24 - Fleeing

If it wasn't so sad and if it didn't just prove their stupidity, I probably would have laughed when the others told us to stay one more night in this institute and prepare properly before running away. This was despite the fact that we told them in detail what the three employees told us. About this institute and the hyper sapiens that are on their way here.

Instead of just believing us, they then wanted proof that indeed these creatures are coming to us. And, of course, preferably in video form. But, naturally, there is no such evidence here.

But, the fat employee had something else, which gave not only the others goose bumps. Sound recordings from the cave, of more than ten of these creatures. Panting, growling, and making sounds that none of us had ever heard before.

Rita said we might not have much time left and that we should hurry. However, she, Adana and the fat one would not come with us and hide here. "If it's our time, there's nothing we can do about it anyway. And our shift will last another 2 months. You are young and fit, you might be able to find your way here and out of the forest. But we are already old and could not help you anyway. Because our employers have always been very careful that none of us knows where exactly this place is. They pick us up from home, blindfold us and always take off our blindfolds only when we are already in this institute. And the same is the case when they come to pick us up." She explained.

"And how do we know we won't be caught somewhere by your people because they're afraid we'll tell everyone about this institute and what's going on?" Asked Meng Yao.

"Well, if you don't say anything, they will never figure out that you have been here. Because we haven't put out a report to our employers yet. They don't know that you are here." Said Adana.

"One more question, how did Rin and May get here? Do you know that?" Asked André.

"We ask ourselves that question as well. We don't know. However, we assume that perhaps the hyper sapiens are getting smarter. As mentioned before, they are quite capable of trapping. Perhaps this was a trap as well." Explained Rita.

The fat one shook his head and said, "They've never done this before. They've been at the doors a few times, but as soon as they sensed the light, they left."

"You said these creatures are completely blind. But then what puzzles me is, why did they attack us only after our flashlights went out? The beam from our flashlights wasn't very strong, and we didn't shine it on any of the creatures. Then how did they know that our lights went out and we were helpless from that moment on?" André wanted to know.

Rita and Adana looked at each other questioningly. Rita hurriedly noted something on a piece of paper and muttered to herself, "Amazing. They seem to be evolving and learning new skills. That means they may be expanding their hunting grounds soon. In the cave, there may not be enough for them to hunt. As their population continues to increase, more food is needed. That means they will have to leave the cave to go hunting. But that in turn means that the danger to humans and animals increases many times over. Not only because of the hunting, but also because of the virus."

It was almost as if someone had flipped a switch on Rita and Adana and they forgot everything around them. They were in their own world with their scientific theories.

The fat one, however, was in his right mind. His fingers flew across the keyboard at breakneck speed. Numbers, letters, a string of something or other appeared on the screen and then a high resolution satellite image updated every 30 seconds.

With his fat fingers, he pointed to the date and time by the images and said, "These are images from last night. You can't see much because of the tall trees. But, there are clearly some living creatures to be seen. Maybe they are already hunting in the forest at night. I don't advise you to try to find the way at night."

To be honest, I couldn't see anything there except trees. The others felt the same way. But, I could at least see the clearing where we made our first camp. But what is the use of that now?

"Before we go now, I have one more question. If these hyper sapiens are so dangerous, why didn't you close the cave? Why did you leave it open?" I asked.

"I think our superiors didn't see any reason for that until now. They always stayed in the cave and didn't come out. My colleague once said that this way we can explore them naturally. But in the end, I think only our superiors can answer that question for you. We are just small cogs in this whole system." Explained Adana.

*~*~*

As we were about to leave, Brian and Sarah also said that they would also stay. They too work for the institute and they too said that their shift is not over yet. Maybe it won't end until the creatures get in here and run over them. I wonder if Rita then still enthusiastically writes down what developments they make?

Adana gave us a few more packs of our antibiotics, reminding us to take them for at least another 4 days. Then we left.

By the time we left the monitoring room and returned to Station 3, it was well past 10 pm and only the night lights were on. We ran downstairs to our station, packed our belongings in our backpacks, and collected at the station door a few minutes later. 

We had just entered the stairwell when the lights went out. Suddenly we were standing in the dark. And the sounds that suddenly came from station four proved to us that this was no test.

As fast as we could, we ran down the stairs to the basement, Han and Leni had great difficulty keeping up. My brother, who was giving us light with his camera, opened the door and almost pushed us into the basement one by one. Unfortunately for us, Cheng had forgotten the master key in the surveillance room, so we couldn't lock the basement door.

Zhan and I were still digging out our flashlights as we ran. We kept looking around to the door until we reached the Secret Door. Yanli stepped on the mechanism again and again, but nothing happened. Without electricity, this door won't open. We were trapped. Behind us something banged against the basement door and in front of us we couldn't get the secret door open.

André took out his scalpel and pulled it through the very fine crack, he had triggered something and the door opened a few centimeters. Cheng handed my brother his homemade weapon, stood by the door and pulled it aside with all his might. 

When he had pushed it open far enough, we slipped through one by one. We heard the basement door being pushed open. A laugh was heard that strongly reminded me of hyenas. Panicking, Cheng and my brother pushed the door shut further. Fortunately, we were in time before these creatures could notice us here.

We went to the corridor and ran up the stairs. And then we were back at the double glass door. Only, none of us were really brave enough to test if the doors were open and then get out of there. Who knows if the Hyper Sapiens aren't in the forest and maybe right here?

So instead of trying to get out, we looked for a room, a hiding place, anything that would give us shelter for that night. But there is nothing else down here. The only way is up to the Horror Cabinet, the freak show of figures on the walls.

Slower than we would have liked, because if we can see outside, something else can see inside, we went up the stairs. The others, who hadn't seen these pictures yet, stared at them and now, in the light of the flashlights, they look even creepier.

Since we didn't have enough time to look at everything before, and at that moment we weren't interested in exploring anything here, we went into the room that resembled a museum. We pushed a few bookshelves in front of the door and kept very quiet.

Zhan and I sat by the window and looked out. There was nothing to see. Everything was just black. But, there was definitely something to hear. Or, were we imagining it? Our nerves were completely shot. It all happened so fast that we barely had time to realize what was happening.

Just thinking about what would have been had we taken just a moment longer. Whether it was upstairs with the staff or packing, or that damn secret door that wouldn't open. We certainly wouldn't be among the living anymore.

Not only were we running out of time, we were almost running out of our time. I can't stop thinking about it as I look at Zhan and think about how much I want to have a future with him. I don't want to die here.

*~*~*

In an hour, the sun will rise. We haven't slept and we are all tired. None of us dared to close our eyes for even a moment longer than the blink of an eye. No one spoke. We just sat there, holding the person sitting right next to us.

I wonder if the employees are still alive. I doubt it very much. Because the electricity is still not back either. It's controlled by the fat one. Now I almost regret that I didn't even bother to ask him his name.

Again and again we had heard noises at the secret door during the night. Or we imagined that, too. Just like the light we thought for a moment we saw in the woods. Or, maybe there really was a light? I'm confused, tired, and cold. Nothing works here without the electricity.

As soon as the sun comes up, we go downstairs to see if the door is open. Why didn't we try this on our first visit here? We were here after all! All we had to do was check to see if those double glass doors were open. How stupid we were to forget that.

*~*~*

My brother, Cheng, Zhan and I just went to the glass doors, and they are locked. The glass is made of bulletproof glass, we can't just smash it.

The noise at the secret door, we didn't just imagine it. It was open a few inches. My brother and Cheng closed it again. They fetched a shelf from above, and the others gathered everything that was heavy. They pushed the shelf between the wall and the door, put it full, and hope that the creatures can't open the door through it. After all, the shelf blocks the sliding mechanism.

Having no other choice, we decided to take a closer look around here. Maybe there is another exit. After all, on the stairs it says "To Exits 1 - 3" or maybe we can just find a key.

Leni is complaining of severe pain again, I really hope this won't be a problem for us now. We have to get out of here, no matter how. Then she'll have to grit her teeth, scream or whatever, but I won't stay here a moment longer than necessary just because of her.