Lamp Rey

Lamprey

1 Mell

The lab was silent as the day of experiments and tests had come to an end, only junior researchers and janitorial staff remained as they cleaned up for the day. The last of the staff left, leaving just the guards who walked periodic patrols around the lab.

“Mell?” Rick's voice came over the radio as Mell walked the normal patrol route.

“Yes Rick?” he asked grudgingly through his own radio, Rick had been on his nerves the whole night on top of the pretentious and annoying researchers. His thoughts were lost in remembering a previous argument he’d had with one of the scientists that day. They hated being asked to wear their name tags but got grouchy when they couldn't get into their labs. For smart people, they were incredibly unaware of the fact their ids were also their key cards. He almost missed Rick's request as he shook his head in remembered annoyance.

“Yeah Mell, could you check out Doctor Monroe's lab? There seems to be something going on with the cameras, they seem to be glitching.”

Mell grumbled under his breath before responding back to his fellow guard.

"Yes, I'll check it. That dang thing has been acting up for a couple days. Let me guess our reports are being ignored and we just have to deal right?"

"You got it in one Mell, so hop to, like a good corporate drone."

The only response Mell gave Rick to that comment was a two fingers salute to the closest camera. A chuckle came over his radio but Rick blissfully did not respond further. Mell continued his walk down the dark hallways, checking to make sure doors to labs were secure. The scientists and researchers didn't always make sure the labs were locked tight as they should before leaving. Usually too lost in thought.

Doctor Monroe was one of the more neurotic ones but he usually could be counted upon to securely close his lab down properly. Mell neared the lab door but paused as he caught sight of something odd. The door lock seemed to be engaged but the door was not shut. Light could be seen shining through the crack of the door.

“Hey Rick, did you make sure everyone had left already? There's a light on.”

“Let me check, most likely it was just left on by accident. You know how they get when thinking,” Rick's unconcerned voice announced as Mell went forward opening the door to the lab.

“Well, I am showing there should be no one here but us Mell, probably just left on like I said.”

“All right thanks. Door also not working properly. Make sure it's in the report, not that they will listen,” Mell said.

“Maybe they will surprise us for once,”

“Ha you wish, I will continue checking it out and make sure it's locked down properly. Don't fall asleep up there,”

“Hey I only did that once,” Rick grumbled.

Mell didn't respond but chuckled to himself, Rick was annoying at times but he was one of the better guards to get stuck within the dead of night. continuing on Mell disengaged the lock on the door and shut it behind him. The light from the lab was bright and he could hear the trickling and hum of motors pumping water and filtering the numerous aquariums around the large space. He remembered that Doctor Monroe was one of the many marine biologists working here but he had never paid attention to what the Doctor had been working on.

The tanks along the walls were fine and mostly empty, only a few had large eel like specimens in them. a few larger tanks in the middle of the lab seemed to house more of the same. He looked up to the cameras that were placed in the corners and along the ceiling, noticing nothing obvious that was wrong with any until he walked under the closest one. A drop of something fell on his head, almost making him yelp.

he quickly put his hand up to feel the droplet, and his hand came back sticky with a gooey like substance. it wasn't water which was good but Mell couldn't tell what it was other than to call it slime. He moved a bit away from where the droplet hit him and looked up. the camera seemed to be covered in a layer of the same goop.

“Hey Rick, not sure what this is but something is covering at least one of the cameras. We will have to get someone to come clean them.”

“Well, that's gross. I guess there's nothing we can do anything about at this time. Lock up and continue on I guess,”

“All right.”

Mell looked around him trying to see if anything else seemed off, he started to have a bad feeling as he walked closer to the tanks of foggy water in the room. The closer he went the more active the eel-like creatures seemed to be. Close enough now to read the sign near the tanks he could see they were Petromyzontiformes; thankfully the scientist also gave the more understandable name as well, Lampreys.

Walking closer he peered down into the now frothing tank and yelped as a splash of nasty salty water hit him. He stumbled back laughing at his stupidity. shaking his head he turned and began to walk back towards the doors to leave, but the splashing and frothing water behind him just seemed to get worse.

Mells shivered and began turning towards the tanks once more but as he did a large force hit him in the back forcing him down. He stayed on his knees for a moment until two more objects hit him making him fall forward. The pain took a bit to register, three large circular patches of pain almost as if it was sawing through his skin even through the layer of clothing.

Too busy screaming to call Rick, he almost didn't hear the other splashes but he felt them. More mouths attached to him as he lay there unable to do more than endure it. Weakening fast as each new mouth attached he helplessly looked up as the sound of water started to spray into the lab. The alarm bells of a breach began to bay as his sight began to darken.

The undersea lab was failing, they were not deep enough for the pressure to kill them all but as he watched more and more of the lampreys open holes through the metal of the lab's walls. He was feeling glad he wouldn't live to see the results of their escape as the dark embrace of death consumed him.

**********************************************

Rick

“What could be on those cameras? Stupid scientists always messing with weird things, I should not have taken this job,” Rick muttered as he began the annoying job of making reports for the incident. Paperwork seemed to pile up no matter what job he had. The camera feeds didn't show anything and there was no audio feed from the labs. Rick heard the sounds of water just as the alarms began to sound.

“Mell! Mell! What happened?”

“Mell?”

“Answer me dang it!”

Silence was the only response.

Cursing, he threw the radio down and began the procedure to leave the security command center. Too busy to listen as water began to pour out of the vents. missing the thumps of heavy bodies hitting the floor. He didn't miss the teeth as the lampreys attacked and drew his life from him. His screams went unheard by anyone as the doors to the command center and the vents sealed shut against the rising water.

Detaching, first one then more of the lampreys began to work on the walls sealing them in, and with their enhanced bodies they escaped. The rushing water allowed them to find the exit to the open ocean and their freedom, joining the rest of their school. The beginning of the end had begun.

3

The phone's ringing woke him, and the voice raised in alarm cut through the sleep still fogging his brain when he answered.

“Doctor Monroe, there's been a breach. the lab is destroyed and the specimens are loose,” the panicked voice of his assistant came through, the doctor's heart beat faster as the words fully sunk into his brain.

“What do you mean they are loose, how could that even be possible?”

“We aren't sure sir but it seems from the last systems reports headquarters received before the facility lost power was that there were many breaches almost at once from the lab.”

“They shouldn't have been able to escape Richard!”

“I know sir but they have, wha-what do we do?”

“Richard, if they escaped by breaching the walls of the lab, there's not much we can do. It's too late, the results of our last test probed they were able to reproduce rapidly. That's why they were set to be destroyed tomorrow!” the doctor yelled in frustration. The waters would be overrun in no time if these specimens could reproduce as the tests had suggested.

“Richard, where are you right now?”

“On the research ship, the helicopter was waiting for a storm to pass before the flight to the mainland.” Richard said, worry and fear heavy in his voice.

“You guys need to get out of there fast, get the captain on the phone if you need to. Go!”

“Sir...I think it's too late for that,” Richard said just as doctor Monroe began to hear alarms coming through the phone.

“Get on the helicopter now!”

“Sir it's not poss...”

“Richard!” the doctor yelled, but the sudden silence on the line proved that the call had dropped. He sat on the edge of his bed resting his head in his hands as the despair started to rise. his phone rang once more and he looked, almost not answering it as he knew who would be on the other end.

“This is Monroe,” he said as he accepted the call, his voice harsh as the overwhelming fear choked him.

“You have heard? What's the next step?” the director of the research lab asked, his own voice subdued more than usual.

“There's nothing to be done. you saw the latest report. They will reproduce so rapidly that they will fill the ocean by next week,” the doctor said, sitting silently as the director cursed. He almost didn't tell him the rest, what had been discovered after the last report had been sent. The reason he was now kicking himself mentally, he should have destroyed them then and there and not waited. but as hindsight is 20/20 he finished explaining to the director the true horror.

“What you don't know is that the ocean is just the first step...the last test showed they were developing lungs.”