The mist blurred everything, so she couldn't have a clear look at them until they were a mere dozen meters from her. They were three composite animals: the head of a wolf, the legs of a spider, the claws of a craw, the body of a rhinoceros... all put together with a mix of bioengineering and the good old mad science that Frankenstein has made popular. They moved quietly and fast, the only noise was produced by their howling. She didn't want a direct confrontation with the three of them but she had to stand her ground. From their positions, she could tell which was the leader and faced it. Her outfit gave her a fantastic and intimidating look, one she took advantage of. Both stared at each other eyes for a while, until the creature looked down, deciding to avoid the confrontation. She mowed fast, as she knew the creature could change its mind and attack her.
The mist grew thicker as she moved inwards the island. Thanks to its rather small size and that she had studied a map, she knew in what direction the lab was. However, she still needed assistance and contacted her partner. Gwen Marsters, who was following her with a modified satellite, was glad to hear how she had dealt with the three creatures. "They are modern chimaeras, extremely dangerous." She said, and then followed with instructions to get into the lab while she hacked their already compromised security. "So the mist comes from the lab, doesn't it?" Guessed Zirconia. "Yes, it's clearly manufactured and it's being originated from the lab, although I am still not sure about how it works. If we are lucky, there should be a way to stop it inside the lab." It was not necessary to ask what would happen if they were not lucky. Just listening the mix of roars and screams coming from all over the island was enough.
After a while, she managed to find with Gwen's help a road that connected all buildings of the Academy and followed it to the main lab. That was when they found out what the mist was doing. The hybrids from the beach had just been set free from the chaos caused by the mist, they were a collateral effect. The real deal was what the mist had done to the human and grey-human hybrids. The mist was a mutator and Zirconia could see the effect from first hand as she was approached by a crazy security guard, covered in blood, waving a chainsaw. His skin was reddish and his muscles were pumped up, like he was on steroids. That just the first of several fights against opponents who had lost their mind. No brain, no pain seemed to be their motto. It was hard and tested her combat abilities. When she arrived to the main lab, a white building covered in mist and smoke from several fires, she took a much needed pause. The door was not only open but bended and hanging. It was easy to enter and access the room where the mist came from, too easy.
"Welcome", said someone in a black outfit. The voice was metallic. There were six like him in the room. Slightly shorter than her, they were working on computers miles ahead from ours, gathering data. She could catch a glimpse from her earlier encounters with the mutated guards. "You have been quite useful, thanks to you we could finish our experiment before anyone relevant noticed. Now we can move on." She was ready to protest when they vanished leaving only the machine, spitting out still red mist. She shut it down as soon as she could and sat down next to it, exhausted. "Any idea of what is going on?", she asked to her partner. "You must get out! NOW!" "What???" "Something is coming! Something BIG!!!" "Is it part of this experiment?" "I don't know, it could be a coincidence or their way to cut loose ends, you must get out, that's the only thing that matters now..." Before Gwen could say another word a shadow covered the island and all creatures, human or not, fell silent.
To be continued...in Part III
