Compound 41

Chapter 2

Age 17

"Sorry I'm late" Evelyn said to the doctor as she arrived for her weekly appointment. "Something came up at work and I had to stay to help. A computer server crashed or something, and I was the only one there who knew how to reorganize everything and get all the physical files back in order."

"You're 2 hours late" the Doctor said gruffly as Evelyn expertly maneuvered her wheelchair through the doorway and into the exam room. "These injections have a very specific time release, and even a couple of hours can have adverse effects."

Evelyn nodded her head dismissively. She had heard it all before. Timing, and consistency. Two years ago was the last time she had missed an appointment, and she had actually had a seizure and fallen from her wheelchair. She didn't remember the seizure itself, but she had dreams during it which she had never forgotten. She had dreamed that all of her bones were cracking and that her body was somehow reshaping itself. But most importantly, in her dream she could feel it all.

Her mother had told her that they found her completely across the room from her wheelchair, and nobody really knew how she had gotten so far away in the middle of a seizure. Fortunately, her father had gotten her to the clinic to get her injection and she stabilized quickly. Her parents had thought she had gotten a ride to her appointment after school, but Evelyn had decided to ditch for the day, not realizing how impactful the injections really were for her.

Evelyn hated the injections. They were painful and she felt like they never helped, even though the doctors told her they were helping to slow down her muscle deterioration. She had recollections of being able to run and play and climb trees when she was very young, but that had all slowly gone away. In the back of her mind, Evelyn actually blamed the injections, and wanted to see what would happen if she skipped one. But after the seizure, she was scared. The seizure was enough to compel her to never miss another appointment.

Today was different though, she wasn't planning to miss the appointment, she just knew that she had a job to do at work and wanted to see it finished. Evelyn was very smart and capable, and was working part-time for a party planning business, where they heavily relied on her organization and focus on getting things done. She loved to bring order where there was chaos, and was considering the idea of pursuing a business degree when she started college in the fall.

Even though the seizure had scared her when she was younger, and she knew she couldn't miss her appointment, Evelyn did wish she could have those dreams again. She wished, even just for a few minutes of a dream, that she could feel her legs again and feel the strength that she had dreamed about having that day. So even though she would never admit it to the Doctor, and probably not even to herself, she felt like it was a risk worth taking to stay behind at work. She didn't want to have a seizure, but she was curious to find out what would happen if she did.

"Do you need help getting onto the bed?" the Doctor asked, even though he knew the answer.

"No, I'm good, I know the drill" Evelyn said cheerfully, and the Doctor stepped out of the room so she could put on the hospital gown and climb onto the exam table.

Evelyn had just gotten comfortable, with her gown on and her back exposed, ready for the injections when she felt it. Her entire body began to convulse and she was sure that a seizure was starting. She shouted for help, but had no control over the shaking and trembling, and the cracking of her bones that she could hear and feel, even in her legs, and then everything went dark.

"Doctor" the nurse yelled as she came into the room at the sound of Evelyn's cries for help. "She's shifting!" the nurse shouted out loudly.

"Quick, get the syringe" the Doctor shouted, rushing into the room. "Hold her still!" he shouted, as he took the syringe form the nurse and prepared to insert it into Evelyn's spine. "She's moving too much! I can't do it yet."

The doctor set down the needle and rushed over to a cabinet and took out a sedative, and a new syringe. Every second that he took, Evelyn's body continued its shift, trying to take on the werewolf form. The hair was coming out, her teeth and claws were elongating and her bones were reshaping her figure. She had almost completely shifted and began to howl when the Doctor had finally gotten the sedative ready, and gave it to her, rendering her unconscious almost immediately. Her limp wolf form dropping to the floor.

With the help of the nurse, they picked her up and were able to inject her with their Compound 41, and Evelyn's body slowly shifted back into human form, after which the nurse redressed her in a new hospital gown and laid her on the hospital bed.

"That was close, Doctor. Too close" the nurse said while checking Evelyn's heart rate and blood pressure.

"I know" the Doctor said with a frown. "She's gotten a little too comfortable, and if that had happened outside of the clinic and someone saw her, for what she really is, it would all be for nothing. Up the dosage. We need her to feel some discomfort after today's stunt, so she won't take any more risks" the Doctor said after another few minutes of consideration, and review of some data.

"But doctor, won't that be too much? The trials are in a few weeks. If she's dosed too much, she won't be able to perform" the nurse said with panic in her voice.

"What is the alternative?" the Doctor snapped back at the nurse. "We have to have her committed to the program, or it's all been a waste."

"Yes, Doctor" the nurse replied, and reluctantly gave Evelyn the added dosage indicated by the doctor.

Evelyn woke up sweating and in a panic. She was having a hard time remembering where she was and didn't recognize the hospital room she was in. She tried to sit up, but couldn't move her body. She had some feeling in her arms and hands, but her entire torso had very little feeling in it at all.