The Monster's Stratagem (Lesbian Story)

52: Experiment Zero

"Dawn!" Syrena hissed from behind, too quiet to be overheard but voice no less angry. "Get back here! It's too dangerous."

Dawn ignored her warnings, breezing through the shadows as she moved in the direction of the scream. They were so close to finding out what they needed to be prepared for. Naturally, Dawn had her theories based on what she knew so far, but it was the confirmation she craved above all else.

She kept to the very outskirts of the encampment, but she could still see within. Structurally, it was quite similar to the Base, although the atmosphere felt strange. Like something sinister lingered in the air, suffocating the residents. The humans looked strange too: ashen and sunken skin were the most noticeable differences, with no light behind their eyes. They looked remarkably unwell, and while the Base did not have much by way of resources, at least the humans who lived there looked alive and not akin to walking corpses. The veins of the people here were visible, webbing underneath their skin and bulging to the surface. They appeared black in colour, as if an inky substance was running through rather than blood. Despite their ghastly appearances, they still went about their early morning as though nothing was wrong; as though screaming was normal in this part of the woods.

It was not difficult to find the source of distress, and Dawn came to a halt once she reached a small clearing. Quickly scaling a tree for better visibility, she barely registered Syrena joining her as she observed the scene: a girl lay curled up in the muddy glade. It was apparent that this space within the forest was dedicated for something much more than farming.

"Please, no more." The girl panted as she begged, hugging her knees to her chest as though that might alleviate the pain. Dawn had seen this girl many times before, although she was curious as to how Elise had found her way to the northern encampment. Did she really offer herself? Or was she taken?

A man stepped closer to Elise, and Dawn did not recognise him from the Base. That must be who Garrett was speaking with, she thought as he pointed towards a weapon on the ground. It was dirty, but she could recognise a Monstra made weapon when she saw one.

"Pick it up." He said calmly, watching with keen eyes. Syrena sucked in a sharp breath as she caught sight of the weapon, her gaze then trailing to where the rest lay in a discarded pile towards the edge of the clearing; all of which were Monstra made. They were the weapons that had been taken from the kidnapped Protectors. Based on Syrena's unfathomable reaction, perhaps she recognised some of them.

"I cannot." Elise spat through clenched teeth, voice cracking with pain. Her body was visibly shaking from whatever she had been injected with, clearly rejecting the substance. The sight caused a brilliant chill to shoot down Dawn's spine, catching a glimpse of one of her newly acquired biggest fears.

"Pick it up or die."

The girl froze, eyes widening as she realised that she truly would be killed if she did not do as she was asked.

Slowly, she rose to her feet, movements heavy and sluggish. Elise trudged towards where the weapon lay, bent down, and wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the sword. Typically, Monstra made weapons were too heavy for humans to lift, made of a material that most could not even budge. Now, while Elise could not fully lift the sword, when she pulled, it moved. The weapon moved.

They are expert fighters, Garrett, the likes of which no ordinary human can even hope to defeat.

That may be true for now, but it will not always be that way.

So this is what he had meant. His words rang through Dawn's mind as she watched the once bright and lively Elise pick up a sword that should have been impossible to lift. It was then that she noticed how unwell Freya's friend looked, her once dark and healthy skin was now sunken and dull. It was suddenly apparent that the residents of the northern encampment had all been subject to testing the drug.