This was not how it was supposed to happen. Dr. Santos thought. Lights flashed in strobe, sirens whooped, objects crashed, footsteps echoed. Dr. Santos only wished their security clearance would allow them to leave this room to see what was happening. A bigger part of their thoughts however, were much happier in the safety behind that locked door. Dr, Santos climbed under the desk. A little more security couldn't hurt, and there was nothing they could do but wait.
But the waiting was endless and Dr. Santos' thought kept creeping back to how this was probably their fault. They had deliberately dropped hints to the kids about the outside world. They had hoped it would make the children more amenable when they finally broke them out. It never occurred to Dr. Santos for a second that the kids would try to free themselves or that they would try to leave so soon.
After an age, the sirens stopped. But that left the echoes of screams and crashes to be heard periodically. Dr. Santos found their thoughts to focus less on self blame and more on self preservation.
They didn't' have the clearance to "know" what the secret project was, but Dr. Santos knew anyway. That was part of their mission. This knowledge only increased their fear though. He did not want to encounter them. Equally, they could not get out of this facility. This train of thought led only to shame. They knew enough spy stories to know that spies were supposed to be resourceful and agile, and yet Dr. Santos sat curled under a desk. Knowing they were more a desk spy rather than a field agent offered little condolence.
Maybe there was something they could do though. They slid their phone from their pocket and dialled Audrey. She wasn't a spy at all, but maybe she could help them. She was after all a trained guide.
The phone rang out. Dr. Santos guessed that Audrey probably kept it on silent and non-lighting and non-vibrating. She wouldn't want dinosaurs to be alerted to where she was.
Dr. Santos sent her a text. If nothing else, she must check her phone intermittently. Maybe, hopefully, Audrey could do something to help.
That task done, Dr. Santos now felt less like hiding. Thinking more clearly, they realised that if things went badly, that door may never open. Dr. Santos needed to get out of this room and, being really careful, out of the compound entirely. They climbed onto the chair and swung over to the display panel and pulled up the emergency map. Moments later, they'd pinpointed their location. Next task, a path out of here.
Having swept the map onto their personal phone, Dr. Santos was able to take it with them. The emergency map was substantially different to the other maps that were posted on the walls. Sections had become available because it was an emergency situation. Ordinarily they were hidden like so many of the secrets here - but at least someone had the common sense to ensure that saving people's lives were a high priority.
According to the map, there was an access tunnel behind this room. The compound was riddled with them for just such a reason. The possibility of a dinosaur breaching the perimeter was a very constant threat - and tunnels such as these were designed to help humans escape. They grabbed an emergency pack - released from its cavity as soon as the alarms started, and started rummaging through it. It didn't take them long to find a bolt key. Using it, Dr. Santos was able to open the access hatch into the tunnel. They poked their head inside. It was dark and silent inside. Dark or silent in there, or possibly locked out here forever? There was no real question, they just had to work up the courage. Tucking the key back into the pack, and grabbing out a capsicum spray, he climbed in.
Although the access points were small, the tunnel itself was high enough that Dr. Santos could stand comfortably. It was only just wide enough though that two mid sized adults could just squeeze past each other. Definitely not enough space to swing a heavy object - or slash out with a sharp claw - its true function. Everything here was designed to make life hard for dinosaurs and Dr. Santos had never been so grateful for such protocols. Bringing up the map, he decided to head right, the luminescent face of the phone giving just enough light to see by.
Dr. Santos stepped carefully trying to make as little noise as possible. They didn't know a lot about the 'special project' but they'd put money on whatever creature they had designed having heightened senses.
The emergency map was awesome though. It showed the safe areas that were clear of unknowns and how to reach them. In fact, the map showed that there was a room just behind this panel where Dr. Julien Jones was waiting, alone.
Deciding it would be better to escape with company, Dr. Santos got out the bolt key and started working on the bolts. A moment later, they stepped into an empty office. "Dr. Jones?" Dr. Santos called. "Julien, are you in here?"
There was a slight scrape from the far side of the desk. Dr. Santos moved towards it. Tucked tightly underneath, in a ball, was Dr. Jones. The poor kid was barely old enough for his first job. No wonder he was terrified. Dr. Santos had already forgotten they had been in that exact position not fifteen minutes earlier.
"D-Dr. Santos?" Julien looked up. "What's going on?"
"There's been a security breach. We need to get out of here."
"It's not a drill?"
"Let's assume it is, but treat it like it's real." They didn't want to unsettle the boy more than he already was.
"I can't remember what we have to do," Julien confessed.
"It's okay. I'm going to help you." They grabbed an emergency pack and passed it to Julien. "You'll probably want the spray." While Julien was busy looking for it, Dr. Santos returned their attention to the map. So they had found one other survivor, now they both needed to get out. It looked like the tunnel they was just in would lead to an atrium. They'd have to cross that and access a new tunnel system. Fortunately, the atrium, was clear - for now. There were no signs of humans. Julien had only showed up once Dr. Santos was almost at his access hatch. It was impractical to impossible to hunt for survivors - this system was designed to get them out. Simply by accessing it had sent a distress signal out. They would have a different system to help them get to any survivors remaining. It could take days before they decided they could enter the compound. Dr. Santos intended on meeting the first rescue vehicle when it arrived and get as far from here as they could.
"Ready?" Dr. Santos asked as they noticed Julien had the spray firmly in hand.
"Can I say no?"
"Sure you can. But I'm leaving now. So you can stay here alone, or you can come with me."
They ducked back into the tunnel. A moment later, they heard Julien's footsteps close behind.
Stopping short of the atrium panel, Dr. Santos pulled out the map. "Good news," they whispered to the boy behind. "There's 8,9 people there. We can join them."
Grabbing the key, they stepped forward just as a volley of gun shots sounded. The people in the atrium were shooting. Dr. Santos looked at the map again. It clearly said the room was clear. But now screams were added to the shots and one by one, the dots showing human lives vanished from the display.
Dr. Santos gagged and slumped against the wall, sliding until their bottom reached the floor.
"What happened?"
There were no more sounds from the atrium. Dr. Santos didn't answer. They just raised their index finger to their lips indicating quiet.
Inside though, Dr. Santos' thoughts were racing. They could only think of two reasons for what just happened. Either the scientists had turned on each other, killing every last one of them, or the 'special project' had pulled an indomitus - somehow, they had removed their tracking chips. Suddenly, a terrifying thought occurred to them. Were they able to use the map? Is that how they knew they were being tracked? Could they, right now, see that Dr. Santos and Dr. Jones were right here. The thought froze him bone to skin.
Julien opened his mouth, but Dr. Santos shook his head slightly. The younger doctor took the hint and closed it again. Seconds passed. Then a minute. Finally, Dr. Santos decided that if the 'special project' knew they were there, they would have attacked.
Slowly, silently, Dr. Santos rose to their feet. They pointed down the corridor in the direction they had come. Julien understood and started walking down the tunnel.
A crashing sound met them long before they reached the access panel into Dr. Jones' office. It explained the muffled thumping they had heard when they had passed by the one office that separated it from the atrium. Something was trying to get into the offices here. Dr. Santos could only think of one reason why. That something knew they were close.
"Julien, did you close the hatch?" Julien who had frozen at the sounds shook his head slowly. Dr. Santos had guessed already. There was a reason the crashing was so much louder here. "Neither did I." He confessed. "We have to get the hatches closed." Even though they were designed for humans, he was certain that wouldn't stop these creatures. Knowing his own project, he strongly suspected the "special' one was similar, but worse. Which meant those creatures were probably human sized. The older doctor slipped their pack from their shoulder and pulled out the bolt key. "I've got this one. You go do mine. The key should be in the front pocket." They moved to squeeze past the boy but he was already on his way. Dr. Santos noticed a sudden burst of speed as he bolted past the open hatchway, not giving it a glance.
Moments later, Dr. Santos arrived. Unlike Julien, they couldn't avoid looking out into the office. Their stomach tightened and Dr. Santos emptied its contents on the floor. Desperately trying to ignore the hideous creature that was ramming its head into the bulletproof glass window, its long raptor claws scratching at the chucks caused by the impacts. They had to take a step into the office to reach the door and it took every ounce of self control to force themself to do so. Concentrating on not stepping in the vomit helped distract them just enough to get that foot down just as a large chunk of glass hit the floor. Fear drove them as they grabbed the handle of the hatch and swung it closed. It locked as it shut, requiring a human hand to unlock it, but Dr. Santos wasn't willing to bet their life on the creature not finding a way around that.
Fumbling with the key, they bolted each connection closed. With each bolt they heard dreadful crunches and crashes behind the panel. But for now, there was nothing more they could do. Pausing half a second to catch their breath, Dr. Santos ran down the tunnel to meet Julien, terrified that the boy had not been in time. Echoes of bone against metal rang behind him. Scary, yes, but they was certain even a special project wasn't going to get through solid metal - at least not for a long time
A light flickered ahead of them - the display from a phone. Julien followed it. "All good Dr. S." the younger doctor mumbled, then his legs crumpled beneath him.
Dr. Santos pulled out the map one more time. They had given the boy some water and even a hug to calm him, and now that the crashing sounds had stopped, his shaking was now intermittent. It was time to work out what to do next.
The creatures could sense them, but they didn't know where the creatures were. They were blind mice being hunted by the scariest cat on the planet. As far as they could see there was only one piece of good news. The creatures had claws - that meant they would be unable to access many of the doors. That news was only a partial relief though, as apparently locked rooms only slowed them down. They tried to forget the image of the creature at the window. Memory of its too human eyes made them shiver.
Having had the time to think about the situation, Dr. Santos had realised something even more terrifying. The sound of gunshots meant that the group that was slaughtered (his imagination making that a reality as strongly as seeing it would have done) was the first response team. A group that was trained in taking down any projects that escaped. And they were destroyed in seconds. Even if they were safe in this tunnel for the moment, any rescue team would suffer the same fate. They knew how to deal with real dinosaurs, not whatever hybrids were cooked up here.
They looked at the map again and switched to settings. Certain settings were selected as the emergency was the release of projects… There. Dr. Santos switched the settings across. Now it showed movement and heat. There was no guarantee the creatures couldn't regulate their heat, but they would have to move. Back to the map, they could see that there was in fact movement and heat signatures in the offices behind their walls, but no trackers. They had eyes again. "Hey, Julien," they couldn't help but whisper, but added some bite to break through the boy's focus. It worked. Julien looked up. "How are you with the systems in this place? This device is only showing me things in the local area. I want to see where all the creatures are." They didn't add that they were worried someone else may have opened a hatch into this tunnel and even now a special project could be heading their way.
"I could maybe do that." He swept the map to his own device and started flipping through the settings.
"Is it possible to find which hatches are open as well?" They hoped Julien didn't notice the tone of his voice or connect why they were asking for that.
"That one I can do." A few seconds later, "Mother mercy! There is one open. It's a long way from here, but it's open."
"So do we head towards it and possibly another exit used by whoever opened it… or do we move as far from it as we can, drawing our stalkers away from it too?"
Instantly, Dr. Santos regretted their words as they saw Julien freeze in the light of his display. But instead of returning to his shivering lump, he swallowed. "I would suggest the latter option." His voice was husky. "But if they are stalking us…" he blinked a little too long. "I don't know how we will get out without them close behind."
"Let's just see what we can see first. Then we can make a plan, okay?"
Julien nodded and returned to the device.
Sooner than expected, Julien looked up. "Done." He swept his changes across to Dr. Santo's device so they could see themself. The amount of information on the screen was overwhelming. They had no idea where to start. "Here," Julien showed him his display. "These are the … whatever those creatures are that don't have trackers." Four. There were four locations at least - there was no way to know how many were in each location though - he was guessing at least three more creatures judging by how the heat signatures moved.
"Seven of them?"
"That was my count. But who knows." He shrugged. "There's three rooms with movement and no heat signatures. Could be automated or they could regulate their heat." He shrugged. "I suggest we assume they can and avoid those areas too." Dr. Santos was impressed. This was far from the boy shivering in fear. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Here are the other projects. Many are unaccounted for. I assume dead." His eyes dropped at this. "And here," he took a deep breath and stared his elder in the eye, "are the humans."
"How many?" Dr. Santos hissed. There should have been over a hundred.
"About thirty."
"Did any get out?"
"I hope so. There is an outer door that is open."
"That's something, then." Knowing where the humans were… suddenly Dr. Santos realised why they were usually hidden on the map. Knowing meant they were now responsible for them. But first, they needed to be safe themselves. Wait… Dr. Santos zoomed in on a familiar office. Dr. Das'. And there was movement down the corridor outside. "Is there any way we can send a message to everyone? They need to know that these things aren't being tracked."
"Yeah. I saw that… wait." His fingers danced over the display and a moment later a message appeared on Dr. Santos' screen: "Special Project escaped. Use motion detectors to track. Very dangerous. Avoid at all costs. Close hatches behind you." It was maybe not the message Dr. Santos would have sent, but it would do.
"Can I have a screen that shows the creatures and all the other projects?"
"Here." Dr. Jones leaned over and showed them how to switch between the various options. Once able to do it independently, they switched back to the humans.
"Look!" It was the first happy sound either had made since the sirens began. "They got your message!" At least two of the humans were moving through the tunnel system away from the movement. "Shred it!" Dr. Santos' hope dived as they switched back to the creature view. "It's following him!" Switching between the two screens, it was clear that something moved in the same direction that Dr. Das moved. "
Dr. Jones caught their eye. "We're going to need a plan."