The following was recovered from the diary of a British anthropologist sent to study the social behavior of the Chimera. Her body was found with a tape recorder and several sketches a week after the supplied date.
November 18, 1951.
I do not remember exactly how I was knocked unconscious, or how long I was out. I only remember awakening to the guttural sound of Chimeran screams. I had apparently been taken to the remains of a local high school, as I woke sprawled over a plastic chair in a corner of a classroom. Most of the floor had been caked with stale blood, and the cadaver of a soldier slumped in front of the blackboard in the front of the room. Cautiously, I tried to stand, eyes darting around, searching for the twitchy, sudden movement I had come to associate with death.
After a brief scan of my surroundings, it was clear that the Chimera had left me for dead. Though I wanted nothing more than to run and leave this place, it was my job to study the very creatures designed to kill me. Trails of darker bloody smears lead from a few of the desks to a doorway, and I reluctantly followed them, tape recorder in hand.
I opened the door to a hallway and rounded a corner, treading softly on the cracked linoleum. Only a few lights were still in working condition, and I considered using my flashlight. Luckily, I decided against it; in retrospect, it would have been a dead giveaway to my position. I continued until the roars of the Chimera were eerily close, stopping near the entrance to another classroom. A small window had been built into the doorframe, and I peeked inside, praying they wouldn't notice me.
There were three of them: Two Hybrids and a Steelhead, the latter shrieking adamantly at its subordinates. It had set down its Auger on the floor, and seemed to be having an argument with the Hybrids. As it cried, it made furious hand gestures and exhibited the dominant posture commonly seen in apes and humans. Its mouth gaped, and it bared its fangs at the smaller Chimera, growling with hatred. The Hybrids responded by hanging their heads and shying away from the Steelhead, whimpering quietly and occasionally hissing. After a particularly loud call from the Steelhead, they set down their Bullseye rifles and placed them next to their leader's Auger. Still fuming after minutes of verbal abuse, the Steelhead approached the smaller of the two Hybrids.
They were fighting like humans! Fascinated, I began recording the Steelhead's vocalization patterns, pressing the tape recorder up to the window to capture more of the sounds.
The Steelhead stomped up to the weak Hybrid, pausing just inches from its face. The Hybrid kneeled in submission, howling remorsefully and begging for mercy. Its leader didn't relent, however, and the Steelhead struck the Hybrid with a clawed swipe. The latter shrank back as the former recoiled, and again the Hybrid was beaten with the Steelhead's balled fist. To finish the Hybrid off, the stronger Chimera lunged forward with both hands and jammed its short talons into its victim's eye sockets. The Hybrid screeched in agony and reared back, collapsing onto its side in a bloodied, blind heap. Satisfied, the Steelhead ripped its fingers from its follower's skull and turned to face the second Hybrid. It nearly sobbed with horror at its leader's cruel punishment, and the Steelhead decided to let it go with a slap to the back of its head. Traumatized and wounded, the Hybrids paced towards the door, perhaps hoping to escape further discipline.
My mind went white with fear as the Chimera came closer. I had only a few seconds to live. The two opened the classroom door and stepped through it, and I could smell their chemical odor and hear their raspy breaths. The stronger of the Hybrids spotted me first, huddling behind the open door. I stared into its cruel yellow eyes, and it stared into mine, surprise and hostility unanimous between us. Then, it reached for a Hedgehog grenade in a pack at its waist, and I gasped with terror. It began to back away from me, and was about to throw the weapon, when I tightened my grip on my tape recorder.
What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. In my stupor, I must have bumped the Rewind and Play buttons. When I cringed in preparation of spines piercing every pore in my body, the tape began to play back. Hearing the familiar sounds of its leader's abuse, the Hybrids quickly retreated. Humbled by this new weapon, they bolted down the hallway at top speed, crying softly and forgetting all instinct to kill. I slowly stood up as I realized what had happened.
I had won.