Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. Chris just wondered how much worse this was supposed to get, because changing the meds to those Mia had sent had been a fucking desaster. Since Ethan still refused food and water - nine days and counting - they had to resort to the injections and whatever was in the new mixture, he hadn't taken it well. If he had been aggressive before, after the first dose he was enraged. On a positive note, he seemed to understand that attacking the glass had no effect and so he had started gnawing on the beams and clawing at the door frame. Not that these endeavors were any more successful; the architect had designed the cell with monsters in mind, as far as they could tell. John had dug up some plans and they showed that it even had an integrated separate system to filter and clean water and air if switched on.
It had come to no one's surprise when on the tenth afternoon of Ethan's hunger strike and self-inflicted sleep deprivation he collapsed into a shaking lump in the middle of his cell.
"Urgh, I'd really hoped we could avoid mixing that", Charlie commented and stared at the hand-written recipe he held. The copy was faded, but the words were unfortunately still clear enough to decipher - 'David's Cocktail'.
"Where the hell did she get that idea anyway? Connection's research?" Emily asked, visibly disgusted as she skimmed the page.
"I think so. Probably for the D-Series, since they weren't that creative with their names…"
"I'll buy the stuff, but you can blend this on your own. That's gross", she snorted and went off to the supermarket.

When Charlie stared down into the bowl an hour and a half later, he had to admit she was right. The slimy, red and brown mass looked… unappetizing. He had substituted the pig's blood for one of their IV-bags - the seller had to order it and Emily had agreed to pick it up the next day - and a whole dozen eggs had sounded a bit much, so he had cut down to half a dozen and reduced the rest of the ingredients accordingly. Chris had taken the day off and was probably asleep; the man could sleep for a whole day when given the chance. Or stay awake two days if necessary. Sometimes Charlie worried about their leader. Better that he was not here, though, because he wouldn't have condoned the use of blood transfusions for a try like this.
Ethan's snarls and growls sounded pathetic and his attempt to stand up was futile as his arms barely supported his weight enough to straighten himself. This was dumb and dangerous, but Charlie wasn't concerned about his own safety as he opened the door to the cell. One tiny, tired eye watched him put the bowl not even a foot from his head on the ground.
"Hey, Ethan. I made you something with raw ingredients. Eat up", he said with a weak smile. If this didn't work, he was out of ideas.
The molded turned his head away and grunted, but stayed put. This was highly unusual, he had considered molded to be zombies, always hungry and vicious. Refusing any and all food made no sense at all, unless he had more control over himself than they expected. Sighing, Charlie exited the cell and locked it behind him. Well, at least Ethan hadn't wasted more energy threatening him.
A quiet sniffing noise caught his attention. He turned around and sure enough, the collapsed man had lifted his head and seemed to smell the content of the bowl. A long, dark red tongue slowly unrolled from the maw and dipped into the container. Gingerly at first, he started lapping up the thick mixture. The contents of the bowl were gone soon enough. Finally, some sort of success after days of worries. As Charlie tidied up the mess in the kitchen area, his gaze wandered over the IV-bag again and his heart tightened a bit. No wonder Ethan couldn't resist drinking this stuff - he'd actually tried to get it before.

After the first cocktail, the imprisoned molded was already a lot more docile again and a similar breakfast was welcomed with patient anticipation. Charlie knew he couldn't keep feeding him their blood reserve, sooner or later someone would notice and he very well couldn't ask for a… direct donation. He felt like he had unwittingly stumbled over a well-kept secret and it wasn't his to tell. Thankfully, Ethan accepted cubed meat and animal blood for dinner, though he seemed a bit disappointed. Maybe they could use the good stuff as a treat if he kept behaving.
"You sure are a handful", Charlie mumbled as he watched him gobble down dinner. The others had already left and he was alone with him on the compound for the night. Talking to him had a calming effect for both: Ethan seemed to listen and relaxed visibly when he was addressed with a quiet voice. The security feed didn't record sound and he wasn't worried about anything he said leaving these walls. So, he continued talking for another hour or two, about the squad, about how Mia and Rose were doing, about his family back in the UK, and anything else that came to mind.

"He's docile. Charlie's started some tests on his cognitive abilities and the nature of his new body and so far there hasn't been another incident", Chris reported and leaned back in the chair.
Watching one of his men stand right next to a hulking monstrosity with only a protective vest, face mask, and gloves still had parts of his brain screaming at him, but the British guy had the situation quite well under control. At this point, there probably wasn't a difference between this and a scientist working with a gorilla - both could effortlessly rip your limbs out if they wanted to. But it seemed that Ethan was just as curious what they were trying to do as Charlie was about his abilities. The new diet with added blood worked wonders, his dark grey and black mottled skin looked almost healthy and he stood at a little short of seven feet height.
"How are you doing, Mia? You never talk about yourself without prompt", Chris commented.
"I'm doing fine. Repairs around the house are complete, though I haven't bought a new dining table yet. We've upgraded the security on the premises. Rose is growing at a healthy, normal rate and I'm managing. I'm not the only single parent in the world, you know", Mia laughed. "Time sure flies by… how long has it been, a month?"
"I wish I could offer you some help."
"You're all doing plenty caring for Ethan. By the way, two of your men have requested returning to their families. We discussed having them watch the security cameras remotely, but of course the decision is ultimately up to you."
"Alright, let's go over it…"

Charlie's research notes grew with each passing day. Since Ethan was pretty tame and cooperative, examinations that required touch were possible - with gloves, of course, because the surface of his skin still looked like it could transfer mold to other people. He had a way of incorporating his studies in harmless ways so only the focused look on his face betrayed the fact that he didn't do these things for fun. A shame he hadn't chosen a job where this talent could shine.
Measuring his height had been the first point on the agenda, then his body temperature with both a surface and an ear thermometer. Ethan didn't like the hemodynamometer, mostly because they couldn't find a fitting cuff. Another problem was his pulse: at merely ten to eleven beats per minute, normal methods for measuring blood pressure didn't work that well. All in all, his vitals were far beyond what could be considered normal or healthy for a human. Extensive test would require use of equipment like a ultrasound scanner or a MRI system and that was out of question.
"How strong do you think he is? Like, bending metal or punching holes in walls?" Dion asked from the outside as he watched Charlie take a tissue sample from Ethan's left arm.
"Hard to say, I think he's intentionally holding back. You're actually quite the gentle giant lately, aren't you?" He addressed the molded. The dog handler rolled his eyes.
"How about we give him this?" Dion suggested and held up one of the large cow bones he had bought for the two dogs we worked with at the moment. "See if he can chew through it."
"Yeah, if he wants it. Come on in."
He wasn't comfortable walking into the cell. Besides feeling like he was an animal on display, he couldn't shake the feeling that Ethan inspected him closely as he approached. Little, beady yellow eyes scanning him for something, then returning to whatever they were fixated on before. Maybe he didn't register as a threat. He handed the bone with dry meat on it to Charlie.
"Here, he likes you more than me", Dion mumbled.
"Hey, Ethan, wanna try that?" Charlie chimed.
The molded took it from his hand, pointed fingers carefully picking it up without so much as scratching the glove. He seemed to contemplate the use of this thing before chomping down on it. It broke with a crunch and two bites later, it was completely gone.
"Alright, that was fast. On the other hand, I suspected as much", the Brit laughed.
"Makes one wonder whether you should really stand this close to him", Dion commented pointedly.
"Well, a human is capable of biting through human bodies' tissue and the bacteria in our mouths can cause severe infections. By that logic, we should keep our distance from everybody."
"Sounds safe to me."
"Dumbass", Charlie grinned.
"By the way, did you hear? John and Rolando are taking some time off and returning to their families", Dion informed him.
"Must be nice to have someone to return to", Charlie mumbled.
"Come on, you'll find a girl somed…", Dion's voice broke as he noticed how close the giant fanged mouth was to the back of Charlie's head. His hand twitched to his side, finding he had left his holster in the locker. "Uhm, Charlie…?"
The molded leaned forward and softly butted his forehead against the other man's hair, gurgling playfully.
"Ow, Ethan, no!" Charlie chided him and rubbed the point of impact on his head. "That wasn't nice."
Ethan grumbled and flopped down in a cross-legged sitting position. Dion stared at the two in disbelief. For once he totally agreed with Emily: this whole thing was bizarre.
"Alright, we're done for today anyway, let's get something to eat", Charlie suggested. He turned to Ethan and added, "Good work today."