True Monsters [A Sanctuary Fanfiction]

[Tyloric]

True Monsters [A Sanctuary Fanfiction]

Summery: Something is on the loose inside the Sanctuary, a creature that seems to be invisible to the naked eye to everyone. Everyone other than Henry. Just what is this creature?

Chapter 1
​

He could feel it coming, he always could. The sudden surge of adrenaline that seemed to have no trigger, the pain that wracked his body as it wanted to shift and change into something different. He toppled over the side of his bed in a panicked rush and crawled over to his dresser, unscrewed the cap on the pill bottle and hastily swallowed two of the Diazepam tablets.

Henry groaned loudly as another wave struck him, the wolf trying to break through. He resisted, like he always did, refusing to let that side of him take control. He face twisted and contorted, a snout making itself present for the briefest of moments before he was able to reassert himself. He fell to the floor in front of the dresser, gasping for breath.

Each minute felt like an eternity, but eventually the tremors stopped, the adrenaline in his system thinning. He breathed as even as he could, closing his eyes in concentration, willing himself to be calm.

The feeling after a change reminded him of the feeling you get right after sex. That relief that spread over your body, every muscle relaxed, the sudden tiredness. Though he was not anywhere near as satisfied. He grinned as a few… adult images filled his head.

Tired as he was, though, it would be difficult to sleep now. Henry always found it difficult to find rest after an episode as violent as that one, his mind always seemed to kick into overdrive. In the event that he was able to sleep his dream were hellish; commonly filled with the wolf tearing the Sanctuary apart.

He ran a hand through his hair, not entirely surprised to find it matted down with sweat. Sighing, he got up shakily to his feet, his knees buckling ever so slightly, before he found his balance. He stretched his muscles experimentally. Partly because he was stiff and partly to make sure everything was as it was supposed to be.

He padded over to his desk and flipped his computer off standby. He rarely shut them down, he was too impatient to wait for the to start back up. He started doing nonsensical things: checking the perimeter sensors, internal alarms and the Shoe, making sure everything was in check. They all were, of course, and he knew they would be. It just made him feel like he was doing something productive in his time of restlessness.

Henry sighed again and ran a hand over his face before against the desk and getting back to his feet. He stepped out into the hallway, looking it up and down. The Sanctuary had an eerie feeling at night, the hallway dimly lit by moonlight. It was like a haunted house, only it actually had monsters.

Henry caught himself. No, they weren’t monsters. Abnormals. He had to maintain that train of thought. The creatures here were different under no fault of their own, it had just happened. Just like he happened to be a werewolf.

And he had to admit, ever sense he’d come to terms with being a werewolf things hadn’t been nearly as grim as he thought they would. Sure, he had some episodes where the change just wanted to force itself out, but they weren’t happening as often as when the wolf first started making itself present, and even then with a little Diazepam and a little bit of will he was usually able to force it down.

Stepping out into the hallway, he started to walk, not really having a destination in mind. He needed to clear his head, and the Sanctuary was big enough to just stroll around for a while. Eventually, he ended up in the kitchen to find Will sitting at the island, his back to Henry sipping on what he smelled as milk. He was wearing grey jogger pants and a loose fitting blue tee-shirt.

Feeling mischievous, he slowly stalked up behind the blond haired man. When he directly him, he leaned over ever so slightly to that he was level with Will’s ear and simply said, “Hey.”

The good doctor jumped three feet in the air, stumbling away from his chair and whirling to face Henry all at the same time, nearly falling over. On the inside, Henry was balling, though he forced his face to stay calm. He raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with you?”

“You scared the hell out of me!” Will accused.

At this, Henry offered a toothy grin. “Sorry.”

Will wasn’t the kind of person to hold a grudge. He sat back down a few seats away from where he had started, shaking his head.

Still grinning, Henry walked over to the fridge and retrieved the milk. He made a face that was borderline disgusted. Skim milk. He put the milk back and grabbed a bottle of water.

“What’re you doing up?” Will asked.

Henry didn’t hesitate. “Couldn’t sleep.” He sat down next to Will. “You?”

“Yeah… me neither.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What’s up, doc?” He didn’t realize he had made a pun until it was already out of his mouth and grinned when he noticed.

Will laughed briefly. “Just… thinking.”

“’bout the fight?”

“Yeah.” Will said, frowning.

Henry nodded in understanding, taking a swig of water. “Wanna talk about it?” He asked after a moment.

Will was quiet for a while, reaching over to where his glass of milk sat to take a large gulp of it. “Nightmares. I know it was a few days ago but…”

Henry watched him intently, waiting for him to continue.

“I don’t know.” He said finally, shaking his head. “I keep seeing myself beat up Daniel… and enjoying it. Enjoying it… that’s what scariest about it. I just didn’t think I was capable of something like that.”

“We’re all capable of it, Will. Working here in the Sanctuary should have taught ‘cha that by now. But to be fair, you weren’t exactly in your right mind.”

“Hmm…” was the response.

They sat there for a while longer, in a comfortable silence, until Will broke it. “Thanks by the way.”

“For what?”

“Stopping me. I don’t know what I would have done if you…”

Henry grinned again, gripping Will by the shoulder. “No problem, pal.”

Will smiled weakly in return, leaning ever so slightly into the touch. “It was scary… being a monster.”

“I know how that feels.” Henry said grimly.

Will seemed to catch on to what he had just said. “Oh, sorry...”

“Psh, don’t worry about it. I’ve kinda gotten used to the idea of being a wolf.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the last part, causing Will to roll his eyes. “Plus, I knew the change would happen sooner or later. When it finally came on… well, you know.”

Will frowned, recalling the day the serpent had nearly eaten him alive. If Henry hadn’t come along and literally flung it out a window, taking himself with it, things would have ended much worse.

“My point is, doc, there is a little bit of monster in all of us, I think, abnormal or not. We either choose to let it control us, or we control it. So yours got the better of you for a while, no big deal.”

The doctor regarded Henry silently for a moment, a bit awe struck to this side of the technician. He’d never know Henry to be this… deep.

“Now stop moping.” He clapped Will on the back. “That’s my job.”

Will laughed. “Fair enough.”

Henry got up, taking his bottle of water with him. “Gotta take a ‘nother shot at sleep. G’night.”

“Yeah, night. See you tomorrow.”

Henry tossed a wave over his shoulder without looking back, leaving Will to his thoughts.

[tbc]​

 

[Firis]

Re: True Monsters [A Sanctuary Fanfiction]

*clap-clap-clap* +Rep!

 

[Tyloric]

Re: True Monsters [A Sanctuary Fanfiction]

Henry’s fingers worked over the keyboard at lightening speed, stopping only when they started to cramp. He’d been at this all day; trying to finger out why the EM filed was going hay wire. There were strange fluctuations all over the Sanctuary, but he couldn’t have a source.

His body froze as a yawn over took him. He shook his head rough, pushing the exhaustion to the back of his mind. There were more important things to deal with.

The monitor to his right started beeping out a warning: massive energy surge at the main gate. The entire EM field flickered on and off for a brief moment before the back up kicked in to compensate. Two mouse clicks later Henry was viewing the security camera for that section. He switched the views between normal and infrared, rewinding to just before the surge. There was nothing to account for the surge. He groaned in frustration.

He clicked over to the back up generators; they were running at maximum output. This was going from annoying to worrisome.

The lights flickered.

“Oh, that can’t be good.” He mumbled.

The chirp of his cell phone ringing grabbed his attention. “Hello?”

“Henry?” Helen’s asked.

“Hey, doc, just about to call you.”

“Henry, what was that?”

He hesitated. “I don’t know. I’m getting weird power fluctuations all over the grid and I’ve had to start dipping into the reserve power to keep up the EM field.”

“Any idea what’s causing it?” Henry had always admired her ability to stay calm under pressure.

“Sensors aren’t picking up anything out of the ordinary.” He tapped a few keys. “But what ever it is seems to be focused on the front gate.” He stopped for a moment, wondering if he should ask his next question. After a moments hesitation, “Could it be John?”

Silence on the other end of the line, as if she was contemplating the question. “No, I don’t think so. John wouldn’t be causing that kind of power output. I’ll have Ashley check the front gate, I want you and Will to go down to the SHU and make sure all of our guests are accounted for.”

Henry grimaced; he didn’t like visiting the SHU. But, orders were orders. “Gotcha. Talk to you in a few.”

“Be careful.”

“Always.” He disconnected the call. Henry stood up and stretched his stiff limbs; he’d been sitting longer than he’d thought. Tapping a few more keys to security lock the console, he grabbed his mobile pad and went off to the elevator.

He was two steps out of the tech room when he was hit with a sudden wave of nausea, one so powerful he had to lean of against the side of the wall to keep from toppling over. His vision blurred slightly and stomach felt like it was doing flips in his gut. He clenched his jaw and slapped a hand over his mouth to try to keep from vomiting.

His thoughts became muddled and distant, like they weren’t his own. He literally couldn’t think of anything other than the nausea that roiled his stomach.

And in an instant, it was gone as quickly as it had come. Henry blinked a few times until his vision cleared, and stood back up experimentally. Instinctively he began examining himself, starting with his torso, then moving to sweep his vision over his arms and legs. Everything seemed like it was okay. He pressed his hand firmly against his forehead. Didn’t feel like fever either.

He shook his head violently, shaking loose the residual feeling the sudden sickness had caused until his head was clear and focused. He didn’t know what just happened, and didn’t know if he should even be concerned.

As he stalked off to the elevator while simultaneously dialing in Will’s number on his phone, he was too distracted to notice that the wolf inside him had become alert and extraordinarily agitated.

Henry pressed the phone against his ear but remembered quickly that that wasn’t a good idea. Ever since the wolf had begun making itself known, his senses, hearing and smelling particularly, had grown acutely more sensitive. The monotone ringing the phone produced when making a call made his ear ring, so he held it about half an inch away, still able to hear with the utmost clarity.

“Hello?” Will’s crisp voice sounded after a couple of rings.

“Will! You and I have been ordered to go over the guest list down in the SHU.”

Will could sound very business like when he wanted too. “We got trouble?”

“Dunno yet.” Deciding, for some reason, to not mention his recent bout. There was a small pang a guilt that made his heart thrum a bit faster, but he chose to blatantly ignore it.

There were a few seconds of silence on the other line, and Henry thought he might of lost the call until Will gave a exasperated sigh. “Okay… I’ll be right there.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just with a patient.”

Ah. “Don’t worry about it then, I can handle it alone.”

The surprise in Will’s voice was evident. “You sure?”

“Um, yes.” He said in a playfully condescending way. “I got this. Not like I’m gonna go fight a naga.”

His attempt at humor seem to have failed. “I don’t know, Henry…”

“I do! Talk to ya later, doc.” He disconnected the call before Will could say anymore. He stuffed his phone in his pocket and slipped the stylus out for the mobile pad and with a few taps of the screen had a check list of the SHU up and waiting. He arrived at the elevator just a moment later.

He stepped inside as the doors slid open, hitting B-3. The security clearance request popped in a window on the mobile pad and he inputted his security code. The elevator lurched to life. He could have just used his elevator key, but he thought that using the pad was more fun.

When the doors slipped open again he was hit with a familiar feelings of uneasiness. This section of the Sanctuary had always been a strange place to be. The reinforced concrete walls with eight inch bullet proof plexiglass windows. It looked and felt like a prison, which he supposed in a sense it was. The creatures down here were too dangerous to live amongst the rest of the Sanctuary, and as such needed to be kept in seclusion. Though, they were each given their own habitats, so maybe if was more of a zoo from Hell. Either way, he’d always found it creepy. Henry took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator.

And immediately knew that something was wrong. The air felt different; it was heavy and smelled of sulfur. It was hot, hotter than it should be. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and an eerie chill swept down his spine.

This time, he felt the wolf stir.

Henry stood there, looking around for something that wasn’t supposed to be there. Something that could account for the strange scent in the air. He tuned in on his hyper-sensitive hearing listening for anything out of the ordinary. Something abnormal.

And there it was, a foreign sound. Like someone sliding a cloth across the ground. It was faint, he could barely hear it, but he could still tell that it was close. Too close.

He started to walk backwards to the elevator which should have only been three steps away. But after taking at least a dozen steps and still not having felt anything, Henry was inclined to turn around. He gaped, the elevator was on the other side of the room, at least twelve feet away. He turned back around and shook his head in confusion. He was on the other side of the room. When did that happen?

Something growled next to his right ear causing him to jump away from it, adrenaline shooting into his veins in a fight or flight reaction. The air next to him was empty. He was breathing heavily now.

“Who’s there?!” He called out stupidly, eyes darting around the room.

He went to look back at the elevator--

Only to find himself nose to Plexiglas. He stumbled backwards, falling on his butt. He twisted around to find that he had ended up even further away from the elevator.

He reached into his pocket for his phone, pulled it out, and dialed Helen’s number.

“Henry?” came the immediate response.

“Hey, doc. Uh, problem.”

“What is it?” The urgency in her tone was oddly comforting.

“There’s something down here. I, uh, think. I’m not sure.” Another growl right next to his left ear made him jump to his feet and back away; there was nothing there. “Waahhhoooookay. Yeah, something’s defiantly down here, doc.”

He could hear the clack of her heels against the floor even on the phone. “Can you get out?” he heard a gun ****.

He considered. “I…dunno.” He looked around wildly, to find he’d moved to the opposite wall from where he’d been standing. He looked at it dumbly. “Doubt it.”

“We’ll be down in one minute. Stay where you are.”

“Right…” the call disconnected. He spied the mobile pad lying face down in front of the elevator, though he couldn’t recall having dropped it.

The wolf stirred, and began trying to break loose. Henry double over in pain, his mind reeling. “Ergh… not now…” he moaned pathetically.

A growl, this time in front of him. He looked up, he scrunched in discomfort, which was quickly joined by terror in confusion when he couldn’t come to process what he was looking at.

Only a few feet away from him was a… shadow. See-through and everything, the outline of a figure that shouldn’t be there. It slid across the ground, a faint sound , towards him. It had no legs to speak off, it just seemed to melt into the concrete. He tried to back away from it as it slid towards him, but he couldn’t find the will or strength too as his tried to stop his body from contorting into something else.

The elevator dinged. What ever it was evaporated into thin air before his eyes. Henry had doubled over now, his bones crunching underneath his flesh.

“Henry!” He heard Ashley’s voice from somewhere far away. He heard her foot steps attempt to approach him—

“Stay back!” He shouted in warning, and he felt the snout jut forward out of his face. His mind was going into overdrive, trying to find a solution to the pain, but kept coming up empty. He could feel the hair sprout of pores, covering in a thick layer of fur.

He heard the back of his shirt rip apart at the seams, and his legs and feet felt like they were going to be crushed by his jeans are shoes. Fingernails were replaced by sharp-tipped claws.

Why was this happening? Why was this happening now? It had never been this hard to control before.

His mind began to slip away from him, losing the battle for dominance. His thoughts became clouded by something more aggressive, something feral. He was scared, terrified, and his fear began projecting themselves.

What if he hurt something? Someone? What if he couldn’t stop? What if—?

Two tranquilizer darts implanted themselves in his neck, and he throat let out a part-human part-wolf howl, before he lost all ties to the world and darkness covered his mind like the thick blanket.

***​

It watched the events unfold before it with curiosity. It watched as the human began shifting and contorting, watched as his clothes ripped apart. It found it fascinating.

It was also mildly surprised, thought it supposed it should have expected it in a place like this. There was a wolf here. It cursed itself for not anticipating this, but at the same time could stop from feeling a little bit of excitement.

This was going to be a bit more difficult.

Fun, but difficult.

[tbc]​