Experiment 1

Outrageous!

Mitch couldn't help but cringe. 'You're Mother Mary? Then I'm a caretaker!'

Almost as if the doctor could read his mind he fished out some kind of collar from his pockets. In the center of it was a small speaker. It was cute in general.

Dr. Henry wore it around his neck as he pushed the small button located at the bottom of the speaker.

"Hello, 1217."

"All we need is your cooperation and obedience and we will find you your future." He continued.

Dr. Henry said all of those with his face devoid of emotion. He removed the collar and paid no heed to Mitch any longer. In Mitch's mind, everything was unbelievable. He was already broken inside. He could no longer shed any more tears.

'They took care of me... might as well resign to my fate.'

"1217, Did you remember the paintings at the hallway after the 'Happy Future' Door?"

"Humans are frail creatures. Just a small poke from a needle and we bleed. Our bones are weak and prone to breaking. During ancient times, our ancestors had to live in the dark. We had to rely on tools to elevate ourselves. Even then each hunting session, a few of our species die."

"We evolved slowly. We built small houses, we learned how to farm and how to take care of ourselves better. We became the top of the food chain, to the point that nothing can prey on us anymore. We grew so large that the only thing that could threaten us is ourselves."

"Did you know, we already had 2 wars that could potentially end the world at that time?"

"We've had peace for too long, since the last event, every country armed themselves with weapons that could lead to our extinction. Recently, these countries have been moving in the dark, in a couple years, the world will descend in chaos once again, but this time, there's no going back."

"Like I said before, all I need is your cooperation and obedience. You seem bright and intelligent, 1217. If you could give me those 2 things, I can grant you a request."

Mitch's face flinched. He thought of his brothers and sisters back in hall 1200. There was nothing to choose at all. The only answer that he could and should give is yes. He wouldn't think twice even if he was told to die for them. If he didn't agree, he would still die anyways, might as well save them than doing nothing. With his mind made up, he instantly said-

"Please. Please let go of my friends.." Mitch's eyes glistened with tears.

The ceiling was suspended once again as the stretcher stopped moving. Light was shining down on his face. Directly above him was a lightbulb which was soon eclipsed by Dr. Henry's face. It gave Mitch the feeling of helplessness, IT felt like he was back inside that dumpster once again.

"Deal" As if the devil that was sealing a contract, Dr. Henry smiled.

"Take off the restraints, We'll walk the rest of the way."Dr. Henry commanded the caretaker. The caretaker moved swiftly, untying the belts around Mitch's limbs and neck.

Mitch slowly touched his neck with his left hand, trying to feel the marks of the belt that dug on too his skin. It was too tight. It didn't hinder his breathing but it robbed him of his strength to struggle at all. Without the restraints, he got off the stretcher one foot at a time. He was greeted by a hand. He hesitated for a second but the faces of his siblings flashed before his eyes as he gained a new reason in life.

'Let me be damned as long as I can spare them from the same situation.' He thought as he resolutely grabbed the hand. Now, with hand linked together, Mitch and Dr. Henry walked down the path of no return.

....

It was a long walk just like the hallway of the Happy Future door. It took awhile until for a change of scenery. Their legs didn't betray him though. Soon, some of the wall turned into glass. He looked left and right only to see how low this place had gone. Inside one of the room, the walls were painted red. Seeing the experiments first-hand, Mitch's knees turned into jelly. He began to stumble as his walking became disoriented.

"These kids are going to be the core foundation of our future as a species. We are going to evolve into something better, stronger and faster." Dr. Henry said, as he waited for Mitch.

They soon continued to walk down the hallway. Soon they reached and open door. A caretaker walked out and greeted Dr. Henry.

"Sir, The experiment failed, 0918's body couldn't handle the solution. I have the documentation of the whole process here. Would you like to take a look?" The caretaker said as he held a file in front of his chest.

"I see, just explain to me the cause of failure."

"The moment we injected the subject with the solution, his heart rate started dropping fast until it stopped at 20bpm. Everything stablized after the first injection until the 4th. Heart rate was still at 20bpm, blood pressure was normal, brain activity was within acceptable range, body temperature was normal as well. But just like before, when we reached the 5th injection, the subject started spazzing out of control. This time, the subject's lungs died. We tried to hook him up on an oxygen tank but it did not work. Instead, it seemed to have worsen his condition. Soon, the subject started bleeding from the eyes, ears, mouth and nose. His skin turned red as the subject ejected droplet of blood. We lost him right after, reason of death is blood loss. We are still clueless as to why such events occurred."

"Are we still continuing on this project? This is already our 19th try. The farthest we've went is with subject 0410. He started to display the same symptoms as 0918 during the 9th injection. We have a total of 23 injections, this experiment seems impossible, in my opinion."