Chapter 41: The Shoe Is on the Other Foot
Arville was up early the next day. He got an enforcer to apply makeup to his back to create the impression that he had been badly scarred from the shots.
Dr. Cortex and Zolam were in the Observation Room. ‘We have a problem,’ said Zolam to Dr. Cortex. ‘Vulay has not eaten any food or drunk any fluids since yesterday morning.’
‘That would explain why she is no longer hallucinating,’ said Dr. Cortex.
‘Arville will be exposed,’ said Zolam.
‘I suppose he will be,’ replied Dr. Cortex.
‘I can’t let him in. It’ll ruin this assessment,’ said Zolam.
‘Wait,’ said Dr. Cortex. ‘Release the hallucinogenic drug combination into the air.’
‘That’ll drug Arville as well,’ said Zolam.
‘Yes, it will,’ replied Dr. Cortex.
Before long, Vulay was back hallucinating again.
Arville arrived at the Observation Room. ‘Are you ready to see one heck of a show?’ asked Arville.
‘Yes, we are very eager to learn from a master interrogator,’ replied Dr. Cortex.
Arville promptly left the Observation Room. A few minutes later, he entered Vulay’s cell. Vulay was sitting on the floor, gazing at the cell door.
‘I’m back. Yesterday was a misunderstanding,’ said Arville. ‘Today, we will be given our privacy.’
‘Not so fast. I want to talk to you. We need to prove our innocence,’ said Vulay in a slightly slurred voice.
‘Our heads are spinning. We need to relax,’ said Arville. He pulled Vulay from the floor, and then he dragged her into the bedroom.
‘Victor, you hurt my arm. Why are you behaving like this?’ said Vulay.
‘I have suffered so much,’ said Arville. ‘I desperately need to feel the love of my life.’ He quickly pulled off his shirt. ‘Look at my suffering,’ he said as he turned to reveal the painted-on scars on his back.
‘Okay, I’ll make you feel better. Then we talk,’ said Vulay with a nervous smile.
Arville pulled his trousers down. ‘More like. I’m gonna make you feel better,’ said Arville as he started grabbing at Vulay.
‘What are you doing?’ questioned Vulay.
‘I’m gonna give it to you real good, just as I promised,’ said Arville. He was beginning to hallucinate that he was back in Adoy with Denise.
Vulay pulled away from Arville. ‘This isn’t funny. I don’t want to play this game,’ said Vulay.
Arville started to laugh. ‘Oh Denise, you don’t get a choice. This is my world. This is my game.’
Vulay ran to the cell door.
‘Let her out,’ Dr. Cortex commanded the guard. The guard let Vulay out of the cell. He shut the door and locked it to keep Arville in.
‘Give her some fresh air,’ said Dr. Cortex to the guards.
They took her outside the building. Dr. Cortex came down to see Vulay. ‘What are you doing to me?’ she shouted at him. To her, his face kept changing. It flickered between his face, the guard’s face, Arville’s face, and Victor’s face. She began screaming.
Dr. Cortex injected her with a sedative. ‘Take her to a new cell. Make her comfortable for the night. No medication for now,’ Dr. Cortex told the staff member who had just joined them.
A guard picked up Vulay. He carried her to the new cell under the direction of the staff member.
Arville was in the cell. His hallucinations had grown stronger. He was humping a pillow while shouting incoherently.
Dr. Cortex returned to the Observation Room. He watched Arville for a few more minutes. He turned to Zolam. ‘His response to this hallucination clearly indicates that he is beyond any rehabilitation programme currently available,’ said Dr. Cortex.
‘What can we do with him? He didn’t come here as a prisoner,’ said Zolam.
‘Let’s just say he volunteered himself for assessment,’ said Dr. Cortex.
‘I suppose,’ replied Zolam.
‘I think he might be perfect as a test subject for the Carvaress Company. Give them a call to let them know we are sending him over,’ said Dr. Cortex.
In the Carvaress Laboratory, Orcille was checking in on Joselin. The second trial appeared to be a success. She had almost completely healed. Orcille was surprised by the success of the trial. Orcille approached the laboratory technician.
‘She appears fine now. Let’s wake her up to see how she feels,’ Orcille said to the technician.
‘We need permission from Mr. Carvaress before we are allowed to wake them up,’ replied the technician.
Pardi walked in. The technician turned to him. ‘Don’t look at me. He is your direct boss,’ Pardi said as he gestured towards Orcille.
‘Wake her up,’ said Orcille.
A few minutes later, Joselin opened her eyes. She began to struggle, as she was strapped down to a bed. ‘Hey, let me out of here,’ she cried out.
‘How are you feeling?’ asked Orcille.
‘I’m feeling like kicking your head in unless you untie me, dipshit,’ responded Joselin angrily.
Pardi walked over to Orcille and said, ‘It’s okay. I’ll take it from here. I have a new test subject for you. He will be arriving tomorrow.’
‘Do you need anything else from me today?’ asked Orcille.
‘Just for you to get plenty of rest,’ said Pardi. ‘I think you might have a long day tomorrow.’
Orcille left the laboratory to head home.
Pardi approached Joselin, who was still struggling. ‘You need to calm down,’ he said to her.
‘I went to your apartment. Now, I wake up here. What the hell is going on?’ Joselin demanded.
‘You felt unwell. So I brought you here,’ Pardi said to her.
‘I feel fine now,’ said Joselin. ‘Tying me up hardly seems necessary.’
‘It was for your own safety. I care about your wellbeing,’ said Pardi as he rubbed her leg. ‘I’ll get my staff to sort you out,’ he said in a soft voice. ‘I still think we might have a future.’
He kissed her on the lips. She smiled and sighed.
Pardi walked over to the technician and said, ‘We know this formula heals. Let’s see if it regenerates limbs.’
‘What do you want me to do?’ asked the technician.
‘Cut off one of her feet,’ replied Pardi.
The technician grabbed the electric saw and approached Joselin. ‘Hurry. Idiot, cut me loose,’ demanded Joselin. The technician sawed off her left foot. Joselin screamed in agony.
The next day, Orcille arrived early to prepare for the new test subject. He decided to look around at some of the other test subjects.
There were various different breeds of Sapes. Many of them were mutilated beyond recognition. Some had pieces of their bodies removed. A few of them had additional appendages added to them. Some of them were infected with horrible diseases that were slowly killing them. Some of them had already died.
Orcille entered the next room. This room was full of dead, unborn babies. Some of them were intact. Some of them had been ripped into pieces. Several had missing body parts. Most of them appeared to have been grown in the artificial wombs. A few had been terminated during gestation. Almost all of them had died painfully.
Orcille returned to his setup, where his test subject was expected to arrive. He felt very conflicted. He wanted to work with his father again, as they did when he was young. He could not remember the research being so cruel. He believed what his father was doing was wrong. He even doubted his talk about the greater good. He decided he would work on the next test subject, but in a manner that would cause as little suffering as possible.
The test subject had arrived. It was wheeled in on a surgical table. A large white sheet covered it. Orcille pulled the sheet off. It was Arville. He was tied to the table and gagged. Orcille just stood frozen in place. He stared at Arville for a few minutes. Arville stared back. His eyes were full of anger and hate.
Pardi was sitting in his office. He was observing the room with various different cameras. Pardi was eager to see what his son would do to the Sapien, who had caused him so much suffering when he was imprisoned in Adoy.
‘Show me what you’ve got. Show me that something of me has finally rubbed off on you,’ he said to himself as he tightly clenched his hands together.
Orcille looked at the papers that came with Arville. They showed that he had volunteered to go to the Cellrebrum Region Rehabilitation Centre. They showed he was unfit to ever return to society. Legally, he was considered dead to the world.
Orcille went over to Arville. He whispered in his ear, ‘I want to help you.’ Arville continued to struggle. Orcille removed the gag.
‘So, the freak wants its revenge,’ said Arville.
‘This would be a perfect opportunity,’ replied Orcille.
‘Come on, give me your best,’ shouted Arville.
‘I didn’t lie. I want to help you,’ said Orcille.
‘You can’t even help yourself, you fucking freak,’ shouted Arville.
‘I know a procedure that will render you paralysed from the neck downward. You will lose all feeling in your body. You will never be able to move again,’ said Orcille calmly.
‘Is that it? The very worst you can think of. You are really pathetic,’ said Arville mockingly.
‘No, that is the best I can think of. The worst might even be beyond your sick imagination,’ replied Orcille.
‘Still think you’re so clever,’ said Arville. ‘I have another idea. Untie me. Let’s have some fun!’
‘I can untie you,’ said Orcille. ‘This will give you a chance to escape. You won’t get far. You will be tied up again. This time around, I won’t be able to help you. You will die slowly and in excruciating pain,’ said Orcille firmly.
‘Just untie me, you pathetic wimp,’ Arville cried out.
Orcille shook his head and sighed. Then he untied Arville. ‘Go then,’ he said to Arville.
Arville got up and walked towards the door. Then he turned around and punched Orcille in the head. Orcille fell backwards onto the table. Arville grabbed a metal tray. He slammed it into Orcille’s throat. He quickly locked the door to prevent anyone from entering.
Orcille was gasping for air on the floor. ‘Not so tough now,’ said Arville. He kicked Orcille hard in the stomach.
He went to kick Orcille again. Orcille grabbed his leg hard, pulling him to the ground. Arville tried to get to his feet, but Orcille was on top of him quickly. Orcille slammed his head into the ground several times until Arville was close to unconscious.
He picked Arville up and placed him back on the surgical table. He tied him back in place. Orcille unlocked the door and walked out. Technicians went into the room. Shortly afterwards, Arville could be heard screaming in agony.
Pardi was glued to his monitor. He was quite proud of Orcille’s performance. He felt Orcille had his knack for mind games. He liked to build them up, just so he could knock them down. He enjoyed giving hope so that he could extinguish it. He was a little disappointed that Orcille was not a bit more hands-on at the end.
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