Hope - Subject 17 (Part 4)
Masterlist here
Things have been hectic (as usual tbh) but I've finally finished this part up. Sorry for the wait, I hope it's worth it. Enjoy!
CWs: lab whump, noncon drugging, human experimentation noncon surgery recovery, noncon surgery (mentioned), restraints, hospital equipment, medical setting, needles, IV drip
~~~
Flynn’s mind only found rest for several hours before Hugo arrived at the cell the next day. The assistant escorted him out of the cell, Flynn limping, as they journeyed through the familiar white halls. After several turns and forks, they arrived at a door. A door that Subject 17 hadn’t seen very frequently as of late, due to the Doctor’s plan for the experiments he was running on Flynn. Hugo opened the door and ushered Flynn in wordlessly. Inside the room, two metal tables were arranged, side by side. Multiple small metal tables on wheels packed with medical equipment were placed throughout the room.
Hugo pointed to one of the tables. “Sit down over there.”
Flynn hesitated, then walked over, his bare feet padding across the cold floor. He sat on the metal table, facing the door to the room.
Just as Hugo moved to exit the room, Doctor Barrick appeared at the door, wearing his white lab coat.
“Hugo, bring me the other Subject.” The Doctor commanded.
With a nod, the assistant disappeared down the hallway. Doctor Barrick pulled the door shut behind him with an audible thud.
“Subject 17, I hope you’re well-rested.”
Flynn lowered his head and fixed his eyes on a small spot on the floor. After all, he was a test subject, not a person, and it would be wrong for him to respond, he thought sarcastically.
“Good.” Doctor Barrick commented as he approached the subject. “Let’s begin. We have some preparation to do before we get started.”
Flynn watched as Doctor Barrick began to rummage through equipment, adjusting the overhead lights and the filming equipment. Just then, Hugo returned to the room, accompanied by a girl in a similar plain white t-shirt and trousers to the outfit that Flynn was wearing. He guessed that she was around his age, nineteen, though she had a soft face, suggesting that it was possible that she was several years younger. She had tan skin and black curly hair that might once have been long and luscious, but would have been chopped to its current length, a few inches past her ears, by Doctor Barrick when he took her into the facility. She, like every other subject here that Flynn had seen, had dark circles under her eyes.
"Thank you Hugo. If you would prepare Subject 14 whilst I prepare Subject 17." Doctor Barrick instructed.
Flynn watched as Hugo asked the girl to lay down on the other table. Suddenly, he was being made to do the same by Doctor Barrick on his own table. Doctor Barrick then turned on the recording equipment, adjusted the camera so that it captured a better angle of the room, and then began speaking.
"Thank you for joining us once again. Today I am accompanied by my assistant, as well as two subjects. We have, to my right, Subject 17, and to my left, Subject 14. Prior to today, both subjects were inducted under anesthesia, during which an incision was made in their abdomens. I injected a serum into the cavity which induced a spleen rupture, which they are now both showing symptoms of. Today's procedure will allow me to examine the effectiveness of a new serum in healing the spleen rupture. And, if all goes well with this experiment, I will be able to use it on other subjects with other wounds and injuries. But that will have to wait. So, today's procedure will see Subject 14 as our control, and Subject 17 as the experimental. Both subjects will receive an intravenous line, however, Subject 14 will receive a placebo drug, whilst Subject 17 will receive the serum. The subjects will spend a week in this room, closely observed by both cameras and medical monitoring devices. They will have meals delivered to them, and will only be allowed up to use the bathroom, which my assistant during as they will have to be removed from medical monitors, and we also wish to avoid them removing the IV. Both subjects will otherwise be restrained to the table. Now that I have clarified all that, we can begin."
Doctor Barrick arranged the tools on the tray beside Flynn. He brought the padded restraints out from under the metal table and laid them across Subject 17, strapping him down firmly to the table. On the other side of the room, Hugo was doing the same to Subject 14. Both subjects had restraints pulled across their lower stomach, shoulders, below the neck, thighs, and foreheads, which were buckled into place. Their arms were manipulated around to expose the inside of their forearms so that their wrists could be tied down, just like the last time Flynn had a procedure performed on him. Doctor Barrick stepped closer to Flynn, blocking his view of Hugo and the other subject. The doctor slipped on nitrile gloves, and then grabbed a prep pad. He opened it up, then wiped it across the skin on the inside of Flynn’s elbow. Doctor Barrick then pulled out a blue rubber band and began tying it firmly around Flynn’s upper arm.
“We will insert the IV tubes into the veins of both Subjects, then set up the monitors, and then we can start the experiment.” The man announced as he worked. He then pressed his gloved fingers to Flynn’s skin, feeling the veins. Next, he pulled out the syringe, fitted into the IV catheter.
Flynn bit his lip and inhaled slowly, preparing himself as Doctor Barrick brought the syringe close to his arm and began lining it up with above the crook of Flynn’s elbow. The Doctor slowly slid the needle into the skin, and Flynn’s chest seized as he felt the sharp pinch. He took another deep breath as he watched Doctor Barrick adjusted the needle slightly, and then carefully withdrew the needle, holding the catheter in place in his vein. The Doctor untied and set aside the tourniquet, picked up some tubing and screwed it into the catheter, and then attached another syringe-like piece of equipment, using it to flush the IV line. He finished with a clear adhesive patch to tape the catheter and tubing to Flynn’s arm. The man turned to address the camera once more, and Flynn could see that Hugo had just finished the same process with the other subject.
“The IVs have been inserted. We’ll now equip the subjects with some monitors. We’ll be using heart-rate monitors, blood pressure cuffs, and pulse oximeters, and use this equipment to keep an eye on the wellbeing of the subjects as they undergo the experiment.”
Within a few more minutes, both subjects were equipped with all the monitors. Each beat of Flynn and Subject 14’s hearts were being broadcasted loudly to the room, and everyone watching on the other side of the livestream.
Doctor Barrick lifted an IV bag with a green sticker on it, filled with a clear liquid. “We will now introduce the respective solutions into their bloodstreams."
The Doctor handed the IV bag over to Hugo, who accepted it, and then attached it to the IV pump. Doctor Barrick then pulled out a second IV bag, filled with a similar liquid, though this one had a red sticker. He attached this one to Flynn's IV.
"Excellent." Doctor Barrick hovered his finger over the IV buttons, and Hugo did the same. "We can finally begin the experiment in three.. two… one. Now."
With that, both men pressed a button on the IV beside them. Flynn looked up to see the clear liquid flowing through the tube towards the cannula in his arm. The heart rate monitor broadcasted his fear as the liquid grew closer and closer to reaching him until finally, it began to drip into the cannula. His arm was almost numbed from the cold at first, before the solution began to course through his whole body, and then he felt himself return. Each breath caused his chest to throb with harsher, more intense pain than it had before. He had almost forgotten his injury in the fear of this new experiment.
"The subjects are now prepared. I will now be ending the livestream. I have a secondary camera that has already begun recording this experiment, and it will continue to do so for the next week while the subjects are here. I will be holding another livestream after the experiment is finished and have examined the results closely. Thank you." Doctor Barrick stepped toward the camera, hit several keys on the computer keyboard, and ended the stream. "As for the both of you.." He turned around to face Flynn and Subject 14. "You will remain in this room for a week. My assistant will enter regularly to bring you food and water, and I highly recommend you accept it. He will also be aiding you to the bathroom. You should both consider yourselves very fortunate that all you're required to do for this experiment is lay on these tables for a week."
Desperation bubbled in Flynn’s chest as Doctor Barrick made his way out of the lab, with Hugo on his heels. The door slammed shut loudly behind them. Flynn drew an unsteady breath and closed his eyes against the bright lights of the lab.
“Wha- what’s going to happen to us?”
Flynn’s eyes flew open to find the source of the whisper - the other subject - staring back at him.
“I- I really don’t know. I’m sorry. I wish I did.” he replied.
The two subjects returned to silence for several moments. Flynn realised suddenly that in this cold, empty space, there was something they both would need. He had been reciting his name to himself over and over, so as to prevent himself from forgetting it. So, perhaps, by exchanging names with each other, the two subjects could help each other remember their old lives, and hold onto hope. So, he allowed his voice to pierce this silence.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Bree.” she offered with a small smile.
“Flynn. Nice to meet you.”
The two subjects passed the following days mostly in silence, with only the odd small, quiet conversations to pass the time. As time went on, Bree seemed to be in more and more pain. She would clutch at her shirt, which was drenched in sweat, and breath heavily, tears dripping down her cheeks. Flynn had moments of pain too, but nowhere near as bad. After several moments, the cold liquid running into his veins from the IV would numb the pain once more.
It felt like far, far too much time had passed when Doctor Barrick and Hugo finally returned. Bree was lying unconscious on the table, her face flushed. She seemed feverish. Hugo set up the filming equipment whilst Doctor Barrick prepared himself to face his audience. Bree came into consciousness, staring blearily up at the ceiling.
“Greetings everyone. This experiment is now over, so today I’d like to present the results.” Barrick announced.
Doctor Barrick turned to Bree, and Hugo joined him. The Doctor pulled up her shirt, revealing an incision similar to the one on Flynn’s body, though hers was still quite red and prominent, whilst Flynn’s had definitely healed more than that.
“Like I said, Subject 14 has been given a dose of a placebo drug. As you can see, the incision has healed slightly since this experiment, though not considerably.” Doctor Barrick pulled a small torch from the pocket of his doctor’s coat and flashed it into Bree’s pupils. “Subject 14 is clearly in great duress from the pain of her injury.”
“Now, we can compare this to Subject 17, who has been undergoing treatment with the serum I designed.” The doctor and assistant both moved to Flynn’s side. The Doctor lifted Flynn’s shirt, presenting his wound. The incision was still noticeable, the skin around it pink, but the incision was fainter, less raised. “The healing has been accelerated greatly with the help of my serum. Of course, it will require more testing, but for this purpose it seems to have helped greatly. The subject will still be in some pain, but it will be nowhere near as bad as Subject 14’s. Now, the subject’s will be taken to their respective cells, and allowed to heal up further. And I hope to see you all for future experiments.”
With the livestream over, Hugo began to undo Flynn’s restraints, then remove the monitors and his IV, while Doctor Barrick did the same to Bree. Hugo helped Flynn to his feet.
“Take Subject 17 to his cell, and come back for Subject 14.” Doctor Barrick said, not looking up from the tools and equipment he was putting away.
As Flynn was escorted through the halls, he thought back to Bree. He knew that there were other people like him in this place, being held against their will. But meeting Bree, seeing the desperation he had been enduring reflected in her eyes, truly hammered home how awful this place was. He just hoped that he would get to see her again, before anything truly befell either of them. Maybe one day - if he allowed himself to hope, just for a moment - they would be free to talk to each other, somewhere far from this horrible place. Maybe.
~~~
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