Where is everyone?

A face...

Eyes...

A grin of white teeth...

"Perfect," muttered the face.

What? What was perfect...?

Thoughts spinning...

In the corner, a body...

Alarm...

He was remembering.

Lifeless and pale...

He recognized it. His heart seemed to stop.

"Go to sleep," whispered the face.

A hiss of air...

Darkness...

But no dreams. No dreams. No dreams. No dreams...

"No dreams," muttered the spiraling thoughts. "Please."