Xyleth, Zairon, and Gorgon: Battle of the Titans

Chapter 7: The Basement

The recruits approached the Operations Center, bumping into Gina and Lee in the process, "What's the matter with you?!", Gina exclaimed. Lee remained silent, "Excuse me?", Martha asked, "What did we do?", she continued. Gina grumbled, she walked past Martha and ignored her. Martha was pissed, "Why is she here?", she asked. "I dunno...", Nick answered, his mouth stuffed with a chocolate bar. "Ugh, you're NOT  helping at all!", Matha retorted. "I know something's fishy about that girl, and I'm gonna find out!", she said. "I'll just...head to the cafeteria first...I'm a bit hungry.", she sheepishly chuckled. Nick, Jim, and Lee nodded as she left.

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, Gina sat down and conversed with Dr. Whitney. "Auntie are you sure? I mean...do I need to do this?", Gina asked. "Of course darling, do they know about it?", Dr. Whitney asked. Gina shook her head while Dr. Whitney sighed in contentment. "Good job darling, once we're done here they'll never know what hit 'em." Dr. Whitney chuckled. Meanwhile, Martha was headed downstairs when she heard it all. She gasped in fear as to what they said next. "Ugh, auntie, the other recruits are so annoying, can we please start with them?", Gina said as she and her aunt laughed. Martha's eyes widened with absolute horror, "I have to warn the others.", she said as she rushed up the spiral staircase. She accidentally bumped into a trash bin in the process which tumbled downstairs, catching Dr. Whitney's attention. "Who is that?", Dr. Whitney asked. Martha gasped, she needs to get out of there before they spot her. She immediately ran up the spiral staircase as she heard Dr. Whitney and Gina's steps closing in behind her. As she reached the top, she looked around for any possible hiding place. Martha saw a supplies cabinet and tried to open it but to no avail, it was locked. Then the elevator was just around the corner when she heard Dr. Whitney's voice loud and clear "Dr. Hamilton, is that you?". "I have to get out of here!!!", she mumbled to herself. The elevator took a while to come down so, in a last-ditch effort, she found another door across the hall. Martha entered immediately as Dr. Whitney reached the upper floor. Martha almost managed to shut the door but couldn't do so since it made a loud noise whenever it's being locked. "I know you're in here.", Dr. Whitney said. Then Gina rushed ahead and noticed the elevator opening. "You're right auntie, someone was here.", Gina said. Martha gasped as they moved closer. Then, she rushed down the stairs as quietly as possible without making a sound. Then the small flashlight she hid inside her pocket fell off and shattered. She held her breath as she was just fifteen steps down if someone was lucky, they could spot her immediately. Then Gina noticed the slightly opened door to the basement in which Martha was hiding, she also heard the shattering noise made by the flashlight. In curiosity, she was about to peek inside. Martha held her breath and tried not to make any more noises when she suddenly stepped on some strange red fluid and slipped. The noise attracted Gina's attention as she opened the door with a big *bang* and proceeded after whoever was making that noise. As Martha was running for her life she smelled a foul odor coming from deep inside the basement. As she ran through the numerous hallways, something caught her eye. She saw something dash towards the end of the hall and disappear within seconds. "Calm down Martha it's just your imagination", she said to herself. Meanwhile, Gina was about to enter the basement when she noticed the strange red fluid with skid marks. Before she could set foot inside, Dr. Whitney rushed downstairs and stopped her. "Gina...NO!", she screamed. Gina was startled. Martha could hear her from the other end of the basement. Then Dr. Whitney dragged Gina upstairs. "Why? Auntie, you don't have to do that!", Gina complained. Dr. Whitney sighed, "I'm so sorry Gina, you're not allowed down there, it's too dangerous.". Gina felt the anxiousness in her aunt's voice so she decided to ask her calmly, "What's down there?". Dr. Whitney looked back at the basement door, "I'll tell you later, but whoever's in there is in big...BIG trouble.", she said as she smirked. Meanwhile, in the basement, dim emergency lights are left open. Martha could barely make out what was in front of her. As she kept on walking, the scent grew stronger as she approached the supply cabinets. As she turned around, in the corner was a person's remains. Brutally injured with slash marks on either side of the neck and torso. In its abdomen was a bunch of eggs, clustered within it, pulsating softly. Martha was absolutely horrified, she slowly backed off when she heard something clatter on the other side of the filing cabinets. Then she saw a dark figure dash through the hall and slip before hitting something and letting out a loud growl. Martha was shocked, she immediately dashed towards the exit, but she can barely see where she's going due to the lighting. Then she heard it again, in the darkness, the creature stood up and ran. Martha immediately shuts her flashlight before she continued running, then she tripped on an overturned fire extinguisher. "Ow!", she yelped. The creature looked up and started to sniff its surroundings when it eventually detected Martha. It screeched and ran after her. Martha was so frightened, but after noticing a dim light at the end of the tunnel, she rejoiced but it turned out, it was a sealed exit and now, she's trapped down there with no one to help her. She ran back to the basement when she saw it clearly, an eyeless, bipedal reptilian creature with smooth, human-like skin, about four feet tall. She gasped in horror, which attracted the beast. She looked around for any suitable weapon when she noticed a baseball bat nearby. She picks it up and with enough force, hits the beast multiple times, it cried out in pain. She seized this opportunity to run back where she came from. Upon doing so, the beast followed her due to the noise made by her steps. As she neared the exit, the beast cornered her. Martha gasped and in a last-ditch effort, she flung the bat onto the creature's ears which caused it to howl in pain. Martha immediately ran upstairs, while the beast followed her soon after, but slipped due to the puddle of blood in the stairway. Martha tried to open the door but the handle was accidentally broken when Gina tried to lock it with force. Martha hits the handle with the bat, then the door slightly budged, but it wasn't enough. Then with all her remaining strength, she hits the handle once again, causing the door to pry open, but her worries aren't over yet, the beast followed her upstairs the whole time! When she heard the beast's growls, she noticed the unhinged hasp near her, and in a final attempt to keep the creature downstairs, she pushed the door and locked it in place, just as the creature was about to bust in. She crawled over to the spiral staircase and sighed. After resting for a while, she stood up and wearily walked towards the elevator. She returned to their room, upon noticing her tiring stance, the woman at the concierge desk assisted her, she silently knocked. As Jim opened the door, he was shocked as Martha collapsed, he thanked the woman after bringing Martha to her bed. "Please, call Sally!", Jim pleaded. The woman nodded and returned to her desk. Then Martha opened her eyes and yelled, "We have...to...get...out of...here!" before she lost consciousness.