Prologue to "Feral"
As some of you may know, I've been writing a book with the hopes of getting it published. I think I'm doing fairly well, but since I'm doing it on paper its kinda hard to share. So far the best bit is the prologue, so I punched it into the computer so I could share it for feedback. It's still far from a finished product, but I wanted to get an idea of how well I was doing. So without further adieu, here is the prologue to "Feral" Enjoy, and please leave feedback, positive or negative, I promise I wont be offended, if you think it's crap let me know how I might make it better.
Prologue
The sharp screech of sirens peirced the empty corridors of the underground installation, echoing off the bare concrete walls. The noise was accompanied by glaring halogen bulbs flooding the halls with a crimson red light. The chief of security, Theo, was yanked from his slumber by the god-awful din. The grizzly sat up on his bunk, still half asleep. He sat there for a moment, gathering his thoughts. At first the lights and sirens confused him. What were these for? They seemed to be important. The realization hit him like a freight train. That was the contamination alert, something had gone wrong in the testing block. He threw on his uniform, grabbed his sidearm, and plunged out his door and into the confusion outside. The hallway was choked with people rushing for the exit. The guard grabbed a passing scientist by the tail. The indignant rat spun around aggressively , intending to give his assailant a good piece of his mind, but was silenced by the sheer size of the bear towering over him. "What happened?" The bear demanded in his gruff voice. "My god, its horrible" stammered the rat, "it was Emery, he was testing the new strength drug when the subject went insane! He ripped Emery's head clean off, god, there was blood everywhere. Then it started attacking the rest of us. I got out but the others. . . god, I can still hear their screams." Strangely, so could Theo . . . wait, they were alone, the corridor had emptied. He listened closely, yes, he could hear screams. One was of the rat, who was now tearing down the hall away from him. But the others, they made his blood run cold. He heard a shuffling noise behind him, and noticed someone had shut off the alarms. Drawing his sidearm, he spun around and pointed the pistol into the darkness at the end of the passageway. Cursing himself for leaving his flashlight in his room, he took a few cautious steps towards the shadows and whatever horrors they contained. For a moment he considered bolting for the exit, but the very idea of running made his fur bristle. Not once in his entire life had he backed down from danger, that wasn't who he was. There were very few creatures on the planet that would tangle with an adult grizzly, so his instincts didn't register fear the same way most species did. He was a predator, at the top of the food chain, nothing could make him deny his very nature enough to abandon the place he'd sworn to defend. As he advanced slowly down the corridor, a figure began to emerge from the shadow. It appeared to be canine, but was walking with a severe limp. "Who goes there?" Theo demanded. His only answer was an angry snarl. The bear panicked. He'd seen his fair share of zombie movies, and this was so close to the beginning of many of them that it almost felt cliche, even though this was real, and there was no screen separating him from that thing that was steadily coming towards him. By now the creature had stumbled into the light, and its features became clear. It was a black lab, wearing a classic white lab coat. Now the reason for the limp was obvious. Half of its calf was missing, ripped off by what appeared to be teeth. Tendon and muscle hung free, and the bone was visible. The creature continued its aggressive snarling. It appeared to be moving toward him as fast as it's destroyed leg would allow. Theo looked into the animal's eyes and saw nothing but a soulless hunger. He took aim and fired. The shot rang through the facility, amplified by the solid concrete walls. The thirty millimeter hollow-point slug slammed into the lab's chest with enough force to knock it off its feet. The dog's limp body hit the ground with a thud and lay still. Theo stood there stunned, his ears still ringing from the deafening gunshot. Theo gradually approached its motionless body, more than a little curious of the strange creature he'd defeated . Standing next to its still form, he was overcome with regret. This had been an innocent man. A man with dreams and goals, probably a wife, and maybe even kids. And Theo had just snuffed all of that out with the simple pull of a trigger. His mourning however was short lived. Any creature that can walk with half its leg missing can easily shrug off a bullet wound long enough to lash out, and that is just what this one did, tracing a deep gash down the grizzly's arm. Theo roared at the sudden pain in his left arm. At this point his training took over and he reacted without thinking, emptying his gun's magazine into the dog's head. Theo stared in horror at the gaping wound in his left forearm. The cut was deep, and he could almost feel the infected creatures blood spreading through his veins. Theo knew what he had to do. If the movies were anything to go by, then in a few hours he would become on of them, and he couldn't let that happen. A hopelessly enraged grizzly? Imagine how many people he would infect before someone finally took him down. He ran off into the darkness, making sure there wasn't any others he could take down before hi did it. After a full circuit of the complex, he found nothing but the decapitated body of a tiger. That must have been Emery. Poor guy, what a way to go. Once he was sure he was alone, Theo once again drew his sidearm, this time with a much different goal then self defense. He held it in his paws and stared at it. He couldn't believe his life had come to this. Sitting alone in some god forsaken hallway, preparing to blow his own brains across the wall behind him. No, he thought to himself, no self pity. What you are about to do will save countless others from the horrors contained here. You will be remembered as a hero. He glanced down at the gun, and put it down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his notebook and pen. He poured his heart into a note for his wife and kids. Or at least, he tried to, his thoughts were becoming fuzzy. Shit, he thought. It's beginning. He signed the note, put it down next to him and picked up his gun again. With his left paw he placed the cold steel of the barrel against his temple. With his right, he gave one final salute to the security camera. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a single tear formed in his eye and with no small amount of effort pulled the trigger. "Click." Wait, that's not what was supposed to happen. Confused, Theo pulled the trigger again. "Click." What the hell? He lowered the gun and examined it. He pulled back the slide and looked straight down the empty chamber. Of course! He'd used all his ammo on the thing that did this to him. Well, that was an easy enough fix. He stood up quickly, and was just as quickly knocked down by dizziness. Damn, the serum was spreading quickly. He stood up again, slowly this time. Again, a wave of nausea rolled over him, but this time he managed to stay on his feet. Barely. He started off towards the armory. By the time he got there, his vision was fading, and it was a miracle he was coherent enough to punch in the six digit code on the electronic lock. The door slid open and he stumbled inside. By the time he'd found the right ammunition he was in a frenzy. He ejected the magazine from the handle and slid a single bullet into the empty slot. He fumbled the clip back into the gun and, desperate, pulled back on the slide to lock his only cure into the barrel. But when he released the slide, his failing mind also opened his other paw. The gun, released from his grip, fell in slow motion to the floor below. Theo the man was dead before the gun hit the ground. But Theo the grizzly, he was still very much alive, and very, very, hungry. The bear flew out the door of the armory and up the hall to the still open doors that led outside of the abandoned complex. The huge animal flew through the doors and disappeared into the night, heading towards the glowing lights of the city and the fresh flesh of its residents.