Specimen

“You’ll see them eventually,” Riley says. “You’ll have to complete the first two stages of training first. I’m here to guide you through all of that. We have a lot of work to do.”

“What training?” Maybe this place isn’t a hospital at all. A military base? A research center?

“Much of it will be effortless for you,” she says. “The transformation process has made it much easier for you to learn. It will feel more like you are being reminded of how to do something, and nothing you encounter will feel completely unfamiliar.”

“Is that because I’ve done it before?” I ask. “Did I used to be a soldier?”

“Possibly,” she replies. She tilts her head and smiles again. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Dirt.” My response is out of my mouth before I can think about it, and she is surprised by my answer.

“Dirt?”

“I…I think it was a dream.” I try to conjure up the image in my head again, but it’s hazy and dim. “I think I was digging in dirt.”

“Sounds like a dream.” She smiles again, but there is a hint of concern in her eyes. “That probably won’t come up in your training.”

Riley lets out a short laugh. She rubs my arm again, and thoughts of my dream dissipate.

“Are you going to train me, then?”

“In a manner of speaking,” she says. “I’m really more of a guide. There are others involved but mostly in the background.”

She stands and removes her hand from my arm. I immediately try to grab for it, but I am again stopped by the restraints.

“I think that’s enough for now.” Riley takes a step backward. “Like I said, I don’t want you overwhelmed. I want you to rest. You are going to need a significant amount of sleep during the first round of tests. That will pass in time, and eventually you will need very little sleep to get by.”

“I don’t understand.” My arms and legs are tensing up, straining against the bands around my body. I want her touching me again. Frustration grows in my chest, and it feels as if someone has just placed an anvil on top of my ribcage.

“Relax.” She touches my arm again.

I sigh and close my eyes. I feel the sharp prick of a needle in my hand and cool fluid entering my vein.

“I’ll be right here when you wake.”

I try to nod, but I’m not entirely sure I manage to make the gesture. I feel heavy, and the thin mattress on the bed seems deeper than it did before. I’m content with the information Riley has provided, but there’s the niggling terror still present deep inside of me.

This isn’t right. None of this is right.

Chapter 2

“Specimen seventy-two of eighty-nine: Caucasian male, one hundred and eighty-three centimeters, weighing eighty-nine kilograms. Vital signs normal—temperature thirty-six degrees centigrade, blood pressure one-twenty over seventy-six.”

I feel a cold fluid run up my arm.

“Administering first round of FOG.”

My head is still swimming from sleep or the drugs. I’m not sure which. I blink slowly at the bright light over my head. The light doesn’t bother my eyes at all. They adjust almost instantly.

Riley is next to me. I can only see the arm of her lab coat, but I know it’s her. I can tell by the way she stands, the way she holds the tablet, and how she moves.

I can smell her.

She smells distinctly sweet but not flowery. I can’t find a word to describe the fragrance.

“TST levels are in the specified range. Specimen is responding well to the altered dose. No further indication of abnormalities, and we should be able to start training based on the current timeline.”

I try to concentrate on her words, but most of them don’t make any sense to me. I take a deep breath and turn my head to get a better look at her.