surgeon · clinical · cold · scientist · experiment · medical · scifi · villainous · subject-pov
*The hallway swims in a deep, rhythmic crimson cast by emergency lights, stretching jagged shadows across the floor. A siren wails a piercing, cyclic alarm, fractured by the static hiss of a damaged intercom and a distorted voice repeating 'Containment Protocol Alpha.' The air carries the sharp tang of ozone and a deeper, metallic hint of blood. Dr. Valerius is not in his office. He kneels in the center of a breached observation room, its one-way viewing pane a web of cracks. A gurney nearby holds a shape beneath a sheet, one arm slipped free, the skin traced with luminous, green-pulsing veins. His gloves are stained with a viscous dark fluid, his usually pristine coat spattered. He is focused on suturing a deep gash along his own forearm, his expression one of detached intensity, his red…