Night of the Animal

The Experiment

I must be extremely out of shape, because after I had run one mile on the treadmill, I wanted to quit, and I tried slowing down to get off.  "No, you are going to run nine more before you quit," Justin told me as he sat in a chair reading my heart rate and hydration levels.  I glared at him and tried to brace myself for more running.  Sweat ran down my face, and my chest heaved at five miles.  My legs felt like jelly, and my mind was doubtful. This is pure torture.  This had to have been a torture technique before, just HAD to have been.  When I felt like collapsing, the treadmill reached ten miles, and I stopped gasping.  

"Here's some water, drink it," Justin ordered as he held out the water.  I grabbed the cup and drank every drop, feeling the water relinquish my body.  "Now, sit-ups.  You only have to do one hundred and fifty,"  Justin explained as I flopped myself onto one of the mats.  Sit ups hurt more than I expected when you do them the right way, surprisingly.  My stomach felt the impact at ten, and I just pushed myself.  All this breathing was hurting my throat, and I found it sore by the time I did one hundred of the sit-ups.

It was impossible to say how long I was doing the workout, but I was exhausted by the end of it.  "Let me lead you to your room.  It's better than the others, because you're valuable to us," Justin said, but I was too tired to listen to him, so I just followed.  We went out into the hall, where everything was strangely quiet, and he led me into all sorts of hallways until I walked into a dark blue colored room.  There was a cot with fluffy blankets stacked on top of each other, and food was splayed out in another corner with a note that said, Eat Me.

I was too tired to eat, so I collapsed onto the bed and burrowed my face into the pillow.  "Crypto, you must eat or we will inject it into you.  Pick one."  I grunted and got regretfully out of the bed.  sitting on the cold floor, I looked over the food and saw it was just some cafeteria junk with bread.  Suddenly, I felt so hungry, though, and I picked up the metal spoon to eat.  I noticed the room was clean, unhealthily so, with every inch of it smelling like dull cleaning solution.  The soup tasted terrible, as if someone scraped the last of it onto my plate.

Even so, I ate it, and the bread with it.  The bread tasted normal, so I didn't have to chug it down.  There was juice in a cup next to it as well, so I drank every last drop not caring what kind it was.  I trudged myself to the bed and lay, instantly falling asleep as soon I was under the covers.  I was overwhelmed in a wave of darkness and there was joy in me in feeling that I did not have a care in the world.  That I was just darkness in the night.

I snapped awake at the sound of an ear-splitting high-pitched noise.  It felt like I had barely gotten any sleep and my muscles felt sore and stiff.  My head throbbed in what I think is an early sign of sickness.  The door to the room opened, and I saw Justin standing in the brightness that flooded in from the hall.  "Morning," he said then gestured for me to come and follow.  I don't really have a choice now, do I?

I got out of bed gradually, feeling all of the muscles creak in protest.  I didn't feel any stronger than I did the day before.  If anything, I feel weaker.  I followed Justin out the door, and got into the hallway.  My eyes surveyed the hall, and found that the room I had just come out of was partially covered in notes, with one that read "Crypto" and I sighed as my eyes scanned the door.  My breath caught when I read one of the pinpoints.

Topic 89- Doctor Weiss

-Animal: dog, cat species

-(later): horse

-(last): extinct

"Come with me," Justin saw where I was gazing and pushed me foreword forcibly.  What are they going to do with me?  But, I think I already half knew the answer.  What does every mad scientist do in the movies?  My thoughts were jerked out of my brain as I entered the room.  I don't even remember walking to it!  Justin pushed me on to a bed and chained me down.  "You should be grateful we are doing this, you know.  You are the first one.  You are our experiment.  Our most valuable."  Justin said in a dreamy voice and started to connect me to the machine.

I thrashed about while under the chains.  I do NOT want these weirdos to touch me!  But I knew it was too late.  It was too late as soon as I had gotten out of my car the day in New Orleans.  "Stop this at once!" Justin commanded.  I wanted to scream all my feelings to him, to tell him how much of a mistake he is making, but nothing came out, of course.  "Girls, they sure are silly things."  Justin laughed, and I wanted to hit him in the jaw; to see when it will crack.  My eyes narrowed angrily.

Then, the door opened and the Doctor stepped through, with his usual clipboard and utensils.  "Let's get this over with.  See if we are able to do this."  he grunted, and I shivered involuntarily.  How much will this hurt me?  Will I ever be able to see the light of day again?  All thought faded from my mind as I saw the needle.  It was so big and shiny.