Over the course of the next few hours, the merman and group of scientists successfully get through all of the necessary MRI and CT scans as well as the several different types of blood tests; everything done in both Lewis' human and merman form to provide the most accurate comparative analysis, of course. The test that makes Lewis feel the most uneasy and somewhat fearful for his life is the bone marrow biopsy.
"Are you even qualified to perform surgeries and biopsies?" Lewis asks nervously, not sure if he wants the answer to his question or not.
"Well… not technically. But I know what I'm doing. During my university studies, I've had some experience with surgeries on aquatic mammals, so I doubt this will be too much different." Linda shrugs. Lewis' eyes widen in horror and his heart begins to race, suddenly terrified and almost certain that he is about to die an awfully painful death.
"Relax, Subject A. I was just having a little fun. I have been to medical school, so I have a pretty good understanding of everything. No, I didn't pursue higher studies in specific areas like biopsies, but I know enough. Besides, we can't exactly bring in a certified surgeon without word inevitably leaking about the existence of merfolk, now can we?" Linda chuckles, a little amused by Lewis' sudden panic, his skin having gone much paler than usual.
Before getting started with the biopsy, but after Lewis calms down from his panic of not having someone here certified in the surgical field, Linda checks Lewis' heart rate and blood pressure to make sure that there won't be any complications. Thankfully, Lewis' vitals are in the normal range.
"Please lie down on your stomach for me, Subject A. Try not to move." Linda instructs as she prepares the local anesthetic. Once Lewis has done as he's told, Linda marks the area where the biopsy needles will be inserted, and then cleans the area with an antiseptic. The scientist doesn't waste time in getting to the next part of the procedure and quickly applies local anesthetic to the teenager's skin around his left hip and as far down to the bone as possible, all in an attempt to numb the area where the biopsy will be taken. Linda then makes a small incision so that the hollow needle can easily pass through Lewis' skin. When Linda is satisfied with the size of the incision, the scientist carefully injects the needle underneath Lewis' skin, pushing it towards the bone, withdrawing aspirate (bone marrow fluid), which is used to make slides, and perform other molecular and immunological tests. After Linda has set aside the sample of aspirate, the marine biologist uses another needle to insert into Lewis' hipbone where a core of tissue the size of a matchstick is then removed. She carefully pulls the needle back out of Lewis' skin and sets it aside, planning to closely analyse the aspirate and tissue samples as soon as she can. The whole biopsy procedure has only taken roughly 10 minutes, and thankfully there were no complications on Linda's part or Lewis' part.
"There. That wasn't so bad, Now was it?" Linda grins down at Lewis, who is just starting to sit up again.
Once Lewis' wound has been properly dressed and cleaned and now that, thankfully, that all of the tests have been completed, Denman instructs Frank and Troy to take Lewis back to his room. The merman doesn't put up any sort of protest. Another bonus is that Lewis now gets an entire day's break from all of these exhausting experiments, as the incision wound from the biopsy needs to remain dry for 24 hours, along with being unable to do any sort of strenuous in that time frame either. Lewis definitely needs the extra rest anyway; he feels like he is literally the walking dead right now. Once Troy and Frank have shut the cell door behind him, the teenage merman immediately collapses onto the rotting mattress, but tries to keep his freshly dressed wound as far away from the horrid mattress as much as possible. Despite his entire body still feeling sore and his mind a complete wreck, it only takes a few minutes for Lewis to drift off to sleep.
Over the next several weeks, Lewis is pushed to the limits with almost non-stop tests; most of them being the physical exertion and cognitive function tests, but there are also some check up X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and more blood tests thrown into the mix as well. Of course, everything has to be done in both Lewis' human form and merman form, which makes all of the tests take extra long and this unfortunately makes everything become even more tiring, especially the continued transformation versus water content experiments. Those particular experiments usually go on for about an hour, and by the end of it, the teenager feels as if the life has been completely drained out of him.
Every day continues to be Lewis' own personal hell; he wishes for nothing more than wanting all of this torture to finally be over. If that means dying, well… so be it. The merman would much rather face death than being a science project for the next 60-70 years. If this Robert Wilson guy does take Lewis once Linda is done with all of her experiments and Lewis ends up as a prize pet in a display tank, that fate would be worse than the one that the teenager is already facing.
The one slight positive about all of the physical exertion tests at least is that Lewis has finally gained some muscle for the first time in his life and has also started to improve his stamina, endurance and strength. It's a shame that no one except the scientists that are keeping him captives are ever going to know about it, though. The only other somewhat positive thing Lewis can force himself to believe in while in this shitty situation is that he is almost certain that he has been in this underground building for at least two full moon cycles now.
On a surface level that doesn't sound good, but since there aren't any windows in this place, no moonlight nor the moon's reflection has managed to get inside the building on full moon nights whatsoever, meaning no moon spell. The merman is at least grateful for that fact, as he suspects that becoming moonstruck in this facility would be an absolute disaster, both for him and Denman's team. Anything could happen. Plus, Lewis doesn't want Denman to know how much the full moon has to do with his transformation or powers. If she knew about the effect the full moon has on merfolk, Denman would certainly try and go back after the mermaids again. In fact, he is surprised that the marine biologist hasn't broken their deal already. Lewis can only hope that he has delayed Linda enough so that his friends can at least be prepared for when the woman inevitably goes back to the Gold Coast.
Even though there are at least a couple of positives of not being moonstruck in this underground lab, the teenage merman can't help but be a little concerned about the fact. What will happen as the months continue to go by and he still doesn't have any access to moonlight? As bad as full moons are, they have a significant role in a merperson's powers and existence, after all. Could there be consequences for being out of the moonlight for too long? Usually, at least one of the mermaids (plus himself from now on) sees the full moon or its reflection every month. Maybe there could be a reason for that?
Well, if there are consequences to avoiding moonlight for too long, Lewis is certain that he is going to be the test subject for that theory. He's just glad that he was the one that got caught instead of Cleo or his friends. His heart would be completely broken if Cleo were in his position right now. God, what Lewis wouldn't give to hear her voice right now… he just really hopes that she is okay. 'Please don't do anything reckless Cleo, I need you safe…' Lewis silently prays to himself as he continues to swim laps of the pool for yet another one of Linda's experiments, feeling exhausted, but continues to try and push himself as hard as he can. He can't give up, not yet anyway. Lewis has to keep going as long as he can, for his friends and family's sake, and especially Cleo's. He wants to be strong for her, even if she isn't physically here with Lewis; Cleo is always in his heart.
Doctor Adrian Mitchell watches as the merman continues to speed from one side of the pool to another, his sapphire blue tail flipping up above the water and causing decent sized splashes. Adrian glances down at his stopwatch for a second, taking note of how fast Lewis is going and estimates how much longer he will be until the teenager completes the final five laps. Over the last several weeks, Adrian has noticed that Lewis' time has been improving in the water dramatically. The merman has also improved with his stamina, endurance and strength outside of the water as well, but those have increased at a more moderate pace. It's an observation that he pointed out to Linda, who had noticed the same thing.
Linda had hypothesised that the dramatic differences between the boy's 'water' and 'land' improvements could be due to some sort of new primal and aquatic instincts kicking in, meaning that Lewis' transformation has been more than just a physical thing. Linda seems to be convinced that it means Lewis has more animalistic traits than human traits, but Adrian isn't so sure. There hasn't appeared to be any sort of difference in the kid's cognitive ability, with even Doctor Denman admitting that he appears to be just as smart as when she had first met Lewis a couple of years ago, when he was still human.
This makes Adrian uneasy, especially since that within the last few weeks, the question that Lewis had asked him on the first day that they met has been playing on his mind quite a bit, no matter how much Adrian has tried to push the conflicting thoughts aside. It feels like something is constantly gnawing at his stomach and refuses to go away. The gnawing feeling always gets worse when Adrian notices the small details of Lewis deteriorating slowly over time. Lewis is becoming less witty and does not have as many snide comebacks or remarks; the kid is losing his determination and the spark in his eyes, seemingly resigning himself to his fate as a science experiment. It shouldn't make Adrian feel this concerned and uneasy, but it does.
Why should he feel guilty though? The boy isn't human… right? No, the kid is something different entirely. However, from what Adrian understands, the teenager definitely was human previously. Linda doesn't think he has even been a merman for all that long, though she couldn't say how long. Less than a year or two, but nothing more specific than that. What is clear though is that Lewis definitely has human friends and family that would be absolutely beside themselves at this point, having no idea where Lewis is, or even what he is. The thought of that sends an uncomfortable sensation wrap around Adrian's heart and twists it, causing a tightness in the scientist's chest for a moment.
The sound of Linda Denman blowing a whistle suddenly snaps Adrian out of his thoughts and blinks in surprise, shaking his head to reorientate himself. It appears that Lewis has finished his laps for the day, seeing as he has collapsed by the edge of the pool, just about coughing his lungs out. Adrian glances down at his stopwatch and quickly stops it.
"Two seconds faster than yesterday," Adrian calls out as he walks over towards the end of the pool where Lewis is lying, just as Denman starts walking over as well.
"Wow. I guess we've managed to get you into pretty good shape, huh?" Linda smiles, sounding impressed with herself. Lewis doesn't respond, still coughing and spluttering while his entire body shakes.
"Right. Well, onto the cognitive experiments, shall we?" Linda continues, glancing over her shoulder towards Frank and Troy, indicating for them to step forwards. As Frank and Troy make their way over towards the group, Adrian glances down towards Lewis, frowning in concern. The poor kid is absolutely wrecked. It really doesn't help that Linda had decided to start off with the transformation tests earlier today for some unknown reason, causing Lewis to be even more exhausted than usual. Adrian worries that today might have been the day that they have finally pushed the teenager too far.
"Wait!" Adrian calls out just as Frank and Troy begin to drag Lewis out of the pool. Everyone turns to look at Adrian with confusion. Adrian shifts awkwardly on his feet as he takes a second to consider how to proceed, knowing that the others will probably find it ridiculous and not care.
"What is it, Adrian?" Linda sighs impatiently.
"It's just that… don't you think we've been working the subject too hard? I mean, look at him. He can barely keep his head up. You really think you're going to get good results when the subject is like this? He needs to rest, Linda. The experiments can wait until tomorrow." Adrian explains to his colleague/boss, staring at her seriously. There's an awkward silence in the air for a moment as everyone waits for Linda to respond. She looks taken aback by Adrian's question, her eyebrows raised and mouth opened slightly.
"I, uh… I guess you're right. The subject is barely of use to us in this state; he probably can't even write down his own name. We'll do another round of cognitive testing tomorrow instead." Linda says, nodding slowly in agreement.
"You three take the subject back to his room, then. I might as well go and do some paperwork in the meantime." Linda decides, giving each of her colleagues a small, but firm glare before gathering up her things and walks out of the room without another word.
Later that night, once Adrian has returned back to his apartment, he makes himself a quick dinner of two minute noodles with the microwave because he is just that fancy. When the noodles have cooked, Adrian grabs the bowl of noodles and a spoon and walks into his office, sitting down at his desk. Adrian quickly turns his PC, logs on, and opens up his emails. Judging by the subject names of the emails as well as the people who sent them, all of his new emails are work related, which makes Adrian sigh tiredly. He's had a long day and he really doesn't want to deal with any more work stuff at the moment. However, Adrian knows that if he doesn't go through his emails now, he probably never will. The scientist is just going to have to push himself through the grind and get it over with as soon as possible. Adrian opens up his first email and quickly gets to work, having a spoonful of his noodles every couple of minutes.
Within an hour, Adrian has finally finished replying to his emails, much to his relief. Adrian sighs happily and sits back in his chair for a moment, enjoying the fact that he has the rest of the night off now. He closes his eyes and settles down into his chair comfortably, listening to the slight hum of his lamp on his desk. There is something quite comforting about the slight humming noise of the lamp. Adrian lets his mind wander, thinking about the groceries he needs to buy in the next few days, the bills that he has to pay, when he's going to see his parents next… and finally, his thoughts wander back to Lewis McCartney, the sight of the kid being practically dragged back towards his room while appearing limp and lifeless haunting Adrian's mind. His eyes fly open and he quickly shakes his head to rid himself of the image, not wanting another surge of guilt to overrun him again. Plus, Adrian just wants to be done with work for the day. Unfortunately, his conscience won't let him off so easy.
Breathing a heavy sigh, Adrian sits upright in his chair again, scooting it closer towards his desk. The scientist moves his now empty bowl to the side before pulling the keyboard and mouse towards himself. He quickly jumps onto google and types the name 'Lewis McCartney' into the search bar. Adrian hovers the cursor over the search button, hesitating for a moment, uncertain about whether or not he really wants to know what will show up. 'Well, you might as well just go for it since you have already typed his name in. I just want to know what the general public thinks about his disappearance. We can't risk having the police find us,' Adrian silently convinces himself before finally clicking on the search button and opens up the first article that appears on the page.
Almost immediately, Adrian starts to regret searching up the merman's name on google; it just makes Adrian feel even worse. Deep down though, Adrian is aware that he knew what he was getting into, as if he wanted to find some sort of confirmation for his guilt. The article has several different photos of Lewis, all of them in which Lewis is smiling happily. Adrian has never seen Lewis smile. He looks healthier in the photos too; his skin less pale, his hair not matted and filthy. It is also easy to spot the spark of life in his eyes, which Adrian has been noticing fading more and more over the past few weeks. The scientist hurriedly tears his eyes away from the photos and begins to read the article instead, curious to know what Lewis' family thinks about the boy's disappearance. Adrian's eyes scan through the article quickly, his heart aching when he reads Lewis' mother's plea for her son to return home from a few weeks ago turning into a comment of reluctant acceptance of her son's supposed death that was supposedly asked of Kelly McCartney just a couple of days ago. His whole family as well as his friends are grieving and completely devastated, just as Adrian had expected them to be.
Adrian finishes the article within another couple of minutes, and once he does, he quickly turns off his PC again and takes his dishes out to the kitchen, placing them in the dishwasher. Glancing up at the clock on the wall, the marine biologist decides that he might as well hit the hay: It's 11pm, and he has to be back at work at 6am tomorrow. Plus, sleeping may be the only way to take his mind off of his recent moral dilemma.
Once Adrian has double checked that he has locked the apartment, had a shower, brushed his teeth and changed into gym shorts and turned all of the lights off, he makes his way into his bedroom and quickly jumps into bed, pulling the covers up to his chest. Adrian stares up at the ceiling silently for a few minutes, wondering why he got stuck in this merfolk business in the first place. He should have just let it slide back when he was a kid. Who cares if no one believed that he had seen a mermaid? Adrian had known what he had seen, and that's what mattered. But now, the 29-year-old is caught up in something that he isn't sure that he wants to be a part of anymore. People are getting hurt, and Adrian is helping with that. Where does the line get drawn between helping humanity's understanding of the world and straight up torturing someone or something that doesn't deserve to be tortured? Why do some lives seem to matter more than others? Why did Lewis' question to him on their first meeting rattle him so much?
Adrian sighs and rolls onto his side while closing his eyes, trying to clear his mind from the guilt and confusion clogging it. Whatever the answers to his questions may be, there's no way that Adrian can answer any of them tonight. He needs to just try and get some sleep and have a clear head before going into work tomorrow, and then figure things out from there. After about an hour of lying in bed trying to keep his mind calm, Adrian eventually starts drifting off into a restless sleep.