3

I had never felt pain like that before. The experiment hadn't even begun and I had already experienced the worst of it.

I knew it was stupid of me to insult him and I knew I would only get hurt but I didn't regret talking back. I needed these people to realize I wasn't just a weak boy that would easily submit to their every order. I wouldn't go down without a fight and I would do everything in my power to escape this place, even if it killed me.

Although, as I laid on the hospital bed, the pain was still ever-present and I didn't want to hurt anymore. I said I was willing to risk my life but deep down I was a coward because I wasn't willing to go through the pain that came with death. However, between torture and death, the latter was always the better option.

If by some miracle, I survived, I knew after today I would never be the same again. I wouldn't be this innocent and cheerful boy anymore. This would change me, in more ways than I could imagine. I just didn't know how and if it would be for better or for worse.

I wasn't hopeful though because I knew the odds weren't in my favour. I couldn't even think of an outcome that would beneficial. If this experiment actually succeeded, that only meant I wouldn't be human anymore. I would be an abnormality, alienated from the only species I've ever known to be.

One by one, images assaulted my brain: claws, wings, fur, fangs. Suddenly I was hit with an absurd thought. They weren't going to turn me into a werewolf or some mystical woodland creature, were they? That couldn't be their grand plan.

As my imagination ran wild, I sent a prayer out asking for luck, hoping they wouldn't turn me into something lame. Anything but a vampire, I begged. Those types of characters were fictional for a reason and they should stay that way. Also, surely that wasn't even possible? At this point I had no idea.

This was so ridiculous and surreal, to the point I started to find it funny. I was strapped to a bed waiting to be experimented on and wishing that I wouldn't turn into a blood sucking monster. A chuckle bubbled out of me and then I couldn't stop the hysterical laughter that followed. Was I going crazy? I think I had finally lost the plot. God, this was really bad.

A Caucasian man in a white lab coat approached me holding a tray with one single syringe. Fear assaulted my senses and I sobered instantly seeing the large needle. I tried to ignore the heavy feeling settling into my chest and I put on a brave face. The man didn't speak to me and hardly acknowledged my presence as he flittered around me.

"Every day you will be injected with a substance I developed called DD. Since I only had a small amount of blood samples to work with, we don't know the full extent of its effectiveness yet. Hopefully for your sake though, it will quickly activate the genes. If it doesn't, we will just have to keep trying every day, until success is achieved," Doctor Choi explained.

Even though I couldn't see her, anger coursed through my body at the sound of her voice. This was all her doing, we were being treated like guinea pigs in a lab, for the sake of her curiosity.

The man pulled up my sleeve and I looked away while he injected the blue serum into my body. I was surprised at how easy and painless it was, the only sting came from the needle. Once he was done, he left my side and I let out a breath of relief. However, that was when the first scream sounded.

My attention was pulled towards the noise and I stared in shock. I recognized him instantly from his cat like eyes and cute features, he was Xiumin. He had been lying still next to me but now his body was arching off the bed he occupied, twisting in ways I've never seen before.

His muscles bulged from battling the restraints securing him and every tendon in his body was rigidly stretched. I saw red and noticed his fingers were curled so tightly that his palms had started to bleed.

What really caught my eye though, was the vivid color of his veins. They were an unnatural shade of blue and it was even more prominent against his pale skin. It was as if the serum was dying his blood. Pain had possessed his body and his features were no longer pleasant as his face became distorted into an expression of pure agony.

Chaos broke loose and screams filled the room. It was like a chain reaction had been set off and every boy had become cursed with the torment DD inflicted.

It started with a tingling feeling as the serum slowly spread through my body. Something abnormal and unnatural had entered, moving and infusing into my blood. As the foreign particles hugged my cells, I could feel a slight shift in my anatomy.

Abruptly, pain exploded everywhere. I was naive to think I had already experienced the worst of it because what I had felt before was nothing compared to this. I couldn't even describe it.

It wasn't like a kick or punch, where the pain only affected one area. Instead every single fragment of my make-up hurt. My pulse was rapidly increasing and all I could hear was the thumping of my heartbeat. I could feel my blood pressure rising while my heart was trying to pump blood around my body, at a rate that was too fast. It was overworking and I was afraid it would stop functioning all together.

The pain was excruciating and I could feel my temperature rising. I was burning up, fast. It wasn't a heat like fire though, it was blinding, like light.

I felt as though every piece of me was being torn apart and rebuilt. Something was definitely changing from within and I couldn't bare the pain anymore. I wanted to crawl out of my body and rip my skin from the inside out but I couldn't even think to move. My mind was adamant, convincing me that I was paralyzed but at the same time I could feel my limbs thrashing uncontrollably. I just wanted it to stop but it didn't and I was afraid it never would.

In that moment, I hoped death would come soon because it would be a blessing. I begged for mercy, to be freed from the suffering. Although luckily for me, I didn't think I would survive this.

Out of nowhere, a image came to my mind, illuminating the darkness from within. Light surrounded me and I looked up to see the brightest star in the universe shining down on me. It was immense and undoubtedly the most exquisite thing I've ever seen. 

It felt so close, too close and I reached towards the star, enchanted. As I bathed in the brilliance and beauty of it, I experienced the true feeling of glory but it didn't last long. Suddenly, the light expanded, becoming too intense, burning straight through me and turning my bones to ash and dust.

With one last scream, I heard the sound of glass shattering and electricity humming.

And then there was nothing.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***