Everyone wished they could get rid of the pain that came with the experiments. No amount of anesthetics could take it away. It never got better, even as years passed.
W-17-D wreathed on the operating table, fangs piercing at the gag in his mouth as he tried to scream. He clawed desperately at nothing, his hands couldn't move, not with the restraints. What hurt most was the waist down. He knew they were changing, it was like growing pains but so much worse. He could feel his bones shift and break to fit a new form. He passed out when the firey, stinging pain shot up his spine.That was the day his tail started to grow. At first, he couldn't walk because of the way his legs had changed. Not quite paws, but no longer feet. His toes stretched and pushed up, the middle two now the same length while the pinkie was virtually gone. the rest of the bones in his feet were still humanesque, leaving his walking very unstable at first.The good news was, he had a tail, which helped him to stabilize his walking over time. W-17-D could've had it worse, honestly. He could be dead. He could've lost his ability to walk altogether. But the hybrid was resilient. He learned and adapted to his new form. Rehab with their caretakers helped a lot.He heard a conversation during his rehabilitation once. He recognized the physical therapist who had been helping him, as well as one of the doctors that ran experiments. "He's the first I've seen to adapt to animal paws. They aren't even fully paws and yet W-17-D is showing remarkable progress in his walking abilities. He's been using the tail to keep his balance and adjust when he feels off-center. It's almost as if it's second nature to him." His physical therapist was saying. "It may very well be. Many of the subjects have been exhibiting signs of animal-like behavior or doing things the animal would do, here and in other Series. It is literally in their genetic code now." The doctor said. The familiar voice of the director added in. "Focus on his legs then. If we could get that boy to run, we could make the fastest human alive."So that was it. W-17-D was getting paws.He was probably close to being an adult by the time he got full paws. Even the tarsus in his feet changed to fit his paws, as well as his tibia and fibula. It was enough to give him perfect movement and control of his body.W-17-D never stopped looking at himself in the mirror. He wanted to see what the hell they were doing to his body. His skin was ghostly white which oddly complimented his yellow-brown eyes. His ears had adjusted themselves to near the top of his head and could move like any other animal. His still honey-brown hair was thick and coarse, more like fur than hair and he had a bit of stubble on his chin which would never grow any longer. His claws were thick and sharp and his teeth were sharper. They were shaped like any canine and yet, they didn't disrupt his speech and fit in his mouth well.Most called W-17-D the perfect Wolfman. He laughed along with it, only because the modifications weren't going so well for the others. Some of the others had it way worse. It also had the higher-ups putting pressure on him. They started self-defense classes with him, along with Track."We need you fast and strong, W-17-D, you may very well be the first of your kind." The Director had told him directly. It only further solidified that he wasn't a human. He was the first of his kind.Whatever that was.New people never came to the facility. Ever. His self-defense teacher was one of the security guards named Matthew and his Track coach was the Secretary, Leah. So the new scent of lightly sprayed lavender perfume and the strange sound of Chelsea boots against the marble. It was clear they were none of the one hundred and seventy-four employees that worked here, nor were they the twenty-five remaining hybrids in the D Hall. Everyone had distinct footfalls and these he couldn't recognize.This stranger seemed to be going from room to room, spending time with each individual. She was getting closer to his door too, it would only be a matter of time before she came in. W-17-D backed wearily away from the door, his lips peeling back in a snarl.He really wasn't human anymore, was he?Tension was high as he waited in silence for those Chelsea boots to come to his door. Eventually, they did, and as soon as the knob jiggled, he started to growl.She paused a second, the door cracked a fraction of an inch. "I know, I'm new and invading your territory. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help you. They want me to give you all a mental evaluation." She explained calmly and clearly.Was that what was happening? He had no choice then. "Do what you want." Hazel eyes trailed after him as he retreated to his bed. She looked almost surprised by his animalistic legs and tail. Surely she'd seen worse. She swallowed and walked in, closing the door behind her. It wasn't like he was gonna run.He wasn't an idiot. He tracked her every movement as she crossed the room to his desk chair. She wasn't a bad looking human. Certainly shorter than him despite being slightly older than him. Her raven hair was thrown in a neat bun, her suit was cleanly pressed, giving off a professional vibe. It was authoritative, nothing he expected from a psychiatrist. What did he know though, he'd never met one."May I?" She asked to take a seat. W-17-D merely nodded. She took her seat. "I am Dr. Elaine Hughes and I'm just going to ask you a few questions, ok? From what I understand you are W-17-D. You are going to be eighteen next month. Meaning you've been here for nearly thirteen years, correct?" His ears perked with interest. Seriously? That long? He was that old? He nodded anyway."Not much of a talker I see. That's fine. Do you remember anything at all about your family?" Family? He hadn't thought about them in a long time. He couldn't remember their names or faces. He gave up on them after seeing W-16-D. He shook his head. She wrote in her notebook."Do you remember anything before this facility?" W-17-D shook his head immediately. He was so young, and he'd been through so much since then. "Do you ever want to leave this place?" He shook his head with no hesitation. They couldn't leave. They'd be killed. "If they let you leave-""That would never happen," W-17-D growled. She looked up from her notebook. "So he speaks, and quite well, I might add." W-17-D narrowed his eyes at her. "I think that's enough for now. Thank you for your time." She left his room to move on to the next.This wouldn't be the last he saw of Elaine Hughes.Elaine came by monthly. She called it therapy, but it was so much more than that. She asked a lot about them leaving this place. She needed to know who she could save and who was too far gone. She needed information from them so she could save the others. W-17-D, among a couple of others, showed promising signs. They wanted to leave. They wanted to see the sun, they wanted to feel the grass, they wanted to go somewhere where they didn't have to do experiments and survive. That, she would give them... When the time was right. "You won't tell anyone, right?" The first time was always the hardest. Elaine had been all across the world, meeting other Series and trying to shut them down. Finding children as old as W-17-D who didn't have Stockholm syndrome was hard to come by. The boy was special. "I won't tell a soul, 17." She promised the almost adult. He relaxed a little, his ears folding back uneasily as he retreated to his bed on canid paws. He was very special indeed. Another promisin
W-17-D was running laps with a few other hybrids. It was a test of speed and agility for them, but they were supposed to think of it as a game. He didn't think of it as a game. He just knew that the director himself asked for this test and the gym, and so he had to perform at his best, dodging obstacles that were put in his way as fast as he could. It felt natural to him, even though this was his first time. He knew that it was something deep, something instinctive. Something that he wasn't supposed to have, but had anyway. Whatever made the director happy.Michael was indeed very happy. W-17-D was by far his best product made yet. The boy was fast, smart, strong, and agaile, and he would sell for a hefty price when only fifty remained. The perfect combination of man and wolf, Michael was almost tempted to buy the boy himself as his guard dog. Eventually, when they were all sold, he would have to make more, and who better to show them their purpose and protect them than a former experi
W-17-D's heart was beating against his chest. He wasn't sure why, but he was anticipating... something. He knew something was coming. He could feel it, and it made him antsy. He had difficulty sleeping because of the instinct that told him he had to be ready. It had been two days now, and he was still alert and wired despite the lack of sleep. He stared tentavely at the door, expecting someone to go through it. He didn't hear anything, though, nor did he smell anyone approaching. He supposed it didn't matter, though. It was gonna happen. He knew it. He recognized the lavender perfume and the Chelsea boots as they approached. The doctor wasn't supposed to be here more than once a month, but her prescence was a welcome surprise... and what he assumed he'd been waiting for. W-17-D was already on his paws and opening the door for her. "You heard me coming, 17?" He nodded. "Are you taking me out?" Dr. Hughes paused before nodding. "We are going to the gymnasium." She replied. He nodded an
Elaine sighed. She knew she had to give him answers. She would, Wild deserved to know the truth. "Finish your dinner, and I'll tell you the truth behind why I was at the W Series Compound." She said slowly. Wild stared at her with his dull yellow eyes. Debating on if she was giving it to him straight. After a few moments, he turned away, helping Tiffany nibble away at her own pizza slices. Westley was down a slice and halfway through the other with the napkin covering his nose. "I am not actually a therapist, if you couldn't tell. That was just my cover." Elaine started slowly. "So what, you're like a spy or something?" Westley asked. "Or something. I am an agent. My real name is Elaine Moore." Wild thumped his tail against the chair bars. "You couldn't tell us because we would tell the others. You chose us because we wanted out." He deduced quietly. "Yes, exactly." She smiled at Wild. He didn't return it. "I wanna go home, lady. Can I go home?" Westley pleaded. "Soon, but not yet. Th
Wild's sleep was restless that night. It was a new territory, new sounds that made him jolt up despite the closed and locked door. He knew there were still people there despite the early hour, and he was on edge because of it. All in all, he didn't sleep too well. It didn't matter too much. He'd gone a few nights without sleep before as an experiment. At around 6:30, there was a knock on their door. Wild knew I was the man that was with Elaine yesterday. He'd said his name was Richard? Wild also knew he had something. Food was his guess. Despite the conversation he'd overheard about his appearance, Richard genuinely seemed to like him, so Wild got up to get the door.The offer was poptarts, the smores kind. Wild didn't know there was such thing as smores poptarts. He only knew what smores was from the books. "Gotta be honest, I wasn't really sure if you even ate human food with your wolfish appetite!" Wild rose a brow. "We can eat anything a human can." Richard made a show of wiping h
They'd been here a few weeks now. Elaine took them to see the sunset and the sunrise each day. Give the poor hybrids some sun. Elaine and Richard asked questions on occasion about what it was like there. Wild was more vague than the other two at first. He just wanted to be done with that place. Wild knew he would have to talk about it eventually, though. Eventually, he started to tell them about the schedule that he'd grown so accustomed to. How they were always in their rooms as they were now and about the gymnasium that acted as their outside time. Then, there were the experiments. He didn't say much about them other than "It hurts."Richard was doing card tricks with Westley and Tiffany. Wild was watching, but he was more interested in the people with Elaine. A couple with Westley's scent on them. It was very old. Another couple with a boy, all carrying Tiffany's scent. The last was a man, nearly ten years older than Wild. "I'm very glad we found you, Mr. Thatcher. I'm sure you alr
Wild missed the others. Elaine knew he missed Tiffany and Westley. She knew that he knew they belonged where they were. They weren't as far gone as he was. He couldn't quite go back into human society like those two. He knew, and so did Elaine, deep down. That's why she decided that he would be the one to help save the others. That was the initial plan anyway. Now that the news of the hybrids were out, that meant getting the police involved. Get Jon involved. She was going to have Jon and Wild meet. She would invite him tonight and bring him over tomorrow if he agreed. Elaine stopped by his room, where one of the other employees had brought him something new to read every few days or so. He preferred books over the TV. "Hey, I might be bringing someone over tomorrow, and he's going to ask questions about the facility and the experiments. Is that ok?" Wild looked up from his book. "If it's the first step to freeing the rest, I'll do it." Elaine nodded quietly, bidding Wild goodnight a
"Jonah, Michael, age 43, height 5'9", hair brunette, eyes green. CEO to Algam Industries Co. Pioneer to genetic modification technology. This dude here is your classic evil villain. He's got a lot of influence on our world and a lot of money to put us all in the ground. It's like if Tony Stark and Wilson Fisk had a baby. That's this guy." Jon arched an eyebrow at Richard. "Did you just do a Marvel comparison?" Richard grinned. "I'm not sorry." Elaine tried not to chuckle. "Boys, focus. How do we get evidence linking him to the W Series?" Richard chuckled nervously. "That's the million dollar question, isn't it? I couldn't tell you. His record is suspiciously clean. Not even a DWI as a teenager." Jon hummed. "Safe to say this is a classic case of the Oliver Queen." Richard grinned. "DC, niiiice." "Can we stop with the hero talk and use normal words?" Elaine requested. "One, Oliver Queen is a vigilante. Two, he's saying that it's possible his family is powerful enough to pay off the po