1 CHAPTER 1: THE AWAKENING

Where am I, it feels cold and wet, a loud noise deafens me, are those screams, I can't talk, I'm under water...no, I can breathe, it's like a gel, it's hard to open my eyes, but I can still perceive an intense red light, my movements are limited, I don't know how I got here, the only thing I remember is that man ....

OF COURSE!!! That man, he brought me here, it's all his fault, I knew I couldn't trust him and even more if his face was impossible to observe due to the radiant glow he gave off around him, if only I hadn't accepted his proposal, SHIT, what was in my head at that moment and how did I find him, more important than this place, I need to get out, I need answers, I need to find him.

My heart increased its speed, I've never felt my own heartbeat at such intensity, I have to get out, the voices won't shut up, my head is going to explode, I have to do it now or I'll die, I need to concentrate, fast, open your eyes come on, ¡shit! react shitty body.

Finally, I can open my eyes, somehow I feel that my life depended on this and my body recovered its strength little by little, I don't know how I did it, but glass shot out and the gel started to come out of the capsule I was in, I fell in such a way that my knees and my palms of my hands touched that wet floor full of glass.

I can finally feel my limbs, and more importantly, move, I have to find a way out soon, something is going on in this place.

I don't recognize this place, it looks like a laboratory. It's amazing how many computers and cables of all sizes there are, apparently all connected to the capsule where I was trapped.

I inspect the room with my eyes and I only see a person with a surprised and paralyzed face, the only thing I can hear is his heartbeat at high speed and a constant whisper which was "it's not possible, it's not possible, it's not possible".

"Hey buddy, could you tell me what is this place?" I approach carefully the fear of an unexpected reaction due to his hysteria.

Suddenly his gaze changes to a look of disgust and revulsion towards me and he expresses with a shout.

- "¡YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!"

"Hey calm down, I don't know what's going on or where I am, if you help me with that I'll get away as fast as I can without causing you trouble."

The pain in my ears doesn't stop and his screams don't help with that, but I'm aware that this man is anything but eager to help me, and I'm not wrong, it doesn't take him even 5 seconds to grab one broken piece of glass on the floor and point it directly at me holding it with both hands.

His body showed a clear reaction of fear to any approach I made.

"I won't do anything to you, I promise, I just want direction."

His Heart was going so fast I feel that at any moment he was going to fail, but ironically it was fear that kept him from doing so.

With slow and concise steps showing a clear lack of hurting him, I grabbed his hand and with it the broken piece of glass he was holding so desperately that blood was running down his hands.

"Relax, I won't do anything, ¿okay? Just tell me where I am."

The settling of his head and the slowing of his heartbeat, at last, gave way to real conversation.

"y-you shouldn't be here b-boy, it's going to blow up the whole complex, run away before the whole system collapses."

As proof of that debris from the ceiling breaks loose and falls on his body, and his blood was on my face, this wasn't one of my better days, shit. This looks like something out of a horror movie, I don't know what to do, now how will I get out...I checked every inch of the room, but any exit asked for some code or authorization.

His body, I didn't think so, this man looks like a scientist, he must have some kind of key to this office if he was hiding in here.

It was difficult but I managed to stand up and approach the body, the only thing he had with him was his identity card and his wallet, God, I feel like vomiting, I'm in front of a beheaded body looking for a key to get out while I'm covered with his blood, besides that constant noise and screams are becoming more intense is as if I had them right next to my ears, plus I'm completely naked ... I guess his pants will serve me, I just take these pants and his ID card. Observing well the place they have many things that I had never seen before, this technology is not like anything I had seen before, What do they do in this place?, by the documents and the scientist's robe next to me, now I know that this place is called CADMUS.

It's time to get out of here, this place is falling apart because of what that scientist shouted, I just have to open the door and look for the nearest exit, I will put in the card on the door panel, apparently, this gives access to the doors, it will be very important, it will be best to keep it in case I run into any extra doors. Perfect apparently it worked the door is opening.

"AAAAARGH!!!" - SHIT, MY EARS, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON, MY WHOLE BODY IS SHAKING FROM THE SOUND WAVES, MY HEAD HURTS, MY SENSES ARE DISORIENTED, I WANT IT TO STOP, I NEED TO LEAVE NOW, IT HURTS, MY EARS ARE GOING TO EXPLODE, THE ALARMS DON'T STOP, THE SCREAMS OF PEOPLENOW I HEAR THEM LOUDER, I NEED TO GET OUT, FAST, I HAVE TO LOOK AROUND THERE MUST BE SOME SIGN OF EXIT, SHIT I SEE EVERYTHING BLURRY, I CAN'T EVEN THINK PROPERLY, THIS NOISE IS UNBEARABLE-.

¡PEOPLE!, I HEAR FOOTSTEPS, NO…. COME ON FOCUS MORE, I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HEAR THEM. They... they are running, yes, they are definitely running, I must try to follow them, they must be trying to escape from this place. It's hard for me to walk, my senses are not responding well yet, and the noise doesn't stop, but at least now it's not so loud, I guess because I'm focusing on the scientists' steps, if I keep going like this I'll manage to escape.

Well let's continue, I hold on to the walls to avoid falling and to focus on the path, now I can see more, I see the scientists running, but something is not right because there are a few that go in the opposite direction, it's weird, they run.

It didn't even take two seconds and they all changed their direction and their screams jumped, it was terrifying, there is something there, something huge, they are much stronger steps than the scientists, with more power, more weight, could it be an animal, it must have escaped some animal of experiments with all this commotion, but this one is very big, it almost seems as if its footsteps were of an elephant. I think I was wrong because in an instant half of the body flew out in front of me, and the head of the beast finally showed itself, it was definitely not an elephant, it was something much worse.

Its head looked like that of a reptile and its teeth are like those of a shark, its size is almost equivalent to that of an elephant and it has a tail with spikes. I have to hide before it looks at me, luckily there is a door ahead, I have to take advantage of that it is distracted, my senses are still not recovered and the fact of seeing that creature made them worse, my hands tremble and I feel them frozen, I guess the only thing that keeps me sane is my purpose to go out and find that man.

I manage to enter the room, it doesn't have much difference from where I was at the beginning, with the only difference that in this one instead of a capsule, there is a cage, it is not of great size, it almost seems of a fair size for a domestic animal, and it doesn't seem to be open, I only hear a small screech and rapid breathing accompanied by an accelerated heart.

I don't know why, but I have a feeling that it needs help whatever it is in there, I will try to approach it slowly, I don't want to run the risk of it being a beast like the one outside the room.

Its squeal changed to a growl, apparently, it was a dog, scared and in a defensive pose.

"I don't want to hurt you, I just want to help you, trust me."

I did not know what to do to open it, there was no key to help me move the bars, but there was a lever, I will try to force them a little, even if it is enough to get out just, something in me says that I will not be able to do it, I do not feel strong enough and my hands do not stop shaking, but I will try, I will focus on generating as much force as possible in my current state.

The dog stopped growling, I guess he understood that I am not trying to hurt him. Shit...it's complicated, but I feel how the bars are giving way, there is enough space for the dog to get out, and the dog jumps towards me and is licking my face, I remove it delicately, it's a white dog, looks quite healthy. Now we just have to get out as soon as possible.