The Smiling Cat: Experiment 1188

Chapter 7: Poppy Gas

Theo looked around and saw the hospital, white and sterile. He saw doctors, nurses, and guards. He saw the machines, the wires, and the devices. He saw the scars, the wounds, and the implants.

He saw the horror.

He was too weak to scream, cry, and sob. Too weak to pull of the tubes, rip the wires, kill these people for what they did to him.

"After months, we finally have Experiment 1188 – CatNap." One of the scientists watching from outside said.

"Good, I'll talk to him now." Said Dr. Sawyer, as he opened the door to the room.

Theo looked up at Dr. Sawyer and was greeted with a sly smile.

"Ah, Theodore Grambell, or should I say, CatNap," Sawyer said, his voice dripping with a sinister charm. "Your purpose, my dear CatNap, is to ensure the sweet slumber of our little guests in Home Sweet Home. You are the guardian of the Playcare now – the cornerstone."

Theo's heart sank as he listened to Sawyer's words. He had hoped to escape the horrors of Home Sweet Home, but fate had other plans for him. The notorious Playcare facility had been a front for sinister experiments on children, and now, as CatNap, he was bound to carry out an unsettling duty.

Sawyer continued, "You now contain a special concoction in your respiratory system – a non-lethal but potent version of Poppy Gas. Your task is to use it to put the children to sleep every night. A dreamless slumber, they call it. It's what we used to put you to sleep during your surgery."

Theo, now CatNap, felt a shiver run down his spine. The responsibility placed upon him was a burden he never anticipated. The very substance that had robbed him of his innocence was now his to control. The Poppy Gas, once a weapon against him, had become an instrument of his dark duty.

Sawyer's eyes glinted with an unsettling satisfaction as he watched Theo absorb the weight of his new role. "Remember, Theodore, you are not just a guardian. You are the Sandman of Home Sweet Home, lulling the children into a sleep from which they may never wake."

The Doctor disconnected Theo's mutated body from the wires and helped him up.

Theo wanted to attack him, but was too weak, too weak to even stand without Dr. Sawyer tightly tugging his arm.

"Now," Sawyer takes CatNap out the room, "It's time you meet the other Smiling Critters."