[hr]

[center]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/usHnT0i.png[/img]
[h2][color=turquoise]//BIO-STORAGE, INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE[/color][/h2]
[sup]May 12, 4:15am[/sup]
[/center]

Countless vaults decorated the walls of the bio-storage unit, built and organised in a uniform, prison-like fashion. The doors to each cell were composed of glass, double-glazed and bearing a set of steel security bars inbetween the two panes. Occasionally, one would find that the glass had been cracked; an indicator of an accident or incident, awaiting repair. The walkways which climbed the vast walls had been emblazoned with numbers, marking each cell with a digit from 2-128. The vacant cells towards the end of the block were yet to hold a number, but that would not always be the case.

The cells themselves, generous in size, usually contained what could easily be described as a standard bedsit, with a double bed, desk, and digital billboard being the standard protocol for furnishing. Each room, however, had been specifically personalised to suit its inhabitant; moodlights were common, as were water features and radio systems. This was an area of rest, and so The Institute aimed to pacify its abnormal community.

The main exit of the bio-storage led out and into a multi-level, grand atrium; highly maintained and pristine in condition. The open roof could be closed remotely, and the ground had been paved with stones and accented with greenery. Several seating facilities had been strewn across the different balconies, and a computer-controlled cafe was situated within the Eastern wall. The atrium served as a lobby for other facilities, including three separate gyms, several shared bathing facilities, and the rarely-used auditorium.

At the stroke of the fifteenth minute of the hour, the billboards of around 30 cells flickered on, accompanied by a crude alarm sound which lasted for around ten seconds. A message faded onto the LED screen, capitalized in green font:

[hr]
[quote][sub][color=green]//:DEAR RECIPIENT

YOU HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO ATTEND THE AUDITORIUM AT PRECISELY 6:00AM THIS MORNING. AS THIS IS AN HOUR BEFORE CURFEW RELEASE, AN INSTITUTE EMPLOYEE WILL ATTEND AND MANUALLY RELEASE YOUR DOOR. FROM THERE, YOU WILL HEAD DIRECTLY TO THE AUDITORIUM AND BE SEATED.

NON-COMPLIANCE IS NOT AN OPTION. ::[/color][/sub][/quote]
[hr]

[center]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/20FiMoE.png[/img]
[h2][color=turquoise]//AUDITORIUM, INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE[/color][/h2]
[sup]May 12, 5:55am[/sup]

[h2][sup]CENTIPEDE[/sup][/h2]
[/center]
[i]That sound... that horrible, horrible sound. Shut up.[/i]

Alma's eyes peeled open, her eyelids sticking together from her deep slumber. She glanced upwards from her rest, wincing as the bulb of her room flickered and struggled before becoming static, flooding the cell with a dim sheet of light. The message which had been displayed on her billboard stung her tired retinas, and she sighed deeply as the words eventually processed. [i]Ah.[/i]

With slow, almost painful movements, the girl used her arms to lift herself from the floor. Indeed, her bed had been completely stripped, and Alma slept instead upon a pile of pillows and sheets which she had piled up comfortably across the floor. Her back was as heavy as ever, and her spine arced slowly as her tendrils writhed and stretched. They scuffled gently against the flooring, and her loose bedding shifted beneath their movement. The cold hit her bare skin cruelly, projected by the air conditioning which she had forgotten to turn down. Unfortunately, clothing often didn't cater for special conditions such as Alma's, and so she was made to sleep in the nude. Not that it mattered; the shutters to her room were always kept down during curfew, and Alma's concept of modesty often didn't apply at the best of times anyway.

After a few minutes of feeling sorry for herself, Alma had plucked herself from the floor, and zipped the front of her suit up over her chest. She used her appendages to fix the buckle around the back of her neck, carefully working around the metallic surface of her shock collar. As she pulled her hair from beneath it, she heard the shutters of her room creak and lift, and turned over her shoulder to watch as the glass door lifted with it. A single Institute guard stood outside on the walkway, with one of the remotes to her shock collar at hand.

[color=olive]"I could have been naked."[/color] Alma spoke in humour, but she did not smile.

"Straight to the auditorium, Number 2." The guard did not entertain her remark, and stepped back towards the edge of the walkway to allow Alma passage. A wry smirk pulled at the corner of her lips, and she stepped from her chambers, catching sight of the dark circles which painted beneath her eyes in the reflection of the guard's visor. Her tendrils dragged behind her lazily, and ended up dragging one of her bed sheets across the doorway. Looking up, she caught sight of several more guards; all positioned on higher walkways and bearing down upon her. Her gaze shifted back over her shoulder to the one who followed behind her. Of course, it'd be so easy to just...

Alma's short walk paused just before the door to the atrium, and she turned to her left size, staring down an elongated corridor. Of which, the number '1' had been painted above the doorway. Her head tilted, and her expression remained almost solemn.

"Move along." The guard gestured for her to proceed.

[color=olive]"Will she be joining us today?"[/color]

"I said move along."

[color=olive]"Roger."[/color]

Alma was the first to arrive in the atrium; understandable, since she imagined they were being collected in numeric order. It seemed strange to her, that they would gather so many of her siblings in one area. The auditorium was huge, no doubt, but Alma frowned slightly as she took one look at the folding seats. [i]Christ.[/i] Her extra limbs curled in, and she sat on the floor a few feet in front of the first row of seating. Seating arrangements were such a pain.

Her expression blinked in wonder as she looked towards the head of the auditorium, observing The Director as he fumbled with papers and technology, all behind a reinforced glass screen. [i]How peculiar. What's going on?[/i] She awaited the arrival of her siblings tiredly, her head swaying sometimes as she longed to return to sleep.