Third Time's the Charm

    At last, they had arrived! From the moment, he'd entered the examination room Feral had Ahmet's full attention. His sharp gaze snapped to watch him, lingering in silence. No longer a gorilla, 4310258629087 reminded him of a tiger, the kind they kept in circus tents. The kind who suddenly realized they were afraid of fire, and what was Ahmet but a walking flamethrower? On silent feet he approached 4310258629087, looking him over for any sign of injury. He must have been rather compliant or perhaps the guards were learning for once as Ahmet found him to be in decent shape.

    "Well," clasping his hands behind his back, he nodded towards the examination table. "You know the drill. On the table," he urged the guards. Rushing the experiment would get them nowhere if Feral had the same reaction, but if he was going to be disappointed a second time, Ahmet would rather it be sooner than later. "When he is secured have someone take his collar for inspection." It wasn't something they normally facilitated, inspecting the collars. But if Feral was going to have his removed anyway, why not send it to the technical corps?


    Catching sight of those bared fangs, Ahmet's gaze lingered on the patient a while longer. "Those teeth, they are a luxury. Remember that." Then he stepped aside, allowing the guards to do as he'd said. Was he really threatening to remove Feral's teeth? Well of course! What did he need them for? Eating? Throwing all of his food in a blender would take care of that, it might also keep him from mauling other patients. It was an idea, one Benici would seriously contemplate if 4310258629087 kept on snarling and showing them off.

[ O.O.C: I swear, I should have that ID tag memorized by now xD ]

    His mood would lighten if only a little as he noticed 4310258629087's compliance. The less he struggled the sooner they could get him in the vivarium, or back to the infirmary should his heart fail again. The modifications he'd made to the serum would lessen its damage on the body, leaving the patient with a greater chance to live...hypothetically. As his colleagues bustled around filling syringes and checking the serum, Ahmet would hover next to the patient's head watching him with a cold unblinking stare. His growl would do nothing to rouse him from his thoughtfulness, instead reaching out with a gloved hand to apply pressure to the previous puncture wound.

    Ahmet moved with a complete disregard to Feral's hostility and those dangerous fangs of his, turning his head to the side as he applied the little pressure on the tender skin. They would do well to inject the needle a hairs width lower than they had originally planned, give Feral a little more time to heal. "Do you want the needle to break?" He reminded the patient in a cold voice. At his nod, two of his peers disappeared around the curtain divider to administer the serum to the other patient, another handed Benici his own needle. One of the nurses moved timidly to hook 4310258629087 up to and EKG machine ensuring it worked before giving Ahmet the 'ok'.

    Well, this was it. It either worked or it didn't and Ahmet was losing his patience. Without warning, he pricked 4310258629087's neck, slowly administering the serum while watching for any signs of distress or decay. If the serum ended up killing 4310258629087's cells faster than his body could repair them, the crash cart would be useless and Ahmet wouldn't stand for Feral rotting on his table.

    "Relax," the man growled as 4310258629087 grew stiff as a board. He didn't want the needle to snap off did he? Either way, his resistance would make it harder for Ahmet to insert the serum and he applied more pressure on the syringe, muttering a curse the patient began to panic. He could hear similar noises from behind the curtain separator, struggling followed by a low moan that gradually rose to a wail. Screaming. In the many years he'd spent working at the compound, Ahmet had grown cold to the noise, ignoring it entirely as he focused on the patient before him. A rather dazed looking scientist would dart around the room divider beckoning towards the extra crash cart and the few doctors Ahmet was willing to spare.


    So the serum proved unsuccessful on the other patient, but 4310258629087 was different. Ahmet gritted his teeth applying more pressure upon Feral to keep him still. The patient was doing a remarkable job of remaining immobile and Benici felt the faintest sense of triumph that he hadn't begun seizing again. Surprisingly enough the scientist would yield to Feral's request, nodding to the scientist across from him. "Take it out." The syringe was three-quarters empty as Ahmet applied cotton around the needle, carefully pulling it out.

    Setting the needle onto the closest tray, he kept the cotton there for a few seconds longer, observing the dark stain of the serum as it flooded his system. Nearby the doctors were preparing the crash cart just in case, the whole team waiting on the edge of crippling suspense.

Now that he was reacting towards the serum, the freak had Ahmet's full attention. One of Benici's arms clamped down on his arm just in case the restraints wouldn't be good enough, the other keeping his head still. Although the needles had been removed, it would do 4310258629087 little good to move his neck too much. With an intent stare, he watched the darkening blood vessels, gritting his teeth as he replayed the former experiment in his mind. About any minute now the patient would start jerking, seizing almost, and then after that his heart would fail. These had been the most noticeable symptoms 4310258629087 had displayed before, so Ahmet kept his eyes open for even the slightest involuntary twitch or movement.

    But there was nothing but 4310258629087's heavy breathing, the EKG machine going berserk. Was the kid having a heart attack or just a panic attack? This was something the doctors seemed intent on figuring out as they collected around the machine, leaving Ahmet awkwardly hovering over 4310258629087. And while he seemed awkward about being 'left alone', there was something protective about the way he hovered over the patient as if he were watching over him in some way. "Calm down before you have a heart attack." Those were the only words of comfort he offered Feral as he continued to watch over him, continuously checking him over. 

    So intent on the patient before him, Ahmet wouldn't even look up as he heard the squeaking wheels of one of the infirmary beds. He didn't need to look. The slow weary steps would tell him enough, the female patient had died. Her survival had balanced on the tip of a knife to begin with, the serum was made specifically for 4310258629087 and 4310258629087 only. It would be nice if it worked on the others, it would save Benici one step. But Feral was his main focus right now, not the girl. 4310258629087 couldn't die today, not today.

    In the moments that followed Ahmet checked Feral's eyes and ears to ensure he wasn't bleeding out of places he shouldn't be, being oddly gentle if his delicate movements could even be called that. His eyes followed the trail of the dark serum searching for any growing patches that would indicate cell deterioration. The serum wouldn't do them any good if it started to rot Feral from the inside. But before Benici's fear could become well founded the EKG machine returned to a normal pace indicating Feral's heartbeat was regular.

    With pure fascination Ahmet watched all signs of the serum disappearing, the miracle drawing the rest of the faculty around the table. And then, like magic, the dark lines would disappear completely leaving Ahmet to lean away from the table. A ghost smile would make an ominous appearance as Ahmet regarded 4310258629087. I...am the greatest person in the world. The thought would never make it past his lips, but the triumphant gleam in his eyes said it all. Feral would get no credit of course, he was just a test subject, Ahmet was the one who'd spent four solid days pouring over formulas and test results. He was the one who'd brought them to this place. It was all him.

    "Let him rest. We will resume our tests in half an hour," but who was he speaking to? Anyone who was willing to listen, it wasn't as if anyone was eager to lift Feral off the table. In case the serum hadn't taken full effect, Ahmet wasn't too eager to move him either. Instead, in the most uncharacteristic manner, he would turn to the freak offering the kindest thing he'd say to the date. "How are you feeling?"

    Watching Feral, Ahmet found his condition rather difficult to decipher. Aside from the obvious stress his body had suffered, all his systems appeared to be functioning correctly and the patient himself would be no help in giving a decent report on his condition. Well, had he expected anything different? With a delicate scowl, Ahmet sighed, deciding to give Feral the rest he needed. "You'll be out of here soon...one way or another," his ominous words needed no explaining given the patient who had already been wheeled out moments before.


    The next thirty minutes Ahmet had his hands rather full. After confirming the death of the patient, he'd made arrangements to have the body cremated. There was little grief or remorse on his visage when he returned to the examination room. Her name had been Sarah, and at nineteen years old she was one of their older patients. Sometimes their life span couldn't be stretched any longer, given her older age she was no longer as reliable as a test subject. For now, he wouldn't be sorry to see her go.

    Upon entering the examination room, he found the vivarium's had been prepped, all systems were go. What a delightful day this was turning out to be. With the most stressful part of the experiment done, the tiredness settled upon the scientist for the first time. He hadn't slept in four days and it showed in the way he morphed across the room, sitting heavily in the closest chair. Had it been thirty minutes yet? Checking his watch the scientist sighed, stifling a yawn before it could betray his exhaustion. "Bring him around," from where he was Ahmet motioned for Feral's release, ordering the guards to place him inside the newly refurbished vivariums. The fun was about to begin!

    Gone was the timid circus tiger, 4310258629087 had gone back to the gorilla he reminded him so much about. Almost amused, Ahmet ordered the experiment to commence the moment Feral had been successfully shut away. There was nothing new about the experiment, the way the pipes hissed to life, spewing colorless chemicals into the vivarium leaving poor Feral in a death trap. The only difference was the combination of chemicals. No longer was he being exposed to one chemical but three. Either the serum would prove to have done its job, or the patient would die.

    Lacing his fingers together, Ahmet leaned forwards, resting his upper lip against his hand. His eyelids drooped as 4310258629087 drummed against the class. "That's not going to work," he muttered to himself. The little freak wouldn't put them in lockdown again, hopefully. Ahmet had taken extra measures in refurbishing the glass and ensuring the pipes were well out of Feral's reach. The kid would have to be spiderman to reach the vents. And if he did succeed in tearing through the metal and plastic preventing the dangerous chemicals from reaching the rest of them, Ahmet would break him. Up until this point he had enjoyed Feral's attitude, as annoying as it could be, it showed the patient had some spunk, that he was a little more than a lethargic bag of bones.


    Eyelids drooping Dr.Benici fought back sleep. This was supposed to be the most exciting moment of his life...but he was too tired. He wanted nothing more than to just curl up and sleep. This would all be over in a few hours, he had only to hold on until then. But as he watched Feral in the tank, his eyes drooped lower...and lower.