Chapter Two

Kyle awoke to the feeling of a sore throat and the steady beeping of an EKG. He softly groaned, his voice hoarse as he opened his eyes. He was greeted by the same ceiling of the patient room he had been in. His mind felt all fuzzy. His ears vaguely registered the sound of the door opening. He groaned as he turned his head and saw Catherine walking in, clipboard in hand.

"Ah, you're awake," she said, smiling as she checked the EKG. Kyle swallowed, wincing at the pain in his throat as he tried to speak.

"How'd it go?" he croaked. Catherine smiled apologetically at him.

"We had to postpone, I'm afraid." Kyle looked at her as she flipped through the papers on the clipboard. "We saw your white-cell count was unusually high, so we ran some tests." She looked at him as she walked up to stand next to his bed. "We think you're coming down with Corelian Cough. We have you on fluids and antibiotics," she said, motioning to the intravenous machine he was hooked up to. "It's a good thing we caught it when we did." Catherine smiled warmly at Kyle. "You just take it easy and don't worry about the surgery. We'll do it when you're better." With that, she turned and left.

Kyle gave a soft cough, his chest feeling tight. He groaned as he tried to get his head back in some semblance of order. He didn't remember much, but he remembered a weird dream about not being able to breathe. The dream changed to something about being warm, like he was wrapped up in a soft heating blanket. He couldn't recall the details, but he paid it little mind. With a sigh, he looked around for his backpack. He found it next to the bed where he left it.

XXX

Catherine walked into the office, clipboard in hand. The room was mostly dark, save for a single light shining down from above onto the desk that dominated the office. Dr. Reinhardt sat at the desk, watching a video on the small screen in the desk. He looked up at Catherine before pressing a button and stopping the video, the screen folding back into the desk.

"Well? How is the host?" Dr. Reinhardt asked, his voice cold and unemotional.

"Doing well. His vital signs are strong and he seems to be in good health," Catherine replied.

"And the embryo?" Catherine handed Dr. Reinhardt the clipboard.

"The implantation was successful. It's fully implanted and is growing without any problems." Dr. Reinhardt looked through the papers before handing them back to Catherine.

"How long?" he asked, his fingers interlaced together as his elbows rested on the desk.

"We're not exactly sure. We believe gestation takes anywhere from two days to a week. We'll only know when it happens." Dr. Reinhardt frowned ever so slightly.

"Keep him under the strictest observation. The minute he shows signs of the end of gestation, I want him in surgery, ASAP. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Catherine replied. Dr. Reinhardt gave a small smile.

"Does he suspect anything?" The Doctor asked. Catherine smiled.

"Not a thing. He thinks he has Corelian Cough." Dr. Reinhardt chuckled in a low tone.

"Marvelous. Keep me informed of any changes, no matter how small." With that, Catherine bowed and left. Dr. Reinhardt leaned back in his chair and grinned. "This is proving to be a very grand endeavor, indeed . . ."

XXX

Kyle was reading his book when the door opened and a scruffy-looking man with a beard in blue clothes came in.

"Hey. Name's Richard. I'm the orderly," said Richard as he emptied the trash and went about his duties. Kyle blinked but waved gently, trying to be friendly.

"Nice to meet you." Kyle managed, his voice raspy. Richard laughed.

"Boy, you sound like you swallowed a bunch of acid, man!" Kyle coughed as Richard finished cleaning up and stopped, looking at him. Richard had an unkempt look to him. He wasn't dirty, but something about him felt . . . askew. The way his clothes hung didn't seem right, nor did the way his narrow eyes moved. Kyle suppressed a shiver when he saw that Richard had yellow eyes. "Heck of a cough, man. Maybe you ought to ask the Doc for something." With that, Richard left. Kyle sighed and shook his head.

"This place is filled with creepy people . . .," he thought to himself as he went back to reading.

When the midday meal came, Kyle politely refused. He didn't feel very hungry, but he was very thirsty. He drank three twenty ounce bottles of water in one sitting, much to his surprise. Kyle was immensely relieved when night fell and he was able to go to sleep. He was surprised that he dreamed again. Once again, it was a feeling of warmth and softness. If he could place a color to it, he would have to choose pink. Like he was wrapped in a warm, soft, pink heating blanket. It was so soft and warm, he was reluctant to even contemplate leaving.

Sadly, as with all dreams, it ended. He coughed as he woke up. This time, as he coughed, he felt strange. It was as if his chest had tightened even further. He coughed again, and a small coughing fit resulted. With each cough, he felt the oddest sensation. It was as if he had a small rock in his chest. It was more of an irritated feeling than anything else. Like having a rock in your shoe. When he stopped coughing, he felt the feeling abate. At least his throat wasn't as sore as it had been. After he had been awake for a good hour or so, Catherine came in to check on him.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" she asked as she checked the EKG. Kyle related to her about his coughing and the tightness in his chest. Catherine frowned. "Hmm. I don't like the sound of that. Anything else?" He also told her about the feeling of a rock in his chest. Her frown deepened. "I think it may be developing into pneumonia. I'll have to run some tests." With that, she turned on her heel and left. Kyle sighed as he laid down. He spent most of the day reading. This time, he did eat some of his meal, although not much. It wasn't that it was very bad. Indeed, the food was rather good for hospital food, but he felt like he just couldn't make room for much.

He still was thirsty, though. Another three bottles of water helped slake his thirst. By the end of the day, he had developed an odd feeling of general unease. It felt like his spine was cold, and his stomach felt upset. He no longer doubted what Catherine said. There was no debating he was sick. He was all too eager to turn out the light and go to sleep that night.

Once again, he dreamed of warmth and softness. It was so soft and comfortable, he throughly wanted to stay there forever. This dream added something new: a sound. At first, he couldn't place the soft, comforting sound. It was so comforting, he felt like it was lulling him to sleep. As his mind grew fuzzy with the edges of sleep, he at last recognized the sound.

It was a heartbeat.

Kyle sat bolt upright, coughing heavily. As soon as he sat up, he felt better, although his chest felt tighter than ever. He fought the urge to vomit and sighed. He wiped his mouth. The taste in his mouth was a little unpleasant. He felt cold, and he could feel sweat clinging to him.

His was hardly even aware of Catherine entering his room as he sat, struggling to get his breathing back to normal. She sighed. "I was afraid of this. This is a rather virulent strain of the Corelian Cough virus. I have an antiviral agent that should help, but it'll take a few days to completely eliminate it," she said as she plugged a vial with a blue fluid in it into the intravenous.

"Th-thank you," he managed as he listened to the EKG sound off his higher heart rate. Catherine frowned as she watched him. Kyle sat, breathing hard for a few minutes before he managed to get himself back to normal. Catherine took down some notes on her clipboard and then checked the EKG one last time before she left. Kyle might have been imagining things, but it looked like she was in a hurry. The rest of the day passed slowly and uncomfortably for Kyle.

He quickly found that laying down flat on his back was very uncomfortable. It felt like the rock was back, and big enough to put pressure on his spine. To alleviate this, he elevated the head of the bed and sat with his back elevated, almost sitting. This time, he refused the food, but downed the water eagerly. Off and on throughout the day, he dozed and napped. The same warm dream and the pleasant heartbeat sound returned almost whenever he slept. He wished he could stay longer in the pleasant dream, but he kept snapping awake for some reason. By the time the day ended, the feeling of unease had increased, as well as his level of exhaustion.

Once again, his dreams were pleasant. Filled with warmth and softness, the sound of the heartbeat filling him with comfort. This time, though, there was something new. The feeling that someone was with him. It felt like something just as warm as his surroundings curled around him. The feeling was just as soft, and infinitely gentle. It was as if this other presence was embracing him, holding him. It was such a foreign feeling, yet, at the same time, wonderful. He pulled the feeling closer, and it eagerly wrapped tighter around him. He felt a feeling of unbridled happiness, from both the new presence, and himself. He held it as close as he could, never wishing to let it go.

Kyle awoke to the cold world of reality as his eyes snapped open. As he felt the warmth of the dream fade, he felt something wet on his cheeks. He reached up, and was surprised to find they were tears. Kyle was not the sort to cry. He never found much to cry about. It startled him that the dream had affected him so deeply. Kyle wiped his cheeks quickly and sighed. As he sat up, his chest felt even tighter than before. Now, he could feel the rock in his chest all the time, instead of intermittently.

If Kyle had been uncomfortable for the last two days, he was downright miserable today. His skin felt clammy and he felt a little dizzy. Most of all, he felt tired.

He didn't even look up when Catherine came in.

"How are we today?" she asked. Kyle looked up at her.

"Terrible," he replied. He was rather pale, his eyes looked tired. Catherine smiled apologetically.

"Sorry to hear that. The antiviral should be destroying the Corelian virus in your system, but I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about the effects the virus has already done to your body. You should start to feel better in a day or so," she said as she checked the EKG readings once more and left. Kyle was so tired, but he thought he saw her picking up her pace as soon as she was out the door. Even in his current state, he knew something was off. Despite this, he was too tired to try to figure it out. He groaned as he laid back against the raised section of the bed behind him.

He tried, very slowly and gently, to draw in a deep breath. He suddenly felt like something touched his lungs, and he began coughing roughly. Cords stood out in his neck as he coughed harder than he ever had. He wasn't even aware of the fact he was drooling as he coughed harder and harder. His lungs seemed to spasm and his coughing got worse. He felt his stomach turn as he vomited off the side of the bed. After what seemed like eternity, he finally managed to get his lungs back under control and laid back against the bed, panting heavily.

XXX

Catherine and Dr. Reinhardt both watched Kyle's coughing fit on the screen in the Doctor's desk. Catherine flipped through the papers of her clipboard as Dr. Reinhardt shut off the video feed. Dr. Reinhardt interlaced his fingers as Catherine stepped around to stand in front of his desk.

"How long do you think?" Dr. Reinhardt asked coldly.

"Could be any time. If I had to guess, sometime in the next twenty-four hours. I have the surgical team on standby in Surgery until further notice." Dr. Reinhardt smirked.

"Good. The moment he shows signs of . . . the birth, I want him in Surgery." Catherine nodded. As she turned to go, Dr. Reinhardt continued. "While your primary concern is the survival and well-being of the embryo, if possible, do try to keep the host alive." Catherine stopped and looked back at Dr. Reinhardt. The light from above cast him in a ghostly glow, his face shadowed menacingly as he sat, fingers interlaced. "After all, when will we get another chance to study a host that has actually survived the birth?" Catherine smiled in understanding as she left.

XXX

Kyle sat, half-asleep as he tried to keep himself together. He had no idea what was going on, but hew knew it was getting worse. He softly sighed as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he gasped as he felt something. There was no mistaking it.

It felt like something moved within him.

Kyle gasped and panted as he sat upright. He shivered as a strange feeling took hold. His breathing was heavy and he was sweating. A feeling of panic began to settle in as he looked around. He felt the feeling again, this time it was tinged with pain. He gasped, his hand holding his chest as his whole body shivered, his legs tightening up as he almost curled into a ball. The EKG began to blare a warning as his heart rate went through the roof. His eyes darted around in panic as he felt the cold of his sweat make him shiver.

As another spasm of pain shot through his chest, his eyes settled on the red call button. He quickly reached out and tapped it rapidly.

Another spasm tore through him as the doors hissed open. Kyle slammed his head backward, his face drenched with sweat. The cords in his neck stood out as Catherine rushed over. She cupped Kyle's face in her hands.

"Kyle, listen to me: Slow your breathing down. I don't know what's going on, but panting will make it worse. I'm going to give you a sedative. Try to relax. We're going to take you to Surgery to try to find out what's going on. Try to be brave, okay?" Kyle gritted his teeth and nodded as he again felt the feeling of something sliding around within his chest. Catherine pressed the pressure syringe to Kyle's neck, and he immediately felt better. He shivered as the world began to blur. He vaguely heard Catherine saying something to someone, but he couldn't make it out. He saw shapes moving as he blacked out.

Almost as soon as he was out, he felt the warmth envelop him again. The same presence from before was there, and a feeling of glee seemed to come from it as it wrapped around him. He was able to forget the pain, the discomfort and the fear as it cradled him. Kyle gladly reciprocated, taking comfort in the soft warmth and happiness he felt.

Then, something changed.

He could feel a sudden rush, like a cool breeze had invaded the warmth surrounding him. He felt a feeling of confusion from the other presence. Then, he felt the presence begin to recede. It tried to hold onto him with all its might, but it was finally ripped away. The feeling was anger and sadness, mixed with fear as he could almost feel it crying out for him. He tried to call out, but he had no voice to speak with, and could do nothing as the feeling of blackness and cold crashed down on him. Blackness. Cold. Nothing.

Kyle felt the world slowly return. The first thing he was aware of was pain. His chest felt like someone had landed a freighter on it. In addition to the pain in his chest, his whole body felt fuzzy and tingly. His head dully throbbed and he felt like he was listening to the world from underwater. His senses were all muddled and confused. He briefly tried opening his eyes, but quickly clamped them shut. The bright light in the room made his eyes sting. Kyle just lay there for what seemed like hours, trying to get his body back into some form of order.

He had no idea what had happened, but it had left him jumbled and disoriented like never before. As time passed, he felt his senses return to a form he could recognize. He could hear the steady beeping of an EKG as his hearing returned. He warily opened his eyes and was able to stand the light. He saw the usual gray ceiling, although this one seemed a little different than the one in his room.

He looked around, and found he was in a new room. There were several beds in the room, all of them empty. He groaned as he tried to sit up. His chest throbbed and he remained where he was.

He took in his surroundings more carefully. A stand was next to his bed, a bag of fluids attached to it that was mostly empty. He looked down and saw the bag was attached to the line going into his arm. He turned his head and saw the EKG, beeping steadily and normally. He signed softly as he looked back up at the ceiling. The room felt cold to him. His mind drifted back to the dream, and he felt his insides go cold. The feelings hit him hard as he shifted, curling into a ball under the thin sheets of the bed. He shivered as he recalled how the dreams had changed.

He felt a tear roll down his face as he remembered the comforting presence, and how it had been ripped away. He pulled the pillow against his face, blotting his tears. He inwardly hoped that sleep would be a relief from the cold reality that he had come to despise. He tried to calm his mind so he could sleep, and maybe feel the warmth of the dreams again. His hopes were in vain. The only thing that greeted his sleeping mind was cold, dark emptiness. Sleep had seemed his salvation, but it became his prison, as he seemed unable to wake up from the eternally vast realm of dark, cold nothingness. Relief finally came, although how he wasn't sure.

Something snapped him awake. He wearily looked up and saw the lights had been turned off. A thin sliver of light came from the hall outside. He looked over at the glow of the screen of the EKG and frowned. He looked down at the electrode of the EKG attached to him. He sighed as he reached up and yanked it off. The EKG immediately began to beep a warning. Kyle then unplugged the intravenous line from his arm and swung his legs out of the bed. He shivered as he felt the cold, metal floor touch his bare feet. Kyle looked down and saw the end of something on his chest through the neck hole of the gown he wore.

He pulled it down, and couldn't help staring at the large incision in his chest. It ran from the bottom of his sternum up to just underneath his collarbone. No wonder his chest hurt. It shined with the clear bandage that sealed it. He sighed as he looked up at the door and gently stood. His legs felt very wobbly, but he managed to stay upright. He took a few shaky steps and walked forward. He looked to his right, and saw a locker. He walked over and opened it. He was relieved to find a pair of jeans and a light blue t-shirt folded up inside. He threw off the gown and dressed, although his feet were bare.

He wobbled as he walked to the door. Every now and then, his chest throbbed with pain, but it was manageable. He reached the door, which opened automatically. He stuck his head into the hall and looked around. There was nobody else around. He blinked.

"Hello?" he called. His voice was a little hoarse, but not nearly as much as it had been. As he walked out into the halls, he wondered how long he had been out. Time seemed to have slipped out of his grasp while he was there. He couldn't tell the passage of an hour, a day or a week. The halls were eerily silent, the only sounds the buzzing of the lights, and the soft sounds of his bare footsteps on the cold metal floor. A part of his mind felt that this felt like part of some kind of creepy sci-fi horror movie. He almost expected to hear the moaning of zombies in the distance, but the only sound was the constant buzzing of the lights and his own footfalls.

Strangely, he didn't feel afraid, but curious. Since he had first arrived, Kyle had felt there was much more going on than they were letting on, but now he had a chance to see with his own eyes.

Every now and then, his chest would burn or spasm, but, as long as he didn't jar or touch it, it seemed fine. The first set of doors he came to were white. As he approached, they slid open with a hiss. He looked inside and saw just a general room. Books lined the walls and there were plenty of desks. It looked like a library. He looked up at the sign above the door, which read: "Reference".

He filed the information away as he left. The next set of doors had glass in them. The sign above said: "Cafeteria". Kyle was nowhere near hungry, so he continued on. As he came to a pair of glass doors in the hallway, he noticed that the hallway itself took on a different appearance. As the doors hissed open, the hallway changed. Now, all of it, walls, ceiling and floors was a dark gray, and had a distinctive look to the grating. It looked like it was armored.

He came to a pair of metal doors with a card-reader next to the door. Above the door, labeled in black letters, was the legend: "Bio-Tech Research". Kyle frowned at this. He continued on. All of the doors were made of metal, and almost all of them had card-readers next to them. It looked like the whole area was reinforced for some reason. The doors were very sturdy. The lighting was dim. It was then that the writing above the doors caught his attention. He stopped as he looked at one door. "Cages 010-020" it read. Kyle felt something in his gut tighten at reading that. He blinked as he approached the door. There was no card-reader next to the door.

As he approached, he could vaguely hear something. It sounded like a muffled roar through the door. He backed away and turned. He almost ran into the wall as he hastened down the hallway. He didn't know where he was going, but he wanted to be away from there. He felt his chest throb as he panted. He stopped and rested, his hand resting against the cold metal of the wall. He winced as he looked up at the writing above the door.

"Observation, Specimen XE-001".

Kyle sighed. An observation room would be safe. He warily walked towards the door, which hissed open. He was relieved and bewildered at the same time to find the room empty. He once again heard a muffled roar echo from somewhere in the halls. Kyle quickly entered the room, turning and watching as the door shut. He turned and looked around. A large window dominated the room. Several chairs were sitting by the window, untouched. A table sat in one corner. There were no signs anybody had been brutally killed in there, nor dragged away, kicking and screaming.

Nothing was out of place. He blinked as he walked forward. He turned and looked through what reminded him of the two-way mirrors police had for interrogation. The room on the other side looked like the hallways. The floors, wall and ceiling were a dark gray metal. The light inside was almost as dim as that of the hallway. At first, he thought the room was empty. He had been about to leave when he caught a hint of movement. He looked at one corner of the room as he moved a little closer. One corner was darker than the rest. To his surprise, the darkness moved.

It was slow, deliberate and graceful. It uncoiled from where it had been curled and began to take shape. The head was long and curved. Four long tubes extended from the back. A long tail extended out, the end was a sharp-looking blade. It stood up, revealing how large it actually was. It looked a good eight feet tall. Kyle noticed that it seemed to lack eyes.

The long head swung around and it stared at the window.

Kyle flinched for a moment as the creature stood, still as a statue. Although he couldn't see any eyes, he had no doubt it was looking right at him. Even if it was, indeed a two-way mirror, it seemed not to hinder the creature's vision at all. Kyle and the creature stared at each other for several long minutes. Despite its almost skeletal appearance, he didn't seem afraid of it. Slowly, he moved closer to the window. The tall, dark creature inside moved as well, stepping closer to the window. Kyle stopped just behind a chair, staring up at the creature through the glass, even as it stared down at him. It towered almost a full two feet over him as it stood there.

He watched as it crouched down until its face was level with his. Kyle stood, transfixed at the strange creature as it sat, watching him. Warily, he slowly reached his hand up to the glass. The creature watched his hand as he warily brought it into contact with the cool glass. To his surprise, the creature did the same with its opposite hand, placing its hand over his. The hand was almost as long as his torso. The index and middle finger looked like they were fused together. The same was true of the ring and little finger. A second thumb on the back of the hand seemed to gently caress the glass.

As he moved his hand, so did the creature, but its gaze never left his face. He vaguely could feel something, but he couldn't put a name to the feeling. As he tried to move closer, he failed to notice the chair sitting in front of him. His chest bumped the back, and his eyes widened as white-hot pain seared through his body. His body trembled as he fell backwards and to the side. As he fell, he saw, just for an instant, the creature bare its long, sharp, silvery teeth as it began to bang on the window. He could hear it screech as it violently attacked the window, trying desperately to get through. He shuddered as he felt the pain in his chest pulse with every beat of his heart before darkness took him.

Author's note: I want to thank my mother for her help on this chapter. As a former nurse, her medical knowledge was very helpful for giving this chapter an element of realism. Thanks, mom!