Californian Ghoul (A CrankGamePlays fanfic)

Thirty-One

MARK

Amy, Kathryn and I were waiting outside in a hallway, getting awkward glances from doctors and other workers who passed by us.

"I already don't like this place." I began. "I hope Tyler is out of here soon."
"He'll be fine, Mark." Kathryn assured me. "If he does well with his tests and experiments, he'll be out of here within a few days."
"I'm just curious about these experiments." Amy added. "What if we're one of the experiments? Because as his friends who he'll be with after all this, he has to get used to our human scents."
"But what if somehow he can't?" I asked.
"Mark, let's not think about that right now." Amy responded. "We just have to trust that Tyler won't let his appetite take over. The doctors will make sure of that."

We suddenly noticed Tyler's doctor, Dr. Morgan, come down the hallway.

"How is he, doctor?" I asked, asking as if he was still in the hospital.
"I already performed my first small experiment on him and he actually did rather well." Dr. Morgan explained. "However, his next experiment may not be so simple."
"Why, what is it?" Kathryn asked.
"I gave him a sample of human blood, and his craving for that human blood is rather severe, but we just have to hope that he holds back when he meets the human that blood cane from." The doctor explained.
"Wait, so he's just going to meet some random human?" I asked. "W-We thought there would be some sort of experiment with us and Tyler..."
"There will be, just not right now." Dr. Morgan clarified. "And... it's not just some random human."
"What do you mean?" Kathryn asked.
The doctor was silent for a moment, but then sighed, "Come with me and I will show you."

Amy, Kathryn and I looked at one another before finally following the doctor down the hallway.
———
ETHAN

I opened my eyes, hearing the sound of knocking coming from my door. I slowly sat up from my bed and watched the door open as Dr. Carter came into the room.

"Good morning, Mr. Nestor." Dr. Carter said. "You have quite the day ahead of you today."
"Oh yeah, the experiment you're actually keeping secret from me." I remarked.
"You'll see why very soon." Dr. Carter responded. "In the meantime, breakfast is ready for you in the dining hall."
"Thank you." I told him.

He nodded as he left the room. I was actually rather surprised that he didn't come in with a clipboard, asking me how I was feeling. That's always the first thing he asks me every time he comes in to see me no matter where I am.

"I guess this experiment must be important." I mumbled to myself.

I decided to get up out of bed, get changed and head on over to the dining hall to get some breakfast. Bacon, pancakes and eggs.

I sat down at the table in the corner of the room by myself and began eating.

Even though I've been here for over a month, I've never gotten used to the fact that I can eat human food now. There's no need to eat it and force it back up if I have to, it can all actually digest in my stomach without having any problems. It also tastes delicious. As a ghoul, these types of foods would always disgust me because my sense of taste was so different. But now, it's the exact opposite.

One of my experiments was actually eating and drinking human flesh and organs. It was definitely one of the worst experiments that I've ever done. I got so sick afterwards, I literally thought I was going to die... again. I remember I couldn't eat or drink anything for days, and I was secluded to my bed for a good week or two.

As I continued eating, I noticed Dr. Carter coming into the room and standing next to me, a concerned look on his face.

"What's wrong, doctor?" I asked, swallowing the remnants of my food.
"I'm afraid there's been a tiny change in plans." Dr. Carter stated. "The experiment is going to go as planned, but you'll be meeting a few people before the process actually begins."
"Okay." I responded.
"When you finish your food, please go back into your room." The doctor demanded.
"O-Okay." I responded again.

He nodded before leaving the room again. But I didn't finish my breakfast, mainly because I was focused on the fact that Dr. Carter seemed worried, especially when he said I would be meeting some people.

I guess I should be nervous meeting these people too, because Dr. Carter has been the only person I've met so far besides some of his colleagues I've worked with.

I got up, threw my breakfast out and went back to my room, and waited.
———
MARK

We walked up several flights of steps onto another floor. There, Dr. Morgan stopped at a booth where a woman was sitting behind a desk.

"Could you tell Dr. Carter that we have a few visitors?" Dr. Morgan asked.

The woman nodded and we continued down a hallway. Finally, we stopped in front of a room where another doctor was waiting.

"Pleasure to meet you all." The doctor stated. "My name is Dr. Carter."
"You too." I responded, shaking his hand. "My name is Mark, and this is Amy and Kathryn."

Amy and Kathryn have a small wave, Dr. Carter only nodded.

"I understand Dr. Morgan wanted me to show you the patient that Mr. Scheid will be experimenting on." Dr. Carter asked.
We nodded, "He told us it wasn't just 'some random human'" Amy responded.
"Indeed." Dr. Carter mumbled. "Please wait here for a moment."

The doctor then knocked on the door before entering. We could hear a small conversation outside of the room, but we couldn't distinctly hear what they were saying.

Dr. Carter then finally opened the door, allowing the three of us to go inside.

As we went inside, the three of us stopped in our tracks as soon as we entered the room. My eyes widened in shock and disbelief, and some emotions were coming over me as well as I saw somebody all too familiar to me. Somebody I thought we would never see again.

Ethan.