Quiet.
By the time I saw the ripples caused by the armored lizard disappear beyond the tree line, the woman had already disappeared into the woods in the other direction.
Something had almost come to the surface when I saw her face — gone as well.
Her tracks led a small distance away, where they abruptly disappeared. Crushed pine needles on the ground, slight scars on the bark bleeding sap. The scent blended into the earthy odor of surrounding pine trees.
Counter-tracking by a fellow recon operative.
Thirst.
Approaching the water, overlaid on the riverbed was my reflection. Pale gray skin streaked in dried crimson black, stuck on claw and fang. Stains breaking the uniform dark crimson carapace in splotches of shadow. Some still bright and slowly dripping. Four eyes capturing every detail.
Disgusting.
Ripples disturbed the water as I entered, dust rising to obscure the surface. Beginning to try scrub. To get it off, the small cloud of red starting to expand through the now murky water. Being washed away downstream.
Claws would occasionally scar skin, drawing small cuts which closed in a moment. But some areas could not be reached. The back plates of hard keratin were only brushed by flowing water.
Clean.
The drops dripped as my body left the water, a streak of wet ground behind me. Looking at my hand, dense muscle rippling in my arms as I turned them over. Crimson gone from fingers ending in black claws. Clenching into fists.
Still not enough.
She still would have run away.
…
Slowly pacing along the water.
Under the dimming artificial sky, I was alone in the forest. Quiet calm swaying of branches occasionally broken by the creaking of wood and distant cries of wildlife.
Feeling the wind.
Faint rumble echoing from within.
Then stopped.
The lithe animal entering my sight.
Soft brown fur.
White spots dotting it.
Head low to the water.
Taking sips.
Before slowly moving again.
Unseen by its black eyes.
—Crack!
As it lifted its head in an instant.
Eyes and ears swiveling
Until it found me.
Standing by the tree-line.
Jumping and skipping in the next moment.
Joining others and disappearing in the underbrush.
Releasing my grasp.
Wood and bark crushed and fell to the ground.
A nearby branch gripped hard until shattered as my heart started to bounce when I spotted it.
This is not me — not how I was. Dispatched, on a mission to disrupt research within this facility — not a mindless beast.
Only reacting on instinct. Confused, chased — attacked.
What mission? My fist clenched harder, black nails digging into skin. Pain.
"We detected… Unusual movement… Weapons. You are to disrupt…"
The faint flash of memory as blood started to drip between my fingers. The dark room where we had sat for the briefing. Screen flickering with diagrams. All hazy.
Falling to the floor, spots of crimson in the green forest surrounding me. False sky overhead, rippling water coming from who knows where. This underground life, biological. Sustained by a facility.
The long drawn-out hiss of my breath.
Relativistic weapons were an error. A goal mismatched to what appeared to be done here. Within this large structure. Animal life and specimens. Studied under surveillance in a free yet designed environment. An intel flaw.
My own body, transformed in an unrecognizable form.
Biological research. Subjects experimented on.
…
The deer had disappeared into the forest, bounding away into the unknown. The ecosphere appeared to extend indefinitely. An illusion constructed within this facility, aided by a false clouded sky. It obviously had to have an outer boundary.
The entryway I had used was hidden within a rocky formation, hiding the transition to the digital sky. The surrounding pines prevented me from getting a clear picture of this space. But above the canopy line, a jagged peak seemed to extend high above.
Setting course, the sky was growing dim. Warm amber sunlight giving way to a cold silvery shine. Day and night. Assessment would wait until the morning, if you could call it that. But a vantage would be necessary to overview the forest.
No life could be seen — only scents, faint and scattered all over. The forest was still alive, every so often a nocturnal bird would cry out. The fluttering of leaves, when a small animal was startled by my approach through the undergrowth.
It was totally dark when I arrived. Dim moonlight illuminated the narrow peak, sending a long shadow into the forest. A mouth of darkness open at its base, a cave and shelter for the night. To wait for morning.
A damp and earthy scent permeated the air inside the cave. Accompanied the faint scent of sickly sweet rot, and feral residues of a previous occupant. The cave was empty but for a few scattered bones and pine needles, moss carpeted the rocky walls, growing unchecked. Some faint droplets of water finding their way through fissures and ended in a shallow pool.
It must have offered refuge to some other kind of beast, scattered gray tufts of fur caught on rocks. But it would do for a night. Recce in the morning.
Yet it was just as I was going to lay down for rest that they came.
Three canine animals. Covered in short gray fur, snouts long and snarling. Matching the feral residues I had picked up. Returning after a day out in the woods.
Wolves.
Their low growls. Teeth exposed as they approached before stopping a distance away. Fur bristling, tail stiff and high, silhouetted against the silver shine outside the cave.
Barking before they took turns, charging and then diverting at a still safe range.
A vibrating hiss sent them back. But they returned, eager to try again. Barking. Growling. Snarling.
The growing irritation of a challenge slowly rising from deep within. As they seemed to become more confident, coming closer with each repetition. Finally coming too close. Within grasp. Unaware. Their jaws clacking as they passed, feigning bites.
As one of them charged again, the extending scythes left it no time to retreat. Letting out a short yelp as it got pinned to the ground. Going silent after a whimper. The other two only took a moment before scampering off. Retreating out of the cave. Looking back as they vanished in the night.
The scythe retracted with a wet schlick, spreading a new iron scent inside the cave. A rumble reminded me of the impulse I had ignored again. The carcass, slowly cooling as it laid on the rocky floor. Small rivulets of blood flowing, becoming thicker. Contaminating the water pool.
Fur and skin scattered on the ground, finally sated as I curled up in the dark.
Lingering taste of iron in my mouth.
Dirty again.
Damn it.
…