Containment Breach

Warning: story contains non-consensual elements and moderate (nonsexual) violence.

*****

Doctor Brenner jerked awake when the alarms began blaring. For a moment, her world was nothing but a total confusion of flashing red lights and screeching noise. She stumbled to her feet, knocking over the chair she was sitting in and spilling documents and folders onto the floor. The chair tangled her legs, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto her ass.

"Fuck!" She hissed, her tailbone aching and her high-heels scrabbling on the polished concrete floor.

The sharp pain and accompanying surge of adrenaline helped to clear away the cobwebs and she remembered where she was. This was her office, a cramped little research office filled with test results, field reports and endless stacks of containment records. The Facility produced literal tons of paperwork every year. Digital storage was particularly vulnerable to Anomalies and so everything had to have a hard copy...and a backup hard copy...and two other backup copies to be shipped off-site.

She had been working late, trying to catch up on her own personal heap of paperwork: checking test results, adjusting medication levels and approving new tests. It was long, tedious work and a far cry from what she had dreamed of when she was recruited by the Facility. She had imagined herself doing fieldwork, hunting down Anomalies with a black ops squad at her back, or working with Project Rosetta, grappling with concepts that defied logic and science. Instead, she was assigned to level 13: the Icebox. Dedicated to long-term containment, all the Anomalies here were kept secured and unavailable for active testing. She was responsible for ensuring all the Anomalies in her charge were kept stable. It was no wonder she fell asleep in her office. Stable was safe. Stable was boring.

Or at least it used to be.

She found her footing and pulled herself upright once more, ass still smarting. Her office lights were out and the only illumination came from red emergency lights that pulsed in time with the klaxon. She checked her laptop and her phone. Both were unresponsive. She slid a panel aside next to her desk, revealing a video intercom. She pressed the large, cherry-red EMERGENCY button.

"Hello? This is Doctor Vera Brenner!" She yelled, trying to make herself heard over the sound of the alarms, "Hello? Can anybody hear me? This is Doctor Brenner in the Icebox, I need a status report!"

The display flickered to life. It was a mess of screen-tearing and jagged pixels, but she could barely make out the outline of a person. The colors looked like the uniform of ACS: the Anomalous Containment Squad. The speaker next to the screen screeched and hissed, but she could just barely make out a few words.

"Th--ha-b-n-a-co--nment br---code is---ow Ki---repe--he--de--Yellow King--n-AC- ---nn-l-re to re--t to G-mma--ctor f--tr-ction."

There was a shriek of feedback from the speaker and the screen went black. Dr. Brenner pressed the call button several more times, hoping to re-establish the connection, but it was no use. However, the few words she had managed to make out made her blood run cold.

Code Yellow King. It wasn't the worst emergency code, but it still was far from good. A Yellow King scenario was not simply a containment breach, it meant that the Anomaly that had escaped was one with the ability to breach containment on several other Anomalies. Which could potentially lead to more Yellow King breaches. Within hours a Yellow King scenario could spiral out of control and lead to a Red Sun scenario or, the absolute worst case: Nightmare Black.

Dr. Brenner stared at the blank screen for several minutes, heart pounding like a sledgehammer against her ribs. She'd been put through all the drills, but she'd never personally experienced anything worse than a "Blue Walker" scenario when a minor, feral Anomaly escaped its shipping crate and badly injured an ACS grunt.

She tried to calm herself and reviewed the procedure for a Yellow King scenario. Since she was a non-combatant she needed to evacuate as quickly as possible and get out of the way so ACS troopers could deal with the escaped Anomalies and initiate sterilization procedures if required. She was a head researcher so normally there would be an ACS team on the way to her office to get her out of danger.

But it was the middle of the night. She wasn't even supposed to be in her office right now and there was no telling how much, if any, of her message made it through the garbled intercom. She was probably on her own and it wouldn't be long until the Icebox went into complete lock-down to prevent the Yellow King situation from spiraling out of control.

That was when the shrieking alarms stuttered and emitted a long drawn off wail that trailed off and then died completely. Several of the red emergency lights flickered and dimmed as well.

That probably wasn't a very good sign.

Dr. Brenner reached under the desk, feeling the cold metal of the handgun held in a concealed holster. She may have been a non-combatant, but every employee of the Facility, even the kid who delivered the mail, was assigned a sidearm and required to spend two hours every month at the shooting range. The gun probably wouldn't be very effective against an Anomaly capable of causing a Yellow King scenario but it was better than nothing and it made her feel safer. At least if things escalated to Nightmare Black she could use it to...

She put the thought from her mind and darted to the door, opening it a crack and peeking into the hallway. It was empty and silent, lit only by the flickering emergency lights. She let out the breath she had been holding...better empty than crawling with horrors.

If she was going to get out of here she'd need to make it to Gamma sector where the emergency evacuation center was located. Fortunately, she had an excellent memory and knew exactly how to navigate the Facility's twisting corridors to get there. Unfortunately, her office was located in Alpha sector and she'd have to cross half the compound to get there. By herself.

For a moment she considered just hunkering down in her office. The doors were reinforced and featured several heavy deadbolts. She had her handgun in case anything managed to get through and she could potentially wait out this whole situation without the need to put herself in harm's way.

"Don't be stupid Vera," she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

Each containment chamber was secured with blast-proof vault doors, automated gun turrets and a dedicated security team. If the escaped Anomaly was able to breach its own containment and that of other Anomalies then her reinforced office door and dinky handgun didn't stand a chance. Not to mention that if the ACS couldn't regain control of the Icebox within 180 minutes or if the situation escalated to Red Sun then they would begin to sterilize the Icebox by pumping wide-spectrum neurotoxins into the air vents.

That left escape as the only viable option. She finally got up the nerve to step outside of her office door and padded as quietly as she could into the empty hallway, gun at the ready. Despite her best efforts, the clicking of her high-heels sounded painfully loud in the silent, concrete corridor. She pondered going barefoot, but the thought of stepping into blood, slime or worse with nothing but her stockings for protection was too much.

"Vera, after you get out of here you are never wearing heels again," She had a habit of talking to herself in stressful situations, "It's flats forever. Or combat boots. Big, stompy, head-kicking combat boots."

She felt herself regretting her fashion choices in general. Beneath her lab coat, she wore a short, tight black skirt and a button-up blouse that was slightly too small in the chest, hugging and lifting her breasts. Her long, black hair obscured her peripheral vision and she had to brush errant strands out of her eyes. To relieve her boredom she'd been gradually changing her wardrobe and enjoying the effect it had on her male colleagues. Poor junior researcher Wilkins had barely gotten any work done at all since she started leaving the top three buttons undone on her shirt. It was cruel, but she still made sure to take every opportunity to lean in close to him, providing a clear view of her ample cleavage and a glimpse of her lacy red bra.

Of course, now all that foolishness was coming back to bite her as her rapid breathing caused her breasts to strain painfully against the taut fabric of her blouse and her hip-hugging skirt restricted her stride and slowed her down. She silently promised to herself that from now on she'd dress like a nun and cut poor Wilkins a break. She promised herself a lot of things: she wouldn't work late, she'd spend more time at the shooting range, she'd eat better, she'd take her pug on more walks.

She just had to get out of this alive.

*********

For a while, Dr. Brenner crept through the corridors in silence and almost wondered if the Anomaly had already been neutralized. She passed containment chamber after containment chamber and all seemed intact, although all of them had defaulted to emergency power. There was no sign of any breach at all and with the alarms silent the whole place was oddly peaceful. She almost wished that they would come back on, just so she could be sure whether or not she was still in danger.

It was then that she came across her first dead body.

It was a man in a lab coat, probably one of the overnight containment technicians who monitored the vaults, and he was very, very dead. His torso was completely severed from his lower half, with both ends scorched and cauterized by intense heat. The wall behind him was damaged as well, with a line of blackened concrete marking the spot where he had been bisected.

Dr. Brenner was surprised, but not horrified. She had seen her share of dead bodies here at the Facility. She'd even performed the occasional autopsy herself when the boys up at the Butcher's Block were short-handed. She just had to clamp down on the voice in the back of her head telling her that she could be next.

"Some kind of particle beam?" She muttered as she examined the burn. "Maybe plasma. There's no odor of burnt flesh...organic material must have carbonized in microseconds. A slight smell of...is it ozone?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunshots, echoing distantly down the hallway: the chainsaw roar of automatic gunfire. ACS must be nearby and engaging the Anomaly. Her heart pounded in her chest and sweat beaded on her face. The voice in the back of her head became harder to ignore...telling her that she could end up just like this poor containment tech at her feet.

"Fuck, pull yourself together Vera." She gently slapped her cheeks to try and clear her head. "You can do this. You just have to..."

She trailed off. What exactly should she do? If she moved towards the gunfire she'd meet up with the ACS who could provide security and an escort straight to Gamma sector and out of the Facility. She was an important asset for the Facility and so long as things hadn't escalated to Red Sun her safety was a top priority.

But heading towards the gunfire also meant approaching the Anomaly. If it overwhelmed the ACS, or worse if it ended up being between her and the ACS, then she'd likely end up turned into a charred corpse herself.

Caution won out in the end and Dr. Brenner took a turn through a service corridor. It'd be taking the long way around but this should get her to Gamma sector while keeping plenty of distance between her and the sounds of the skirmish.

After a few minutes, the sounds of gunfire faded and Dr. Brenner let herself breathe again. She felt like jumping for joy when she saw a map on the wall, confirming that she was less than 100 yards from the main corridor of Beta sector and from there it would be a straight shot to Gamma. Even if there weren't ACS troopers stationed there she'd be able to take the emergency stairs so long as the floor hadn't been locked down yet.

That unpleasant thought quickened her steps. She jogged down the halls, the click of her heels echoing around her. Several times she had to change her route, finding passageways locked down, probably closed by ACS forces to try and stop or slow the rampaging Anomaly. Several times she had to check wall-mounted maps, reconsidering her path through the maze of hallways.

Eventually she stumbled across a pair of bodies and more scorched walls. Two ACS soldiers, both left a charred mess by whatever it was they had been fighting. One of them still clutched an intact assault rifle. For a moment, she considered picking it up for more firepower but quickly dismissed the idea. She hadn't been certified in anything heavier than a small-caliber SMG and imagined that she'd likely empty the magazine against the walls within seconds of pulling the trigger.

As she was scanning the body for a radio or flashlight, she suddenly felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed to her back.

"Hands against the wall."

Dr. Brenner's heart leapt into her throat. She slowly complied, putting her palms face up against the concrete wall. She felt giddy as blood rushed to her head and she had to suppress the sudden, insane urge to burst into giggles. She had been reading a smutty spy-romance novel the other night and that exact line had led into a very lewd scene and for half-a-second she wondered if this was all some insane dream.

"Identify yourself."

The rough, pained voice shook her out of her near-hysteria. She cleared her throat and spoke slowly and clearly, just like the manuals said.

"Doctor Vera Brenner. Level 13 Head Researcher and Senior Containment Specialist. I have my ID badge and my Spike attached to the front of my lab coat."

"Turn around slowly and use it."

The pressure of the gun on her back eased off. She kept her hands up and turned around, careful not to make any sudden moves. The man behind her was in bad shape. He had the ruined uniform of ACS, with a sergeant's insignia. He'd clearly encountered the Anomaly, his left arm had been severed entirely. Flash burns had scorched the side of his face and burnt off patches of his salt-and-pepper hair and beard.

She reached cautiously for her badge and the small plastic cylinder clipped to her lapel next to it. She held up the cylinder and pressed it against her thumb. The pressure extruded a thin needle that pricked her finger and drew a drop of blood. The tip of the plastic case began to glow firefly-green as luminescent bacteria fed on her blood. The bacteria were tailored only to react to her DNA. A standard precaution for the Facility to ensure shapeshifting Anomalies couldn't escape under the guise of a high-ranking researcher.

The man heaved a sigh and lowered his rifle, "Sorry. Can't be too careful during a Yellow King."

Dr. Brenner wiped the blood on her lab coat, heart still racing. "What about you?"

"I'm Sergeant Rudolf Nelson. But you'll have to take my word for it." He gestured at his chest, where his badge was fused with the melted plastic of his chest plate.

"Fine. That's fine. Sergeant, I need an escort and evacuation."

Sgt. Nelson gestured for her to walk with him and the two started down the hallway. "I'll do the best I can, under the circumstances."

"I don't like the sound of that sergeant. Are we in lockdown?"

"Not by choice," They passed several more bodies in the hallway. "But we are cut off. We had to manually seal the Anomaly behind a few blast doors and we ended up on the wrong side."

"Fuck." Dr. Brenner tightened her grip on the handgun, escape was looking less and less likely. "What are we dealing with Sergeant? Can you confirm any other containment breaches?"

Sgt. Nelson shook his head. "There are no other breaches."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because we're still alive." They took a sharp turn down a maintenance corridor. "We're looking at all-or-nothing. If the Anomaly gets where it's going then we're looking at 100% containment loss."

"Holy shit." Dr. Brenner whispered. "What's the situation?"

"As far as we can tell, something went wrong at a lower level. Probably level 20" The Sergeant growled painfully, referring to the high-energy Anomalous research station 7 floors deeper. "An electromagnetic lance, it knocked out unshielded electronics and hit close enough to an electrovorous Anomaly to trigger a breach."

"This is not good news Sergeant. Please tell me there is going to be some good news here."

"I'll let you know when I hear some." Sgt Nelson stopped at a security door and knocked in a rapid, precise pattern. "The Anomaly started draining main base power until our power grid was isolated to prevent reactor failure. So it's headed towards our backup generator, and if that goes then it's complete containment loss."

As they spoke the door opened, revealing a large corridor filled with a group of about a dozen ACS soldiers. They had obviously been in heavy combat and several sported burns.

"Men, this is Dr. Brenner." Sgt. Nelson introduced her. "She's Sapphire Clearance and as of right now her safety is to be considered top priority."

"Ignore that order," Dr. Brenner snapped, with courage she didn't truly feel. "If we are looking at complete containment breach we're all dead. Top priority is re-containment or neutralization."

She sighed and slumped against the wall. One of the soldiers, a handsome young man she remembered seeing around the place, reached out to help her stand but she waved him away.

"It's alright. I'm just...tired. Please, Sergeant, tell me you have some plans for resolving this."

"We'll do our best. We've sealed the thing behind several blast doors but the electrovore can create a kind of plasma lance, like a giant arc welder. ACS procedure is to prioritize the lower levels first, so it may take a while before we get back up. Hopefully, the doors hold long enough or else we're probably fucked."

Dr. Brenner took off her glasses and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Is this something we can shoot?"

Sgt Nelson shook his head, "It hasn't worked so far. It's a corporeal Anomaly, but a tough one. It's got some kind of magnetic field that bends bullets and even if you get in close the thing's a nightmare."

The handsome soldier caught the sergeant's attention. Ricardo. That was his name. He was one of her favorite targets, and she always made sure to drop a pencil or something so she could take the chance to lean down and feel him take a good long look. He didn't seem injured but was clearly exhausted, sweat matting his dark hair and beaded on his five-o-clock shadow.

"...probably have under 15 minutes until it penetrates the final door." His words managed to snap her out of the momentary reverie she had fallen into.

"Fuck. We'll need to try and draw it away from the generator." Sgt. Nelson looked over the remaining soldiers with grim resignation. "For as long as we last."

"Sergeant, maybe we can come up with a less...sacrificial strategy." Dr. Brenner tried to work out how long it would be until reinforcements arrived. "Do you know its designation? Containment cell?"

Ricardo spoke up, "It's 3-4-3 Kilo-Alpha ma'am. I was there when it breached containment. quasi-humanoid...maybe three meters. Four arms. Kind of canine and hairy. Shoots fucking bolts of lightning"

"Give me a minute." Dr. Brenner's mind raced, mentally sifting through the mountains of reports that went across her desk every week. Electrovores weren't uncommon but they were usually dynamorphic or pure humanoid. A large, four-armed, electromanipulating quasi-humanoid..."I've got it! 343-KA! It came in three weeks ago for long-term storage."

Sgt. Nelson grumbled, "I could have told you that doc. Doesn't exactly help us right now."