Chapter 9

Zailah

When I turned to my side, I felt a blanket around me, and I patted my hand on it before I realised that I wasn't at home in my comfortable bed but on the floor of my cell. Half asleep, I tried to open my eyes and felt something on my eyelid as I tried to remember what happened to me. I touched my eye, feeling something wet, but it was drying and caked onto parts of my face. I paused when I remembered that someone had come to the house, and he had knocked me out to keep me quiet.

What the fuck was on my face?

I touched my face and felt a film of something on it. The cell was dark, but I could still see everything. It was all in a grey colour. I took the edge of the blanket to wipe my eye so I could look properly. I stood up and looked around. It was nighttime, and no lights were on, but I could see in the dark.

I dropped the blanket and walked towards the window to hold the bars and press myself up onto my toes to see outside. It was the same. I could see the same as I would during the day. I inhaled the night air through my nose, and I smelled the rain, soil, plants, and cold night air. My senses were all heightened. I thought of the wolf that lived inside me and how it changed my body size and height. I was still processing the fact that werewolves were real, never mind becoming one.

Remus’s wolf was dark grey and considerably larger, whereas my wolf was black, and although enormous from my human size, it wasn't more significant than his. His speed and strength reminded me of big cat nature documentaries. Only he had torn human limbs off with as much ease as plucking a piece of lint from clothing. It made a shiver run down my spine as the sick images flooded my mind. I returned to the blanket and wrapped it around my body, not because I was cold but for comfort.

The thought that I’d missed an opportunity for someone to help me was disheartening.

◆◆◆

The metal door opened, and I stared at Remus as he carried a small fridge into the room. He set it in the corner. He took the cord and attached the plug to an extension wire. I sat with my back to the wall, glaring at him the whole time. He wore another suit today. Then again, some evil people dress well enough to fool society.

I cringed when he picked up my bucket. When he brought two white tubs with lids on them, I got a flashback of the white bucket full of meat. I looked away from him as tears flooded my eyes. He hadn't lied. He fed me all their organ meat.

“I will be back in a few days,”

he said after a short while.

I couldn't bring myself to look at him because the hatred inside my heart blazed like a furnace, nor could I allow him to see my tears. He was the type of sick bastard who would enjoy every second of my misery. The thought made my tears fall harder, and I tried to remain quiet.

“Don't do anything stupid while I’m gone,”

he said, but I didn't hear him leave.

I always heard his footsteps before the door opened or closed. I brought my knees up and hugged my legs before I put my forehead on my knees as a sense of hopelessness took over.

“Strange. I thought you would be made of sterner stuff, not sulking like a stroppy teen. So disappointing,”

he said, mocking me.

I didn't move even when I heard him close the door. I pictured my Mum’s smiling face and took a few deep breaths before looking up. The door was closed, and he was gone. On top of the fridge, there was a cardboard box full of fruit. I glanced at the floor to see a case of bottled water. I couldn't bring myself to look at the white tubs again.

I looked around at the claw marks in the door and various sections of the room's walls. It may as well be a dog kennel.

◆◆◆

The two days of solitude hadn't improved my disposition. It only gave me time to think of everybody in my life and the fact that I hadn't done much with my life. It was comforting to know that my body could heal fast. My neck had healed after Remus had brutally ripped a chunk out of it, so perhaps I could survive this ordeal long enough to escape. That could only happen if I was out of the silver collar. I’d tried everything, and it wouldn't budge.

When I heard the sound of cars driving close to the house, I stood up to listen. I heard two men talking. I recognised Remus’s voice straight away since he spoke like a posh twat. The front door opened, and everything inside the house sounded muffled. My heart began to beat faster as their footsteps came closer. I grabbed my blanket and sat in my usual spot under the window with my back to the wall. To my calculation, it was day six without a shower or bath. I didn't remember the first few days since he said I’d turned into a werewolf. The door opened, and I kept my head down.

“This is incredible. I look forward to working with the subject.”

The man sounded excited, knowing I was chained up and held against my will. I slowly lifted my head and saw the old man standing beside Remus. He had white hair, an old man's grey trousers, and a sweater with a white shirt beneath it. His glasses had a black rim on the top and a thinner silver rim on the lower half. His jowls were hanging beneath his chin, with his tight collar pushing them forward. His beady brown eyes were on me.

“I can't wait to see her transform into a wolf. I never believed I would witness such an astonishing feat,”

he said as he glanced at Remus.

My eyes flicked towards the devil in charge of my hell. He wore another dark navy suit and looked as fresh as a daisy. I don't know why, in my heart, I thought he would stop this before it went too far, but each time I saw him, I was given a brutal reminder that he didn't have one single iota of goodness within him.

“The new facility will be ready by tonight,”

Remus said.

It seemed my time was up.

“What exactly are you going to do to me?”

I asked, turning towards the old man.

“So much,”

he said excitedly.

What the—he was excited about using me like a piece of meat.

“I’m going to begin to isolate specific parts of your DNA. Some will be cloned, some will be removed, and some will be cut out as I insert new DNA into your body to alter your capabilities,”

he said as he moved closer.

Remus was silent but watched me.

“But I will need to test your body in human and wolf form to see how much it’s capable of,”

“What does that mean?”

I asked, narrowing my eyes on him.

“Silver weakens you and can kill you. I need to see what happens to your body on a molecular level when it reacts to various types of silver,”

he said with no remorse.

“There isn't enough time to take cells out and test them all individually outside of the body. I have told the doctor to do whatever it takes for results quickly. If he has to trigger you to activate your body’s defence mechanism, then that is what he will do,”

Remus said.

“The good thing is that your power of regeneration will ensure you recover quickly,”

Dr Lawrence added. “I intend to create the perfect werewolf, keeping and strengthening all the good characteristics while weeding out what makes you vulnerable.”

“You could become a super wolf,”

Remus said, his blue eyes creasing at the corners as he smiled.

They both looked pleased with themselves while I tried to hold my composure long enough to determine their plans.

“Don’t try to act as if you are doing this to benefit me in any way,”

I said to Remus coldly before glancing at Dr Lawrence. “How long will the entire process take?”

“It all depends on if my potential solutions work. If the gene editing fails to make the molecular changes in the body, then I will need to try and create something in a medicinal form, like a serum. It would all need to be thoroughly tested. It could take anything from 8 months to two years,”

he said as he rubbed his jaw. “A precise timescale is difficult to predict until my work begins.”

I tried not to wince when he said two years because it made me want to throw up. They stood there shameless and uncaring, excited about keeping me chained up like an animal.

They began to talk among themselves about the facility equipment that was yet to be purchased. They continued to talk as they turned their back to me to leave the room while I sat speechless with trepidation and horror slowly seeping into my soul.