Kinan
Legacy Name: Kinan

The Asmodeus Genetech Experimental Research Centre had long since been abandoned. I approached the dented steel double doors, and I couldn't help but notice how the once imposing stonework loomed over my head; it was now crumbling and decrepit. I swallowed nervously and leaned against the door, pushing it open with a wince at the squeal of the rusty hinges scraping against the corroded bolts. I paused to adjust the camera slung around my neck, making sure the cap was still secure. I stepped inside and squinted into the gloom of the dust-covered entrance hall. I looked down as I walked, carefully avoiding treading on the most decayed looking wooden floorboards.

I started to thread my way through a wreckage of old chairs, covered in some sort of rotting fabric. I paused again, sensing a tension in the air that I could not pinpoint. I took a deep breath and continued down the hallway, little clouds of dust rising with each of my footfalls. There were no imprints in the layer of dust; it looked as though no one had been here since the facility had closed. I reached the end of the hallway and opted to descend on the first set of stairs that I saw, which led down into an abyss of impenetrable, choking darkness.

I braced my hand against the wall as I climbed down the steps. Despite their age, they seemed to be fairly sturdy. I grew more confident and started taking the steps faster, casting a glance every now and then to see if there was anything yet worth photographing. That's when it happened – without warning, my toe caught on a loose nail and I pitched forward. I remember raising my arms to try to brace my fall, then a sharp pain shooting through my right forearm. Everything went cloudy, and I lost consciousness.

I don't know how long it took for me to come back around. I looked up, and after my head stopped spinning, I realized that I was seeing the underside of the staircase I was climbing. I had fallen forward, hit the steps further down, and crashed right through. I sat up with a groan and reached for my bag, glad I had remembered to bring my backpack. I pulled out my flashlight and clicked it on. I sat up suddenly in surprise, blinking and rubbing my eyes with my left hand. I could not bring myself to look at my right arm just then – based on the pain I was feeling, I was sure that I had broken it. I seemed to be in some sort of secret room... given that this was a research centre, I guessed that it was probably a laboratory anteroom of some sort.

I slowly got to my feet, groaning as my body protested. I held my right arm close to my chest, trying not to jostle it. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my cell, dialing the number for my friend Suze; she was an apprentice to the Healer, and she'd patched me up on more than a few occasions. I gave her a basic rundown of what had happened, and she told me she'd be on her way as soon as she grabbed her supplies bag. She also told me to sit tight until then, but we both knew that I wouldn't. I was a photographer after all, and when I had an opportunity to get some good shots, I went with it.

I decided to explore the rest of the secret room. With my flashlight, I could see that the room I was in extended for some way, and then branched off to the left. Wincing, I hobbled down towards the bend, casting my flashlight around with some trepidation. I wondered what went on down here that required it to be hidden from the rest of the lab... and the entire world. As I turned the corner, I stopped dead. In the middle of the room was a long steel table. It was covered in dried clots of blood and stained bandages. Beside the table was a tray, and I saw a collection of old syringes, surgical scalpels, clamps and tubes. There were other things, too, that I had never seen before, and I began to contemplate their purpose with a shudder of revulsion.

My instincts took over, and I walked up to the table to examine it more closely. I felt like I needed to know what happened down here. I could see, with the beam of light pointed ahead, that the blood trail continued into another room. My stomach turned over at the thought of what I might find, but I had to know. I followed the trail slowly until it branched off into another room which lay behind a wooden door with some sort of number painted on the top. It was too peeled and faded to read. I gathered my resolve and pushed open the door with my left shoulder, casting the flashlight around the room.

I opened and closed my mouth in horror, a scream welling up in my throat. Laying on a filthy, stained gurney, was some sort of... creature. Its body was matted with fur, with large patches missing. It was impossible to discern the colour under the grime. I moved my eyes upwards, my mind reeling. I saw that it had some sort of mane, made up of coloured tubing which seemed to go into, and out of, the thing's neck and head. They seemed to be pulsating, but I knew that was impossible. Wasn't it?

I extended my fingers, a kind of morbid curiosity guiding them to touch the thing's flank. It was warm. I leaned closer, pushing aside some of the tubing to see its face. Its eyes snapped open, bright green and terrified. I scrambled backwards, dropping my flashlight with a whimper. The thing -I guess it was a creature- emitted a low moan, and the pain that the sound conveyed almost broke my heart. I went to the creature's side again, my eyes welling up with tears. “Wha-what happened to you?”

The creature's eyes found mine again, and with a strangled choking noise, it rasped, “I don't... I don't remember. They ch-changed me.” I quickly bent down and retrieved the flashlight, moving it along the floor and then onto the gurney, searching for any evidence of what had happened to the poor thing. My eyes locked on to a filthy, half destroyed file folder. I picked it up and blew the dust and ash from the cover. I could only make out a small section of what it said:

Kinan – Experiment #2285
...Experiment #2285 shows remarkable progress. It is now completely self sufficient. Installed bio mechanical tubing fully integrated and working at maximum capacity. Subject now has no need for biological amenities. Memory has been completely terminated. Subject retains no recollection of former leonine identity as 'Kinan'.

I looked up, the tears from earlier now sliding down my cheeks. I tucked the page under my shirt and went back to the creature's side. “Kinan? Is that your name?” I also noted from the file that it- he, was male. He nodded slightly, his mouth opening in wonder. “I... my... someone used to call me that, a long time ago.” I stroked his flank and moved to the end of the gurney. I gritted my teeth as I wrapped all of my fingers around the rusting metal bars, pulling as hard as I could. I screamed, blinding pain shooting through my right arm as I wrenched the gurney, dragging it into the room I had fallen into.

I knew I was going to pass out in a moment or two, but I managed to reassure Kinan first. “Im going to get you out of here, Kinan. I'm going to take care of you.” I heard a pounding coming from the floor above, and I knew that Suze was nearby. With that assurance, I let the darkness at the corners of my vision envelop me, and I passed out next to Kinan, my left arm still on his flank.

Graphics and story: FETISH, stock images from: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥.
Coding: FETISH, with special thanks to Georgie.