Defining Mankind

Part 2: Lock and Key

The loud beeping of a heart monitor wake Yami up, finding himself in an unfamiliar room. He looks around the room he finds himself in with confusion, the grey metal walls unfamiliar to him. The room is almost entirely empty besides the bed Yami sleeps on, a screen with what we can assume are his vitals, and a camera nestled in the corner. As he sits up a noise comes from above the door, after looking closer he sees a speaker hidden in the wall.

"Yamino, glad to see you awake, I've been excited to interact with you." A chilling voice hanging with a grim fascination comes through.

"Where am I, where is Fiona or Abbie? Why did you lock me up?" Parts of Yami worries he's been kidnapped after not joining them the other day.

"They're safe in their bunker with the rest of the rats. I guess that's not a proper analogy because you are also going to be a rat, my lab rat." The man snickers and the speaker clicks off.

"What are you going to do to me? I'm not a part of them, I told them I didn't want to join."

"That was a dumb choice, now only your senile aunt will miss you on the rare occasion she remembers you. But not to worry, we'll make sure you live as long as possible." With another click silence fills the room.

     Thoughts start racing through Yami's head, how much do they know about him, what kind of tests will he have to endure, and will he be saved? He sits there toiling with his every thought for hours, until the door unlocks and opens. A round room with a medical bed that sits surrounded by drawers and cabinets. Yami cautiously takes a step in the room, carefully looking around it. As he finds his way to the center a new speaker clicks on.

     "Yamino, please lay on the bed and we can start the examination."

     "No, I've heard what you assholes do to people."

     "I hope you've realized you're in a secure and secret laboratory? You will do what you're told or we will do it by force, and we will not be gentle. I'm not a patient man Yamino, if you resist I will show you new worlds of pain." The voice's tone sounds dead serious, a threat that will be followed through with.

     "Okay, I'll lay on the bed." Yami sighs and lays on the bed, anxious on what'll happen to him next.

     "Good, since you behaved I'll let you sleep through this. If you misbehaved though, next time you'll be wide awake for our procedures."

     A sharp sting pierces his neck again and within seconds the world fades away, almost. Yami is stuck in darkness, unable to move, open his eyes, or speak but his ears remain open. A door opens and two pairs of footsteps enter the room and stop at Yami, silently looking over him.

     "Sir, didn't we already examine this subject when he came in last night?" A young female's voice comes from above Yami's face.

     "We did, but his body put up a decent fight against the neutralizers and we didn't have time to put his chip in." The voice from the speaker emits from just above his right arm.

     "Right, I forgot we didn't do that. I did notice in his file his body temperature is extremely low, only peaking at fifty on occasion."

     "Good, do you know what that means?"

     "That the chip may malfunction due to the cold?"

     "Partly right, it also means any drugs we put in his system will not spread as efficiently as we'd like. His body could even filter them out before he's even effected in some cases."

     "That's incredible, his body can isolate and freeze foreign substances and filter them out with little effect to his body."

     "Perfect, you're a quick study, and since you are a such a promising student. Would you like to take over this subject?"