Dr. Scott found himself standing in the woods, surrounded by tall trees and dense shrubbery. He slowly turned in a circle, trying to find an opening that would lead him out of the darkness and back into civilization. It seemed hopeless as he peered into the heavy forest, only to be confronted by tightly intertwined brush blocking every possible path as if nature had purposely woven these obstacles to prevent his escape.

He heard a snap from behind him and spun around, straining to see the source of the sudden sound. He cocked his head to listen. “Who's there?” he cried out into the wilderness. He was answered only by the crunching of foliage as something continued towards him. From the corner of his eye, he momentarily caught a glimpse of a shadow as it retreated back into the thick bushes.

He returned his attention to the sound and was greeted by a pair of glowing eyes staring deep into his own. Suddenly, another pair joined in from the opposite direction, followed by a dozen more that revealed themselves from various points around him. Soon, hundreds of unblinking eyes were focusing on him. He held his breathe and his heart hammered within his chest as multiple footsteps advanced towards him.

Then a deer poked its head out into the clearing, exposing itself as the owner of the first pair of eyes. Dr. Scott felt relieved when a rabbit jumped out and confessed to being another observer. Soon, dozens of animals surrounded him as he threw his head back and laughed, feeling silly for being so frightened earlier.

He stopped laughing the moment a large bear came crashing out, snapping branches and flattening shrubs. It stood up on its hind legs, towering over the shocked doctor. Dr. Scott inched away from it, taking unsteady steps back until he bumped into something. He turned around to face a deer that glared into his eyes with a disappoving frown.

Suddenly, he was grabbed by the bear, flung into the air and landed hard onto the ground as other animals converged on him. He felt numerous teeth, of all different shapes and sizes, plunging into his skin and tearing away chunks of his flesh. He turned onto his back, attempting to push them away as they continued to strip fleshly tissue from his bones. He threw his head back and screamed.

Dr. Scott was still screaming when he awoke from his dream and clawed at the sweaty bed sheets that entangled him. He sat up panting for a few moments, trying to clear his head of the bad dream and looking around his apartment to assure himself that he was no longer in the woods. He finally convinced himself that the dream had ended, but then realized that the real nightmare was just beginning.

Later that day, Dr Scott glared out from the back of an army jeep as it rumbled down a dirt road through the wilderness. He noticed several forest creatures who had emerged from their hiding places and were watching the doctor with both curiosity and fear as he sped by them. When the vehicle continued deeper into the woods, the trees became denser, blocking out most of the sunlight and creating an artificial dusk as the temperature dipped several degrees. Dr. Scott pulled at his full-length coat with his gloved hands and adjusted the brim of his hat as a chill flowed through his body.

The soldier driving the jeep glanced back at him through the rear-view mirror and then snapped his attention back to the road when he realized that Dr. Scott was returning his stare through the dark lenses of his sunglasses.

“Almost there, sir,” the soldier advised, attempting to relieve the feeling of awkwardness.

“No shit!” snarled Dr. Scott.

Within a few minutes, the jeep came to a screeching stop. Dr. Scott leaped out and stood in front of a tall heap of dense vegetation, crossing his arms in front of him and tapping his foot on the ground. The wall of vines and leaves slightly fluttered and shook. Dr. Scott raised an eyebrow and waited. A moment later, the plants unwillingly bent over as something began pushing through them. It was a large metal door. Two heavily armed soldiers stepped out and saluted the darkly shrouded doctor.

“Good afternoon, sir!” they barked in unison.

“What the hell took you so long?” Dr. Scott growled, brushing past them.

“Doesn't he ever smile?” asked one of the soldiers once he was certain Dr. Scott had disappeared down the hallway.

“Never,” the other responded, securing the outer door to The Center of Transgenic Research.

Dr. Scott proceeded down the twisting hallways of The Center. He passed numerous armed guards along the way until he reached a door clearly marked:

Franklin Weiss, the project coordinator, greeted him as he walked through the doors and proceeded towards The Center's laboratory. “Dr. Scott, so good to see you, thank you for coming down, it is a real pleasure…” he fumbled.

Dr. Scott ignored his outstretched hand and continued towards the lab.

“How is everything, Weiss?” Dr. Scott asked.

“Oh, wonderful, wonderful,” he blurted out. His thin lips curved into a wide grin. The corners of his mouth nearly reached his large ears, looking like The Grinch from the Dr. Seuss children's book.

They entered through the lab doors and Dr. Scott sniffed the air, detecting a familiar scent that resembled a mixture of a hospital and a zoo. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a scream that rose from the back of the laboratory. It sounded like someone being tormented by an excruciating amount of pain, only it was not any type of sound a human or animal was ever capable of making. Dr. Scott prepared himself for the nightmare ahead.

Dr. Scott focused on a seven-foot tall glass tank filled with murky liquid. He could barely make out the odd silhouette contained in it as he approached the glass cell. He glanced down at a clipboard displaying a neatly printed report. The heading stated: ADAM (Human/Shark/Squid).

Dr. Scott glanced up to the figure in the tank. It resembled a young boy with rubbery yellow flesh. He was submerged up to his neck in the cloudy liquid and his head was painfully tilted back. His mouth slowly opened and closed, desperately gasping for air. On the sides of his neck, gills waved back and forth, flapping waves of milky liquid into them.

“Oh, I see you are visiting Adam,” Weiss said, appearing suddenly beside the tank. “He was developed for the U.S. Navy as the perfect diving species. Our genetic engineers combined the genes from a human, a shark, and a squid for his DNA makeup. Imagine the endless possibilities,” he continued with a gleam in his eyes, “the creature would have the intelligence of a human with the ability to swim faster and deeper than anything before it, without requiring any type of air supply.”

Adam tilted his head slightly to the side and pleaded with his bulging eyes. Dr Scott sensed his terror.

“Unfortunately,” Dr. Scott interrupted, “Adam has developed both gills and lungs. The marine genes require him to be submersed in water, while the human genes make it necessary to breath air.”

“He'll be fine, if he just learns to fuckin' relax,” Weiss said, regarding Adam with a disgusted look upon his face.

“It would be a little difficult to fuckin' relax if YOU were constantly overwhelmed by the sensation of panic produced by drowning!” snapped Dr. Scott.

Weiss's face dropped and he walked away. Dr. Scott turned to face Adam. “How are you today, Adam?” he asked.

“Gurgle, gurgle…” he attempted to reply.

Dr. Scott heard the sound of fierce thrashing as he walked towards an enclosure made of thick metal bars. He picked up the clipboard outside the oversized cage and read: DEAN (Human/Baboon/Hyena). He hunched over and peered at Dean, whose powerful arms and legs were restrained with metal shackles that were firmly connected to a wall with large bolts, while a steel collar secured his enlarged head in a fixed position. Dean was violently attempting to pull away from his restraints, causing blood to constantly pour out of the deep gashes that had formed around his wrists and ankles from his endless flailing.

“What happened to Dean?” Dr. Scott demanded as he spotted Weiss peeping at him from behind the cage. “He was created utilizing the information gained from The Center's previous mistakes; the endeavor was a success!”

“We injected him with a growth hormone,” Weiss replied, looking down at his feet.

“You did what?” Dr. Scott asked becoming furious, “Why?”

“We wanted to increase his size and strength, but he developed a severe neurological condition which causes continuous uncontrollable rage in him,” Weiss replied, “when we introduced him to other creatures, he ceaselessly tore away at them, so we isolated him.”

“Why is he restrained like that?” Dr. Scott demanded, glaring down at Weiss.

“Because whenever he is released,” Weiss said, “he turns to self-mutilation.”

Dean's inhuman eyes focused on Dr. Scott as he bared his sharpen, curved teeth. “LET ME LOOSE!!” he howled. The intensity of his voice rattled bottles throughout the laboratory.

“Shut the fuck up you freak!” Weiss shouted in a high-pitched voice.

Dean ignored him and gazed at Dr. Scott, “LET ME LOOSE! CAN”T TAKE MORE!”

“I said shut the fuck up!” Weiss responded. Dr. Scott grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the cage, practically lifting him off his feet and carrying him as if he were an overgrown rag doll.

“Hey,” Dr. Scott said, “there is no need for that.”

“Don't feel so sorry for him, Dr. Scott,” Weiss warned, “we sent a few of The Center's top researchers to speak with him a few weeks ago, to see if we can provide him with some comfort by talking to him about his rage. Within a few minutes, nothing remained of them but a bloody heap of flesh and bone. I have no pity for that beast! I'll meet you the Clean Room, doctor.” He then turned on his heels and walked away.

“LET ME LOOSE!” Dean bellowed as spittle shot from his mouth.

“Why, Dean, so you can tear away my flesh?” Dr. Scott asked calmly.

“NO!” Dean hollered back.

“What would you do then?” Dr. Scott asked curiously.

“TEAR APART OWN FLESH, UNTIL NOTHING LEFT OF DEAN!!” he cried, flinging himself once more against the metal shackles.

Dr. Scott thought of the hormones that were constantly increasing Dean's size and strength. Suddenly, all the restraints and solid bars seemed very flimsy.

Dr. Scott entered the Clean Room by pulling apart numerous plastic curtains and was assaulted by the strong smell of antiseptic. Weiss had traded his lab coat for a surgical gown, complete with hat, gloves, and rubber boots. “Aren't you going to change?” Weiss inquired, considering Dr. Scott's dark outfit.

“No,” Dr. Scott answered as he heard the agonized shrieking like before, “What is that?”

“Doctor, I must insist, this is a sterile area…” Weiss attempted and was cut short when Dr. Scott disregarded him by moving further into the room and poking his head through the plastic. Atop a gurney lay a mound of muscle tissue, fat and skin with no human features. It had no arms or legs and the face area resembled a smooth glob of clay with one exception: a mouth that was locked open in an anguished, eternal scream.

“What is this?” Dr. Scott whispered.

“This is Mary,” Weiss annouced as he handed him a clipboard with delight. Dr Scott read: Mary (Human/Frog/Toad/Lizard/Eel…). The list continued to the bottom of the page.

“What are you doing with this?” Dr. Scott asked, finding it difficult to express what he was trying to say. “What are you trying to create?”

“Nothing,” Weiss replied, “we have never intended on having Mary develop into any type of species. Rather we transferred hundreds of pieces of amphibious material into her DNA simply to determine which ones are better suited to adapt with DNA from a human.”

Dr. Scott saw a multitude of small limbs protruding from Mary. Some hung limp, showing signs of discoloration, while others flexed their webbed joints as they stretched from her body. He also saw large welts where new parts were forcefully pushing through her skin and observed others lying on the floor by his feet, having fallen off the body and slowly decaying.

Weiss walked over to Mary and picked up one of the limps that laid fluttering on the floor and dangled it over her underdeveloped face, “Now, now Mary,” he said with a sinister grin, “we can't allow you to continue rejecting our little friends here!”

Dr. Scott suddenly felt the urge to grab Weiss and slash his throat and drop him to the floor with the other low life forms to die. “Don't you see that the endless evolution that her body is subjected to is causing her excruciating pain?”

“That is why we feed her this strong narcotic,” Weiss answered, gesturing towards an intervenes tube that was busy dripping a clear liquid into her.

“If it were working,” Dr. Scott growled, “she wouldn't be screaming!”

“Well, if we gave her a stronger dosage, she would die. Now we wouldn't want that happening to poor Mary, would we?” Weiss said with a sarcastic grin. “But wait until I show you what else we are doing!”

Weiss lead Dr. Scott into a separate room where thousands of small glass cylinders were neatly arranged in long columns, each containing an oddly shaped embryo. The wail of tiny voices filled the room with whimpers and groans, sounding like a strange church organ being played by a crazed pianist.

“Ah, music to my ears,” Weiss snickered, amused with the shocked expression on the doctor's face, “A whole generation of transgenic animals, each having it's own unique quality. With this many, we should produce one that isn't fucked up, right?”

Weiss bellowed with laughter as Dr. Scott began panting, suddenly feeling warm in his long coat and ran out of the room. He stood below an air vent, attempting to cool off.

As the cool air flowed around him, he thought of the huge compressors pumping oxygen along with a mixture of other gases, providing a pollution-free atmosphere for everyone at The Center. The designers had also provided the institution with its own nuclear reactor to ensure uninterrupted power. The Center was completely self-sufficient, but the creatures it created were not. It was this contradiction that suddenly provided Dr. Scott with the solution to all the problems.

Dr. Scott tore off his long coat, gloves and hat. He tossed his dark glasses and heard them bounce once before they shattered. He had work to do and no longer cared if anyone was able to identify who he really was.

He walked into the Clean Room and approached Mary. She was shrieking as he leaned over and softly whispered to her as he worked. He told her about his solution for her, and Mary's screaming quieted to a faint squeak as her mouth slowly closed.

Next, he sprung over towards Dean's confined area. Dean heard him approach before seeing him and thundered, “LET ME LOOSE!!” Dr. Scott began working. Dean opened his mouth to scream again, but then saw who Dr. Scott really was and what he was doing. He stopped pulling on his restraints and finally relaxed, quietly resting his weary body against the wall.

Dr. Scott rushed to Adam's tank and began working on his solution. Adam desperately tried to turn his head to see what he was doing, but his body violently jerked as his gills surfaced above the water. As Dr. Scott performed his tasks, he gently spoke to Adam, reassuring him. Once his task was completed, he stood up and looked into Adam's eyes and saw he was no longer terrified.

A tentacle emerged from the milky water and placed its suction cups onto the inside of the heavy glass. Dr. Scott reached up and pawed at the outside of the glass opposite to it.

“Thanggg…Youggg…” Adam burbled, speaking for the first time.

“You are very welcome, Adam,” Dr. Scott replied, smiling for the first time.

Several things happened over the next seven minutes: Weiss was thrown into the cage with Dean as the creature broke free of it's restrains. A lethal gas flowed from the vents and swept over all the creatures contained at The Center, putting them all into a deep sleep, never to awake again.

Numerous soldiers, who were responding to the wailing alarms, laid dying as blood flowed out of their clawed necks.

The uranium rods in the nuclear reactors began to melt down, causing a cloud of explosive hydrogen to gather at the core. A few seconds later, it detonated with the force of a small nuclear weapon, demolishing The Center and everything in it. Trees surrounding the area of the blast snapped like twigs as a flaming mushroom cloud erupted into the sky.

Dr. Scott (Human/Cheetah/Leopard) stood at a safe distance and watched the devastation, as he licked his bloody claws and bared his fangs. He then got down on all fours and disappeared into the woods.

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