Beyond Beast Rank

Behind Closed Doors

A soft, mournful whine drifted through the narrow gap of the service door, wrapping around my heart like a cold, tightening fist.

I knew I should turn around right now and run back to my motorcycle. Every logical thought in my head warned me that slipping inside an illegal facility in the dead end industrial sector was a fast way to disappear forever. But the memory of that pitiful sound pushed my feet forward. I pulled the heavy iron panel wider, slipping my body through the crack into the dim interior before I could talk myself out of it.

The heavy door clicked shut behind me with a muffled thud, cutting off the howling wind of the rail yard.

The air inside hit my face like a wall of hot, chemical heat. It smelled thick of burnt copper, antiseptic fluid, and unwashed animal fur. I pressed my back against a stack of empty wooden crates, keeping my breath shallow and quiet while my eyes adjusted to the amber glow coming from overhead lamps.

From the outside, Warehouse Seventeen looked completely dead and abandoned. On the inside, it was a sprawling, high tech holding prison.

Massive steel beams stretched across the high ceiling, hung with heavy industrial pulleys and automated monitoring lenses that hummed softly in the dark. Rows of reinforced cages lined the concrete floor in every direction, stretching far back into the shadows of the building. Some cages were covered in thick black tarps, while others sat open to the harsh glare of white fluorescent lights overhead.

I gripped the strap of my delivery bag tighter, my knuckles aching from the pressure. My eyes darted across the rows of cages, taking in the nightmare unfolding around me.

These were not ordinary street dogs or house pets. They were supernatural beasts captured from the wild zones, many of them belonging to species I had only seen in textbooks during my school days. A large, scaled wolf lay motionless in the corner of a barred enclosure, its dark hide covered in nasty purple burns. Further down the row, a winged fox-like creature huddled with its tail curled tightly over its nose, trembling so hard the metal bars rattled against the concrete floor.

Almost every single creature showed signs of extreme exhaustion or physical abuse. Some bore jagged open wounds across their flanks, while others wore thick metal collars fitted with glowing red wires that pulsed with steady, threatening energy.

A metal workstation stood near the center of the floor, surrounded by high tech equipment that looked nothing like standard veterinarian tools. Glass vials filled with strange, glowing blue liquids sat next to digital screens flashing rapid data charts. Long rubber tubes, silver syringes, and surgical scalpels lay scattered across a bloodstained metal table.

My stomach heaved with a sudden wave of nausea. I had grown up believing the beast taming industry was a respectable path to honor and success. People revered academy tamers as heroes who worked alongside noble creatures. But looking at this hidden slaughterhouse, I realized the rich families and elite organizations built their power on cruelty and illegal suffering.

I took a slow step deeper into the dark aisle, trying to keep my scuffed boots from making a sound on the concrete. The smell of fear in the room was almost thick enough to taste. My mind raced as I thought about Lily back home, resting under her thin blanket. She believed the city was safe, guarded by noble tamers and powerful beasts, but here in the dark, the ugly truth lay exposed.

I pulled my delivery coat tighter around my chest, trying to stop the nervous shaking in my arms. Every instinct screamed at me to retreat, to leave the package on the floor and run out into the night before anyone found me. But my eyes stayed fixed on the rows of locked cages, horrified by the scale of the operation hidden behind these rusty walls.

My awakened talent flickered in the corner of my vision, picking up a faint trace of energy from a nearby cage.

Species: Iron Plated Boar. Weight: four hundred kilograms. Condition: critical.

The basic text flashed once and disappeared, offering no help and no comfort. My ability could not tell me what kind of chemical experiments these men were running, nor could it explain why innocent creatures were being torn apart behind closed doors. It was as useless inside this horror house as it was on the open streets.

I kept my body low, ducking behind another stack of wooden shipping crates as the sound of moving equipment echoed from the back of the room. I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief second, willing my pulse to slow down before it betrayed my position.

A sudden sound of boot heels clacking against the hard concrete echoed from the deeper section of the warehouse.

Low, rough voices rumbled through the air, coming closer from around a large stack of storage containers near the back wall. Someone was walking this way, checking the holding units before the next transport arrived.

"Make sure the suppressants are holding," a harsh voice called out from the dark. "If another one wakes up before the buyer gets here, boss will have your skin!"

"The needles are empty," a second voice replied with a cold grunt. "We need to refill the sedation tanks before midnight."

Panic surged through my veins, telling me to find a way out before they spotted my delivery jacket in the dim light. I scanned the walls for another exit, my heart beating so loudly I was certain the men would hear it over their own footsteps.

As I shifted my weight to step back toward the service door, my eyes caught something moving in a small, isolated cage tucked away in the darkest corner near the back wall.

It was much smaller than the other beasts, trapped behind thick glass instead of simple iron bars. Its dark fur was matted with dried blood, and its small frame lay completely still against the cold floor.

My breath caught in my throat. Its condition looked far worse than any other creature in the room.

Without thinking about the danger, my feet carried me forward across the concrete floor, drawing me closer to the small cage and the secret hidden inside.