Chapter 15

Subjects

Richard couldn't sleep even though it was nearly two in the morning. He was far too excited. Not everyone had a miracle happen to them.

Immediately after they deposited him in his room Richard tore his clothing off to inspect his hip and legs. There was noticeable regrowth. His skin was weirdly hot and reddened by whatever process was taking place inside of him, but there was no pain, only an odd tingling sensation.

Dorothy barged in fifteen minutes after he was put in his room. He was loath to share a special moment with her, but he could swear that the regrowth of his muscles had doubled since he first looked at them. As things were not perfect she averted her eyes from his body as he took a tentative step without his cane. He stumbled a bit and had to grab onto the wall, but before that had not even been possible.

The doctors and the scientists then descended upon him with their tests. Measuring, poking, prodding, taking samples of his blood and saliva and hair and semen. When the last one was ordered Dorothy abruptly stood up and left the room. The scientist who had ordered this test, a soft-spoken German woman who didn't make eye contact with Richard at all, evidently did not notice the tension in the room between him and his wife and handed Richard a cup for his sample.

To conjure up the sample Richard delved into his newfound discovery of how spectacular fellatio was. As he stroked his cock, although not too comfortably as he hadn't been provided with any lotion, he imagined two voluptuous women, with large wiggling bottoms and full breasts, sucking and licking and taking turns wrapping their lips around his pulsating cock. There was a great mirror on the wall and he could watch them from behind and they slavered over his cock. They begged him to please, please, please, shoot his cream in their mouth, not the other girl's mouth. He told them that whichever one could get his cock the furthest down their throat would be the lucky winner. The first woman got his cock only halfway down, but the second one stuffed it all the way down her throat. Her lips grazed his balls and he produced his sample readily enough.

Aside from disappearing during the sample production, Dorothy remained by his side for the entire day except for an hour or so when she went to go get him some shirts. Richard knew this was to prevent Lupe from showing up, which was something they had discussed before he left. But it was only for three days. He'd make it up to her. He'd take her to that hotel, for starters.

By that night his body had completely healed. There were no longer any scars or missing flesh. It was as if he had never been shot. Doctor Ashland had warned him that there'd be a period of adjustment as his brain remembered what it was like to be able-bodied again. For a while he wobbled about on unsure legs like a foal, but by the time Dorothy left for the night he was back to his pre-war self, and that was a hell of a vintage.

Once she saw that Richard totally healed, Dorothy morphed into someone he no longer recognized. She smiled at him. She flirted. She tried to touch him repeatedly. All of her efforts were met with rebuffs though. Dorothy gave up for the day and went home at ten and Richard had been free to explore his regained vitality in peace.

He lifted a chair as easy as cake. He ran down the hall several times until he was chastised by the nurses and sent back to his room to 'rest'. He stood in the shower as opposed to having a bath. He held the soap in one hand and kept running his hand over his healed hip and legs with the other. It was all unbelievable and, despite the high price tag, worth every damned cent.

And now, alone at two in the morning, he was lying on his back in an entirely comfortable position, wearing the red and black flannel pajamas that Dorothy had brought him from home. Richard was so used to the constant background pain that it's sudden removal was startling. He was also so used to Dorothy's hostility that when she offered to help him change into his pajamas he only stared at her in bewilderment before retreating to the bathroom to change alone.

He closed his eyes briefly. Sleep. You've got a long day of doing nothing tomorrow. The sound of light footfalls in the hallway caused him to snap his eyes open. One of the nurses probably, coming to make sure he was still breathing.

The door creaked open ever so slightly.

"I'm fine," Richard said to the nurse. "I'm awake but I'm fine."

"I didn't wake you?" Lupe's sweet voice filtered into the room from the hall.

Richard sat straight up and reached for the lamp. "No, no, I was awake." In his excitement over his visitor he clumsily knocked the lamp over. "Get the light, would you?"

Lupe switched the light on and he winced at the warm iridescent glow of the bulb springing to life. She was wearing her old worn blue coat and her hair was a tangled mess but as far as Richard was concerned she was the most fashionable woman in Rapture. "I'm sorry, but I had to come and see, I couldn't sleep without seeing you."

Richard's vanity was certainly plumped up by her statement. He sprung out of bed effortlessly and wrapped his arms around her. "It worked. Look, I can stand and walk just as well as any man can." He squeezed her tightly.

Lupe gave him a wide, warm smile. "That's amazing, I had hoped it would work, but I didn't know it would be so fast!" Despite her warmth at the good news there was an air of agitation about her.

Richard scooped her up into his arms. A sudden flash of memory of him doing the same thing to Dorothy on his wedding night came to him. That had seemed like a good idea at the time too. I hope I'm not making the same mistake twice. "I've been wanting to properly hold you for a while now," he softly said to her and kissed her. It was then he noticed the small laceration on her cheek. "What happened?"

"I was cleaning the oven and I banged my head and I must have caught my check in something," Lupe replied simply. "How are you feeling?"

I should hire an actual maid. The closer he got to Lupe the less and less he liked her cleaning up after him and Dorothy. He set her down and kissed the cut on her cheek. "Really well. There's no pain, they cut my stomach open twelve hours ago or so but there's no pain. It's remarkable. Here, look," Richard pulled his pajama top up to show her.

Lupe gasped in awe. "It's totally healed," she said in a hushed tone. She put her hands on his hip. "It's, wow, it's all grown back." She pressed on his flesh and felt that it was the solid, healthy muscle that a man in his mid-20s would be expected to have. "It's unbelievable! If I didn't see it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it!"

The touch of her hands on his body ignited his passion. His first instinct was to fuck her right then and there, really test out his refurbishment. But aside from the likelihood of being interrupted by the nurses on their rounds it wasn't terribly romantic. Lupe deserved better than a fast pump in a hospital bed, at least for the first time they had proper sex with each other. She also seemed to have something on her mind.

"Can you feel the sea slug in there?" Lupe put her hand over his stomach to see if she could feel it.

Richard shrugged. "A little bit, I think, if I concentrate on it. Mostly he just lies there, every now and again he'll wiggle a little. Or she."

Lupe giggled a little. "You should give he or she a name."

He took her hand in his and kissed it. "As happy as I am to see you, what's got you so bothered you had to come and see me in the middle of the night?"

"It's, it's silly," she began. "It's just that Dorothy-"

Richard's smile evaporated at his wife's name. "Let me guess. She told you that now that I don't have a cane anymore I also don't have a memory anymore and I'd forget the awful way she's treated me for seven years? That'd I'd go running back to her bed and I'd toss you out on the street?"

Lupe nodded rapidly. "Yes, well, not in those words, but that was the general gist of it."

Richard was a little hurt that she would take Dorothy at her word, but then again all he really done to cement their relationship was engage in increasingly bold sex games with her. And Dorothy could be incredibly manipulative, so he supposed he shouldn't be too shocked that she had gotten inside Lupe's head. "It's not true, I promise. She wants it to be true, but she can pound sand." He kissed Lupe gently. "I won't abandon you. Ever. Even if this thing we have goes bad somehow I swear I won't let you go back to where you were before. You've given me back so much. You've given me back things I didn't even realize had been taken from me."

Lupe sighed and rested her head against his chest. "Thank you Mr. Stone, it's-"

He squeezed her again. "Don't call me that when we are alone. When we are in public or, say, you're in your twisty little maid's outfit bent over my knee getting a spanking, then yes, oh God yes, do call me Mr. Stone, I find that very nice. But when it's just you and I, like this, being normal with each other, call me Richard, alright?"

Lupe put her head up from his chest. "Thank you Richard," she amended. "I feel better now. I'm sorry to come here like this when you should be sleeping over something so silly, but I couldn't stop worrying about it."

Hearing his name from her lips melted his heart. "Lupe, I care for you. More so than I have for anyone in a long time. I need time though, do you understand? Time to heal on the inside now that I've healed on the outside."

"No, not really, I don't understand, but that's not my business. I will give you the time you need," Lupe assured him and put her arms around him. "I'm in no rush. As long as I get to stay close to you, we can crawl along like snails."

"I'll divorce Dorothy," Richard heard himself say before he thought about it. "I don't have the liquid assets now though. This surgery set me back a lot, but once I am on better financial footing I'll send her packing and…" I'll marry you and treat you like a queen. "…and we can have the time then to sort it all out."

Lupe nodded in agreement. "You'll still put your mouth on my kitty though, right? And other fun things?"

"My darling, I have been lying here thinking of all the fun activities we can do now for the past several hours," Richard informed her drolly.

"Mmm, like what?" Lupe purred and rubbed the small of his back.

"For starters I'd like to fuck you properly, in a boring way, I must admit, but properly. And afterwards lay with you in bed and sleep. And after that? I'd like to fuck you again, but maybe a little less properly."

Lupe sighed and said nothing for a while.

"Can I see your chart? I'm curious about the details, I liked biology at school and I'd like to see if I can make any sense of it," she asked as she released him from her arms. She seemed much cheerier than she was when she came in.

He gestured to the clipboard on the wall. "Help yourself. If you can make any sense of it let me. You'll have to dumb it down for me though."

Lupe carefully studied the chart. "Well, I don't understand half of this," she said after several minutes. "But it looks like they took your appendix out and put the slug in its place. And they expect you to have…" her voice trailed off and she rifled through the chart again and whispered to herself.

"To have what?"

"Spit," she mumbled as she read the first few pages again.

"Spit?"

"Spit," Lupe repeated. "A lot of spit, I guess. Abnormal spit, but it doesn't say how it's different from regular spit. Or vomit, they aren't sure." She looked over at him. "Do you have a lot of spit? Or vomit?"

"No more so than usual. You kissed me and it didn't feel odd, did it?"

She shook her head and looked back at the clipboard. "I guess it's a possible side effect, but they seem quite concerned with it."

"Anything else?" Richard asked while walking to the bathroom to get a glass of fresh water.

"Aside from having a sea slug implanted in you and your body regrowing muscles literally overnight, no, it's all bog standard," Lupe answered and turned back to him. She stopped suddenly. "Oh, your eyes," she slowly said.

"What about them?"

"In the dark in the bathroom, they glow," she stammered out. "That's not on the chart."

"What?" Richard loudly asked. "The hell do you mean they glow?"

"I mean look in the mirror, Richard."

He whipped his head around and looked in the bathroom mirror. There was an undeniable yellow-hued iridescent sheen to his eyes. He exhaled sharply and took a few steps back and bumped into the shower.

Lupe saw his distress and hastened to the bathroom. "It's barely noticeable," she offered weakly.

"Barely noticeable?!" This is wrong, I shouldn't have done this, it's unnatural. "I'm..." he trailed off, unable to find the words to express how unnerved he was. "I'm a freak!"

"No, no," Lupe softly comforted him. "Not at all! It's just a little glow, hm? Like a sweet little kitten coming around for a pet" She stood on her tip toes and kissed him. "At least you won't need a lamp to read in bed."

Richard turned the light on in the bathroom and the glow was no longer noticeable. "What else, what else can't I see?"

"I would imagine those new eyes of yours will help you see everything," Lupe joked and gave him another kiss. "You'll be fine, Richard. I feel it in my heart."

Richard had never been a big believer in the ability to feel things in the heart, but he hoped Lupe was right. "I wonder if all my guts glow?"

Lupe yanked the waistband of his pajamas. "Well your cock isn't glowing. I'm honestly a little disappointed." She sighed. "I must go. I need to catch a little bit of sleep and I don't think Dorothy is going to make my life easier if she suspects I was here."

"It wouldn't be forever," he swore. "We made a big contract with Ryan Security, it shouldn't be too long before I have enough money. A few months."

Lupe kissed him again. "I'll see you at home. Feel better soon."

Richard saw her to the door and then shut off the lights. He laid back in bed once she left. Glowing eyes, he ruminated and stared at the ceiling. It was unnatural, just like everything in Rapture. And now I am a part of this artificial construct. Before he had just been existing in Rapture, but now it was in his very blood; a synthetic imitation of normalcy coursing through his veins. His joy over being healed was significantly tempered by his unease.

He held his hands to his face and tried to discern a glow reflected off his skin, but the glow wasn't strong enough to cast light.

Unnatural, he ruefully thought, and drifted off to sleep.

"I'm sorry miss, but you'll have to take the long way around if you're trying to get to the metro," the gruff looking workman in front of the sealed bulkhead informed her. "We're doing some maintenance work on this tunnel."

Lupe twisted her head around, trying to ascertain the route. "And what's the long way?"

He shrugged. "Hell if I know. Don't you work here?"

Lupe sighed, not really wanting to get into an explanation. "I'll figure it out," she muttered and turned back into the Medical Pavilion. As befitting the late hour she was the only one there. Lupe had worn her soft-soled flats so she stepped silently through the freshly waxed lobby floors. Red lights from security cameras gently glowed in the dimness of the turned down lights. They reminded her of Richard's strange new development. She wasn't exactly afraid, but despite her joking she was concerned as well.

She wandered past dental offices, searching vainly for this long way. This is ridiculous, I'd be back by now if the damnable tunnel wasn't being fixed. I need to get some sleep. The corridor she followed led her back to the main lobby and she sighed in frustration. Were it not for her fear that Dorothy would poison her breakfast, Lupe would go back to Richard and bunk with him for the night.

Lupe found herself back in the main lobby and swore. How mad would she be, really? She knows about us. Lupe spied a sign for a crematory and frowned. I'd end up there if she caught Richard and I together in public. Maybe the stairs leading down would bring her better luck.

The stairway led to a surprisingly narrow hallway. The hallway was totally darkened except for a sliver of light towards the end. Maybe that's my long way. Walking slowly so as to not trip in the near blackness, Lupe slunk down the hall. What have we got here, an access tunnel? Smugglers? Maybe they'll take me up with them. The thought of escape at all costs had lost her appeal. I'd have them take Richard too, she compromised in her daydream.

The light, however, wasn't an access tunnel or smugglers, but instead just an open office door. Lupe frowned but the name stenciled on the glass of the door caught her eye. B. Tenenbaum. That was one of the names on Richard's chart.

Lupe was about to knock on the door to ask what exactly was going on with Richard's eyes, but right before her knuckles made contact with the door she heard a voice from inside clearly speak. Lupe stopped her hand before it made contact.

"Yes, I know it is late, but you told me to call you as soon as my results came back," said this B. Tenenbaum, who was apparently an Eastern European woman.

She's on the telephone. Lupe pressed her lips together in thought. Goodness, it would be rude to interrupt her, wouldn't it? Lupe supposed it would be best to wait. And if she overheard anything interesting, well, that was B. Tenenbaum's fault for not closing her door.

"Very well. I think you will be interested. It is as I suspected. Subject Lambda was successfully implanted with a sea slug earlier this morning. His physical impairment had already been repaired. But there is not the production of ADAM that was observed in subjects Gamma and Eta. I believe that adults are not capable of it. Perhaps it has something to do with the pituitary gland."

There was a pause and Lupe faintly heard a voice from the other line respond to Tenenbaum's report.

"It is a dead end. If you want enough ADAM for large scale production I suggest you go with children."

Lupe felt a twist in her gut. Whatever they were talking about it didn't sound good. I should tell someone. But Lupe knew no one would care.

"Yes, of course. But I doubt there will be any change in the situation. Furthermore, Subject Lambda's spermatozoa possess the same deformities seen in the other adult males," Tenenbaum continued. There was a break in the conversation, then she spoke again. "There are easier ways of doing that. It would be a waste of your resources."

I need to tell him. Lupe thought. But remembering how he reacted to the eyes, Lupe decided it could wait a while. Hopefully the doctors will tell him.

"Find more suitable subjects for me to test my theories. I cannot promise you the results you desire, only what is possible. Good night, Fontaine."

The telephone clicked as she hung up the phone. Lupe started off down the hall, unnerved by what she had heard. Subjects? They shouldn't call their patients subjects. She tried to be as quiet as possible because although she didn't understand exactly what was happening, she instinctively knew it to be dangerous or classified. Richard doesn't know, he doesn't know he's a 'subject', she thought as she randomly choose a direction at the end of the hallway.

You can't tell him, whispered a voice in her head. He's already scared about the eyes. It won't do any good to upset him further. No one here will care about this 'experiment' and that's he's a 'subject'. What's done is done. At least if something goes wrong you know who to find.

"Oh, those poor children that are going to be found," Lupe whispered to herself once she had found the maintenance access tunnel leading to the metro station. Nothing good could come of this woman's experiments.