Again I apologize if having this topic here along with the first one makes anyone mad, simpily for that reason.  If you have any questions or suggestions about upcoming chapters, please post them here.  And this is /mine/ so DON'T STEAL IT.  Thanks~~ ACA (Bwahahaha, yes I felt the need to abreviate my name >:D)

PREFACE

The beating of artificial hearts thumped through the room. The macabre scene seemed like a set from a horror movie; and the intention of the 62 men clad in long, white coats was not very pretty at all. Needles and syringes lay cluttered around, and messes of papers and loose thread and sewing supplies were scattered all around the floor.

The scientists doing the experiment were doing exactly what they weren't supposed to do. No one was ever supposed to mess with life. Mess with the heart, or with the brain, maybe; but to give something absolutely nightmarish the gift of life was just wrong. They were creating something that should never have been created in the first place. But it was too late to take it back; the scientists weren't just going to let the amazing - yet bloodthirsty - creations go to waste for reasons unknown to them.

The strange, the horrid, the wonderful creations the scientists were currently creating were seven foot one, two-hundred and thirty pounds, and there were 62 of them in total. Every single one of the Bloodhounds were very strange-looking.

They were humanoid in figure, with two bulbous white eyes that had no eyelids. The creatures had only a partially visible nose, and no visible mouth or ears. They were completely hairless, gray-skinned, and had enormous hands and feet. The use of their enormous hands ranged anywhere from being used to crush the skull of an enemy, to handling a delicate china doll with great care. They each had two barbs - one on each wrist - that they could use to either A. Kill another Bloodhound, or B. Transfigure a human into something with similar senses of a Bloodhound. Highly developed eyesight, a nose much better than that of the average dog, and hearing that could enable the human having been injected to hear noises up to thirty yards away, were some of the advantages of being poked by a Bloodhound. Although they had spurs on each of their wrists, which may have been useful for gripping the ground and gaining more traction, the creatures didn't use their hands for walking, and were bipedal. When walking, they didn't have very good posture at all. They all walked somewhat like monkeys, with the back arched and the feet splayed.

The species had been given the very fitting name of 'Bloodhound', due to it's inexplicable ability to sniff out blood from hundreds of miles away; though it's nose was partially sunken into it's skull. The Bloodhounds had been created as a way to control the human population on the globe; which wasn't a very good idea to create them in the first place. They were nasty murderers with a taste for blood of any kind, which they would gladly go to any length to catch and devour.

There were 62 Bloodhounds in all.

As the scientists worked, they began to notice strange things going on in the brain. Earlier in the creation process, they had each gotten a PDF file with a picture of how the brain was supposed to look later on in the creation process, which was where they were now. The printout document file of how the brain was supposed to look differed slightly from how it actually looked.

"Hey.. Doctor Marston?" One of the scientists put down his small pair of tweezers and looked up at the head scientist for the Bloodhound experiment.

"Cleevely?" Doctor Marston addressed the confused scientist by his last name.

"Can you look at Bloodhound 48's brain for me, please?"

Marston looked at the computer screen he was working on, the one that had wires attatched to each of the Bloodhound's heads. It was monitoring the activity of each and every experiment's brain in the room.

"There's a little purple spot there. Why does the brain have a purple spot there?" Marston snapped at Cleevely.

Cleevely flinched.

"I'm not.. I'm not exactly sure. That's why I was asking you. Does anyone else have the same problem..?"

"Actually... Yes. They do. Except for number 25. Who has number 25?!"

A small gloved hand raised out of the mess of scientists in the room.

"I do, Doctor Marston. Number 25 is mine."

"Of course. Of course, you would have number 25, Freiq. Because you always get everything perfect. Maybe I should just fire everyone else here working with the Bloodhounds, and you should make all of them perfect. Who cares about a small purple spot in the brain the size of the mole on my arm? Work on. No more distractions. We need to get this done by midnight tonight."

Doctor Marston's random anger spurt ended quickly. No one talked from that point on. From there, it was just work, work, and work. No one pointed out any more small flaws the size of Marston's mole. In fact, no one even found any. Each of the Bloodhounds was completely perfect, except from the purple spot on their brains, in the folds of the brain tissue. No one knew exactly what was wrong, and no one wanted to annoy Doctor Marston even further.

Because of that, they continued and dismissed the virus as something so small it didn't need to be fixed.

Hours later, all sixty-two scientists had left. The moon-light produced by a small skylight cut out of the ceiling illuminated the Bloodhounds eerily. Their calves hung off of the table and swung back and forth, their arms were splayed at their sides, and their eyes stared vacantly up at the tall celing. They twitched at uneven and patternless intervals of time, their muscles spazming violently as they lay, unfeeling, on the long metal tables.

Suddenly, one Bloodhound raised an arm. It pointed at the ceiling like a puppet. The single Bloodhound's heart was slowly thumping, getting faster and faster and faster as the seconds went by. Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump, th-thump, th-thump, TH-THUMP. The heartbeats seemed to get louder and faster, and then ceased altogether, returning to a relatively normal pace. The arm dropped suddenly to the table.

The sudden explosion of noise seemed to awaken the other Bloodhounds from their dreamlike stance. They all started moving even more than they had before, attempting to get up or swinging their arms and legs. The Bloodhounds had been awakened, the creation process was complete and the Bloodhounds were now, as you would call it, alive.

Although they were alive, the movement of the Bloodhounds was still etchy, as they were just learning to learn their limbs. All 62 Bloodhounds were trying to get up so they could get to the one thing they needed to get. The single thing all 62 Bloodhounds had on their minds: Blood.

It was completely natural that the creatures craved life-essence; it was just who it was from that was strange. The strange malfunction in the minds and hearts of all 62 Bloodhounds made them crave the blood from someone they weren't supposed to crave blood from.

The scientists had failed miserably to fix, or even acknoledge the deadly virus infecting each of the Bloodhounds in the small part of the brain that contained the feelings and emotions of the creature. But the Bloodhounds were already wakening, and it was too late to go back and fix it now. The scientists didn't know at the moment, that unfortunately for them, they would pay dearly, perhaps putting the entire globe in jeopardy.

But they did not have to worry about that then, when the Bloodhounds were just barely waking up. They needed to worry about the world's destruction twenty years into the future, when they had trained the Bloodhounds and released them to the public.

TWENTY YEARS LATER

June 27

12:o1

A.M.

chapter one - nightmares

My father's face was blurred. Warped. Twisted. I couldn't make it out exactly, even though I could tell his face was white, and his hair was rather dark. Either black, or a really dark brown. His short-sleeved shirt was grey, and he was wearing black shorts that went a little past his knees. I could hear his voice as clear as crystal. My mother looked the same as she always did. Tall, thin, and wearing a black apron that matched her dark brown hair; which was pulled tightly into a neat bun at the back of her head. My father was wearing a black tee-shirt and faded jeans. His voice was low and angsty. He sounded apologetic, but angry at the same time. His tone was confusing. My mother sounded almost.. Regretful.

"Shouldn't we at least talk about this with Jake?" She pleaded.

"You can. I can't bear to look at him one more time. He isn't my son. I'm only his step-father." His voice was cold.

"Dave. Jake thinks of you as his father. Look at my face and tell me you don't love this family. Tell me you don't love me. Tell me, Dave!"

My father stared at my mother and shook his head.

"You don't understand. Miranda.. I really do care about you. You and Jake. I care about you both. More than you can even imagine. I love you more than anything else in the whole world. I'm just... I'm not ready for, I'm just not ready for this.. This... Commitment."

My mother's face began to redden. Her eyes grew watery.

"Co.. Commitment?" Her voice cracked.

"I'm sorry. I really am. You need to at least try to understand. Please." He leaned forwards and gave her one last kiss on the forehead, then backed up a couple of steps. "I can't stay with you anymore. Tell Jake I'm sorry."

But I had already heard. No one needed to tell me. My throat felt dry. They both turned to stare at me, standing there in the doorway with a scared expression. My mom pursed her lips sadly, and walked over to me and took me in her arms.

"Yo.. You're father isn't going to st..stay with us a.. any..." The sentence was left unfinished. She broke down into racking sobs. I looked up at my father. His face was unreadable. Emotionless.

"Love you, bud." He said.

He walked out of the living room.

I heard a door shut.

And then I woke up.

The nightmare was back. The nightmare from just two years ago. When I was thirteen. My birthday had just been a few days before. August twelfth. My father had left the formerly three-person family without any warning. Now it was just my mom and I. I thought my life was absolutely perfect. Although I knew that Dave Pardas wasn't my biological father, he was more than a father to me. He was my best friend. Hearing him say that I wasn't his son had crushed my heart into a million tiny pieces.

Two months after my parents divorced, we moved here. To some place so tiny that it wasn't on any map anywhere. I met Erin Summers, and her family. The Summers helped me heal a little bit. Escpecially Erin. She understood what I had gone through, losing an extremely close family member. She had previously lost her closest cousin a few months before. It was more than a miracle, she and I coming together as friends.

I yawned, and turned over, staring at the wall.

Hopefully I would get some sleep tonight.

* * *

"Jake, Erin called earlier this morning."

My mom didn't look up from the paper she was reading, but instead rustled it in such a way I could tell she was somewhat annoyed with the fact Erin had called the house so early. The Summers--unlike me--were very early risers. I wiped my toast-crumb covered hands on my pants and swallowed the buttery bread in my mouth.

"What did she say?"

"She told me to tell you to meet her at the rock at ten o' clock."

I glanced at the clock. It was nine forty-five.

"Why'd you tell me so late?"

"I didn't want you to rush your breakfast."

"What..?"

She didn't answer, and instead continued to read the paper. She was smirking.

Mothers would be mothers.

"Okay then." I said in a slightly annoyed tone as I stood.

Mom gave me a long stare with her pretty blue eyes, then smiled.

"Make sure you wear something warm. It's raining outside."

I turned around, glancing at the window, but already knowing from the noise that it wasn't raining at all outside. It was a complete downpour.

I turned around to stare at my mom in shock. "Raining? I'll get soaked out there! I don't even have a raincoat."

Mom shrugged, a small smile on her face. "You can borrow my umbrella."

* * *

"Do you want to bring some sandwiches for you and Erin to eat?" Mom held up a peice of bread.

I pulled the hood up on my black and red hoodie and shook my head.

"No, we'll be fine. If I bring those sandwiches, the rain will soak them and then we won't even be able to eat them.. Thanks anyways, though."

As strange as it sounded, I was right. The rain had doubled in intensity since I had eaten breakfast, which was twenty minutes ago. Bringing sandwiches wasn't an option in these conditions. I said goodbye to Mom and exited the house, snapping the large umbrella open. The size of the black and grey thing was closer to that of a beach umbrella than that of a normal, fit-in-your-backpack kind of umbrella. It was ridiculously heavy, and although I knew that we owned multiple of the smaller umbrellas, my Mom had obviously given me the bulkiest one on purpose. I could almost hear her laughing at me as I struggled to hold the umbrella upright against the rumble of rain. Closing the door before the house filled with water, I ran for the forest.

Our house was in the middle of nowhere. A small town in the middle of a forest, the forest so large and the town so small, that it wasn't even charted on the map. Where we lived, along with (as far as I knew), three other neighbors, all miles away from us. In the middle of the three houses, there was a small store and an ice-cream parlor. A quarter mile from our house. I wasn't even sure if the city had a name, it was that small. My mom always claimed that the name of the city we lived in was 'Agrebunkle', and even though I knew she was joking, I had gotten into a bad habit of calling the town by that name. We didn't have any neighbors, except for Erin and her family, and a small family that I hadn't met yet, with the last name of 'Cavill'. Erin and the Cavills lived half a mile from me. All of our houses, at least that I knew of, were surrounded by thick forest, and there were ten or so clearings that Erin and I had found on our occasional exploration expeditions. The closest one was our favorite, it had a huge cave with a network of tunnels that kept us safe from the rain when it was raining, and shaded from the sun when it was hot out. The cave was so large that it was highly unlikely that there were wild animals of any sort living inside. I always took a lighter with me just in case, not that it would really do anything if there was a bear or mountain lion threatening us. My lighter was sort of like my security blanket. It was given to me by my father when I was seven years old.

The rain had turned the dirt path I usually took into watery mud. It looked like a swamp, what with the tips of grass poking up out of it and the trees all around. I half-expected a large snake of some kind to go swimming past me at any second. Luckily, that didn't happen. I hadn't seen a snake in the forest yet, but I was almost one-hundred percent sure that there was some kind of reptilian slithering around lithely in here somewhere.

By the time I reached the cave, I was spattered with mud and my long jeans were filthy. I must have looked ridiculous, because when I walked up to the cave entrance, waving a hello to Erin, she looked at me like I was the strangest thing she had ever set eyes on. Or perhaps, I just looked like someone who had just fallen into a puddle of mud. Which, in fact, I didn't, but walking through the swampiness of the forest had the same effect on my appearance.

"You have some mud on your face." Erin snickered. I looked at her with the most annoyed expression I could manage, and she shut up fairly quickly.

"Why did you drag me here in the first place?" I changed the subject. Erin's entire demeanor changed from teasing, to very solemn. She wiped some of her long, blonde hair out of her face, in a failing attempt to unplaster it to her head. Even though we were safe in the cave, somehow we were still getting misted over with the wet spray of water coming from outside. Her eyes widened.

"You don't know?"

"Uh.. No." Was I supposed to know?

"You.. don't watch the news?"

"I watch the news, but what does that have anything to do with this?"

"Did you watch the news last-night?"

"No."

"I thought you said you-"

I interrupted her. "Our power was out last-night! How was I supposed to watch the news?"

"Your.. Your power was out?"

"Yeah..."

She shook her head, puzzled. "Ours wasn't.. That's weird.."

Erin continued.

"Well, anyways, on the news last night, there was some messed experiment going on at a laboratory somewhere.. South Cali? Yes, I think that was it."

"South Cali? That's really close to Agrebunkle."

"Excuse me..?"

"Nevermind. Go on?"

Erin rolled her eyes and continued.

"The way they made it sound.. They made it sound like it was the worst thing that could ever happen to the Earth as we know it. They made it sound like it was the end of the world or something... Well, it... it... but they... This experiment sounded really bad. Human killers, made from donor's DNA that had been modified in such a way... I can't even explain it." She was tripping over her own sentences shakily.

"So... They made something... humanoid... that was supposed to kill people? Are they mad?"

"Well... You've heard the term 'mad scientist' before, haven't you? But, that's not the point... I think they made the experiment specifically to kill. Humans. They're trying to kill us. Jake, they're trying to kill us."

"Erin! Stop that-you're starting to creep me out!"

Erin shook her head, worry blazing in her eyes. "I'm not pretending, Jake." Her voice cracked and went a pitch higher. "This is really freaking me out."

"Do you think we'll all be okay? I mean, with the experiment and all?"

The question caught me off guard. I wasn't sure. I shrugged.

She didn't respond. The only sound was the loud splashing of rain from outside. I wished something would happen to break the silence.

A small sound caught our attention. A rustle of dead bushes somewhere around us.

"What was that?" Erin asked alertly, glaring at the trees suspiciously.

"A fox. See?" I pointed out the small canid staring at us from the trees outside, it's pelt wet and brown. Erin breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought that maybe... Oh nevermind."

I could tell what she had been about to say.

"No, it's just a fox. I'm pretty sure."I chuckled. "What do you say we head over to my house and get some lunch?" I tried to change the subject.

Erin flashed me a grin as she pocketed her shaky hands. "Sure."

chapter two-

The creature's name was 48.

48 was one of the experiments--the Bloodhounds; right now he was on duty. 48's mind was as robotic and emotionless as any of the other Bloodhounds, but that would change because of something the scientists had forgotten two decades ago. In fact, all of the experiments would have a new mind set. They weren't going to survive the next week without turning against someone. The next week or two were going to be the most chaotic in all of Earth's existence. According to plan, there would be no survivors. Earth would be taken over by scientists and their creations. But of course, the plans weren't going to be revealed to all just like that. There were steps. Steps to be taken before total and complete annihilation. 48 was part of that plan, he took part in all of these steps.

He ran tirelessly through the wet forest, stopping for nothing except... for that. The Bloodhound slowly came to a stop, watching interestedly as a small robin hopped from branch to branch above him. 48 was extremely fond of birds. This particular bird was the best tasting. The grey-skinned creature scaled the tree like an expertly trained arborist, watching the bird carefully as it gained altitude in the tree-tops. 48 climbed after the bird, going even faster than the feathered creature could ever go. 48 reached the avid quickly, and wasted no time snatching the bird right out of the branches of the tree and shoving it in his mouth. He couldn't help but glance around for another one, but to his dismay, he didn't see any.

48 climbed down the tree, going even faster than he had going up, then returned to his tireless pace, heading straight for the laboratory. This time, he wouldn't get distracted.

The laboratory was a three story, rectangular building with no windows and walls made of concrete. It had a very good security system-not including the Bloodhounds and various other experiments that were still being created-that had invisible lazers and hidden bombs that were placed in just the right spot to catch an intruder. The Bloodhounds knew the exact locations of all of these bombs and lazers and small cameras. They were very careful not to step on any of them when returning to the laboratory with important footage.

The bird-loving Bloodhound loped down the pathway to the laboratory, straying from the pathway only once to investigate a small garter snake creeping about. He never went within a two foot radius of a bomb or lazer, despite his trekking off of the paved path. A small explosion brought him to attention, and the head of the snake landed on the sidewalk in front of him. 48 quickened his pace, entering through the main door after going through a series of finger analyzation tests and other various identification methods. He was headed straight for room seventy-two.

Doctor James Marston was in charge of the Bloodhound experiment. He was wearing a black and white suit, which stood out among the other scientist's blue and white outfits that looked like they belonged more to doctors rather than scientists. His hair was short and black, and he had a heavy square jaw and dark eyebrows. Marston wasn't one to fool around. Ever.

His anger-ridden yells at his computer echoed through the long white hallways of the laboratories' second floor. He was in his office, staring at the once-working computer screen that broadcasted the video camera feed coming in from the Bloodhound room; room seventy-two. This room was halfway down the hall from his own office, room thirty-seven. His other computer screen broadcasted the camera feed from the main hallway, the one that 48 had just come through. The computer wires had been spliced so they could use a small amount of wiring from the video cameras to the computers, and the computer that had shown room seventy-two's wiring had just sparked and shorted out. All of the wires needed to be replaced. And it was going to cost Doctor Marston a fortune to replace them.

Marston punched in a strange number with no particular area-code into his desk phone. Holding the phone to his ear, Marston waited impatiently for someone to pick up.

"Hello, this is Floor Three with technical."

"Can I speak with Ben?"

"Yes. Please hold."

The line fell silent. About two minutes later, the phone was plucked out of the reciever.

"Doctor Marston?"

"Speaking. Is this Ben?"

"Yessir."

"Can you come to my office? Room number thirty-seven."

"That's on the... Second Floor, right?"

"Right."

"Ok, I'm on my way down."

Doctor Marston leaned back in his chair after hanging up.

A brisk knock on his office door made Marston turn his head sharply to the left. He winced as his neck cracked loudly. Rubbing at it in annoyance, Doctor Marston walked over to the door and opened it. Forcing a smile at the lanky red-headed man - Ben - Doctor Marston showed him over to the broken monitor. Ben looked the monitor over, inspecting every inch of the fuse-blown appliance.

"I can fix this.. It might take me a couple of days though."

"A couple of days? You do realize that this experiment is bloodthirsty, demonic, all of them have something wrong with their brains, and if we left them unmonitored for a.. for a couple of days, they could cause complete and utter chaos?!"

"No, Doctor Marston, I understand. Sorry. I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"48. It's very good to see that you have returned. After what happened to 25... Well, I'm just happy to see any of the Bloodhounds return safely. Anyways, that's another matter. 48, do you have the footage?" Marston directed his question at 48, allowing the alien creature to answer him.

This was how the Bloodhounds conversed. Bloodhound to Bloodhound, they could share thoughts and plans, but they had to go through a whole other process to converse with a human. The Bloodhound could hear and understand quite clearly what the human was saying, but they couldn't return thoughts unless the human allowed them to. Humans could do this either by directing a question at the Bloodhound personally, or telling the Bloodhound that they could enter their mind. Doctor Marston had chosen the first of the two options.

Yes, Doctor Marston.

"Good. May I see?" Marston asked expectantly.

Yes, Doctor Marston. You may see.

"Thank you, 48."

You're very welcome, Doctor Marston.

48 then proceded to lay his hand on Marston's cheek, transmitting to Marston's brain his recorded footage of the two teenagers talking. The recording replayed itself in Marston's head. Once Marston had seen everything, 48 removed his hand from his cheek.

"How did they know about the experiment?"

The news, Doctor?

"Well.. Obviously, but... That... They weren't supposed to know that much..."

They know what was played on the News. Nothing more.

"Yes, I suppose you're right, 48.. Thank you for that footage."

You're welcome, Doctor Marston.

48 walked over to his small cell, where a large unidentifiable carcass was draped awkwardly over a food trough. Bending over with another quick glance at Marston, 48 tore into his dinner quite happily.

* * *

13's hand was clenched around the neck of a frightened scientist, pushing the human into the wall and partially cutting off his air supply.

Tell me.

"No--!" The scientist's strangled reply was only audible to the Bloodhound's ears.

Tell me now. Or I'll kill you. 13 repeated his question. How can I escape? There must be a way.

The scientist's face was turning an angry purplish red color.

"I won't tell," the scientist struggled against 13's strong grasp.

13 squeezed the human's neck even tighter.

TELL ME.

"Go through... The roof.. Up and out.."

I can't fly, you daft-minded human. I'm not a bird.

"That's the only-"

13 gave a snarl of anger and threw the human to the ground. The scientist rubbed at his bruised neck in pain, not daring to give the angry, irritated Bloodhound another look.

Up and out.. 13 repeated the human's advice, walking briskly back into the laboratory and leaving the scientist's body behind. Bloodhounds couldn't leave during the night, unless they had been given a command from a scientist to do so. 13, however, was eager for escape. He knew that staying with the scientists was wrong, and would lead to trouble. Somehow, he knew. He had tried to warn the other Bloodhounds, but most of them didn't want to hear it. Hopefully, the others would be given a chance such as his. Even if it meant they had to kill to get that chance.

Out of the way, insignificant female. 13 spat an angry comment at a young scientist who was watching him suspiciously. The woman's eyes widened, wondering how the Bloodhound was capable of entering her mind without her permission. That was the strange thing about 13: he didn't need human's permission to talk to them. His eyes were different as well. They were pitch-black and as shiny as marbles, rather than the foggy white the other Bloodhounds had.

13 hurried up the stairs of the laboratory, shoving past confused scientists and occasionally spitting out threats to the scientists that were more... Nosy. He was going to get out, even if he had to kill to do so. He reached the top flight of stairs, sneering to himself in pride and acomplishment. He walked over to a metal box on the wall, ripping the cover off without a problem and unplugging all of the visible wires. Let them try to track him down, now.

The lights went off, the cameras monitoring the Bloodhounds, and the security cameras shut off. All wires having been taken out by 13. Just to make fixing the camera's harder, 13 picked up the metal cover on the ground, mashed it into the box, folding the edges over it and locking it in place. Humans were puny things, without the muscle mass to bend metal like that. They would hardly be able to take the cover back off, now. Just let them try.

13 walked over to the wall, ripped a hole in it, leaned outside, and gripped onto the edge of the roof. He slowly pulled himself onto the roof. He was free. They would never catch him, now.

Chapter 3

48's hands and face were pressed against the thick glass of the kitchen window. He could hear them perfectly, as if they were standing right next to him. To the regular human ear, all you'd be able to hear from inside the house was silence. Human senses weren't very good, compared to the enhanced vision and hearing of a Bloodhound. Bloodhound senses were many times sharper than the latter.

48 had been standing here, at this square window looking into Jake's kitchen, for twenty-three minutes exactly. So far, he had extracted valuble information about the two teenagers by just staring at them. The male's name was Jake. The female's was Erin. They liked exploring the forest. They both knew things about the experiment that they obviously shouldn't.

A shrill bird-call from somewhere out in the darkening forest snapped his attention away from the duo. His stomach growled emptily. He hadn't had any food today, and the Bloodhound wanted very badly to run into the forest and hunt. He was, however, going to be obedient, and he knew that he must stay and watch Jake and Erin to make sure they didn't know anything else that was dearly important to the laboratory. If he didn't find out if they knew anything important, he would more than likely be beaten to a pulp by the Doctor.

Ten more minutes passed by. The human's talked of new exploration plans, bringing things to a cave that they spoke of very affectionately, and 'Mom's shopping'. Whatever that meant. They didn't say anything about the laboratory or the Bloodhounds, other than the occassional 'Bloodhounds are creepy', or 'I wonder why they made the Bloodhounds in the first place'. 48 knew very well the exact reason that the scientists had created the Bloodhounds. They had created them to kill. If Jake and Erin knew more than they already did about the experiment, 48 might be given an extermination order. A very specific order from the head scientist to kill. 48 would need to follow that order. If the creator gave an order, the Bloodhounds would follow it. No matter what.

48 turned away from the glass, staring blankly into the forest, wondering gravely if there was any way to escape an extermination order. If there was, he would gladly accept. Being forced to kill someone you had gotten to know quite well wasn't very fun at all.

When he turned back to stare into the window, Jake's face was turned towards him in utter disbelief. Dark, angry, dissappointed thoughts flashed through 48's mind. He couldn't have been so careless as to let someone see him, could he? Doctor Marston wouldn't be very happy at all. 48 had seen Doctor Marston angry before, everyone had at one point in their life, but he had been given very specific orders from the Doctor not to be seen. Bloodhounds were not supposed to be careless and stupid. They were supposed to be smart, and quick. Marston obviously wouldn't think 48 was any of these things, after learning of his current failiure. 48 backed away from the window, and dissappeared into the forest without another glance back towards the house. He had been seen. And he would be punished.

* * *

"...Erin..?" My eyes were fixated on the now empty window.

"What?" Erin asked, oblivious to the fact that something very alien had just been spying on us.

"Did you see that?" I asked, even though I knew that she hadn't seen it.

Erin didn't respond.

"I think.. I think it was... I'm not sure. It had huge white eyes and gray skin." I sputtered.

Erin stood up bravely, and walked towards the kitchen cabinets.

"Why don't we find out what it was?" She grinned.

I blinked, frozen in my chair. It obviously hadn't come inside the house. What was she doing over there?

She came back to the table holding a large steak knife and a metal flashlight.

"Come on, then! Let's go out!" She held the knife up in the air, then realized what she had said, and corrected herself. "Outside! Let's go outside!"

I stood up, silent, and opened the back door. "Are we sure we want to-"

"Yes." Erin turned towards me, with a very serious expression on her face. I couldn't argue with her, now, she was holding a very sharp knife.

It was almost completely black outside. The overcast sky had clouded the moon over, letting virtually no light get through. The only thing I could see was whatever Erin's flashlight beam illuminated. Currently, that was grass, and the occasional rock or twig. I kept my eyes on that, instead of the dark forest all around us. Pure black darkness wasn't exactly my idea of a picnic in the park. Especially when there were wolves and bears hiding around.

"It's dark outside." I said, somewhat glumly. Erin turned around, shining the flashlight in my eyes. "Does that help? Use your breath for screaming, and don't state the obvious." She shone the flashlight back down at the ground in front of us. Erin's comment had really creeped me out.

I stopped, watching Erin continue to walk. "Hey, Erin.. I think we should go back.." I called. Erin shone her flashlight behind her, not hearing my call, but instead grumbling. "Jake, would you please stop poking me! It's getting really annoying!"

I froze, wide-eyed. "Erin, I'm not-"

"Shut it, you little creep! I know you're poking me!" She said with a dark laugh.

My eyes couldn't have gotten wider. I remained completely silent.

"Jake, I'm not kidding! I've got a knife and I'm not afraid to use it!" She was using an empty threat.

I didn't say anything.

"Jake, stop it right now, or I swear I'm going to--" Her flashlight beam finally fell on me, standing ten feet away from her in horror.

"If you aren't.. Then who's..." She trailed off, moving closer to me instinctively. A grey hand shot out from the darkness and closed around her ankle. She threw the flashlight at it, breaking into a sprint and dragging me with her. Whatever the thing was behind us gave no sign of pain, not even a grunt or anything of the sort. We burst into my house, slamming the door behind us. I pressed myself against the door, my eyes wide as I looked up and caught a glance of my mom, standing in the kitchen doorway, staring at us both expectantly.

"What has gotten into you two?" Mom came out of the kitchen. "You look as if you've seen a ghost!"

I gave a nervous laugh, deadbolting the off-white door and shutting the bland yellow drapes. Who knew what we had seen? The hand had looked inhumanly large. The fingers had to have been at least six inches long each. Obviously not something you would normally see in the forest here. I had never seen anything like it. But then again, we had only seen the hand. And part of the arm, but that didn't matter. It was grey and blotchy, and unless it was a very realistic glove or halloween costume part, there was no way it could have been a human being. Or a wolf or bear, for that matter.

I cursed rather abruptly. "We left the flashlight out there."

"Why don't you go and get it?" Mom put a hand on her hip, staring at me with the same expectant stare she had shot us both before.

"Funny story, actually..." I grumbled, rubbing the back of my head emberassedly.

"We left the flashlight out by the forest!" Erin blurted.

"You what?" My Mom's face was contorted into an expression of complete shock. "Why were you two by the forest? You both know that there are bears and wolves out there at night! You could have gotten into some serious trouble!"

I grimaced. "We saw something out the window-"

"A dog," Erin interrupted.

"Yeah, a dog. We saw a dog out the window, and so we went outside to go see if it had any tags. We followed it to the edge of the forest, and I guess we dropped the flashlight there before we came back," I finished. The story was unbelievable, but it was far better than explaining what had really happened.

Mom stared at us blankly for a moment. I winced, worried she was going to yell, but instead she started laughing. Not exactly what I had expected as a response, but it was better than getting yelled at.

"Okay, sure, just make sure you get the flashlight for me in the morning, please. Would you mind helping me put these groceries away?" She held up three plastic bags bulging with groceries. Erin stepped forward, glad to do something other than run away from creatures in the dark.

* * *

Mom drove Erin home as soon as she could, which just so happened to be at 1:00 AM. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Summers, had both broken into a nervous fit and were about to call the police for child abduction just about when Erin showed up at their house. Apparently she was grounded from coming over to my house for a while. But she had broken that rule just a couple of hours after she had been dropped off.

I awoke with a start, the persistent ring of the phone echoing through the house. I groggily got out of bed and hurried over to the phone before my mom could wake up. Fumbling it a bit as I picked it up, I answered it with a dully said: "Hullo..?"

Erin's voice met my ears. "Jake, sleepyhead, drag yourself out of bed and get a coat on. Get to the cave, ASAP!"

Before I had time to even ask why, she hung up. I was left listening to a shrill beep. I put the phone down in the receiver, and walked back up to my room, writing a quick note explaining where I was. Shrugging a coat on, I headed outside with a flashlight. The light was dull, so there obviously wasn't that much battery life left, but hopefully it would at least last until I reached the cave. I hoped what my Mom had said about wolves and mountain lions roaming the forest at night wasn't that accurate. Maybe there was just one or two. Not a whole bunch. If Erin knew what she was talking about, it should be worth the trip there and back. And possibly worth the horrid possiblity of getting chewed up by some wretched animal. If I was torn apart by a grey wolf tonight, I swore I would haunt Erin for the rest of my life.

I walked into the darkened forest. The trees were tall and ominous. They were completely still, there wasn't any sort of breeze to sway them. I could only hear crickets. And the occasional owl or two. I could barely see. And to make matters worse, I had the unshakable feeling that I was being followed. Followed through the darkening forest by someone. Or something. I tried to hurry my pace, but I couldn't go much faster than I already was, because of all of the snake holes and rocks potruding out of the slightly damp ground. A loud muttering met my ears. Or filled my mind. I couldn't tell which, but it was eerie enough to send chills up my spine.

Aghthpht..

I hugged my jacket closer to myself, crossing my arms around my chest. What horrible creature had made that sound? It had sounded like a dying cat or something. Maybe that was exactly what it was: A dying cat. I didn't know anyone that owned a cat around here, though. That was strangely unfortunate. Cats weren't my... favorite... animal out there. I'd feel better knowing it was a dying cat then a bear or wolf. But, then again... If the cat was dying... What would have killed it? My brain was practically exploding with questions, and I was imagining horrifying creatures ruthlessly tearing up a feline.

A branch snapped behind me. I instinctively broke into a run, my breathing was uneven and hard as I stumbled over branches and tripped over my own feet, catching my balance just before faceplanting. I glanced behind me once as I reached the clearing and skidded into the cave. No one was behind me. At least, not that I could see. My attention returned to the cave and it's contents. Erin was here.

She was sitting on the half-rotten picnic table with a whole bunch of papers laid out in front of her. Her face was sheet white as she thumbed through the papers, looking them over. Occasionally pausing to read something, and then compare it on another sheet of paper.

"Erin?"

She looked up with a confused expression, like she didn't recognize me. Her face suddenly was enlightened with recognition.

"Oh. Jake. It's you."

"What are you doing?"

"Come and see."

She was looking through newspapers. Well, newspaper pages.

"Is something wrong?" I addressed her, as she had returned to the pale, sheet white, unnatural expression.

She looked up at me. Her eyes were wide.

"Do you see these pages?"

"..Yes."

"Do you see this?" She pointed to one. The month was October. The year was 1991. Twenty years ago.

"Recognize anything?" She waved the picture in front of my face. I picked it up and looked at it carefully.

GENIUS SCIENTIST JAMES MARSTON CREATES VIRTUAL LIFE.

On the cover there was a picture of a smiling scientist standing next to something. Something humanoid and grey. Something with large white eyes. And grey, mottled skin. Something that had the same, smoothly textured skin that was on the arm Erin had thrown the flashlight at.

The crackle of dry grass met my ears. I glanced up, rather nervously, and put the papers down on the picnic table. Erin let out a squeal of fright beside me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Standing up slowly, I backed up against the wall and pulled Erin with me, telling her to remain completely silent. I pointed my flashlight forwards, holding it out in front of us defensively.

There, in the mouth of the cave, sillhouetted by the moonlight, was something that was very inhuman. It's eyes seemed to glow, and it had the longest fingers I had ever seen, twitching with anticipation. A cool breeze blew through the cave, whirling up all of the papers and throwing them around the cave. The creature took one, ominously slow step forwards. Then, to make everything just that much worse, the flashlight went out.