Sin looked through the reports, "What are you thinking?" one of the other doctors asked him.
Dr. Shore, a tiger faunus from Vacuo, bright orange hair and dark skin with a thick tail swaying behind him. One of the top ten researchers in all of Remnant and like Sin a huntsman. He was only a huntsman for a short time after he graduated from Haven academy, six short years before deciding to change his career choice to researching the creatures of grimm his skills as a huntsman allowing him to capture the monsters alive for study.
Sin hummed, "I'm thinking we need to try and dig up old shipping manifests from back then. If the first grimm really came to Vacuo by boat then someone had to send them. There are only a few places they could have come from considering their shortened life spans while in captivity."
Dr. Shore crossed his arms, "If it was that easy it would have been done years ago. Chances are the manifests from back then were falsified and even if we were to recover them they probably wouldn't lead anywhere."
Another man walked up to them, a rather scrawny human male with pale skin and messy brown hair, "Personally I think we should be considering how these creatures were created in the first place. We know its a virus of some sort, a mutagen that turns normal animals into these abominations and causes humans and faunus to lose their minds, but where did the virus come from? These monsters only started appearing eighty-years ago just before the end of the war and we have no reason to believe this virus predates that time."
Sin looked at him, "So in other words we need to be looking into people or businesses from that period who had interests in sciences."
The man nodded, "Not just sciences, any form of research that did not involve machinery. There will be much to go through, but I believe that will be a much better lead to follow."
"Shore?" Sin asked, "Your thoughts?"
The tiger faunus wrapped his hand around his chin, "It would definitely be easier to find records of an old business than it would be to find a shipping manifest. There's always been the idea that some corporation created the virus to be used as a weapon, but no real evidence or reasoning could ever be brought forth to give it any credibility."
Sin returned his focus to the papers in front of him, "We could tackle this from both sides. Even if the shipping logs seems like a long shot I feel we should try it, we didn't get to where we are today by dismissing ideas without attempting first."
The scrawny human agreed, "That is true, and we do have enough resources to pursue both. Sadly the lead at my lab is not convinced of my idea."
Dr. Shore looked at him, "And which lab are you from? I don't recall ever meeting you before?"
The tiny human met his gaze, "Oh I'm from Mistral's capital facility. Even though I have level three clearance Dr. Birk won't listen to me."
Sin sighed, "That sounds like him, his ego and narcissism is unmatched."
Shore agreed, "Good ol' Bill, if he doesn't agree to another's ideas he steals them as his own. Honestly if it wasn't for the fact that he was good at his job I would have gotten him thrown out long ago."
"Isn't he here?" Sin asked, "I'm pretty sure I saw him on the sign in list."
"Yes he's here" the weak hazel-haired man answered, "Though he didn't attend the conference, he said it wasn't worth his time so he's in the lab."
"Yeah that's Bill" Sin said, "By the way what's your name?"
"Oh me?" he seemed surprised by him asking, "Oh well, I'm Jacob. Jacob Romine."
Sin and Shore glanced at each other, "You're Jacob Romine?" Shore asked in disbelief.
"Y, yes" he answered.
Shore continued, "You're the guy who discovered the chemical compound we use to tranquilize those monsters?"
Romine lowered his head, "Yeah."
Sin crossed his arms, "Not what I imagined you would look like."
Romine rubbed his nape, "Well my accomplishment doesn't really reflect my appearance, or personality."
Shore asked, "Didn't Dr. Birk say the tranquilizer compound was his idea?"
Sin shrugged, "You said it, dear old William loves to try and steal credit for the work of others. He tried to do it to me once when I visiting his facility" he laughed, "Of course he tried to publish the idea without any trials which actually gave me more time to iron out the details and get the whole thing to work."
Shore nodded to the side, "Not a surprise, he's only in this for the money after all."
"ROMINE!" a voice boomed.
A rather portly fair skinned man with a thick black moustache walked into the room, his brown eyes glaring at Jacob who was now trembling.
"Where have you been?" he asked straightening his red tie and the colors of his bark blue suit.
Jacob stuttered, "Uh, I was attending the conference sir."
Birk crossed his arms, "The conference that ended twenty minutes ago? I seem to recall tell you to bring hurry back once it was over and yet here you stand without what I told you to bring me."
Birk looked at Sin and Dr. Shore, "Look who's here, Sin Helms. The man who thinks he can do the job of an entire facility all by himself."
Sin shrugged, "Well I have."
Birk then turned to Shore, "And why are you here Shore? What have you done recently to be invited to such an important gathering?"
Shore asked him, "You mean besides capturing live specimens for facilities throughout the kingdoms?
The heavyset doctor glared at him, "You bring in specimens, well good for you. What contributions have you actually made to find a cure? Nothing, but I guess that's all that can be expected from a faunus, what you lack in brains you make up for in brawn."
Sin stepped between them, "Would you care to repeat that last part?"
Before Birk could answer him gunshots echoed in the hall outside and they could hear other researchers screaming and then came the howls.
"No" Shore said before Sin rushed out into the hall just in time to see a beowolf pounce a guard and with a single swipe of its claws rip shred his armor.
Sin looked back into the room, "Shore let's go" he yelled sprinting toward the beowolf tackling it off the pinned guard.
The grimm turned and snarled at Sin as he ducked to cover the guard while Dr. Shore behind him drew his weapon and began firing at the monster killing it. Sin helped the guard back to his feet, thankfully his armor was just torn up and he was uninjured. Taking the guard's second pistol Sin asked how the beowolf had gotten in.
"I don't know how it happened" the guard explained, "I came down for a shift change and I saw Barney dead and grimm coming out of the live specimen room. Somehow they got out."
The halls echoed with the howls of the grimm and Sin yelled, "We need to leave now!"
"Is there anyone else down here?" Shore asked the guard.
The guard shook his head, "Anyone back there is dead, we need to get everyone off this level before lockdown goes into effect."
Hearing more howls Sin pushed the guard behind him, "Let's get going. Shore take point I'll cover the rear."
"Alright let's go" Shore said, "Romine, Birk stay behind me."
The group moved though the halls away from the conference room and toward the labs making sure everyone was alerted and had gotten out, instead they saw the labs half destroyed and blood covering every wall and shelf. Three bodies littered the floor, limbs and other pieces strewn about the room along with organs and other gore. Dr. Romine covered his mouth running to a nearby waste bin to empty his stomach with Sin staying close to make sure he wasn't attacked.
Shore shook his head, "No way anyone survived down here."
Sin replied, "As unlikely as it may be we can't risk leaving people behind, we need to try and find anyone who might be alive and get them out of here."
Dr. Birk shouted, "Are you daft? We need to save ourselves, everyone down here is on their own. Why should we risk our lives for them if they weren't smart enough to get out of here?"
Sin checked the ammunition in his pistol, "Because I said so. Shore I've got fifteen, what about you?"
Shore answered, "Twelve. Let's do a quick sweep of each room and get out of here."
The guard agreed, "I wouldn't feel right leaving someone behind. As terrifying as this is, we have to at least try. Let's go, each office keeps a spare weapon just in case, it would be better if we were all armed."
Shore asked him, "What's your name anyway?"
"Jeffery, Jeffery Matoi."
Sin asked him, "Any combat experience?"
Matoi nodded, "Former corporal in the Atlas military. I've fought these things a couple of times, I can hold my own."
Shore slowly opened a door, "You know how to use aura?"
Shore shook his head, "No sir. But any weapon you hand me I can use, so I won't hold you back."
"Good" Sin said opening a drawer and tossing him another pistol, "Alright, Romine, Birk, let's get you two armed."
Moving further down the hall the silence was becoming unnerving, with the grimm loose the alarm should have sounded, but so far nothing.
"No!" they heard someone scream from around the corner, "Stay back! No!"
"Let's move!" Shore yelled sprinting down the hall with Matoi behind him.
A pair of scientists were running from the grimm one of them firing a gun blindly behind him as they ran, both of their lob coats stained in blood.
"Over here" Shore yelled to them catching their attention.
The two began running toward the faunus, but the window into a nearby lab shattered as a beowolf lunged through it tackling one of the scientists and sinking its jaws into his shoulder. He screamed and flailed begging for help before the grimm jumped back into the room as Shore began shooting at it the pained screams of its prey soon silenced by the sickening sound of flesh being ripped apart. Shore yelled at the remaining scientist to keep running, sprinting down the hall to cover his retreat until they made it back to the group.
"Owen. They got Owen" he panicked, "They killed him."
Shore kept his weapon trained at the hall in front of them, "Its too late, is there anyone else down that way?"
He shook his head, "No, we were the last two, we were taking our break in the security room with my husband when we noticed the grimm getting out of their pens. We tried to sound the alarm, but it was tampered with and the security footage from before the conference was all erased."
Sin looked at the camera on the corner wall, "These are live feeds on a closed circuit" he said.
Matoi suggested, "Someone must have hacked in somehow. Either way if the alarm was tampered with that means no one above us has any idea what's going on. We need to find a way to signal an evacuation. If we can keep the grimm contained to this level we can activate the sanitation protocol and wipe them out."
Sin nodded before looking at the researcher, "Are you sure you're the last one down here?"
He nodded, "Everyone else is. My husband he."
Shore grabbed his shoulder, "Look, I know you're afraid, but there will time for mourning later. For now we need to get out of here, alright?"
The scientist struggled to compose himself, "Alright, here" he handed Shore his gun, "There's probably only a few rounds left, but you'll make better use of it than me."
"It'll be fine Dr. Quartz" Matoi told him, "We'll get you out of here, just stay close."
"Let's go" Sin told them turning back the way they came.
They backtracked through the labs hearing the growls of the monsters in the adjacent rooms and labs forcing them to crouch and duck under the windows to sneak by them. They could hear them in one of the rooms, eating. The sounds of bones snapping and voracious chomping and swallowing. Dr. Quartz and Romine covered their mouths struggling to not shudder or panic lest the monsters hear them.
"We're almost to the elevators" Sin said as they rounded a corner, "Just down this hall and."
A gunshot echoed through the hall followed by someone yelling.
"Come on! Come on!" another gunshot.
"Shotgun" Shore said noticing the sound of the weapon.
"You're not going to eat me" the person continued yelling as he fired, "Take that you mealy-mouthed bastards!"
Howls came from behind the group the sound of the echoing gunshots attracting the grimm.
"Dammit" Sin growled, "Let's move!"
Bringing his aura up he ran around the corner toward the elevators shouting as they rounded the corner, "Friendlies hold your fire!"
They saw a guard covered in blood aiming a shotgun at them, "Stay back!" he demanded, "Any of you bit?"
"We're clean" Sin told him, "I'm a huntsman from Beacon, we're fine."
The blood-stained guard lowered his weapon, "Alright" he said as the elevator door opened, "Come on we need to get out of here."
Stepping into the elevator the guard slammed his fist against the wall, "What is this shit?! How did those things get out and why hasn't the alarm sounded?"
"Someone tampered with our security" Quartz told him, "I just don't know why anyone would want to release those monsters."
"Questions for later" Shore told them, "For now we need to focus on."
He stopped when the blood-stained guard began coughing, hunching against the wall as hack after hack expelled air from his lungs soon followed by blood.
"No!" Romine panicked backing into the corner with Quarts and Birk, "He was bitten! He was bitten!"
"I'm fine" the guard coughed, "I'm not" another cough, "I'm not infe."
His coughing got worse and worse until he could no longer breathe and he dropped to his knees passing out. Sin, Shore and Matoi stood between him and the others, the claustrophobic elevator making the situation even more terrifying as they waited. The elevator passed by sub-level two only two more levels and they would be back at the ground floor.
"Don't take your eyes off him" Shore whispered, "He could turn at any second."
Then the elevator rumbled before coming to a stop as the lights went out, illuminating them in a dim red emergency glow as everything became silent.