A Deathly Curiosity

[potassiumboron]

​

It was days like these that managed to bring smiles to Mordecai Adelph's face - and that expression was rather rare for him.

On the surface, the Adelph Institute was the perfect example of a business that did good for the world. Thousands of people had managed to fight diseases and get cured from many because of the facility's research depth into medicine. The pharmaceutical company was ranked highly, received raving, positive reviews, and its medicines used worldwide. Its executive, Mordecai, while remaining a relatively mysterious figure, was often always on the list if influential businessmen in the world, and it had earned him incredible wealth that, from what people on the outside saw, he only used to pump into his facility to help more and more people.

...Except, that wasn't wholly the truth. It was a cover for what went on underneath the surface, both metaphorically and literally. Down in the basement was where experiments were conducted for no reason other than for his enjoyment. Those involved with him believed it was to push the human body to its limits, to take scientific discovery and innovation to the next level, but frankly, Mordecai didn't give a crap about that academic bullshit. He wanted to have fun and spend his immortal life the way he wanted, and this was going to provide a lot of enjoyment to him. Well, for a decade or two, before he got bored again.

There was nothing he loved more than when his 'poachers', as he called them, brought in a homeless person to begin new tests on. He didn't currently have any 'fresh' humans in the cells - the other 10 or 11 people had already had tests and experiments carried out on them, changing them from normal humans to... whatever the hell they were now. Having a fresh, untested one in his facility was always a cause for celebration, and it was enough for him to make an appearance down in the basement. His time was precious, but he always found the time to welcome a new test study.

Wandering into the blindingly white room with its padded walls, he motioned for the scientists behind him to leave him be, allowing them to shut the modern sliding door before turning his luminous yellow eyes onto Eui-Tang.

"They tell me your name's Eui-Tang. I suppose Eui will be just fine," he began slowly, his English accent still prevalent in his voice, despite having been in America now for over 90 years. Setting himself down on the comfortable white stool nearby, he rested a leg over the other and offered a small smile on his irresistibly perfect features. "You don't need to fret at all, Eui. What you're doing here... it'll become clear in the next day or two, but all you need to know is that you're among only a handful of people getting this opportunity. Don't ruin it by doubting what we do. We're helping you, enchancing you. You'll thank us."

 

[ForeverRed]

Eui-Tang had a rough life. He liked to consider himself as a 'struggling artist' who was slowly coming up in the world. At only nineteen, he was homeless. Yet he was earning money by doing street art for people. And by doing that he was able to buy a room in a motel for a few days. You must be wondering why a nineteen year old boy was homeless. Simple. His parents weren't the richest. The were poor, and struggling. And they were overbearingly strict. Eui couldn't live by their unnecessary rules, so he left, and has been homeless for a good week know. He believed a few more weeks on his own he would have a crappy apartment to call home. He had been making decent money by doing his street art. And boy was his art gorgeously beautiful.

However, this morning he ran out of money, so he hit the streets again, and yet again, he earned money for his incredible art work. He was heading back to the motel to rent a room, when some people in a van pulled up next to him And dragged him in, and they drive off in the dead of night. He knew he had been drugged because one moment he was kicking and thrashing in a van. And now he wakes up in this blinding bright white room, with this man in front of him.

Blinking his blurry vision clear, he looked around groaning softly. "...Gnnghh." Groaned the teenage boy as he tried to move, but realized he was stuck in the chair by thick metal cuffs. ".....I..I got to...Go...My paintbrushes...and..." All he really cared for was his set supplies. And he we're sure they were still out on the streets. once his groggy mind was semi clear, he stared at the man in front of him, before raising a thick brow. "...Who are you?..I....I don't wanna be enhanced or whatever the hell you're talkin' about."

 

[potassiumboron]

Tutting unsubtly under his breath, the graceful man cast a disinterested glance around the plain room. Everything was white, for purposes even Mordecai wasn't away of. He wasn't a fan of colour, so perhaps that was why everything had to be so... white. Then again, he wasn't the one who had decorated the rooms, so why someone decided to make everything so boring, he didn't know-- not that he wanted to spend money creating rooms that looked like something out of a catalogue. These people didn't deserve that much money spent on them.

"I'll tell you what. If you behave yourself and don't cause trouble, I'll personally have paintbrushes and paint brought to you and you can paint murals on the wall. I'm quite content for you to decorate this room as you wish-- of course, you'll be sharing the room, so I suppose you ought to wait until you see and meet your roommate before you go hell for leather painting this place," he laughed, despite it being mostly humourless. He saw no reason to prevent the test subjects decorating their rooms as they wished - it at least gave them some entertainment, and honestly, it was a good way to see how their minds and imaginations worked. Hell, it could prove useful to their studies, couldn't it? How they performed pre- and post- experimentation... Obviously, given Eui was the only untested human they currently had, those studies would only be specific to him at the moment.

"Have you ever heard of the Adelph Institute? That's where you currently are. You'll be helping with research and it'll provide countless of pages of important information for my scientists. Don't you realise how lucky you are to be a chosen one?"

 

[ForeverRed]

"Adelph Institute? That's the....place that liked helped cure a lot of people's cancer and stuff right? I...I'm no help for that I'm perfectly fine....Nothing's wrong with me, I barely even get sick." Stated the man as he looked around the room anxiously. "I..I don't understand how I...I can help."

Realizing now he probably didn't have a choice, his eyes landed on the mysterious figure. His glowing yellow eyes frightened Eui more than he would have liked to admit. This whole set up was really making him feel like he was in that movie, Get Out. "....Alright...Okay...I'll be good....I'll get paintbrushes right? You're.....You're not going to like...Put someone else brain in my head right? I'm...Look dude that's like super illegal. Kidnapping me is illegal! I have rights! I didn't like....Consent to any of this!"

 

[potassiumboron]

And, as thought someone had just told him a piece of bad news, the smile vanished from his face-- though, in fairness, it was false to begin with. Sighing heavily beneath his breath, the taller man got to his feet as though to peruse the room and take in details-- well, whatever details there were to be found. That is, until he slapped the teenage boy hard across the face, smiling genuinely this time at the red hand print mark that remained.

"You, little boy, are going to behave yourself or you'll receive far worse from me than a slap. I don't care if I have to carve up that face of yours with a kitchen knife, do you understand me? Your looks mean nothing to me. What I care about is results, so you're going to be a good little lab rat and shut your goddamn mouth. Do you want to end up looking like a monster, or do you want to be something beautiful? It's all up to me, so treat me with respect and it'll go a long way--"

Stopping abruptly the second he heard the doors open, he was ready to snap at the guards for daring to disrupt him until seeing the handcuffed test study they were wrestling into the room, which was a sight that Mordecai couldn't stop himself smiling at. Out of all the creations, this was his favourite, simply because of how beautiful he found the man to be now he'd 'perfected' him. He found all the test studies beautiful, but this man? He was beyond that now, and of course Mordecai took full praise for it.

"I'll leave you two to get settled in together, then. Remember, Eui. Behave yourself. Look at my lovely Nathan here. He behaved and look how beautiful he is~"

'Nathan' remained silent as the electronically controlled cuffs stayed tight around his wrists, only released when he and Eui were the only ones left in the room. Noticing the stares he was receiving, he shrugged back his shoulders and sent a fierce glare the teen's way. "Take a fucking picture, it'll last longer, kid," he gruffly muttered, moving his wings a little to ease the stiffness in them, before running his tongue over his sharp canines tiredly. "...You new here, then? You look normal, course you're fucking new here... What they gonna do to you, then? Give you stripes and call you a tiger? That'd be rad, not gonna lie. That ain't been done yet, actually..."

 

[ForeverRed]

The moment his own handcuffs snapped open he made a run fir it, scurrying to the corner of the room. Pressed hard in the wall, he looked at Nathan, with complete fear. Why wouldn't he be scared? Nathan had huge bat like wings! Wings! The Korean boy didn't speak for a while, his eyes glued onto the man, as if he was cautiously watching a wild animal ready to attack. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest and all he wanted to so was run away, he should have never left home. What was he thinking?! Trying to make it on his own. Know he was in son place, going to be turned into...Who knows?!

Once he calmed down enough, he swallowed some spit, to wet up his now dry throat. "...The....They did that to you?....Gave you.. Wings?...I...Oh my..." He whispered terrified, looking around the room frantically. "We..We got to get out of here! We have to tell someone!" Panicked the teen as he began looking around the room for any where to break out from. Of course, there wasn't

 

[potassiumboron]

"...Chill, dude. They're watching you, you know. There are cameras in here, I'm pretty sure. Don't know where they are, but they're probably watching us somewhere. I ain't going to attack you. I'm totally harmless," replied Nathan as he laid out on the bed, his full height extending to well over 6 foot. In fact, he was probably around 6'6", with the muscles to back that sort of frame up. Resting his hands under his breath, he glanced at the bandages around his biceps tiredly, knowing that the wounds would heal but cause him a lot of pain over the next day or two.

"I was a little titch when they dragged me here. I was 22, lost my job, lost my apartment. I hadn't eaten for a fucking week. I had bones popping outta everywhere. They did all this. The tallness, the muscles... Dunno how they fucking do it, it's pretty damn impressive-- not that I approve of this shit. I never asked for this," he pointed out, rather glad to be talking to someone for once... even if Eui's fear and his anxiety was a painful reminder of him when he had first been brought to the facility. Sighing loudly, which did show his pointed teeth more prominently, he offered what he hoped was a kind enough smile. "...Just sit on your damn bed, kid, and try and relax. They won't do shit to you today, you need to settle in and take some pills and stuff first."

 

[ForeverRed]

Eui grimaced and slowly sat on his bed....For only a moment before he sprang back up and began pacing. "...They're going to...To do that to me? I...I...There's more people here? Like...That? I...Oh no...Oh no, this is bad...This is do bad...My face hurts." Rubbing the spot where he had been slapped, he turned to face Nathan again.

"...How...How long have you been here? Has....Anyone ever left?" It appeared that Eui was slowly calming down. "...That man...With the glowing eyes....He does this to you? And if I'm good....I'll be beautiful? I...I like my face how it is...I like me...I...I don't want to not be me...Err...Am I making sense?"

 

[potassiumboron]

"You speak at a hundred miles an hour and I really ain't got the patience to deal with that shit. I had a room to myself before you popped along, so speak slower or I'm gonna ask them to drag you to share with someone that looks a hell of a lot scarier than I do," the man threatened, albeit lightly without any true malice. He knew the kid was just scared and frightened and every emotion like that, so he couldn't blame him too much. When Nathan had been dragged to the facility, he had nobody to answer his questions, so the least he could do was be cooperative, right?

"...Been here a few years now I think. It's easy to lose track of time in this place-- and yeah, that guy's the one with the ideas and the cash to do this shit. Nice guy, ain't he?" He sarcastically laughed, rolling his dark, jet black eyes to himself. "Listen, buddy... You ain't leaving, it's best to realise that. Nobody leaves, that's just that. You only leave in a body bag if you die during an experiment-- but if you're pretty enough, they won't make mistakes. Just... You just gotta hope they make you look decent and not a monster."

 

[ForeverRed]

Hearing this made his heart stop. His face flushed of what ever color it had. Anxiety began to pump through his very veins and angry bouts. He felt his blood run cold, and his stomach twist and churn. Eui realized how serious this situation was. He was going to spend the rest of his life here. Being turned into something....Not human.

Settling down on his bed again, he pulled his legs up to his chest biting down hard on his bottom lip until little red droplets formed. Eui stayed quiet for the remainder of the night, his mind running a mile a minute. He would have felt a lot better if he had his paint.

 

[potassiumboron]

By the time morning came around, Nathan was already awake at 7am, patiently awaiting breakfast that would just be pushed through the latch in the door. He had spent the night fast asleep, peaceful really. After so many years in the facility, he had gotten used to the way things worked. He'd lost the anger and the hope of escape, and settled into a routine. He had breakfast, he got his daily tests to make sure his body was reacting okay to the changes, he was given some injections to make sure everything continued working as it should, and then he spent the rest of the day in his room... unless they wanted to give him something new. Horns, maybe, or a few sharper teeth-- it all depended on what crazy things Mordecai came up with.

"Yo, kid," he quietly mumbled, giving Eui a gentle nudge in the back once breakfast arrived. "...They've probably put pills in your cornflakes, but... hey, it helps numb you for the experiments, so eat up. And hey, just remember that they changed how I think, so... so this raw meat I got really is normal for me. It fucking stinks and it's all bloody, but hey, I'm kinda a monster now, so... so it ain't a problem..."

 

[ForeverRed]

Groaning softly from being woken up, he stretched out, a small smile on his face. For a few peaceful moment he forgotten where he was. Before he looked around, realizing he was still in the boring white cell awaiting to be turned into a monster, like his cellmate who's name was...Nathan right?

Sitting up right, he used the palm of his hand to wipe the sleep from his eyes. Grabbing the cornflakes, he twisted his face up before he began to eat them. He might as well be numbed up. He glanced over at Nathan's meal. Bloody raw steak. He felt chills run down his spine, before he glanced away from the meal. "...Nathan...Are they going to....Take me today?"

 

[potassiumboron]

"Do you want me to lie and say no? Heads up, kid. I don't do that comforting bullshit. It's better to hear the truth, ain't it? I think they're gonna take you, sure. Do I know what they'll do to you? Nah. Mordecai's fucking... he's insane. God knows what he'll come up with-- and given he slapped you, I don't think it'll be pretty. But hey, maybe he does like you? Who knows what that psycho's thinking," he muttered, keeping his voice barely above a whisper. If there were cameras that could also pick up what he was saying, he hardly wanted to be heard and then taking away to be experimented on as a punishment. Compared to some people, his transformation really wasn't bad. He'd gone from some greasy-haired, 5'4", skinny guy to... well, someone he thought was handsome, muscular and a catch-- if it wasn't for the wings, the teeth and the constant need for raw meat. But hey, those were minor details, weren't they?

 

[ForeverRed]

"...Oh...Oh no...I should say sorry....I was just scared!" He panicked a bit before he tried to calm himself down. Inatead he focused on the wall. "...If.. if I hady art supply....I would make that wall there....I would make it a meadow...That way it would...Calm us when we look at...I would paint the ceiling a sky....The skt in the day time of course..."


As he rambled on and ate, the door had opened, doctors in lab coats and had handcuffs ready to tale him. "Come calmly Mr. Kim."

Eui looked at them fearfully. He sat his empty bowl down and stood up slowly holding out his wrist.

 

[potassiumboron]

"Move out the fucking way, let me talk to him," growled Nathan suddenly which, with his mouth full of blood, got the impression he wanted. He did look scary, especially with his sharp teeth and extended wings. Pushing the scientists back a little, he moved to stand in front of Eui. He may have only known him a day, but... well, he already felt they'd bonded a little. They were in the same position, going through the same thing-- and he did feel protective over the teenager. He reminded him so much of himself when he first arrived, and back then, he wished he'd had someone to protect and comfort him when he needed it.

"Listen, kid... you'll be fine. I... I guarantee you'll come back and look hot, hm? Super cute. I'll get them to give you paints and maybe I'll paint something on that wall for when you get back, yeah?"

 

[ForeverRed]

"...Yeah, yeah....This is no big deal, I'll be good. Don't worry." Stated the teen with fake confidence. Allowing the doctors to handcuff him, he shuffled out the cell, looking at Nathan afraid before the cell door shut automatically. Wincing when it shut, he followed the doctors through the bright white halls.

Looking around, trying to peak in other cells at the weird creatures who were once human, he whimpered slightly before looking at the doctors. Smiling a bit he cleared his throat. "...Uh. Nice place you got here....Super...Clean...And white."

 

[potassiumboron]

"You're not doing yourself any favours. Keep quiet and continue walking," came a reply from a stern, thin-browed woman with her hair pulled too far back into a tight bun. Eyeing the teenager over in clear distaste, her eyes focused forwards as he was brought into what seemed like the operating theatre, if the nearby surgeons waiting patiently were anything to go by.

"Mr. Adelph has great plans for you," answered another doctor as he beckoned the boy onto the operating table expectedly. "I'd be grateful if I were you. The chance to be unique? To be an example of how far humans can go? You'll be part of history! Look more excited about it!"

 

[ForeverRed]

"History? So...People will know of us?" He asked as he glanced around the room. Nervously he got onto the operating table, leaning back. Flashing a nervous smile to the doctors he glanced around the bright room again. "....Um....Will Mr. Adelph be here? Or has he already told you guys what he'll be doing to...What's that?" He asked as a doctor hooked up an IV to him.

"Relax, you are Special. You'll be part of history." Answered the man as he carefully placed the needle in him.

".....Um...Yes I know that, why do you guys keep repeating that? I..I just want to know what will happen to me. Like....Am I going to get mega cool wings? Or stripes like a tiger? Or something?" He asked no one in particular. Anyone who answered who be great.

 

[potassiumboron]

"Keep your mouth shut. We've been instructed to remove your tongue without anaesthetic if you continue to talk. We've been told that you're too talkative, and Mr. Adelph was very close to agreeing to take out your tongue. He changed his mind last minute, unfortunately. Your tongue would have fed the dogs," muttered the female surgeon as she pulled her gloves on with a satisfying pluck. Her eyes glanced over the nearby plans slowly and, once she memorised what they were going to apparently do to the boy, she reached for her needle to inject something into his veins without warning.

"You'll be part of history," she repeated again, slowly pulling the mask over her mouth and nose. "Relax, let yourself go to sleep, no need to hold on. You'll wake up in five or six hours and you'll be beautiful. Mr. Adelph ensures that every creation is beautiful here."

 

[ForeverRed]

Eui eyes widen at her comment, and decided it was best not to chat this time. 'Sleep? I'm not even tired.' He thought to himself, however the drugs took over and forced him into a deep slumber.


Hours later he awoke. His eyesight was blurry, and his body still felt heavy from the drugs, so he didn't move. Instead, he laid on the operation table blinking, trying to get control of his senses. However those drugs made him feel so dizzy and tired.