#inabutcher

Patrol was always unnerving in the lower labs. The test subjects were always restless, groaning and clawing at the bars of their cages. Most were successful, hence their enhanced security. 

There was one failure in the lower lab, tucked all the way in the back of the corridor where a small spiral staircase would let priests have easy access to it. After hundreds of failed attempts at altering the specimen, religious fanaticism managed to reach the researchers’ ears. They were convinced that only the devil himself could place such an unnatural creature on this earth, and day after day they tried to dispel it with holy water and prayer. Today was another round of the same. A patrol guard opened the trapdoor to that small spiral staircase. A priest followed him down. They approached the cage holding this unholy creature, and a shiver went down the priest’s spine. He opened his book, and began the prayer. 

And it sang the verses back to him. 

The guard watched as its joyful tone impeded the priest’s focus, and banged on the bars. 

“Shut up, for goodness sakes. You’ve been good and quiet for the past month. We don’t need to keep feeding you.”

There was a beat of silence. Then a quiet giggle. The singing resumed, and the specimen slowly rose to her feet. Long, matted hair dragged on the ground as she approached the bars, dancing on her toes. The priest flinched back, clutching his Bible tighter. 

“She wasn’t that tall last time I was here,” he gasped, watching her with frantic eyes. The guard frowned, readying his musket. 

“She’s not supposed to-”

BANG

The specimen’s full weight slammed into the bars as her hands tightened around them. Her quiet giggle turned quickly into manic laughter, jostling the rest of the lab awake. She looked up at the two men, eyes glowing bright pink. She grinned and casually shifted her weight, arm dangling out from between the bars.