by Amy Cross
Although my first instinct is to rush at her and rip her head clean from her shoulders, I manage to restrain myself. After all, I might manage to kill her, but I'd be quickly subdued by the orderlies, and then I'd never get a chance to reach Dr. Cole. A much better approach would be to force myself to remain calm until I reach the laboratory, and then once I've been tied to the table and the orderlies have left, I can come up with a way to get free and end this madness once and for all.
"Come on," Nurse Fletcher says, stepping aside. "Time for your walkies, Felix. Don't make us come in there and get you. It's been a long day and I don't have the patience to deal with your mangy, flea-ridden bullshit right now."
I stare at her, unable to stop thinking back to the moment when she killed Nurse Silk. Every atom in my body is straining to get hold of the bitch and tear her to shreds, but somehow I'm managing to retain some self-control. The truth is, I've got a vague plan: I'm going to wait until Dr. Cole straps me down and conducts another of his experiments, and then once my body is filled with pain and rage, I'll break free and redirect all of that fury right back at him and his cohorts. It's a risky strategy, but I figure it's better than just trying to fight my way out of the cell.
"What's wrong?" Nurse Fletcher asks. "Missing your girlfriend? That stringy little whore didn't know when she had it good. God knows why she wanted to go around associating herself with a werewolf."
Taking a deep breath, I realize that I mustn't let her see my anger.
"Here, boy," she continues. "I'm serious, Felix. You do not want to make us drag you out of that cell. We'll pull you all the way up the stairs to the laboratory, and I promise you, we'll find the most painful part of your body to use for a grip."
"What's happening?" I ask as I step out into the corridor. "Has he decided to give me some more punishment for my little indiscretion?"
"You should be so lucky," she mutters as she slides the door shut. "Looks like he's changed your treatment program and accelerated the next phase. I hope you're feeling tough, 'cause everything you've been through so far was just the warm-up. Today, it's time for the main course." Grabbing the chain around my neck, she starts to pull me along the corridor. "Good boy, Felix," she adds with a grin. "See? You can be obedient when it suits you."
Holding back the desire to slaughter her, I try to focus on the main goal: I need to get my hands on Dr. Cole first. I've spent hours fantasizing about the feeling of his neck being crushed between my hands, and about the sight of Nurse Fletcher's skull falling from her face. If I can get the pair of them, I'll be able to die with some sense of satisfaction. It won't be a victory, but it'll still be cathartic.
"Hang on," she says suddenly, stopping next to another cell. She peers through the small, barred window. "This is the first time in years that the old hag hasn't been ranting and yelling," she mutters as she starts to unlock the door. "Everyone else is acting up, so I don't see why she'd go quiet on us." Sliding the door open, she takes a step forward before stopping in her tracks.
"What's wrong?" I ask, following her into the cell.
The old woman's body is on the floor, and her glassy eyes are staring up at us with an unmistakable look of death. What's more striking, however, is the fact that her body appears to have been sliced by hundreds, maybe even thousands of tiny blades, with her blood having pooled in the cracks between the stones that cover the floor. I'm immediately reminded of her rants about the spiders, and her belief that one day they'd kill her.
"Okay, get out of here," Nurse Fletcher says, clearly shocked as she pushes me back out into the corridor. "I'm gonna need someone to move this body immediately," she continues, turning to one of the orderlies, "and then I need a list of everyone who was on duty since this morning."
"You think it was suicide?" asks the orderly as he steps into the cell.
"Suicide?" She pauses for a moment. "She shouldn't have been able to do anything like this. Besides, she's been here almost since the place opened and she's never threatened to hurt herself. Why would she start now?" Turning to me, she seems a little suspicious for a moment, as if she thinks I might know something about the old woman's death. "Did you hear anything?" she asks. "You're in the cell next door. Surely you must have heard her calling out for help?"
I shake my head.
"Not a peep, eh?"
"She was talking about spiders," I reply. "She thought they'd be after her."
"She was insane," Nurse Fletcher replies, grabbing the chain around my neck and leading me along the corridor. "Someone else can clean up that mess. By tonight, her body will have been burned and we can start disinfecting her cell ready for the next arrival."
"You think there'll be a next arrival?" I ask.
"Are you trying to be funny?"
"Of course not," I reply as she leads me up the stairs toward Dr. Cole's laboratory. "It's just that I'm starting to get the feeling that things are going to change around here. Maybe I'm imagining it, but there just seems to be something in the air. The current regime isn't going to last much longer."
"Dream on," she replies. "There's only one thing that's gonna change today, Felix, and that's your situation. Within a few hours, you're gonna be a very different kind of wolf, and I can't say that's a bad thing." She stops at the door and turns to me. "I hope you're ready for prime-time, Felix," she adds with a grin, "because you're about to go where no werewolf has ever gone before, and you're gonna be screaming all the way."
Chapter Two
Abby Hart
"The subject is going to be put through an extraordinary amount of pain," Dr. Cole says as he busies himself with the control device in the far corner. "It's unfortunate, but entirely necessary. We simply have to determine the extent to which he's able to withstand such agonies before the change occurs." He pauses to turn a few dials. "Assuming that there's a change at all, of course."
I look down at the metal dishes in my hands. Since I came back up to the main part of Tor Cliff, I've been keeping a low profile. There are so many nurses running around, it's not hard to blend into the background, but now that I'm in Dr. Cole's laboratory, I'm worried that he might recognize me. Sure, I've pulled my hair up and made a few quick changes to my appearance, but it's still hard to believe that he could fail to realize that I'm not one of his usual members of staff. Then again, he seems to be so engrossed by his work, I guess he's not really bothering to look at anyone else in the room.
"You'll need to take those down to be sterilized later," one of the other nurses tells me as she comes over to help. She glances over her shoulder, to make sure that no-one can hear us, before turning back to me and smiling. "It's okay," she continues. "I remember what it was like on my first day. Dr. Cole doesn't exactly over-explain things, does he? It's more like he expects everyone to kind of slot into their role without being told what they're doing."
"I'm sure I'll pick it up soon," I reply.
"Don't worry, though," she continues, keeping her voice down. "You'll get the hang of it soon enough. Between you and me, I'm pretty sure that most of these experiments are pretty simple. The hardest part is dealing with all the screaming, especially when he's torturing that poor werewolf. It takes a while to develop a thick skin, but you'll get there eventually."
I smile politely, but I'm not really sure what to say. All I can think about is the fact that soon, once the other nurses have left the room, I'm going to murder Dr. Cole in cold blood. If he attacked me, or if he was trying to hurt someone I cared about, I'd have no trouble dropping him to the ground, but this whole situation feels too clinical and calculated.
"Don't let him see that you're nervous, though," the nurse continues. "It's the one thing that really makes him angry." With that, she flashes me another smile before heading back over to finish getting the table ready.
Just as I'm starting to wonder what I should do next, a door opens at the far end of the room and I spot a familiar figure being led through. It's Felix, the werewolf I met briefly the other day, but he look
s to be in a much worse state: his naked body is covered in bruises and cuts, and a thick metal chain has been fastened around his neck. His eyes, though, look more determined than ever, and I can't help but notice that he's staring at Dr. Cole with an expression of pure hatred.
"Excellent," Dr. Cole calls over to Nurse Fletcher. "We're pretty much ready. Just got to sort out a few more wires, and then we're good to go. Tie him down, please."
I pretend to be busy sorting through some syringes while Nurse Fletcher begins to fasten Felix's wrists to the bed. There's a strange new kind of tension in the air, and although I might be imagining it, I swear I can sense a kind of pure, burning hatred in Felix's soul, as if he might make a break for freedom at any moment. I can't help but glance over my shoulder and look at him, but at that exact moment he turns toward me and I swear I see a flicker of recognition in his eyes. I quickly look back down at the syringes, but I already know that I made a mistake: he recognized me, and I just have to hope that he's smart enough not to say anything.
"The old woman in Cell A is dead," Nurse Fletcher says as she fastens more straps around Felix's body.
"What do you mean?" Dr. Cole replies, turning to her. "What happened?"
"No idea. We just found her in her cell, with lots of little cuts all over her body. One of the orderlies is looking into it, but it was probably just a particularly inventive form of suicide." She pauses. "Who cares, anyway? It's not like you were ever gonna use her again, is it?"
"I care," Dr. Cole says firmly. "Ensure that her body is brought up here. I want to carry out a complete autopsy. If someone dies under my supervision, I want to know why."
"Fine," Nurse Fletcher replies with a sigh. "I'll have her put on ice until later. For now, you've got this flea-ridden creature to deal with. I should warn you, though; I don't think he's repentant, not at all. I can see it in his eyes. He thinks he's been hard done by."
"We're not here to settle scores," Dr. Cole says, carrying a tray of small glass bottles over to the bench next to the bed. "Do I need to remind you, Nurse Fletcher, that this is a professional environment? Felix, like all the other unfortunates here at Tor Cliff, is our patient, and we have a duty of care." He breaks the seal on one of the bottles. "I need a syringe," he says after a moment, before turning to me.
"Sorry," I mutter, realizing that I was supposed to have anticipated the next move. Grabbing a syringe from one of the boxes, I hurry over and hand it to him, all the while hoping desperately that he won't recognize me.
"Are you new here?" he asks as he takes the syringe.
I nod.
"Huh," he mutters, turning to fill the syringe with a light yellow liquid from the bottle. "Sometimes it's hard to keep up with all the new staff members we get around here."
Although this feels like the perfect moment to take the dagger from my pocket and strike, I'm very much aware that Nurse Fletcher is still in the room, and when I look over at her, it's clear that she's a little suspicious of my sudden arrival.
"Let's get this show on the road," Dr. Cole continues after a moment, as he injects the liquid into Felix's arm. "I've always believed that when one has unpleasant business to attend to, one should get it over with as quickly as possible." He turns to me and smiles. "Don't you think?"
I nod politely.
"In this case," he continues, "the werewolf is going to be pushed far beyond his usual boundaries, and the odds of him surviving are more or less nil." He turns to Felix and puts him on the shoulder. "You won't feel a thing, old boy," he adds with an incongruous smile. "Not after the agonizing pain, anyway. I'd just like to take this opportunity to tell you that I've very much enjoyed working with you over the years, and I hope that even as your life is extinguished, you take some comfort from the knowledge that you'll be contributing to the sum of scientific development."
"Go to hell," Felix spits at him.
"Already there," Dr. Cole replies, walking over to one of the machines. "Quite comfortable, as it happens, but thank you for your concern." He adjusts some settings, before turning to Nurse Fletcher. "That will be all," he tells her. "I won't need your help any longer."
"Are you sure?" she asks, clearly uneasy about the prospect of leaving us alone. "Perhaps I should -"
"Nonsense," he continues. "I'm sure the new nurse and I will be able to get along just fine."
"Whatever you say," Nurse Fletcher replies, turning and heading to the door before glancing back at me. "Just call if you need anything," she adds. "I'll be close. Anything at all, just call and I'll hear."
Once she's gone, I watch as Dr. Cole fine-tunes the settings on the machine. He seems to be totally engrossed in his work, as if he's barely even aware of my presence, and I finally realize that this is the chance I've been waiting for. He has his back to me, and it would only take me a couple of seconds to get over to him and slide the dagger into his back. In fact, in the time I've been debating the prospect, I could have already finished the job.
I could have already committed cold-blooded murder.
Reaching into my pocket, I feel the handle of the dagger. I glance at the door to make sure that there's no sign of Nurse Fletcher, and then I start walking over to Dr. Cole, who has started humming as he works on the machine. I take the dagger out of my pocket and stop right behind him, and after a moment I notice that Felix has noticed me. Determined to get the job done, I'm just about to strike when Dr. Cole reaches over and flicks a switch on another machine, causing Felix to cry out in pain as thousands of volts of electricity start to course through his body.
"There," Dr. Cole says, turning to me and immediately seeing the dagger in my hand. "Now, Ms. Hart... Perhaps you'd like to explain what you're doing here?"
Chapter Three
Felix
The pain is intense, unlike anything I've ever felt before. It crackles through my body, exploding in a thousand different places at once, and within a fraction of a second I've already realized that there's no way I can fight back. My mind is already slipping away, peeling off from the inside of my skull and shrinking, but no matter how close to oblivion I might be, death won't take me. It's almost as if something is pushing me back from the other side.
My original plan had been to use this pain to break free from the chains. I was convinced that I just had to act as if I'd accepted my fate, in order to be left alone with Dr. Cole. Now, however, I realize that I'd hopelessly over-estimated my strength; I've failed to get my revenge on the people who killed Nurse Silk, and all I can do is wait until the pain overwhelms me and I lose consciousness.
"No sleep," whispers a familiar voice. "I warned you."
I try to cry out, but I can feel my throat burning with a fiery intensity.
"And we're done," Dr. Cole says, his voice breaking through the pain as I feel the stimulation start to subside. "Quite remarkable."
Short of breath and barely able to think, I slowly realize that my body is starting to calm down. I should have died; I felt as if I was on the brink of death, constantly on the verge of falling, and yet something - some force from the other side - refused to let me pass. I'd like to think that Nurse Silk came to me at that moment, but the reality is most likely for darker: Dronigan, not content with preventing our dreams, now refuses to even allow us the eternal sleep of death.
"You see?" Dr. Cole continues. "I'm not a monster, Ms. Hart. I'm a scientist. Of course, the two roles are not mutually exclusive, but I'd like to think that you won't just kill me in cold blood without giving me a chance to explain. History is littered with examples of great men, with brilliant minds, who have ended up being vilified by ignorant savages who could never hope to understand true genius."
I turn and look at them, and after a moment I spot the dagger in Abby's hands. I have no idea what she's planning to do, but my best hope is that she might distract Dr. Cole long enough for me to get away. I start clawing at the leather straps around my wrists, desperate to get loose, but I guess I'll have to wait for the pain to kick in before I'm abl
e to summon up the necessary energy.
"I..." Abby starts to say, clearly shocked. "This..."
"Let me guess," Dr. Cole replies. "You were going to try to kill me with that thing, weren't you? Perhaps by piercing my heart as if it were a stake. It's a noble idea, but it wouldn't have worked. Whoever filled your head with that garbage clearly doesn't know what they're talking about." He holds his arms out. "Come on, then," he adds. "I'll prove it to you. Pierce my heart and you'll soon see that it'll do little more than make me rather angry."
Abby stares at him.
"Let me," he continues, grabbing the dagger from her hand and plunging it into his chest, directly over his heart. "Do you see?" he asks, pulling it out and then inserting it again. Blood pours down the front of his lab coat for a moment, but the wound soon begins to heal. "It would never have worked," he adds, handing the dagger back to her. "I'm fairly certain that I know who gave you the idea, though. You must have been down below." He walks over to me and shines a light into my eyes for a moment, before turning back to her. "Tell me, how is the old fool doing? Does he still labor under delusions of grandeur? Is he still after revenge?"
"He told me everything," Abby replies uncertainly.
"I doubt it," Dr. Cole replies, checking my pulse. "After all, he doesn't know everything in the first place. He doesn't know very much at all."
While they're focused on each other, I continue to pull at the restraints. I think the one around my left wrist is starting to come loose; I just need a little more time to see if I can get loose, and then I swear to God, I'll rip Dr. Cole's head clean from his body.