Thursday Afternoon, Level 18

"Please remain calm. Containment protocols are in effect. Do not leave your designated work areas. Obey all instructions from department heads. An Incident Response Team is on their way. Please remain calm," the speaker system squawked twice before repeating its message.

The dead security guard's radio crackled: "Captain Frenzel to all security in Level 18, do not breach containment; repeat, under no circumstances breach containment. The incident has not escalated for seven minutes. Keep it that-" the radio snapped in two beneath an engorged foot. The monstrosity continued down the corridor, came to a blast door, and let out an enraged roar. It smashed the keycard scanner, and roared again. It was, for the moment, safely isolated in a hallway with blast doors on either side.

Elsewhere, several hallways away: A spill of radioactive, toxic, horrifying goop had eaten its way through the wall and was now steadily sloshing its way across the floor, eating into the mechanical room. Its green flourescence contrasted with the brightly-lit corridor's flashing orange hazard lights. Somewhat to the north, a supply closet was nearing occupational capacity.

This particular supply closet, one of the larger ones on this level, had a few interesting items beyond the usual office and janitorial supplies. A handgun with a fully loaded clip was lying on the middle of the floor. Beneath it, a paper with "Cha" and a bloody pen. Near the door was a box of seven flashlights, one of which has a bloody SD card taped onto the side. At the bottom of the box was a crumpled ten dollar bill. On the top shelves, near the overhead ventilation duct, a crowbar and screwdriver lie abandoned. A ladder capable of reaching the ducts rests against the back wall.

Harold hurried into the supply closet desperately searching for a spare hazard suit, neutralizing foam, anything to contain the spill. No such luck, the room was almost empty. I should have put in those resupply forms sooner he thought to himself as he groaned softly face in hands. Carefully searching the room once more he pocketed 3 things of interest to him. The 10 dollars hey he thought to himself free money! and i might be out of a job soon, a flashlight lights could go at any minute, and the screwdriver always handy in emergencies. He didn't know how to use a gun, the crowbar was to big to carry comfortably, and the bloody stuff made his stomach turn. He turned toward the door as he heard footsteps rapidly approaching and more people entered the room.

Daigo whistled to a particular tune as he had his iPod on with earphones in his ears. He never heard about any spill, incident, or accident of any sort with those earphones in his ears. He went to the closet to retrieve his SD card and smiled at middle aged man who seemed to be busy. Strange... my SD card isn't here... . He looked at the strange array of flashlights and something seemed familiar... His SD card! But... it had red stuff on it... What could it be? Blood? Hawaiian Punch? And it was taped to the flashlight... In either case, he didn't hesitate to take it and begin walking out of the closet, heading towards the closest sink to wash it off.

Aiden half ran, half staggered his way through level 18, trying to get to the armory which was on a different level. His head was still reeling from the blow it had taken just minutes before and he was pretty lucky not to have a concussion. Injury or not, he had to do his job. He had already failed once today by letting that test subject escape and he wasn't going to do it again. He rounded a corner and noticed two things instantly. The way to the armory was blocked by some sort of spill, and that the test subject that had injured him earlier had found him. Not the other way around. He had already learned the hard way that guns and tazers didn't work against this thing. And he wasn't about to get up close to try the baton, or even his trusty bowie knife. So he did what any sane person would do, ran like a little girl. Without the screaming.

The test subject chased after him, luckily it was strong but slow. So he was easily able to duck into a supply closet without it seeing him. He saw another person in the room but he didn't recognize them. So that meant they weren't security and they didn't work with test subjects. "Hi." He said to the man before sliding to a sitting position against the wall. Away from the door of course. He put his head between his hands and prayed the spinning would stop soon. Preferably before he threw up. He spotted a gun on the ground near his feet so he took a hand away from his head and picked it up. Upon examining it he found that it was loaded. Though he already had a gun and several extra clips on him. So he set it back down. Somebody else would find it more useful than him. He was armed to the teeth as it was. This was one five foot seven, one hundred twenty-three pound guy you didn't want to mess with. He was only twenty-four and he already risen in the ranks here and become high security. And that was no easy feat.

Ashely looked around nervously about what was happening. She couldn't understand why everyone was running around, nothing was mentioned about this kind of disorder and chaos on the schedule of today. From her view point it was like a mass panic, and it seemed like everything was in a lock down because certain areas were locked to her where she would usually be able to go freely. In her hand was a small handgun she had picked up from a dead guard who was lying in the middle of the hallway and she was sure the man was dead and he wasnt going to use this. So she might as well considering the situation which she was trying to make sense of.

So around her Ashely hugged the wall quite closely as she moved against it avoiding being in the way of the guards or any of the test subjects that passed her. When she looked up she saw that she was on level 18. And she noticed a open supply closet, it was one of the bigger ones on this level. Inside the supply closet it's content were quite interesting as she expected something else but what she saw was a paper with "Cha" and a bloody pen. Near the door was a box of six flashlight. On the top shelves, near the overhead ventilation duct. A ladder capable of reaching the ducts rests against the back wall.

She glanced at the contents in the locker before she went through the items in the supply closet. Upon touching the pen she could identify the dark crimson stain as blood, as her sensors on her fingers quickly identify what the substance was. After fiddling with the pen, she tried to remove the dry blood off it before she pocketed it, along with the bloody paper note next to it. The other thing which interested her was the flashlight and she decided to carry one around with her and took a average size one, along with any extra batteries she could find which she only fond one spare.

Feeling quite uneasy with all the blood she had been seeing, she glanced around before she almost screamed as she somehow missed the other three men, she glanced nervously at them before she looked around to see if there was anything strange about them, before she cautiously walked to the sink to wash off the blood-caked pen. A weird thing to pick up, but at least she could protect her self with it if anyone came close... After washing the thing she clicked the pen several times before she placed it in her pocket. Then she glanced at the other three men waiting in awkward silence

Harold watched as a young man walked in. He seemed oblivious to the chaos outside as he rummaged around, grabbed the SD card and went to wash it off must be a computers person. Then a security officer ran in looking hurt. He seemed tense as he slid to the floor and a little sick. Harold grabbed a clean washcloth ran some water on it and handed to the man. Seeing his ID badge he said jovially "Rough day huh Aiden? Well it can't be worse than mine. Some intern mislabeled waste materials and now they're spilling across the hallway, This'll probably cost me my job. My name's Harold by the way" He stopped talking as another figure entered the room. He'd seen her around before in other departments, but never in his. She was someone valuable enough to assist on a variety of projects, which meant she was to valuable for his department. She seemed nervous so Harold waved at her and said "Hi! I'm Harold and this is Aiden, if he's wearing the correct badge. Do you have any medical experience? Aiden here has a head wound."

Vince was not in a good position. He was hiding behind a counter, while a rogue test subject wandered around looking for him. Even though she was quite bloody, he could still tell who she was. Emily. Test subject #124. She had never liked anyone, and she had been trying to escape this place ever since she came here. But she wasn't really the type to fight back. Did the teleportation do something to her? Well, anyways, him remembering who she was wasn't helping him in any way. He had to find away to escape. He looked around the room. He didn't have to. He remembered everything that was in this room. But maybe, just maybe, someone left something in here accidentally. No such luck. The only stuff that were here were mostly just boards of math to figure out teleportation. But wait, the teleporter was also in here. Maybe he could teleport her somewhere, anywhere other than here. Since she couldn't really see that well, he could just throw something near the teleporter to get her over there. He decided to take a white board and he threw it into the teleporter. It automatically teleported once it went inside. "Grhg?" Emily said. She went towards the teleporter. She stepped inside, and with a satisfying wooshing sound, she was gone. Vince heaved a big sigh of relief.

Ashley glanced around the room before she looked at the man with his friend was was bleeding. She looked at him quite nervously before she began to approach Aiden and began looking at his wound, before she left once again to the sink. Once she was there she cranked the paper dispenser, before she took the paper towels and made them wet with the water from the sink. Now she came back to Aiden and began to clean up the would, trying to be as gentle as possible, while still trying to get the blood off.

After a few minutes of concentration, Ashley got up and threw away the red-stained paper towels, as she was done using them to clean up the man's wounds. Then she got up and went to the supply closet and began to shuffle somethings around before she came back.

"I think thats all I can do, I dont have any bandages so I cant really stop the bleeding" She said to Aiden slightly disappointed she couldn't find anything of use in the supply locker. What she had seen in there was mostly caked in blood so she didnt really have any option of trying to clean or use them. All she can do was hope it wouldn't get infected or start bleeding again.

Karina rounded a corner and stopped to catch her breath. Hands on her knees, she was breathing heavily. The guard had been running ever since a subject had broken free and come looking for her. He wasn't happy to see her. She shuddered at the memory of his face, contorted in rage as he recognised her. Even the scientists didn't like her. Cautiously she wheeled around and checked behind her, reflexively placing her hand on her gun. Nothing. Well, except for some screams and alarms wailing. She took a deep breath and began walking again. Her side hurt but she was too busy to check on it, as she had to make distance between the subject lest she meet a gruesome end. Soon however, Karina was against the wall breathing hard again. Was she really this out of shape? The guard pushed off from the wall and started walking once more. Suddenly she heard yelling from up ahead. Panicked yelling. Then a scream, followed by a sickening crunch as something heavy connected with human flesh and bone- and shattered both. Movement. A cartwheeling body of a scientist, lab coat twirling, careened from around the corner and into the wall, leaving a red spattering. Karina bit back the urge to scream and looked around at her current situation. She had a handgun, not a very powerful one, best used on ahem prototypical humans. The armoury would have something stronger, but she wasn't likely to be able to outrun something that has been geneboosted and heaven knows what else. On to the next option. The way back was clear, however she had no doubts he would be stalking her. The last option. A vent. An escape. No question. Karina drew on the last of her waning strength and bashed the vent cover in with both of her fists. She peered down the hole. Well, there was something down there. The guard threw one leg over and then the other and plunged down the vent shaft.

Her feet came crashing through the vent cover, tearing a ragged hole in the thin metal. As her torso began to fall through the hole, a jagged piece of metal caught on her shirt and tore a cut up her shirt as well as superficially scratching the skin underneath. She yelped in pain as her feet landed on a shelf, broke the top board and then sent her tumbling to the ground in a mess of ragged cloth and bruises. It took Karina a second to realise she was in a supply closet. And there were others in here with her.

Aiden looked up when he heard the other man in the room approach him. He accepted the washcloth and pressed it against his head. The cool felt nice and did wonders on the stinging cut on the side of his head. It wasn't too bad, the skin had just split when he slammed into the wall, but head wounds always bleed more than normal ones. He couldn't help but chuckle when the man mentioned it being a rough day. But he didn't have the chance to answer because somebody else entered the room. The man, Harold addressed her, asking if she had any medical experience. "I am wearing the right name tag, my name is Aiden. Don't worry about me, really, I don't have a concussion or anything. I'll be fine in a little while."

But it didn't seem to matter to the girl, she still came over and took care of the cut on his head. It seemed there weren't any bandages around, but that was fine with Aiden. He didn't like it when people fussed over him anyway. "It's fine, just cleaning it was nice of you and made things easier for me. I'll just keep this pressed against it for a little while and the bleeding will stop. Thank you for what you did though." He made a show of pressing the wet washcloth against his head to make the girl feel better about the situation. Things had been pretty rough today, but it could always be fixed. If he could get to the armory he could take out some of those test subjects and get the others back to their rooms. He could think of at least one test subject that didn't want to kill him. So that was nice.

His head whipped around to see what the sudden loud noise and come from and instantly regretted it. It took his spinning head a moment to register who it was that had just crash landed in the room. "Sergeant Karina? Are you alright, ma'am?" He would have gotten up to help her. But he guessed it'd be another minute or two before his head was ready for that.

Seeing Alice taking care of Aiden Harold went to the door to see what was going on. To his left the toxic waste spill had eaten its way through the door to the mechanical room. No telling what kind of damage it was doing in there. That also meant it completely cut off access to the armory just down the hall, probably why Aiden had come this way. He also noticed it was coming there way and reach them in about 10 minutes. He noticed a few noises from the other end of the hall where the teleportation labs were. If people were still doing experiments then they really had to be oblivious. He noticed the young man who had entered after him had left and saw him walking down the hall. He ran to him and pulled him back to the closet. "Don't go anywhere right now. And take out those headphones We need to find out which protocols we need to follow. I know of at least 6 contamination protocols that need to be followed based on the spill outside and all say get to the trams." Back in the closet " Aiden, I think we should head for the trams. The way to the armory is blocked and we might lose power soon." At that moment someone fell out of the ventilation shaft and destroyed the shelf below it. "Jesus!" Harold exclaimed. IT seemed this person was also security and Aiden knew her. He approached the wreckage and helped the women up. "Welcome to the party miss. I think we were just about to make plans to leave."

Karina groaned and grabbed at her side. Because her shirt was practically bisected, her hand felt it's way onto her bare skin.....and into a shrapnel wound. The guard bit her lip to stop from screaming. So that's why she had trouble running. Shards of metal will do that to you. Like an ex. "Jesus!" Someone exclaimed. The suddenness and volume made Karina blink in surprise. Not one to waste time, the slightly older man had the girl on her feet quicker than she could say, "Wait wait, there's metal in my side." She groaned again and struggled to hold her shirt to the freshly opened wound(s). Then, another voice. A surprised one, but one she recognised. She blinked to clear her head and tried to focus on his face.

"A-Aiden?" Karina managed out, her voice hoarse from disuse. She coughed and a few flecks of blood covered the wall. That explosion really did a number on her. Suddenly, well at least it was sudden to Karina, the older man spoke again, "Welcome to the party miss. I think we were just about to make plans to leave." She closed her eyes and managed a short laugh. "I...I think I'm going to need help if I'm to get more than five feet." With her eyes closed, she could hear her own breathing more clearly. It was ragged. She felt ragged. This day felt ragged. Karina sucked in a breath of air, it tasted stale, but she couldn't tell if that was her or the air.

Ashley's eyes quickly loomed over from Aiden over to the new girl who came into the room. And she knew that she too also had a wound, a more serious wound that Ashely herself was bot sure how she would handle it; the first thought to her mind was that she had was to take out the shrapnel out of her wound... She hope she would have the experience to hopefully get the wound fix because she wasn't how sure what kind of damage was caused to the girl from falling down the vent. So she hoped it wasn't too serious of a wound to fix.

"How deep is the shard of metal is in your body and was anyone else following you?" She said quite concerned because if it was deep then she couldn't take it out because she didnt have any bandages to stop the bleeding, but if we let in stay in there the most risk of the metal cutting up more things... The other problem was why did she come through the vents if there wasn't a problem? So why was she running away from something or someone? This other problem troubled her because the vent came most likely from the the Science branch and that's where all the Test Subject's Dormitories were. And considering what was happening it wasnt a big surprise to her that the other test subjects would free each and try to escape the facility

Daigo looked at the middle aged man with confusion. Did I do something wrong? He took off his earphones to listen to him. "... contamination protocols that need to be followed based on the spill outside and all say get to the trams." was all he heard by the time he took off the earphones. He stood there like a dummy, trying to register this new information into his head. Contamination? Spill? Trams? ... We have trams? Hold on... he spoke like there was an emergency... Well, of course, contamination spills would be an emergency, usually taken care of through protocol. It must not be that bad...

He looked around the supply closet, listening. " Aiden, I think we should head for the trams. The way to the armory is blocked and we might lose power soon." Is it really THAT bad? ... Wait, we have an armory? And a possible blackout too... He looked around to see people frantic about the situation, a couple people being injured. It's pretty bad. Not wanting to contribute to the situation because he was feeling inadequate, he pulled out the SD card he managed to sneak out to wash and stared at it before he hugged it. My files are safe... My babies... My little crea...

His thoughts were interrupted by the grand entrance of a woman falling from the ventilation duct. She was also injured, possibly from her fall. "Welcome to the party miss. I think we were just about to make plans to leave." We're leaving? But I'm not done. I just made it to Shin Aku... I mean, the last if-then statement in my coding...

Nina Brunner..
"Infiltration"

---

That was easier than I expected. Padding silently to a corner, Nina allows her eyes to trace the small amount of blood on the wall across from her. She could tell by its look that it must have been fresh, and judging by the man she had been following, it was likely that he was injured somewhere nearby. She keeps her ears sharp, standing perfectly still so that she could better absorb detail from her surroundings. She thought she could hear a banging in the distance, but it didn't seem to be coming this way. Probably a test subject, she thinks to herself. Moving on, she suddenly hears something else that perks her interest. Footsteps. Hearing a voice, she immediately silences her breathing and listens carefully...

"Don't go anywhere right now. And take out those headphones!"
Two people, it seemed. One had been walking towards her, down the hall, and the other apparently stopped him and began pulling him back to their hiding place. Hearing their words across this distance wasn't anything difficult, so she got the gist of the rather short conversation. The middle aged man seemed to think the best course of action was to head for the trams, and also briefly mentioned contamination and some sort of spill outside. Then, the sound of a door opening and closing.

Quickly, Nina turns the corner and quietly dashes to the first door she sees- leading to a supply closet. Ahead in the hallway, she takes note of a suspicious green goop flowing slowly across the floor, glowing strangely in the dimness of the hazard lights. That would be the spill...it doesn't look like it's going to reach here anytime soon.

Confident that the spill wouldn't sneak up on her, she presses her ear carefully to the thin supply closet's door...

"...should head for the trams. The way to the armory is blocked, and we might lose power soon."
He's talking to somebody else, not the person from before, Nina notes. Then suddenly, a loud crashing noise from inside of the room surprises her, followed closely by a yelp of pain.

"Jesus!"
"Sergeant Karina? Are you alright, ma'am?"
Suddenly, the room seemed alive with voices. She counts them off one by one in her head, all the while listening in on their conversation and movements...

Middle-aged man, calm woman, Aiden, and Sergeant Karina. Aiden knew Karina, and it was through their interactions that Nina realized they weren't an actual organized group. Karina was injured, and this Aiden seemed to be so as well, judging by the fact that he didn't move. He's probably my guy, she thinks to herself.

---

Now, she sensed a moment of silence, and it was at this moment exactly that she decided to make her move. With careful confidence, she opens the door to the supply closet and takes a few steps inside. She speaks even before letting herself soak in the scene infront of her, and long before anybody would have a chance to jump her-

"Well, if you want your friend here to survive, I would advise against heading towards the trams." She stops there, continuing her casual walk into the crowded supply closet and closing the door behind her. Her calm, piercing gaze lazily drifts across the room, moving across each of the faces contained within with an equal expression of curiosity. Evidently, she had missed a few of the room's occupants in her initial eavesdropping session, as she counted several she had not accounted for. She gives only a slightly amused smile when she lays her eyes on one of the men's injured head, confirming them as the one called Aiden and the one who she had stalked through several corridors.

After a quick, concerned glance in Karina's general direction, Nina gives a gentle smile towards the entire group, finally adding with a casual tone "Crazy day so far, hasn't it been?"

Aiden shook his head when Harold mentioned getting to the trams. "If the power goes out we'll be stuck. It'd be better to go on foot. Find a place to set up a camp, collect supplies. Who knows how long we'll be here." Because he was security, Aiden's intelligence was usually underestimated. Before getting this job he had been trained in survival. That and, playing too many survival games in high school. As soon as Aiden heard Karina say that there was metal in her side, he got up. Forgetting about his own injury for the moment. He moved closer to Karina so that he could inspect the wound. He knew enough in the way of first aid to at least stop the bleeding long enough to get some real supplies. He took his bowie knife out of its sheath, which was strapped to his lower back.

"Harold, I'm going to need more of those washcloths, and any tape you can find." He stopped there as he heard another voice. He turned around, switching the knife to a fighting grip and examined the newcomer. She looked familiar, and that meant she was either a scientist who worked with test subjects, or one herself. Though he couldn't tell which it was. But now wasn't the time to worry about her, the Sergeant needed help. He pointed to the girl who had treated his own injury. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name. But I'm going to need your help too. I know enough first aid to help her without proper supplies. At least for the moment." He wished he had something for the pain, but she was just going to have to endure it for the moment.

Aaron stood over the spill "Freaking containment issues!" He began to walk to get a mop. His counter said it was just water. As he walked he saw a group of people at the Janitor's closet. "Everyone need a mop or something?" He noticed another security officer. "Hey, why's everyone here?" he shouted. It was distorted through his suit.

The Sergeant coughed again. More blood. More talking. "How deep is the metal and-" Karina didn't catch the rest before a stab of pain shot from her side. "I don't know. Deep enough." The faces of the people in the room were starting to get hazy and out of focus. It had to be the blood loss. Then, another spasm of pain caused the guard to double over and lean against the wall. She was getting light headed now, she recognised. It was getting harder and hard to focus on one thing, let alone a room full of people she didn't know. One, a girl, didn't even seem human. Of course she knew some of them, well, one of them. Aiden, the other guard. She had seen him around a few times but never really interacted with him. Now leaning against the wall, Karina began to slowly slide down it, until she was firmly sitting on the ground. Cautiously she pulled her left hand away from her wound and looked down slowly, on account of her bruised neck. Her uniform was a ruin. Obviously because of the rather large tear down its side, but also because it was splattered with blood, her own mostly, along with other unidentified fluid from the shelf she had smashed on her graceful tumble.

Most importantly though, was the wound. it was framed perfectly by the tear in the fabric. The frayed edges dark with both old and new, oozing blood. Just looking at it made it seem to throb with pain. She groaned again. Out of nowhere, a new voice. Another woman. Karina focused as intently as she could with a piece of metal jammed in her and managed to get a quick look at her. She was wearing a pretty badly stained lab coat and no shoes, her hair was a mess and she had the look of a predator. Yeah. Not a scientist.

"W-Who?" She coughs out, weakly. It was getting harder and harder to speak by the minute. Perhaps she should take a nap, rest her eyes for a bit.....

Stamos considered his options. He was stuck in a small corridor, sealed on either end by a blast door. The geneticists had managed to endow him with a superior musculoskeletal system. This was rather painful, however, and the pain made concentration difficult. But! He'd escaped! Thanks to the telescientist teleporting him out of nowhere (or at least, he assumed that's what happened), he had been let out of the reinforced walls of his dormitory cell.

The scientists hadn't seemed to bothered by the amount of pain they inflicted on him, or any other test subject, for that matter. All he'd wanted to do since arriving was escape. Then again, he hadn't exactly chosen to become a test subject, either. One night he'd gone to sleep in his house in Norwood, and the next morning he'd woken up here. The other test subjects had comforted him initially. Eventually, though, they drifted apart as Stamos grew more and more grotesque. Now even the other subjects were afraid of him. He blamed the last modification - they'd screwed with his vocal chords and receptors. Now, whenever he tried to talk, an unintelligible roar escaped his mouth. It even happened if he tried whispering. Some small comfort came to him when he thought of one thing - revenge.

The corridor was solid steel on either side. No doors or windows. A sign said: "To Trams", pointing behind him. Trams were good. Trams meant escape. Somehow he'd ran the wrong way.

"Damnit," he tried to say. A fearsome roar escaped his mouth instead. Stamos still wasn't used to that.

What the hell, might as well see how strong he actually was. He took a running start and slammed his shoulder into the blast door. It shook. It dented. His shoulder throbbed. Finally, the door deformed enough for him to crawl underneath. Frowning, he stared at the meaty claws that were once his hands. Lost for a moment in reverie, his head snapped up when he heard voices.

Ahead was a T-intersection - forward lead to another sign saying "To Trams" (probably, anyway - the last experiment made him a bit nearsighted) and another closed blast door. To the right, where the voices were coming from, was a bubbling goo spill. That's where the voices were coming from. His hearing must have been enhanced, because he heard voices. Two of them were security, and it sounded like there was at least one scientist.

Ah, he thought, time for some more revenge.

"This won't hurt a bit," he tried to quip. He roared instead. Close enough.

His engorged feet pounded on the floor as he began walking, calmly, toward the supply closet.

Vince heard a small roar that sounded like it came from somewhat far away. He decided to check it out. He looked out the hallway that was outside of his lab. There seemed to be something that kind of resembles a person going towards what seemed to be the supply closet. He remembered the thing. He had decreased vision, but his hearing was better. The only reason he would be going over there would be because he heard something. In fact, he did barely hear what seemed to be a ventilation shaft breaking. So there was probably someone in there. So his best option would be to try to get the thing's attention. Though, there wasn't too much in the lab to defend himself with, and he obviously wouldn't be able to beat it bare handed. He roared again. Vince still hadn't gotten used to him roaring whenever he tried to talk. But, he was still going towards the supply closet, and Vince still need to get him away. He looked around. He saw a pen. He could probably teleport it which would get the attention of the thing, and get them away from the supply closet. He took the pen and threw it into the teleporter. That would have to get the attention of it.