It was a big adjustment, but Ryback tried to make his peace with his new life. He had almost anything he wanted and he was allowed to get on the internet even though everything he did and everyone he talked to was closely monitored. He had no reason to tell anyone what he truly was. How could he explain it? It was a dumb decision he had made hoping he could speed through his military time and move on to the life he wanted with the money he had joined for in the first place. Looking back he could see how impulsive he had been. He had been impatient all his life and he had finally learned his lesson, but he had learned it too late.

He inspected the glass walls that encased his home every day. Even when the animal inside him was provoked, he could not shatter it. It took nearly two months for him to stop trying. What bugged him most was how he could not hear what anyone outside the glass was saying. Usually he would shut them out, pushing a button and closing the blinds that was built inside the glass structure. Except one wall. The only wall that faced the outside world and let sunshine into his world. No one ever passed by this wall. Probably because it was only three foot from the drop off of a cliff. But he could stand close and look down and feel like he was flying over the small town below.

When the blinds were closed, he felt like he was in a normal home. He had a living room, a kitchen and a bedroom and luxurious bathroom which thankfully was always private at least to those passing by, but he knew there were camera's every where so the doctors and scientists could watch him whenever they pleased.

Those people had some great toys. They could monitor his basic vitals without touching him. They could X ray anything without him stopping what he was doing and he could only guess at the other things they could monitor about him.

Sometimes they would open the door that he know knew was in the corner. The entire angle would lift into the air when they wanted to speak to him face to face. But it was never a social visit. They always tranquilized him and he would wake up strapped to a table with wires stuck all over him. It always outraged him and he would turn into the animal he despised. That part of him was hard to control. When he was scared or angry he would loose control. His appearance would change and seeing himself made it worse. He was hideous with the purple and blue lines all over him. His eyes looked like a tigers and they almost glowed during the transformation. His fingernails grew as well. They grew at least an inch in length and had sharp points. He was also stronger and faster than he was when he was not the beast, but he could not control how hard he hit things … or people. That bothered him the most. At times when he only wanted to disarm or free himself, he had ended up killing.

They ran those tests on him more often now. They drew his blood, sometimes so much he would be weary, rendering their sedation unnecessary to return him to his cage.

"When can I leave this prison?" Ryback asked a man named John one day, but the man couldn't hear him through the glass until the scientist pressed a button. "When can I leave this prison?" he repeated.

"You really think you can run around the base like a normal human being?"

"I don't want to run." he said meekly. He knew he was beaten. "I just want to be part of life." he was lonely. He could hide himself in a book or an online world that he ran and created, but it didn't help the need he had for face to face companionship.

"Ryback."

"My name is Ryan." he corrected.

"Okay, Ryan. I can't let you out. If you hadn't ran off – things would be different."

"Heyman wanted to blow my head off. What would you have done?"

"The same thing, I guess." John sighed. "I know how you feel. I took their injections too."

"Yet, you're not in a cage."

"That's because the only thing affected was my eye sight." he laughed. "I can't say I miss those thick glasses." then he grew serious. "I'm sorry buddy."

John and Ryback were very close in boot camp. John had already gone through college but he wanted to use his degree in the military because his father had given his life to his country and he wanted to follow in footsteps as well as live out his dream. He had found a way to merge the two and Ryback envied him.

"John, are they working on a way to reverse this or I'm I always going to be this way?"

"I'm working on it, but … oh, I can't stand this." he looked around and then hit the button that turned off his sound to the outside and then his blinds were shut. Ryback sighed. He was truly alone in his world now.

An hour later, the corner lifted and John walked inside.

"I'm a little sick of talking to my best friend through a speaker." he smiled and sat down on the sofa after the door was closed and he was locked inside with Ryback. "They think you're going to tear me to shreds. They have the camera's rolling so they can watch." he laughed. John always managed to find humor in everything. "I brought us something." he threw him a can from the case he had carried in. "I miss you man."

"I miss this." Ryback laughed and took a long swig of the beer. "I miss being able to come and go whenever I want."

"I know." it seemed like old times sitting there with his best bud. "I am trying. All that schooling has to count for something doesn't it?"

"You've always been the smartest guy I've ever known. I'm betting everything on you."

"Heyman wants to find a way to clone you." John grinned.

"And I bet he has you and your team building the machine."

"No." John chuckled. "That's not in the budget and its far fetched. He thinks we can do it with your blood somehow."

"Don't tell me some dumb ass is going to let him inject him with my blood?"

"Already tried. The human immune system is a complicated road block. It destroyed the animal DNA before it had a chance to attach itself to anything."

"That's a good thing."

"I think we need to find a way to fix a few things before we go off infecting people."

"Like?" Ryback was skeptical then, wondering why John would want another human to go through what he saw Ryback go through every day.

"You need to be able to control when you change. You need to be able to contain the animal when you are in that state."

"I don't think some magic serum will do that."

"No. That's something you have to learn. Something we need to devise a program for."

"A mental rehab program. Nice." Ryback shook his head. "If this is irreversible. I'm all for that. John, I could live normally. I wouldn't have to be locked up. Hell, after the last few months in here I'd be happy to have a job on the base. I just want to feel normal again."

"I'll talk to him. That's all I can do." he got up to leave. "I do have an idea that might help a little. Do you trust me?"

"You've always had my back."