Chapter 7: The Lab Rat

The Science Building was quiet. Too quiet.

Ren wiped the green spider blood off his face. It was sticky.

“Which way to the stairs?” he asked.

Chloe pointed down the long white hallway. Her hand was shaking.

“End of the hall,” she whispered. “Stairs go down to the lobby. Then the basement.”

Ren nodded. He could feel the vibrations in the floor with his new Tremor Sense.

Thump… Thump…

Something heavy was walking in the lobby below. It wasn’t shambling like a zombie. It was pacing. Like a guard dog.

“We need weapons,” Ren said. He looked at the bent boning knife. It was useless now. “Real weapons.”

He looked at the lab doors.

[Chemistry Lab 304]

“Is there anything in there?” Ren asked. “Acids? Glass?”

Chloe hesitated. “Maybe. Professor Miller… he was working on something before the sirens went off. He told us to lock the door.”

Ren kicked the door.

Crash.

The lock broke. Ren didn’t even need a key anymore. His strength was too high.

The lab was dark. Equipment hummed softly. Beakers and test tubes were everywhere.

And there was a smell. Sharp. Chemical.

Ren walked in. He scanned the room with Heat Sensing.

Blue. Cold. Except for one spot in the corner.

A cage.

Inside, something small and red was huddled.

Ren walked over. It was a guinea pig. But it had three eyes. And its fur was blue.

[Mutated Lab Specimen (Lvl 1)]

“Cute,” Ren muttered.

He looked at the lab bench. There was a fire axe mounted on the wall behind glass. “In Case of Emergency.”

“Jackpot,” Ren said.

He smashed the glass with his elbow. He grabbed the axe.

It was heavy. Red handle. Sharp blade. It felt perfect.

“Ren,” Chloe whispered from the doorway. “We shouldn’t stay here.”

“Grab anything useful,” Ren ordered. “Backpacks. Water. Lighters.”

Chloe nodded. She started filling a beaker bag with supplies.

Ren looked at the guinea pig again.

The hunger poked him.

Eat it.

Ren opened the cage. The little thing squeaked. It tried to bite him.

Ren caught it.

He didn’t hesitate. He popped it in his mouth like a grape.

Crunch.

Chloe gagged. She turned away.

[Gluttony Activated.] [Consumed: Mutated Specimen.] [Intelligence +1] [New Passive: Chemical Resistance (Low)]

“Intelligence?” Ren paused. He felt a cool sensation in his brain. Like drinking ice water.

Thoughts connected faster. He looked at the chemicals on the shelf.

[Hydrochloric Acid] [Ammonia]

Before, they were just bottles. Now, he knew what they did. He knew how to mix them.

“Grab the ammonia,” Ren told Chloe. “And the bleach.”

“Why?”

“Mustard gas,” Ren said. “If we get cornered.”

Chloe stared at him. “You know how to make poison gas?”

“I do now,” Ren tapped his head.

They left the lab. Ren carried the axe. Chloe carried the bag of chemicals.

They reached the stairs.

Ren stopped.

The vibrations were stronger here.

BOOM… BOOM…

Whatever was in the lobby was huge.

Ren looked over the railing.

The lobby was a mess. The front doors were barricaded with desks.

In the center of the room, standing on a pile of dead students, was a creature.

It was human-shaped. But it was seven feet tall. Its skin was grey and looked like stone. One arm was normal. The other arm was a giant, fleshy hammer.

[Mutated Security Guard – “The Crusher” (Lvl 6)]

Level 6.

Ren was Level 3.

“We can’t fight that,” Chloe whispered. She was terrified. “Look at it.”

Ren looked.

The Crusher was eating something. It wasn’t a student. It was a vending machine. It ripped the metal apart like foil and ate the snacks inside. Wrappers and all.

“He’s distracted,” Ren whispered. “We sneak past him. To the basement door.”

“Sneak?” Chloe hissed. “He’s right there!”

“I’ll distract him,” Ren said. “You run for the door.”

“No!” Chloe grabbed his arm. “You’ll die!”

Ren looked at her. Her eyes were wide. She actually cared.

“I won’t die,” Ren said. “I’m the one who knocks.”

He handed her the bag. “When I move, you run. Don’t look back.”

Ren took a deep breath.

He activated Dash.

He vaulted over the railing.

He fell three stories.

The wind rushed past his ears.

He didn’t land on the floor.

He landed on the Crusher’s back.

WHAM.

The giant stumbled. It roared in surprise.

Ren raised the fire axe.

“Timber!” Ren yelled.

He swung the axe down. Hard.

CRACK.

The blade bit into the Crusher’s shoulder. Stone skin chipped. Grey blood sprayed.

The Crusher roared again. It sounded like grinding rocks.

It reached back with its hammer arm.

Ren jumped off. He landed on a desk.

“Hey, ugly!” Ren shouted. “Over here!”

The Crusher turned. Its eyes were small and black. It saw Ren.

It charged.

It was fast for a big guy. It smashed through a row of chairs.

Ren waited until the last second.

[Dash.]

He dodged left.

The hammer arm smashed the desk Ren was standing on. Wood splinters exploded everywhere. The floor cracked.

“Run, Chloe!” Ren yelled.

He saw Chloe sprint from the stairs. She was fast. Fear made her fast.

The Crusher saw her too.

It turned. It raised its hammer.

“Oh no you don’t,” Ren growled.

He grabbed a bottle of acid from his pocket. The one he took from the lab.

He threw it.

Smash.

The bottle hit the Crusher in the face.

The acid sizzled. Smoke rose.

The Crusher screamed. It clawed at its eyes.

[Critical Hit!] [Target Blinded (Temporary)]

“Go! Go! Go!” Ren shouted.

He ran after Chloe.

The Crusher was flailing blindly. It smashed walls. It smashed pillars. The whole lobby shook.

Chloe reached the basement door. It was heavy steel.

“Open it!” Ren yelled.

She pulled the handle. “It’s stuck!”

Ren reached her. He slammed his shoulder into the door.

[Strength Check: Success.]

The door groaned and popped open.

They fell inside.

Ren slammed it shut. He spun the wheel lock.

BOOM.

Something hit the door from the other side. The metal dented inward.

BOOM.

“He knows we’re here,” Chloe gasped.

“He can’t get in,” Ren said. He hoped he was right.

He looked down the stairs.

The basement wasn’t dark.

It was glowing.

A soft, green light pulsed from the bottom of the steps.

And the heartbeat… it was loud here.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

It vibrated in Ren’s teeth.

“What is that?” Chloe asked. She backed away from the stairs.

“That,” Ren said, gripping his axe. “Is the main course.”

He walked down.

The basement was huge. It was a storage area for old equipment.

But in the center of the room, there was a tree.

A tree made of flesh.

It grew out of the concrete. Its roots were veins. They pulsed with green light. The branches were bone.

And hanging from the branches were fruit.

Human heads.

They were asleep. Their eyes were closed. They were breathing.

[Mutated Flesh Tree (Lvl ???)] [Status: Dormant]

Ren walked closer. The smell was sweet. Like rotting flowers.

“It’s… beautiful,” Chloe whispered. Her eyes were glazed over. She started walking toward it.

“Chloe, stop!” Ren grabbed her shoulder.

She blinked. “What? I… I wanted to touch it.”

“It’s a trap,” Ren said. “It uses pheromones.”

He looked at the base of the tree.

There was a chest. An old, metal chest tangled in the roots.

It was glowing too.

Ren felt the hunger spike. It wasn’t hungry for the tree. It was hungry for what was in the box.

“Cover your nose,” Ren ordered.

He walked to the tree.

The roots twitched.

A branch lowered. One of the heads opened its eyes.

“Help… me…” it whispered.

Ren swung the axe.

Chop.

The head fell off. It rolled on the floor.

The tree screamed.

All the heads opened their eyes. They all started screaming.

“Intruder! Intruder!”

The roots shot out of the ground like spears.

Ren grinned.

“Finally,” he said. “A salad.”

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