The experiment

~3~

Lola walks into the building. She's exhausted and a little grumpy. After she came home she wasn't able to get much sleep. Her mind was racing with thoughts and ideas. She was too excited to sleep, her brain refused to turn off.

"Good morning Lola!" One of the staff members shouts over at her.

Lola waves at him and walks up the polished stairs.
She looks at the award plaques on the wall like she does every morning to get motivated. Names of famous scientists that worked in this facility line the wall. She rubs her hands over the plaque that belongs to doctor Anthony Gray. He's a special man to her. Her lab belonged to him before he passed away. When she first became a scientist he was her mentor, he taught her everything she knows about genetics and biology. He was often ridiculed. Other scientists called him crazy for believing that you could create a life form but Lola believed in him, she believed it was possible and now that she knows it is, she feels even more proud to have worked with him and to continue his legacy.
Anthony Gray also happened to be the father of Paul Gray but Lola has yet to meet him.

Lola walks down the hall and towards her lab in the very back. The lights in the hallway flicker ever so slightly as she walks down the dark hall. She pulls open the door to her lab and steps inside.
A fresh pair of goggles, and lab coats are laid out on a rack. Lola grabs one of each and sets them aside.
She presses a button on the wall and stretches her arms out so the decontamination room and cleanse her from all bacteria that she might be carrying on her or her clothing.
Once the machine gives her the green light she slips on her lab coat and goggles and enters the lab.

"Good morning Jane," Lola says as she walks into the corner of the room and powers on her computer.

Lola raises an eyebrow when Jane doesn't respond and she looks over at her.
Jane's eyes are fixed on the frog and her mouth hangs open slightly.

"Jane?" Lola questions as she walks over to her.

"W-what is it?" Jane asks as she brushes her fingers over the capsule that holds the frog.

"A frog," Lola grins as she looks down at it.

Her eyes go wide as she sees it's physical state. It's body hasn't changed much but the frog can now blink it's eyes slowly. It's vocal sac expands and contracts as it breaths.
Suddenly, a low croaking sound erupts from it.
Lola and Jane squeal when they hear the sound.

"Oh my gosh!" Jane says.

"It's alive!! It's really alive!" Lola gasps.

"You made this?" Jane asks in awe as she looks over at Lola.

"Yeah. I came in this morning at 2 a.m. to test the samples. I was able to cut off a little bit of my skin to give it the genetic makeup it needed to create the outer layer of its body," Lola explains as she looks down at it.

"It wasn't moving or making sound last night though. I guess the tubes are working," Lola grins as she stares at it.

The room goes silent as they both stare down at the unnatural creature they created.

"We did it," Jane mutters.

Lola smiles widely at her.

"We did it!" Jane squeals as she pulls Lola into a hug.

The girls jump up and down as they hug each other.

"I knew we could do it! Dr. Gray would be so proud," Lola grins as she claps her hands together.

Their eyes both travel back to the frog.

"Should we take it out?" Lola questions.

Jane raises an eyebrow at her.

"Is that safe?" She questions.

Lola shrugs, "I have no clue."

They both stare back at it before shrugging.

"Put some gloves on," Lola says.

Jane nods and they both walk over to the sink and wash their hands before pulling out a box of blue latex gloves and slipping them on.
Jane walks over to the capsule and presses a button, popping it open.
Lola slowly removes the cords and tubes from the frog and then she gently picks it up into her hands.
It's less sticky than before and it's skin is starting to feel like a normal frog's.
Lola studies it. She takes her pointer finger and lightly pokes it's side. A loud croaking sound comes out of its mouth and Lola's eyes get wide.
Lola sets the frog down on a dish and she watches as it slowly tries to move its deformed legs.
It slowly wiggles forward and both Jane and Lola's eyes go wide.

"It's moving!" Jane squeals.

Lola stares at it speechless as she slowly pokes it again. This time it jumps slightly.
Lola smiles widely.

"Hand me my stethoscope please," she tells Jane.

Jane hands it to her and she places it in her ears. Lola presses the cold metal piece down to it's body and she smiles when she hears a stronger heartbeat than the one last night.

"It's growing. It's heartbeat is way stronger than it was before," Lola smiles as she takes the stethoscope out of her ears.

"Does this frog have a gender?" Jane asks as she touches it and it wiggles into her hands.

"That's a good question," Lola comments as Jane holds the frog.

"Do you see it's disc?" Lola asks.

Jane turns the flog to the side and they smile as they see a large disc beside it's eye. The disc is larger than it's eye which means the frog is a male.

"It's a male," Lola grins.

"That's so cool!" Jane smiles as she runs her pointer finger over it.

Jane places it back in the capsule and Lola works on putting the tubes and cords back into it.

"Hopefully this will help him grow more and his body will get more natural. He was so sticky last night so he's definitely developing," Lola smiles as they close the capsule and turn the generators back on.

"I'll document this stuff," Jane grins excitedly as she walks over to her computer.

Lola nods and joins her side as they start documenting their discovery.