Altered Essence

Prelude

All Over

Author: Aqua Butterfly

Author's Note: A few month's ago, I published a story on entitled The Normals. And… well… it didn't take me very long to realize that it needed to be removed. I wasn't fond of the story as a whole; I knew it could be improved, and Altered Essence is the revised version. I think you'll enjoy this story much better (I know I do!) and I hope you enjoy it! Please note that following chapters will be longer than this. 'All Over' is just the prelude. And also note that I would very much appreciate reviews. Reviews keep me motivated and really do make my day! Peace and Mucho Love, AB

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The hot,white lights beat down upon the secured boy as the surrounding lab-coated men circled him with clipboards and pens in hand. With the help of the magnification glass and the increased illumination, the doctors were easily able to see the boy's every imperfection. Every flaw. Every blemish.

Some would view these characteristics as a type of uniqueness; a part of the boy that should remain. For the doctors, however, these attributes were considered defects. Small weaknesses for the poor creature who would soon become predator rather than prey.

On each clipboard there was the same yellow sheet of paper, and on each page there read the same heading, the same biological information, and a brief history of oh-one-three-nine. Oh-one-three-nine was the boy's serial number, for there was no use for names in this place where fondness was for naught.

Below the aforementioned readings, there were several blank lines that each doctor was quickly scribbling upon. And on these lines were written things like: big pores, uneven teeth, thin hair. All common faults found in human males.

Surprisingly enough, 'bad mouth' was not listed as one of oh-one-three-nine's defects.

"Bastards!" he raved, twisting and turning in his resilient bonds with no success. "Let me go! Let me go, dammit!"

Some of the doctors shook their heads in sympathy, but most continued on with their observation like nothing was amiss.

And for them nothing was. The specimen hadn't escaped, and--considering what he had been through--he was in appropriate health. Those two things were their only concerns. It didn't matter to them that the boy's wrists were rubbed raw from his exertion (in fact, that was listed on three doctor's 'faults' lists), they didn't care that he was starving, or that his body was aching still aching from his last injection.

Actually, it was now time for round four of oh-one-three-nine's vaccinations.

As if guided by a regulator, the sliding glass door was pushed aside and another doctor entered the observation area along with two nurses carrying the necessary equipment needed for the procedure. All the other men paused in their work as the head doctor walked towards the specimen. Oh-one-three-nine, however, struggled with his bands even harder and screamed more profanities.

The new doctor clicked his tongue in an impatient manner. "I see your attitude hasn't changed much. Will we have to resort to sedation again?"

The boy spat at the man, but his saliva landed a few feet short.

"I see," sighed the doctor, and motioned for the nurse with the tranquilizer to shoot.

But--

"No!" yelped the boy, eying the gun with an alarmed expression. "No! Please, no! Stop this! Please!"

The doctor paused for a moment, looking surprised at oh-one-three-nine's abrupt behavior change, then he began to laugh. Wildly. A little madly. The other doctors joined in.

"Stop this! Stop this?" scoffed the doctor, once he had collected himself. "Do you know what you are asking, boy? You are asking us to stop evolution, scientific progression, and very time itself!"

"Fuck you!" yelled the boy, and spit again.

This time however, oh-one-three-nine his target. The whole room became deathly quiet as the doctor rubbed the discharge from his lab jacket. He seemed quite calm, until he punched the boy in the gut with such force that it knocked the breath out of him.

"Now," said the doctor, as he wiped the spit on the boy's gasping face, "bring me the DNA booster, Ms. Kanazuki."

The nurse did as she was told, and despite oh-one-three-nine's lack of oxygen the fear was evident in his face.

"Mammal type: canis familiaris," whispered the doctor, and filled the syringe with a murky yellow fluid. "Breed: akita."

The doctor aimed the needle at mid-thigh, and the boy whimpered slightly.

"Don't worry, oh-one-three-nine," he said, quickly thrusting the vaccine into the boy's skin and discharging the medication into his system. The injection hurt. The boy could feel the thick, sticky liquid as it spread through his veins, but this pain was nothing compared to the torture that he would feel in a few moments. When the change would begin. "Only one more round of your drugs left, then the operation, then the self-improvement drugs. After the hypnosis, you'll be all done! And hopefully you'll be a little more… complacent."

"But why?" cried the boy, as he felt the familiar spasms on his skin. "Why me? I thought I was special!"

"You will be. But for now you're still a disgusting human," said the doctor, and he left the room listening to oh-one-three-nine's shrieks of agony.

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