>>5761595>]As the sliding metal door into the lab slips into the wall, you and Pepper are immediately bathed in a wave of unpleasant odors: old blood, rot, burnt hair, and something resembling a week-old fish filet…
You spot the source of one of the scents almost instantaneously–strapped to the scientific equivalent of an upright dentist’s chair is one of the <span class="mu-s">SLASHERS</span>--its massive body covered in a gallery of lacerations, burns, and other injuries! Limp in its metallic prison, the monster doesn’t react as you and Pepper quietly creep into the lab… does that mean it’s-
“Doubt it…” Whispers Pepper as she holds a finger close to her lips, “And we’re still on backup power, so watch your back, sandcrab.”
She doesn’t have to tell <span class="mu-i">you</span> twice! Scouting out the rest of the room quieter than a churchmouse, you find that the slasher patient has a counterpart–one that is, based on the gaping hole where his chest used to be, deader than disco.
Small comforts…
Whoever was running the lab left it in complete disarray: bottles of unfamiliar chemicals lie strewn about the work tables like a High School Cafeteria, papers of graphs and charts litter the floor like confetti at the end of a birthday party… and sitting atop a desk hiding away in the corner of the lab sits a lone computer terminal with a bloody handprint on the screen–a faint green light on its base indicating it’s still on, despite everything!
What really piques your interest, however, are two things:
First is the slasher-sized <span class="mu-s">GIZMO</span> pieced together in a mishmash of scientific doohickies and heavy-duty tubing bolted onto two rolling platforms. A lengthy nozzle on the front culminates in an orb similar to the turret-like mechanisms you saw on the spiderbots, albeit <span class="mu-i">much</span> bigger! A vine of red, yellow, and black wires extend into the ceiling where you spot the biggest electrical socket you’ve ever seen… and a small gauge on the back of the device informs you it’s ready to test!
And then there’s the <span class="mu-s">CABINET</span>. Built out of sleek, faultless metal, it sits built into the lab’s wall humming menacingly at you. Like it knows you’ve entered its domain! You haven’t a clue what’s inside, nor do you know how to open it, but you get the feeling it’s worth busting open somehow!
“Welp,” Shrugs Pepper in a hushed tone, “What’s first?”
>CHECK OUT THE COMPUTER!>INVESTIGATE THE SLASHER CORPSES!>FIDDLE WITH THAT GIZMO!>TRY TO OPEN THE CABINET!>CHECK ON RAJ AND CHUCK!>WRITE-IN!Last update of the night, unfortunately--work was a bitch and a half today and I'm FEELIN' it! Should have more for ya' around the usual time!
