Viktor stood in the center of the ruined boratory, forcing his mind to focus despite the sensory overload threatening to overwhelm him. The logical part of his brain—the scientist—knew that methodical investigation was his only path forward. He needed data, context, answers.

  "Systematic exploration," he murmured to himself, his voice still unsettlingly resonant to his enhanced hearing. "Section by section."

  He began with the main research terminals. Most were dead, their backup power exhausted days ago. The few still functioning dispyed corrupted data files or demanded security clearances that had died with their owners. Viktor tried his own credentials on a terminal that still had power.

  > PETROV, VIKTOR A. > CLEARANCE: LEVEL 3 > ACCESS: GRANTED

  The files that appeared were fragmented—research notes, experimental data, theoretical frameworks for Project Lazarus. Viktor scanned through what remained intact, pieces of the puzzle they'd been working on.

  Cellur regeneration rates exceeding all previous trials Telomere reconstruction confirmed in samples B-27 through C-14 Remarkable immune response against introduced pathogens CONCERN: Mutation rate in secondary cultures showing unexpected patterns

  Viktor frowned. The immortality treatment had shown such promise—cellur regeneration, extended telomeres, enhanced immune function. But something had gone catastrophically wrong. He needed to see the final experimental data, the results from Subject 23 that had preceded the disaster.

  Those files were thoroughly corrupted, showing only fragments of data and error messages. Frustration built as he moved from terminal to terminal, finding either no power or insufficient data.

  A soft noise from the ventition system made him jump, his muscles coiling to attack before he realized it was just the building's failing systems. This hypersensitivity to every sound, every movement, was maddening. How could he think clearly when his body constantly prepared to hunt?

  Viktor took several deep breaths, forcing his muscles to rex. Focus on the task.

  The security office might have footage. If he could see what had happened during those final moments—

  The security center was a small room adjacent to the main boratory. The reinforced door hung askew on broken hinges. Inside, backup systems still functioned on emergency power. Viktor activated the primary console.

  > SECURITY ARCHIVES > DATE RANGE: [????]

  The date dispy was corrupted, but Viktor could navigate by timestamp proximity. He selected the test avaible footage.

  The boratory appeared on the monitor, bustling with activity. Viktor recognized himself among the researchers, examining data on a tablet while others monitored Subject 23—a middle-aged man connected to various monitoring devices. Dr. Marcus Keller, the project director, stood nearby, his tall figure commanding attention as he discussed something with two other researchers.

  Viktor leaned closer to the screen, watching the normalcy of scientific routine just before catastrophe struck. There was no audio, but he didn't need sound to understand what happened next.

  Subject 23's body suddenly convulsed. The monitoring equipment showed erratic patterns, researchers rushing to stabilize him. Then ftline—clinical death—followed by an unexpected revival. Subject 23 sat up with unnatural speed, disorienting the medical staff.

  What followed was chaos. Subject 23 attacked the nearest researcher, biting savagely into his neck. Blood sprayed across the boratory. Others tried to intervene, only to be attacked themselves. The first victim began convulsing almost immediately, undergoing a transformation far more rapid than Viktor's had been.

  Viktor watched, transfixed with horror, as the infection spread through the boratory. Researcher attacking researcher. Security personnel arriving only to be overwhelmed. Dr. Keller shouting orders that no one could follow in the mayhem.

  Then Viktor saw himself on screen, attempting to reach a containment protocol terminal. Subject 23 cornered him, moving with inhuman speed. Viktor watched his past self struggle, then the savage bite to his neck, the arterial spray that had nearly killed him. He'd colpsed, and in the continuing chaos, had been left for dead.

  The footage became sporadic after that, showing glimpses of the infection spreading beyond the primary boratory. Security barriers failing. More personnel turning. The final images showed figures fleeing the facility, carrying the infection with them into the outside world.

  Then the screen went dark.

  Viktor sat motionless, processing what he'd witnessed. Not just his own infection, but the birth of something that had clearly spread far beyond these walls. The fires he'd seen in the distance, the screams, the gunfire—all suggested a catastrophe of unimaginable scale.

  With renewed purpose, Viktor searched the remaining boratory sections. The specimen storage room was his next target. Inside, refrigeration units had failed, rendering most biological samples useless. But a few emergency units still functioned, preserving a limited supply of blood samples—the lifeblood of their research, now potentially the only thing that could sustain him without making him a murderer.

  Viktor catalogued the remaining samples:

  O-Negative: 4 units A-Positive: 7 units B-Positive: 3 units AB-Negative: 2 units

  Sixteen units total. How long would they st? He had no idea how much blood his transformed body required, or how frequently. Another unknown variable in an equation growing more complex by the minute.

  In the office section, Viktor found his personal workspace rgely intact. His desk drawer still contained his leather-bound research journal—a seemingly obsolete tool in a digital age, but Viktor had always found the physical act of writing helped crify his thoughts.

  He sat at his desk, the familiar environment providing a momentary illusion of normalcy. Then he caught his reflection in the darkened computer monitor—the inhuman pallor, the strange luminescence in his eyes—and the illusion shattered.

  Viktor opened the journal to a fresh page and uncapped his pen. For a moment, he hesitated, overwhelmed by everything he'd discovered. Then his scientific training reasserted itself. Document everything. Analyze the data. Form hypotheses. Test them. It was the only way forward.

  He began to write, his handwriting more precise than it had ever been:

  Day 1 (Post-Transformation)

  I, Viktor Andrei Petrov, record these observations as both researcher and subject. Approximately 48 hours ago, I was infected with an agent resulting from Project Lazarus—our attempt to create cellur immortality. The irony does not escape me.

  The transformation appears complete, resulting in:

  1. Enhanced sensory perception (visual acuity in darkness, auditory range expanded, olfactory sensitivity increased approximately 100-fold)

  2. Enhanced physical capabilities (strength, speed, reflexes all significantly augmented)

  3. Accelerated healing (neck wound fully healed within presumed 48-hour transformation period)

  4. Physiological alterations (reduced body temperature, dental modifications, skin pallor, possible cessation of normal metabolic functions)

  5. Hematophagia (blood-hunger that defies rational control)

  The hunger is the most concerning symptom—a constant, irrational drive that threatens to override conscious thought. I nearly attacked a human scavenger who entered the boratory but managed to maintain control. How long this control will st remains uncertain.

  Security footage confirms the initial outbreak originated with Subject 23, spreading through direct blood contact via biting. The transformation appears to trigger predatory behavior specifically oriented toward blood acquisition. This behavior pattern seems designed to propagate the infection—an intelligent virus that compels its host to create more hosts.

  I have located sixteen units of preserved blood samples. These will provide temporary sustenance while I determine next steps. Priority objectives:

  1. Determine minimum blood volume required for functioning

  2. Identify physical limitations of transformed state

  3. Develop strategies to maintain cognitive control over predatory instincts

  4. Assess possibility of treatment or reversal

  5. Determine extent of outbreak beyond facility

  I remain, for now, in possession of my faculties. How much of Viktor Petrov will remain as hunger grows remains to be seen.

  He set the pen down, staring at the final sentence. Cold scientific nguage could not fully express the terror beneath it—the fear that the monster would eventually consume the man.

  Through the boratory's broken windows, Viktor could see dawn approaching. Some instinctive part of him recoiled at the thought of sunlight, though he didn't yet understand why. He would need to secure a safer location within the facility before daybreak.

  Viktor gathered his journal, tablet, and the most critical supplies into a research bag. He carefully collected the preserved blood samples into a portable cooling unit. His new existence would be defined by these sixteen units of blood—and what might happen when they ran out.

  As he prepared to move deeper into the facility, Viktor paused at Dr. Keller's workstation. The project director's tablet was missing—likely taken during his escape from the facility. Had Keller survived? Had he transformed? Was he out there somewhere, with more knowledge about what they had become?

  Questions without answers, for now. Viktor had more immediate concerns—namely, surviving his transformation long enough to understand it.

  The scientist in him clung to method and data. The man in him clung to morality and restraint. And the newborn monster in him hungered, waiting for both to falter.