Cw: lab whump, sick whump, injections
Whumpee didn't remember anything before the lab. They knew that must have had some kind of life because they were sure they didn't grow up there. When they tried to think of what life was before, they drew a blank. Their mother's face was just blurry enough that they couldn't quite put it together. Their dad, was he even there?
Waking from their dream and shaking off the melancholy, they prepared for the day. They waited for their gruel to be pushed through the small window and awaited next directions.
"7.6.G it is time for daily assessments." The tinny loudspeaker crackled to life.
'7.6.G, that's my name here, but, what was it before this?' Whumpee wondered as they sat back in their facility-issued safety chair, bolted to the floor.
Someone in a white hazmat suit entered the room with a mirrored lens on covering their face so Whumpee couldn't identify anyone.
"How are you feeling today, 7.6.G?" The suit asked.
"Fine." Whumpee knew not to speak further lest they be punished. Do not speak unless spoken to, and make it short.
The suit hummed with efficiency as they took Whumpee's blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels.
"Today is a special day! We are moving forward with testing on the project you're involved in! This is good news!"
Whumpee smiled back at their reflection in the suit's lens. The smile didn't look genuine, Whumpee hoped it would fool the suit anyway. Whumpee had no idea whether it was good news or not in their case.
The suit left and after a while, Whumpee received a similar signal to sit in their chair for treatment.
'Treatment? I don't know if that sounds good to me..'
But ever so obedient, Whumpee sat and waited for this treatment. Two suits came in this time. Definitely not the one from the morning, they seemed very serious and carried a special cooler case with them.
"Identify yourself." The taller suit barked at Whumpee.
"Uh, 7.6.G?"
The one holding the cooler case set it on the table next to Whumpee. Opening the case showed the interior was entirely covered in a packing foam to keep a small vial of clear liquid safe.
The tall one kept Whumpee's attention as they asked them about how they were feeling and if they had generally good health, Whumpee wasn't sure what this had to do with anything, and they didn't really remember anyhow.
"We will go ahead with experiment XY70. You may begin."
The second suit cleaned Whumpee's arm with an alcohol pad and inserted a needle into Whumpee's deltoid muscle. As the contents were pushed in, Whumpee yelped.
"Ow! It stings!"
"Sit STILL!"
Whumpee immediately quieted. They had misbehaved.
The tall one loomed over Whumpee.
"You had better hope you didn't just ruin this experiment. You are the test subject. The throw away. I could easily find another and get rid of you just as easily. Do you understand? Do you understand that you're expendable? Do you realize that I have chosen you out of hundreds of others and I have housed and fed you out of my own pocket? I just injected you with 1 million dollars worth of science. And you are still expendable to me. So stop talking. We will be back in an hour to check your vitals."
The suits left and the tall one slammed the door to Whumpee's room.
'Well, I guess they're in charge.'
As Whumpee's heart rate slowed from their panic of being in trouble, Whumpee felt their eyelids starting to droop. Whumpee stood up to walk over to their bed and the room began to spin. Stumbling, Whumpee made it to their bed and practically fell into the spongy mattress.
Shivering, Whumpee pulled the thin blanket on top of them and curled into themselves to keep warm. The loudspeaker crackled to life. "Take your seat for the 1 hour inspection."
Whumpee cracked open their eyes. That couldn't have been an hour. Did they.. fall asleep? They wanted to get up. They had to. But they just couldn't will themselves to do it. They felt exhausted. Any slight movement sent waves of pain that shocked them to their core.
The door opened and the two suits re-emerged from wherever the door led to.
"Why are you still in bed?" The tall one started, "The loudspeaker gave you an ORDER."
"I- *cough* -I-I'm sorry, I- *cough* -I can't get up."
The tall one paused as the shorter one pulled the blanket back gently.
"Elaborate." The tall one commanded as the shorter one listened to Whumpee's heart and lungs.
"I can't brea-breathe very w-well and I - *cough* I'm so c-cold," Whumpee's teeth chattered. "Any- *wheeze* -anytime I try to move, it f-feels like I've be-been hit by a train."
The tall one recorded this in a notebook and their body language seemed positive.
"Well," the tall one snapped their book shut, "it looks like you're worth something to me after all. Congratulations. We will be monitoring you as the illness progresses."
