Similar to the story St. Joseph's Shelter for Men. Thank you to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this.
Ch. 1
Ichabod removed the final article of clothing from his suitcase and looked around.
It was a nice dorm room, he had to admit. It was fairly large, with big windows that let in a lot of sun. There was a set of white dressers, and the walls were painted a light blue color, which went well with the royal blue comforters set up on the beds. Steinbeck University's Clinical Trials program must have been well funded, if they could afford such accommodations.
Ichabod chose the bed furthest from the window; he didn't particularly like heights, and this bed was closer to the floor. Hopefully his roommate would be okay with sleeping in the other one instead.
He sat down on the edge of it and sighed.
This was to be his home for the coming months.
He glanced down at the paper that he'd printed out.
"Mort Rainey," He read off the name of his roommate.
He wondered what kind of person Mort was. He didn't have much of a say in who he was paired with. He supposed that if he and Mort were not a good match, he could ask for a re-assignment.
He flipped the document over. The day's schedule was printed on the back. Apparently, he was supposed to meet with the doctors in a few minutes.
Sighing, he stood back up, stretched, and made his way towards the door.
As he was walking down the hallway, he was nearly pushed down by a man coming the opposite way.
"Excuse me," Ichabod muttered as he righted himself.
"Hm? Oh, sorry," the man – a blonde with glasses- replied. It didn't seem all that sincere.
Ichabod rolled his eyes but said nothing. As he turned the corner, he noticed the man go into his room. That must be Mort, then.
00
Anthony didn't much like needles, but part of the study was that the participants receive daily injections.
At least Mr. Todd was in the room with him. Seeing Anthony looking at him, Sweeney nodded and grunted, annoying the nurse who was trying to find a vein.
"Well, this is fun." Anthony said.
"Tons. Worth the payout, though."
Anthony had to admit that it was true. The study promised thirty thousand dollars for completing the study – more than enough for a down payment on a home for himself and Johanna.
"Ow!" He hissed as the nurse moved the needle around his vein.
"Sorry 'bout that." The woman focused on her task, slowly injecting a bright blue elixir into him.
She was just about finished when a noise at the door startled everyone. A dark-haired man had entered.
"Uh, hello..." He greeted nervously. The mere sight of the needles seemed to frighten him, and Anthony wondered if the man might be sick from it. He watched as the man rubbed his arm and averted his gaze.
"I'll be done in a second," The nurse working on Anthony replied. "Just take a seat." She motioned towards a set of chairs.
Sweeney was finished before Anthony. He sat down next to the dark-haired man and waited for his friend to join him.
