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hdmiwire · 2 years ago

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making “we” statements DRAFT

wc: ~1500, lightly proofed, i must emphasize that this is a draft that i literally started today for my creative writing class lol

The airport is hot and crowded, the sounds and smells of tourists coming and going is overwhelming. I rotate my phone in my hands nervously, watching carefully for the green leather suitcase on the baggage claim track. I pull my eyes away from the track for a second, scanning for my dad’s signature white suit in the crowds of people waiting to claim their loved ones. Still not here, I think, letting out a quiet groan of anxiety as I turn my attention back to the parade of luggage. It's a good thing too, because just as I do my suitcase is moving by, just in front of me. I reach out to grab it at the same time as someone else and jump when my hand makes contact with theirs, which is adorned in many golden rings and long lilac nails. They grab the suitcase and set it on the ground between us, and I turn to look at them.

“Great minds think alike I see,” the stranger says with a soft chuckle. I can’t speak, taken aback by the person in front me. She’s several inches taller than me, her blonde hair pulled back to reveal the bright pink underside. I feel my face start to burn when she smiles down at me, showing off the gap in her two front teeth.

I nod my head, preparing myself to figure out our suitcase conundrum, when another of the same green suitcase comes rolling by on the conveyor belt. She grabs this one as well, placing it next to the other one between us. I lean over to check the baggage tags and see which one is mine, hoping to get this over with and get out of this hell hole before I say something stupid.

I pull up the handle of the suitcase that belongs to me, getting ready to apologize for the mix up when both of our phones begin ringing at the same time. I nod at her as I scurry away to try and get somewhere I can actually hear whoever is on the phone. I don’t recognize the number, but I press the green answer button and bring the phone to my ear.

“Hey! Maddy,” its my dad, and he sounds a little out of breath.

“Hey Dad, is everything okay? Why didn’t you call from your cell,” I wonder, before realizing that he’s probably in his office still.

“Yeah I know, sorry. Listen, my morning meeting ran over and I have another one in a few, so I’m sending a car to pick you up and take you to the apartment, okay?” There's a long inhale before he continues, “Also, a good friend of mine who lives in the same building is in this next meeting, and his kid was supposed to be getting in from Italy at the same time as you. Her name is Amanda, try and find her and get her to wait for the car with you, okay?” I can hear someone knocking on his door as he finishes his ramble. I agree, asking what she looks like so I know who to be looking for, and my stomach drops when the description he gives is of baggage claim girl - great, this is exactly what I need on my first day in New York.

Swallowing my embarrassment, I hang up the phone and turn around to try and find her again, only to see her looking directly at me. I can only assume that her phone was ringing with her dad delivering a similarly rushed message. I smile and wave awkwardly, shrugging in a “small world, isn’t it?” kind of way. Her shoes click on the tile as she strides towards me, still grinning. I clear my throat before finally opening my mouth to speak;

“So, Amanda, is it? Sorry for the whole… awkwardness of earlier.” I feel the heat burning up my face again, and I want to throw myself into the sun. She seems to not be bothered by my rambling, and just keeps grinning at me. Briefly, her eyes scan me up and down and I fight the urge to hide myself, regretting my decision to wear sweats on the flight.

“Mandie is fine,” she says, green eyes boring holes into my soul as she holds out her hand. I accept her handshake, introducing myself as Maddy. The next fifteen minutes are spent reveling in the similarity of our nicknames and getting to know the most basic information about each other, while we wait for the car to arrive. By the time the car is pulling into the airport, I know that Mandie is twenty, has a twin brother, and is also starting at F.I.T. in the coming spring semester. Once we’re in the car, I feel myself starting to nod off, exhausted from the stress of the airport and the twenty missed calls from my mother. Leaning my head back on the leather of the car’s seat, I allow myself to drift off and think back to the events of the last few days.

I’m sitting in the living room with Mom and Mags, staring into the roaring fireplace as the two of them process what I’ve just told them. I know that neither of them will like it, but I just hope that it doesn’t reset what mom has been trying to do.

“Madison you can’t just leave! You… where will you even go? What are you thinking?” My mother’s voice is grating, although I hear genuine concern in it for the first time since I was very young.

“Marie, she's an adult, and you knew this was coming sooner or later. You can’t keep trying to clip her wings.” Mags is the only voice of reason in the house currently, Mom and I are both too strung up on emotions after our conversation the other day. I’m still reeling from her attempts at apologizing, unsure if I’m really ready to forgive her for icing me out for all these years.

Mom sighing guides me back out of my thoughts again. “I know, Magnolia, I know. I just… there’s still so much I have to say,” she says earnestly. I turn my gaze away from the fire to finally look at her. Her hair is unkempt compared to her usual state, having let her usually pressed hair go untouched for longer than is normal for her, and her light eyes are brimming with tears. I jerk my head away and stand up, hugging myself.

“Mom… I know, and I’m sorry I just can’t. I love you, you know that, and I don’t want to hurt you, I just can’t be here anymore.” My words come out shakier than I wanted, and I curse myself for allowing even thinking that anything I could ever do would compare to what she put me through.

She scoffs, “What do you mean you ‘can’t be here?’ What is ‘here?’ This house? This room? This family?” The last word is punctuated with a gesture to Mags, and it stings. There it is, I think, it’s over. Her words are painful, and to even insinuate that I don’t care about this family is insane. I try to steady myself with a deep breath before I speak again. Just because she’s aiming below the belt doesn’t mean I have to.

“You know that’s not what I mean, and you also know that I’ve always wanted to go be with Dad. Georgia has never been the right place for me, there’s nothing here that can move me forward,” I take another deep breath, fighting the tears that are bullying their way to the surface. “The ticket is bought, my boxes are shipped, Dad knows I’m coming. I’m leaving Monday, and that's it.”

Neither of them have anything to say after that, and I hope it stays that way. My phone buzzes once, twice, three times before it starts ringing, but instead of Childish Gambino playing from the speakers, there's a foggy voice calling my name.

“Maddy! Maddy! Maddy, wake up we’re almost there!”

I jump out of my sleep, coming face to face with Mandie. She looks frazzled, her dark brows furrowed and nose scrunched in concern. As I blink away the dream and memories of my mother’s face, I realize that her hands are firmly planted on my shoulders, the cool metal of her rings seeping through my shirt. I straighten myself up, clearing my throat and hoping that she can’t sense the rapid thumping of my heart against my ribs or see the heat I feel on my ears.

“Sorry,” I mutter, turning to look out the window just as we roll under the covered entrance of my dad’s apartment building. I can still feel her eyes boring into the back of my head, and I briefly wonder if she’d been watching me sleep the whole time. The driver puts the car in park and steps out to open her door for us to climb out.

“Alright ladies, welcome home!” His chipper voice is loud and grating on my ears, but I smile and thank him as I clumsily climb out of the car behind Mandie. “Ah, Miss Carver? Your father asked me to give you this.” The driver holds out a forest green lanyard with two keys and a keycard on it, presumably to enter the building and the apartment.

a/n: again i truly must emphasize that this is a very rough draft, and a sort of continuation of my first foray story for this class, making “i” statements. i’m leaning more into the romance genre for this, truthfully i just want to write a happy wlw couple #yearning. also posting from mobile in my bed so i’ll fix formatting issues in the morning

#there’s a playlist for this too #i’m actually quite happy with it so far so i’m not rlly asking for critiques bc i have a whole class workshop for that lol #just like putting my stuff out there #hdmiwire #short story #short romance #writing draft #draft post #1500 words #writeblr #my writing #creative writing #wlw fiction #wlw short story #m&m

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pixie-dust-campaign · 1 year ago

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Subject W42

CW: Guns, PTSD, Lost love, blood, bullet wounds

It was early for me by the time I got off the plane, still not used to the time change. I was given a badge that read “ALL ACCESS” before I was escorted by a security guard down a narrow, white painted hallway. The door had a military insignia emblazoned on the glass, but I didn’t recognize which division it was. The automatic door opened to a dark room that had fluorescent blue lights hanging from the tall ceilings, and the temperature set at 69 degrees Fahrenheit. The air was thick with the scent of metal and axe body spray. Doing field research in the great barrier islands, it had been a while since I had been in an actual lab, but I was pretty sure this wasn’t the smell of greatness that I had heard so much about.

Before formally entering the lab, a few young scientists showed me to a set of changing rooms to get into proper attire. This room had bright white lights hanging from the ceiling, causing me to squint as my eyes adjusted. The dim white lights made my tanned skin look darker than it was. My wavey, golden bronze hair looked redder against the stark white lab coat they insisted I wear. I was permitted to stay in my decorative black yoga pants, light blue top, and gray high-top sneakers. Looking in the full-length mirror of the dressing room, I noticed I had lost some weight, and now had a faint hourglass figure. Living like a pirate for the past three years looks good on me, I thought with a smirk.

As I walked into the lab, I didn’t mean to stand on ceremony, but I honestly had no idea who I was supposed to be meeting with. That was, until an older woman in a lab coat and stubby heels walked up to me with open arms.

“Doctor O’Dame we are so glad you’re here! Well don’t stand in the doorway, come in!” she said with a slight British accent. Even with her slender frame, her hug was strong enough to make a bear think twice. She wore thick rimmed glasses, and her mousey brown hair with slim silver streaks was tied messily in a tight bun. Her ID badge said Doctor M. Braver. Even in heels she wasn’t too much taller than I was. Her face was a bit weathered, but her green eyes were still young. She sounded like she had drunk about ten cups of espresso that morning.

“Yes, it must have cost the company a fortune to fly me back in from Australia,” I said.

“Oh yes! The land down under,” she cooed in a fake Australian accent of her own “How is it down there, mate?”

“Quite horrid this time of year actually. Tourists come in and mess with my studies and what not,” I said with a small laugh and a smile.

I was astonished by the machinery that surrounded me. The blinking lights, the constant clicking of keyboards, the stark brightness of computer screens. Not to mention the array of color-coded wires all leading to different ports. Catching my reflection in one of the monitors, I noticed the lights highlighted the blue flecks in my typically hazel eyes.

A siren wailed from another room, causing me to gasp quietly and start to shake slightly. I haven’t been able to go near an alarm of any kind in the past few years, especially not a fire alarm. They always hurt my ears, but after the accident, the mere mention of one made my heart race.

“Doctor O’Dame?” Doctor Braver asked.

“Yeah, sorry,” I replied, slowly centering myself back to reality. “The boat doesn’t have nearly this many-um- lights. It’s just a bit…distracting.”

“Yes, well, you get used to it after a few years. That, and the fact that no one in this damn lab knows how to make a proper cup of tea. Anyway, I have much to show you!”

She formally introduced herself and guided me around the lab, quickly catching me up on all of the work they had been doing over the years. “Our idea was that we could enhance both animal and human DNA, creating a whole new form of- “

“Super soldier?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“In a word, yes. We thought we could take each of the best elements of some of the strongest animals in the world, and transfer them to a human. Maybe not all at once but definitely over time, or one animal skill per test group.”

She continued explaining as we entered another room, decorated in the same fashion as the first, with five more rows of fancy computers and their adjoining scientists. Do these guys ever blink? I thought.

At the front of the room, there was a large sofa, a wooden table, and some clipboards and pens, on top of a platform. About six feet in front of the platform was a sheet of clear thick plexi-glass, that I’m assuming was only one way. On the other side of the glass looked like a padded prison cell. A slab of concrete for the floor, three walls made of pillows and at the very back was a steel door with a single small window near the middle.

“This Doctor O’Dame, is where you come in,” she said pleasantly as she led me up to the couch. Another scientist then handed me a clipboard with my name at the back in glittering calligraphy:

Doctor Siena O’Dame

“We flew you in for two very important reasons.” She continued, “The first being your expertise in large mammal and human psychology. And while some argue that humans are large mammals, I can assure you that it is a very important distinction.”

As I took a seat, the sofa slowly began to move, and I saw the first product of their experiment as we glided past the cell. A man with tattoos covering his arms, wearing a black tank top, khaki cargo pants, and tan sneakers. The sofa stopped abruptly, and bright blue lettering appeared on the glass.

Jonathan Frome

Age: 26

Division: U.S. Marine

Position: Test subject B45

Status: Stable

“B45? What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means, Doctor O'Dame, that Mr. Frome was our 45th subject to be genetically manipulated with Oryctolagus Cuniculus DNA.”

“You gave him bunny DNA?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“You know your geno-types. Yes, Doctor O’Dame, he now has the keen hearing ability, similar to that of a rabbit. Combined with his human DNA, Mr. Frome can now hear in a wider range of tones and from a further distance than any human can ever dream of.”

“Remarkable,” I said, rising from my seat.

“Yes, the company spared no expense.”

“Clearly.”

Then the platform shifted again, causing me to trip back into my original place on the sofa. I wrote down some notes from each subject we passed. Each one was dressed in a similar fashion, each one looked human, and each one we passed was considered “stable.” A few even waved “hello” as we passed.

G15: Gorilla DNA, now the strongest mammal known to man; T22: Sea Turtle DNA, can hold her breath for up to eight hours; O34: Ostrich DNA, can run up to speeds of 50 miles an hour.

Before we got to the next room, near the end of the alphabet of test subjects, I asked, “Not that I’m not grateful, but you seem to have this under control. Why do you need me?”

“Because, while the transfer of DNA went well physically, some of our patients have been having a bit of a hard time adjusting psychologically. Most of the cases we were able to handle, except for one. Which brings us to the second reason why you’re here.”

The sofa moved to the next room and stopped once more.

In the dark padded room, in the very corner, sat a beast like none other I had seen. This one didn’t look human. He was covered in dark brown fur and had giant paws for hands and feet. It had ripped through its shirt, and only the top half of his pants remained. Its bowl was overflowing with cereal, and its water created a ring of rust on the metal bowl.

“You created a werewolf? An actual werewolf?” I breathed, curious as ever.

“Well…yes.” Dr. Braver responded. “And…no.”

Then the projector cast the creature’s information on the glass, and I read a name I never thought I would see again.

JUSTIN HERSHEY

AGE: 33

Division: Coast Guard, Engineer

Position: Test Subject W42

Status: Unstable, Dangerous

Tears welled in my eyes, and my breath caught in my lungs. “Justin?”

“You know this subject. What was he to you?” Doctor Braver asked.

“He…” I stroked my fingers for a ring that wasn’t there, “He was my fiancé.”

“Doctor O’Dame, I’m so sorry. I…I didn’t know.”

“It’s ok. Calling off the engagement was a mutual agreement when he shipped out on his first mission. Though, when he said he was going into the service, I never thought this was what he meant.” I went to place my hand on the cold plexi-glass. “How? How is he here? I…I went to his funeral. We… we buried a casket, I- “

“I know you must have a lot of questions- “

“Why did you bring me here?” I shouted at Doctor Braver, my blood boiling.

“Doctor, let me explain.” She said calmly, “You were listed as Mr. Hershey’s emergency contact when he first started the study. Before he underwent transformation, he never got a chance to change it. At first, we didn’t think anything would go wrong. If only we had known.”

I was at a loss for words. What was I supposed to say when I had just found out my ex- fiancé, whom I thought was dead, had been turned into a werewolf?

“I…I want to see him,” I said as I hopped off the platform.

“No, Doctor O’Dame! Wait- “

Before I could hear her warning, I headed for the door that read restricted access, and to my surprise, opened it with ease. I turned left down a narrow hallway, then left again to find myself in a much larger hallway lined with steel doors. Each door was labeled with the test subject’s ID. A55, B45, C67. It felt like a dizzying game of Bingo.

Finally, I found Justin’s door.

W42. DO NOT ENTER.

But I couldn’t resist. I had to see him for myself.

I unlocked the door with my key card, and gently pushed it open. I walked in slowly, giving my eyes time to adjust to the poorly lit space. The beast they claimed was Justin had moved from the corner I last saw him in. I slowly shuffled my way to the center of the room where the light was brightest, and stood frozen. From the darkness, I heard a deep growl rumble from behind me. My heart skipped a beat, as I slowly turned around and saw it. Two glowing teal eyes surrounded by dark fur and accented with a wicked smile of sharp white teeth. He had the body and face of a wolf, but the kindness in his eyes was still human.

I backed away slowly with my arms extended.

“Justin? It’s me. Please.”

The beast's face softened, but only for a moment. It shook its massive head, and resumed snarling at me.

“Justin. Please I-“ Like any good predator, he had backed me against a wall. “Please.”

Then the beast pounced toward me, and I fainted.

In my subconscious, I remembered how Justin looked the last time I saw him alive. Justin was never extremely muscular, but he was strong enough for my liking. When he was human, he had messy blond hair, and pale blue eyes that drew you in.

When I finally came too, I was greeted by a bright white light, which was a bit concerning to say the least. Shortly after however, Doctor Braver came into focus.

“WHAT were you thinking? Going in there all alone? Are you mad?” She screamed at me, throwing her hands in the air.

“Completely bonkers. But that’s what makes me a great scientist,” I said, sitting up on the gurney. I noticed my right forearm was wrapped in gauze, and they had three distinct lines of blood casting a shadow on them.

“It’s what’s going to get you killed in this lab!” She scolded me, with her face scrunched as tightly as her bun. “Subject W42 is the reason you were brought here in the first place, and if you had let me finish before running off like that, I would have told you why! Subject W42-”

“Justin! His name is Justin!” I corrected through gritted teeth.

“Not anymore,” Doctor Braver said solemnly. It sent shivers down my spine thinking about what she meant.

“We attempted this experiment with other subjects. He was the only one who survived. You were almost right when you first saw him, Doctor O’Dame.” She said sitting spread eagle on a chair, “He is a werewolf. But not in the sense that he changes with the full moon, or has a feud with a sparkly vampire. No, our werewolf is something that science has never seen before. And we need you to crack him.”

“Me?”

“Yes! You see Doctor O’Dame there were moments in the experiment where, even in wolf form, he would tap your name in morse code on the door. Well, that and Harley, but we couldn’t find a ‘Harley’ with any relation to him. So, we assumed he meant like a motorcycle or boat he had.”

“Harley? He tapped Harley?”

“Yes! Does that mean something?”

“It used to. We used to joke that we were like Harley Quinn and Deadpool, because of our jobs. Him being a soldier and I being a psychologist. Not to mention the color schemes matched. So, we came up with a catchphrase of sorts. ‘Deadpool and Harley, forever and always.”

Then I remembered something I hadn’t in a very long time. The way he looked at me, the way he smiled, the way it felt when his arms were wrapped around me. Justin was only about a foot taller than I was when he was human, now he towered over me. Once again, tears welled in my eyes, but I kept them back. Then I looked down at my bandaged arm.

“I need to go back in.”

“We thought you might. So, this time, safety measures are going to be put in place. We’re going to put you both in a bigger room, and we’re going to turn on the sensors for your protection. This time, he won’t be able to hurt you.”

They had me change into my own set of black tank top and cargo shorts before they escorted me to the new room where Justin and I were to meet. The path we took to get there resembled a maze, but I guessed it was just another one of their precautions. I no longer felt like another doctor in the lab. Now, I was another test dummy for them to run experiments on.

When we reached the room, the steel door was labeled in the same fashion as the rest of them.

Caution! Experimentation in progress!

Authorized personnel only.

After the stunt I pulled with the first trial of this experiment, I was no longer “authorized personnel.”

They left me alone in front of the door, and told me to wait for further instruction.

“Whenever you’re ready Doctor O’Dame,” a voice finally said from an overhead speaker.

I grasped the handle of the metal door and took a deep breath. I opened the door slowly, and shuffled my way in. The door shut behind me and I heard it automatically lock once more. No way out.

Once again, the beast was nowhere in sight.

“Justin?” I called out. “Justin, it’s me. Siena.” I heard a small growl, and I froze once more. “Jay, I won’t let them hurt you. Just…just come on out, and we can talk. Okay?”

From the end of the room, he emerged into the light on his hind legs. His claws were almost as sharp as his teeth. He stood ten feet tall, and at least six feet wide. He had his paws crossed and his tail between his legs.

He dropped down to all fours, almost cowering before me.

“H-h-Harley?” the beast moaned in a low, gruff voice. The beast looked me up and down. When he saw my bandages, he stepped back and whimpered. “Harley… hurt?”

“You can talk?” I said in astonishment.

The beast grunted in agreement. “I…hurt…Harley.”

“No, no! I’m ok. I know Justin would never hurt me.”

The beast recoiled at the sound of the name.

“No. Not…Justin.” The beast grunted. Every time he said Justin’s name, it seemed to pain him.

“Not Justin? Where is he?” I asked the beast inching forward.

“Justin…here.”

I inched forward even closer, “What do you mean- “

Suddenly, the wolf lunged for me once again, pushing me into the far wall of the cell, setting off the sirens and initiating the safety protocol. The sirens wailed, and my vision began to blur. Tears streamed down my face, my body began to shake, and my heart was about to beat out of my chest. I curled into a fetal position and just wanted it to stop. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw what used to be Justin convulse as well, until he collapsed in a heap on the floor.

When the sirens finally turned off, and I was able to stand and see straight again, I marched over to the door and banged my fists on it until it opened.

“Take me to see Doctor Braver, NOW!” I demanded the young scientist who opened the door for me. He led me to the office where Doctor Braver, as well as a few other scientists were working.

“Turn them off.” I said through gritted teeth.

“What?” Doctor Braver looked at me, puzzled.

“I said turn the sensors off!”

“Are you mad? If we turn the sensors off, that THING could kill you!”

“But he won’t!” I said sternly.

Doctor Braver and I stared at each other, unyielding, for what seemed like hours. Neither of us wanted to back down.

“He wasn’t trying to hurt me, doctor, he was trying to protect me! He didn’t want me to trigger the sensor myself! He was trying to push me out of the way!”

“And why was he trying to keep you out of the sensor?”

“Because Justin knows I have P.T.S.D, and alarms are my trigger! Whether you know it or not, my Justin is still in there!”

Everyone in the room was taken aback by my statement. They all looked to Doctor Braver for what to say next.

“If you die,” she finally rasped, “We have no other option. We’ll have to kill him. He’s too dangerous to release.”

“Doctor, he will not hurt me,” I said firmly.

After a long pause, the doctor released the tension in her shoulders and gave the command. “Turn off the sensors.”

Once again, I was escorted to the room where Justin was, only this time, Doctor Braver came with us. “Doctor O’Dame,” She started hesitantly, “it didn’t say anything in your file about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, if I had known- “

“It’s not something I readily talk about.”

“Right.” She looked slightly embarrassed. “I am quite curious though. Why do alarms affect you so? For the sake of your own safety.”

I looked down at the floor as we walked. It wasn’t something I enjoyed reliving. “When I was in high school,” I began, “a shooter came to my school. They pulled the fire alarm to try and flush us all out into the parking lot. The teachers didn’t let us leave. Instead, they told us to stack desks against the door, and sit in the corner as quietly as possible. An hour. That’s how long it took them to turn off the alarm. Most of us came out untouched. Most of us.” I pulled up my shirt to reveal a small scar from where a bullet pierced my stomach. “The shooter broke through the glass window in the door and aimed the gun at one of my friends. Doctors said it would have killed her if I didn’t shield her. It’s a small price to pay to be a ‘hero’.”

All of us were silent for the rest of the walk.

When we reached the door, I was again left alone until I was ready to go in.

Once inside, I walked calmly to the center of the room and sat Indian style on the cold concrete floor. Then, I waited for him to come out.

After a minute or two, he too came into the light and sat down in front of me, looking even larger and more intimidating than the last time.

“Hi again,” I said with a smile.

No response.

“I promise I won’t let them hurt you this time. Not again.”

The wolf shifted its weight a bit, but didn’t respond.

“Where is Justin?” I asked the wolf, standing.

“Justin…here.”

“Where? Inside of you? Did you…eat him?”

“No,” he said, shaking his massive head. “Justin…here.” The giant wolf said as he bowed, touching his nose to his heart.

“Justin… is in your heart?”

The giant creature shook its head once more. Then, he laid as flat on his stomach as he could and shifted until he was inches away from me. “Justin…here.” The beast repeated.

“I’m sorry, but I… I don’t understand.” I said, dropping to my knees.

Then the creature searched around the room for something. When he came to a chair, he slowly moved it across the room to where he had been sitting before.

“Justin…” Then he ran behind the chair, making himself as small as possible.

“Justin…is hiding?” I asked.

The beast excitedly wagged its tail.

“Justin’s hiding! From who?” I asked, just as excited.

The beast looked disappointed in me. Then he repeated the same motion as before. “Justin…here.” Then he hid behind the chair.

Several times he repeated this motion.

Think Siena. What is Justin trying to tell you? Justin. Here. Hide. Justin, is here, but he’s not hiding? Then I remembered something I hadn’t before. When Justin was packing to leave, he took one book with him, Jekyll and Hyde.

I remembered the way our dimly lit apartment smelled of burnt garlic bread and lasagna. Justin attempted to make me dinner before he left. We drank a white wine we had been saving for a special occasion, and then I helped him pack. We kept getting distracted, and slow dancing to the music we turned on. Our hands fit together like Tarzan and Jane’s, and our bodies seemed to move as one.

“Justin, my Deadpool,” I whispered as we danced, “Even though our engagement’s been called off until you get back, I can’t wait to marry you,” I said, kissing him gently.

“As you wish, my Harley,” he whispered back.

When the song ended, we turned off the music and finished packing his remaining few items.

Then, we crawled into bed, and he grabbed Jekyll and Hyde off the nightstand. Gently wrapping his arms around me, he read aloud from the book. I mindlessly traced the veins on his hand with my thumb, memorizing every divot of his skin as he read. “I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both.”

He wasn’t hiding from me; he was telling me his name!

“Justin!” I shouted excitedly. The beast stopped. “Chapter ten. Page one hundred and four. That was the last thing you read to me before you left. Before Justin left. That next morning, I found a note on your coffee cup, ‘Forever and Always my Harley. Love Deadpool.”

The beast jumped up and down excitedly, shaking the entire room and knocking me over. When he saw me on the ground, the monster froze, calmed down, and walked over to me. He helped me to my feet, but he remained on all fours.

“Can…Can Justin hear me?” I asked.

Again, the creature nodded.

“You’re not Justin?”

The creature shook its head.

“What should we call you?”

The beast didn’t answer.

“Grog? Steve? Fluffy?”

The beast shook its head in disapproval.

“How about Hyke? It’s like Hulk, but…cooler.” I suggested.

“H-h-Hyke. Me…Hyke. Justin…here.”

“Okay, different question. Can Justin ever come back?”

This time the creature nodded, and gently smiled.

“How?”

Before I got an answer the room filled with a sweet-smelling white smoke. My vision went blurry, and my limbs felt as if they weighed 100 pounds each. I felt my entire body wobble, and my legs gave out. And once again, the room went dark.

When I woke up, I was back in my hotel room, as if it was all a bad dream. But, if it was a bad dream, I would still be in Australia, on my boat, studying the wildlife of the deep. No. This experiment was all too real. On my bedside table, on the base of the lamp I saw a sticky note.

“Javier will pick you up at 8:30 am. Sorry about the possible hangover.

- Doctor Braver”

I looked at the digital clock next to the lamp, 6:13am. Not knowing what else to do, I looked through the pay-per-view movies on the hotel tv, and thankfully found an old version of Jekyll and Hyde. The quality was gritty, and the voices were a bit distorted, but it gave me what I needed.

The movie ended at 8:15, leaving me just enough time to get coffee from a nearby Starbucks, and meet Javier outside of the hotel.

The car he picked me up in had black out windows, and a screen dividing the front and back seats. I wasn’t sure whether to be scared or honored.

When we finally reached the facility, two of the scientists asked me to change into my tan attire, and a lab coat.

“I need to speak to Doctor Braver immediately,” I said once I finished getting changed.

“No need to file a formal invitation Doctor, I’m right here,” she assured me, coming from behind a changing curtain herself.

“Doctor Braver, I think I know how we can bring Justin back- “

“Bring him back?” Braver laughed. “We don’t want him back.”

“What do you mean? Isn’t that why you brought me here?”

“Good heavens no! We want you to train him! Make him like the other patients. You know…obedient.”

“Obedient? But he’s clearly not like the other subjects! He’s- “

“Different? He’s…stronger? Kinder? Oh no I’ve got it, he loves you more than anything in the world, and you know in your heart that he wants to come back to you!” she mocked. “Trust me, Doctor. I’ve heard it all before.”

“You…you knew? You knew he was trying to get to me?”

“Well, not at first. But after your first encounter with him, it became very clear that he still had some of his conscious mind left. He did put up one hell of a fight though.”

“He never scratched me, did he? You did. When I was unconscious.”

“Yes. But we had no choice.”

“No choice? You’re scientists, there’s always another choice- “

“Not this time!”

My head was spinning. How could she have done this? How could I have been so stupid as to let it happen?

“An antidote. Do you have an antidote?” I sneered.

“Of course we do, don’t be stupid. We have an antidote for all our subjects. It’s called a gun.”

She pointed a small handgun at me, and whatever scientists were still in the room had fled.

“This isn’t right Doctor Braver. You know it as well as I do. Plus, what’s a simple bullet to a beast like that?” My voice shook. I raised both of my hands, but didn’t move otherwise.

“The government isn’t paying me to do things right, Doctor O’Dame. They’re paying me and my boss for results! And if you won’t do it, then there are plenty of others just like you who will. And as for the bullet, you’re absolutely right. You see this particular bullet is lined with a poison of my own creation. When our first bullets didn’t work, we had to get a bit more... creative. Like you said, there’s always another way. Now, you have two choices, either get in the cage and make that MONSTER do as we tell it to, or suffer the same fate it does.”

“Fine! I’ll help you.” I said after a minute or two. “But I want in. I won’t put my life on the line without getting something in return.”

“That can be arranged.” She said lowering the weapon.

“I want a gun of my own. For protection.”

She looked me up and down, then called back to the room without breaking eye contact. “Emily! Get Doctor O’Dame a gun.”

I was given a small handgun, loaded without poison bullets. Then we walked back to the steel doored room where Justin was being kept. I tried to memorize every turn we took. Left, right, second hallway, door code 3-3-6-4, right. After a while, the directions got jumbled in my head, and the various codes seemed to morph together. Damn security measures.

This time, Doctor Braver went in with me. We both made our way to the center of the room, and waited for Hyke to make an appearance.

A growl came from the darkness, this time accompanied by the sound of chains. He came through the darkness snarling at Doctor Braver, choke collar secured around his neck. Blood dripped from where the collar was screwed into his skin.

“You chained him up?”

“You might be willing to greet him without precaution, but I’m not. When you had the sensors shut off, I had to resort to different means.”

Hyke let out a deafening bark that reverberated around the room.

“Down doggie. Don’t make this worse than it has to be,” was all Doctor Braver said.

I walked over to Hyke, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry they’re doing this to you,” I whispered. “We’ll figure a way out. I promise.” I looked at Doctor Braver, “He won’t hurt you while I’m here. The chains aren’t needed.”

“My dear, do you think I was born yesterday?” she said with a chuckle. “He’s in shackles because he only listens to you. Take those off, and I lose all the power.”

This was the final straw. I unholstered my gun and aimed it at her, and she did the same with me.

“I don’t want to shoot you Ms. O’Dame. Don’t be- “

“It’s Doctor O’Dame!”

“Either way, don’t be stupid. Put the gun away, and we can forget you ever took it out in the first place.”

Hyke growled at her once again, and shielded me partially with his right paw. Even in this state, all he wanted to do was protect me.

“It’s two against one Doctor Braver. I wouldn’t take my chances.” I threatened from behind him.

“I would.” She let a bullet fly, and so did I.

As if in slow motion, Hyke moved in front of me, pulling against his shackles making the spikes of the collar rip into his throat. Before the poisoned bullet reached me, it entered his ribs instead. He yelped, and blood flowed from his neck, and his side. At this rate, even without the poison, he was losing too much blood to survive. He collapsed onto me, knocking me to the ground and rendering me unable to move.

My bullet on the other hand just grazed the doctor’s shoulder. She turned and winced in pain, clutching her arm. She manically laughed as she turned back to face the two of us.

“We could have been so good together, Doctor O’Dame! Could you imagine what this thing could do? No more war! No more guns or hidden bombs! This creature could have created world peace!” She broadly gestured, as if making an award-winning speech.

“Or started a dog fight where everyone loses.” I grimaced, slowly being crushed by Hyke.

“There will always be winners and losers!” She began walking toward us, “It’s up to us to decide which side of history we’re going to be on.” She crouched down low, so that she and I were face to face. “Too bad neither of you will be there to see it.”

She placed the barrel of the gun to my forehead.

In that instant, Hyke used his last bit of strength to grab Doctor Braver in his jaw and snap her in two. She didn’t even have time to scream, but the sound of her broken bones and shredded muscles rang in our ears.

Hyke tossed her to the side, and laid back down on top of me.

“Justin, I'm so sorry. I thought I could get us out of this. I thought I could save you.” I said through tears. “Maybe I still can.”

I rifled through his fur to find where the bullet pierced his skin. I followed the trail of blood to find the hole, and as carefully as I could, tried to find the lodged bullet. Compared to Hyke’s massive size, my fingers were like tweezers.

When I finally managed to pull the bullet out, I tossed it to the side, but not before it left a lime green residue on my fingers.

“I can reverse engineer a cure. Just…just hold on please!” I screamed to the empty room for help. “I need a doctor! Please! Somebody help him!” But no one came.

Hyke stirred slightly, wincing in pain.

“Harley,” he moaned. “Justin…l-l-love…Harley. Hyke…love…Harley.”

“No. Please. I just got you back. Don’t go.” I said tears streaming down my face.

In my arms, Hyke began to shift and shake. His paws turned back into feet and hands, his fur began to fall off, and his facial features began to look more human. As Hyke convulsed, his massive collar and chains fell to the ground next to him, causing a loud crash of metal on the concrete.

“Hyke? What’s happening?” I said backing away.

Hyke continued to convulse, and he grew smaller and smaller, until he was fully human and a bloody mess on the floor.

I crawled back over to him, and lifted his body onto my lap. I brushed some hair away from his closed eyes, but recognized him still.

“Hyke?...Justin?”

Whoever this was, I was now crying into his chest.

“Hey beautiful,” came a voice that I finally recognized.

“Justin?”

“Yeah,” he assured me in a raspy, pained voice. “It’s me.”

I pulled him close and let out a sigh of relief. He groaned from the pain.

I frantically apologized, then asked “So, you’re going to be okay right? You can come home?”

He looked at me with the kindest eyes, and I knew then that I wouldn’t like the answer to my question.

“Siena,” he wiped a tear from my eye, “you are my home.”

“No. No, it can’t end like this. We can’t end like this! I can’t lose you again! I can help you. I can fix this!”

“Stop. Siena, please…stop.” He kissed me gently, “Siena, you could never truly lose me.” Then, with his dying breath said, “I love you, my beautiful Siena. Forever and always.”

#Romance #science fiction #females in stem #Female lead #female writer #plot twist #science #Lab AU #werewolf #super soldier #short romance

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