Inside, Pt. 1

by Kyra Anderson

  “I will reimburse your home for his food as well,” Dana nodded. “He eats the same as any other human, except that he only eats red meat. No poultry for obvious reasons.”

  He chuckled, as did Mrs. Markus. I just blinked, not finding the joke funny. Clark shared a look with me showed he felt the same way.

  “In any case, he does not have any special dietary needs or restrictions,” Dana continued. “Just be sure he always has access to water.”

  The way this man spoke about Mykail made me sick. I felt as though we were buying an illegal animal off the black market…only this was far worse.

  “Now, you will need to bathe him at least twice a week,” Dana explained. “As I’m sure you can imagine, his wings are exceptionally heavy, and he cannot maneuver himself to wash his back or his wings. Be especially mindful of the skin by his wing joint,” he showed us where he was talking about on the picture. “If he moves too much, the skin can rip easily when dry. After you bathe him, you will need to put a special lotion on this area for the following two days to avoid a bloody mess and possible infection.”

  “So, we really need to do that every day,” my father said slowly. Dana smiled chillingly.

  “Basically,” he nodded. “I will show you where and how to apply the lotion when I bring him to you.”

  He shifted through his papers once more.

  “I believe that is all…” he said slowly. “Now, if he is in pain from his wings or his back, call my personal line. It will be number five in your phone. Also, if you have any other questions or concerns with him, you can call my line at any time, day or night.”

  “Aren’t you a busy man?” my mother pressed.

  “If you are unable to reach me directly, you may call my head of security, Sean. He will relay the message to me. He’s generally nearby.” Dana looked around at us as he stood straight. “Mykail is very dear to me. I want to keep a close watch on him,” Dana chuckled. “After all, I spent a lot of money creating him.”

  My mother, father, and I looked at one another, wondering who was going to ask the questions of how and why Dana created Mykail.

  “What is it?” Dana chuckled, seeing the glance. “Do you have a question?”

  None of us spoke up. I looked at Clark, who cleared his throat.

  “I…I think, Mr. Christenson…that they are curious how you created Mykail.”

  “Oh, of course! Forgot about that.” Dana snapped his fingers. “Right this way.”

  He turned on his heel and led us out of his office. I saw my parents exchange a concerned glance before following Dana. We were all feeling the same way: trapped, confused, and frightened.

  Clark stepped up beside me.

  “How are you holding up?” he whispered.

  “Ask me tomorrow…”

  We walked a short distance down the hall to the door we had passed on our way to Dana’s office. When we reached the door, Dana turned and we could all feel his demeanor change.

  “I should not need to remind you of the NDA you signed when you entered,” he started darkly. “Nothing you are about to see is to be discussed outside of the Commission. This is the same for Mykail. If you let anything slip, we will take care of you very quickly and discreetly.” Dana let the comment sink in. “Do we all understand each other?”

  “Y-yes,” we barely managed to mutter.

  Dana grinned. “Excellent.”

  He pushed the door open and we braced ourselves as best we could for the horror that waited on the other side.

  The air was colder beyond the door, but the room was brighter. Very bright, in fact.

  We passed through a sliding glass door and stopped when Dana, Mrs. Markus, and Clark stopped.

  I looked around, noticing several lights on either side of us, jutting out from a wire rack on a track that surrounded the small chamber. The glass door behind us slid shut and locked.

  “I would recommend closing your eyes,” Dana said over his shoulder.

  Just for that, I kept my eyes open.

  The lights clicked on and a bright blue orb suddenly surrounded us as the lights circled on the track. It was too bright, too dizzying…my eyes snapped shut.

  The whirring of the rotating lights died moments later, and I opened my eyes again to see the darkened racks moving to the side once again.

  As the glass door in front of Dana opened and we stepped out, my father blinked, dazed and curious, following unsteadily.

  “What was that?”

  “Protection for the experiments,” Dana said.

  “The lights kill any contaminants on your skin or clothes that could come in contact with the experiments,” Mrs. Markus explained as we moved to another door surrounded by six guards. “You will go through the same thing when you leave, but that one is for your protection.”

  “If I may ask, Dana,” my father started. “Why is the Commission running experiments? What are they for?”

  “Well, that’s a bit complicated to answer,” Dana said slowly. He nodded to the guards that rapidly stood from their position behind the security desk to our right. One of them moved around the desk and opened the door, three more guards following. Dana stepped through the door, leading us while the guards surrounded him. “You see, the Commission strives to create the ultimate soldier. A weapon, if you will, out of humans.”

  “You’re…altering humans to make weapons?” I hissed.

  “Yes,” Dana nodded without hesitation. “Some of them work, like Mykail, others…well, they’re not as fortunate…” Dana motioned to the wall next to him. I turned and my heart stopped in my chest. The wall was a large, glass panel that gave us full view of the creature inside the plain, white cell. There were no words to describe the hideous, blotchy skin seeping thick, yellow fluid. The large eyes looked reptilian and the mouth had been heavily distorted. The fingers were webbed, and the back arched in a horrible way, distorting the rest of the body.

  My mother yelped, and I managed to keep myself from screaming.

  “That…was once human?” my mother gasped.

  “At one point, I think so.” Dana tilted his head to the side, as if contemplating the question. “Not much to look at now, I’m afraid.”

  “How…do you even do this?” my father blinked at Dana. “This is out of a sci-fi novel…”

  “It’s all trial and error, really,” Dana said with a shrug. “We lay them on a table and try to change everything we can until we have something, well, like this.” He motioned to the creature again. “We’ve created all sorts of fascinating things.”

  “You…you said you were creating weapons,” I said slowly, tearing my eyes away from the experiment staring at us in horror. “W-what kind of weapon were you making with him?”

  “See the disgusting yellow ooze?” Dana asked. “It’s acidic, at a pH level of two. It could melt anything it comes in contact with.” Dana sighed, disappointed. “However, it did also cause problems with his hair follicles and skin pigmentation…then it started eating through his nerve endings. We’re running some final tests on him before we put him down.”

  “Wait, you just…test on humans and then kill them when they don’t work out?” I gasped incredulously.

  “Oh, it’s all very humane,” Dana smiled. “Come, I’ll show you more. We keep all the ugly ones up front. Keeps people on their toes, which is good because the ones that are successes are generally more dangerous.”

  Dana turned, walking, almost bouncing, down the hallway, his four guards surrounding him. I looked at my father and mother, who were too shocked to move. Mrs. Markus chuckled.

  “There is no need to be frightened,” she assured. “Dana is simply trying to psych you out. All of the experiments are properly contained.”

  And who contains Dana? I growled to myself. I forced my legs to move down the bright, sterile hallway. I could not help my curiosity, looking in each large cells we passed. Some were hideous, looking like creatures from movies with no resemblance to a human. Clearly, their men
tality had been changed as well as they ambled about their cells, quickly backing away in fear when they saw us.

  “Dana,” my father called.

  “Yes?” Dana said over his shoulder, not stopping as we passed through two sets of doors, entering a section marked with a large “3” on the door.

  “All of your experiments were human?” he pressed.

  “Yes, or some variation, thereof.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” I murmured under my breath. Of course, Dana heard me and stopped. His guards halted, too. The head of the Commission of the People heaved a sigh and then chuckled, turning slowly to face me.

  “You obviously have not had enough experience in the world to understand that no one is truly human anymore,” he whispered.

  “Where do you get your test subjects?” my father asked quickly, taking Dana’s attention off me.

  “Oh, all over the place,” Dana answered, turning to face my father. “They’re people the Commission rounds up. You know, illegal immigrants, homosexuals, ethnic and religious minorities, those people.”

  We stared at Dana, shocked at how easily he had told us the information. Dana glanced over our expressions and barked a laugh.

  “Why are you so shocked?” he chuckled coldly. “What did you think happened to the people the Commission collected?”

  We still could not speak. I had never given much thought to the Commission cleaning out the population of America. Since I had been born into a time where the population was considered purely American, it was not something I often had reason to think about. Now that Dana had told me, I felt nauseous that I had not thought deeper into the Commission before. The entire population ignored the basic question asking what the Commission did with its criminals.

  “Is there an ultimate goal you are working toward?” my father pressed. “Taking all these people and testing on them…you have something in mind, don’t you?”

  “Well, we do have an overlying project…” Dana nodded. “That is our main weapon. So far, the testing has been disastrous.”

  “Dana…” Mrs. Markus smiled knowingly. Dana turned to her and smiled.

  “Well…not completely disastrous,” he admitted with a dark grin.

  “What has been the overlying project?” my mother asked nervously. Dana sighed.

  “Do the glasses bother you?” he asked, pointing to his face. I blinked at the abrupt subject change.

  “I’m sorry?” my father asked, also caught off guard.

  “These glasses. You see,” he started, reaching up, “I would rather not wear them at all. And if I am going to tell you about the main project, I want to speak to you directly.”

  I felt my pulse race and my curiosity peak sharply. I was overwhelmed by the horrific things I had already seen that night, but it was blocked from my mind as I thought about being able to see Dana’s eyes, the eyes that had been staring me down all evening.

  Dana took the frame of the glasses in his fingers and began to pull them off.

  The guards stepped in front of Dana and turned him around.

  “Our apologies, sir…” they murmured.

  “What?” Dana whined. I could barely see his head over the guards as Dana turned to look at them. I tried to crane my neck to see Dana’s face, but the guards were moving too much, attempting to get Dana to turn around again.

  “Sean has instructed that you are not to remove your glasses in front of others if possible,” one guard said.

  “Well, Sean is not here, and he does not create the rules, I do.” Dana’s tone changed, once again dangerous. “Now, move out of the way and let me see them.”

  “We’re sorry, sir.”

  “We’re following Sean’s orders.”

  There was a thick silence that hung for three long seconds. Then, one of the guards cried out in pain as his arm was twisted behind his back, Dana stepping close, looming over the cringing and collapsing guard.

  “Who do you serve?” he snarled.

  “Y-You, sir!” the guard cried out in pain.

  “Good. If you want to lose your arm, defy me again.”

  “Yes, sir! I’m sorry, sir!” the guard cringed. I blinked at the display, watching Dana subdue his own guard in such a harsh manner.

  “Good boy…” Dana cooed. “Now, are you going to bow at my feet and kiss my shoes?”

  “W-What?” the guard gasped. Dana angrily released the guard, pushing him to the ground. He glanced up at Dana, his eyes wide with fear.

  “You heard me…”

  “Sir, this is not fair. He was only—”

  Dana swiveled, jamming his fist upward into the speaking man’s diaphragm and causing him to fall to his knees, clutching at his stomach, gasping like a fish out of water.

  “Disobedience will not be tolerated!” Dana snapped. He looked at the two standing guards and then down to the two on the floor. “Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, sir…” they chorused.

  “Now, you heard me,” he snarled at the two on their knees.

  I watched in fascination and horror as the two guards leaned down to Dana’s feet and kissed the top of his shined, black shoes, trembling.

  “Knock it off, you pathetic puppies,” Dana groaned, rolling his eyes and finally lifting his head to look at us.

  His eyes were incredible. The intensity of the unnatural golden color caused my legs to go weak and I felt myself falling into their depths willingly. His eyes were the only place I could see some semblance of age. He had some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, but the abnormal color of the irises diminished the otherwise evident age.

  When the colorful orbs rested on me, I felt the pull from every section of my body. I felt my legs weaken and my heart pound. My mouth dropped open and a fire awoke in my belly that I could not ignore. I shivered, lost in the eyes. Heat rose to my cheeks, but it was not embarrassment…

  Dana’s eyes moved off me and to my mother and father. I could tell they were both feeling the same way. Even my father seemed flustered, seduced by the incredible power of Dana’s eyes.

  “Sorry you had to see that display,” Dana cooed. I could have sworn he was hypnotizing us with his eyes and his now-calm voice that dripped with honey. “Some pets forget who their master is…”

  I barely heard the words. Every part of me was alight with fire and intense curiosity, lined with a dose of powerful fear. He was a beautiful predator and I was the defenseless prey, captured in his power and beauty, willing to be his victim.

  “Are you frightened, Little Lily?” Dana asked, his deep, raspy voice tingling along my spine, magnifying the feelings in my body that his eyes had ignited. I swallowed hard and slowly shook my head. “You’re not afraid of me?”

  I nodded, my head attached to a string he was controlling.

  “That’s a smart girl…”

  The power of Dana’s eyes was broken when a hand pushed Dana’s head sideways, turning him around. I blinked, trying to gain my bearings as I looked at the newcomer. The man who had come up behind Dana was even taller than Dana—though not by much—with tanned skin, dark brown eyes and hair, and built like a wrestler. Though he was strong and tall, there was nothing about the man that was immediately threatening.

  “Dana, please…” the stranger sighed with a tone of patience that I had to marvel at. He sounded like a caring older brother who had caught his unwell brother doing something he was not supposed to. The man plucked Dana’s glasses from his breast pocket and tenderly placed them on his face. “I asked you to keep these on as often as possible…”

  “You’re no fun, Sean…” Dana pouted.

  I turned to note Clark’s reaction to Sean’s appearance. Clark seemed relieved, as though he had just seen a dangerous dog leashed.

  “Sir, I really do not interfere with any of your affairs,” Sean said. “Please, this is the only thing I ask of you…”

  “You have bizarre rules for these stupid things,” Dana growled, adjusting the glasses. “Well, when can
I take them off in front of the Sandovers, then?”

  “I would prefer never,” Sean said, his eyebrows high.

  “Nope,” Dana shook his head strongly.

  “Then at least not on the first day they are here,” Sean groaned, rolling his eyes. “I’m sure they’re overwhelmed enough.” He turned to the four guards. “Parker, Jake, return to your posts.”

  “Yes, sir,” the two at Dana’s feet nodded, hurrying away.

  “Well, now that Sean is here, the fun stuff will have to wait,” Dana sighed, turning and jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the taller man. “This is Sean Jacobsen, my head of security.”

  I realized then that it was not Dana’s security Sean was in charge of, but rather the security of everyone who came in contact with the leader of the Commission. I wondered why Dana was so willing to let Sean boss him around. For a moment, I entertained the thought that Sean was Dana’s older brother—which would explain the calm patience in his voice—but they did not look at all related.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Sandovers,” Sean greeted. His eyes rested on me and widened. His gaze flicked quickly to Clark, and the two shared a silent conversation before Sean’s eyes came back to me. I tried to ignore the churning of my stomach.

  “I was about to take them to Lab Two and show them the recent progress we have made with the Enterprise project,” Dana said, turning to his head of security.

  “Have you explained it to them?” Sean asked worriedly.

  “I was about to,” Dana nodded. He started walking again, Sean falling into step behind him. “Come. I will discuss everything along the way.

  “The ultimate goal is to create a creature that is human in most respects and has no spontaneous mutations, which has been happening a lot recently…” Dana’s eyebrows furrowed, perplexed as he walked us out of section three of the experiment cells and through the door across the small hallway marked with a large six. We moved through more lines of glass cells. We moved out of section six to another hallway, where we immediately turned into the opening on our right, walking up the short adjoining hallway to a door with a small window in the middle.

  “This is Lab Two,” Dana explained, reaching into his lapel pocket and pulling out his key card, sliding it over the electronic lock before opening the door.