The Underbelly

[Aerial-Rave]

Exiting the laboratory, Kim returned to the initial scene where she saw the belly beast. Her instincts told her to check the corpse of that kid. She returned to the empty corridor, the runner’s limp body still torn with his intestines sprawled across the tiled floor. She covered her mouth to mask the smell as she approached the carnage. Swimming in the lad’s pockets, she retrieved a wallet and a cellphone. Though money would be useless down here, she pocketed what she could, including the kid’s ID, to at least keep his memory, if for her own sake.

But then Kim hatched a brilliant idea. Assuming she would be missed, she checked through the kid’s phone after unlocking it by the simple swipe security mechanic. As she hoped, a camera app was available. “H-Hello?” She stammered, trying to test the feed back. “This is officer Kimberly Ghutt. I am currently in an unknown location seemingly under the city. I request immediate rescue as there appears to be less than moral things down here. For one, an illegal laboratory where seemingly monstrous experiments are taking place. I found this area chasing a suspect who…” Kim paused for a quick shot of the torn suspect. “...has experienced a fatal wound.” She then stopped the video there but encountered another problem. The signal on the phone was absent, meaning she couldn’t sent the video to the police department… “Shit…” She cursed, leaving her with one option…

Kim walked around the hopefully empty facility with the cellphone held high in hopes of finding a signal. She gathered no luck, but then something else intrigued her. Given this situation was surreal, there had to be some explanation or at least origin to this horror show. Clipping the phone to her belt and arming her pistol, Officer Ghutt began checking lab rooms for any amount of information.

Her first room proved vacant, save for a few human husks with hollowed out eyes. She scowled and forcefully had to open the second lab by breaking the the locked knob. As it turned out, this one was a tad better equipped. Larger examination tables and a surgery table next to it. Even better, there was a stained nilla folder on the surgical table.

Kim feverishly flipped through the files, hoping to find something of use. Pictures of a man, progressively becoming less than were displayed to her. The skin around his face had begun to grow and fester, until it eventually enveloped his eyes. His arms grew into longer, muscle bound claws and appeared to be strapped to the table and writhing in it. But there was no last picture but Kim could deduce what happened next.

To her dismay, almost as if on cue, Kim was joined by heavy breathing. A shadow extended under her feet and the image of an opening maw gave way to the shadowy image of an extremely long tongue. Without looking back, Kim popped one from her gun and the screech from the beast was confirmation of a hit. Quickly, the chubby cop turned and rushed the monster, its appearance identical to the one in the picture. She rammed her knee into its chest, both falling out of the room where Kim finished it off with a shot through it’s throat, blowing a hole in the top of its head in the process.
“G-Good...guns can kill you sons of bitches…” She panted, coming down from the rush. But she didn’t have time to relax as growls and clamping maw sounds were now filling the halls. Her little scrap must have alarmed more of the same beasts. Her goal now was to make it out of the facility, or at least find more bullets to mow down more of the abominations.

She traversed the halls hesitantly, looking at the smeared signs in hopes of finding an armory. She eventually came across a dead body in the doorway of a laboratory. Flashing her light in the room, she scanned it to find it empty and began to check the corpse. From the padded armored attire, this person was no doubt a security guard or at least a gunman for whatever facility this was. Which meant… “Yes!” Kim cheered, finding bullets for her pistol. She then rolled the body over, regretting it immediately as the face was chewed out. The man’s(?) face was carved out like half a watermelon, only with a single blue pupil dangling from the mauled face.

The husky officer covered her mouth with her fist and moved on to another room with a small light still functional as it shined on another nilla folder. After clearing the room she flipped through the files and began to read. ‘In all my years in this field...I never thought it would come to this. January 13, 1938...My pardon rests on the shoulders of one man...one I have come to hate with every fiber of my being...who...undermines my years of study with his last name and rhetoric alone...Griema...That’s all I have to say about him. After countless failed bio-cell manipulations thanks to that cur’s carelessness, we now must depend on his suggestion; This...call of the Old Gods…’ The entry that followed showed a colorless picture of a bespectacled man in his mid thirties.

“Old Gods...” Ghutt mused, somewhat familiar with the term. An offhanded course she took in college due to general interest. It centered around Lovecraftian literature and the creatures described in the text. Her and her roommates would often play with the idea, until it became clear it was nothing more than just scary folklore...or so she thought until now.

A few doors down, Kim discovered a pool of pink ooze, followed by a clear canister hanging off the edge of the tub. Curious, she looked around to make sure the coast was clear and found a warning poster near the vat and took the time to read. “Warning: Highly addictive substance. Taste Paste is for healing one’s wounds and NOT for recreational consumption. Refill here or at any of the stations mapped within accompanying posters. Hm, I can use this…” Kim concluded after reading the sign. But soon after filling the canister, her intrigue got the best of her. Dipping her finger into the pool, Kim’s eyes bulged once the paste hit her tongue. “St-Steak and egg?” She said out loud and scooped another sample. Sure enough, the pink ooze tasted like the prime meat and protein combo.

After awhile of more taste testing, Kim noticed the flavor changed to a sweet caramel and chocolate blend, causing her to scoop more and more into her mouth. Soon, emerging her head from the vat, the pink stained officer’s middle had further crawled down her waist line. She sat in front of the pool, somewhat groggy as she let out a belch to relieve some pressure. “Addictive...right…” She noted to herself, crawling away with the filled container.

Now with her stomach wobbling with each step, Officer Ghutt would have to be more careful with her size. The feeling in her bones and muscles were now relaxed but now she felt like an overstuffed turkey on Thanksgiving in the lion’s den. A few more burps escaped her lips, unfortunately alarming the few mutated eyeless monsters in the immediate area. She took refuge in one of the rooms she had cleared and monitored the seemingly male monsters pass by.

With her phone out, she started recording their movements while keeping still and silent. The creatures appeared to rely on the other senses rather than sight, which made the notion of being quiet even more critical. Next, the sound of dragging chains entered the fray as a slightly mummified, chubby female prisoner came into the picture. She seemed to attract the male monsters, both effectively not communicating but she managed to lure them away.

Kim was unsure of what to make of this, but she was certain the answers would be found in this facility. The room she was currently in turned out to be the security room. Bullets were scattered on the floor and upon turning to the coat rack, the stout officer found an assault shotgun to call her own. Shells and bullets for her arsenal were scattered among the floor but she wasn’t above ignoring them. Loading her weapons, she then turned on the monitor and was shown vital areas in the laboratory. A nearby map revealed she was smack dab in the middle of the place and the exit to the east was her best option. Only, there was quite the guard there…

---

Kim continued to watch the monitor as the chained, mummified female from before was still leading the two male beasts. They were approaching a figure much wider than the exit double doors but a look all too familiar. A much, much larger belly beast sat in the way of the only exit, breathing heavy as its body jiggled. The panting behemoth seemed to become active as the trio came within range. Rising with its head almost touching the ceiling, it’s girth wider than the three standing side by side.

The officer watched intently, confused with what looked like communication between the two husky females. Where they...talking? And if so, was it about her?

Soon, Kim’s concerns were answered as the huge belly beast roared with displeasure. The mummified female was upset as well, showing her teeth and the two had a stare down. The two faceless males attacked the belly beast, only for the torso to open up in the form of a row of teeth, making mincemeat of the male minions in moments. The bandaged female reacted to this with fear, and turned tail down the hall.

Unfortunately, it would appear she had made the head belly beast active and the behemoth chased her, hips rocking like wrecking balls, giving chase with it’s rear bumping from wall to wall. Surprisingly, the bigger monster was agile, closing in on its prey relatively fast. Then, it leaped at the mummified female, eclipsing her as the fall from the belly beast shook the corridors. So much so, even the officer lost her footing from the tremor and the lights flickered.

The successful predator emerged with the bandaged monster halfway down her torso’s throat. Like the faceless males, it suffered a similar fate as the mouth chomped down hard, the prey’s limbs caught in its razor teeth but chomped down the second time around. Kim winced at the display, utterly sickened. Now, the large monster was not too far from her position and it still looked hungry. Though, more of the seemingly lesser abominations were wondering about, interested by the sudden noise pollution and swarmed around the supposed Alpha predator.

They were met with roars and were slashed into pieces by the belly behemoth. The ones that managed to escaped scattered through the halls while the dead ones were consumed.

Kim, herself, also concluded it was time to go, but thought about the first variety of this monster she encountered. Similar to the pink ooze, there was a glowing green substance that killed it off, easily. She rather not risking an entire clip to cripple the thing, so she planned on returning to the room where she found the green syringe and hopefully take down the predator herself.

Entering the hallways again, the cop surveyed the area and cautiously made her way back. The violence of the bigger belly beast’s rampage was not too far off. She had hope there were enough of the lesser monsters to sate it or at least slow it down. But one got up close and personal with Kim, ambushing her from around the corner. It grabbed her face and tried to snack on her throat but she pushed it off in the nick of time, pistol whipping it to the ground before shooting it in the head and stomping the creature’s brains out to finish the job. Though, with that action, the belly beast’s roars were louder and accompanied by more of the faceless monster’s shrills.

Kim had little time to waste as she sprinted down the halls. Another sneak attack had the cop pinned against the tiled wall, wrestling this time with a heavily bandaged, heavy female. This one was a bit tougher due to her weight and the sharp, uncut fingernails digging in Ghutt’s skin wasn’t helping. However, she kicked the mutant’s right thigh, causing it to falter and she tossed it to the ground.

In that moment, the gargantuan belly beast burst through the wall, knocking Kim back and engulfing the bandaged female. While it ate, Kim hid in a room in the midst of chaos. She gulped down some of the pink stuff to heal her wounds but now was the time to think. The belly beast was now inches away, and the green vat room much farther off.