The blood trail on the sand led Axel to the mouth of a hidden cave, like a dark passage swallowing the light. Cold, damp air greeted him, carrying a potent, metallic tang, mixed with the acrid scent of rust and stinging disinfectant. Krek… krek… his footsteps broke the cave's silence, ssshhh… the sound of wind whispering through cracks in the rock, grrr… a faint growl echoed from the depths.
Axel moved cautiously down the narrow passage, his pistol raised, ready to fire at anything that emerged from the gloom. The cave walls were covered in strange, scratched symbols and deep claw marks, as if this place was a beast's lair.
At the end of the passage, Axel found a rusted steel door with the word "LABORATORY" etched above it. Without hesitation, Axel pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The laboratory room was spacious and cluttered, filled with broken and rusted medical equipment. A flickering emergency light illuminated a blood-stained operating table and glass tubes filled with a strangely glowing green liquid. A pungent, rotten odor assaulted Axel's nostrils, making him gag.
On the laboratory wall, Axel found a damaged control panel with a monitor screen still lit. The screen displayed video footage from a surveillance camera hidden behind the wall.
Axel played the video, and watched horrifying scenes unfold. Ordinary people tied to operating tables, injected with green liquid, and slowly transforming into monstrous creatures. Their bodies mutated, their limbs elongated and hardened, their eyes glowed red, and their teeth grew sharp.
Axel saw one of the experiment subjects, a young woman with long black hair, strapped to an operating table. Her face was deathly pale, her eyes were closed, and her body trembled violently. As the green liquid was injected into her body, the woman screamed in agony, her voice hoarse and terrifying.
Axel recoiled in shock, because the woman looked like Nova.
The video footage continued, showing the woman slowly transforming into a monstrous creature. Her body mutated, her limbs elongated and hardened, her eyes glowed red, and her teeth grew sharp.
Axel turned off the video, staring at the monitor screen in horror. Had Nova become one of these creatures? Was she beyond saving?
Suddenly, Axel heard footsteps in the hallway. Tap… tap… tap… Heavy, steady footsteps, approaching quickly. Axel hid behind the operating table, his pistol raised, ready to fire.
A figure emerged from the hallway, tall and large, with glowing red eyes and long, sharp claws. It wasn't human. It was one of the creatures Axel had seen in the video.
The creature sniffed the air, as if searching for something. Its eyes fixed on the operating table where Axel was hiding.
Axel knew he was in great danger. He had to escape, or he would become the creature's prey.
The creature stepped closer, its claws raised, ready to pounce. Axel held his breath, preparing to shoot.
Suddenly, gunshots rang out from behind the creature. DOR! DOR! DOR! The creature staggered backward, growling in anger.
Axel turned around and saw Nova standing in the doorway, a pistol in her hand. Her eyes were dark and glowing, but there was something different there. Something wilder, more feral.
Nova fired again and again, hitting the creature. The creature growled in pain, but didn't fall. It lunged at Nova, its claws aimed at her face.
Nova dodged nimbly, then kicked the creature, sending it staggering backward. The creature rose again, its eyes blazing with rage.
Axel knew this was a fight for survival. He had to help Nova, or they would both die here.
Axel jumped out from behind the operating table and shot the creature, hitting it in the chest. DOR! The creature roared in pain, then lunged at Axel.
Axel rolled to the side, avoiding the creature's attack. He fired again, but this time the bullet missed. DOR! The creature lunged at Axel, its claws aimed at his throat.
Axel knew he was out of time.
The flickering emergency light cast eerie shadows on the laboratory walls, as if the room itself was breathing with horror. Axel felt adrenaline pumping through his veins, making him hyper-aware of every sound and movement. He didn't know if Nova was still capable of reason, or if she had fully transformed into one of those monstrous beings.
"Nova?" Axel called out, his voice trembling, yet filled with hope.
Nova turned her head, her eyes flashing wildly, but there was a flicker of confusion there. She stared at Axel as if he were a stranger.
"You…" Nova's voice was hoarse, like a sound scraped from a wounded throat. "Who are you?"
Axel was stunned. Did Nova not recognize him? Had the experiments erased her memory?
"It's me, Axel," Axel replied, trying to approach Nova slowly. "We're friends. We survived the island together."
Nova shook her head, her eyes filled with confusion and fear. "I don't remember. I only remember… pain. Unbearable pain."
The creature growled angrily, as if impatient to attack. It lunged at Axel, its claws aimed at his face.
Axel dodged quickly, then shot the creature, hitting it in the chest. DOR! The creature roared in pain, but didn't fall. It lunged at Axel again, this time with greater speed.
Nova, with an unexpected movement, leaped in front of Axel, shielding him from the creature's attack. The creature's claws raked across Nova's arm, making her cry out in pain.
"Nova!" Axel exclaimed, horrified by the wound on Nova's arm.
Nova turned to Axel, her eyes flashing with anger. "Go! Run from here! This thing is too strong!"
Axel shook his head. He wouldn't leave Nova. He would fight alongside her.
Axel shot the creature again, hitting it in the eye. The creature roared in pain, then lunged at Axel furiously.
Axel and Nova fought against the creature, using everything they had. Axel used his pistol, while Nova used her sharp claws. The fight was fierce and brutal, with blood and screams filling the laboratory.
The creature was too strong, too fast, too vicious. It wounded Axel and Nova repeatedly, but they didn't give up. They continued to fight, driven by the will to survive.
Suddenly, Axel noticed something strange on the laboratory wall. An old surveillance camera, hidden behind a wall panel, was still recording. The camera was capturing their fight, and displaying footage of the horrifying experiments conducted in the laboratory.
Axel saw footage of one of the experiments, a young woman with long black hair, strapped to an operating table. Her face was pale, her eyes were closed, and her body trembled violently. As the green liquid was injected into her body, the woman screamed in agony, her voice hoarse and terrifying.
Axel was shocked, because the woman looked like Nova.
The footage continued, showing the woman slowly transforming into a monstrous creature. Her body mutated, her limbs elongated and hardened, her eyes glowed red, and her teeth grew sharp.
Axel realized something terrible. Nova was a result of those experiments. Nova was one of them.
Suddenly, the creature lunged at Nova, its claws aimed at her throat.