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More from Aldrinor
Another story I've been writing. I rarely finish any of my stories, but getting to the first chapter is a great milestone for me. Actually, getting any chapter done is.
I will post the whole chapter here, and provide a downloadable copy as well. Enjoy.
Chapter 1: With Opening Eyes
“What if something goes wrong, will I feel anything?”
The staff paused for a moment, one of them pushed something on a console and lowered the patiant into the cryo tank “No, you wouldn't feel a thing if anything goes wrong.”
The patient breathed in the oxygen rich liquid and let a stream rise to the top of the tank “You, sure?” He raised an eyebrow
“So far, we have a very good record” The staff took there places around the tank “Now, just take a few deep breaths as we add the sedative into the tank”
The crew watched for a few short moments as the patients eyes fluttered, and closed into a deep sleep “yea, right” one of the staff muttered
As he opened his eyes, he jerked and kicked. Water, no...liquid, he was drinking or breathing some sort of liquid. Liquid isn't breathable, of course its not. How could this be happening? He felt his heart slowdown from the initial shock. The sound of beeping medical equipment reached his ears, and discussion around him. He peered down at his feet, the numbers 40590 at the bottom.
The crowd watched as he was lifted from the tank, much to his displeasure. As he was lifted from a tank, a man with padded gear approached him from the side with a towel. “Slowly now, one step at a time” the man's eyes darting at every limb the patient moved. “Start walking” he blankly stated.
When the patient just stared the guard whipped out his pistol “Start walking...”
The patient stared at the gun. It was a weapon, meant to kill. He charged at the man in front of him, arching a stiff-arm towards the outstretched hand that held the pistol.
The guard fired a shot, before the weapon was knocked right out his hand, the wolf anthropomorphic charged at his throat, and swiped with his clawed hand, ripping both of his carotid arteries. The man stepped back and gurgled loudly as blood rose and spewed from his mouth and neck. A large sting hit the wolf from the side, his body wracking in a seizure as a tazer hit him.
He fell onto the cold metal lab floor
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” one of the doctors yelled “You there” he pointed at the guard who shot the tazer “ OUT!”
“But, he-”
“OUT, GET Out, don't you see?” he indicated at the unconscious wolf “His important, a lot more important then you bastards” The staff rushed to the wolf's side taking his vitals and calling for medical staff as the security personal were pushed violently out of the lab.
“Put him back into the tank,” one of the scientists huffed as paced back and forth in the now vacant space left by the security team, “Let's start from the top.” he sighed. “Another damn 48 hours wasted.” he scowled and slammed his fist squarely onto a metal table.
“Start...” a voice called out, “S-s...start walking.”
Weightless, if there was only one word he could use to explain what he felt...it would be weightless.
“Start walking.”
The wolf began to move his legs, in no coordinated direction in particular, just...started walking in the darkness.
“So far, we have a very good record.” Huh? “Start...walking.” There's no where to walk to...
He began to move his legs faster, trying to prove his point, he's walking alright, walking nowhere. The feeling of drowsiness began to ebb and leach onto him. The walking motions began to slow down, Must...start...walking... “Now, just take a few deep breathes....”
He felt himself listening to the voice, inhaling as deeply as he could, the darkness that he saw, the abyss, vanished as it blurred.
Taking a sip from his mug of coffee, a doctor moved in front of the cryo-tank “Why did he start moving while he was sedated?”
“We're not sure.” several of his fellow doctors and scientists replied, some shrugging and keeping quiet. “He did stop moving though, without any additional sedation at all.” a female associate spoke. “But Dr Allewa-”
“Hrmmm,” he interrupted his colleague. He tipped his coffee upwards as he took a large gulp, wincing as he could taste the poor quality of the pod-brewed beverage. “That tazer must have done something to his neural pathways. Perhaps he's imagining things...or perhaps he's no longer viable as a specimen.”
His finger tapped over his mug, “Give the specimen 14 more hours in the cryo tank, ignore any more of these...episodes. Pull him out, and we'll make the decision on whether we should put him down or continue with the experiment.”
A quick whip of his hand straightened out the doctor's white coat, not a single blemish on it, even with the way he was sloshing his coffee around. “Also, have a neurologist study him while he's still asleep.”
Warm and fuzzy, that's what it felt like as he floated in whatever it is he's contained in. Opening an eye, he was greeted with the stinging silver backed lights that commonly illuminated hospitals. Squinting, the form of a dozen or so blurry white lab coats stood on the other side of the tank. I'm here again. He didn't experience the initial shock he did the first time he woke, taking in deep, steady breathes. He looked straight down to avoid the gaze of the bright lights, the numbers 40590 were still there, on his paws.
The sound of medical equipment became prominent as he was slowly lifted from the tank. The crowd stood a distance away from the platform. A voice spoke from the cluster of nervous staff, “You can dry yourself off with that towel.” he turned his head to look at a neatly folded towel, which sat on a pre-prepared rack where the guard from the previous day once stood. Hmmm “Yes, that towel.”
That warm and fuzzy feeling slowly abated, leaving the wolf feeling warm and wet. The scientists observed as he took the towel from the rack, and systematically began to dry himself. “We need you to follow some simple commands,” a doctor took a step forward, a clipboard in his arms, “Can you look up at the ceiling for me?”
The wolf shut his eyes as he turns his head skywards, holding it there as he continued to dry his himself. “Alright, look down at the floor?”. He tilted his head in the desired direction, “O...kay. Now, look at me.”
The scientist held up a pencil, the back end facing outwards, “Follow it with your eyes, try not to move your head.” the pencil moved in a straight line, before it began a series of slow arcing circles. “Very good.”
The scientist scribbled a few notes on his clipboard whilst walking back behind the crowd of staff, “Just wait a while...”
The wolf looked around the room, eyeing the various scientists, the different names on their lab coats. He picked out a pair of scientists who were alternating between glancing at him and at each other, “Re... any abnor...” he perked his ears, straining to listen, “The taser doesn't seem to have affected his neural pathways. There's no way to explain the event while he was sedat-” He caught their eyes for a second, before they ducked away.
There was blood from on the metal floor lattice beside him. The guard who tried to kill me. He stared at the patches of dry blood, which brought a few nervous comments from the scientists and doctors. He looked at the cryo-tank, the vessel which he was suspended. How could I breathe this kind of...stuff. He peered at the liquid inside.
One of the scientists brought out a blue medical garment, an extra-large. The wolf eyed the approaching middle-aged Hispanic and the garment that he held in his arms, “Here, wear this. We don't know your size yet, so we're giving you an extra-large for now. Also...you don't have to just...stand there.” What else could I do?
The wolf nodded to show he understood, before lowering his tail as he took the garment. It felt flimsy and weird on his fur, the nylon fabric tickling over whatever fur it came in contact with. “Come down, you can at least let the others due measurements and some diagnostics while you wait.”
As soon as he sat down on one of the chairs off the platform, the scientists and doctors went to work. One of them pressed a stethoscope to his chest, another took his chest and waist measurements, while another checked his eyes. He couldn't focus on what they were saying, but he could hear them, even the faintest whisper.
“Away from him!” A doctor commanded as he entered the room hurriedly.
“We're still doing diagnostics to see if he's still a viable specimen.” -if- I am still a valid specimen?
“You can continue those other tests after he goes through the pit. Besides, I'm the one who decides if we keep him or not.” The doctors scattered away from the wolf, “I'm Dr. Allewaq, come with me, I have a simple task for you.”
The wolf stood up promptly. The Doctor walked out of the room, stopping when he realized his patient wasn't following him, “40590?” The wolf perked his ears and stood rigidly. “I said, come with me.”. The hallway was cold against the wolf's bare footpads, “Try and keep up.”
“Very simple.... see the outlined orange cubicle on the other side of the room? Just get there, that's all you have to do. Have fun in the pit.”
The 'pit' was huge, the orange cubicle was on the opposite end, which seemed to be a sizable speck from where the wolf was.
Vegetation, ranging from soft grass to thickets, clumps of branches and logs filled the rest of the area. Overhead were catwalks, some made of steel, some were made thick branches. In addition, a thick canopy rose high above, as well as a ceiling that disappeared into the darkness.
“I'll be waiting, on the other side.”
The wolf turned to look Dr. Allewaq, the doctors white coat fluttered as he walked away, the hallway that he passed through disappeared as a set of doors closed behind him. Leaving him in darkness.
I'm supposed to get to the orange cubicle on the other side of this room? He didn't mention if I needed to do it in a specific way...
The wolf stood in front of where the door had been, Let's see, he pressed an ear against it. His ear flicked in discomfort, the wall was cold to the touch, metallic even. He knocked along the surface several times, alternating between his paws, the responding sound was solid for each rap of his paws. With an arch, he rubbed his paw-pads across the surface, with no luck.
The lupine took a step back, running his fingers across a portion of his medical garment. It didn't make much sense as to why the door wouldn't open, the doors would open as personnel walked towards them, Maybe if I tried to trigger some sensor.
He stepped in place with his right foot. The door remained closed. He stepped with his left foot, with no response. He stepped with his right, then with his right again. He tried with his right, followed by his left, marching in place for a bit, watching as nothing happened. What am I doing?
He sighed softly and looked up. A floating red dot stood out from the darkness, he peered at it, squinted. It was part of the wall, it had some circular shape adjacent to it, and it was following his movements. Oh, it's a camera. Oh, they just saw all of that...
Turning around, rather embarrassed, red staining his cheeks, he was intent on finding a way to break the camera's line of sight from himself. By now his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, what he saw seemed tinted with a bluish-silver tinge on the edges of what he saw.
His feet weaved through branches while he navigated through a clump of bramble. Making sure not to get too tangled in the mess of vegetation. Not going to get my fur tangled in this stuff.
While he could see, he couldn't hear much. His breathing and the noise he made aside, it was silent. It might have been that he was alone in the 'pit' or something was wrong with his hearing.
The orange cubicle seemed a little closer. He could tell as it was bigger than when he last looked at it. He picked his way through an especially thick patch of bramble, before breaking out into a sizable field.
The grass below felt soft and relaxing underneath his pads. He found himself running across the grass, enjoying the cool air that pressed against his fur as he made good time across the field. Darkness still surrounded him, but it felt distant as he took long reaching strides.
Moving made the darkness feel less imposing. It made him feel confident in that there was no one or no other creature in the 'pit' with him. He didn't actually know, or sense anybody or anything else, but it made him feel confident nontheless.
A wall of trees was fast approaching, beyond that he could see the orange cubicle. It was nearer, closer, it practically glowed amidst the black background. He could make out a desk that sat snug within the walls of the cubicle, as well as several transparent bottles.
He leaped into the thicket, his paws finding solid ground as he launched himself over roots and loose earth. He planted his paw into the side of a tree and kicked off in order to cross a overly thick root, his arms flailed as he descended. He caught himself mid-skid as his paw slipped off a loose patch of dry leaves. He burst through the foliage, his finish line in sight. The ground above didn't shine the silver tinge it did with the other, it was dark, empty space. He brought himself to a stop.
Hooking a paw over a branch he leaned over to take a look. Ahead was a gap that had no bottom, at least, from what he could tell in the low light. The wolf glanced at the ground below, then to the terrain on the other side, it was far too wide for him to jump over. Even if he had a running start. I can't jump across, that's for sure. Perhaps I can at least find out how deep this ridge is.
Something heavy but small or big and light should work. He padded near the edge, lightly kicking debris and vegetation.
After some time he found a suitable hollowed log and a decent sized boulder, heavy, but light enough for him to roll around. With both parked next to the edge, the wolf surveyed both his chosen pieces of debris.
He rolled the boulder off the edge, the earth beneath it cracked and crumbled before it collapsed into the chasm. He peeked over just to see it disappear, followed by a loud splash. His ears twitched as they heard the sound, it had been so silent recently. Water. Or liquid.... He turned to his log, giving it a good shove. With another splash, lighter than the boulder, he saw that the log floated across the surface of the liquid below. It seemed a good distance down, There should be another way, other than getting wet... he looked on as the log tipped to one side and sunk.
Eying the edges of both sides of the chasm, the wolf padded along looking for an alternative to attempting an impossible leap. The vegetation didn't help him in looking, but he did spot a glimmer of silver that passed over the chasm. He perked his ears and strained to look.
Whatever it was, a bridge, a fallen log, a wooden walkway? Making his way towards the crossing, he moved away from the edge.
Eventually he found himself at the foot of what looked to be several fallen trees. He pressed his paw against the log, pressing in different spots. It seemed...sturdy enough. He pulled himself up and over the log. Step by step, he moved across the impromptu bridge. Whoop, now i''m getting across.
He stopped every few steps, waiting and feeling as the wood creaked beneath his weight. He froze as he heard snapping. Ackackack. Instinctively he braced himself by lowering his hips, his knees bent. He looked down to see a loose branch falling into the water below, followed by a splash.
His ears strained to listen as he closed his eyes, he could hear the log beneath him creaking slightly more. Before it stopped.
Shifting his weight a little, he found that the log bridge settled. He hurriedly crossed to the other side, not wanting to strain the bridge any further with his weight, lest he cause it to shift again.
The lupine slid himself the end of the tree, cursing softly as his medical garment got caught on a splinter.
Looking over to the side he saw that the orange cubicle was just past a wall of light foliage. Padding towards the cubicle he brushed the branch and leaf cover away. Like he saw earlier, the cubicle had a desk, a clip-board on top of it along with 5 bottles of what seemed to water.
The wolf stepped slowly towards the cubicle, the orange color it first had was far more intense than what it first looked like from far away. A striking amber orange. Stepping closer towards it, knees bent, he was ready to bolt away at a moments notice.
The back of the cubicle slide aside, Dr Allewaq waited with a smile, a security guard at his side and an assistant scientist eagerly waited. The wolf blinked hard, the sudden influx of light straining his dilated irisis.
“You made it,” Allewaq greeted with a smile, “Good, good.”
The security guard moved in front of Dr Allewaq, “Doctor, I advise that you step away and let me stand in front of you.”
“No, no. No need for this one Scott.” he waved the security guard away.
“Your funeral doctor, your funeral.” the guard took several steps back, keeping a wide berth but still keeping a hand on his pistol.
“Sherley, you can finish off the diagnostics once he steps in.” Doctor Allewaq scribbled a few notes onto his clipboard, “You can step inside. Oh, make sure to bring those water bottles, Scott the guard will help you with that.”
Scott grumbled at the request, shaking his head as he pushed his way forward.
“Also, you don't have to stay mute 40590...” the doctor spoke.
The wolf blinked softly. Padding over to get two of the water bottles, They want me to talk now? “What would I have to say?”
“Anything at all, my lupine specimen, anything on your mind.” The doctor smiled.
Sherley leaned over and whispered, “He can talk, unlike some of the others.”
“He can probrably hear what you're whispering, so keep quiet Sherley. Do your measurements, follow us after if you'd like...just keep quiet about...that.”
So there are others? Well, of course there must be others. Jeez, that means I'm the 40590th experiment.
The wolf walked past the guard, straining to keep his growl in his throat as the guard sneered in passing.
Sherley smiled, “It's nice to finally see you.” she smiles, “The doctors say you have a lot of promise, saying that you'r-”
Doctor Allewaq cleared his throat, “Sherley, please, avoid that topic.”
“Oh...” she stated. Using a tape tape measure she took the wolf's height and paw sizes, both his hand and footpads, “That's all I need.” she scribbled notes into her own clipboard.
“Alright, all done then?” Allewaq asked, “Let's get going. Scott stay in front of us.”
The wolf straightened out his medical garment, flattening his ears at the unfamiliar environment. Rather reluctant to leave the somewhat familiar surroundings of the forest known as the 'pit'.
“Set the water on the side table, after that you're relieved for today.” The doctor gave the guard a friendly pat on the back.
“This is where you will be staying, it's not much, or it may be a lot...depends on what a wolf needs.” He motioned for Sherley and himself to go inside.
The room wasn't large, it wasn't too small either. However with the addition of the bed, side table, counters, drawer, cabinet, closet and tackle box it made it rather cramp. Most of the furniture had a dark grey and stainless steel finish. There was some wood where wood was to be expected, the closet, the counter and the backrest of the bed was stained with a rich chocolate wood. There was a camera in the corner of the room, it was a static camera. They give me a room, supposedly for myself, yet they will keep an eye on me.
“There's a bathroom as well so you can take care of any natural needs and to keep yourself smelling good. We don't like smelling wet dogs, in this case, wet wolves.”
Hmmph
“Am I supposed to just sleep here? You've given me a room, yes, should I make myself at home?” the wolf turned to Doctor Allewaq
“Why yes, know that you should relax whenever you're inside -your- room.” he smiled.
The guard walked in, avoiding eye contact, placing the water bottles on the side table.
Sherley smiled and walked off with the security guard. The door sliding behind the pair.
“You've done well, you need to rest.” The doctor turned around, “Feel free to use the amenities provided. If you want that water chilled, there's a refrigerator inside the closet.”
“Ummm...why are you doing all this? I was in a tube a few hours ago.”
“Because, you're important.”
The wolf tried to go to sleep. Whatever he tried, sleeping over the covers, sleeping partially under the covers, underneath the covers, without pillows, surrounded with pillows and even under pillows. He paced back and forth across the room tiredly, his mouth was parched, and he felt like he was overheating. He struggled in removing his medical garment, pulling it over his head, having a little problem with the specialized hole made in the back for his tail. A water bottle was in his hand by the time he realized he had removed his garment, the bottle was half empty.
He sighed softly, resting his elbow on the bed, he propped his head up on his paw. Why is it so hard to just rest? Tilting the bottle upwards he emptied the contents into his muzzle.
Looking up he groaned softly as he rested there. Staring at the wall as his mind idly passed the time. Images of floating in a tank filled his head, that feeling of being encased or enveloped in a warm, tranquil void. Mmmmm, comfortable and relaxing. His eyes fluttering softly. His mind went to when he was removed from the cryo tank, the sounds of the medical equipment. The coldness of the room. Ah, a lot colder than this room. Ugh.
He flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling. Doctor Allewaq mentioned a bathroom with resources for natural needs, he also mentioned showering and not smelling like a wet wolf. His ears perked up, shower? A possible way to cool down. He swung his legs off the bed and stood up. With a swift movement of his paw, he pushed his way into the bathroom. The lights turning on automatically as he entered.
His eyes stared forward, blinking at what he saw. It was a sterile room, white, blue and the occasional silver caught his gaze. The counter top was white, the condiments and furniture ontop were blue. A sink sat at the center of the counter, soap, face towels, towels, a vase of flowers, a blow dryer and a thick fur brush. Also within the room was a large shower stall, enclosed in glass, a digital water controller, and a large built in dryer within. A toilet and a urinal were set aside.
While that captured his attention, what captured his attention the most was what he saw directly in front of him in the mirror. He blinked as he saw himself, the first time he's seen himself as far as he could remember. Taking several steps inside, he closed the door absently behind him.
The wolf he saw in the mirror had cool blue eyes, tall too, roughly 6' 1” from what he could tell of himself. His base fur coat was grey, with black on the outsides of his arms, legs and tail, while white fur lined the insides. His chest was also white with a few patches of brown. He turned himself around to see brown and black fur mixing across his back. He blinked, studying himself.
He felt a yawn coming up. He studied his paws, the paw-pads looked healthy, as well as his paws and claws. His paws squeezed air several times as his arms reached for the air, before lowering itself. He caught a glimpse of his wolf fangs, along with a complete set of teeth.
He moved himself into the shower stall. He swiped his paw across the digital water controller. He looked at the display, it had two semi-circles one that was blue, the other red, with a picture of a waterdrop in the middle. With a shrug, he looked on as the red bar was full, whilst the blue was empty, he pressed the water icon.
A spray of scalding hot water streamed from two sprays, one from above and one from in front. The moment the water reached his fur, he yelped in pain and surprise, the heat causing him to shrivel away. Hooooot! With a frantic wave of his paws, he filled out the blue bar, as well as waving away the intense spray of steam.
The temperature evened out as cold water was introduced. Content on letting the water flow through his fur, the flow of water stopped as he felt satisfied, feeling adequately cooled. He pressed a button that had a blow-dryer on it. His fur was whipped up in a storm of cool dry air. His fur was dry within a minute.
Laying himself out on top of the bed, sleep lulled quickly and he succumbed.
He opened his eyes to see light coming from a window he had not noticed before. He squeezed the covers and sat up, preparing himself for a couple of morning stretches and a yawn. He had not bothering to use the blankets while he slept.
Upon closer inspection of the window he saw that it was mid-day out, a bird was perched on a tree outside, ruffling the orange and yellow leaves along its branches.
“Neat, isn't it?” Doctor Allewaq's voice called out, “Know what, I'll spoil it for you right now before you get too fond of it.”
Spoil what? The wolf scanned the room, frantically, before his eyes settled upon the camera. “Where are you?”
“Oh? Why, I'm not at liberty to say, but I can see that you're curious. I'm speaking through an intercom.”
Ah, that makes sense. The wolf lowered himself down onto his bed, Still, he couldn't talk to me in person... Looking at the numbers 40590 that were printed on his feet.
“Good morning, by the way. Oh, and the spoiler, before I forget,” there was a short pause, in which the wolf took the opportunity to rub his eyes and straighten the fur on his tail.
“That window you see in your room?” His eyes turned to it, “It's not a real window, it's just a projection. See?”
Woah, wait what? “What do you mean...it's not real?”
The view outside was frozen. I don't see what's wrong. Perhaps... the image began to reverse, leaves floating back upwards to their starting positions, the bird hopping backwards. It's not real...is it a recording? The video then turned into a white screen before transitioning to a dolphin underwater. Oh, it's just a screen, like a television.
“As you can see, it's not real.” Ok, ok, so it's not real. But why'd he have to spoil it for me?
The wolf looked up at the camera, “So, why spoil it for me? Is there a reason to break the illusion, or are you just playing with me?”
“Oh, we don't want you to get too fond of it is all. You might at one point in time think it is an actual window and try to jump out.”
“Come on out, get something to eat, and we'll bring you to the pit.” The door leading out opened on it's own. Inviting the wolf outside.
Lights streamed in from above, illuminating the 'pit' in an early morning atmosphere. Shafts of morning yellow illuminated the ground where the wolf stood. Now that there was light, he could clearly see how large the 'pit' was.
He gulped, getting rid of the taste of hard-boiled eggs, his breakfast lingered on his tongue. He could see numerous surfaces along several different levels. This place isn't real either. He could see catwalks, several floors and layers above, vegetation growing around and within the metal surfaces. His eyes followed the top most catwalk, there were several gaps as it led to a cubicle. A cubicle that was identical to the one he was tasked to walk to.
Some of the walls showed scientists, watching. The gap with the log bridge was a slow flowing river, slow enough that there weren't any waves to reflect light for him to spot the water.
Doctor Allewaq spoke through the intercom, “Well, 40590, I can't keep calling you that. It's not right to refer you as specimen either.” It's rather demeaning actually, being called by a number or as specimen. “What shall we call you?”
“Something uncommon, please?” The wolf rolled his eyes, something unique would be nice.
“Something unique then? What about okami?”
“Ummm...that sounds girlish.”
“It means wolf in japanese.” In Japanese?
“Ummm, no.”
“Lupe?”
“No!” Something more creative than just 'wolf' in different languages or forms.
“Scott?”
“No, don't name me after the security guard!”
“Lupine?”
“Even worse.” The wolf tapped his foot on the ground, he couldn't decide if he should frown at the names being given, or smile at the fact that he was mildly enjoying this. Or both.
“Don't be picky...” Picky? Me, picky? You're the one giving me bad names, they are not worth choosing.
“Non of them are worth choosing to be honest.”
“What? Ok, fine, I'll stop reading from a list. Ummm, Farkas?”
“Getting better.” That sounds like a dog name, I am not a dog! Well, maybe I am, but I am not a pet! The wolf took the opportunity to look around. Behind him, covered in foilage, was a pickup truck – which sported a green camouflage paintjob. The make and model were a loss to him, but he could see a security guard and two scientists idling within arms reach of the vehicle.
“Seraph?”
“Seraph?” he smiled inwardly.
His eyes stayed with the scientists and the lone guard. The guard seemed to have some sort of bolt action rifle, several darts like bullets were slotted into his vest. Both scientists seemed engrossed in some sort of debate, at least, with their animated hand gestures, it seemed that way.
The guard noticed the wolf looking, he took a few steps towards him, “Hey Dog! Hey, what about Luna for a name? That's what I call my puppy at home.”
“Richard, that's a female name.” Doctor Allewaq butted in before the guard could finish his sentence.
Richard sheepishly grinned and stepped back behind the truck.
“Allright, what about Malakai, or Arthur?” While Doctor Allewaq's voice was patient, he began speaking as if he was giving commands.
“Ummm, Seraph sounds nice. Oh, and Arthur too.” The wolf padded over to the edge of the ridge above the river.
“So, Seraph? Arthur? C'mon, pick one so we can get on with the activity for today.”
“Arthur.” He answered while shoveling in a pile of rocks with his foot, his ears flicking as he heard a pattern of splashes.
“Okay. Please step into the waiting transport.” The wolf looked back towards the waiting group, they had the back open, with a scientist and guard riding on the flatbed. “Arthur” Doctor Allewaq added in after a short pause. I will have to get used to being called by that name.
Arthur climbed onto the flatbed along with the two others. “Glad you come along for the ride, wolfy,” the guard stated, smiling wildly, “You'll get to see the 'pit'. Enjoy the tour.”
“He's got a name now.” the scientist said, glancing ahead of the pickup as it began moving.
“Yea, he does now, doesn't he.”
The 'pit' was large, expansive, and scaled in several different levels. That was what Arthur thought at first, now, his view had changed. The 'pit' was enormous, expansive, deep, and scaled in several different levels and structures.
The pickup truck had taken them adjacent to the river, far past the log bridge at a brisk pace. It was slow enough for Arthur to take in the different sights, a guard tower and a transmitter, a small bench by the river with a pair of resting fishing rods, a complex of natural canopy walkways, and a bridge that now spanned a wide slow flowing river. The ride was fast enough that it wasn't all that pleasant, especially with some of the pot holes, rocks, and broken branches that the truck simply crushed underneath its chassis.
It was about 20 minutes before the truck pulled into a 2 lane road, traveling over a wide slow-flowing river, the same river the log bridge rested it's logs upon.
“Hey wol-...Arthur, let me know what you think when you're finished.” The scientist shifted through several layers of papers on his clip-board.
Ahead of Arthur was a small obstacle course. A two hundred meter track complete with hurdles along its length, u-turned into a rope ladder, leading onto a plank-walk. A set of monkey bars traversed across a safety net, a vault jump lay next, before finishing with a downhill sprint. “I'll think about it.” Arthur mumbled, studying the course.
“What if I stumble, fall, trip?” Arthur asked, feeling like he was being tested physically.
“No, we just want to see if you can make it to the end.” A second scientist answered, pointing to a podium cotton stand at the end of the course.
“You could take off that flimsy garment if you think it'll get in the way.” the first scientist approached the wolf. Arthur could see 'Cameron' on his ID tag. Cameron snickered, “We could look the other way if you'd like.”
“I suppose. This thing is flimsy.” the wolf lifted the medical garment over his head.
“They're be a timer, by the way.” Cameron continued, his back turned to the wolf, “I can hold your garment for you, too.”
The wolf tossed the garment, backing away as the garment blanketed over Cameron's head. “I'm ready.”
“You may start...now!” A voice yelled from behind.
From a lunging position, Arthur pushed himself forward, launching himself into a sprint. A hurdle was coming up This looks simple enough, I think. Unsure of what to do, he hopped over it clumsily, stumbling as his trailing paw struck the headboard. A little early Ow!
“See, spot, run!” the guard snickered.
Arthur couldn't hear the comment, as he hopped over another hurdle, sailing over the headboard gracefully. His legs and arms pumped in coordination, the next hurdle was fast approaching. His eyes widened as he realized he couldn't hop over with his right, he staggered and stuttered in his steps, hopping to the side, before hopping back onto the running lane. Better than hitting and falling over myself.
The wolf followed the lazy U-turn, his breathe was quick and rapid. He grunted, suppressing a growl as he jumped up to meet the rope climb. Arthur struggled, but not for long, his arms and legs finding a good rhythm as he pulled himself over the top.
“He did that a lot faster than you can, even with all your training.” Cameron shoulder-nudged the guard.
The guard smiled, “Let's see you try it?”
The plank walk was next, Arthur, not taking any chances, took it step by step, one paw in front of the other, using his arms for balance Buh. He leaped forward on the last step, rushing over to the monkey bars. Raising his arms, he grunted and huffed and strained moving from bar to bar. His paw/hand had a firm grip, but his arms shook with the effort, his incentive? A 12 foot drop to be broken by a flimsy looking, light-weight net That thing is supposed to keep me from falling? Nope, nope! He made it to the other side, with great difficulty, his arms shaking as he stepped over the vault block, pulling himself up and over.
Arthur jogged on the way down the ramp, his tongue lolling out, his breathe rapid and staggered. He hopped up onto pedestal set out. Oh wow, ugh. Cameron was waiting, his arms out, Arthur's medical garment neatly folded on the end. “Good, you made it! Poor Gregory, my colleague here,” he motioned to the second scientist, “Couldn't even finish the course.”
“Hey!” Gregory had his hands crossed over his chest, clipboard pressed against his breast pocket, “He doesn't need to know that.”
“What? It's motivation.” Cameron retorted.
“Moti...motivation? It works..., I do feel better.” The wolf took his time regaining his breathe.
“Uh-huh. See Gregory, you were an asset, to science.” Cameron laughed as the Arthur took the garment off his hands.
Arthur could feel, sense, the irritation teeming off Gregory. Before he smiled, “Fine, we're even.”
The pickup truck stopped by a copse of trees, in between the orange cubicle from earlier and the log bridge. “Doctor Allewaq wants you to wait for him, he wants to escort you personally. In the mean time, you can wonder about, just stay nearby.” Cameron waved off the wolf, as the guard kept himself within fifteen paces.
The yellow morning light was now a stark white, a little before noon, warming the ground wherever it touched. Branches and leaves provided shade from the light above, Arthur was kneeling such a tree, its branches spreading upwards like it was giving an offering. The wolf watched the stream below, observing the water rise and fall as it journeyed over rocks, mingling with several different currents. He also kept an eye on the guard off to the side, standing under a tree.
In the corner of his vision he spotted a camera mounted onto a tree at the opposite end of the stream, given away by a blinking red LED, it seemed to move back and forth in a slow moving arc. If they are trying to keep that camera hidden, they are not doing a good job at it. He also saw a group of scientists through a glass panel in the wall of the 'pit' a few levels above.
His ears perked, he turned his head slightly to the sound of footsteps approaching. “Hey, ummm, Arthur. One of the scientist said you could use some water.”
Arthur turned his head to face the guard, he had the butt of his rifle resting in his right palm, the barrel facing skywards. A bottle of water in his left, the cap twisted off, “I'll leave this here.” the guard placed the bottle on the grass, propping it up by positioning it in between two roots.
“You remembered my name.” Arthur said as he reached for the bottle. The guard took a few steps back.
“I did, eh? I still think you should consider the name Luna.” He smirked and walked back over to his tree, swaying a little with each step. Bleh, that is a female's name.
The wolf tipped the bottle upwards, being careful to not spill any on his fur, as he drank.
He turned to look at the ground, sighing softly. He closed his eyes and took several deep breathes.
He perked his ears and concentrated on listening to whispers of conversation. No doubt from the scientists some ways away, he concentrated on the sound of the guard walking in circles around a different tree. He heard voices, other voices though. That's strange.
The beeping of medical equipment, bubbling liquid and an odd floating sensation was building up. He concentrated on it. I'm starting to hear things, wow, maybe I am tired and I have not realized it.
“OUT, GET Out, don't you see?” Get out?
The feeling of corrugated steel was cold, he could feel it below him as he was slumped over, his cheek pressed against the metal.
“His important, a lot more important then you bastards”
Arthur curled up, the feeling of consciousness swayed back and forth, it felt like he was on a ship, rocking back and forth. He opened his eyes, tried to, he could see the grass below, as his cheek was pressed against the soil, it felt like corrugated metal. Cold, hard, metal.
He clenched his fists, his paws massaging liquid, breathable liquid. The sound of a bottle crumpling, amplified in his ears. The wolf swayed over to the side, he saw a medical room, a dead guard in front of him, science and medical staff everywhere. The steel below felt soft and moist, it felt like grass.
“Hey! Hey, come quick!” Anderson ran as he saw Arthur, the wolf slump over onto his side. The guard saw that he had curled up, but didn't think much of it.
Gregory and Cameron hurriedly approached the wolf. Arthur was on his side, his eyes fluttering and moving from side to side rapidly.
“C'mon, move him towards the cubicle. Inform Doctor Allewaq.”
Floating, or standing. It felt one in the same. What's happening?
Arthur could see a dolphin, a dolphin swimming in the deep blue sea, it looked free and happy, doing loops around, almost...almost beckoning for him to join.
It took a tremendous effort to get closer, to inch his way towards the sea mammal. Closer, closer to freedom.
His eyes slowly closed, he groaned and drifted away.
The wolf opened his eyes, he was in bed, or rather, he was on top of his messily strewn bed with pillows on the floor, sheets tangled and his fitted sheet pulled out. He had his head pressed near the floor board, staring at the screen in front, a dolphin swimming around greeted good morning. Buh, dolphin. Morning.
He rolled himself into an upright position, his head hurt.
“Good morning, Arthur.” Woah~
“Gah~!” Arthur jolted, he bolted away towards the headboard, smacking against it with an audible thump. Doctor Allewaq sat at a chair beside the door to the hallway. “Didn't mean to scare you. You seemed peacefully at rest in your...odd position.”
“Why am I here? How did I get here?”
“That's a question I should be asking you. How you got here though, I had some staff members wheel you in on a stretcher and lay you in bed. You weren't conscious.”
“I remember my head spinning and things becoming a blur.”
“Yes,” The doctor stood up, “That was explained to me, in great detail. However, I'd like to know what happened from your perspective.”
“Ummm...well.” Arthur lowered himself back onto his bed, assuming a cross-legged position, “I drank some water after some workout or timed activity.”
“Mmhmmm. Oh, also, follow my pencil without moving your head, if you can.” Allewaq had a pencil in his hand, which he raised towards the ceiling, “Go on.”
The wolf rolled his eyes upwards, trailing behind the pencil, “I sat down under a tree. I started remembering something, then that's when the blurriness began.” he lowered his eyes to follow the pencil to the floor.
“Can you describe anything specific?” The doctor nodded satisfyingly as Arthur followed the tip of his pencil from side to side as well.
“I...” The dead guard, the breathable liquid. The combining of two...no, the transitioning of what I saw? His eyes idly followed the pencil in different arcs, “I remember going back and forth between sitting down and being in a chamber filled with breathable liquid.”
“Hmmm.”
“I also remember seeing a dead guard.” I do remember that he tried to kill me. Ah, yes, he had a gun pointed at me.
“Well, that's far more informative than what the guard had to say.”
Arthur moved over to the side of the bed and stood up, “What do I have to do today?”
“Nothing.”
“Wait, nothing? I thought I'm a subject?” Huh?
“Yes, but I want to take care of my subjects, rest, just rest.”
Arthur turned to look at the dolphin, “Just rest...” he nodded This is going to be a long day...
“I need to get back to work, you can rest here, or at the cafeteria.”
“Could you change it back to the tree with the bird?” The wolf motioned to the screen.
“Sure.”
The Cafeteria was spacious, about a football field in size, broken up with rows of seating with a few cubicles for private meals or meal conferences, a glass tinted room for executives and a bar in the center.
The venders situated themselves near the center, with a separate buffet line on the side. Unlike the selection of food he was given at the passing vender on the way to the 'pit' yesterday.
Several scientists kept an eye on him, however arriving staff and the venders gave him wary looks. He had a few pieces of dimsum on his plate, and a section of baguette that had olive oil, garlic, and ham strewn on top.
He didn't even take a few bites before a guard rushed to him, rudely asking him to leave. The scientists ushered the guards away, saying, “Under Doctor Allewaq's orders.” To which the huffed and walked away.
He waited, sitting on his chair for what felt like hours.
From the far end of the cafeteria, the doors burst open.
“He's not ready for that!” Doctor Allewaq walked hurriedly beside another doctor, his superior it looked like. “Look, he passed out in the 'pit' he's supposed to be resting!”
“I make the decision if he does the operation or not.” The group was rushing towards Arthur, the wolf hunched and rapidly finished the remaining food on his plate.
“He may or may not survive.” Allewaq ran in front to try to stop his superior. He grunted as he was pushed aside.
“Look, we're running out of funding. We need results. If we don't get results, we lost more funding, if we lose more funding, we lack the resources for the upkeep of this facility.” He stopped to face Allewaq, “If we can't keep the facility running, you lose your specimens. Understood?”
“Yes. I understand.”
“Guards! Escort that wolf our to the operating theatre. Don't worry wolf, you're in good hands.”
Arthur barely manage to swallow his food.
“Just promise not to put him in pain.” Doctor Allewaq sighed.
Doctors stood ready and waiting. Beside the sleeping wolf sat a sterilized medical carry case.
“Okay, remember to be careful, we could do some serious nerve damage with his operation.”
“You know that these implants have had some bad effects, right?”
“Of course, which is why we were sent this,” the doctor opened the carry case, revealing an optical implant, “Syntec industries O-IK 4 implant.”
“No longer using Terracorp’s implants?”
“This implant was special order for this patient.”
“…”
Aaaaaugh! Pain shot through his head. It was a migraine, no...worse. His left eye burned! Literally burned! It was on fire from the inside. Waves of pain rippled throughout his spine.
He opened his eyes, his vision reeled. The world spun around him. Shapes and surfaces appeared, shifted into existence rather. Their outlines, in vivid colors, red, then blue, then green. W-what?
Arthur was floating within a tank of breathable liquid. Every bubble he saw was highlighted in yellow. He closed his eyes tight. He was in the cryo room. The pain, it's coming from inside.
“Doctor, he's awake!”
The wolf looked down, to see the numbers #40590. He closed his eyes again, but the numbers #40590 stuck in his head, highlighted in blue. What's happening?
“Hey, get him out of there.” Arthur found several staff members pressing a few panels and lifting the panel under him to lift the wolf out of the tube. My head, it hurts, it hurts. He looked up to see a familiar face. The words 'Cameron' appeared next to the doctors head.
“Take it easy there, Arthur. You've just come from a major operation.” I could gather as much.
“Exactly, what kind of operation?” C'mon, at least tell me.
“Ummm. David wants you to run the course. C'mon, he's been nipping at our heels because you weren't waking up.” The wolf accepted the towel handed to him, he dried his fur, taking several moments to alternate between pat drying and rub-drying.
“The operation had something to do with your eyes. I can't tell you much more without spending a lot of time.” Would that explain the weird things I am seeing?
“Ummm...ok.” He whimpered, his tail between his legs as he walked behind Cameron. He walked past the other staff members, declining an offer for a medical garment that was being handed to him.
Turning into the corridor outside, he stifled a yelp. The bright lights hurt, as well as the unique geometry of the walls, they lit up in blue straight away. Shutting his left eye, his vision returned to normal.
The 'pit' was shrouded in darkness. He could see the silhouettes of trees, bushes, and catwalks high above. The ground beneath crunched and crackled, the loose gravel breaking beneath him.
Arthur eyed the orange cubicle on the far side. Images of the field, log bridge and desk flashed through his mind, picturing the route in his head. It's straight forward enough, through the bramble ahead, the field. The slow flowing river. I could follow the river to find it.
The footsteps of a retreating scientist sounded behind him. “Alright Arthur. Just get to the other side, just like last time.”
“Is the experiment about if I can do this with one good eye?” Arthur asked, closing his left eye.
“No, no it's not. We're seeing how it'll help you. Doctor Allewaq can explain better than I can.” The door behind closed with a soft hiss.
Arthur lowered himself down into a squat. His ears perked as his paws made fists, he concentrated on the silence, his heart-beat. Something to ignore the throbbing in his left eye. Aaah.
The wolf stilled himself for what felt like minutes. He gulped, swallowing to try to moisten his dry throat.
Opening his eyes, he looked around, keeping his left eye slightly closed. Everything was blanketed in a light silvery tone, his natural night vision kicking in. Ahead was a thick brush of bramble, clear grass graced the sides of the walls. Behind, he saw the camera behind, staring at him with a single red LED light.
He stared back, I wonder what they see from there. He stared at the lens, eyeing the glare from the curved glass. Arthur blinked, the camera was now highlighted in yellow, the surfaces were highlighted, with the edges bolded, it stood out from the darkness. Blinking several more times, he made sure he wasn't imagining. Ok, not my imagination. Maybe it's got to do something with that operation.
Arthur turned around. A yellow cone greeted him, it spread outward, originating from the camera. It seemed to highlight the field of view of the device.
Stepping away from the field of view, Arthur turned around and swiftly made his way towards the bushes.
Breaking through the underbrush, the wolf found himself back in the field. He broke into a run, taking long, even strides over the grass.
He was halfway across the field, closing his left eye, as he ran. The throbbing was lessening as he focused on the orange cubicle on the far side. It had just occurred to him, with the way the wall of vegetation that circled around the field, it was a large grove. A very large grove.
Closing in on the wall of trees ahead of him, he broke into a full sprint. Arms and legs moving in coordination.
Leaping up, he sailed over a large root, the ground below was highlighted in blue. Squinting, he tried to focus on it as his paws hit the ground right on the spot. Okay, that was strange.
He looked down several times as he took off again, the wolf's paws skidding across the ground as he tried to find traction over a track of dried leaves.
Arthur focused on a thin path to pass through the forest. The path was highlighted blue in his mind, sticking out clearly out of the darkness. Ok, this is helpful. Not sure what's happening though. He glanced upwards towards the orange cubicle.
The path widened ahead, blocked off by a dead tree stump. The path around it disappeared under a thick patch of bramble. No way around this. He looked for places he could jump off of. The path leading up to the stump was still in blue, the lip around the edges was marked in green.
He planted a paw on the edge, and launched upwards. With a soft thud, the wolf landed on the other side of the large tree stump. He dug his paw into the ground and continued on his way. Ok, whatever I'm seeing is definitely helping me. Several surfaces flashed blue and green, they flashed through his mind, as he concentrated on the trail he was following.
A mass of silverlight filtered in from ahead of him, a gap of darkness as well. The river. I'm almost there. Bursting through the thick of branches, he peddled backwards to a stop.
The edge of the river teased at his heels, the sound of flowing river water tickled his sensitive ears. Taking a slow scan of the area, he covered his eye as pulsating pain emanated from his eye. Taking several steps, he walked along the riverside.
Arthur couldn't find the original path he had taken last time, can't be sure where the bridge is, but it's along this river. The pain in his head made it hard to make out which path he was looking for, wherever he might be, he should be close by.
Pacing himself along the edge of the river, he passed by several more tree mounted cameras. Wow, they are serious about surveillance. The wolf had to stop and rest periodically as the pain increased. Keeping his paw over the eye and applying gentle pressure lessened the pain a little.
Arthur took a seat alongside the edge of the ravine above the river below. His paw still covering his eye, he felt lost already. No sense of depth with one eye, but too disoriented when using both. He sighed softly and rested, listening to the river flow below him.
What’s happening to me?
End of Chapter 1
I will post the whole chapter here, and provide a downloadable copy as well. Enjoy.
Chapter 1: With Opening Eyes
“What if something goes wrong, will I feel anything?”
The staff paused for a moment, one of them pushed something on a console and lowered the patiant into the cryo tank “No, you wouldn't feel a thing if anything goes wrong.”
The patient breathed in the oxygen rich liquid and let a stream rise to the top of the tank “You, sure?” He raised an eyebrow
“So far, we have a very good record” The staff took there places around the tank “Now, just take a few deep breaths as we add the sedative into the tank”
The crew watched for a few short moments as the patients eyes fluttered, and closed into a deep sleep “yea, right” one of the staff muttered
As he opened his eyes, he jerked and kicked. Water, no...liquid, he was drinking or breathing some sort of liquid. Liquid isn't breathable, of course its not. How could this be happening? He felt his heart slowdown from the initial shock. The sound of beeping medical equipment reached his ears, and discussion around him. He peered down at his feet, the numbers 40590 at the bottom.
The crowd watched as he was lifted from the tank, much to his displeasure. As he was lifted from a tank, a man with padded gear approached him from the side with a towel. “Slowly now, one step at a time” the man's eyes darting at every limb the patient moved. “Start walking” he blankly stated.
When the patient just stared the guard whipped out his pistol “Start walking...”
The patient stared at the gun. It was a weapon, meant to kill. He charged at the man in front of him, arching a stiff-arm towards the outstretched hand that held the pistol.
The guard fired a shot, before the weapon was knocked right out his hand, the wolf anthropomorphic charged at his throat, and swiped with his clawed hand, ripping both of his carotid arteries. The man stepped back and gurgled loudly as blood rose and spewed from his mouth and neck. A large sting hit the wolf from the side, his body wracking in a seizure as a tazer hit him.
He fell onto the cold metal lab floor
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” one of the doctors yelled “You there” he pointed at the guard who shot the tazer “ OUT!”
“But, he-”
“OUT, GET Out, don't you see?” he indicated at the unconscious wolf “His important, a lot more important then you bastards” The staff rushed to the wolf's side taking his vitals and calling for medical staff as the security personal were pushed violently out of the lab.
“Put him back into the tank,” one of the scientists huffed as paced back and forth in the now vacant space left by the security team, “Let's start from the top.” he sighed. “Another damn 48 hours wasted.” he scowled and slammed his fist squarely onto a metal table.
“Start...” a voice called out, “S-s...start walking.”
Weightless, if there was only one word he could use to explain what he felt...it would be weightless.
“Start walking.”
The wolf began to move his legs, in no coordinated direction in particular, just...started walking in the darkness.
“So far, we have a very good record.” Huh? “Start...walking.” There's no where to walk to...
He began to move his legs faster, trying to prove his point, he's walking alright, walking nowhere. The feeling of drowsiness began to ebb and leach onto him. The walking motions began to slow down, Must...start...walking... “Now, just take a few deep breathes....”
He felt himself listening to the voice, inhaling as deeply as he could, the darkness that he saw, the abyss, vanished as it blurred.
Taking a sip from his mug of coffee, a doctor moved in front of the cryo-tank “Why did he start moving while he was sedated?”
“We're not sure.” several of his fellow doctors and scientists replied, some shrugging and keeping quiet. “He did stop moving though, without any additional sedation at all.” a female associate spoke. “But Dr Allewa-”
“Hrmmm,” he interrupted his colleague. He tipped his coffee upwards as he took a large gulp, wincing as he could taste the poor quality of the pod-brewed beverage. “That tazer must have done something to his neural pathways. Perhaps he's imagining things...or perhaps he's no longer viable as a specimen.”
His finger tapped over his mug, “Give the specimen 14 more hours in the cryo tank, ignore any more of these...episodes. Pull him out, and we'll make the decision on whether we should put him down or continue with the experiment.”
A quick whip of his hand straightened out the doctor's white coat, not a single blemish on it, even with the way he was sloshing his coffee around. “Also, have a neurologist study him while he's still asleep.”
Warm and fuzzy, that's what it felt like as he floated in whatever it is he's contained in. Opening an eye, he was greeted with the stinging silver backed lights that commonly illuminated hospitals. Squinting, the form of a dozen or so blurry white lab coats stood on the other side of the tank. I'm here again. He didn't experience the initial shock he did the first time he woke, taking in deep, steady breathes. He looked straight down to avoid the gaze of the bright lights, the numbers 40590 were still there, on his paws.
The sound of medical equipment became prominent as he was slowly lifted from the tank. The crowd stood a distance away from the platform. A voice spoke from the cluster of nervous staff, “You can dry yourself off with that towel.” he turned his head to look at a neatly folded towel, which sat on a pre-prepared rack where the guard from the previous day once stood. Hmmm “Yes, that towel.”
That warm and fuzzy feeling slowly abated, leaving the wolf feeling warm and wet. The scientists observed as he took the towel from the rack, and systematically began to dry himself. “We need you to follow some simple commands,” a doctor took a step forward, a clipboard in his arms, “Can you look up at the ceiling for me?”
The wolf shut his eyes as he turns his head skywards, holding it there as he continued to dry his himself. “Alright, look down at the floor?”. He tilted his head in the desired direction, “O...kay. Now, look at me.”
The scientist held up a pencil, the back end facing outwards, “Follow it with your eyes, try not to move your head.” the pencil moved in a straight line, before it began a series of slow arcing circles. “Very good.”
The scientist scribbled a few notes on his clipboard whilst walking back behind the crowd of staff, “Just wait a while...”
The wolf looked around the room, eyeing the various scientists, the different names on their lab coats. He picked out a pair of scientists who were alternating between glancing at him and at each other, “Re... any abnor...” he perked his ears, straining to listen, “The taser doesn't seem to have affected his neural pathways. There's no way to explain the event while he was sedat-” He caught their eyes for a second, before they ducked away.
There was blood from on the metal floor lattice beside him. The guard who tried to kill me. He stared at the patches of dry blood, which brought a few nervous comments from the scientists and doctors. He looked at the cryo-tank, the vessel which he was suspended. How could I breathe this kind of...stuff. He peered at the liquid inside.
One of the scientists brought out a blue medical garment, an extra-large. The wolf eyed the approaching middle-aged Hispanic and the garment that he held in his arms, “Here, wear this. We don't know your size yet, so we're giving you an extra-large for now. Also...you don't have to just...stand there.” What else could I do?
The wolf nodded to show he understood, before lowering his tail as he took the garment. It felt flimsy and weird on his fur, the nylon fabric tickling over whatever fur it came in contact with. “Come down, you can at least let the others due measurements and some diagnostics while you wait.”
As soon as he sat down on one of the chairs off the platform, the scientists and doctors went to work. One of them pressed a stethoscope to his chest, another took his chest and waist measurements, while another checked his eyes. He couldn't focus on what they were saying, but he could hear them, even the faintest whisper.
“Away from him!” A doctor commanded as he entered the room hurriedly.
“We're still doing diagnostics to see if he's still a viable specimen.” -if- I am still a valid specimen?
“You can continue those other tests after he goes through the pit. Besides, I'm the one who decides if we keep him or not.” The doctors scattered away from the wolf, “I'm Dr. Allewaq, come with me, I have a simple task for you.”
The wolf stood up promptly. The Doctor walked out of the room, stopping when he realized his patient wasn't following him, “40590?” The wolf perked his ears and stood rigidly. “I said, come with me.”. The hallway was cold against the wolf's bare footpads, “Try and keep up.”
“Very simple.... see the outlined orange cubicle on the other side of the room? Just get there, that's all you have to do. Have fun in the pit.”
The 'pit' was huge, the orange cubicle was on the opposite end, which seemed to be a sizable speck from where the wolf was.
Vegetation, ranging from soft grass to thickets, clumps of branches and logs filled the rest of the area. Overhead were catwalks, some made of steel, some were made thick branches. In addition, a thick canopy rose high above, as well as a ceiling that disappeared into the darkness.
“I'll be waiting, on the other side.”
The wolf turned to look Dr. Allewaq, the doctors white coat fluttered as he walked away, the hallway that he passed through disappeared as a set of doors closed behind him. Leaving him in darkness.
I'm supposed to get to the orange cubicle on the other side of this room? He didn't mention if I needed to do it in a specific way...
The wolf stood in front of where the door had been, Let's see, he pressed an ear against it. His ear flicked in discomfort, the wall was cold to the touch, metallic even. He knocked along the surface several times, alternating between his paws, the responding sound was solid for each rap of his paws. With an arch, he rubbed his paw-pads across the surface, with no luck.
The lupine took a step back, running his fingers across a portion of his medical garment. It didn't make much sense as to why the door wouldn't open, the doors would open as personnel walked towards them, Maybe if I tried to trigger some sensor.
He stepped in place with his right foot. The door remained closed. He stepped with his left foot, with no response. He stepped with his right, then with his right again. He tried with his right, followed by his left, marching in place for a bit, watching as nothing happened. What am I doing?
He sighed softly and looked up. A floating red dot stood out from the darkness, he peered at it, squinted. It was part of the wall, it had some circular shape adjacent to it, and it was following his movements. Oh, it's a camera. Oh, they just saw all of that...
Turning around, rather embarrassed, red staining his cheeks, he was intent on finding a way to break the camera's line of sight from himself. By now his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, what he saw seemed tinted with a bluish-silver tinge on the edges of what he saw.
His feet weaved through branches while he navigated through a clump of bramble. Making sure not to get too tangled in the mess of vegetation. Not going to get my fur tangled in this stuff.
While he could see, he couldn't hear much. His breathing and the noise he made aside, it was silent. It might have been that he was alone in the 'pit' or something was wrong with his hearing.
The orange cubicle seemed a little closer. He could tell as it was bigger than when he last looked at it. He picked his way through an especially thick patch of bramble, before breaking out into a sizable field.
The grass below felt soft and relaxing underneath his pads. He found himself running across the grass, enjoying the cool air that pressed against his fur as he made good time across the field. Darkness still surrounded him, but it felt distant as he took long reaching strides.
Moving made the darkness feel less imposing. It made him feel confident in that there was no one or no other creature in the 'pit' with him. He didn't actually know, or sense anybody or anything else, but it made him feel confident nontheless.
A wall of trees was fast approaching, beyond that he could see the orange cubicle. It was nearer, closer, it practically glowed amidst the black background. He could make out a desk that sat snug within the walls of the cubicle, as well as several transparent bottles.
He leaped into the thicket, his paws finding solid ground as he launched himself over roots and loose earth. He planted his paw into the side of a tree and kicked off in order to cross a overly thick root, his arms flailed as he descended. He caught himself mid-skid as his paw slipped off a loose patch of dry leaves. He burst through the foliage, his finish line in sight. The ground above didn't shine the silver tinge it did with the other, it was dark, empty space. He brought himself to a stop.
Hooking a paw over a branch he leaned over to take a look. Ahead was a gap that had no bottom, at least, from what he could tell in the low light. The wolf glanced at the ground below, then to the terrain on the other side, it was far too wide for him to jump over. Even if he had a running start. I can't jump across, that's for sure. Perhaps I can at least find out how deep this ridge is.
Something heavy but small or big and light should work. He padded near the edge, lightly kicking debris and vegetation.
After some time he found a suitable hollowed log and a decent sized boulder, heavy, but light enough for him to roll around. With both parked next to the edge, the wolf surveyed both his chosen pieces of debris.
He rolled the boulder off the edge, the earth beneath it cracked and crumbled before it collapsed into the chasm. He peeked over just to see it disappear, followed by a loud splash. His ears twitched as they heard the sound, it had been so silent recently. Water. Or liquid.... He turned to his log, giving it a good shove. With another splash, lighter than the boulder, he saw that the log floated across the surface of the liquid below. It seemed a good distance down, There should be another way, other than getting wet... he looked on as the log tipped to one side and sunk.
Eying the edges of both sides of the chasm, the wolf padded along looking for an alternative to attempting an impossible leap. The vegetation didn't help him in looking, but he did spot a glimmer of silver that passed over the chasm. He perked his ears and strained to look.
Whatever it was, a bridge, a fallen log, a wooden walkway? Making his way towards the crossing, he moved away from the edge.
Eventually he found himself at the foot of what looked to be several fallen trees. He pressed his paw against the log, pressing in different spots. It seemed...sturdy enough. He pulled himself up and over the log. Step by step, he moved across the impromptu bridge. Whoop, now i''m getting across.
He stopped every few steps, waiting and feeling as the wood creaked beneath his weight. He froze as he heard snapping. Ackackack. Instinctively he braced himself by lowering his hips, his knees bent. He looked down to see a loose branch falling into the water below, followed by a splash.
His ears strained to listen as he closed his eyes, he could hear the log beneath him creaking slightly more. Before it stopped.
Shifting his weight a little, he found that the log bridge settled. He hurriedly crossed to the other side, not wanting to strain the bridge any further with his weight, lest he cause it to shift again.
The lupine slid himself the end of the tree, cursing softly as his medical garment got caught on a splinter.
Looking over to the side he saw that the orange cubicle was just past a wall of light foliage. Padding towards the cubicle he brushed the branch and leaf cover away. Like he saw earlier, the cubicle had a desk, a clip-board on top of it along with 5 bottles of what seemed to water.
The wolf stepped slowly towards the cubicle, the orange color it first had was far more intense than what it first looked like from far away. A striking amber orange. Stepping closer towards it, knees bent, he was ready to bolt away at a moments notice.
The back of the cubicle slide aside, Dr Allewaq waited with a smile, a security guard at his side and an assistant scientist eagerly waited. The wolf blinked hard, the sudden influx of light straining his dilated irisis.
“You made it,” Allewaq greeted with a smile, “Good, good.”
The security guard moved in front of Dr Allewaq, “Doctor, I advise that you step away and let me stand in front of you.”
“No, no. No need for this one Scott.” he waved the security guard away.
“Your funeral doctor, your funeral.” the guard took several steps back, keeping a wide berth but still keeping a hand on his pistol.
“Sherley, you can finish off the diagnostics once he steps in.” Doctor Allewaq scribbled a few notes onto his clipboard, “You can step inside. Oh, make sure to bring those water bottles, Scott the guard will help you with that.”
Scott grumbled at the request, shaking his head as he pushed his way forward.
“Also, you don't have to stay mute 40590...” the doctor spoke.
The wolf blinked softly. Padding over to get two of the water bottles, They want me to talk now? “What would I have to say?”
“Anything at all, my lupine specimen, anything on your mind.” The doctor smiled.
Sherley leaned over and whispered, “He can talk, unlike some of the others.”
“He can probrably hear what you're whispering, so keep quiet Sherley. Do your measurements, follow us after if you'd like...just keep quiet about...that.”
So there are others? Well, of course there must be others. Jeez, that means I'm the 40590th experiment.
The wolf walked past the guard, straining to keep his growl in his throat as the guard sneered in passing.
Sherley smiled, “It's nice to finally see you.” she smiles, “The doctors say you have a lot of promise, saying that you'r-”
Doctor Allewaq cleared his throat, “Sherley, please, avoid that topic.”
“Oh...” she stated. Using a tape tape measure she took the wolf's height and paw sizes, both his hand and footpads, “That's all I need.” she scribbled notes into her own clipboard.
“Alright, all done then?” Allewaq asked, “Let's get going. Scott stay in front of us.”
The wolf straightened out his medical garment, flattening his ears at the unfamiliar environment. Rather reluctant to leave the somewhat familiar surroundings of the forest known as the 'pit'.
“Set the water on the side table, after that you're relieved for today.” The doctor gave the guard a friendly pat on the back.
“This is where you will be staying, it's not much, or it may be a lot...depends on what a wolf needs.” He motioned for Sherley and himself to go inside.
The room wasn't large, it wasn't too small either. However with the addition of the bed, side table, counters, drawer, cabinet, closet and tackle box it made it rather cramp. Most of the furniture had a dark grey and stainless steel finish. There was some wood where wood was to be expected, the closet, the counter and the backrest of the bed was stained with a rich chocolate wood. There was a camera in the corner of the room, it was a static camera. They give me a room, supposedly for myself, yet they will keep an eye on me.
“There's a bathroom as well so you can take care of any natural needs and to keep yourself smelling good. We don't like smelling wet dogs, in this case, wet wolves.”
Hmmph
“Am I supposed to just sleep here? You've given me a room, yes, should I make myself at home?” the wolf turned to Doctor Allewaq
“Why yes, know that you should relax whenever you're inside -your- room.” he smiled.
The guard walked in, avoiding eye contact, placing the water bottles on the side table.
Sherley smiled and walked off with the security guard. The door sliding behind the pair.
“You've done well, you need to rest.” The doctor turned around, “Feel free to use the amenities provided. If you want that water chilled, there's a refrigerator inside the closet.”
“Ummm...why are you doing all this? I was in a tube a few hours ago.”
“Because, you're important.”
The wolf tried to go to sleep. Whatever he tried, sleeping over the covers, sleeping partially under the covers, underneath the covers, without pillows, surrounded with pillows and even under pillows. He paced back and forth across the room tiredly, his mouth was parched, and he felt like he was overheating. He struggled in removing his medical garment, pulling it over his head, having a little problem with the specialized hole made in the back for his tail. A water bottle was in his hand by the time he realized he had removed his garment, the bottle was half empty.
He sighed softly, resting his elbow on the bed, he propped his head up on his paw. Why is it so hard to just rest? Tilting the bottle upwards he emptied the contents into his muzzle.
Looking up he groaned softly as he rested there. Staring at the wall as his mind idly passed the time. Images of floating in a tank filled his head, that feeling of being encased or enveloped in a warm, tranquil void. Mmmmm, comfortable and relaxing. His eyes fluttering softly. His mind went to when he was removed from the cryo tank, the sounds of the medical equipment. The coldness of the room. Ah, a lot colder than this room. Ugh.
He flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling. Doctor Allewaq mentioned a bathroom with resources for natural needs, he also mentioned showering and not smelling like a wet wolf. His ears perked up, shower? A possible way to cool down. He swung his legs off the bed and stood up. With a swift movement of his paw, he pushed his way into the bathroom. The lights turning on automatically as he entered.
His eyes stared forward, blinking at what he saw. It was a sterile room, white, blue and the occasional silver caught his gaze. The counter top was white, the condiments and furniture ontop were blue. A sink sat at the center of the counter, soap, face towels, towels, a vase of flowers, a blow dryer and a thick fur brush. Also within the room was a large shower stall, enclosed in glass, a digital water controller, and a large built in dryer within. A toilet and a urinal were set aside.
While that captured his attention, what captured his attention the most was what he saw directly in front of him in the mirror. He blinked as he saw himself, the first time he's seen himself as far as he could remember. Taking several steps inside, he closed the door absently behind him.
The wolf he saw in the mirror had cool blue eyes, tall too, roughly 6' 1” from what he could tell of himself. His base fur coat was grey, with black on the outsides of his arms, legs and tail, while white fur lined the insides. His chest was also white with a few patches of brown. He turned himself around to see brown and black fur mixing across his back. He blinked, studying himself.
He felt a yawn coming up. He studied his paws, the paw-pads looked healthy, as well as his paws and claws. His paws squeezed air several times as his arms reached for the air, before lowering itself. He caught a glimpse of his wolf fangs, along with a complete set of teeth.
He moved himself into the shower stall. He swiped his paw across the digital water controller. He looked at the display, it had two semi-circles one that was blue, the other red, with a picture of a waterdrop in the middle. With a shrug, he looked on as the red bar was full, whilst the blue was empty, he pressed the water icon.
A spray of scalding hot water streamed from two sprays, one from above and one from in front. The moment the water reached his fur, he yelped in pain and surprise, the heat causing him to shrivel away. Hooooot! With a frantic wave of his paws, he filled out the blue bar, as well as waving away the intense spray of steam.
The temperature evened out as cold water was introduced. Content on letting the water flow through his fur, the flow of water stopped as he felt satisfied, feeling adequately cooled. He pressed a button that had a blow-dryer on it. His fur was whipped up in a storm of cool dry air. His fur was dry within a minute.
Laying himself out on top of the bed, sleep lulled quickly and he succumbed.
He opened his eyes to see light coming from a window he had not noticed before. He squeezed the covers and sat up, preparing himself for a couple of morning stretches and a yawn. He had not bothering to use the blankets while he slept.
Upon closer inspection of the window he saw that it was mid-day out, a bird was perched on a tree outside, ruffling the orange and yellow leaves along its branches.
“Neat, isn't it?” Doctor Allewaq's voice called out, “Know what, I'll spoil it for you right now before you get too fond of it.”
Spoil what? The wolf scanned the room, frantically, before his eyes settled upon the camera. “Where are you?”
“Oh? Why, I'm not at liberty to say, but I can see that you're curious. I'm speaking through an intercom.”
Ah, that makes sense. The wolf lowered himself down onto his bed, Still, he couldn't talk to me in person... Looking at the numbers 40590 that were printed on his feet.
“Good morning, by the way. Oh, and the spoiler, before I forget,” there was a short pause, in which the wolf took the opportunity to rub his eyes and straighten the fur on his tail.
“That window you see in your room?” His eyes turned to it, “It's not a real window, it's just a projection. See?”
Woah, wait what? “What do you mean...it's not real?”
The view outside was frozen. I don't see what's wrong. Perhaps... the image began to reverse, leaves floating back upwards to their starting positions, the bird hopping backwards. It's not real...is it a recording? The video then turned into a white screen before transitioning to a dolphin underwater. Oh, it's just a screen, like a television.
“As you can see, it's not real.” Ok, ok, so it's not real. But why'd he have to spoil it for me?
The wolf looked up at the camera, “So, why spoil it for me? Is there a reason to break the illusion, or are you just playing with me?”
“Oh, we don't want you to get too fond of it is all. You might at one point in time think it is an actual window and try to jump out.”
“Come on out, get something to eat, and we'll bring you to the pit.” The door leading out opened on it's own. Inviting the wolf outside.
Lights streamed in from above, illuminating the 'pit' in an early morning atmosphere. Shafts of morning yellow illuminated the ground where the wolf stood. Now that there was light, he could clearly see how large the 'pit' was.
He gulped, getting rid of the taste of hard-boiled eggs, his breakfast lingered on his tongue. He could see numerous surfaces along several different levels. This place isn't real either. He could see catwalks, several floors and layers above, vegetation growing around and within the metal surfaces. His eyes followed the top most catwalk, there were several gaps as it led to a cubicle. A cubicle that was identical to the one he was tasked to walk to.
Some of the walls showed scientists, watching. The gap with the log bridge was a slow flowing river, slow enough that there weren't any waves to reflect light for him to spot the water.
Doctor Allewaq spoke through the intercom, “Well, 40590, I can't keep calling you that. It's not right to refer you as specimen either.” It's rather demeaning actually, being called by a number or as specimen. “What shall we call you?”
“Something uncommon, please?” The wolf rolled his eyes, something unique would be nice.
“Something unique then? What about okami?”
“Ummm...that sounds girlish.”
“It means wolf in japanese.” In Japanese?
“Ummm, no.”
“Lupe?”
“No!” Something more creative than just 'wolf' in different languages or forms.
“Scott?”
“No, don't name me after the security guard!”
“Lupine?”
“Even worse.” The wolf tapped his foot on the ground, he couldn't decide if he should frown at the names being given, or smile at the fact that he was mildly enjoying this. Or both.
“Don't be picky...” Picky? Me, picky? You're the one giving me bad names, they are not worth choosing.
“Non of them are worth choosing to be honest.”
“What? Ok, fine, I'll stop reading from a list. Ummm, Farkas?”
“Getting better.” That sounds like a dog name, I am not a dog! Well, maybe I am, but I am not a pet! The wolf took the opportunity to look around. Behind him, covered in foilage, was a pickup truck – which sported a green camouflage paintjob. The make and model were a loss to him, but he could see a security guard and two scientists idling within arms reach of the vehicle.
“Seraph?”
“Seraph?” he smiled inwardly.
His eyes stayed with the scientists and the lone guard. The guard seemed to have some sort of bolt action rifle, several darts like bullets were slotted into his vest. Both scientists seemed engrossed in some sort of debate, at least, with their animated hand gestures, it seemed that way.
The guard noticed the wolf looking, he took a few steps towards him, “Hey Dog! Hey, what about Luna for a name? That's what I call my puppy at home.”
“Richard, that's a female name.” Doctor Allewaq butted in before the guard could finish his sentence.
Richard sheepishly grinned and stepped back behind the truck.
“Allright, what about Malakai, or Arthur?” While Doctor Allewaq's voice was patient, he began speaking as if he was giving commands.
“Ummm, Seraph sounds nice. Oh, and Arthur too.” The wolf padded over to the edge of the ridge above the river.
“So, Seraph? Arthur? C'mon, pick one so we can get on with the activity for today.”
“Arthur.” He answered while shoveling in a pile of rocks with his foot, his ears flicking as he heard a pattern of splashes.
“Okay. Please step into the waiting transport.” The wolf looked back towards the waiting group, they had the back open, with a scientist and guard riding on the flatbed. “Arthur” Doctor Allewaq added in after a short pause. I will have to get used to being called by that name.
Arthur climbed onto the flatbed along with the two others. “Glad you come along for the ride, wolfy,” the guard stated, smiling wildly, “You'll get to see the 'pit'. Enjoy the tour.”
“He's got a name now.” the scientist said, glancing ahead of the pickup as it began moving.
“Yea, he does now, doesn't he.”
The 'pit' was large, expansive, and scaled in several different levels. That was what Arthur thought at first, now, his view had changed. The 'pit' was enormous, expansive, deep, and scaled in several different levels and structures.
The pickup truck had taken them adjacent to the river, far past the log bridge at a brisk pace. It was slow enough for Arthur to take in the different sights, a guard tower and a transmitter, a small bench by the river with a pair of resting fishing rods, a complex of natural canopy walkways, and a bridge that now spanned a wide slow flowing river. The ride was fast enough that it wasn't all that pleasant, especially with some of the pot holes, rocks, and broken branches that the truck simply crushed underneath its chassis.
It was about 20 minutes before the truck pulled into a 2 lane road, traveling over a wide slow-flowing river, the same river the log bridge rested it's logs upon.
“Hey wol-...Arthur, let me know what you think when you're finished.” The scientist shifted through several layers of papers on his clip-board.
Ahead of Arthur was a small obstacle course. A two hundred meter track complete with hurdles along its length, u-turned into a rope ladder, leading onto a plank-walk. A set of monkey bars traversed across a safety net, a vault jump lay next, before finishing with a downhill sprint. “I'll think about it.” Arthur mumbled, studying the course.
“What if I stumble, fall, trip?” Arthur asked, feeling like he was being tested physically.
“No, we just want to see if you can make it to the end.” A second scientist answered, pointing to a podium cotton stand at the end of the course.
“You could take off that flimsy garment if you think it'll get in the way.” the first scientist approached the wolf. Arthur could see 'Cameron' on his ID tag. Cameron snickered, “We could look the other way if you'd like.”
“I suppose. This thing is flimsy.” the wolf lifted the medical garment over his head.
“They're be a timer, by the way.” Cameron continued, his back turned to the wolf, “I can hold your garment for you, too.”
The wolf tossed the garment, backing away as the garment blanketed over Cameron's head. “I'm ready.”
“You may start...now!” A voice yelled from behind.
From a lunging position, Arthur pushed himself forward, launching himself into a sprint. A hurdle was coming up This looks simple enough, I think. Unsure of what to do, he hopped over it clumsily, stumbling as his trailing paw struck the headboard. A little early Ow!
“See, spot, run!” the guard snickered.
Arthur couldn't hear the comment, as he hopped over another hurdle, sailing over the headboard gracefully. His legs and arms pumped in coordination, the next hurdle was fast approaching. His eyes widened as he realized he couldn't hop over with his right, he staggered and stuttered in his steps, hopping to the side, before hopping back onto the running lane. Better than hitting and falling over myself.
The wolf followed the lazy U-turn, his breathe was quick and rapid. He grunted, suppressing a growl as he jumped up to meet the rope climb. Arthur struggled, but not for long, his arms and legs finding a good rhythm as he pulled himself over the top.
“He did that a lot faster than you can, even with all your training.” Cameron shoulder-nudged the guard.
The guard smiled, “Let's see you try it?”
The plank walk was next, Arthur, not taking any chances, took it step by step, one paw in front of the other, using his arms for balance Buh. He leaped forward on the last step, rushing over to the monkey bars. Raising his arms, he grunted and huffed and strained moving from bar to bar. His paw/hand had a firm grip, but his arms shook with the effort, his incentive? A 12 foot drop to be broken by a flimsy looking, light-weight net That thing is supposed to keep me from falling? Nope, nope! He made it to the other side, with great difficulty, his arms shaking as he stepped over the vault block, pulling himself up and over.
Arthur jogged on the way down the ramp, his tongue lolling out, his breathe rapid and staggered. He hopped up onto pedestal set out. Oh wow, ugh. Cameron was waiting, his arms out, Arthur's medical garment neatly folded on the end. “Good, you made it! Poor Gregory, my colleague here,” he motioned to the second scientist, “Couldn't even finish the course.”
“Hey!” Gregory had his hands crossed over his chest, clipboard pressed against his breast pocket, “He doesn't need to know that.”
“What? It's motivation.” Cameron retorted.
“Moti...motivation? It works..., I do feel better.” The wolf took his time regaining his breathe.
“Uh-huh. See Gregory, you were an asset, to science.” Cameron laughed as the Arthur took the garment off his hands.
Arthur could feel, sense, the irritation teeming off Gregory. Before he smiled, “Fine, we're even.”
The pickup truck stopped by a copse of trees, in between the orange cubicle from earlier and the log bridge. “Doctor Allewaq wants you to wait for him, he wants to escort you personally. In the mean time, you can wonder about, just stay nearby.” Cameron waved off the wolf, as the guard kept himself within fifteen paces.
The yellow morning light was now a stark white, a little before noon, warming the ground wherever it touched. Branches and leaves provided shade from the light above, Arthur was kneeling such a tree, its branches spreading upwards like it was giving an offering. The wolf watched the stream below, observing the water rise and fall as it journeyed over rocks, mingling with several different currents. He also kept an eye on the guard off to the side, standing under a tree.
In the corner of his vision he spotted a camera mounted onto a tree at the opposite end of the stream, given away by a blinking red LED, it seemed to move back and forth in a slow moving arc. If they are trying to keep that camera hidden, they are not doing a good job at it. He also saw a group of scientists through a glass panel in the wall of the 'pit' a few levels above.
His ears perked, he turned his head slightly to the sound of footsteps approaching. “Hey, ummm, Arthur. One of the scientist said you could use some water.”
Arthur turned his head to face the guard, he had the butt of his rifle resting in his right palm, the barrel facing skywards. A bottle of water in his left, the cap twisted off, “I'll leave this here.” the guard placed the bottle on the grass, propping it up by positioning it in between two roots.
“You remembered my name.” Arthur said as he reached for the bottle. The guard took a few steps back.
“I did, eh? I still think you should consider the name Luna.” He smirked and walked back over to his tree, swaying a little with each step. Bleh, that is a female's name.
The wolf tipped the bottle upwards, being careful to not spill any on his fur, as he drank.
He turned to look at the ground, sighing softly. He closed his eyes and took several deep breathes.
He perked his ears and concentrated on listening to whispers of conversation. No doubt from the scientists some ways away, he concentrated on the sound of the guard walking in circles around a different tree. He heard voices, other voices though. That's strange.
The beeping of medical equipment, bubbling liquid and an odd floating sensation was building up. He concentrated on it. I'm starting to hear things, wow, maybe I am tired and I have not realized it.
“OUT, GET Out, don't you see?” Get out?
The feeling of corrugated steel was cold, he could feel it below him as he was slumped over, his cheek pressed against the metal.
“His important, a lot more important then you bastards”
Arthur curled up, the feeling of consciousness swayed back and forth, it felt like he was on a ship, rocking back and forth. He opened his eyes, tried to, he could see the grass below, as his cheek was pressed against the soil, it felt like corrugated metal. Cold, hard, metal.
He clenched his fists, his paws massaging liquid, breathable liquid. The sound of a bottle crumpling, amplified in his ears. The wolf swayed over to the side, he saw a medical room, a dead guard in front of him, science and medical staff everywhere. The steel below felt soft and moist, it felt like grass.
“Hey! Hey, come quick!” Anderson ran as he saw Arthur, the wolf slump over onto his side. The guard saw that he had curled up, but didn't think much of it.
Gregory and Cameron hurriedly approached the wolf. Arthur was on his side, his eyes fluttering and moving from side to side rapidly.
“C'mon, move him towards the cubicle. Inform Doctor Allewaq.”
Floating, or standing. It felt one in the same. What's happening?
Arthur could see a dolphin, a dolphin swimming in the deep blue sea, it looked free and happy, doing loops around, almost...almost beckoning for him to join.
It took a tremendous effort to get closer, to inch his way towards the sea mammal. Closer, closer to freedom.
His eyes slowly closed, he groaned and drifted away.
The wolf opened his eyes, he was in bed, or rather, he was on top of his messily strewn bed with pillows on the floor, sheets tangled and his fitted sheet pulled out. He had his head pressed near the floor board, staring at the screen in front, a dolphin swimming around greeted good morning. Buh, dolphin. Morning.
He rolled himself into an upright position, his head hurt.
“Good morning, Arthur.” Woah~
“Gah~!” Arthur jolted, he bolted away towards the headboard, smacking against it with an audible thump. Doctor Allewaq sat at a chair beside the door to the hallway. “Didn't mean to scare you. You seemed peacefully at rest in your...odd position.”
“Why am I here? How did I get here?”
“That's a question I should be asking you. How you got here though, I had some staff members wheel you in on a stretcher and lay you in bed. You weren't conscious.”
“I remember my head spinning and things becoming a blur.”
“Yes,” The doctor stood up, “That was explained to me, in great detail. However, I'd like to know what happened from your perspective.”
“Ummm...well.” Arthur lowered himself back onto his bed, assuming a cross-legged position, “I drank some water after some workout or timed activity.”
“Mmhmmm. Oh, also, follow my pencil without moving your head, if you can.” Allewaq had a pencil in his hand, which he raised towards the ceiling, “Go on.”
The wolf rolled his eyes upwards, trailing behind the pencil, “I sat down under a tree. I started remembering something, then that's when the blurriness began.” he lowered his eyes to follow the pencil to the floor.
“Can you describe anything specific?” The doctor nodded satisfyingly as Arthur followed the tip of his pencil from side to side as well.
“I...” The dead guard, the breathable liquid. The combining of two...no, the transitioning of what I saw? His eyes idly followed the pencil in different arcs, “I remember going back and forth between sitting down and being in a chamber filled with breathable liquid.”
“Hmmm.”
“I also remember seeing a dead guard.” I do remember that he tried to kill me. Ah, yes, he had a gun pointed at me.
“Well, that's far more informative than what the guard had to say.”
Arthur moved over to the side of the bed and stood up, “What do I have to do today?”
“Nothing.”
“Wait, nothing? I thought I'm a subject?” Huh?
“Yes, but I want to take care of my subjects, rest, just rest.”
Arthur turned to look at the dolphin, “Just rest...” he nodded This is going to be a long day...
“I need to get back to work, you can rest here, or at the cafeteria.”
“Could you change it back to the tree with the bird?” The wolf motioned to the screen.
“Sure.”
The Cafeteria was spacious, about a football field in size, broken up with rows of seating with a few cubicles for private meals or meal conferences, a glass tinted room for executives and a bar in the center.
The venders situated themselves near the center, with a separate buffet line on the side. Unlike the selection of food he was given at the passing vender on the way to the 'pit' yesterday.
Several scientists kept an eye on him, however arriving staff and the venders gave him wary looks. He had a few pieces of dimsum on his plate, and a section of baguette that had olive oil, garlic, and ham strewn on top.
He didn't even take a few bites before a guard rushed to him, rudely asking him to leave. The scientists ushered the guards away, saying, “Under Doctor Allewaq's orders.” To which the huffed and walked away.
He waited, sitting on his chair for what felt like hours.
From the far end of the cafeteria, the doors burst open.
“He's not ready for that!” Doctor Allewaq walked hurriedly beside another doctor, his superior it looked like. “Look, he passed out in the 'pit' he's supposed to be resting!”
“I make the decision if he does the operation or not.” The group was rushing towards Arthur, the wolf hunched and rapidly finished the remaining food on his plate.
“He may or may not survive.” Allewaq ran in front to try to stop his superior. He grunted as he was pushed aside.
“Look, we're running out of funding. We need results. If we don't get results, we lost more funding, if we lose more funding, we lack the resources for the upkeep of this facility.” He stopped to face Allewaq, “If we can't keep the facility running, you lose your specimens. Understood?”
“Yes. I understand.”
“Guards! Escort that wolf our to the operating theatre. Don't worry wolf, you're in good hands.”
Arthur barely manage to swallow his food.
“Just promise not to put him in pain.” Doctor Allewaq sighed.
Doctors stood ready and waiting. Beside the sleeping wolf sat a sterilized medical carry case.
“Okay, remember to be careful, we could do some serious nerve damage with his operation.”
“You know that these implants have had some bad effects, right?”
“Of course, which is why we were sent this,” the doctor opened the carry case, revealing an optical implant, “Syntec industries O-IK 4 implant.”
“No longer using Terracorp’s implants?”
“This implant was special order for this patient.”
“…”
Aaaaaugh! Pain shot through his head. It was a migraine, no...worse. His left eye burned! Literally burned! It was on fire from the inside. Waves of pain rippled throughout his spine.
He opened his eyes, his vision reeled. The world spun around him. Shapes and surfaces appeared, shifted into existence rather. Their outlines, in vivid colors, red, then blue, then green. W-what?
Arthur was floating within a tank of breathable liquid. Every bubble he saw was highlighted in yellow. He closed his eyes tight. He was in the cryo room. The pain, it's coming from inside.
“Doctor, he's awake!”
The wolf looked down, to see the numbers #40590. He closed his eyes again, but the numbers #40590 stuck in his head, highlighted in blue. What's happening?
“Hey, get him out of there.” Arthur found several staff members pressing a few panels and lifting the panel under him to lift the wolf out of the tube. My head, it hurts, it hurts. He looked up to see a familiar face. The words 'Cameron' appeared next to the doctors head.
“Take it easy there, Arthur. You've just come from a major operation.” I could gather as much.
“Exactly, what kind of operation?” C'mon, at least tell me.
“Ummm. David wants you to run the course. C'mon, he's been nipping at our heels because you weren't waking up.” The wolf accepted the towel handed to him, he dried his fur, taking several moments to alternate between pat drying and rub-drying.
“The operation had something to do with your eyes. I can't tell you much more without spending a lot of time.” Would that explain the weird things I am seeing?
“Ummm...ok.” He whimpered, his tail between his legs as he walked behind Cameron. He walked past the other staff members, declining an offer for a medical garment that was being handed to him.
Turning into the corridor outside, he stifled a yelp. The bright lights hurt, as well as the unique geometry of the walls, they lit up in blue straight away. Shutting his left eye, his vision returned to normal.
The 'pit' was shrouded in darkness. He could see the silhouettes of trees, bushes, and catwalks high above. The ground beneath crunched and crackled, the loose gravel breaking beneath him.
Arthur eyed the orange cubicle on the far side. Images of the field, log bridge and desk flashed through his mind, picturing the route in his head. It's straight forward enough, through the bramble ahead, the field. The slow flowing river. I could follow the river to find it.
The footsteps of a retreating scientist sounded behind him. “Alright Arthur. Just get to the other side, just like last time.”
“Is the experiment about if I can do this with one good eye?” Arthur asked, closing his left eye.
“No, no it's not. We're seeing how it'll help you. Doctor Allewaq can explain better than I can.” The door behind closed with a soft hiss.
Arthur lowered himself down into a squat. His ears perked as his paws made fists, he concentrated on the silence, his heart-beat. Something to ignore the throbbing in his left eye. Aaah.
The wolf stilled himself for what felt like minutes. He gulped, swallowing to try to moisten his dry throat.
Opening his eyes, he looked around, keeping his left eye slightly closed. Everything was blanketed in a light silvery tone, his natural night vision kicking in. Ahead was a thick brush of bramble, clear grass graced the sides of the walls. Behind, he saw the camera behind, staring at him with a single red LED light.
He stared back, I wonder what they see from there. He stared at the lens, eyeing the glare from the curved glass. Arthur blinked, the camera was now highlighted in yellow, the surfaces were highlighted, with the edges bolded, it stood out from the darkness. Blinking several more times, he made sure he wasn't imagining. Ok, not my imagination. Maybe it's got to do something with that operation.
Arthur turned around. A yellow cone greeted him, it spread outward, originating from the camera. It seemed to highlight the field of view of the device.
Stepping away from the field of view, Arthur turned around and swiftly made his way towards the bushes.
Breaking through the underbrush, the wolf found himself back in the field. He broke into a run, taking long, even strides over the grass.
He was halfway across the field, closing his left eye, as he ran. The throbbing was lessening as he focused on the orange cubicle on the far side. It had just occurred to him, with the way the wall of vegetation that circled around the field, it was a large grove. A very large grove.
Closing in on the wall of trees ahead of him, he broke into a full sprint. Arms and legs moving in coordination.
Leaping up, he sailed over a large root, the ground below was highlighted in blue. Squinting, he tried to focus on it as his paws hit the ground right on the spot. Okay, that was strange.
He looked down several times as he took off again, the wolf's paws skidding across the ground as he tried to find traction over a track of dried leaves.
Arthur focused on a thin path to pass through the forest. The path was highlighted blue in his mind, sticking out clearly out of the darkness. Ok, this is helpful. Not sure what's happening though. He glanced upwards towards the orange cubicle.
The path widened ahead, blocked off by a dead tree stump. The path around it disappeared under a thick patch of bramble. No way around this. He looked for places he could jump off of. The path leading up to the stump was still in blue, the lip around the edges was marked in green.
He planted a paw on the edge, and launched upwards. With a soft thud, the wolf landed on the other side of the large tree stump. He dug his paw into the ground and continued on his way. Ok, whatever I'm seeing is definitely helping me. Several surfaces flashed blue and green, they flashed through his mind, as he concentrated on the trail he was following.
A mass of silverlight filtered in from ahead of him, a gap of darkness as well. The river. I'm almost there. Bursting through the thick of branches, he peddled backwards to a stop.
The edge of the river teased at his heels, the sound of flowing river water tickled his sensitive ears. Taking a slow scan of the area, he covered his eye as pulsating pain emanated from his eye. Taking several steps, he walked along the riverside.
Arthur couldn't find the original path he had taken last time, can't be sure where the bridge is, but it's along this river. The pain in his head made it hard to make out which path he was looking for, wherever he might be, he should be close by.
Pacing himself along the edge of the river, he passed by several more tree mounted cameras. Wow, they are serious about surveillance. The wolf had to stop and rest periodically as the pain increased. Keeping his paw over the eye and applying gentle pressure lessened the pain a little.
Arthur took a seat alongside the edge of the ravine above the river below. His paw still covering his eye, he felt lost already. No sense of depth with one eye, but too disoriented when using both. He sighed softly and rested, listening to the river flow below him.
What’s happening to me?
End of Chapter 1
Category Story / All
Species Wolf
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 89.5 kB
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