Chapter 2

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.