I'll Tell You a Story

Evolution

The buzz of the machines was the opening of another door of hope, or it could be also another abyss of failure. Dr. Kaufmann could not tell which way they were this time. She wasn't totally wearing off her confidence, yet she didn't want to skyrocket her expectations. Working as a scientist in a national laboratory for half a decade already, failure was the only sure thing they had on her deck.

"Subject: commencing..." The soft robotic voice filled the room.

Dr. Kaufmann and her team were in the other room, and through the thick wall glass, they watched the subject slowly be eaten by the white human-sized capsule. Trying to ease the boiling anxiety within her, she removed her glasses for a while and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her glasses askew as she placed it back, one eye focused, the other blurred.

"This must be perfect. We're already out of bullets, Dr. Kaufmann," Dr. Hillenburg whispered to her, already spotted her scared reaction.

"Don't run it by me one more time," She replied with a sharpness that surprised even her. Now he made himself comfortable at one of the seats, away from her.

He didn't even bother to avert his gaze when he saw her watching him. He was asking about the experiment, but she sensed his interest lay elsewhere. She knew where this was all boiled down to—proving he was better. He was a man whose features reflected his unpleasant nature. He had a pockmarked, florid face, a drooping gray mustache, and a bespeckled, balding head. She was aware of his vast hunger for superiority and recognition, but she'll not give him satisfaction.

"Dr. Kaufmann," A sandy-haired man was in front of her, softly demanding her attention. Her thoughts visibly came to a screeching halt. She followed his gaze as it fixated on the monitor of the central computer, then he said, "We already found the evidence."

Her eyes widened like matching balloons, a smile quivered on her lips. The team was like bees awakened from their hive. There was a ripple of cheerful screams around the room. She flashed a high-voltage smile, all crapped teeth, and high cheekbones. Upon seeing her, Dr. Hillenburg's irritation clawed his throat.

The machine growled to life again, vomiting their subject.

"Congratulations Dr. Kaufman. You already earned yourself a cover for Time's magazine." He came and shook her hand, yet his smile was fake and bland.

"Doctors, something's wrong with the subject," the same guy earlier spoke.

There was cave-like silence as the lights suddenly died. They all pinned their gaze on the other room, minutes of stiff silence elapsed before the red emergency light painted its walls. The metal bed was empty, and a black-clad figure was standing near the glass wall. The place kept its silence, but energy stirred across her skin, powerful enough to stand on end the hairs along her arms and neck.

He roared like a monster, the reverberations echoing with desperate, animal quality through the red-tinged darkness. He bounced to the glass so rapidly that she did a quick reverse step. His neck twisted around on his shoulders like it's a bottle cap. There was a long crunch of his spinal cord, and another lung-deep scream tore through the room. Panic enveloped within them.

She simply stood there, desperately battling to get some air, the fear hit—a tide that was almost all-consuming. Dr. Hillenburg, trying to be a hero of the moment, entered the room. He tried to sedate him, but throat-ripping howls of rage and hurt exploded after. Teeth slashed, tearing through the flesh of his arm as easily as scissors through paper.

The electricity returned, and a terror-stricken scene gave them a feeling of being dragged to hell. Dr. Hillenburg was sprawled at the corner with some of his brains on his bare chest. The subject was rummaging the top of his skull. He paused and glanced at her, eyes darker than the night, and totally unreadable. His face was entirely caked with blood. But most of all, he was not him anymore.

"Process completed," the room's system announced.

Her eyes skimmed the subject with an evil glint in her eyes. She knew this will be her last failed experiment. Her phone shrilled so she withdrew herself from the team to answer the call.

"Charles Darwin will be so proud of me," Dr. Kaufmann muttered, giving one last glimpse at the subject—the first man who evolved back into an orangutan.