[El_Roy_1999]

Head to head

Michelle was lifted of her feet, glided through the air, turned elegantly and hit the wall feet first. She jumped away, rolled on the ground and got back up. For a second she hesitated, surprised at her sudden agility. Her adversary seized the opportunity, ran at her and smashed into her with her shoulder.
Meanwhile, the old man had gotten back to his feet. He rubbed his throat, trying to massage life back into it. Calvin was still lying on the floor, occasionally groaning in discomfort. Michelle rolled with the punches, trying to get some distance between her and her aggressor. The larger woman finally cornered her and started raining blows on her. Michelle ducked at first, but soon realised that she’d only get her face smashed in if she stayed down. With lightning speed, she managed to escape another volley of iron fists and clambered on her foes knee, stepped on the surprised woman’s chest and head before jumping in the air. She cleared the confused attacker, spun around and kicked her in the small of her back.
Blinded by fury, Ekaterina turned around, screamed at Michelle and charged her head first. The lither woman grabbed her by the shoulders and vaulted over her, forcing her to smash into a nearby wall. The decade-old structure, already weakened by the relentless assault of time, collapsed under the added weight.
Michelle stood back up, grabbed Calvin and pulled him to the room’s exit as her opponent shook off her stupefaction. She fled as fast as she could. As she ran, she could feel the adrenaline pumping through her bloodstream again. She was ecstatic. Her new body was wonderful. She darted through the now easily pierced darkness and dodged the odd piece of debris with the elegance of a ballet dancer. She ran on, at last reaching a steel door, which seemed to be an exit. She stopped and put Calvin down. As she lowered him gently to the ground, she realised that he had grown heavier. Although she would have barely been able to lift him before, she had quickly accepted the easiness with which she could carry him.
Irritated, she looked more closely. She stripped him of his shirt and gave out a surprised sound. Apparently, the formula had worked on him too. His already considerable muscularity had clearly increased, giving him a surprisingly powerful chest. She smiled. He’d got his wish after all. Now two things were in order. First, they had to escape from this place in the middle of nowhere. Second, they had to get to a doctor and hope that this whole thing wasn’t harmful. At this thought, Michelle held her breath for a second, as if uttering a little prayer.

At last, she opened the door, revealing a few ramshackle buildings in the pure white snow. The houses were low, unlike the monstrous building they had just escaped from. Clearly, some of them were broken down living quarters and depots, but one of the larger ones was easily identifiable as a garage. She picked up Calvin’s grown form and stepped out into the cold. Even though her clothes had been torn to rags and her shoes had deteriorated, she felt no cold. Running as quickly as she could, she arrived at the garage and broke open it’s door. Inside, the musty smell of dust and grime was overwhelming. Looking around, she quickly discovered a truck and a smaller off-road vehicle. Running towards it, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Close by, attached to a pin board, several portrait photos in faded colour smiled at her. She instantly recognised Ekaterina on one of them. The man close to her was quickly identified as Anatolij. All of a sudden, it dawned to her. This must have been the Stachanov project’s main room. A side project if there ever was one. Laying the still unconscious Calvin on the car’s passenger seat, she explored the building. Minutes later, she found a dusty and broken-down laboratory in the back of a side-building.

[El_Roy_1999]

Sorry for the delay. The joys of vacation and the pains of writer's block.

History lessons

“Okay, doctor, what are these things? What’s going on down here? And, most important: What the hell happened to me?”
They had found refuge in a calmer part of the complex, the concrete silence occasionally interrupted by explosions and the sound of gunfire. Clearly, the marines were still struggling with his wife. He smiled.
“I don’t have the slightest idea, but I wish to thank you for the rescue. Without your help, these creatures surely would have eaten me. Thank you.”
Calvin frowned.
“You’re lying. Tell us the truth. I don’t want to threaten you.” Michelle had retreated into the darkness. She felt ill, clearly a consequence of the drop of adrenaline. She eased herself in a seating position and added flatly:
“Tell me or I’ll feed you to your monsters. I’ve seen that they recognise you.” His mood instantly changed. Gravely, he replied:
“Alright. I’ll tell you. As I have said before, I worked on the Stachanov project. It was a derivative of our own super-soldier programme. We were asked to create a system for preparing our soldiers for modern nuclear war. They wanted a soldier who would be able to withstand the harshest conditions, which are, alas, characteristic for our homeland. He should also be able to wear a “suit of armour” of some kind to protect him from firearms and radiation while not being encumbered by it. As I have told you the programme failed dismally. As you may have guessed, the things, as you have called them, are failed test subjects. Human ones mostly. I am far from proud of my role in the proceedings and have stayed around to make sure that the information remains where it is. Clearly, I have failed now.
Also, I am very surprised at your “transformation”. Even though it is hard to predict the stability and effect of the chemical agent we created, it must have changed over the years. It seems to have “aged” well.” He snickered. “I intensely hope that it has become stable. I’d hate to see you turn into a mindless monster…”

Michelle stared at him. The weapon noises ended.
“Do you mean that you have no idea what is going on? You’ve got to tell me what’s going to happen! This is no time to play games!” She lunged forward, gripped him and lifted him up as easy as one might lift a child. She slammed him against the wall and lifted her fist, her knuckles whitening. He struggled futilely and whimpered:
“Don’t hit me. It’s no use. If I knew something, I’d tell you. Please. Let me go. Please.”
Michelle gave him a hateful stare and continued to hold him. She turned to Calvin who had fallen strangely silent. He seemed to be distraught at the sight of something in his jacket. She snapped at him:
“What’s going on with you? What are you looking at?”
“Err… Michelle, I seem to have a problem here. You see, I was quite jealous of your transformation, so I, well, took some of the jelly down there and smeared it in my jacket. And now, it somehow disappeared. In my body. So… I’m…” His voice trailed off as he collapsed.
As Michelle stepped forward to catch him, the elevator’s sad remains were blown apart. Ekaterina tore though the wreckage, tossed her head around and smashed her huge fist into Michelle’s stomach.

[El_Roy_1999]

Just a small piece today. Sorry.

Ill met

Anatolij was checking the files as quickly as he could, but soon realised that they had come too late. The Americans had apparently found what they had been looking for. He cursed under his breath. He’d have to go down there and retrieve the documents. From their mangled and half-eaten corpses probably. His loathing for this place had been so great that he’d decided for himself not to return, and so the data had remained here, rotting over the years. Still, there must have been enough information in there to arouse their interest, and the last thing he’d want would be to have the whole situation exposed.
He quickly followed their footsteps, sighing as he found out that the ladder had broken down. Also, since their bodies were nowhere to be seen, he’d have to get down. He cursed again. In his eyes, a deep fear of the things below danced. Stuffing his flashlight into his coat’s pocket, he proceeded to climb down the last remains of the ladder before jumping down. As he touched down, he instantly ran for cover. Around him, the hissing noises of the beasts became louder. He kept his head low, waiting for them to calm down. Seconds later, he turned the light on and sprinted for the door.

Meanwhile, Michelle inhaled, exhaled, and pushed the jammed doors apart. The gears and motors screeched vaguely, but to no avail. She forced the door open until it was wide enough for the both of them to get through and walked into the elevator shaft. The cabin hung between the next level and this one, bent as if subjected to great strain. Calvin gave her an impressed smile and entered it himself. He touched her bare shoulder gently, surprised at it’s hardness.
“Wow. Those are for real, aren’t they?”
She nodded approvingly:
“I guess they are. This is odd, but it feels good. Besides, we’ll be able to get out. Look, there’s a trapdoor in the cabin floor. I’ll see if I can climb up.” Moments later, she was up there, here massive frame perched in the remains of the elevator shaft, easily pulling herself up from miniscule ledges. As she pushed open the trapdoor, they both heard a sudden scream. The old man came running, his flashlight swaying wildly. Behind him, a group of several of the bizarre denizens of this building came running. They made strange noises, almost human, sounding vaguely like speech.
“Help me! Please, help me!” Michelle reached down, grabbed Calvin by the hand, and lifted him up. He took hold of the hole and climbed in. The old man scrambled inside, his foes fast approaching. Michelle swung down again, picked him up and jumped back up. She cleared the ground just as the first creature smashed into the elevator shaft, instantly followed by it’s peers.
The man struggled with the opened trapdoor and Calvin was forced to help him in. Below, Michelle got a good look at the assailants for the first time as they struggled to get up. That guy would have some things to explain!

[El_Roy_1999]

Open warfare

Outside, the Russian couple had reached the entrance rather quickly. They had waited for a while to see whether their guests had found something. After a few minutes of consideration, they went in, Anatolij still in his wife’s “backpack”. As they followed the footsteps in the dust, a strange, rhythmic sound, becoming louder and louder was heard outside. Ekaterina quickly stepped back to the entryway and looked out. Her eyes took moments to adjust back to the brightness outside, and then she saw them.
Large, heavy helicopters, two of them, approaching. Their massive frames suggesting stability and power, the machines cleared the woods and entered the open area. Ducking back into the darkness, she asked:
“What’s going on? Who are these people?” Her husband answered quietly.
“I don’t know. They look like our machines, but seem to be privately owned. Maybe they’re army surplus. Looks like one of our local oligarchs got himself some toys.”
“Do you think it’s Lemontov? We should have gotten rid of him when he came here the first time.”
The machines were now descending, their landing gears slowly folding out. The wind caused by the propellers blasted the dust and snow around, creating little streams of grey particles around the cobbles on the floor.
As the helicopters landed, people in winter gear jumped out, crouched low and ran for cover. Ekaterina slid further inside the complex. It was best not to be seen in the first place. Her massive form merged with the shadows around her, just as two of the soldiers inspected the doorway.
Suddenly, she heard a series of screams and clangs. Clearly, their guests were still alive, but not for long. She instantly assumed that the beasts would take care of them. The most important part for now would be to protect the materials in place. Anatolij climbed out of the backpack and said:
“Keep them busy. I’ll check the files.” He picked up one of the flashlights, squeezed it’s handle and set off into the darkness.
Ekaterina remained silently, waiting. The first soldier entered the building, the second one quickly covering the area with his rifle. Instantly, the first one checked the next doorway, while his partner advanced. The fantastically built woman waited in the shadows beside the doorway, her muscles tensing. As he passed the arch, he slid on his night-vision goggles. A high-pitched whine was heard as the device was switched on. He looked to his right. Nothing. Quickly, he twisted his head around, only to witness Ekaterina’s fast-approaching fist. Performing a marvellous direct, she projected the man’s limp body across the room, her shoulder muscles vibrating under the thick winter clothing. As her victim crashed into the furniture, she had already left the room, rushing his partner.
The surprised man could barely raise his rifle before she grabbed him by the front of his uniform. She lifted him up with a single hand, knocking his head against the ceiling. Groggily, the man hung his head. A second blow from her left fist smashed him back on the ground. He was instantly unconscious. She picked up their weapons and goggles and disappeared into the shadows. Outside, the remaining soldiers advanced only to find the two scouts out cold.
Meanwhile, Lemontov had climbed out of the helicopter. The Americans were quite professional about the whole situation, but had clearly been surprised by the sudden counter-attack. He decided not to interfere. After all, they were trying to do him a favour.

Inside the complex, Michelle urged Calvin to leave the area.
“We’ll come back later. For now, we should get away before Ekaterina shows up. Besides, I don’t want to be eaten alive.”
“I know, I know, but look at this: It’s my opportunity. The opportunity. I can be a superhero. You’ve got to help me. Please.”
“Honestly, we must get out. Let’s just scoop up a bit, we’ll see how it works in a lab later on.”
Reluctantly, Calvin did so. As he filled one of the dusty coffee mugs that the scientists had kept in the area, he felt a pang of jealousy. He had barely realised what had happened to his colleague, and neither had she. Still, he felt awkward. He had dragged her into this mess, and oddly enough, she had reaped the reward. Of course, her argument was sound, but with strength like her, he would easily hold his own against any critters in this cursed place. Just as she was examining the room in search of a useable exit, he scooped up a large amount of the goo and smeared it in his jacket. It must have been the same amount that she had “absorbed”.
As she called him, he mumbled a little and followed her. Entering the next area, they found themselves in a convoluted area which must have been the scientists living quarters. Behind them, their shadowy pursuers were creeping on, anxious to stay out of sight. Looking around, they found a derelict elevator. Being out of power, it was shut tightly. Michelle gave Calvin a helpless look. In reply, he put his hands together by their backs and made a motion of “pushing apart”. Slowly realising her possibilities, Michelle nodded at him and proceeded to knack her knuckles.

[El_Roy_1999]

At last, a first growth sequence. I hope it turned out alright. I'm not sure at all…

Metamorphosis

Michelle was confused. Her whole body seemed totally alive. She was full of energy, her body pulsating, her muscles quivering. As the torch’s light illuminated her, she looked down at herself. Her clothes had been torn to shreds, barely covering her. Her whole body was awfully scarred, large red rends were still visible, but seemed to heal as she looked at them. Apparently, the grey ooze had been absorbed into them via some bizarre chemical process.
What surprised both of them even more was the fact that her muscles seemed to be pounding under her skin. She could watch her abdominal muscles contracting and relaxing quicker and quicker. As the pulsation became too strong, she was thrown back onto the floor.
Calvin got up dazedly and stepped over to her. He held her in his arms trying to help her. As she shook on, he was quickly forced to accept that there was nothing he could do. He sincerely hoped that this was the effect of the famed super-soldier formula and not some awful poison. He tore a piece of fabric from his t-shirt and started wiping off the grey substance.
Meanwhile, the shaking had amplified. Her whole body was now vibrating, almost blurring with motion. Then it stopped as suddenly as it had started. Michelle let out a deep breath. It felt as if her heart was going to explode. The pressure inside her was enormous. She stammered:
“W-w-what’s going on? Help me! Please!” He laid the soaked piece of cloth on the ground and said:
“I’m not sure. I think that you have been splashed by the super-soldier formula. It must be the grey stuff in the vats over there.”
“Is it dangerous? What’s going to happen?”
“I don’t know. In the few documents I actually looked at, the formula was described as being red and liquid. It may have transformed over time. You know, like wine turning into vinegar.”
“Do you think this is good? Doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“I don’t know. But as far as I know, the original thing didn’t work. It killed the people they used it on…” His voice trailed off. He instantly regretted what he had said. Michelle gave him an awful look, full of horror and panic. Moments later, their peaceful conversation was history.

Michelle’s body shook again. The convulsions became faster and faster. She struck out around her, smacked Calvin into his face and broke his nose with a resounding crack. His eyes swimming he stared at her: Once again, her muscles were pulsating madly, her whole body undulating as every single muscle-fibre strained at the same time. She screamed as if she would be torn apart.
However, as he helplessly watched the ordeal, he realised that she was changing. Indeed, her pounding muscles seemed to grow. As she was thrown around, he saw that her abdominal muscles were slowly emerging from her flat stomach, like an undersea volcano bursting through the ocean’s surface. At the same time, her legs were pounding the ground as she struggled but quickly filled out to world-class sprinter standard. Her teardrop shaped quadriceps blew up, her calves pushing the tattered remains of her trousers aside.
She twisted and turned until she laid face down, hoping for the pulsations to subside. At last she could get on all fours. Her arms had equally grown, giving her the powerful upper arms of a professional athlete. Her back had become wider. Her neck had also turned more powerful.
He stared in open disbelief at her. She groaned and sat down. Catching her breath, she said: “Boy, am I tired. And hungry. I feel awful. But it seems to have stopped. I guess the stuff doesn’t work anymore.”
Calvin motioned her to take a look at herself. Her gaze trailed down. Her eyes widened.
“What the…” As she slowly realised what had happened, a strange feeling of elation was rising amid her despair. The change had come so quickly, that she was still confused. Her body seemed to ache in a diffuse way. She stood up. Michelle heard strange noises from the patch of shadow were the creature had disappeared. Calming down and concentrating, she suddenly realised that she could not only hear the creatures breathing in the next area, but also that the dark area mysteriously cleared up. She could easily see in the dark.
“Two things, Calvin: First, I don’t think I’ll need my glasses anymore. Second, we should leave quickly and quietly…”

[El_Roy_1999]

Sorry for the delay. Next installment will see the revelation!

Fire

Michelle coughed. Blackness engulfed her as her electric torch dimmed down. Strange, horrifying gurgling noises approached. The greyish ooze covered her almost completely, choking her. She tried to get up, but could not. The sound around her changed to a slow, interested sniffing. She fell silent, holding her breath. The creature must have been millimetres away. She could smell it’s foul stench.
At last, the beast, or whatever it was, started to move away. As she calmed down, she realised that the jelly that covered her was starting to itch. She tried to suppress the urge to scratch herself. It only got worse. She breathed deeply, trying to convince herself that this was a bad dream, and that she’d only have to wake up to be safe. It was to no avail. Instead, the awful sensation of her skin developing the most horrifying rash in her life only increased. Soon, she was wrestling with herself so as not to move.
She sensed that the monster was now approaching Calvin’s prone form. Thousands of awful possibilities roared through her mind. Would it eat him? Would it kill him? Suddenly moving, she caused some of the rubble to shift. The creature instantly reacted, spun around and attacked. It howled with rage, jumped on Michelle’s prone body and started raking at her with it’s claws.
At first, Michelle screamed in pain. The invisible assailant relentlessly struck at her, rending deep cuts. As the monster prepared to bite, the victim realised that she could see it. Out of the complete, stygian darkness of the underground vault, a greyish pattern started to emerge. Hazy at first, it came into focus slowly, until seconds later, Michelle was able to discern the creature’s nature.
It appeared to be a mass of amalgamated flesh, part human, part animal, it’s shape grossly distended. Internal organs appeared to have grown directly under it’s skin, giving it the bizarre disfigurement of a stem cell tumour. Michelle struck out with her hand to defend herself, dazing the creature for mere moments. Struggling to get up, she soon was on all fours. She lounged forward, striking at her opponent with surprising force and aggression.
The beast coiled away, apparently intimidated by it’s foes aggression and fled back into the shadows.
Michelle got up at last, her skin still sticky with sweat, greyish ooze and blood. Staggering through the twilight to Calvin’s prone body, she knelt down and shook him to wake him up. At last, he moaned and opened his eyes.
“What happened? Where am I? What’s going on?”
He clenched her hand to ensure himself of her presence.
“You fell and knocked yourself out. We’re still at the Russian lab. Everything’s alright, I’m here.”
“Where? I can’t see you. It’s so dark.” She looked at him, wondering what had happened to him. She could see him quite well, the diffuse light providing her with enough illumination to allow her to discern his features. His eyes looked alright.
“How do you feel? There’s a little light around.” She wiped a piece of dried blood from her face.
“It’s dark. What happened to my eyes? Help me, get me some light. Please!” Instinctively, she reached over to pick up the flash light. She gave it to him. After a few seconds of reflection, he started squeezing the handle, generating some power to turn it on. At last, he pushed the button. Light flared. Michelle was blinded for a few seconds.
“It’s alright, I can see! I can see you! I can…” His voice trailed off.
Michelle slowly recovered her vision.
“What now?”
“What happened to you?”

Lemontow asked the American to sit down. The diplomat was weary from his long flight, but had been grateful to accept the invitation. The Russian began:
“The two Americans have vanished yesterday. I thought it would be best to inform you now so that you can take measures to save them. As you are well aware, this area is rather dangerous, so it’s best to search them quickly. Do you have people around to help you?”
“We have some marines at the embassy. They are here in plain clothes. I trust you to maintain secrecy. Neither your government nor mine want a controversy. We thank you for informing us.”
“It’s always a pleasure to help. My father’s friends are my friends.”

[El_Roy_1999]

And female bodybuilders.

Manchmal…

[El_Roy_1999]

Frying pan

Thinking quickly and surprisingly acting in unison, they ran into the darkness between the chemical tanks. Occasionally, dried-up trickles of acid substances seemed to have worn off the tanks covering, and large puddles of greyish liquid had formed. The fugitives jumped across, behind them, muffled screams approached. They cut left, right, crossed a short ramp, their assailants steps always close behind them. At last, they reached a large bulkhead. They ran under it, grabbed the gate’s handle and slammed it shut.
Outside, they heard heavy, irregular breathing, as if several foes were trying to catch their breath. After a while, a scratching sound could be heard from the other side. The pursuers apparently tried to force the door without much success. Calming down, Michelle checked the room with her flashlight. The room had been some kind of animal “storage”. It reminded her of a report on animal testing she once did. However, the cages looked rather big and spacious, even for monkeys.
Most of the cages had been opened, some of them forced, others had apparently been unlocked. Out of the few locked cages, only one contained remains of a living creature. Only the skeleton was left. It was more broken than whole. Some enormous force had been applied to it.
“What is this place?” She tried to calm down.
“Seems to be the room where they kept their test subjects.” Calvin seemed to be taken aback by the sheer awfulness of the place. Besides, the whittling sound outside started to get on their nerves. Holding up his file, he added:
“Let’s go on. The actual testing laboratories have to be somewhere around here.” He started to walk towards a large door at the far end of the room.
“Honestly now, Calvin, what are you up to? This whole situation is so fucked up that I’d really like to know what’s going on. You’ve got to admit that none of this is even remotely normal.”
He turned around, his expression calm but somehow unsettling.
“Everything is perfect, don’t you see? At last, I have found it. Every second I’m here, more proof appears. They did it! Haven’t you seen the woman? The Russians actually built the super-soldier. They created a superhero.” He mumbled something, then said: “No, no, they almost created him. What they did was to develop a method to make one. To make me into one!”
Michelle shut her eyes, put her hand on her face and sighed. There she was, stuck in the middle of nowhere, some strange, probably mutated Czernobyl-monsters behind her, her ex compensating for his poor self-respect in front of her and no way to escape. The scratching behind her had been scaring her, now it was putting her on edge. She desperately wanted to slap this idiot on the back of his head. Besides, deep down, a strange feeling of hysteria was floating up.
“Calvin, please, this is stupid. We should get out of here now. Whatever it is that you’re looking for isn’t here. The only thing that can happen is that some monstrous wild animal will try to eat us. Please, let’s just leave. This place is awful, and it scares the hell out of me. We should figure out a way to go home and just forget about this.”
Meanwhile, her partner had walked over to the other side. He opened the door, and stepped through. She followed him.
“Stop, please. This is just some horrible nightmare. I’m pretty sure this is some “Dr. Death” human experiment thing. There’ll be no results whatsoever, just some mangled corpses. We don’t even have a camera around. Please, let’s get back.”
Unwittingly, she had followed him in the next room. It turned out to be a large hall, devoid of windows. Complex apparatus had been installed, cables and pipes covered the walls, broken-down electric lamps were attached to the roof. Several large vats had been built, filtering machines and pumps were everywhere. Also, several cages and restraining devices were littered about. Calvin was ecstatic. He ran around like crazy, examining the machines before finally climbing one of the ladders on a vat. Michelle followed him, grabbed his leg and shouted:
“I have to get out of here! Come back down! Stop!” She pulled at him, he tried to maintain his grip, did so, then the ladder broke. Actually, the ladder remained attached, but the concrete wall to which it had been bolted, tore. Clearly, the concrete had turned brittle over time, and a large chunk fell out. Calvin fell down and was hit on the head by the ladder, knocking him out.
The piece of concrete missed Michelle by mere inches. Various debris landed on her leg as she fell down, pinning her to the ground.
Behind them, the door started to give way. Finally, to add insult to injury, a large blob of greyish jelly poured out of the vat and swamped her. She screamed.

[El_Roy_1999]

Darkness

Michelle’s eyes needed a few seconds to become accustomed to the darkness. She could make out strange shapes, probably scientific apparatus from the 60s, littered about the room. She walked around, bumping against various crates. At last, she perceived a faint glow. Approaching, she found it to be an emergency case, painted in phosphorescent paint. She opened it and found a first aid kit (which smelled awful) and an electric torch. Wondering whether it still worked, she tried to switch it on. Nothing. She checked for batteries, but found that the thing had none. Examining the handle, she found that it had a kind of pump-grip. She started pressing it repeatedly, occasionally stopping to complain about her aching fingers, then switched it on.
Yellowish electric light from ages past illuminated the devastated workshop. She looked around, thought about shouting for Calvin, but decided not to. She checked the path to the next room, Calvin’s footsteps being clearly visible on the ground, and switched the light back off. She crouched low to prevent her pursuers from detecting her and followed her friend’s trail. As soon as Michelle was inside, she closed the door behind her, turned the light back on, and was surprised.
The room was full of file cabinets. Some of them were made of wood and had collapsed long ago, others, made of steel, still stood. Several of the cabinets had been opened, files opened, than thrown on the floor. Clearly, Calvin had found what he looked for. She glanced out of the room into a dark corridor, eager to find a sign of life.
Suddenly, there was a loud howl, followed by scream. Calvin! He was in trouble! She rushed out, looking for her friend. As she entered the lab area, she heard another desperate cry for help. She was on some kind of catwalk, high above a dark hall. On the far side, she barely perceived a rusty ladder, half broken and very unstable.
“I’m coming, Calvin! Stay calm!”
“I can’t! It’s over there!” His shout was interrupted by another monstrous howl. Michelle held her flashlight over the railing, illuminating the area below. Calvin was down there, between several large green containers, probably containing remains of chemical agents. Something in the darkness was approaching, but Michelle could not make out it’s shape.
She looked around, searching for a weapon of some sort. Grabbing a small metal crate, she pulled it on the railing, aimed vaguely at her friend’s assailant, struggled to hold it, then dropped it. The box fell down, hit the strange creature on it’s shoulder. It gave off a strange, almost human scream and scuttled off into the darkness. After a few seconds, she had recovered from the strain. The projectile had dented one of the chemical containers in the process, it must have weighed eighty pounds.
Downstairs, Calvin walked to the ladder quickly. Michelle followed his example:
“Get up here, let’s leave! Ekaterina and her husband are coming, we’ve got to get away!”
“No. You must come down, I have to show you something. Besides, thanks a lot. I have no idea what this might have been, but you’ve scared it off.”
He pointed his flashlight up, he apparently had brought one in his luggage. After a few moments of hesitation, Michelle climbed down the creaking ladder. When she arrived, she instinctively hugged her partner.
“Why did you run away? It it’s so important to you, we could have sneaked away later on. We would have been together in the first place!“
“Sorry. I just wanted to get here quickly. Look at this.” He showed her some files he had taken upstairs. “This is what we came for, this is pure gold!”
She looked at the diagrams. She only had a vague grasp of biology, and was unable to make heads or tails of it. Frantically, Calvin pointed at several formulae and insisted on her looking at strange and confusing tables. He uttered endless scientific or pseudo-scientific gobbledegook. Michelle waited until he was finished. At last, he said:
“It’s the super-soldier formula. It’s here! We’ve found it!”
Just as Michelle reached the conclusion that Calvin would not want to publish it, the horrifying scream was heard again. Behind them, the rusty ladder collapsed into a heap of debris.

[El_Roy_1999]

Thank you! It's fast approaching.

Side-interest

“You are, of course, right.” The old man switched the light back on. “The powers that were worked on a super-soldier programme. It was, of course, unsuccessful. The “Bogatyr” project was an earlier attempt to engineer super-warriors for the defence of the Motherland. The “Stachanov” project was a spin-off. We were hired to turn the rather absurd findings of the first attempt into something useful. With the notable exception of Ekaterina, there were no results. You can return to sleep now.”
Calvin stood up, stepped over to the old man’s chair, and grabbed him.
“Tell me everything! Do it, or I’ll…”
Michelle tried to stop him, but Ekaterina threw her cover down, jumped out of her bed and wrestled him to the ground within seconds. The American screamed, apparently in pain. The muscular woman held him down, twisting his arm. She snarled:
“We offer our hospitality. It is good for you not to abuse it.”
“Okay, okay! I give up!” He screamed again as she twisted his arm further along. “I apologise. Stop it! Let me go!” She gave him an icy glare, loosened her grip and said very calmly:
“You can go back to sleep. Tomorrow, you will leave this area. Is this clear?”
He nodded apprehensively. Getting up, she gave him a last spiteful look, then climbed back into her bed.

Michelle was horrified. Calvin was still whimpering in the darkness, apparently his arm was bruised and hurting. She barely dared take a breath. The hulking woman soon started breathing regularly, apparently fast asleep. The sudden display of strength and brutality had astonished her. She had lost control of the whole situation and mostly wanted to be home now. Even when their convoy had been attacked by rebels during a reportage in Chad, she had barely lost her cool. This was different. The hostile environment, their broken car and the monstrous woman gave her a deep feeling of imprisonment.
After a while, she managed to calm down, deciding that she’d try to bargain with the strange couple to call for help. They had mentioned a radio station after all.

The next morning, Michelle got up, awaking from a strange dream. She had imagined being in a dark and rather damp corridor, strange sounds emanating from the ground below. It had been rather creepy, but not an actual nightmare. Ekaterina was busy preparing breakfast with Anatolij. When they were done, they called their guests. Michelle went over to the table and sat down. Calvin was nowhere to be seen.
“Have you seen Calvin?” She quickly scanned the room and realised that her partner’s clothes had vanished. Her hosts searched the room, noticed the missing boots and quickly got dressed to catch up with Michelle, who had already put on her winter gear and run out. The coldness outside hit her like a wall. The young woman immediately spotted the footsteps in the freshly fallen snow and followed them as fast as she could. Soon, she was running through the forest, occasionally stopping to catch her breath and shout Calvin’s name. Still, only the emptiness answered. He had apparently followed the fence for a while, then climbed over it. She did the same, dropping gently on the soft snow.
Looking around, she realised that the closer area was flat and after a couple of yards, mostly devoid of trees. She stepped out into the open, still following his track. In the chilly distance, dark shapes of concrete buildings loomed. She advanced cautiously, preparing to duck should need arise. At last, she reached the site itself. A fallen statue marked the entryway in a depressing way, the rest of the complex as desolate as it’s figurehead.
She wandered under the arches of Soviet architecture in its purest form, until she finally found a small, half-opened door. She pushed against it and disappeared into the darkness.

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