Testing Grounds Ch. 01

"Well, that you're driving. I thought, well, no offense but I thought with a man of your stature, you'd rather let the car drive."

"Ah," the man said. "No. I like to drive, actually. When the auto systems take over, you're just a passenger and there's no control. There's no variance. The car takes exactly the most efficient path and adjusts itself to ensure the rest of the traffic also moves efficiently. When I'm driving, the other cars move around me. I pick the path and direction and how fast I want to go."

"So you like the control, then?"

Again the man glanced sideways. "Yes. Yes, I suppose that's true."

The rest of the car ride was in silence as they sped along the interstate. Trisha watched as massive concrete highways turned to tree lined single lane roads. Houses stretched further and further apart as they drove deeper into the countryside until, finally, the doctor turned onto a tiny dirt road. Large brick walls were partially hidden behind trees and bushes and the automated gate blocking their entrance seemed to be made of solid metal. The doors swung open to welcome the car.

Just inside the gate was a massive red wolf. Calm and serene, it watched the car pass.

"That," Dr. Campbell said. "Is Rex. I've had him for a year now."

The wolf's head turned as the car passed. "You said there were two of them?" Trisha asked.

"Yes. Umbra will be stalking us. He always does. Rex is there to let us know we're seen while Umbra follows, hidden. They will both follow us but Rex will always be visible. He seems to enjoy it - making himself known." Rex frightened her immediately. His eyes were hard and when the car had passed, the wolf simply stood and trotted alongside the vehicle. The car rolled to a stop in front of a palatial three story house. "Stay in the car for a moment."

Dr. Campbell opened his door and stepped out. He held his hand flat down and said in a clear voice, "I'm fine." Rex sat back once again. "All right, Ms. Adams, you may come out. Please come here to my side."

Trisha slowly eased herself out, her eyes warily on the large wolf. Stepping around the front of the car, she went to Dr. Campbell's side. Rex was even larger now that she stood in front of him. The male seemed taller than any Great Dane she'd seen (the largest dog breed she'd seen in person) and far more muscular. Rex's ears stood tall and alert.

"Rex," Dr. Campbell said. "She's a friend. A guest." The man laid a hand on Trisha's arm while she spoke. "Now, Trisha, keep your eyes on his and give him your hand. He had your scent when we pulled in but it's symbolic. Just keep your eyes on his while you do it."

Trisha nervously held out her hand. The wolf had beautiful eyes; golden with small shards of green. She found herself caught in his gaze as she reached. Dr. Campbell touched her arm again. "That's fine," he told her. "It's just a gesture. He's not actually going to sniff at your hand. We can go now, Ms. Adams. I'll give you a small tour of the house and then you can spend some time with them."

Once inside, Trisha became lost as Dr. Campbell rattled off one piece of architecture after another. Paintings and statues and rugs covered the entire house but all she could think about were the wolf's eyes. They seemed almost human to her.

"Ah," Dr. Campbell exclaimed. "I nearly forgot. If you're going to be working with the wolves I'll need to give you a little inoculation. It's a simple precaution that we do for all of the handlers. I myself received the same one."

"Inoculation against what?"

Dr. Campbell shrugged. "One of the enhancements in the wolves is a mild paralytic agent in their saliva. We've seen that repeated intramuscular injections of the agent is able to cause tissue deterioration. Of course, that was after hundreds of doses but why take the risk? Make yourself at home while I find my kit. There's still a bit more to show of the house."

Trisha looked around the large kitchen after Dr. Campbell walked away. Everything was spotless and she envied him for the amount of space he had. A large kitchen island dominated the center of the area. Stainless steel pots and pans hung from the ceiling above the island. Glass jars full of pasta and flour and dried fruits and vegetables covered a large area of counter space. Trisha was examining a delicate helical sculpture at the center of the island when Dr. Campbell walked back in.

"Now," he said. You'll want to sit for this. There may be a brief period of nausea and sweating after the injection but only for a moment and then it will pass. Roll up your left sleeve a little please."

Trisha sat and braced herself. The needle stung going in but the pain was engulfed in sudden warmth. Spreading from the point of injection, the heat moved throughout her body. Beads of sweat broke out all over and she almost wished she'd taken a change of clothes. When the warmth spread to her head, the world spun around her. Everything seemed upside down and wrong and then she felt a cool sensation on her cheek. Trisha shuddered and then realized she had her head down on the tile of the kitchen island. When she tried to move, the room spun dangerously again.

"Is it bad?" Dr. Campbell asked.

"It's... it's..." Trisha's tongue felt weird in her mouth and she had to force herself to close her eyes so she wouldn't throw up. "Don't you remember yours?"

"It's... different for everyone. What does it feel like to you?"

"My tongue feels odd and thick. Everything is too hot. I'm sweating so much and if I move, I think I'm going to throw up. Wait. Wait, I think it's better." Trisha gently moved and, when the world stayed in one place, she sighed in relief. "Yeah. Way better. Holy crap, that sucked. And I think I need a towel."

Dr. Campbell smiled. "I brought one just in case. Now, I'll show you my testing grounds. Follow me. I'm quite proud of it as I designed it myself. Down the stairs right here." The man pointed to an open doorway set in a smooth white wall. A stairway led down and out of her sight.

The narrow stairs frightened Trisha but the stairs and basement area were well lit so she just focused on Dr. Campbell until they reached the bottom. The floors were smooth grey concrete and the ceiling was at least ten feet high. The lights above were set into the ceiling behind a thick clear pane of glass or something like it.

"The first stop is the observation room. Follow along, Ms. Adams." Trisha stepped into the small, dark room and then shivered. Dr. Campbell continued. "I have my own house AI and it is completely separate from the rest of the world, if I choose for it to be. I've forked the Open AI source and made some of my own patches to the system. Allie does a phenomenal job managing everything for me."

A huge window looked into an even larger room. A single chair faced the other room, set before a dark control panel. The room was otherwise bare. Dr. Campbell touched the control panel and it immediately came to life. Graphs and virtual gauges covered the screen. "I have control of everything in the adjacent room from here."

"What do you do down here?" Trisha asked.

"Everything. The test room is a mixture of steel and concrete walls and that window is Tri-Tetra Glass. Unbreakable by anything other than an artillery round. I can disperse chemicals to test various effects on the wolves and we do psychological and aggressive physical testing from time to time as well. Shall we?"

Trisha frowned as she followed the doctor to the door leading to the next room. "Is it humane?"

"Well," the doctor said. "As humane as possible. We've never had a death among the wolves and we have to have some way of testing our methods. It is no worse than testing outside or actually using the wolves under combat conditions. The difference here is that they're in a room and no one is shooting at them. They walk out alive and unharmed and prepared for their service."

Dr. Campbell led Trisha into a small area between the observation room and testing room. He closed a thin door and Trisha felt a moment of panic as she stood in the small space. She jerked when a sharp buzzing sounded. The room flashed deep blue and then the door leading to the testing room opened automatically. This secondary door was at least a foot thick and both looked like the same material as the window.

They both stepped into a large, very well lit area. The floor was a slightly spongy black material while the rest of the room was a smooth, somewhat reflective white. The wall with the window was off-color compared to the rest of the room and completely opaque from this side. Below that, was a large rectangular silver area on the wall. Looking up, Trisha saw the same recessed lights as earlier. Interspersed among the lights were small black holes.

"Now-" Dr. Campbell began.

The house AI's voice spoke clearly from hidden speakers. "Dr. Campbell, you have an urgent call waiting for you."

"Oh... all right. Will you excuse me, Ms. Adams? I'll take care of this and be right back."

"Sure." Trisha ran her hand along the smooth wall. No joints, she thought to herself. I wonder how much it cost to print this whole room? I can't- The young woman jumped when the door leading out of the room clicked shut. "H- hey!" She yelled. The tiny room turned blue and then Dr. Campbell stepped into the control room.

Trisha strode over to the door. "Hey! You closed the-" Oh, right. He probably can't hear me and the door has to close to let him out. Of course. Jesus, that scared the crap out of me. Still, Trisha felt her heart pounding loudly in her ears. The room smelled like chemicals with an undercurrent of something else. Her mind conjured fears of entrapment - being stuck beneath the ground, forgotten by everyone.

"Trisha," Dr. Campbell's voice rang out through the speakers. "I'm afraid I've lied to you."

"Wha... wha... what do you mean?" Trisha looked around wildly. "Hey! What do you mean?"

"I've planned this from the beginning, Ms. Adams. Months ago. All of that planning to lead you here now."

Trisha hammered on the door and then watched in horror as the surface faded to the same off-white color on the other wall. The door didn't even vibrate under her blows. "Hey! Stop fucking around!"

"The shot I gave you earlier was no inoculation, Ms. Adams. And I'm afraid I lied there as well - you're the first human to receive it. Decades of my own personal research all in one shot. I'm not afraid to admit that I wasn't exactly sure whether you would survive it. But, here you are."

"This... this isn't funny. Come on. I get it. Haze the new person. Scare her a little. Now open the door, doctor." Trisha looked around for the camera before remembering the window. She couldn't remember where the console was so she just stood in the middle of the large area. She felt cold sweat along her hairline and in her armpits. She tried smiling but the muscles in her face couldn't seem to hold. "Doctor, I get it. Open the door, now. Please? Please, doctor? Please open the door."

"Ms. Adams, in the brief time we've known each other, you should know I don't 'joke around'. Now-"

"YOU FUCKER!" Trisha screamed. Again, she slammed her fist against the wall and, again, she felt nothing give or move in return. "YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! THEY'LL FIND YOU AND ARREST YOUR SORRY ASS!"

"Ms. Adams, please, calm yourself. I'm afraid you quit your position at Alpha Gen and there is a video recording of you talking to me outside the building this morning and then walking away. Nobody is coming for you. Nobody will know what happened. You have no parents or family or friends. Now, please, calm down. It's important that you remain-"

Trisha screamed, spit flying from her mouth as she slammed her hands on the wall. She felt the pain in her hands but she didn't care. She screamed over and over until she could no longer breathe. And then, finally, she laid her head against the smooth surface and gasped for air as tears rolled down her face. "Please... please, doctor. Don't do this."

"Ms. Adams, I already have. There is no going back at this point."

Face hot from tears and frustration and anger and exertion, Trisha whispered again. "Please."

"The next part is important," the doctor continued. The silver area in front of her slowly flipped open to reveal a black tray. On top of the tray was what looked like a large white brick, nearly double the size of a loaf of bread. "In two minutes, I will release a gas. This will trigger the genetic mutations I introduced through the injection. I don't know what will happen exactly after this. However, it is important to remember one thing through the pain and confusion: you will need to eat something. Your cells will be dividing at a monstrous rate and you'll need to sustain them. On the tray before you is a homemade nutritional substance. It is nearly 60,000 calories and you may need the entire thing. It doesn't have the best taste but it is vital to remember it. One minute left."

"No," Trisha moaned. "No, no, no. Please. Please. Please, doctor."

"Thirty seconds, Ms. Adams. Please remember the food. Despite what you think, I wish you the best. I'll be monitoring everything from here."

Trisha sank to her knees. "Why?" She asked. "Why?" She looked at her hands as they lie against her legs. Everything was blurry through her tears. With her heart raging in her ears, Trisha missed the gentle hiss as gas was released from the overhead system.

Time slowed as the seconds ticked mercilessly passed. At fourteen seconds, she felt a sharp pain where Dr. Campbell had injected her earlier. Trisha looked dumbly over at her arm and saw how her skin was red and puffed out around the area. Trisha's shock slowly faded as she watched reddish hairs push through the skin of her upper arm. She could feel them moving through the flesh and it was not an unpleasant feeling. The hairs grew longer and longer until she had an irregular patch of fur covering the injection site. Trisha carefully touched the fur. She could feel the ends of the fur lightly tugging at the skin of her arm. Soft, she thought. Like real fur. Is that it? That's not so-

A sudden immense cramp radiated down from her arm to her fingers and Trisha's arm convulsed from it. The young woman grabbed her arm as it took on a life of its own. She could feel things moving inside of her arm and it made the small hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention. An intense headache bloomed behind Trisha's temples and she felt her heart stop. Gasping and in a panic, the young woman beat at her chest with her one good arm. There was a kind of pressure deep in her chest - an aching pressure that made it hard for her to breathe. Suddenly, her heart began beating again and it was a loud drum in her arms. Blood sprayed from her mouth as an odd cough was forced from her lips.

Trisha's heart was a suddenly enormous beast deep within her chest. A wild creature straining against the small cage containing it. Blood soared through her veins as her headache flared. Everything seemed too bright and too slow and Trisha felt the urge to move. To run. To do something. A deep flush broke out over her entire body and she felt her clothes become soaked.

"I can't... I can't... Oh Jesus!" Trisha screamed. Her left arm had settled at some point and she stared at it. Hard ridges outlined solid muscles giving her an incredible definition. She made a fist and tensed and watched as her bicep and forearm bulged, straining against her light skin. Thick veins lined her arm and the patch of fur was darkened from her sweat.

The young woman leaned forward on her hands, panting from exertion. Sweat soaked blond hair hung heavily down around her head and drops of the salty liquid dripped from her nose. Trisha breathed shallow and quickly over and over and, before she realized it, she was panting. Even worse, it seemed to help with the heat and she couldn't stop it from happening. Small tugs at the skin of her left arm brought her attention back to it. More hairs pushed out through her hardened skin. Down the length of her arm to the tips of her fingers she watched her fur come out. Whether a side effect of the injection or from whatever was happening with her heart, time was slow for her. She could see her skin opening to allow the hair to grow out. Tiny little mouths spewing hair from her arm. As she leaned on her hands, she noticed her left arm was several inches longer than her right.

Trisha grit her teeth, lips pulling back and the skin of her nose furrowing as a small growl rumbled deep within her body. Her right arm ached and she knew what was about to happen. Veins filled to near-bursting with insane pressure stood out but then twisted as her muscles shifted, breaking and growing over and over again. The ache turned to stabbing pain as bones grew faster than her muscles and tendons. This time she could see the arm growing longer. She could feel the nausea-inducing way the bones ground against each other as they lengthened. Trisha gripped at the floor and the bicep in her right arm flared, tensing painfully against her still-shifting insides. The woman felt the creeping, itching, almost tickling sensation of her fur coming out along her left shoulder. It was moving along to her right side but, before it could reach her right shoulder, her right arm fairly erupted with thick, shaggy fur. She moaned at the sensation. The feeling was almost orgasmic - like an insane itch finally scratched.

The heat inside her body was worse now and she was sweating even more. Trisha wrinkled her nose and an odd chuffing sound escaped her lips. The smell of wet dog filled the room. She felt fur creeping up her right arm and it met the fur from her left side near the right side of her neck. And then she couldn't take it anymore. She was soaking wet and the heat was intolerable. Trisha gnashed her teeth and grabbed at the neck of her shirt. She expected resistance and so was thrown off-center when her new muscles tore the shirt as if it were toilet paper. The shirt landed wetly to her side and the sudden release and cool air felt good against her mostly naked skin. Her nipples felt sore and hard against her wet bra. She wanted to take it off but she knew Dr. Campbell was watching.

Hunger.

Sudden hunger hit her with unexpected force. Although it seemed like the transformation had stopped, she felt something at the core of her being. It almost felt as if her body didn't fit properly anymore. Her skin felt wrong. But, beyond that, hunger. Again, she grit her teeth and her lips pulled back. Trisha sniffed at the air and groaned when she smelled the food on the black tray.

The food Dr. Campbell left for her. "F... fuck... you..." Trisha said out loud. She refused. She saw the block of nutrients and refused. Eating it meant giving in. Eating that food meant the doctor won and she refused to let him have that victory. Blood trailed down the corner of Trisha's mouth and pink bubbles oozed with it. Her chest hurt worse than she wanted to admit. Her panting was ragged and it hurt every time she breathed in. Trisha sniffed at the air again and another small growled rumbled in the back of her throat. She'd never been so hungry in her life. Blood dripped to the ground from her chin.

Trisha crawled on her hands and knees to the tray of food. The smell was bland but she didn't care. Drool pooled in the corner of her mouth and mixed with the taste of blood. I just... Just one bite, she told herself. Just one bite and that'll help. Oh god. Just... just one... Trisha went to her knees and stared at the food. It was solid white and smelled like barely anything at all. A sharp pang tugged at her stomach and Trisha felt her ribcage crack. She wheezed and a large bubble of blood formed around her lips. Just...