(POV – Protagonist)
Honestly, even though they kept staring at me, I had no idea what was going on either. After Laura took me to her superior, Emily, the computer started emitting incessant alerts. Shortly after, a siren was activated outside, heightening the sense of urgency in the air.
"Let’s... rule out that possibility for now. Honestly, if it’s true, then we’re involved in something much more dangerous than we thought"
Anyway, it’s not like I could say anything. All I could do was watch Emily and Laura run back and forth, frantically inspecting the computers scattered around the room.
"This is definitely not normal. It’s the first time I’ve seen these readings since I started researching this damn forest two years ago"
Emily seemed a bit anxious, and honestly, I’d probably be too if I were in her place. The only reason I wasn’t feeling anxious was simple: fear no longer existed within me. When I first appeared in the forest, I was terrified—after all, who wouldn’t be?.
After being attacked by those anomalies that resembled dogs and having one of my arms torn off, fear simply vanished. This happened for two reasons. First, I don’t feel pain, or at least no specific physical pain. Second, it’s normal to fear the unknown, which in my case were the anomalies. But since the moment I became one of them, fear ceased to exist.
I have eyes, but I don’t see with them. My body resembles that of a human, but I’m definitely not one. I “breathe” even though I don’t have lungs, and I don’t have a heart either. Inside, my body is simply empty. If that’s not scary, then I really don’t know what I am.
By the way, I’ve been hearing various noises coming from outside for a while now. It sounds like something really serious is happening. Are we being attacked? Although my vision works quite differently from that of humans, I’m not able to see through walls.
"Ugh... why did all this have to happen right when I’m assigned to research this anomalous forest for the first time?"
"Complain later, Laura. First, we need to figure out what’s causing these strange readings in the forest"
As the chaos unfolded outside, I remained trapped inside the tank, watching Laura complain about the situation with discreet tears running down her face. Nearby, Emily seemed ready to smash the computers at any moment.
It was exactly at that moment that something happened. Suddenly, a piercing sound echoed through the room—the same one I had heard earlier in the forest. It was the sound of a gun being fired. Soon after the first shot, a sequence of gunshots filled the environment.
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The sharp sounds quickly caught the attention of Laura and Emily, whose faces now reflected pure terror as they stared at the door of the small room we were in.
"... What the hell is happening out there?"
Laura finally broke the silence, asking the question that hung in the air. However, no answer came. I couldn’t speak, and Emily seemed as confused as Laura about what might be happening outside. Suddenly, the door was thrown open forcefully, startling both of them.
"Kyaaaaaa"
"Kyaaaaaa"
Emily and Laura’s screams lasted only a few seconds. They quickly realized it was Victor who had opened the door, not whatever they had imagined. Victor was gasping for breath, visibly terrified.
"Thank God, you’re okay! Quick, we need to get out of here as soon as possible!"
Victor’s voice sounded urgent, which only made Laura and Emily more confused about the real situation outside. With the door open, the sound of gunshots and voices became much clearer and more intense.
“Victor, is that you? What’s happening outside? The computers are going crazy, picking up all sorts of readings from the forest!”
Emily’s tone was urgent. I had a faint idea of what might be happening, and indeed, no other possibility occurred to me at that moment. Confirming my suspicions, Victor’s next words were exactly what I expected.
“It’s the anomalies. They’ve started coming out of the forest. We don’t know exactly how many there are, but it’s probably enough to destroy this whole place. If we don’t get out of here quickly, we’ll all die”
Emily and Laura’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. I wasn’t much different, though my face remained impassive, I was filled with doubts inside. The situation was just too strange. During the time I spent in the forest, I realized that it was impossible to leave it by normal means.
Suddenly, the monsters were pouring out of the forest. Something clearly abnormal was happening, making the escape of the monsters possible. Amidst all this confusion, I observed the situation from a more relaxed perspective.
Honestly, I wasn’t as anxious as they were. I knew the monsters’ weak points and somehow I could now regenerate. There was no more reason to be afraid, although facing a horde of those creatures was still a completely different challenge.
Anyway, the way the events unfolded gave me the impression that this wasn’t the first time they had faced such a situation. Emily acted quickly upon hearing Victor’s words and rushed towards the computer.
“Emily, what the hell are you doing? We need to get out of here now!”
“Just a minute, I need to get the data I collected. Maybe we can figure something out later with it”
“Are you serious? In a situation like this? Why are all you scientists obsessed with data? You know, the fact that you take a job like this is proof enough of how abnormal you all are”
As Emily and Victor argued, I felt the tank move. I looked back and saw Laura pushing it with a terrified look on her face. Honestly, I was a bit surprised. I thought she’d leave me there, considering that moving it would require effort and could cost her life.
“We can’t take her; it’ll just delay our movement”
Of course, Victor opposed. As I mentioned, taking me with them would definitely slow down the group and, worse, might open a gap for one of those creatures to attack them.