Chapter 4: Meow
Once inside, everyone looked around, hands on knees, trying to catch their breath. There was the sound of scratching from the metal door, but it soon abated.
They were in a drab, gray hallway, no decorations, just the faint glow of light bulbs overhead. A few doorways branched out to either side, locked with keypads.
With shock that it was necessary, Courtney thanked Rick. Never did she think it would be necessary to do so.
"Hold on a tic," Emily said, "how did you know that code?"
Rock shrugged, "long story, babe. Maybe some other night."
Paul growled and poked him in the chest, "no, I think you need to explain it. Right. Now."
"Uh... alright, I guess we can make time," Rick said, nervously, backed against the wall, "I used to... volunteer here. I'll take you on the tour. You won't believe my story if I don't."
Suspiciously, the others walked behind him, listening with curiosity as the story got weirder and weirder.
"They were looking for volunteers, people they promised things to. A better life, a better you. We all thought why not? So, after extensive physicals, they brought us here. And things got weird. A few people got impatient and tried to back out of the program. They disappeared... the rest of us were given separate, small rooms to stay in. We were told we may be there for a week or two. It was months. We wanted out, but anyone who openly expressed their distaste disappeared. We didn't think they left. Not when those horrible screams were heard every night. Bloodcurdling screams. Those of us left were terrified, too scared to do anything. But we knew we had to try and escape. It was both a relief and a horror when many of the screams stopped. But there was one left. And it didn't sound as human anymore, like all the sanity was gone from the poor guy. So we planned in secret, trying to escape what had become a jail. Our doors were padlocked, for our safety they said. Well, it wasn't too hard to sit on the bunk and watch what numbers were punched in. We soon got the codes, and upon sharing, found they were all the same. All that was left to do was plan our escape night. Most of the scientists slept at night, leaving select few up to do whatever they did, absorbed in their work. That was the hope."
The group walked behind Rick, stunned silent by his story. He stopped by a door. It looked no different from any other, but he seemed to know it to be different.
"This is my old room. Someone else is probably there now. They would have needed more test subjects after that night... I was the only one who made it out. The others... well, there were five of us left. Kate chickened out, tried to make me do the same. I refused and the other three were with me. we left our rooms and snuck down the halls. They all wanted to find any other survivors. so we opened up a few random doors... there was no one left to save. Not any humans. Here." He lead everyone to another door and opened it. They peered in, then turned away just as quickly. Rick closed the door. "They at least treated us better than the cats. And they cleaned up our dead bodies. Not the cats. Not any of the animals."
Emily closed her eyes, unable to get the image of that room out of her mind. There were mounds of fur, covering decaying bodies of cats of all sizes. From tiny house cats to large mountain lions, they were all there.
"But they wouldn't give up on finding the others. And so, in that night, we discovered where everyone had gone. It's hard to believe, but they were attempting to cross breed humans and cats. Something about creating a super race... it failed. No one survived the process. I don't know what the scientists did, but it was fatal. Everyone died within days. One grew cat-like ears, but something changed inside that killed him. That's when I left. I waited outside the building for the others until morning, then until noon. They never made it out."
There was silence.
Then Paul broke it. "You ruddy arse! And you brought us here?"
Rick shrugged. "Leave if you want. Good luck with the thing that was following us."
They all looked at each other, wondering which was the worst of two dangers.
Meanwhile, not far off from the group, a woman stirred. Her hair, stringy from lack of care, covered her face as she raised it from the cold cement floor. She slowly raised herself to a sitting position, trying not to moan in pain. Her surroundings were familiar, drab and grey, but it wasn't where she remembered being last. It didn't surprise her; it wasn't the first time. The once hospitable scientists had long since lost their patience and their tempers, so this kind of thing happened often when she wouldn't cooperate. Pushed to the floor, head knocked on a wall or concrete floor... All part of a day for her. She knew it was only time before they broke her bones irreparably, but she was determined they would never break her spirit. She would never cooperate with their sick experiments. Not anymore.
The sound of voices, muted by the walls surrounding her, caused her to shrink back and scowl at the door. She bared her teeth. But these voices were different. For one, half of them were British. And they were loud, not the sneaking, snivelling voices used by the criminalistic scientists. Her guard was let down by the smallest increment. She inched towards the door and listened to the conversation.
"Ye ruddy bastard!" John growled, "I don't care if ye think ye saved us, this is bloody ridiculous!"
Rick shrugged and eyed Emily, then winced at her hard expression. He had so wanted to be her knight in shining armour, take her with him and have her as his own.
"If anything happens to us, it's yer fault," John continued, "and it'll be all on you. Yer fault. If we get mauled by a catman, if we get murdered, if we're all tortured and turned into disgusting creatures with-"
"Shush," Courtney finally said.
Paul's mouth was pursed shut, daggers shooting from his eyes every time he glanced at Rick. He held tight to his girl, protectively.
"Well, fine," Rick pouted, "but I'm going to find a place to spend the night." He walked up to a door.
"Don't be stupid!" Paul hissed.
But Rick swung the door open quickly, still pouting.
"Ye moron!" Emily gasped.
Her door, the one that kept her confined, was suddenly violently pulled outwards. A growl in her throat, she shrank back against the bright hallway light, multiple silhouettes black in it. As her eyes adjusted, she was surprises to see they wore normal clothes, jeans and t-shirts and dresses of the likes she hadn't seen in years. There were no white coats, no pressed black pants. And the expressions... they were shocked, no bored, mundane, calculating expression. They were genuinely shocked.
"Are you alright?" Courtney asked first, rushing towards the gaunt woman. She slowed as she approached, hands outstretched peacefully, acting as one would towards a possibly feral animal.
Emily was a step behind, feeling a bit more cautious towards the strange, snarling woman.
"Emily," Paul hissed, following his girl protectively, "Come back, love!" He begged, not wanting anything to happen to her, and trying to keep her away from any possible danger.
"Ma'am," Courtney said, "Are you alright?"
"Ye've got a nasty bruise on yer forehead," Emily pointed out in a calm, soothing voice, "an a cut above yer eye. Will ye let us help?"
The woman eyed up the strangers suspiciously, then stood up rather than crouching. "This is nothing," she rasped, as if it had been a while since she had used her voice. She raised an eyebrow at the two girls. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"Ask him," Paul said, emerging next to Emily and pointing back at Rick, who was hanging back by the door.
The woman followed his finger and widened her eyes when she saw who he was pointing at. She gasped. "Rickie?"
With an embarrassed duck of the head, Rick confirmed his name. He then looked back at her, guilt written on every inch of his face. "I'm sorry... so sorry... You should have gotten out... Kate, I'm sorry."
She wheezed a bit, attempting what used to be a warm laugh. The ability was sucked out of her in the place of suffering. "Rickie, it was my fault. But why did you come back?"
Rick looked her in the eyes, not saying a word, but with a serious look on his face. It was the only answer she needed, and they both knew it.
"So it's true," she whispered.
Rick nodded. He then seemed to realize his tough guy facade was falling apart around him, and that wouldn't do. "Not that it was a big deal. I could handle it," he added arrogantly.
Kate smiled faintly.
"Hold on a tic," John said, interrupting the conversation in his usual fashion, "what aren't you telling us?"
Kate turned towards him. "Well, aren't you the smart one?" She asked.
He shrugged. "That's what they say."
"What has Rickie told you?" She questioned.
Before John could reply, Paul brought up a good point. "Oi, aren't there mad scientists around 'ere? And they know where ye are, Kate, which puts us all in danger. Did anyone else even consider that we should perhaps find a safe place to hide from them?"
The others looked sheepishly at each other. "Oh," Courtney said quietly. Leave it to Paul to be the only practical one present.
"Fair point," Kate rasped approvingly, "Follow me."
Rick and Stephen immediately lined up behind her and followed her out of the room.
"Why should we trust you?" John asked, eyes squinted.
She turned back to glare at him, not bothering to answer. It was clear that the options were to follow or be left behind to wander on their own.
"Keep yer guard up," Paul warned, as the group followed her.
"No shit," John replied.
The two British lads kept their girls close as they were led down the hallways, sneaking around in a typical ninja attempt.
The group of seven slunk through the maze-like hallways, no plan seemingly in place other than to keep going and avoid being seen. Paul, after scrutinizing the walls, found it a miracle no security cameras were in place. He couldn't imagine the reasoning behind that, or the thick stupidity. But it worked in their favour, so he wasn't about to complain!
As the halls snaked farther and farther into the centre of the building, the lights became dimmer, and Kate instinctively kept to the shadows. It wasn't her first rodeo; she had learned how to sneak around effectively so the scientists couldn't find her. Though, it wasn't them she was worried about...
"Rick," John hissed, "what the bloody hell is going on? What haven't you told us?"
Rick slowed his pace and began to walk in step with Lennon. "Keep your crazy friend away from killing me, and I'll tell you. Not that I couldn't handle a fight! Just... wouldn't wanna embarrass him, you know."
John rolled his eyes and nodded. Next to him, Courtney listened intently to the hushed conversation. Paul and EC were whispering frantically on her other side, oblivious to the other conversation.
"Alright," Rick said, "i didn't wanna tell anyone... especially when he was chasing us in the woods... i wasn't exactly the only one who escaped that night. There were twins, identical. One of them got out with me. The other didn't. Ron went with me while Diane was stuck here. I didn't know, at the time, that they had been treated. There were no side effects, not like the others, the ones who had failed. This injection didn't kill the twins, didn't force agony onto their every waking moment. It was silent, and the two didn't even think it worked. Thought it was a scientific dud. Ron told me after we escaped, and i figured the same. He didn't look any different. I was certainly stronger, and better-looking."
John snorted quietly, but said nothing.
"The first week, he was fine. We survived together, avoiding the search parties. We found a town, but they had told the cops we were fugitives on the run. Our faces were plastered on those wanted posters. I mean, i know i'm wanted, who wouldn't want me? But not in that way. We could get food at busy places, like McDonalds, but couldn't stick around. We still had our wallets, you understand. I'm smart."
John opened his mouth, but Courtney elbowed him, not wanting him to interrupt Rick, even if he was a stupid git.
"Anyway, after a week, Ron began to grow sullen and moody. He lashed out for little reason, but i figured it was no biggie. He lost his former life; grumpiness wasn't strange. But then, i found him one night, standing over a dead deer... he had blood in his hands, literally. Hands and face. He didn't see me; he was too intent on his victorious catch. That was when i realized he looked different. Thinner, but that wasn't too odd. But he was leaner, had more muscle. He didn't have a tail yet, but i noticed he stopped sitting normally, like it was uncomfortable on his tailbone. What else... there were lots of little things... But the third time i found him like that, i ran. Any civilized manners in eating were gone. He was tearing apart the meat face first. And i couldn't tell what kind of meat it was. I left, and he left me alone."
"So," Courtney whispered, shocked, "that thing that was chasing us? It was him?"
Rick nodded.
John let out a soft whistle. "Under any other circumstances, I'd say you're crazy. As it is, ye're still a ruddy moron."
Kate turned back and shushed everyone, looking exasperated with the group.
Paul and Emily, who had been talking about how far they should trust Kate, as well as what they would do when they got out, quit their chatter, as did Rick.
Kate nodded in approval, then led on cautiously. She rounded a corner, then quickly backed up, motioning for the others to go back, her eyes wide. She very nearly pushed Stephen over as she herded everyone back.
Rick, seeming to understand her panic, quickly punched in the code for the nearest door and everyone filed in, sensing clearly the unease.
To everyone's relief, the room was free of anything dead, as well as anything living. It was simply a clean, white room, one that looked like it had never been used.
Once the door was safely shut, John turned to Rick. "Ye know, ye never told what happened to the other twin."
Rick glanced nervously over at Kate. "I don't know... I only assumed."
Kate nodded, leaning against a wall. "Diane, I assume. She became strange. Basically, she became half cat. Not sure which breed, but something big. Mountain lion, maybe. There's now a one-woman security system, controlled by a shock collar," she explained, closing her eyes.
"So..." Paul said, "Basically, it's gonna eat us. Great."
Kate glared. "SHE," she emphasized, "attacks due to her new animal instincts, but her human side never lets her kill. Diane's still there. But she's not pleasant to encounter. The scientists are only safe because they have controllers for her collar. Nasty shock stops the poor girl every time."
Paul leaned against the opposite wall, rubbing his forehead. "So what do we do?" He asked.
Kate slid down to the floor and settled down onto her side. "Sleep. We'll be better off in the morning. Or whenever we wake."
Glancing at each other, the others shrugged and did their best to settle in as comfortably as possible.
"Goodnight," John called out, enfolding Courtney in his arms.
"Nigh, Johnny-boy," Paul replied tiredly, snuggling up with Emily. He was too tired to argue against sleeping. Besides, mutated cat people were way beyond his specialty. He had to admit Kate knew more than him on the subject, and allowed himself to follow her orders, at least for the time being.