The girls ran out as if a fire had been lit under their shoes. I stood perfectly still, feeling partially in awe, and partially vindicated that I had been right all along!
My excitement stemmed from the fact that Patient X was my little side project. Well, the finale of my little side project. Unlike many of the other patients that had been flooding the ER, Patient X was DOA, and not because of any bite or scratch wound. As soon as I saw his chart being handed over to the hospital's mortuary staff, I knew I had found my perfect specimen. I waited three days before following up with the Patient X case. He had yet to be claimed by next-of-kin, or anyone for that matter. May be the reason he killed himself. I pulled some strings and had the body brought up for testing a week later. Recalling the beginning of experiments is almost as good as actually starting them. I felt a rush I can't quite pin-point; it's somewhere between euphoria and dread.
As the lights flickered back on, Patient X and I just stared at each other. I could see the vacancy in his eyes; but a hunger soon took over the look. I opened the door behind me without much further thought, and went into the decontamination room. Without turning on any lights, I reached for a locked box under one of the wash units and fished for the tranquilizer gun I knew was there. Why we had a tranquilizer gun in the OR’s decontamination room was beyond me. I never really questioned it, just assumed it was NYC and sometimes, no matter what the place, things got a bit crazy. As I loaded the tranquilizer into the feed, I began to observe Patient X in the OR. I squealed in excitement at the opportunity!...
He held himself and his posture in a peculiar manner, not what I would normally expect from a wounded living patient. I had removed a portion of his scalp and brain for examination, so there remained a gouged out area in his head. This should have affected the sensory and motor branches of the spinal nerves and muscles. He showed no particular attention to these strains, though. He was fucking fascinating! As he ambled in my direction, I lingered, simply watching him - so gracelessly beautiful. I was done loading the gun, and I should be tranquing him, I know, but I got an idea. Sorry, I couldn't help the need to poke and prod at him a little more. I decided to raise the gun's light attachment and aim it straight at his eyes from behind my glass defense. An animal might have become altered, spooked, or taken a defensive or aggressive posture. A human being would have at least normal pupillary function - with the pupil dilating to allow less light in. But no, not him; he was so very unique. His eyes remained fixed on me, mutual objects of interest. Well, fuckdamnit, I finally had to tranq him. I exited the decontamination room and felt his gaze follow my every move. I slowly made my way into a corner of the room, never losing direct eye contact with him. I'm not sure how, but he seemed to register that I could not back up anymore and took the oppurtunity to lunge toward me. I sidestepped, and sent the tranq straight into his chest, right before he would have made impact. I quickly wheeled in a gurney and positioned him as best I could on his back. I took a quick skin sample and scraping, as his blood was already drained. Then proceeded to do what I knew had to be done. I retrieved the bone saw off the main OR table and began to cut through the spinal column, right at the nape of his neck. I had to go, there was too much to be done. And alright, I'll admit it, it hurt a bit to leave him. He was just so interesting, so special in those few moments I observed him... my little monster.
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