“ICK!” Spike grumbled.

The catacombs reeked of a foul smell that Spike wishes to never know.

But he was still thankful that it is his only way, into this strange building.

He’s scared out of his mind for being here. He’s constantly berating himself for not thinking this through. So much has happened. He and his colleagues were on a cruise to photograph some marine wildlife.

Instead, they got caught in a storm, ended up shipwrecked, with Spike by his lonesome, and the rest of his crew mates held prisoner, by a muscle bound thug, with the face of a boar.

He wants nothing more than to get off of this island, and fast. Though, first thing’s first, he needs to find the rest of his crew, and get some answers from Mr. Chimera. Judging by the man’s expressions from earlier, he seemed to know what is going on.

“Mr. Chimera and everyone else, just hang on,” Spike said. “I’m coming.”

However, Spike hadn’t gotten very far, when he was stepped on something that created a sickening crack.

He looked down, and was horrified to find a human skeleton. Before long, he realized he was surrounded by piles of bones, of humans, who have all died in a gruesome death, before they have gone off to a better place. Spike nearly lost his lunch, as he was overwhelmed by the cold clammy feeling that took hold of his entirety. He realizes where that foul smell was coming from. The dead! And it's still fresh, so thick, and horrid that with every passing seconds, he could feel his lunch, threatening to come up.

After ten minutes of wandering the stinking catacombs, Spike was relieved to find the exit. Sliding the manhole open, he crawled into an empty room, most likely storage, and breathed, relieving to smell fresh air.

“Phew! Fresh air!” Spike sighed, before he turned on his flashlight to have a better look at his surroundings.

Everywhere he looked, the room was aligned with rusty beds, gurneys, and boxes, that have seen better days.

'This place must’ve been a hospital…' Spike said to himself, in his thoughts. 'Or I might’ve entered a mad scientist’s lair…'

Turning to the right, Spike flashed his light on a silver door knob. Reaching out, he turned the knob, opening the door to the side, and stepped into another room, with state-of-the-art, modern, medical equipments.

'Now these looked brand new,' Spike mentally noted, as he continues to observe, walking over to the desks and investigate.

'Got scanned photos of a person’s brain,' Spike noted. 'And it looks like they’ve done some scans of the animals’ as well…'

Turning to the right, Spike looked to see the popular poster, depicting the evolution lineage from an ape to a human being.

'Hehe, I still find it hard to believe that we could be related to apes,' Spike commented, in his thoughts. 'But fascinating too! Even more interesting to know who our distant distant relatives are, before the dinosaurs.'

After he was done with enough investigation Spike turned towards a hallway, when he looked down and saw something alarming.

“Claw marks!”

Getting down on his knees, Spike puts his trembling hands on the floor, comparing his hand to the size of the marks and feeling the depths of the large scratches.

'Really big ones too,' Spike noted in his thoughts, before he asked, 'What kind of animals could make claw marks like these? And why were they brought in here?'

Following the claw marks, Spike was surprised to find a bed, or what’s left of it, with the strappings torn apart, and the cottons ripped from the tears, and machines, next to it, heavily damaged, with wires cut, and broke glass tubes, leaking fluids.

'Something must’ve ripped its way free. Something strong…but what?'

Spike walked down the hall, passing by large glass containment tubes. Letting curiosity get the best of him, Spike took a closer look at the contents, inside one of the tubes.

From the eerie lightings, he was able to make out the outlines of humanoid shapes, attached with wires, yet there were some distinguishing features that makes it look less human, like claws, fins, and pointed ears.

“What’s going on in there?” Spike cautiously reached out to touch the glass tube.

Upon touching the glass wall, a pair of eyes burst open, startling Spike to falling back.

“AAAAAH!!’ Spike screamed, falling to the floor, dropping his flashlight.

Picking up his flashlight, Spike turned to the left to see, what appeared to be a cell, barred by a large thick glass door with holes.

Suddenly, without warning, a snarling beast leapt out from the shadows, smashing its head against the glass.

In appearance, the beast appeared to be a tiger, yet it has the biceps and a human face, and walks on two legs.

“What the hell?” Spike asked, as he continues to walk down the hallway, passing more cells containing strange looking beasts, with human traits.

“I’m getting some serious Island of Dr. Moreau vibe here,” Spike shuddered, as he looked at some of the creatures, with some staring back at him.

After wandering the halls of horrors, Spike soon found himself in a large laboratory, with a large computer, in the corner.

Before he could type away on the computer’s keyboard, some photos of suspicious people, pinned on the wall, caught his attention, each connected by colorful strings.

'Whoa, I know these guys!' Spike exclaimed mentally, as he pointed, 'Those are some of the worst criminals in the world!'

Spike turned to look at a photo of a scary muscular man, with thick white beard, and menacing eyes.

'That’s Tirek! He was an arms dealer who sold weapons to third world countries. Last I heard, Interpol was hot on his trail, in Africa, when he went missing…almost like he vanished off the face of the earth…'

Spike turned to look at a photo of a voluptuous woman, with a sinister grin and eyes.

'That’s Chrysalis. She was a sex trafficker who kidnapped young women off the streets and sells them as prostitutes. The police were following her trail to a red light district in California. I heard she was also verbally and emotionally abusive to her children. Yeesh! Out of all the women, she’s the most evil…and scary.'

Spike shuddered with chatting teeth and sweaty goosebumps.

'She gives the creeps, just by looking at her!'

Turning to the next mugshot, Spike’s eyes fell upon a photo of, surprisingly, a little girl, with a deadpan expression.

'If there’s a little girl, who could be so evil, or eviler, than Chrysalis, then it’s Cozy Glow. She was a spoiled brat with an explosive temper and was part of a mafia. For a kid her age, she’s got a hell of a list, for all the crimes she’s committed. Arson, robbery, vandalism, she’s got it all! She was last spotted in the bayous of New Orlean, before she disappeared.'

Turning to the next criminal on the wall, Spike looked at the mugshot of a scary shadowy man.

'Don Sombra! A corporate scumbag who was sexually abusive to his fiancé, Radiant Hope, and treated her as nothing more than a baby maker. It says here that she disappeared, with their last child, when the police came to raid his office building. But he was already gone then. Wherever that bastard is, I hope he gets what he deserved.'

Finally, the last criminal on the wall, was a scary man, with a face of a fiendish monkey, with piercing blue eyes, silver hair that framed his whole face.

'That’s the closest image the police got of the Storm King. He was a big time Californian crime lord who ruled the west coast with an iron fist, until he disappeared, and his entire criminal empire fell apart, in his absence.'

After he was done looking and observing each of the criminals on the wall, Spike took a step back and shook his head.

“These guys are all big time crooks…” The young man said to himself, when he noted the strings connecting one criminal to another. “Looks like they each have some sort of connection with one another. Like some kind of criminal investment that they benefit off, one another? Someone here seems obsessed with them. Why?”

After a moment of pondering, Spike decided to brush the questions to the side, and focus on the problem at hands now.

Searching for some answers, Spike started web surfing on the computer, looking up research notes, regarding the laboratory and the experiments being conducted.

He is, however, quite shocked at what he finds.

'Unbelievable!' Spike said to himself in his thoughts. 'According to these notes, they’re formulas to create a serum of some kind that re-engineers the homo sapient DNAs to include the genetic codes from outside the species! In other words, someone is trying to turn people into animals!'

"Someone is trying to turn people into animals?" Spike asked himself aloud. "But who? And why?”

“For the future of humanity and the animal kingdom!” A voice answered.

“AAAH!!!” Startled, Spike turned around and find himself, face-to-face, with an evil looking man and another man, who appeared to be his butler.

In appearance, the man seemed to be roughly in his 50s, dressed in a lab coat, bound to a wheelchair. He has a long shoulder length, dark blue hair that framed his face, complete with a goatee.

Standing behind his wheelchair, the butler appeared to be a younger man in his late 30s, sporting a brown pointy toothbrush mustache, with matcha hair that is neatly groomed. He almost looks like Alfred Pennyworth from DC’s Batman series.

“Let me introduce myself,” The man in wheelchair began. “I am Dr. Grogar PhD. And I trust, by now, you have become acquainted with my work?”

“Work?” Spike asked in shock. “You mean what you were doing to those people? To Mr.Chimera and the others? Turning them into animals?”

“A step closer towards a grand future, my boy,” Dr. Grogar sneered.

“Future?”

“Yes. Imagine, having the strength of a thousand bulls, at your fingertips, the speed of a cheetah, and longevity of a crocodile. We can control evolutions at will. We will be able to change the world, advance humanity’s biology, and revolutionize our science and understanding.”

“I know I’m going to regret asking this, but are you trying to entice me of joining your cause, or something?” Spike asked. “Just what are you trying to get me to do?”

“Newt Chimera has told me all about you, Mr. Draco,” Dr. Grogar confirmed. “He spoke highly of you, and your aptitude for animals. I could use a young man of your intellect.”

“Help you torture more people, to turn them into animals? Forget it!”

“Oh, Draco. You have no idea. This is only the beginning towards greatness. The first step of humanity to possess the power of these magnificent creatures. I can assure you, these savages that you have seen will soon revert back to their true human forms, in a matter of months. However, that has only affected the females, though I don't know why.””

“But there will be some…unforeseen side effects. Effects that I am unable to remedy, alone. However, a younger man of your talent and intellect can help me advance my research.”

“I…uh…”

“As you can see, I am unfit to continue my work,” Dr. Grogar said, gesturing towards his legs. “I’ve been confined to this chair, due to a rare degenerative disease. I was this close to perfecting a cure. One that requires the DNA of a mountain goat. But time is not on my side. My trusty butler, Bray, has been at my side, but he can only do so much. Now, I require a scientist’s help. Can you help me, young Draco?”

Spike looked around the lab, frantically looking for a way to escape. All the while, keeping an eye on Dr. Grogar, and his butler, Bray, anticipating for anything they might throw at him.

“Like hell I’d help you,” Spike said defiantly. “First, what have you done with Newt Chimera and the others?”

“Newt Chimera is safe, I can assure you,” Grogar smiled sinisterly. “His knowledge is very invaluable. But you, young man, shall join the others, very soon!”

“No!” Spike’s eyes widened in horror, as he quickly realized what Grogar was getting at.

“Bray,” Grogar rang a small bell. “Seize him!”

The butler complied, springing into actions, lunging at Spike. The young man tried to escape, but everything was all a blur. He hardly had enough time to comprehend everything that's been happening to him. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, the butler was on top of him, and he was hit with a painful impact to the head. And just like that, his whole world went dark, once again.

Sometimes later...

"Hold on Spike...I've got you..."

Spike slowly came back to his senses as he wearily blinked his eyes open, regaining his vision.

"He promised he wouldn't hurt any of you! Why did I ever trust him?"

"Who's there?"

Once his vision came back to him, Spike looked around to see he was being carried through a long tunnel of a cave, that's dark, damp, and murky.

"What's happening? Where am I now?" Spike asked.

"Shhhh, be quiet," A voice whispered. "They won't know we're here. But we have to move fast."

"That...voice..." Spike muttered, straining to fight the numbness, struggling to get a better look at the person carrying him. "Mr. Chimera? Is that you?"

"Yes, Spike, it's me," The man confirmed. "But we must hurry! Dr. Grogar will soon find you missing. And he'll send out Shade to come after you. You have to get away before he has a chance!"

"Mr. Chimera...what's happening? Where are the others? What is this place? And how do you..."

"No time for questions," Newt Chimera interrupted. "You must escape, before...Ugh..." The man strained as he paused for a moment, dropping Spike to the floor, and clutching his head. "Oh no. Not again! Not now! He's onto us!"

"Mr. Chimera...what's the matter?" Spike wobbly got up on his feet, trying to help the man. "What's wrong?"

"Stay away from me, Spike!" Newt yelled, pushing Spike away.

In his surprise, Spike grabbed ahold of the man's scarf, pulling it off to reveal a startling discovery. Around the man's necks appeared to be lines of fish-like gills.

"What the hell?" Spike gasped.

"Spike...go! Run!"

Suddenly, Newt Chimera lunged towards Spike, with his hands stretched out, like claws of a ravenous beast, pouncing towards its prey. Scared for his life, Spike caught the man he knew to be his friend, by the hands, before he frantically thrusted his legs out, kicking Newt Chimera away from him.

Unfortunately, during the struggle, Spike failed to realize he was at the edge of a large opening, leading to a sheer drop, outside of a cliff. Desperately flailing his arms out, Spike lost his balance as he fell out of the cave's opening.

Spike tried to scream, but he couldn't. Or didn't have time to, as he plummeted towards the waters below with a deadly splash.

*KER-SPLASH*

Author's Note

March 9: Changes made, based on the ThatBatJess's feedback.