They are Threats.

To kill any of them was easy.

It was too easy.

Watching back the footage, the scientists can't help but wonder how it all could have fallen apart so easily. They had collars on, didn't they? The subjects should have been subdued enough not to make a move.

But they weren't. And a lot of people were murdered because they weren't.

The Shadows had unexpectedly leapt to the ceiling and shattered the lights, causing darkness to drape the room. The scientists hadn't the time to take out the remote before it was kicked out of their hands. And bloody chaos commenced from there.

No one had come to help.

These researchers knew what they were doing, of course, when they asked Dr. Roget to create a project worthy of military insertion. Some type of thing capable of destruction so that men won't have to be sent off to war to die.

But, firstly, they had killed Roget to get him out of the way (actually, it wasn't them; they had hired someone to do it for them), and so they couldn't ask him to reform his project, and secondly, the Shadows aren't things. They're living creatures. They have fears, loves, and genuine emotions. They speak understandably. They have wants and needs.

It's uncanny how quickly they killed twenty people.

They're self-aware, too. The three brothers know that they are not free, and that they have to figure out a way to get free in order to be free. The horrifying euphoria that had flooded their minds once they successfully took the life of every man in the room made them excited, and exceedingly powerful, and now the Shadow children know how they can escape. They must kill everything in sight.

It's terrifying.

The scientists expected them to be able to kill, not murder.

Now, they are all in danger.

For the moment, the Shadows are contained safely in reinforced glass cylinders, having been subdued by the use of heavy sedatives. They are all safe, if only for a few seconds longer.

But how long will that last? How long before these creatures of bloodlust and genocidal lunacy break free from their prison and stab everyone they see?

Certainly not long.

The researchers whisper to each other, almost afraid that someone might burst into the room and hear their conversation if they speak any louder. The murders are still being "investigated" by nosy journalists and the media and the like, but they can't outright tell the public that three bloodthirsty monsters took to the air and killed twenty men over the course of two minutes. The world crumble in both disbelief and fear.

They have to think of a cover story. But do they need one?

It's a scary thought. None of them wants to think about it, but they haven't a choice. Either they think about it or they let everyone die because of a mistake that they made.

Will they need a cover story if these creatures escape within the next few hours? Half a town could be dead by then. There'd be no need for a cover story because there'd be no time. No one would be staring at their televisions.

...No. We can't think like that.

These creatures are too destructive.

Either their murderous intent must be manifested into something good, or they must be destroyed.

***

"Brothers?"

Red blinks his eyes open. As soon as he registers the taste of blood that lays on his tongue, he perks up.

...His head hurts.

And he's trapped in a glass cylinder.

The voice came from his left, and he turns, finding that Christopher is awake, aware, and fully clawing at the glass. "Red! I'm glad you're awake."

Red blinks. Is he glad that he's awake, though?

Yes. Yes, absolutely. Anything involving blood is enough to keep him awake forever.

"What had put me to sleep, anyway?" He rubs his neck, aware of a dull ache lingering there.

Christopher makes an attempt to bite at the glass. Clearly, he has been awake and peppy for a while now. "Sedatives."

Blake's voice comes from a cylinder to his left. "What's a 'sedative'?"

"It puts something to sleep." Chris rams his horns into the glass, but succeeds in doing nothing.

"No wonder." Red stands up. The edges of his claws-- and his hands, he realizes-- are splattered with dry blood. And his teeth. He knows they must be dark crimson, considering how vampirish he and his brothers were once they'd taken the lives of all twenty science-men. It still tastes delightful on his tongue.

He bites his nails. Bloody. I love this.

"What are you trying to do?" He turns to Chris, who has seemingly given up in his attempts to break the glass.

"I want to get out of here." Christopher's hands itch with the longing to kill. Dr. Roget had certainly succeeded in making them all miniature war machines. "I want to leave."

"And go where?" Red sneers.

"I don't know. Anywhere but here!"

All three of them pause. Their eyes fixate on the door at the back of the room. The most tantalizing scent wafts in from the hallway, and they each inhale it with excitement, eyes widening.

That's fear.

"Where is it coming from?" Blake presses himself against the glass. "Who's afraid?"

Red smiles. He folds his arms together. I've succeeded.

"The science-men," he mutters. "That's their fear."

"They are... afraid of us?" Blake asks timidly.

Christopher nods. "We killed twenty of them. They fear for their lives."

"And their fear is so great that we can smell it from here." Red inhales. The taste of blood and fear together is intoxicating. He, too, wants to leave these glass confines.

And do what? Drench the streets in blood and drown himself in it?

...No.

They'll find something to do once they leave. They must.

"Red," asks Blake, shifting, "do you think... there are humans like us?"

"Murderous humans?"

"No." Blake looks at him. "Little humans."

Little humans? Underdeveloped humans? Humans that aren't fully-grown and dressed in white and torturing them?

He chews on his talons.

"...Yes. Yes, I think so."

There must be little humans out there. Without thinking, he finds himself wondering if those little humans act the same as the white-coated science-men do, or if they are...

What's the word? Roget had once used it on them.

Innocent. Oh, yes, innocent.

He wonders if they are innocent.

*Part 7 coming soon...*