Chapter 37 The Laboratory
Zeev
I needed something substantial—something I could use to destroy these humans once and for all. We couldn't let them get back at us. They had no right to look down on us with contempt. As for Naomi, I was still on her case. I decided to go back to Xylos. This time, I didn't go in my car; it had to be a secret mission. I was dressed in black sweatpants and a hoodie, with the hood pulled over a black beanie on my head. I wore a black mask over my face, with only my eyes and my nostrils visible. I needed to breathe and see. As for my mouth, I would only speak if I found something inside, and that meant I had to get out of the place alive, no matter what.
The front area was illuminated by orange streetlights. I had no doubt that there were security cameras under those lights. However, these streets had people passing by all the time, so it wasn't that suspicious.
I rounded the front of the large building to the back where it was dark. I tried the entrance I had taken Nina through. At this point, I was only hoping that it was open or that I could break in, provided I could find the entrance at all.
Dry leaves crunched under my feet as I made my way to the back. To my surprise, the rusting black gate was open. But there was a problem: people—probably workers—were inside. There was a mighty white truck being loaded with bags of something I didn't recognize.
I couldn't stand there. I hid behind a large, leafy tree and watched what they were doing, waiting for a chance to walk past the gates. Almost thirty minutes later, the truck roared to life. Two other guys jumped into the truck after the driver had gotten in. The truck drove past the gates. Three other men remained inside.
They discussed something among themselves and then walked inside. This was my cue to get in, no matter what. And I did. I didn't take the corridor the men had just walked through; instead, I took a turn to the left where it was quite dark.
I came to a stop at the end of the building. My eyes fixed on a large body of water across from me. It had many people walking on the shores, along with ships and containers. It could have been a seaport. What was happening over there? I watched for a few minutes but decided to concentrate on what I had come for.
I looked up and saw an empty flight of stairs attached to the wall of the building. There was no barrier. I ascended them and came to a stop in a big hall. It looked almost like a warehouse with discarded goods scattered around. My eyes shifted upward when I heard a crying noise. That’s when I saw it: transparent glass walls. People in white clothes and masks were working, deep in concentration.
It looked like a lab. I stared around, looking for an entrance or a space where I could hide to see what was happening up there. Something the outside world had no idea of was surely going on.
I glanced around the area, looking for a way to get up there and see exactly what was happening. An empty set of stairs stood to my right. I grabbed a black loincloth from a container next to me and threw the cloth over my head as I headed for the stairs. Luckily for me, there were black bags lined along the stairs for me to blend into.
I crawled up and hid behind one of the bags, the loincloth being big enough to cover my entire body. I lifted it slightly off my head so that I could get a glimpse of what was going on.
Everyone was dressed in white jumpsuits with masks over their faces. Laboratory equipment was mounted in front of them as they mixed chemicals. On the far side of the laboratory were large tubes that could almost contain a human body. My eyes rested on that spot, trying to see if there was something inside. Then, one of the men walked over to a tube carrying a large vial containing a pale pink liquid. He stood in front of a tube that was open from the back, and something was inserted inside. It looked like an animal being used for an experiment.
It was white. Then, I caught sight of the ears. It looked like some kind of rabbit.
My hands fisted when realization finally hit home. What were they planning on doing with that animal? To kill it? To carry out their experiment on it?
I almost lurched forward, but I had to hold myself back. The one thing I hated most was seeing animals being mistreated like that. They deserve respect as well. The tube was opened from the top. The liquid in the vial was poured over the animal, and with immediate effect, the size of the creature changed. It became as thin as a rod. Its color changed from white to black.
The same liquid was poured into a basket nearby, and it didn't take long for the entire thing to melt.
Then I figured it out. This is what they had been planning against werewolves. This is what they had been working on—a way to destroy our kind. I bet those animals represented werewolves.
I could hear the joy in their voices when it worked. So this was it: their ultimate weapon against us.
Perfect.
It was time for me to leave. I couldn't stay there and risk being caught; otherwise, I was going to be the next specimen for their experiment. Just when I turned to leave, my leg slipped. In the process, I pushed one of the bags behind me. I didn't look at the people to see if they were watching; I just followed the bag down.
"Check what is going on," I heard a voice say when I was already at the base of the stairs.
Good luck to them.