Vein

Chapter 4

My heels clack against the tiled floor of the lobby. Eyes turn to stare but I couldn't care any less. I burst into my lab where my new project had arrived and my promising mentee was there.

"Dr. Veinar! You're back!"

I scoffed. Of course I'm back. "Tell the coffee lady that I need something stronger than what I usually take."

"O-okay?"

I pushed the doors of my office open and was glad to see it was as messy as I left it: a stack of files piled up next to the bookshelf; the trash bin just as full as it was; the window sills drawn down. I quickly sat in my non-static lab chair and turned on my computer.

"So, Viollete," her figure tensed, "what have you and the other interns been up to while I was gone? Hm?"

She kept silent. I already knew what had happened but it'd be more amusing to hear it from an eyewitness. And who else other than the shy Ms. Blaire.

"Well, for the first week, everyone was rather... lost." Not surprised honestly. "Soon after the other scientists like Dr. Walter, Mr. Livian, Ms. Mangan, took the lead on the minor projects that your secretary allowed." I'll have to remember to give Nyra Leona a raise. "The other projects such as 514E2, Project 00D, and others were temporarily discontinued."

"So, what have you – the girl graciously taken under my wing – been doing since I left?"

"I- I'm sorry."

I still hear their voices. His, the loudest. Since Kiran's passing, I've been hearing the wails and cries of my old friends, my mentor, and my husband. Auditory hallucination, my psychologists have said. Depression. Take these pills and they'll gradually disappear. It's been years since, followed by monthly check-ups. Their cries seem to have grown softer, but more persistent.

As I walk further into the room nicknamed the "rat lab" for its simple purpose to monitor the mice that are yet to be subjected to experiments. We got our new batch a few days ago. Usually I'd give code names to them before they are brought into the laboratories. Memories of the past start coming:

"Adri, why do the code names seem so random?" Evie, one these organisations founders had asked. She was one of the six people who helped build this place from scratch. The others: Leighton, Thomas, Harold, and Isadora had disappeared and were suspected to be dead.

"I named them after our friends, in their honour," I said two years ago before Evie found her ultimate demise. "See," I pointed at the computer monitor, "DL07A4, if you flip it, I will look like it spells 'Harold'. Don't you think so?"

"Yeah, it does! But why? Don't their names just bring back the memories we had before they..."

"It has come to my attention that most of our mice die in experiments. If this reaches the public, we'll be accused of animal abuse and this organisation that we've all worked so hard to would crumble into a simple memory of something once great. These names are to motivate our staff and interns to do their best to make our mice's pain minimal."

Evie looked at me with awe, her jaw hung agape. "Never thought of that. I wish I could do something more in their honour just like what you are doing..."

"We could make the lives of our mice as luxurious as possible."

Tears swell up in my eyes but I don't let them fall. I look at the new batch of mice. I took a pen and wrote "NA713" on the label paper and quickly left after placing it onto the glass enclosure.