The Diary of Nick Dolce *ON HOLD*

Entry 3: The Dying Boy

Setting up the cloning machine took a much bigger effort than I remembered. First the dials needed to be adjusted to the appropriate levels, including artificial intelligence, strength, and height; then came the finer details, such as ensuring all parts of the machine were functioning properly, cleaning the sections between the cogs, and finally, running a test clone. For this, I simply placed a squirrel in the tube and pushed the clear glass door shut.

Animal cloning continued to be a problem area, but there was little time left for conducting further trials. Adrian needed to be saved by any means, even if it meant discontinuing essential research and abolishing the trial and error method created by Reynaldo in the first place.

"Hello uncle Nick," a hoarse voice coughed from the doorway.

I fastened my hair back into a ponytail, turning my attention to the dying boy clutching the doorframe with trembling hands. His knees shook violently beneath his weight, seeming only moments away from snapping like twigs under the pressure.

"Hey Adrian," I smiled small, padding over to him. A pang of guilt surged through my heart for him. There was a fifty-fifty chance that he would die during the process, and I would be the one left to clean up. "How're you doing, champ?"

"Fighting fit," his half-hearted smile greeted me, blood staining his teeth red. "I feel like I could take on the world, y'know?"

I went to open my mouth, but closed it. He was lying in an attempt to reassure me that he was okay, but I knew otherwise. His condition was worsening with each passing day. By the weekend, he would be dead. Possibly even sooner than that.

"You look like a million bucks," I tried my best to play along, ruffling his already unkempt, dull chestnut hair. "Just give me a moment and I'll set up the machine for you. Your father should be here any second."

He gave me a stiff nod, peeking over my shoulder at the room behind me. He'd never been down here before, but then, neither had anyone else. Reynaldo's laboratory was strictly off-limits to outsiders. In this case, Adrian was an exception.

I made my way back to the opposite side of the lab, pulling the plastic curtain shut. Smoke rose from the edges of the door where it was left unsealed, and through the wisps of white, I saw the dead carcass of the cloned squirrel.

"God dammit!" I smashed my fist against the glass, expecting it to shatter. The door remained intact, not budging the slightest. "What am I going to do? He's going to die for certain now."

"I hope you're not talking to yourself," A deep, crisp voice interrupted my frustrated outburst. "If you are, Nicolas, I seriously suggest sending you to the mental asylum. That's a primary indication of insanity, right there."

I spun around to face Reynaldo, moving an inch to the left. "This is hopeless, Rey. Look at what happened to the squirrel you caught this morning."

He took a few steps forward, glancing down at the body. A thoughtful look crossed his hard features; one that I had not seen since the idea of cloning first sprang to his mind.

"What's the major thing you notice in this instance, Nicolas?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Taking another glance at the dead squirrel, I failed to see what he could've been driving at. The test had been a complete failure, like all of the past trials. Nothing of substantial significance came out of this, except for -

"The body!" I exclaimed a little too loudly, covering my mouth quickly with one hand. If Adrian overheard me, it would not have a good outcome. He could go into cardiac arrest for all I know, which defeated the whole purpose of his visit today. "I-it's still intact."