Not Your Dog

K-9 IV

With the boy secured and unconscious, the group subconsciously relaxed. They quickly organized themselves into a formation. If Allen were awake he would recognize the formation as being founded by Compound 9. During the earliest outbreaks of mutant monsters, Compound 9 had been the strongest defense and was well known for their military training and support. Unlike most other compounds, Compound 9 also shared the various scientific breakthroughs to others without charge. They claimed it to be all in the name of forwarding what remained of humanity.

Those from Compound 9 stood in clear opposition to the Institute. They were also the people that posed the greatest threat to Allen.

After several moments the group heard the sound of staggered footsteps.
"It's here!" The one named Jon exclaimed softly.

The younger of the brother's circled round to the door, swiftly unblocking it. "Now!" He signaled for the others to shoot. Four of the group of five showered the area with bullets. After subduing the Puppet, Eoin grabbed a lengthy knife and cautiously approached.

The most dangerous aspect of killing a Puppet was avoiding the tentacles which could escape from open wounds to attack. If an unwary person approached, they could get stung by these tentacles and paralyzed- allowing the Puppet to recover and inevitably leading to the death of the person.

With a loud exclamation, Eoin pushed the knife deep into the chest area of the Puppet. The group made use of the narrow doorway to corner the Puppet and quickly discard it. The group then started the journey back to their compound.

~~~

When Allen finally recovered his senses, all he felt was excruciating pain. He struggled to move only to find his limbs strapped down. Due to pain, his vision was blurred from tears.

He screamed as he writhed. "Ahh!" The pain was excruciating to the point where even though he wished to return to unconsciousness, he was unable to. He needed a shot of the drug or else he would go into shock from the pain and die.

Confused and in agony, he asked the system where he was.

[Host is currently within the medical facilities of Compound 9.
The System is detecting an unstable physical condition. Does Host wish to persist with tasks?]

Unfortunately for Allen, he couldn't coherently understand the information provided by the system. If he could, he would definitely choose to give up.

"Shh, it'll hurt less soon." A soothing voice broke through the haze of pain. Allen felt a cool hand brushing against his cheek. Once more he was reminded of Asukai's presence. The gentle touch hardened as the hand gripped his face before abruptly retreating.

After the touch was removed, Allen felt a cool sensation, dulling the pain and allowing him to slip back into a peaceful sleep.

Eoin watched the boy's taught expression loosen after the injection. On his face was a twisted and complex emotion. Ever since he first set his eyes upon the boy, he had felt drawn. After bringing him back to the compound, Eoin had delighted in the fact he was a doctor and the only scientist capable of looking after the boy. He wanted monopoly and he would ensure the boy would never be able to escape.

"How is he doing?" Eoin turned to look at the one speaking. His younger brother. Although they were siblings, Eoin had never been one to show familial love.

"He's not doing well now, but with my capabilities he absolutely won't die." Eoin stated as he returned his attention to the equipment he was fiddling with. He pulled out a vial of the drug that had been in Allen's bag and took a sample before moving towards the microscope.

After several more moments of silence, Eoin's brother once again spoke, "Is it safe to keep the boy here? You know the power behind him."

Eoin's hand paused briefly as he contemplated the words. "This boy dug our the tracker by himself with knowledge that he can't live without this drug. Doesn't this show that he doesn't want to be under the Institute. Isn't he in a similar situation to Jon?"

Eoin narrowed his eyes dangerously. However, his brother retorted quickly, "Weren't you the least on board when we brought Jon back?"

Eoin rolled his eyes, unable to counter. Instead he decided to play the roll of a mute and ignore his brother.

Several days passed before Allen opened his eyes again. This time, he didn't feel any pain. Instead his skin felt hot and feverish. He tried pulling himself up, but found that he was still strapped down. Remembering Allen's training, he twisted and pulled on the straps, gradually loosening them. After freeing his wrists he pulled at the other straps before finally sitting up.

Next he surveyed the room he was in- a pristine laboratory. Allen felt as though his nose had been stuffed with bleach and the work areas were so clean it was offensive to the eyes. As Allen's gaze wondered, he discovered test tubes and samples- among them was a jellyfish which Allen recognized as a Puppeteer.

"You shouldn't be moving yet." A voice startled Allen. Once again Allen was mesmerized by the piercing golden eyes that belonged to Eoin. Allen's gaze instinctively rose, but he was surprised when the man approached him with his hands raised; a show of sincerity.

"You has a few broken bones which I set properly for you and that drug..."

Eoin glanced slyly at the bristling Allen. It seemed like anything related to the Institute would cause this harmless puppy to develop a bite.

"You don't need to worry about running out because I isolated the elements and am just about to discover the quantity of each compound..." Eoin started to talk about the process of recreating the drug however the information barely registered for Allen who hadn't had a formal education even in his previous life.

"Basically I can give you as much of that drug as you need, however finding a viable way to get you off the drug will still take quite some time." Eoin finished his speech. Allen felt pretty amazed by how much this taciturn man could talk, but he also felt gratitude that Eoin seemed reliable.

A.N.

When you stay up all night and have an hour to go before you need to leave but nothing to do except write but you don't even know if you're writing real words... 🙃

Hope you enjoyed. If the second half of this chapter seems repetitive or doesn't make sense- blame it on the fact I didn't have enough coffee and the letters are blurry.