Experiment X ((ON HOLD))

Chapter One

“How long until we complete the final faze?”

“A minute, maybe more. Nurse Beringer has to collect the anesthesia so we can stabilize it before continuing with the final combining.”

“We’ve completed so much in so little time, how do we know it will become completely successful?”

“You forget this has been a seventeen year experiment. It’s only now that we’re putting it into effect. Nothing will go wrong.”

Voices swam into my head, roughly pulling me into consciousness. Frowning slightly, I turned my head in hope that my pillow would stifle the noise and let me have five more minutes of precious sleep, but instead my cheek met with cold metal. The surprising texture against my face made my eyes crack open, taking a while to adjust to the bright light that made a pained hiss escape from between my dry lips. I could almost feel my pupils contracting against the light, adjusting so I was able to see around the strange metal bed I appeared to be lying on. White walls, ceiling and doors greeted me, and for a second my still-sluggish brain made the assumption I was in the Matrix. As cool as it would have been to meet Keanu Reeves, I didn’t think that was the case.

I slowly moved my head to the side and saw two men, one tall and one short, wearing long white lab coats standing near one of the walls, their backs to me as they looked at some large computer screens. What the… I frowned as I looked at the images they were muttering over. Spiraling images of DNA were floating all across the screens, along with scrolls of writing and an x-ray of a human body next to what looked like a huge cats’. Time to get the hell out of here, my brain forgetting everything about how weird this whole situation was, and attempted to get me to focus on escaping the mad scientists gaping over some pretty pictures.

Sitting up slowly, I looked down at the rest of my body, finding myself wearing a thin white night gown; my bare arms covered in sticky tape attaching various wires to specific places. I quietly tore them off, even the ones I had on my temples, and looked back at the men. They were still looking at the computers. Trying to ignore how much my legs felt like jelly, I slid off the table and gently padded towards the door the far side of the room. My breathing escaped in shallow breaths as I kept my gaze completely on the two men, heartbeat shuddering every time they made a move to look in my direction. My outstretched hand eventually touched the smooth surface of the door and found the handle. One quick glance at the white-coated men and I swiftly turned and yanked the door open, finding myself face to face with a young woman, her eyes widening and mouth gaping open in surprise as I wasted no time in barging right by her, hearing the shouts from the men behind me.

My feet barely made a sound as they carried me swiftly down some hallways. The white walls and equally spaced doors made trying to find new ways of escaping this maze seem impossible. I heard an alarming amount of feet thundering after me. My panic spiked. Adrenaline ripped its way through my body and my legs moved faster and faster, until the doors went by in a blur, corners barely slowing me down. I had never run this fast before. It was exhilarating. I eventually came to a dead end, a white door taunting me. As if saying where you gonna run now? I answered by slamming into it, the force of the collision ripping the doors off its hinges.

I froze, looking down at the door as it landed on the ground with a loud thump. When in the hell did I get that strong? I didn’t remember lifting any weights recently. A sound in front of me made me look up, my eyes widening at the sight before me. I was standing in a huge room. I mean, huge. It was so long I couldn’t see the end of it, the white walls managing to disappear into darkness. Along the walls were rows and rows of cages; all of them equal sizes, big enough to fit a bear in. All were empty, except one. Right in the center of the path between the cages was a large glass cube, and in it sat the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

A white tiger, with smooth, striped fur, languidly sat in the center of the cube. As I moved towards it, the giant cat looked up at me, gracefully standing and moving towards the front of the glass cage, its’ deep green gaze ripping right through me as its ears twitched, its expression nothing but curious. Once I reached the glass separating us, I reached a hand forward and pressed my palm against the smooth surface. After a second it pressed its forehead against where my hand was placed. My heart reached out for the poor creature, I could sense its loneliness, its wish to be free of the prison keeping it trapped.

“Why are you here?” I whispered, dropping my hand and looking around the desolate room, another layer of panic soaking into my chest. “Why am I here?”

The tiger looked at me and sat back on its haunches. Even sitting down, it was the same height as me, if not taller. I don’t remember seeing any pictures of tigers this big. But it didn’t scare me. I scrunched my hand up into my crisp nightie, feeling the chill of the room seeping through it and into my skin.

I do not know.

I whipped my head around at the voice that had suddenly spoken up; there was nobody behind me. But there were urgent voices echoing up through the halls and into the open doorway.

I am sorry, Scarlet.

I slowly turned my head back to the tiger, noticing how the voice sounded female. The solemn look coming from the animal made it look almost human. I swallowed nervously, the blood pounding through my ears deafening out the nearing voices behind me.

“What are you?” I croaked. I was talking to a freaking tiger. This situation had now become totally ridiculous. The animal moved back towards the glass, it’s breath fogging up the surface, leaving my wide-eyed reflection staring back at me. A sharp pain struck into my upper arm, I barely glanced down at the clear dart sticking out of the sleeve of my nightdress, still trying to focus on the tiger as my vision darkened and I struggled to stay upright. She communicated one last sentence before I fell into a dark pit of unconsciousness.

I am you.