Lab Rats

Chapter 4

I wrote it and reread it like once, can you tell? 

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We all exchanged grim looks before the guards took us separate ways. Mine took me through a maze of corridors that I hadn't been down many times, but enough to know what was coming and I braced myself.

We entered a small, rectangle shaped room. The walls were a dingy yellow, and there were control panels lining the long wall opposite the wall with the door I'd just passed through. There were seats lined up behind the controls and on the wall above them was a large window that spanned the wall. It was tinted black now so I couldn't see what was on the other side, but I already knew. The tint would fade away once I was on the other side of that wall so they could observe. I don't know why they even bothered tinting it anymore.

Four men in pressed white lab coats were in the chairs lining the control panel, going over last-minute checklists and making notes before we started the experiment. Of course the head "scientist" was Dr. Fabel. He had been in charge of studying me for the past six years. Upon my arrival, he looked up from what he was doing and joined me near the door where the two guards still stood on either side of me, making sure I wouldn't try to make a break for it.

"Good to see you again, D-12," he said with mock cheerfulness. "How have you been? It's been a few days."

I didn't answer.

"Eager to get started today, are we?"

I bit my lip to keep back a snide retort. I'd developed a strong sarcastic streak and it had gotten me in trouble many times before. I'd learned that those comments aimed at Fabel could result in experiments being worse than they needed to be, and today was a day I most definitely didn't want to test my luck.

He turned to the guards and dismissed them, then to me he said, "Let's go through that door, shall we?" and led me through a door on the far left wall. It opened into a tiny white room that was really more of a closet. The walls were lined with metal lockers and the doctor jangled a keyring around for a moment before opening one and pulling out a pair of white sweat pants to hand to me. I changed while he was busy opening another locker and taking out some electrodes with wires attached as well as a vial and syringe. He turned back to me and looked disapprovingly at my shirt. He stuck his free hand out, palm up, and made upwards motions with it.

"Off."

I obeyed and stripped my shirt off. He glanced down at the angry red lines starting on my left side just under my rib cage and disappearing under the hem of my sweats. He gave a disapproving frown and even though this man could go to hell for all I cared, I still felt my face burn with embarrassment. Even though it was impossible for anyone here not to know, and it wasn't like any of the staff even cared, I still didn't like people looking at them. Fabel then started sticking the electrodes to my chest and temples in perfectly practiced symmetry. These were just to monitor my vitals. The real testing happened behind the glass. He clipped the small black box that all the wires led to onto the hem of my pants and then grabbed my left arm with one hand and picked the shot up from where it rested at the edge of the open locker with his other hand. He injected it into my bicep, commenting on how he couldn't have me passing out during the test. It stung, but it was nothing compared to everything else I'd been put through and I didn't react. Once he had finished and disposed of the needle, he led the way to the far corner of the room where there was a gap in the lockers for a door.

"Go through there please."

I wanted to yank off his stupid electroids and crap and through it at his head. But I knew that would ultimately end with me being even more miserable than if I just did what he said, so I bit back my anger and stepped through the door. As soon as I did, my hands started shaking as the combination of fear and the injection hit me. I dug my fingers into my pant legs, trying to calm the tremors..