Without Reward

Warning: Gore

Originally posted under a different account to fulfil a bet fairly.

The approaching facility was a harrowing structure. Appearing as a black silhouette over an empty grey sky, the cubic architecture was brimming with mystery. Surrounded by an impenetrable forcefield of sizzling cobalt beams of statically charged radiation, security was untraversable to those unwelcome. In either direction.

With an almighty groan, the lofty gates crawled open and the cab drove on through, halting with the direction of a black-clad soldier who swiftly approached the vehicle.

"Can I see some authorization?" He asked sternly, his cold eyes narrowed and his hands clasped behind his poker straight back.

Sending him a plastic smile and eyeing the (not so) subtle gun rested snug in its holster, Emily passed a tablet-like device through the car window, waiting with bated breath until she was given the all-clear.

Upon entering the establishment, the scent of medical-grade alcohol wafted into her nostrils and the white glare of the overhead lights caused her to squint a little. Approaching the front desk, Emily sent the receptionist her second false smile of the day, while trying to hide the fact that she was chewing gum. "'Hiya, I'm Emily. 'Ere to meet Doctor Harper?"

The anonymous woman nodded, barely sparing her a glance and tapping away at the transparent screen in front of her, before reaching up towards her headset. "You're the new hire I take it?"

The brunette gave a swift nod, the two buns on either side of her head nodding comically along with her. "Fillin' in janitor." She frowned at the strange glance sent her way, before adding: "Well...big facility like this. Someone 'as to clean this place."

With no chairs in the vicinity, she was given little choice but to stand around, shuffling her feet and fidgeting with the sleeve of her jumper while she waited. She considered checking her phone, though quickly deemed it unprofessional. Even if she was just the caretaker.

It took a couple of minutes before the awkward silence was broken by an orotund voice. "Emily Howell?"

The woman in question turned, immediately spotting a man in a lab coat approaching with a pleasant smile on his familiar face. "Owen?"

"There's trouble. I knew I recognised the name on your CV." He teased, bringing her into a brief hug.

"'Aven't you done well for yourself!" She mused, eyeing his lab coat and the circular glasses perched on his slender nose. "Ya look like a right geek."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Hmmm. I wish I could say the same for you." He sniggered as he was met with an abrupt wack to the shoulder.

"You might 'ave studied hard for a doctorate, but 'ave you 'ad a girlfriend yet?" She threw him a smirk, cocking an eyebrow.

"I have a wife and two kids." He deadpanned.

Her eyes widened and her jaw slackened in mock astoundment. "Wha' seriously? You?"

The two of them turned at the sound of the receptionist pointedly clearing her throat. With a sheepish chuckle and pointed look towards Emily, Owen began to lead her down one of the numerous maze-like corridors. "If you'll come with me, we'll get your uniform and show you around the facility."

Emily gave a thoughtful hum. "Got your work cut out for ya. I 'ad a look at the map they sent me. It's like a fuckin' labyrinth."

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

The halls of the institute weren't any dimmer than the entranceway and Emily's head had begun to pound a while ago. The navy boiler suit she was stuffed into stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the passing white lab coats, the utility belt around her waist jingled with every movement and the audible tapping of her converse against the pristine white marble floor preceded her several feet down the corridor. She cast her eyes over the plain white walls, ceilings and matching doors as they passed, the scent of alcohol seemed to follow them everywhere. "Minimalist design choice eh? I like it...bit sterile. 'Ave ya considered gettin' a plant or somethin'?"

Owen let out a chuckle. "This is a place for research. Why would we need plants?"

"It would...ya know, lighten things up a bit."

He side-eyed her. "You've not changed since school, have you?" Before she could retort, he abruptly turned to her and motioned towards the door they had come to a halt beside. "Now these corridors are all just labs, might as well show you inside one of them. They look mostly the same, you'll be cleaning this corridor on Wednesdays and Fridays."

Emily grimaced. "Friday night? Damn."

"Oh, and you'll need that lanyard to access certain areas of the building. Some areas are restricted to you but you won't be required to be in those areas anyway." Owen scanned his identification card, followed by Emily who then hung it around her neck. "Ah, no one's here. They'll be on their lunch break." He mused.

Entering behind him, Emily soon halted in her tracks. Everything in the spherical laboratory was colourless and the scintillating lights only seemed to intensify inside the testing area, to the point where black dots momentarily orbited her vision like swirling phantoms. She brought up a hand to rub her eyes, vaguely aware that Owen was speaking again. Probably something to do with her duties as the caretaker - but by the time she lowered her hands, she was no longer listening.

In the very centre of the lab stood a crooked figure held within a tank of bubbling green liquid - the transparent barrier between the two allowed her to see clearly every contour and detail of its body. Spindling wires and tubing were embedded all over its squamous form like tangled cable. Its arms hung limply by its side and its head lulled forward as if it were asleep - though it was forced to stand due to how narrow the tank was. Akin to a shadow, its onyx glistening scales appeared almost iridescent, depending on which angle the light reflected off of them. Its equally black wings appeared to be strung up and pinned to the curved glass walls of the enclosure and its torso seemed to warp and condense into something skeletal. Decaying flesh clung onto its protruding bones and the sets of horns on its head which may once have been menacing were crumbling away.

She gingerly approached the creature with wide eyes, her surroundings becoming little more than white noise. Like there was nothing else in the room - except for her and that creature.

She came nose to chest with the gargantuan reptile, tilting her head to the side as she gazed up at its monstrous face. It had a skeletal (virtually non-existent) nose and several protruding, enormous gnashers, each coming to a deadly point and overlapping raw, cracked lips which were pulled up into an eerie permanent smile. Its deep-set feline eyes were emitting a dull glow and its gaze was cast towards the blank floor, as if in a state of dormancy. The ghoul was an abomination and yet, in a strange way some aspects of its appearance could be considered quite beautiful.

Her heart gave a painful lurch when it's fuchsia orbs flickered to meet her own, its head tilting to the side to mimic her posture. She couldn't help but send a sympathetic smile towards the creature, which widened into a grin when she stood upright, and it again copied her movements. Tentatively, she reached out a hand towards the glass, placing her palm flat against the cool surface. Then like a jump scare in a horror movie, Emily reeled back when a grotesque clawed appendage banged against the oversized jar, its talons scraping down the glass like a plea for freedom and sending goosebumps rippling over her (thankfully) covered limbs.

"Creepy little fuckers aren't they?" Came suddenly from beside her. She only nodded in agreement, her dark eyes fixated on the shadowy figure before her.

A glance towards Owen revealed his eyes were narrowed and his top lip was curled up in repugnance. Her gaze resumed to the leviathan. "What the fuck is it?"

"You don't know?" He asked incredulously.

She shook her head, crossing her arms to rest her hands on her elbows. "Should I?"

"Oh, come on. Everyone knows a demon when they see one these days. Where've you been living, the dark ages?"

She abruptly turned to peer up at him, his eyes were still fixated on the supposed demon. "I'd 'eard stories growing up...about life before the B.I.R.D. I thought it was all just a conspiracy meant to attract tourists. Demons. Ha." Her coffee-coloured eyes met that of the creatures once more. "Seemed so ridiculous... I knew this was some kind of science base but I didn't think..."

"It's not exactly a secret. The public just doesn't tend to ask, because everyone knows. Well. Everyone except you." He said with a smirk.

"Why is it just standin' there? 'Asn't it tried to break the glass or anythin'?"

"Amazing isn't it? Only about half a century we've been studying the physiological makeup of demons. It's strange to think at one point we thought they were indestructible. But everything has a weakness. It just takes the right set of minds to find it."

"But wha' is it?"

Owen tore his gaze away from the live-specimen and stared at her for a moment with an almost mournful expression. Before she could ask again, the doors slid open and in marched a sea of white lab coats.

"I'll tell you later." He muttered, before beginning to lead her back out towards the hallway. "Come on."

Her gaze lingered on the creature before she turned and followed him from the lab. The thought of cleaning the laboratory while in the company of those beasts sent her imagination haywire and an inexplicable shudder forced its way down her spine.

Little was she aware of the otherworldly eyes fixated on her retreating form.

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

"And in here, is your base of operations. Sorry about the mess, the last guy in here just did his own thing."

Emily took great solace in the fact that the lights were substantially dimmer than the rest of the facility. Though the room was admittedly much smaller, (bordering on troglodytic) it was more colourful - which wasn't saying much. The worn grey walls were lined with industrial brass piping - as well as the occasional streak of neon yellow spray paint - which contrasted against the ink-spattered wooded floor. A plain desk and tattered chair sat in the corner, illuminated by a soft amber glow emitting from the old fashioned desk lamp. A heavy-duty tape deck sat on a rickety shelf nailed to the wall, which unidentifiable rock music was blaring from. Books and military memorabilia were strewn everywhere, the bookshelf looked like it hadn't been organised in years and was spilling onto the floor. A trolley filled with cleaning supplies as well as a broom, mop and bucket sat by the coat rack beside the door, where a gas mask and a spare pair of overalls hung. Newly disturbed dust swirled through the air and reflected off of the beams of light straining through the single boarded window.

Letting out a hacking cough, Emily managed to get out: "At least the computers up to date."

Owen gave a swift nod. "Yeah, and you can access the security cameras from your little cave here."

"How's that work? Care to demonstrate?" She frowned.

He strode over to the computer and turned on the screen, fingers swiftly dancing across the keyboard. Emily moved to look over his shoulder in anticipation. She noted the button signalling she could use the speakers throughout the facility and smirked inwardly, thinking of all the pranks she could pull with that particular function.

"What room do you want to have a look at?" Came from Owen. "One of the basement labs? They're always more interesting."

"Basement?" She wondered. "This is the ground floor."

He nodded. "Yeah. Underground, the specimens are more out in the open. That's where all the weapons testing happens. Ah, here we are."

Her eyes moved to the screen, her brows immediately furrowing. She moved closer to get a better look, her stomach churning at the footage which greeted her.

The lab appeared to be much more dark and grungy compared to the clean, white front the facility put on at the upper floors. True to Owen's word, the titanic creature was indeed out in the open, suspended in a sparse prison of sizzling cable and wrought iron. She could barely see the demon as it was being further obstructed by the other person in the room. Her eyes narrowed on the scientist who had his back towards the camera and a nondescript piece of machinery brandished in both of his hands. Keeping her gaze on the monitor, she remarked: "So when you said weapons testin'..."

"On them? Yeah. We've found chemical weapons to be more successful. That's what that green liquid was in the lab earlier. Keeps them permanently in a state of...inertness."

"...so that's what's being pumped into..." She referenced the neon green tubing branching out from the demon on the screen.

"Yep. It's mostly synthetic but we've found that female demons can secrete a weaker version of the chemical, which we've tried to mimic, increase in potency. It slows males down, we had a theory it was to prevent unwanted mating...uh, sessions."

Emily sniggered. "Hah. Demon sex." Though her chuckles soon died down and her eyes flickered to him. "Why are you tellin' me this? Isn't it like...top secret?"

"Like I said. It's not a secret. We've been aiming to manufacture weapons specifically designed to deal with Demons, so we have no choice but to publish-"

The two suddenly paused and Emily covered her ears when the most cacophonous screech she had ever heard blasted through the speakers. Her head snapped back to the screen and her jaw slackened. "It's bein' tortured!" She exclaimed, visually shrinking away from the scene unfolding in front of her. The anonymous scientist had clamped the bulky machine over its wings and turned it on, the creature's feathers immediately beginning to smoke and crackle like chicken wings on a barbecue.

The other scientist beside her only shook his head, clearly unfazed. "It's necessary. For the greater good. Think of all the people they've killed. Now we can get our own back."

She looked at him in disbelief. "But...harmin' them..."

"What did you think happened here? You thought they got belly rubs and head scratches, did you?" He snarked, peering at her with pursed lips.

She turned back to the screen, morbid curiosity preventing her from turning away. "Can't you show some pity?"

"Why should we? They never did."

She sent him a glare. "Take me down there. Now."

"No way." He shook his head adamantly, his brows knitting together into a bewildered frown.

She crossed her arms, expression mirroring Owen's. "Doesn't the room need cleanin'? It's a good excuse."

"Yeah well..." He muttered. "No one else will go near it since-"

"I will. And you can get me in there can't you?" She asked rhetorically, knowing full well he could.

"It's against-"

"Please?"

"I would be putting a risk to your safety by letting you in there." He tried, but she wasn't having a bar of it.

"I'll take the heat if anythin' 'appens. Scouts honour."

With a shake of his head, he gave a long-suffering sigh. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

She stuck her tongue out. "Just 'cause you're a chief scientist and I'm the janny."

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

"Don't get too close," Owen muttered, scanning his lanyard and making a grand gesture towards the steel door as it slid open.

She only nodded, eyeing the other scientists as they worked over at the computers. Owen sauntered over to watch the security feed showing the inside of the lab. She quirked an eyebrow, not bothering to question why he wouldn't just come in with her if he cared so much.

"Coward." she thought, briskly turning to enter what she had opted to call the prison cell.

The first thing she noticed upon crossing the threshold into the enclosure was the putrid stench of burning flesh. She hesitated at the open doorway, clenching her fists around the mop and bucket, turning her knuckles bone-white under the strain. The cell itself was dark and dingy, illuminated only by the cold light of the computer screens propped up against the wall. Natural daylight was non-existent as the room was thousands of feet below ground level. Grime and dust conglomerated in every crevasse possible to the point of opacity.

She swallowed her fear, keeping her eyes trained on the beast. It was in chains - clearly weakened, with concoctions of neon coloured chemicals being pumped into its veins through transparent medical tubing at numerous points along its golem form, not so dissimilar to the specimen she had seen upstairs. Electrical wiring and chains alike formed a sparse barrier around the creature and rose to meet the ceiling, before branching out like a tree and running towards miscellaneous machinery. All of which was lined with an amalgam of mismatched buttons and flashing lights, none of which made sense to Emily.

The demon didn't even look up at her when she entered, though she knew it was awake. Its blood-red eyes were wide open and staring at the grubby floor, its posture slumped and broken wings hanging limp at unnatural angles.

She subtly cast her gaze up towards the blinking security camera, knowing that Owen would be watching from outside. She almost laughed. That "demon" was harmless. She could clearly see that humans had done more harm onto it than vice-versa.

At the reminder of what she had witnessed, she dropped her cleaning tools onto the floor and took several determined steps towards the creature. Stopping just a breath away from it, she had to crane her neck to look up at its monstrous, flat face, which didn't even react to her presence.

"...'ello." She tried. However she failed to garner even the slightest response, not even did it blink. Silence enveloped the two and Emily's brows lowered in concern. "Are you in pain? Is there anythin' I can do? My name is Emily. What's yours?"

There was a drawn-out pause where the demon's dead-eyed stare didn't falter, before it finally answered her in a broken murmur: "...yes."

Emily tilted her head. It could actually speak? Its voice was brittle on the ears and sent involuntary shudders down her spine but she refused to falter in her interaction. She had come too far now. Corrugations formed on her forehead at her confusion. "...Wha'?"

The creature lifted its head, barely even possessing the strength to do so. "I... am in pain. They torture me. Yet still, they fear me." It paused, its dead eyes finding her own brimming ones, and then speaking with a gentle tone soft enough to bring forth a tear from the young woman, it asked: "Do you fear me?"

Its crimson orbs bore into her own and she felt her throat begin to constrict. "No..."

"I am on the verge of death..." It whispered with wavering resignation which juxtaposed its otherwise frightening appearance.

She fought against all of her instincts warning her, screaming at her to get away from it. Shaking her head, she was almost pleading. "No-! I...I want to help you. Some'ow."

Its chest seemed to rumble for a moment, before it continued. "I welcome death. But...I am glad that...before I die...I met a human, who was not afraid."

Her lips pressed into a grim line for a moment, before she tried: "Isn't their anythin' I can do?"

The demon didn't even entertain her question. "My race has been reduced to this... I should rather die than succumb to another century of this treatment."

She was undone.

Her shoulders shook with silent sobs, the humming of machinery in the background tunnelling and fading out into nothing. Owen's warning seemed so silly now, what harm could a creature with a death wish pose?

With a flood of hot tears meandering down her cheeks, she took a step closer to the beast, immersing herself among the wires pumping its veins full of narcotic liquid and effectively restraining it. Shakily, she raised her hand to touch its arm, hearing the door slide open and hurried footsteps make their way towards her.

"Emily!"

The moment her hand made contact with its rough skin, she flinched back with a yelp. It's scales burned to the touch like explosive molten rock, catching her off-guard and making her stagger back into the bundle of wiring plugged into the demon, promptly yanking them out with the weight of her body falling over them and sending neon and crimson liquid squirting everywhere.

Emily was yanked back and immediately came face to face with the glaring blue eyes of Owen. "What the fuck have you done?!"

The unnamed demon was chuckling darkly, its monstrous hands moving to rip out the remaining wires from its body without so much as a flinch and the chains wrapped around the beast were snapped as if they were made of graphite. "Ah, that's much better. I can move again, thank you very much." The room lights began to flicker as the machinery began to spark and malfunction, suspending the room in darkness for only half a second.

However when the room was illuminated again - this time in red to the tune of blaring alarms - Emily screeched upon seeing her childhood friend in the clutches of the demon. "Let 'im go!"

Without even sparing her a glance, the starving beast opened its dagger-filled mouth and devoured the screaming scientist in one foul chomp. The crude sounds of bones crunching and the tearing of flesh accompanied blood spurting in a stream over the industrial floor, some of it getting on Emily, who had frozen and was staring at the scene with wide eyes.

Tears of an entirely new kind filled her eyes and her throat suddenly felt raw from screaming. Adrenaline kicking in, she fled the cell, pushing the emergency button to deadlock the door behind her and being met outside with several military personnel, each of them brandishing guns towards the door. The scientists had scampered off upon seeing Emily stumble on the still-running security feed. "It's killin' 'im do somethin'!"

Moving to stand behind the group, she was aware of each of them frantically murmuring to each other, one of them speaking lowly into the radio on their uniform vest.

Facility shutdown protocol initiated. All personnel to evacuate immediately.

The warning came over the speakers and the entire facility became cloaked in crimson red light.

Her hands covered her mouth and her wide eyes bore holes into the steel door, her stomach constricting as a wave of nausea threatened to claw its way up her throat. "It's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault..."

The door was blown open easily, and the shadowy figure which appeared in the threshold was met with a symphony of gunfire. Emily jumped, swiftly moving to cover her ears.

Her fear reached its zenith when the demon began to advance towards them, the bullets firing into it clearly ineffective - as they were meant to deal with human threats. As it came towards them with a grin on its face and its burning crimson eyes focused on Emily, the young woman began to quiver.

"Oh God, this is it. It's goin' to kill me. Kill all of us."

However, when it simply turned and began advancing towards the computers she frowned, as bullets continued to be shot towards the creature. Not once did it falter, casually sauntering across the room with the tips of its wings dragging along behind it.

One soldier turned to address another who was standing by Emily. "Joseph, get her out of here." He commanded. With a motion of his head, the guard gestured for her to follow. "Follow me."

All guards to converge on level minus forty-nine immediately.

Tumultuous alarms continued to blaze over the facility as tears streamed down Emily's cheeks while she ran behind the soldier. Owen was dead because of her mistake. He had a family. And it was all her fault. If she made it out alive she knew she would be out of the job - no doubt about that.

On their way, they bypassed a phalanx of soldiers with guns charging down to re-capture the demon and a part of her almost felt sorry for it. She scowled internally, cursing her soft heart.

"Civilian! Make way!" Came from Joseph.

"Wait! Wha' about the lifts?!" She called after him when they bypassed the elevators.

"Don't work under the shutdown! Move!" He called back, adrenaline urging them on until they eventually came to the staircase and began to ascend. As they climbed the stairs, Emily strained to hear the voices coming from Joseph's radio:

"It's draining power!"

"Abandoning lab eight-oh-two!"

The last thing they heard was a chorus of screaming before the line went dead and they exchanged wide eyes.

Emily came to a halt, wheezing as she stood leaning heavily on shaking legs.

"It'll be coming! Hurry up!"

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Emily followed the soldier to the landing, peering down the flight of stairs as she cursed her apparent lack of fitness. Her heart frantically hammered against her ribcage and her vision swam as her hands clenched around the railing in a vice. She barely resisted the urge to screech when the blood-soaked demon emerged at the bottom of the staircase and instantly locked eyes with her. That was way too fast.

Joseph pointed his gun at the creature, to which it responded with a menacing chuckle. "Your weapon will do nothing. It would be far more productive of you to put a bullet in your own brain." It sneered.

"Look 'ere demon." Emily tried, knowing full well she couldn't outrun it. But it was an intelligent creature. It could listen. "I know you where bein' tortured and all that. And that was wrong. But you don't have to kill any more people."

The demon cocked its head to the side, beaming. "But I'm having so much fun." And with that, it began to inch up the steps, at a snail's pace. Playing with its food - it could clearly move faster than that. Its wings were still warped and singed in areas but externally it didn't show any signs of discomfort.

Joseph remained with his gun pointed towards the slowly advancing creature. Emily backed away, calling out to him: "Come with me! That gun won't work!"

"I'll buy you time. Run!"

Not having any time to argue with him (or call him stupid), she turned to sprint down the corridor, which to her dismay looked exactly the same as the one they had come through downstairs. She had no idea where she was going but she knew she had to get to the ground floor. She could see the staircase at the other end of the hallway and pushed herself as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't even pause when she heard Joseph's resounding screams - the dim lights in the corridor continuing to flicker ominously.

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

She had made it about three levels up when she encountered the sealed bulk-heads, the only barrier between her and the next floor. She slowed to a halt, massaging her aching side and continuing to breathe heavily. Frantically taking the lanyard from around her neck, she moved to scan her card.

Access denied.

Her heart lurched painfully in her chest and a deep scowl plastered itself on her face. "What? Don't fuckin' do this now." She scanned again, her clammy hands gripping the ID card in a vice.

Access denied.

She brought a clammy hand to her forehead. "No! No! No!" She battered her fists against the concrete in a storm of blows, before leaning her head against it and starting to weep. Owen's disembodied voice echoed in her head with the terrible realisation that she couldn't get out.

"Oh, and you'll need that lanyard to access certain areas of the building. Some areas are restricted to you but you won't be required to be in those areas anyway."

It was Owen's card that had gotten her down there, she wasn't even supposed to be there. Without Owen's card, she was stuck. And going back down to try and retrieve it from his remains (if there was any) was out of the question. Turning to face the other way, she caught sight of the demon's shadow rounding the corner like a dancing apparition. Even in what little light there was, she was able to see the clear shape of its horned skull and colossal wings.

"Oh~ is my little mouse finally trapped?" Its brittle voice made her push back against the door, staring with wide eyes as the miscreation stalked towards her like a hungry tiger.

She inched her hand down to her utility belt, wrapping her hands around the handle of a claw hammer and waiting for the right moment to strike. If she was going down, she was going down fighting.

"I must thank you, really. If it weren't for your soft heart I wouldn't be free... You were so easy to fool."

Emily knew he could move faster than that. He was relishing in her fear for as long as possible before bringing her to a gruesome end. "Why are you doin' this?!"

Clenching his scaled hands into fists, he ground out, coming to a stop in front of her. "I'm stronger than you. Your bones snap like promises. I will slaughter you like the cattle you are."

She flinched, but grit her teeth and glared up at him through tearful eyes. She thought about Owen and all of the soldiers who had fallen at the hands of this freak of nature. "They're all dead because of you!"

A manic cackle thundered from the beast which sent reverberations through the concrete wall at Emily's back and rattled her skull. "On the contrary. They're all dead because of us."

Her only regret was that it was all so terribly true. All she could do was hang her head in shame. And to think it was only her first day. She stood trembling beneath him - completely at his mercy. To think she had pitied him! "Well go on then. What are you waitin' for?" Her voice quivered and her words came out as little more than a breathless gasp.

The beast snarled aloud in a savage laugh. "Let this be a lesson. Showing mercy is a weakness." Now that he was stood directly towering over her quivering form, she retracted the hammer in her grasp and swung it towards its grinning face in a last-ditch effort.

Immediately she found her wrist pinned above her head with the demon's claws tearing into her flesh. She clenched her teeth, forced to drop the hammer to the ground with a resounding bang. The creature above her tutted, lowering itself to her eye level. "Such a disappointingly weak race."

"I think it's us that 'ad you locked up. And we 'ave more of your species under lock and key - who's the weak one now eh?" Her lips curled up into an arrogant smirk. However, it was short-lived.

It let out a venomous hiss, opening its void of a mouth and lurching forward. Emily shut her eyes, cringing back and awaiting her demise.

Inspiration: Dalek by Robert Shearman (DW S01E06)

I might continue this one day, marking as complete for now though.