Bernard made his way up and out of the stranged cage room. He was trying to make a desision on whether or not to tell Terrance what happened.
Atlast he reached the big steel door at the top of the stairs. Slowly, he pushed the handle
It was locked. Bernard felt his heart speed up again. This can't be! Was he gonna be locked in here? Just then he remembered the window that the other half-breed escaped from. "I can't get out there!" Bernard said aloud to himself.
Bernard quickly ran back down the steps, he tripped over the last two but didn't care. All he wanted to do was get out of here. As he tried to get up again he lost balance and fell flat.
"Ow!" he shut his eyes tight as the pain ran through his chin and chest. When he opened them again he noticed something odd in front of him. It was some sort of circle shaped, clear stone. His dark brown eyes still set firmly on the stone, he sat up and rubbed his chin.
The guy from the cage must've dropped it, he thought. Reluctantly, he picked the circle stone up, it had about the diameter of his index finger and very shiny.
"Oi you!"
Bernard quickly put the stone in his coat pocket and turned to face the tall man with one of the long white coats. He didn't look very happy.
Bernard started to explane. "Sorry, the door was op-"
"What are you doing out of the cage?"
Oh no, Bernard thought. He dosn't really think I'm the half-breed from the cage does he?
"Come on. It's your turn anyway." The man reached in his pocket and took out a large needle with yellow fluid inside it.
Bernard gasped and stood up, terrified. "W-wait! You don't understand! I- I was with the class, y'know the one from Nightthrone! I'm not supposed to be here!-"
"Yeah yeah yeah, hurry up and let's make this easy."
Bernard tried to run past the man, but he was grabbed by the shoulder and thown down. Bernard gritted his teeth as he hit the floor. The man kneeled down beside him and grabbed his face. Bernard tried desperatly to break free, but the man pushed his face over to the left, leaving his neck bare. The next thing Bernard felt was a sharp pain in his neck, after that, he drifted off.
The bulb above Bernard was switched on. It was the first thing Bernard saw as he woke from his unatrual slumber. Pain in his head was the first thing he felt, and deep male voices were the first things he heard.
"Are you sure this is the right one? I'm sure the file said he was a cat!"
"Trust me! There were no freaky half-breeds in that room cleaning itself and going 'meow meow'! There was just this thing sitting on the floor."
"Fine fine."
Bernard attempted to open his eyes multiple times but the light was too bright for him. His headache was getting worse by the minute.
"He has such a beautiful coat. It's so white."
"Typical for you to make such a big deal out of a fucking mutant!"
"What breed of dog do you think he is."
"Who cares!? Just start the procedure!"
Bernard tried to sit up, this was when he realised that he was strapped down. What are they going to do to me? He thought. I have to get out of here! I want to get out of here.
"I'm unbuttoning his jacket."
Bernard could feel the man tugging at his coat.
"Oh.."
"What's the matter now?"
"The poor thing is scared."
Darn my stupid tail, Bernard thought. Come on just open your eyes and get out! He could here rustling of paper and scribbling from a pen.
"Experiment- twelve, chemical- hordophia. Subject- dog-like, male, under 20's, theory-"
"That this one dosn't die."
DIE?
Bernard had never been so scared in his life. I have to get out! Please just let me go! Please please!
He felt a pinch in his arm, they were injecting the chemical.
I just want out. I wish I was home, just let this end! I wish I was in my room! I wish-
"Bernard!?"
"Let go of me! Let me go let me go! I'm not supposed to be here I -"
"Barny?"
Bernard opened his eyes. There was no bright light. He wasn't strapped down. He was in his room. With his sister sitting at his bedside.
"Looks like someone had a bad dream." Vibien laughed. "Just came up to say that dinner will be ready soon."
Bernard was panting heavily and sweating like a pig. "Oh." he panted. "Um...ok."
Vibien gave her brother a warm smile before leaving his room.
Bernard sat up straight and held his head in his hands. "It was all just a dream," he said to himself. "What a relief!"
The rest of the day was spent in Bernards room. He layed there on his bed and rested. Despite it being all a dream, he was exhausted through the day. Even when Terrance called he didn't pick up the phone. It was a day for the bedroom as far as Bernard knew.
He woke up from his third nap in that day. The sky was dark, as it had been since after four. Bernard checked his clock.
"one-thirty," he whispered tiredly. After stretching his arms and legs he yawned and sat up straight. "So if I didn't go on that trip, what did I do today?" he asked himself.
"Do you enjoy being this worthless?"
Bernard couldn't beleive it. He recognised this voice, but he dreamt it!
"Wha! Wh- where are you?" Bernard jumped up to a stand on his bed.
From the shadow of his door came the same half-breed from the university. His face as grim as ever.
"You!" bernard barked. "It can't be! I dreamt it! You're not real! You can't be!-"
The half-breed hissed at the confused dog-like. "Stop being so childish!" he snapped before grabbing the boys arm and pulling up his sleeve. "What do you see on your arm?"
Bernard was reluctant to look, but there, on the opposite side of his elbow, was a needle's prick mark. It was then Bernard realised that that was from when he was on the table with the two men.
"But how did I get out?"
The cat-like shrugged."I don't know how and I don't care. Now where is it?"
"Where's what?"
The half-breed pushed Bernard back to a sit possition on his bed."Back at the lab there was a gem. That gem is important, so very very important and you have it!"
Bernard remembered the gem he found on the floor of the cage room. He put it in his coat pocket, but he didn't know where the coat was. "I put it in my coat pocket, but..." Bernard trailed off.
The cat-like backed away from Bernard and pulled open the doors of his wardrobe and rumaged inside. After a few moments he pulled out the gem, but it was a different colour. "No!" The half-breed clenched the gem tightly in his hand.
"What's wrong?" Bernard asked, still on his bed.
The cat-like turned to Bernard with a confused look. "Let me see your eyes!" he ordered.
Bernard was now also confused.
The cat-like stared at the gem and Bernard, horrified. He then paced toward Bernard and grabbed his face roughly.
"What- Whatare you doin- ahhr"
"Shut up!" he bared his fangs and shook his head as he carefully observed Bernards eyes. "How!?" he yelled at the boy. "It's impossible! You!? You!?"
Bernard shook the half-breed's hands off of him. "You think you're confused!?" he whined.
The half-breed had put up with Bernard for long enough, he lifted the back of his hand and struck it across Bernards left cheek. Bernard let out a whimper before holding his cheek.
"Do you realise what you've done, you stupid boy!?"
Bernard felt like crying, he could feel his eyes filling up.
The half-breed started to pace up and down the floor of Bernard's bedroom, trying to think of a solution to his unknown problem.
That was when he stopped, his back to Bernard. The dog-like could see him doing something with his hands."What are you doing?" Bernard asked.
The cat-like chuckled softly. "I have a solution! One that will be good for the both of us."
Bernard smiled for the first time all day. "That's great! So what are you gonna do?"
The cat-like nodded and turned to face the happy Bernard.
Bernard's smile faded when he saw the stone-now dark brown- in his left hand, and a pen-knife in the other.
"Now stay still so that I can make this as quick as painless as possible."