Out of the darkness loomed a recently abandoned warehouse, a denser shadow against its 
dark surroundings. Thin wisps of smoke curled their way into the dimly shining stars, and the 
dust and ashes of debris swirled out of the blasted doorway and into the night. The gaping hole 
in the solid brick where the grand entrance once stood was not inviting; on the contrary, it 
warded off visitors and intruders alike. Powdered glass that originated from the upper story 
windows sparkled weakly in the light of the crescent moon. The jagged edges of the window 
panes gave the face of the building an angry look, their sharp angles putting the final details on 
the disastrous scene. The smell of burnt wood and charred stone lingered in the still air, and the 
earth surrounding the building was hardened by the innumerable footsteps from the retreat. The 
whole sight of it seemed out of place in the peaceful wooded surroundings, as if the building 
itself screamed of its tragic demise.
	Among the rubble on the main floor, Giovanni stared around him at the remnants of his 
vast empire. His lifelong ambition had been cut short at its climax; he had collected almost every 
rare breed and evolution, and then it had all been taken away from him in one cursed night. Now 
he was surrounded by the empty cages and filled with a gaping hole of nothingness where his 
drive used to be. Huge broken computer screens stared down at him from the east wall, the 
deserted desks beneath them covered in glass shards. Burnt scraps of paper, all that remained 
from years of research, trial, and error, were scattered on the floor. Less than six hours prior, his 
most trusted employees had been steady at work here to complete his dream. Now everything he 
had ever worked for was gone. This Rocket headquarters was the only building that remained to 
encourage his nostalgia.
	Kicking aside a weakly sparking wire, Giovanni made his way through the wreck toward 
the basement door. It was his last hope, and he clutched at it like a lone buoy of happiness in an 
ocean of misery. He walked down the aisle of various empty cages, each built specifically for its 
prior inhabitant. A few of the oldest contained the emaciated remains of failed experiments, but 
he did not spare them a second glance. He had left them there as reminders to all his workers and 
projects that to resist or to fail was not an option. When he reached the end of the aisle, he saw 
with dismay that the marble statue made in his likeness had toppled over in the havoc, barring the 
concealed door. With a deep sigh and a few painful heaves, he slid it away far enough for him to 
slip past. He dusted off his black Armani suit, brushed a hand over his slick black hair, adjusted 
his silk tie, and stepped over his stone effigy. He read the motto he had inscribed into the 
pedestal, “For a Better World,” swiped his ID card over the camouflaged infrared scanner, and 
slipped through the unnoticeable doorway, closing it behind him.
	Immediately the lights in the hallway flickered on, bathing the blank stone in cold white 
fluorescence. To Giovanni’s satisfaction, the walled in spiral staircase before him remained 
undamaged; the battle hadn’t reached past the research lab. He felt the tiny bubble of hope 
expand as he walked down the tightly wound stairs, running his right hand lovingly over the 
harsh cement wall, letting his left hand with its overlarge ruby and sapphire adorned gold ring 
trail along the wrought iron railing. The seemingly endless spiral continued for a few minutes, 
leaving Giovanni to his reminisces and immersing him in the gradually dampening air.
	When he finally reached the end of the long spiral, a singular black door emblazoned with 
the Rocket “R” stood before him. He reached for the handle, but it swung open of its own 
accord as if it had been anticipating his arrival. He surreptitiously stepped over the threshold, and 
the room beyond came to dim life. Unlike the corridor leading down to it, this room’s only light 
source was thin red neon lights along a set walkway, illuminating only a few inches of the floor 
around them. The floor, ceiling, and walls were the deepest black, giving the illusion of being in 
an endless cavern. Along the walkway were metal cryogenic capsules of various sizes with no 
indication as to what they contained. Each emanated a different colored light through a lone 
window where a head would roughly be, representing the type of creature each contained. Those 
with creatures of more than one type were emitting a shimmering aura effect; the base color was 
their main type, which blended into a halo of their secondary. As Giovanni strolled past, he 
occasionally stopped in front of one to look in at the frozen inhabitant. Their final expressions 
were paralyzed on their faces, their last emotions lingering in the dead pupils of their eyes. Some 
seemed to have seized up mid-attack, while others looked as if they were literally frozen with 
fear. Giovanni traced the outlines of a few almost tenderly, still lost in his own thoughts.
	The walkway stretched on for three times the length of the ruined building above. At the 
end was a capsule that was easily four times the size of its predecessors and made of a stronger 
metal alloy. The light coming from it shimmered in every color of the rainbow simultaneously, 
and it was at this last container that Giovanni finally halted. He stood before it, staring up at the 
small square from which its brilliant light escaped.
	“My pride and joy,” he murmured under his breath, “if this apogee should end for me 
tonight, so be it, but you are coming with me.” At that, he stepped forward to unlock the 
electronic controls that kept it sealed shut. As he went to open the lone large deadbolt by hand, 
he heard a small voice behind him.
	“Daddy?”
	Giovanni hesitated for a fraction of a second.
	“Go home, child. This is no place for you.” He started to slide out the bolt, and he could 
hear the monster within begin to move once more.
	“Daddy!”
	The child appeared from the shadows, running toward Giovanni. At the piercing human 
shriek, the monster let out a low, muffled growl. The child stopped in fright, and Giovanni 
turned on it, his face impassive and his eyes cold.
	“Did you not hear me? I said to go home! Daddy has something important to do.” 
Turning back to the monster’s enclosure, he shouted with all the anger he had repressed this 
whole night. “NOW!”
	The child stifled a sob and fled away from him.
	When the small echoes of footsteps died away, Giovanni unbolted the massive door. A 
strange, unsubstantial fog swirled out and encircled him, caressing the expensive thread of his 
suit. It gave off an indescribable feeling of dread, popping that last bubble of hope that had 
grown inside him earlier. A dark shadow could be seen inside the doorway, its shape indefinite. 
A heartbeat later, Giovanni was face to face with his prized monster, its ragged breath inches 
from his own nose, reeking of wasted time. The last thing he would remember was the intense 
madness gleaming in its feverish eyes and the unearthly shriek of rage it bellowed before his 
world went black for the last time.