Title: Sometimes Experiments Aren't Needed
Ch. 1
With Max, in a Cell
I rubbed my arms and sighed, leaning back on the hard surface of the half-crate. I say half because though there was definitely a crate-y feel to the whole place, it wasn't really a true crate. That is to say, I was being held in a dark, steel-reinforced cement room, no windows, no nothing. But in front of me was a large crate-like barred gate of sorts. Beyond the bars, there was a second set of reinforced bars, with a space just large enough to hold a body between them. This second set of bars had a crate-like door. Small, slightly off the ground, but reinforced. And if that wasn't bad enough, there was a prison door set beyond that, like the grade you would find in a penitentiary or asylum, if not worse. And if that wasn't enough security for you, it was completely soundproof. As in, no sound came in, no sound went out. And, as I had found out the first day I was here, both sets of gates were electrified.
I leaned back, humming to myself to keep the absolute silence at bay, when I heard the familiar snick of the door sliding open, and then a bundled up body was tossed into the space between the bars. Once the outside was secured, the gate and door sealed, the second fencing began to raise. I padded forward, and once it was high enough, I drug the boy inside.
"Come on now, Fang. Time to wake up. We have yet to find a way out of this." I muttered, slapping his unconscious face. But after two weeks in here, I was used to this. We saw each other, sure. But only when we were dragging each other's bodies back into the main section, or when we ate.
Right on cue, the gas entered the chamber, and I felt myself getting drowsy. Once, I had tried to outlast the gas, holding my breath against it, but even with my longer endurance, I hadn't been able to pass it. I fainted and went unconscious and then they had dragged me out of the chamber.
Fang and I had spoken once during our feeding schedule about leaving messages hidden for each other, for ideas. But the only thing we had to write with was our own blood, and as soon as he had tried that, the gas had returned, and when he woke up, his finger was patched and the message was washed away. They were nothing if not determined to keep us here.
I sighed as the gas made my world go black once again.
In the Scientists' lounge
"What have you found on them? This experiment must be conducted as soon as is possible."
"The samples we collected the first day have been incubated. The cells are ready for implantation, and the others are bringing Subject 1 in for the procedure."
"What about the survellience?"
"Nothing so far, Sir. We have found no evidence that the other subjects have managed to locate them."
"Good. And the other tests?"
Before his minion could answer, the door opened, and a young scientist in scrubs walked in, "Sir, we implanted the fetus. However…"
"What is it, Marcia?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Well- she already had a fetus in her. It appears to be about three weeks in development."
He frowned, "How did you not see this when you took the haploid?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Well, you see, sir. It was not visible at that time. What would you like for us to do?"
"Replace the subject back into the cell. Feed them, and then bring your team here."
"Yes, Sir." She bowed her head and backed out of the room.
With the Flock
Angel gasped, looking over at the others, crouched in a dune out of the way of the lab they were staking out. It had taken them time to find it, and then they had to get past some serious security to even get this close. That was before they knew whether they were even in there or not.
"What is it?" Iggy asked, "Are they in there? Can you sense them?"
"Yes and no." Angel replied, to which she got some very confused looks from the four flock members surrounding her, so she rolled her eyes and continued, "Yes, they are in there. No. I can't sense them. For some reason they're blocked out. Oh! There's Fang…" She frowned, "I can tell he's awake, but I can't tell what he's thinking, or where he is."
"What was the gasp for?" Dylan asked, arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He was by far the most upset about this whole thing. Not only was Max in there, so was the boy she had chosen over him, and he had to help get them back.
Angel frowned, "The experiment that they are doing to them, that's all." She whispered.
"What experiment?"
"I can't say. I think Max and Fang need to know first, to get used to it…."
Iggy rolled his sightless eyes, "Fine then. How will we get them out?"
"I'm working on the layout. Give me a minute…" Angel scrunched up her face and then nodded, "Okay. I've got it. But it's gonna be tricky. They have more security than I have ever seen before! They really don't want them to escape."
"Security has never stopped us for long, have at it." Nudge piped up, ready to go.
With Fang, in the Cell
Fange groaned and opened his eyes, peering for a minute at the ceiling, vision blurry. He closed them again and took inventory of his body. That terrible itching in his lower half had finally stopped, but there were plenty of other pains to account for.
He sighed and opened his eyes once again, and the dinky gray of the cell came into focus. With a grunt, he lifted himself, looking around, and then sighed. Once, just this once, he'd like a chance to actually talk to someone. The silence, so thick you could hear your own heartbeat thumping back at you, drove him berserk. He shuffled back to the side wall, near to the gate, but not near enough to actually get shocked, he waited until the door opened and Max was dumped.
As soon as the fence lifted, he picked her up and padded to the back of the room. As was customary, he began to check her for injuries. Not that he'd actually be able to do anything about them. Or even tell her about them before he was put out.
He sucked in a breath at the incision on her lower stomach, where her gown rode up some. It wasn't as large as a normal scar would be, only a few centimeters, which is why it drew his attention. A look at her stomach would surely have a larger cut, right? He had no time to wonder, as the door opened once again, and he stiffened, sliding around in front of her. His first thought was one of worry, had they caught another flock member? Then he shook his head as two platters were placed in the space and then the doors were sealed. He stood up, somewhat shaky, and waited for the fence to raise before he slid forward, snatched the platters, and scooted back toward Max.
He opened his platter to see what they got to eat today, and then sighed. He missed Iggy's cooking, even a roasted rat would be more delectable than what was here in front of him. A few moldy slices of bread, some hardened cheese, and an eight-ounce glass of water. As was customary for him, he took the cheese and lifted the lid to Max's food, placing it there. He was always the one awake when food came, and he was usually on his way to being done by the time she woke, so it wasn't too hard to sneak the extra food for her.
"Food's here." He murmured quietly when he heard her moan painfully and quietly, waking up.