D.N.A. Human Test Subjects I

Chapter I

Let me tell you a little about my life. I was born in Chicago on August 6th, 1995. The current year is 2011…or, at least I think it is. I’ve been locked up here for so long, I can’t remember. If so, then I’m around sixteen years old. Anyway, back in Chicago, I had a rough life. My father was a drunk, my mother a crack addict. But I, oh I, was perfectly normal. I went to school, did homework, and got straight A’s like a good little girl.

Once I got into sixth grade, my life changed. My father ended up sexually abusing my mother and physically abusing my sister, Angela, and I. No one noticed after a while…until Angela died from being physically abused so much. Our teachers came and my parents were both sent to jail, my father charged with sexual abuse, child abuse, and murder. My mother was charged with possession of drugs. I was put into a foster home, where I hated everything that existed.

At the age of twelve, I was admitted into the local insane asylum. They said that I was beaten so much by my father that I got brain damaged. Well, I don’t believe that. True, I admit I was a little crazy, but I really did hear them! I heard voices…mostly the voice of my father, but some of little children shrieking for help. But no matter how much I told the truth, no one would believe a crazy person.

“Eryn, there is nothing there!” the doctors would say.

“But I hear them!” I’d scream back.

I thought I’d have to kill myself if I didn’t get out of there. In a bittersweet symphony of emotions, I was taken out of the insane asylum when I turned thirteen. They were like doctors, but more. They always wore white lab coats and always had experiments to perform. They told me that I could help, and eager to leave, I agreed. Little did I know that I wouldn’t be conducting the experiments.

I was the experiment.

The scientists called themselves the Deviously Naturalists of Aftertime, or D.N.A. for short. Their mission was to create hybrids to inhabit the Earth, using humans as test subjects. They’d force needles into our skin and transmit animal DNA into ours, turning us into the hybrids.

I’m a hybrid of a bird. Ha! Lucky me! Classified forever as a birdbrain! But then again, I was better off than most. A girl three cells down was mixed with the DNA of a cow. The boy next to Dolan was part chicken. Rose, one of my other friends in this ghastly place, was mixed with a vampire bat. Dolan was lucky, as well as myself. He was given the genetic material of a wolf.


Sometimes, we took on physical attributes of our animals. Dolan, for example, has beautiful yellow eyes, heightened senses, and at random times, he could grow fangs and claws. I had feathery wings growing out of my back, making me look like an angel and sometimes, I could develop a pair of bird’s talons instead of hands. Rose has a few characteristics of her animal, as well. Her eyes are bright red and her teeth are pointed into fangs. Although, maybe a vampire bat wasn’t the best choice.

She needs blood, human blood, to survive. Like I said, only few are lucky…

Usually, the humans didn’t survive the horrifying experimentation. Only around ten percent of the humans make it, Dolan, Rose, and I being three of the lucky ones. And if you did survive, they’d keep you, a hostage in their sick ‘doctor’s’ game. Sometimes, if you didn’t show any reactions to the animal DNA, they’d give you another animal’s, turning you into a monster.

To make sure they didn’t run away, each and every human hybrid would get their own special box; three walls normal, one with bars and a set of chains attached to the wall. Everyone would also get shock collars, so that if we ever acted up and the guards weren’t near, they could shock us by remote control. Wimps…They couldn’t come and punish us themselves! Security cameras were everywhere. No matter where you went, you’d be watched…followed. There are even cameras in each cell!

We experiments were forced to stay forever…

Of course, I had no where else to go. Like many, I was taken from hospitals or foster homes…people who were alone in the world were the only ones captured. And there was an age limit on captives, as well. The experiments would have to be within the ages of eight and 24, no more, no less.

One of the youngest, a girl named Kara, is only nine. She was given the genetic material of a domestic cat. Her sense of balance is extraordinary, and her eyes have slits, just like those of a cat. She is fairly calm, and never says a word, but at night, in the lonesome darkness of her cell, she cries. She sobs for her mother, her father, and her unknown grandmother, who all were killed in a car crash. One of the worst things to experience when she cries is the desperation and hopelessness others feel because no one is there to comfort her. Her wails fill the facility, causing every heart in the room to fill with sorrow…except for the scientists’ hearts, who listen excitedly, almost exhilarated to hear their experiments in pain.

But these guys aren’t that bad…okay, yes they are. Yet, they do give us something called “free time”. Really? Are we free? Many of us ask that question, although none get an actual answer. Free time is technically when the members of the D.N.A. shock us with cattle prods until we are forced to move into a larger cage with other hybrids. We get this once or twice a week, depending on new experiment possibilities.

This is the only time I ever get to speak with Rose and Dolan at the same time in private. We talk about topics that regard to our pasts. We never talk about what might await us in the near future because no one ever wants to hear about it. We don’t want to know if we’ll die or not. Everyone here just forgets about dying and lives the rest of their lives in an emotional pool of suffering and depression. Hey, you can’t hide the real truth.

Well, except for the scientists. They’re damn good at protecting their secret. Why did they choose to do this? How can they sleep at night, knowing that a poor nine-year-old is bawling her eyes out back at work? How can they go home to a wife and kids knowing that they could’ve killed someone only a few hours earlier? Do they even tell their families about their work? Or do they keep it a secret?

“Eryn, what are you thinking about?” Rose asked, her voice flat and monotonic. I glanced up at her, oblivious to her previous speaking. Her red eyes were duller than normal, showing that she would have to feed soon. I wasn’t too worried. After all, only human blood keeps her alive. I was no longer a human.

“The normal stuff. Pain, suffering, despair…you know,” I replied. We were having our free time for the week. I sat in the corner of the all-glass structure, Rose standing next to me. Dolan was slowly walking towards us, his yellow eyes observing everything. He sat next to me, his field of vision now in front of him. “Hello.”

“What’s up?” he acknowledged the two of us. “Did you two hear what happened to Roxy and Logan?”

“No. What?” Rose questioned silently.

“They got in a huge fight, almost taking out two scientists.”

“Really? The two hybrids should’ve killed them…” I remarked sinisterly.

Roxy had the material of a panther. The feline personality fit her perfectly. She was so independent, yet always wanted attention from everyone. She was also one of the only hybrids to actually have a tail, which was, nonetheless, stated as “beautiful”. If you asked me, I thought it looked like a snake with fur…

Logan, on the other hand, truly was part-snake. He even had a forked tongue like one! Logan was constantly getting into fights, where his advanced agility usually won the match. He thought that he was top of the food chain in the animal kingdom in here, but really, he was a big sissy. He hated it when animals that ate snakes got closer to him, which was about every large predator here.

I feared both of them. The panther because birds and cats don’t really mix, though I’m perfectly fine near Kara. I dreaded the snake because it could go either way. I’m not really sure what kind of bird I am, but Logan could eat me if I wasn’t careful. Then again, I could eat him if I were a big, tough bird, such as an eagle.

I turned to glance at my wings, trying to keep the picture in my head. They were huge, feathery wings that belonged to a holy being. How I ever was blessed with them, I’ll never know. The feathers are long and white; the only thing that could be compared to it was fresh snow…even though I haven’t seen snow for a very long time. At the tips of the feathers, the color changed to a brilliant cobalt blue, which was my favorite part.

Because of the size of my wings, I think that I might be able to actually fly! But, of course, the scientists quickly shot down my dream like a hunter at a duck nesting ground. They clipped my wings, causing me to feel like a pet cockatoo.

“Eryn, what are you thinking about, now?” Rose asked in a tediousness voice. I looked up at her, seeing her appearances all over again. Rose was the most beautiful creature on the face of the planet. Her real name is Rosabell, but it got too long, I guess, so she shortened it. She has lengthy, ruby hair that is curly, but not enough for people to tell without looking close. Her lips are a deep carmine, which matches her eyes perfectly. Her body was mature, and she had the perfect curves. My body, on the other hand, was only slightly above average.

“My wings,” I mumbled. I turned back to my guy friend.

“Sounds interesting…” Dolan remarked expressionless. Dolan…wow. I didn’t remember all of my childhood before my “parental disaster”, but I did remember what a hot guy looked like. And my best friend matched the description perfectly! He had jet-black hair with the yellow eyes I loved. He isn’t extremely muscular, but he can lift and fight way more than Rose or I could.

Suddenly, the loud, shrieking wail detonated in the giant cage, causing all the hybrids to stop, stand up, and shut up. The guards filed in, holding their cattle prods in one hand and a leash or chains in the other. They came to each one, put the restraints on, and then shocked us until we moved. When it was my turn, they slipped the shock collar over my head and threatened me with the cattle prod. I began to walk.

After all, I was a good girl. Nice bird girl. Sit. Stay. Good! No shocky for you! Ugh…someone, please, end this nightmare now! Let something fall upon my head, sending me into a coma, or even death! Let the floor open up now and let it swallow me whole, pulling me forever into the dark abyss, maybe even farther than hell itself.

No…Hell wasn’t down there. It was here, in this facility. This horrid, wretched lab! There was no other place on this planetoid that surpassed in being the most diabolical, stygian location than the one I am at right now!

But, I would’ve never met Rose or Dolan if I didn’t come here, so I guess that’s one thing good about this place…no, correction: the only good thing about this place. And no matter how much I thought I wanted death, I knew that I was lying to myself. If I died, I would leave Rose and Dolan alone, and I know that they couldn’t be isolated; after all, I was the one who kept us together.

“Be good, bird girl, and you’ll get your bathroom pass for the week!” the guard cackled as he chained my legs and arms back to the wall. Did I explain bathroom passes? Well, we only get to go once a week. I know, horrid, right? While we’re there, we can shower, brush our teeth, and use the potty. But those who are bad hybrids don’t get a ticket to the lavatory. They have to use the corner of their cells. Most of us have received diseases or illnesses for holding it in for so long.

I sat down on the hard bed. Technically, it was metal that was twisted in a way to look like a bed, with a thin mattress on top. We didn’t get pillows nor blankets. My chains rattled softly, singing the silent, crestfallen song that all the hybrids knew so well. I glanced through the bars of my cage, across the hall, and into Dolan’s cell. He was already imprisoned.

My cell is one of the few that has a small hole on the side wall, which allows me to see through to Rose’s cell. I talk with her, but not very often. Besides, if the guards found it, they would clog it up. I looked through the small hole to see Rose’s feet, their chains clinking against the cold floor.

“Hey! Freaks! Dinner!” one of the guards called. He walked down the hall pushing a metallic cart. When he got to my cell, I got a closer look at it. Red blood stained the top of it, showing that it had been used in the experiments. “Take your food or you ain’t getting any!” The guard took a tray and stuck it in front of the bars, smiling. “Aren’t you gonna get it?”

“I cannot reach that far…” I whispered.

“Come on! You can get it!”

I walked to the barricade, but the chains pulled me back.

“So you don’t want it?”

“I want it.”

“I can’t hear you.”

“Give me the friggin’ food!” I shouted. It wasn’t a very smart move, but I couldn’t help it. The guard took a small remote from his pocket and smiled. His finger hovered over the button. With a sudden shock of pain, he mashed the button. Electricity flew through me, damaging my brain and my spine, most likely. But I bit my tongue, for if I screamed, he’d enjoy it. I couldn’t let him do that. My heart sped up…anymore, and it would burst! But thankfully, the jolt of agony stopped, and the guard sighed. He slipped the food under the bars and said, “It’s no fun when they don’t scream or cry.”

I grasped the food tray, then retreated back to my bed. I tasted blood from my tongue, but I didn’t mind. It seemed to make the food taste better. On the plate was a large, squelchy blob of disgusting junk that looked like gray puke. Digging my hand into it, I grabbed some and put it into my mouth, tasting the revolting flavor.

I gagged slightly, but swallowed the disturbing cuisine. After it was completely within my body, I put the tray to the ground and kicked it with my toe, sending it under the bars of my cage. Sighing, I lay down on my slab of a bed and stared blankly through the bars. Dolan had finished dining on his lump of puke and was now leaning against the wall, his eyes closed tightly.

Let me explain a little about Dolan. He is usually found in this position; his eyes closed, leaning his mass against the wall. He’s thinking. He wants to believe that there is some passage out of this horrid place, so all he does is think of a way out. Rose and I worry constantly about him, but he insists it’s the only way.

Something about Rose now: Rose is…hostile sometimes. Though it might not seem like it with her quiet, peaceful attitude, she can get furious in a heartbeat. I’ve never truthfully seen her do this, but when someone ticks her off, Rose murders the person. Rose kills humans on a weekly basis for food, which is when the guards harass her into the sheer moment of morbid hate. While the rest of us eat slop, she drinks some unlucky, stupid, torturous human’s blood.

At least blood would be better than the glob of junk we get.

Within a few moments, the guards turned off the lights. Most of us hybrids can see a little in the dark; some of us were blessed with actual night vision! I can see pretty well, considering my eyes are that of a bird’s…maybe I have owl eyes…Anyway, with our special vision, we can see whom they take.

Every week, at a random time, a squad of scientists comes to some hybrid’s cage and steals them away in the night. The doctors take them to a special lab, where they kill the poor creature, then dissect it for future references. Last week, they took one of the oldest– a 23-year-old male mixed with a raccoon named Keith. He was here for around nine years…until they took him.

See, the scientists like to play “surgeon” quite often. They’ll first paralyze you so you can’t scream. Next, they’ll either kill you painfully or they kill you extremely painfully. And then, once your cold, lifeless body has been laid out in front of them, they cut into you, taking apart your body to find out what it is that allows you to exist.

I shuddered, thinking to myself, Who would it be this week? Would they pick tonight? Would they wait? Thoughts that I couldn’t control flew through my brain like a falcon.

“Eryn, something wrong?” Rose quietly asked through the small hole.

“I’m okay now, Rose,” I whispered as I sat up.

“What were you thinking of?” she murmured the question so softly that a mouse couldn’t sense it. At first, I didn’t respond. “You do not have to speak if you do not wish to.”

“Rose, I was thinking of the execution.”

“Why?”

“Because I have the strangest feeling that it will be one of us– Dolan, you, or me.”