Chapter three

*Warning this chapter contains graphic depictions of torture and inhumane human experimentation*

Narrator POV

As one steps into the operating room, an eerie feeling immediately sets in. The space is brightly lit with surgical lamps, illuminating the area with a fluorescent glow. The walls are stark, sterile white, but they seem to be closing in on the viewer, suffocating them. The air is thick with the scent of disinfectant and antiseptic, which adds to the sense of unease.

The room is filled with various surgical instruments neatly arranged on trays, but they seem to glint menacingly in the dull light. The operating table, situated in the center of the room, looks like a slab of cold, hard metal. It seems to dominate the room, almost as if it were alive and waiting for its next victim. The monitors and medical equipment beep and hum in the background, creating an ominous soundtrack to the scene. The sterile, clinical environment seems to amplify every sound, making it impossible to ignore.

There are several people in the room, all wearing surgical scrubs and masks that obscure their faces. They move about the room with a quiet intensity, their movements precise and calculated. There is an unspoken tension in the air, a sense of anticipation mixed with fear. Despite the controlled chaos of the room, there is an undeniable sense of foreboding. It is as if something terrible is about to happen, and everyone in the room is waiting for it to occur. The operating room is a place of healing, but at this moment, it feels like a place of danger and uncertainty.

On that very table in the center of the room is Seth. He is still covered from head to toe in the same strange bandage-like wrap restricting his movements, but that is not the only thing holding him down. Leather and metal bands and straps are placed onto and tightened upon each of his limbs and neck, further restricting him. He can hear the muffled conversations due to their medical masks from the people surrounding him. "Is this the new mutie?" "Yeah, but we don't know his abilities yet, so we better be careful," the two unknown individuals said.

Seth POV

Mutie? Abilities? What are they talking about? But I wasn't given a chance to ponder further before the straps on my left arm were loosened, supposedly to rearrange the position of my body. I try to remain still until they are all removed, and the moment they are, I strike. My arm flies out like a python striking its prey, knocking away the nearest hand before trying to remove my eye covering to assess the situation better. Before I even reached the fabric, four new hands instantly latch onto my arm and slam it against the cold steel table beneath me. "What do you think you're doing freak! Just stay still while we find out what makes you tick!" I heard a male voice say from my left side.

As I process their words, I can't help but feel great fear. Make me tick? Are they going to d-dissect me? As the realization sinks in, I struggle twice as hard. Thrashing around like a fish out of water. Despite my best efforts, my body appears to be exceptionally weak, and I am again quickly restrained, but this time they place what feels like a cold metal strap over my wrist. My body starts involuntarily shivering in fear as they slowly and meticulously remove the bandages surrounding my left arm. The cold, dry air reaching my exposed skin feels like the cold embrace of death. As I hear the shuffle and clanks of metal instruments, my body tenses in preparation for the pain.

Narrator pov

A dotted black line can be seen down the left arm of our protagonist. The scalpel in the doctor's hand follows the line like a train on a track. As it slices through the first layer of skin, blood begins to gush out like a dam breaking. Seth takes in a sharp breath due to the pain, but this isn't anything worse than what he had been through during his service. As the doctors use forceps to peel back the layers of skin and flesh along his arm, the pain grows like grass just after the snow melts. He can feel the men beside him poking and prodding at his deepest inner workings. His exposed nerve endings made everything hurt ten times worse.

After they are finished with the left arm, they move to his right and then his legs, observing how his muscles developed, how his veins and arteries flow, and the density of his bones and ligaments. As they reach the abdominal cavity, the electrocardiogram slowly begins to beep slower and slower before eventually flatlining. A voice comes over the intercom. "You killed it." the voice says in an emotionless voice. "S-s-sir we didn't mean to, I swear!" one of the men in the room croaks out with fear palpable in his voice. "There will be consequences," the voice says again. "NO sir, please it was an accident I swear! PLEASE!" the other man begs. But all of a sudden, the EKG begins to beep again, and Seth lets out an ear-piercing shriek. The doctors watch as his bones, muscles, veins, arteries, and ligaments seem to stitch themselves back together and regrow the portions that were removed, all with shadowy black wisps flicking out from his body like flames.

The doctors watch with morbid fascination, seemingly unaware of the black creatures that are growing from the shadow-like substance emitting from Seth's body. A chill runs down their spine. These enigmatic beings are shrouded in mystery, their appearance and capabilities nothing short of terrifying.

The creatures are humanoid in shape, but their skin is a dark all-consuming black. Their faces are blank and featureless. Despite their humanoid appearance, the creatures move with an eerie, unnatural grace. Their limbs seem to bend and contort in ways that are impossible for a human being, and they glide effortlessly through the air like specters.

As they approach the doctors, the air around them seems to grow colder, the very atmosphere itself seeming to warp and distort. Their presence seems to invoke a primal fear in anyone who is near them, an instinctual recognition of something that should not exist. The creatures emit an otherworldly, haunting hum that seems to reverberate through the very core of one's being. It's a sound that one can feel as much as hear, and it sends shivers down the spine.

It's unclear what the creatures are capable of, or what their true nature is, but their presence alone is enough to inspire dread and terror in anyone who encounters them. The mere thought of these beings lurking in the shadows is enough to keep one up at night, haunted by the specter of their otherworldly presence.

The doctors, seemingly unaware of the presence of the creatures, continue to stare at Seth's now unmoving body with morbid fascination. The shadow figures lurk around the doctors like a pack of wolves surrounding their prey. And like wolves, they pounce on their prey. The creatures' claw-like hands rip and tear at the flesh of the doctors; flinging blood, bones, and other things that are meant to be kept inside across the room. The doctors let out shrill screams of agony as their insides are turned into outsides by the creatures. Black shadows resembling the creatures seem to come out of the remains of the doctors coalescing into a new creature. The shadow monsters slowly seem to seep back into the unconscious body of Seth, leaving him none the wiser about what has just occurred.

Mr. Sinister's POV:

As I sit in the control room of the facility, I am lost in my thoughts. Suddenly, I hear the familiar sound of an EKG flatlining, and my attention is brought to the screen depicting the image of my new subject. Those fools killed it. I press a button on the panel in front of me and speak into it. "You killed it," I say to them in an emotionless voice. "S-s-sir, we didn't mean to, I swear!" says one of the fools in the room, shaking in his boots like a child who was yelled at for the first time. "There will be consequences," I reply. "NO! Sir, please, it was an accident, I swear! PLEASE!" the other one in the room begs. However, their fate was already set in stone, and as I prepare to eradicate them myself, my attention is brought back to the sound of the EKG returning.

As I stare at the screen showing live footage of what is happening in the room, I see black shadow-like tendrils grow from the body of the subject. The shadows seem to pull the separated parts of its body back together and regrow the extremities that were removed. The fools stare at it with morbid fascination but cannot seem to notice the creatures that are also growing from its body.

The fools are taken by surprise by the creatures, despite them surrounding them almost as if they are unable to see them. The creatures attack the men with the ferocity of rabid animals, ripping and tearing the flesh and bones, launching them into every corner of the room, painting it a nice shade of deep red. I watch with glee as I see the remains of the men wriggle and move, as new shadow creatures emerge from each of their bodies, respectively. Not only is my new subject undying to a degree, but it also seems to be able to produce creatures from the lives of others and store them in its body. I wonder how many people it has killed before to be able to produce that many creatures. It's like God dropped a golden egg right into my lap. I can do whatever I want without having to fear losing it. "How wonderful," I say aloud as a broad grin splits onto my face.