"Log," he began, pressing play on the voice recorder, "First prisoner..."
Ubel looked the young man up and down. He was a young man, bold, stupid, and undoubtedly American.
His golden hair was unkempt and his glasses were askew on his face.
He was on a table with his arms bound above his head and his ankles strapped down with about a foot between them.
"An American. With blonde hair and...blue eyes," he confirmed, lifting the man's eyelid a fraction to check.
"Seems to be around twenty years of age." The subject remained unresponsive, head slumped against his shoulder.
Ubel prodded the American's side. "Wake up," he ordered.
The young man slowly began to stir and his fingers twitched as his eyes blinked open.
"Wha..? Where...where am I?"
Ubel replied calmly, "You are in my lab."
Hearing that, the American raised his head rather quickly, glancing around though the movement obviously aggravated the headache he must've had.
"What?"
His tone was no longer light. It was sharp and clipped, louder than before.
The American realized he was restrained and he tugged harshly on his bindings.
Ubel remained composed, and he left the subject's side to retrieve his notebook, where he jotted down a few things.
He returned to the young man, and reached over to snap his fingers eerily close to his ear.
The American flinched away instantly, and Ubel did the same to the other ear, observing the reaction timing.
"Subject seems to have quick responses to external stimuli."
He looked at his prisoner. "What is your name?"
The American puffed up, nose head high and bright blue eyes shining. "Alfred F. Jones."
Ubel merely blinked. "I think we should get started, hmm?"
His eyes flickered to a large brass bull standing in the corner of the room, and Alfred followed his gaze.
His brow furrowed in confusion and wariness.
"What is that?" he asked, voice becoming quieter with every word.
Ubel glanced at it again and smiled. "You should be honored. I thought that since you are my first subject, you would undergo the Brazen Bull."
Alfred swallowed, a bit nervously, and he eyed the big metal tub underneath the bull, filled to the brim with coal and dry twigs and branches.
Ubel went to the lab door and opened it, beckoning two soldiers inside. "I am ready, place the subject inside."
"Inside that thing?!" Alfred cried in shock, eyes wide as the soldiers unfastened him from the table and dragged him along the floor.
He kicked and struggled, but his bare feet could find any purchase on the cold cement floor.
"Hold on!"
A soldier opened a door on the side of the bull, revealing a metal pocket inside.
"Wait!"
Alfred was shoved in, his wrists still bound tightly together with leather cords.
"Please!"
The door was shut with a loud clang, and it was locked securely so there was no escape.
Ubel stated, "The subject is now within the bull. I will continue by lighting the fire underneath."
He waved the two soldiers out, who saluted and scurried away to stand vigil outside.
Ubel swiped a box of matches from the small table and retrieved a single math from inside.
He quickly struck it, watching in slight content as a flame blossomed to life at the tip.
Ubel approached the tub of fuel and without a second thought, dropped it inside.
The flame took to the wood immediately and began to spread, licking at the coal pieces and beginning to burn those too.
Soon there was a small bonfire underneath the bull, and Ubel stepped back to wait.
"The fire has been started."
Inside the bull, Alfred was freaking out. He licked his lips and tried to push against the door, but it wouldn't budge.
The only light and source of air he had was a small opening that went from the pocket he was in, to the bull's mouth.
If he really tried, he could probably get a few fingers out of the mouth to freedom, but he was a bit worried the weirdo out there would chop them off or something.
He took a deep breath, and tried to calm his racing heart.
After a few minutes, he managed to calm down enough to realize the metal beneath him was a little warm.
Huh?
Time ticked on, and the bottom began to get warmer and warmer until Alfred was sweating profusely.
He reached up and shakily pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, trying desperately to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.
As the metal grew hot and the air inside the pocket turned thick and stuffy, Alfred began to shake violently, frightened tremors running up and down his limbs.
It only took a minute after that for the metal to become hot.
Alfred hissed, drawing his knees up to his chest to try and keep his bare skin from touching the metal.
But the burning sensation went right through Alfred's thin clothes, so he tried shifting back and forth, but nothing worked.
It grew even hotter, and Alfred whined in pain, the heat and the fear drawing tears from his eyes.
"Ah!" he yelped as he slipped, and his lower back brushed against the metal.
It was no use.
The metal was heated even more, and Alfred couldn't take it.
It hurt too much, and the smell of burned skin filled his nose.
"GAH! STOP! LET ME OUT!" he screamed, slamming his entire body against the door.
The door didn't move. Not an inch.
Outside, Ubel sat patiently as his subject was just starting to scream.
"PLEASE!"
The wail echoed from inside the bull, and Ubel smiled. "Looks like the experiment is running smoothly," he told the recorder.
"OH GOD, PLEASE! LET ME OUT!"
Alfred's pleading wail turned to nothing but bloodcurdling screams.
He couldn't form words anymore, all he was aware of was pain.
Endless. Pain.
Until there was no more.
The screams stopped abruptly, and a sharp, pungent, burnt smell wafted into the room.
Ubel nodded to himself.
"Success."