Aramay's Story

Dr. Abrams recoiled as she growled at him and frowned recognizing the way she was holding herself, the way her breath came labored and the feverish sweat on her brow as she buried her head against him. "Alma! help me get her back to her room, I think she's shifting back, and bring some water please."

Alma rushed in worriedly. She knelt next to Aramay giving her the water. It wasn't till she started to throw it back up that they decided now was the time to bring her to her room. She seemed to be having difficulties walking again as if it was her first day being in that form all over again. It broke Abrams' heart to see her like that again. They brought her back to her room and it would seem the guards made their appearance known again, hovering around the other side of the door anxiously. "There isn't much we can do but let this run it's course this time. Alma stand back if she bites you you won't be able to keep your form."

Alma reluctantly took a few steps back. She hated to do that wanting to be right there next to Aramay but it wouldn't serve to help anyone if she was unable to keep her form. Abrams had a painkiller brought in for Aramay and he administered it with quite a bit of difficulty as her form changed under his grasp.

Aramay teared up. It was like something was dying inside of her all over again. By the time they reached the room a blood trail and a few teeth could be seen through the doorway. She coughed and choked feeling completely out of breath. Her hand gripped at Alma's for a few fleeting seconds, desperate for comfort. But once her nail beds started to bleed she pulled away not wanting to get it on the doctor. Her eyes still longed to be rid of all this. Through the metallic taste and smell she could still make out the familiar scent of fear. Her gaze moved to the door. Frothed red foam drooled from the corners of her mouth. The more she growled, the more she smelled the fear, the harder it was to keep herself from going after them. And she nearly did.

The changes hit her faster, stopping her in her tracks. It forced her onto her side when Abrams came at her with a needle. She would have lashed out at him if she wasn't already almost seizing from the neural overload that she went through every time. It lasted several minutes before she passed out from the high blood pressure. Her cuts looked inflamed, some of which opened up just enough to start bleeding again. The changes slowed, something was already off, again. The claws didn't completely recede, among other things which were more subtle, darkened skin, her human teeth grew in abnormally sharper, slightly longer torso. Not so much with the tail that may not have been nearly as long though it still stubbornly stuck around. Instead of sleeping it off Aramay found herself sitting up and gasping.

God she felt horrid. The last clear memory she had was being dragged into that room of mirrors. Her hand reaches up feeling a throbbing pain in the side of her head. "Ah." Part of her head had been shaved. And her arms, they were covered in cuts in various stages of healing. She pushes back until she feels the side of the bed hit her back making her hiss from the dulled, yet still existent pain. The lady who was by Doctor Abrams. She looked familiar and yet didn't. Thinking only added to her headache, no she didn't need to bother trying to remember. She knew more than enough.

"-the f&*k is this?!" She exclaimed holding up and showing the injuries on her. "Jabbing me with needles wasn't enough for you, you had to cut me up to!" Aramay squinted in pain trying not to touch her head. "And your friend, must be your new assistant right? Because its all my fault you lost the first one. What does it have to take for me t-" Her consciousness faded for a moment; her head tilting and her eyes going blank. The pressure in her chest reminded her to stop her fit. She held her gown near her chest accordingly. There was a conflict inside of her and she wasn't really sure how it got there. Like two sets of memories overlapping that she couldn't make heads nor tails of. "...I thought you said everything would be fine. You just wanted to let this, animal out. All I feel is like somethings constantly trying to claw its way through my chest." She nearly whispered in a hoarse voice. "...all I want to do...I just want to feel like myself again...and I already know that's the ONE thing I can't have." She tilted her head down from exhaustion. It was a good guess that she just went through a 'change' as they liked to put it. Already her chest felt like a pressure cooker with how her heart was pounding in it. She wasn't going to allow herself to go through that again. If she had the energy she would likely lash at anyone who decided to get near her. At this point she was too spent to care anymore.

Abrams managed to just get the painkiller in her but he was forced to back away from her to keep her from hurting herself further. "Alma please step outside for a moment until I can calm her down. I don't think she remembers."

Alma had her hands covering her face. Her watery eyes could be seen over them. She stepped out without saying a word. "That woman." Abrams began, his jaw tight, eyes sharp. "She's the one who's been taking care of you the past few days. She is harmless and you about broke her heart. I admit the wrong I have done but you don't seem to realize that I have very little choice right now. I am doing all I can just to keep you alive, but it can't be helped can it. I did something unforgivable to you. Alma did not though so I simply ask that you leave her be."

It was one thing that she hated him for what he did but to hurt Alma was unacceptable to him. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. "You have been in your other form for days now. The last time I forced you to change you got hurt pretty bad and I set Alma to take care of you doing the things I couldn't do."

It was pretty much up to her what she did next whether she believed him or not. She was in her new room now, it was a bigger more open room and had that window facing the outside. The door had no key lock and there was no large window offering her privacy to all the guards in the hall. Abrams had to step out for a moment and he left the room in order to clear his thoughts and think straight. What needed to be done now that she was back in her human form?

Her eyes narrow with a mix of suspicion and confusion. She forces herself to look back up to see the distraught Alma walk out. She thought she was already in the twilight zone until the good doctor started to inform her roughly of what happened. Seeing the other doctor walked out left a sharp pain in her heart. Her eyes watered up, which would have added to the headache if it weren't for the painkiller. She wasn't missing hours. Whole entire days. Small hints of images, sounds, even smells would cross her mind. Pulling a stray tear from her eye she looked at it in complete befuddlement.

The room was different. It took a wandering eye and a silent look around to notice the change. By the time she looked back she found herself alone in the room. Doctor Abrams looked so hurt. He wasn't cold and calculating, he was genuinely, personally upset. By the look of things, there was a lot of progress that had been made to warrant it. Leaning forward she picks up a long bloody canine from the floor. Disgust and curiosity crosses her face. Even stranger, she felt the urge to give it a sniff.

Looking at herself made a chill run up her spine. The shots certainly did their job. A bit too well in fact. With the tooth and the evidence her features left behind, she still wasn't sure what her animal was. "Hey. Doc. What did, I look like?" It was a question she didn't expect herself to ask. Her voice warbled from nearly crying. There was no reason for him to lie like this. This was too complicated to be some trick to get her to trust them. Days of experiences and memories she missed out on. It was long enough to have them react so differently towards her. It muddled with her thoughts of them.

There were a great deal of questions swimming around her head; What did I do during that time? How did it get this way? Will I remember what happened? Will I want to remember what happened? What still has to be done before I can get out of here? How far will this all go?

Inevitably she would look at the arm she scratched herself to get out the glass. The stitched gashes looked deep, definitely self inflicted. They were bleeding from the change. Her fingers run along each bleeding cut even though it hurt. Her heart raced uncomfortably fast. She did remember scratching at herself. And glass was everywhere. "I'm sorry." She finally spoke up again. "...I didn't mean to tear my stitches." It was the closest thing to politeness she could get. "...you got really attached to her...me."

Dr. Abrams ran a hand through his hair at her question. He wasn't sure what to make of her curiosity but he was thankful she caught on to the truth. "You where more or less a canine, a very large canine with long limbs and a low chest. Much like a grayhound or an Irish Wolfhound. You still had some of your human features, fingers and toes and a long mane of human hair, yet your body lacked fur. I'm pretty sure there are genes in you that aren't completely canine. You see better in darker lighting and I've toyed with the idea that some of your genes belong to a nocturnal animal. You must understand that....the way we changed you....there was never a sure way of knowing what you would turn to it's all stuff that was prewritten in a way no one is positive on. We simply tapped into it and brought it out, however your current physiology was never made to do that. We tried to force your body to evolve when it took us shape shifters hundreds of generations to do so. If my theories are correct though.....I can teach you to use both forms and you can shift on your own at will and become human or shifter..."

Dr. Abrams looked down as he came to terms with all the horrible things he's done to this girl. "I....I know nothing I can say to fix any of this....but I truly am sorry. I can't.....bring back what you where but I am doing all that is in my power to make your life easier by making your body at least....comfortable to live in. Alma and I.....we did become attached to you, we nursed you back to health after you lost it and had a stroke due to serious head trauma, that's why you have the stitches. I.......I'm trying to fix it Aramay...."

They really weren't sure what they were doing. All this science and research. They had days to look at her and prod her all they want, and despite it seeming like the other side of her didn't mind this they still couldn't even figure out her damn 'animal'. "So. As it stands. I fit somewhere between Frankenstein's monster and Dr. Moreau's Island of freaks....heheheheheheh. I'm a furless mutt, hehehehehehehe." She breaks out into a chuckle. It started off as nervous and light hearted as if to relieve tension. A dart of pain rushes through her head. The first time it all happened she had only just woken up. She thought it was horrible that she didn't have time to prepare. The second time, there was more time, to her dismay there was too much of it. He jabbed her repeatedly and the second time dwarfed the first in comparison to be a hundred times worse.

Her hand travels to the shaved patch on her head. Blood stained her gown and droplets of it covered the floor. "Comfortable you say-hahahahaha." Her musing turned to a disconcerting laugh, pointing to the nice room, then the stained floor and finally her bleeding wounds, clawed hands and injured head. Her body throbbed uncomfortably. His injections did help make it easier to change the second time around. It now wasn't just stress and adrenalin that threatened to prompt it. It felt like anything could trigger it. "And then you said, hahahaha, what was it what was it, heeeeehhehehehe, you wanted to HELP mehehe-hahahahahaha!" Her laughing turned almost manical. She couldn't stop herself.

"Its like I would have been better off stuck that wa-haaaaaahhhhhahahahaahah!" She could see the guards trying to peek in to see what was going on. That smell. She remembered that smell. It always kept making her drool. "The looks on your faces right now!" The pressure in her chest was unbearable with her laughing. She tries to get to her feet and slips in her own blood, catching herself on the bed. Still, her laughing persisted. A popping sound reverberates through her chest and her laughter is quickly replaced by coughing. Blood gurgled from her throat after several hoarse coughs. She hunches forward trying and keep it from from going into her lungs. She exclaims an gasp of exasperation. Her hair falling over her face and her hand covering her mouth. She waits for Doctor Abrams to come and aid her does he hear a *tink tink tink tink* of teeth falling from her cupped hand. He doesn't get a chance to back away before he feels hands grab him and a sharp pain in his shoulder. Her teeth dug deeper into him as her weight toppled him onto his back.

She pulls away from the spasming of her neck muscles stretching and tightening as her chest force itself to barrel out. Anger made her wipe herself forward again but a smell quickly distracted her. The guards which were in the process of drawing their guns; one of them wouldn't have the chance or time to use it. Her lengthening jaws didn't just wrap around his arm. When she bit in she twisted and pulled. A voracious hunger made her tear into him taking hefty chunks out of him. The sight of it must have made the other one freeze in fear. She as didn't feel the bite of a tranq dart right away. Her feet popped and stretched enough for her to spring at the second guard without missing a beat with the first guard still flailing from the attack. Guard number two wouldn't have the same treatment as her jaws clamped down around his throat similar to what she almost did to Alma. She would be able to see what she could have done. Her mouth tightens around his windpipe till he couldn't breath before ripping it out completely. Aramay wails from the pain her body was going through. Neither the painkiller nor the tranq appeared to have an effect on her.

Her skin, it was too tight. She was burning up. Her claws tear at the blood soaked gown to remove the thing that was contributing to her overheating. Her skin split in a multitude of places. She turns to Alma, snapping angrily at the air with rabid ferocity. She backs her up against a wall, slamming her paws against either side of the doctor's head. Her claws tear at the wall as she sniffed and nosed at her cheek. Her head tilts back and she yowls from her popping and stretching spin. She could hear more guards coming down the hall. By the time Alma opens her eyes again Ara was gone. The guards who were running towards the commotion would be caught off guard from the scene that lay out before them, only to be charged at on their flank through an intersecting hallway.

"Step back...." Dr. Abrams said brows furrowed as he entered the room. "Aramay-...."

It was about as far as he got before she sunk her teeth into his shoulder. It was surreal, almost as Abrams was simply watching it happen from outside his own body. He was thrown back an instantly the change rippled through his body uncoordinated and unstopped. Suddenly his soft furry form hit the ground with all the force and he skidded across the room and under her bed but the change wouldn't stop. At first it simply felt inconvenient like when you step wrong going down the stairs and fall over and have to set yourself right but Abrams couldn't set himself right. He tried to get up, using hands....no paws.... no feet.....fuck! He whimpered but it sounded more like a cry. It felt more like needles rippling through every cell of his body, now knives. He had to warn them to stand down! To Run! There was no stopping her now. He yelped again and again trying to force the words out of his vocal cords. "S-Rrrrgh. ARRRPh!" He panted and squeased his eyes shut. His shoulder.....why was his shoulder bothering him so much, it was getting in his way. He smelled the smell of blood and could just see from the angle he was at a body......no two in the hallway........tears streamed angrily from his eyes and he moured the men that died for her rage. This was his fault if she was going to kill anyone it should have been him.

After several minutes he shut everything down but his instincts deciding it was too much. He could do nothing more in that condition. He curled up in the darkness and growled threateningly at anything that moved.

In the hall the guards where up in arms. Several men fled the scene deciding their lives where not worth their wages but one particular man who had retired as a soldier knelt in the hall and took aim. He fired two shots at the rampaging shapeshifter, praying to his god that they hit. Two men died already and he wasn't going to stand for another. He was abrubtly joined by five men in that hall all of them taking the same shots as he. Alma was in a state. She couldn't move, she had slid down to a crouched position and was sobbing. Blood soaked the hall and the Doctor, who would have spoke sense in that time was in a corner, his body out of his control, growling like a terrified wounded animal.

Seeing the men flee made her want to give chase, and she did. Seeing one lone guard wasn't enough to slow her down in the slightest. Her long limbs propelled her forward at a dizzying speed. One dart missed but the other hit its mark. Ara snarls, viscera coating her muzzle, pulling her head back to look at what hit her. She started to charge the old guard again with jaws gaping at him. Even when five more joined him to bring her down she didn't waiver once. There was nothing behind her eyes but anger and an unbridled feral nature. Its not until she feels the stings of multiple darts zip by and tag her that she loses her footing and stumbles, sliding into them just as they get up to scatter. Her limbs kick and flail and her jaws snap at anything that moves near her face. She would do the same thing that she did with Abrams and sink her teeth in nice and deep.

Her flailing didn't last long. Aramay was bright enough to jump up and head back down the other way before they could land a hit on her or tranq her again. They got her good on one side. Several darts stuck out of her shoulder. She was looking for a way out before anything had a chance to set in. The window. She needed to get out. Back tracking to her room she nearly misses the door and rams her side into it. She yelps in pain from still being injured. Desperate she claws and bites wildly at the window, coating it in a frothy drool. In a fit she shakes herself and rams herself against the window again. It shatters and she immediately jumps back. The window was small and didn't break cleanly.

Abrams would see the beast girl crouch down to identify a smell. He was fairly well hidden under the well shaded bed but she could see his changing form clear as day. Her face was covered in small cuts. She tried to reach under to snatch him with her maw. When her teeth couldn't reach she decided to use her arms, swiping at him blindly. After a few close calls she suddenly lurches back and whines. Keeping herself steady was intensely difficult. She then tried to duck back out of the room in search for another escape route or a place to hide. The guards were closing in and her body was giving out. Her growling turned to panting. She tried to reach for Alma who was sitting in shock. Just inches from the doctor another dart went flying, hitting Ara in the neck. A few more wobbling steps were all that her body could muster before the creature went down. Her paw reaching out to Alma. Panting and shifting about, she was losing the battle with trying to get herself to move again. She saw a figure off in the distance through blurring vision approaching her before the muscles in her head and neck give out completely, splashing into a dark red puddle with her mouth open and her tongue hanging out. She looked dead with how her eyes were rolled back. She was still breathing, barely, lying in the mess that she had made.

She managed to knock one man down, slipping over him and using him like a stepping stool crunching down on a few ribs. He spat up blood and curled up like a beetle while another man as caught in the face. Her teeth came down, slipping over his scull, just missing his eye gauging out deep grooves in his face. He stumbled back and was caught by the military man and dragged away down the hall a few feet in the opposite direction of Aramay.

Abrams was still blank. He snarled and snapped, foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog when she came in, burrowing deeper under the bed. He struck out at her when she stuck her muzzle under the bed, scratching it with his long claws an snapping at her hands when she swiped at him. He didn't give chase however when she backed out of the room and that was when Alyek made his entrance.

The bulkhead doors slid open and Alyek entered with a whole squad of soldiers. Fresh outside air rushed in with them as they marched in an organized fashion, assault weapons cocked and boots tapping against the floor in a very military way.

"Sweep the place collect the wounded and bring them back to the living quarters." Alyek commanded as he strode in smoothly. He didn't carry a gun. Instead he had a long thin sword with a silver hilt that looked like it should have been just for show. A decoration. But this sword was sharpened and primed for battle as well as the secondary blade he had strapped to a torso hilt under his long white coat. Alyek was a very pale figure, blond hair and pale blue eyes skin that couldn't be fairer. He looked around at the mess with disgust. "I'm surprised the Chief hasn't shut this down." he murmured as he walked down the hall towards the fallen girl-beast, stepping over the wounded and dead alike. He glared down at Aramay with a dismissive look, she could likely smell the scent of bear rolling off him. A massive creature stuffed into a small slightly feminine body, he smelled of control and power. Fear was nowhere to be found on this one, only dominance, confidence, disapproval, and downright hatred. "I hope your little fit of rage was worth the death an incapacitation of all these fine men, beast. I assure you you won't be getting away with a stunt like this again. Next time. I will put you down myself." He hissed, crouching to her level, unafraid of being snapped at. He stood up and turned his back to her. "Someone put a muzzle on her and a collar, I don't want my men getting mauled to death."

Following his keen sense of smell even amidst the blood and death he found Dr. Adams under the bed. He reached under in one swift move and grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling him out. He made a tsking sound. "Abrams what have you done...you've gotten carried away. You sir....need to learn control.....this place is a royal mess." Abrams was taken into the cell block and locked up until doctors could successfully work on him and Alma was removed from the compound completely for the time being. She needed to collect herself. Things got done with Alyek there. The dead where taken out in body bags the wounded couldn't be cared for as they where shifting far too actively but they where locked up securely in the cell block. They slipped a muzzle onto Aramay while she was too drugged to attack them and fastened a choke collar around her neck. A normal collar would not do the trick with a beast as powerful as Aramay. If she fought against this one, the barbs would dig into her skin, not enough to cut her but enough to hurt and bruise a little. They dragged her, quite literally back into her old room, the one with the large window to the hall, and Alyek stared in from time to time, his eyes boiling with hate and ever so slightly with a hint of curiosity. She was a shiny new toy to break in to him.

Aramay's ears could still twitch from the sounds of heavy boots hitting the ground. Her eyes as well but her vision was limited from the sedatives that flooded her bloodstream. She could feel the vibrations through the floor. Her body screamed at her to move. To get up and flee, now willing to risk getting lacerated by the shards of glass still in the window. Too little too late, her limbs didn't respond. Her growls were weakened but persisted every few heavy breaths. A new smell filled her nostrils. It wasn't pungent but definitely strong. There wasn't a hint of fear coming from this man. She'd been around a couple bears, or close enough to be able to know what they smelled like when she was still normal. This was similar yet different. And for some reason she found herself to be very afraid of this man. Her growling became out of fear rather than anger. Still her tail curled inward submissively.

Watching him step away she resumed her efforts to try and move. There was just no way. It was a wonder that she didn't go under completely. She was still only inches away from Alma. Not for long, Ara would feel something slip over her face and all she could do was half-bare her teeth. She felt discomfort about her neck which made her cough something else forced her mouth closed. It hurt like hell because it pushed on the fresh scratches on her face and muzzle inflicted by the doctor. The older injuries had clotted until they started to move her.

What was left of her human skin started to peel away when they dragged her across the floor. Her head fell back and to the side making her look almost dead if it wasn't for her still breathing. It would have been a reprieve to have the sedatives knock her out. The pain and aching rolling through her kept her short of completely fading. However it was this and her pounding heart; stricken with anger, stress and fear that kept the drugs from dangerously slowing her system down too much. By the time she started to feel it wear off, the floor underneath her was slick from blood.

She started to huff and dry heave. Her paws come up while she's still on her side to investigate what was bothering her. "Hnnnnnnggg." She was incredibly sore. It was slow and painstaking to just get her head up, waivering as she looked around. She was back with no one else in the room with her. She laid her head back down instantly feeling ill again. After a few minutes she tried again, getting to her elbows and knees. Attempting to get her feet under her, slips and flops to the other side making her yelp. It was her bad side with her injured arm. Her hand-like paw reaches up to tug at her collar wondering why it pinched her. She was soaked with large splotches of crimson along her body looking like something out of a nightmare.

Fearful of when 'they' might come back she finally gets up. She limped a few steps. The light hurt her eyes making her squint as it felt like daggers stabbing into them. All of that exertion left her feeling incredibly weak. She didn't know how much she bled but she had an idea. Even with the dark patterning and blood on her she definitely looked pale and clammy. She started to pace around the room anxiously but very slowly.

Alyek watched her from the other side of the glass, arms crossed. He had a good mind to simply let her bleed out right there. In his eyes she deserved it what with the men she killed and the damage she did. However he knew she was valuable to the Chief and by chain of command valuable to him. He sent in a team of his own doctors to patch her up. A few soldiers marched in to clip a lead to her collar and force her to stand still, holding the lead tight like one would an aggressive dog when a child came to investigate. She was far larger than any dog so it took more than one person to tend the collar. With that they removed the muzzle and used medical tape and gauze to act as protection against the harsh leather of the muzzle. To keep her from biting one soldier practically straddled her upper torso and lifted her chin until it was difficult for her to open her mouth all the way. They where quite rough and not afraid to push her around like that. They quickly re-applied the muzzle and went on to tend to her other wounds, stitching what needed to be stitched and putting bandages on the things that bled a lot but where not deep enough for stitches. They didn't wash her up though. Aside from cleansing the wounds it was beyond their job description to give her a bath. If Alma returned that was her duty. Alyek watched all of this closely, if she harmed his men he would be in there in an instant and in his bear form, using his powerful forepaws and strong jaw and neck muscles to tear her apart like he would a seal.

When the doctors where through with their examination/repair job they left the room followed soon by the soldiers who had their guns trained on her the whole time. The door closed behind them with the familiar click of an automatic lock.

Her body constantly told her to lay down. She couldn't out of fear which only contributed to weakening her further. Seeing the door open she stumbled away from them until her side touched the side wall with a low growl. The will to fight was there. There was just no energy left to expend. Soldiers were far different from guards making the new smells daunting for her. "Hnnnnn, hnnnnn." They gave her no slack to move at all. She huffed and coughed feeling dizzy with having her head pulled up so that the collar bit into her. With the muzzle off of her mouth she opened it to reflexively bite, she couldn't help herself with her adrenalin running high, but with her head tilted up so far she could only pant. There was a visible look of relief when the gauze went on. It was hard not to resist against them. They were so rough with her that she would let out a fearful growl, yelp or whine. There were no gentle hands here.

Aramay backed away from them as soon as she felt their grip loosen. Her eyes never leaving theirs. She could feel the blood drying to her skin. It made her itching. She couldn't scratch at all in fear of re-injuring herself. She was hurting enough as it is. Growling was the only thing left for her to do, tucking herself down under the sink. She spotted Alyek through the window. She shivered unmoving for several minutes. She would have limped over to the bed but she couldn't stop staring at him. Salty droplets begin to trail down her cheeks from her eyes. She couldn't take it, being watched like that. Ara starts to call out in distress for help, the sounds were positively haunting with how the muzzle partially muffled them. She herself wasn't sure who she was calling for.

Finally she slinks over to the bed. Not to crawl on, but underneath it. It was a tight fit. She had to wriggle herself in sideways. It was darker and cooler underneath. Her muzzle and reflective eyes could be seen peeking out nervously. One of her feet stuck out from underneath. That along with the bloody footprints were the only signs showing that something was still in the locked room. It was there that she would finally fall asleep. She would stay there for as long as she could. If allowed she would sleep for over sixteen hours and remain hidden that way for even longer. Almost nothing would be able to coax her out of there willingly. Except maybe Alma. Not without her being yanked back out.

Alyek left her be once she disappeared under the bed. He had no need to disturb her. For the next few days she was left without much interaction. They dragged her out of her dark corner and took off her muzzle three times a day for food but that's about it. Even then she didn't seem to be interested. Three days passed. Most of their attention was on their wounded, the soldiers where a loud bunch when they weren't paroling the halls they could be heard all the way down the hall, talking, playing cards, and smoking cigarettes all through the night. They treated the place like their vacation. However when Alyek arrived it was strict duty and business. He truly was the master of them. Occasionally he'd patrol the halls himself, seeing if Aramay would do something other than lay like a broken spirit, but most of the time he took residence in Dr. Abrams' office, resting his white boots on his desk leisurely.

On the third day Alma returned. She had renewed her determination to help Aramay somehow. She shelved her fear of being mauled and torn apart like those two guards and marched right into the compound one evening with a suitcase packed full of her clothing. She had heard rumors about this guy Alyek and she didn't like leaving Aramay under his care alone. She would camp in Aramay's room until she trusted her again. The soldiers could be heard in the hallway having an argument with the poor woman telling her that Aramay wasn't safe to be around anymore. Alyek emerged from the office and frowned.

"What is this?" He demanded. The soldier giving Alma a hard time saluted.

"SIR! This woman is trying to go in to see the patient, sir! I've advised against it, she killed two men already no need for a woman, sir!" The soldier explained.

"I take it you're the woman whose been taking care of her under Dr. Abrams' orders. You are aware of her psychotic break. She isn't safe to be around anymore." Alyek explained cooly.

"I don't care. Crazy or not she is going to need someone to keep the filth out of her wounds and give her company." Alma said stubbornly. Alyek raised an eyebrow, curious of her defiance.

"If you say so ma'am....you can go in but the moment she attacks you we're getting you out of there and you won't see her again." Alyek studied her expression. Alma pursed her lips.

"If I die giving her the love and company she needs then so be it. I will die with a clear conscience."

Alyek and two guards escorted her to Aramay's room he had the door unlocked and Alma entered alone. She crouched next to the bed putting her suitcase down, her hands trembled like the first day Aramay and her met.

"....Aramay?......Aramay it's Alma." she called taking a look under the bed.

She wasn't sure how much time passed. She could only guess by the amount of times they dragged her out whining from under the bed to leave her food to eat. She would just lay in the same spot, maybe giving an idle sniff to whatever wafted to her nose but that was about it. Soon as the muzzle went back on, which she barely had the strength to protest to, she would slink back under as soon as the door locked. They gave her nothing but time to think. Her head swam trying to discern what were memories and what were just nightmares. Confusion and more confusion, she kept getting questions instead of answers. Her body couldn't stay still. Literally her insides would shift now and again as if it was looking for a way to stabilize itself.

By the third day one of her eyes had difficulty opening. It was constantly tearing up and felt irritated. A lot of the less severe injuries did finally heal up but the worst ones were starting to fester and itch. She had a fever, partly explaining why she wasn't eating or putting up a fight anymore. Her body was fighting an infection that no amount of rest would rid her of without help. If no one was around in the middle of the night she would fiddle with the faucet for water to slip through her muzzle and into her mouth but she lacked the dexterity to put water on herself. No one cleaned the drying blood off the floor or fixed her bandages since that day. Like an animal left to wallow in their own filth.

The room smelled rank upon entering. Like a trapped stray had been living there without anyone knowing. Blood and other dried fluids coated the floor. Evidence of her walking around could be seen by the dirty, bloody foot prints. The blankets were ripped from the bed and partially pulled underneath. They were just as filthy, crinkled, clinging to each other as if they had been glued together. "....Aramay?......Aramay it's Alma."There was a long silence. A weak whine comes from underneath the bed. Ara was laying on the soiled blankets. Her ears lay low on her head. With one eye blinking and weeping she could only see Alma with her other eye which looked at her wide and sorrow filled. Her tail started to wag, thumping against the floor. She didn't even move from where she was as if she couldn't, and that was partially true.

She started to shuffle her way out but had a hard time moving. She kept stopping and whining, waiting until she would finally be helped the rest of the way by being pulled out from underneath her hiding place. Part of the blanket stuck to her side. It had to be peeled from her arm and shoulder. It was stained with red and a sickly green tinge from her oozing cuts. Ara kept her head low and her tail tightly curled in when the light hit her face. She meekly pushed shivering body against Alma and nudged the top of her head under the nervous doctor's chin seeking comfort. She was sweating, running hot and cold at the same time. She was so excited that she felt sicker than she already was.

"Oh my god.....what have they done to you....." Alma covered her face again looking at the filth. The whole room stank of filth and sickness and blood. The only thing that could have smelled equally as bad would have been a dying animal. Alma helped Aramay out into the open and wrapped her arms around the pitiful creature. "We need to get you and this room cleaned up. You will die if we don't clean you up soon."

Alma stood. "I will be right back I need to fetch a few things." She left the room for a few minutes and came back with a large bucket and as many washcloths and towels as she could carry. Aramay was too sick to move but it wouldn't stop Alma from getting her clean. Just being clean should make the poor girl feel so much better. She filled the bucket with warm water frothy with soap and knelt at Aramay's side. She removed the muzzle and the collar then ever so gently peeled away the gauze. It would have been painful to detatch the gauze because after being on for so long the scabs would have formed with the gauze halfway embedded into it. Alma painsteakingly wiped Aramay clean. She gently removed the ooze and dried mucus from her infected eye and got rid of all the soiled bandages. It may not be a scrub-clean that she needed but it would do for the moment. Tears filled Alma's eyes as she worked. She couldn't help but feel that it was partially her fault Aramay had sunk this far into her own filth. She wasn't there to take care of her.

Alyek scoffed, ammused at how docile Aramay was with Alma. It pissed him off a bit that she could be this way now and turn around and murder a handful of men without a care.

Aramay whined louder when Alma got up. She didn't do anything to move, hunched forward head down. Not even taking a moment to look around. She just felt so ill that she dry heaved and coughed once Alma had left the room becoming physically ill from sitting out of the open. Alma would be able to hear her calling and whining till she returned to to Ara's side. It was clear that she was impatient to have the muzzle and collar removed. She squeezed her eyes shut and cried as the old scab was pulled away with the gauze. It would pull and tug when the muzzle shifted on her. The first thing she did with her jaws now free was to yawn and stretch them before covering Alma's cheek and neck with slobbering licky kisses. It was the most active she had been since the incident. It was a miracle she didn't go blind in that eye with the infection. She shook her head once everything had been cleaned around her face and head.

She rested her head against the doctor's chest and stayed that way unless she was asked to do otherwise. The girl rumbled and shook the entire time. The noises she made were becoming those of relief as she was cleaned. She clearly remembered being in this position before. If she wasn't so feverish she probably would have acted the same way as before. This room nagged at the unpleasant memories locked away in her mind. They conflicted with each other. Before long they had receded again once she was more focused on staying close to Alma again.

Her coughing grew worse. It wasn't horrible just annoying. Another reminder that she was still worse for wear with a fever. Like a child just wanting to be with its parent she persistently kept herself in contact with the doctor no matter what she did. She did indeed feel less like death warmed over. Enough for her good eye to occasionally peek out from under her hair. To find Alyek's ever watchful eye look down on her with malice. Why were they being like that with her?

Alma then took her attention to the festering wound on her arm and the various small cuts along her body. She had to freshen the water and clean the washcloths repeatedly to get the job done, but get it done she did. Her next step was to clean the room and unfortunately she had to take several trips out of the room to get the supplies to do that. She cleared off the bed, removing the mattress and scrubbed at the floors using a slew of home remedies to get the smell of blood off the floor. By the time she'd finished it was well into the night and the room smelled of citrus. Alma changed Aramay into a clean gown and gave her a kiss on the nose.

Just then Dr. Abrams appeared on the other side of the window. He spoke to Alyek in irritated tones. He had his arm in a sling and his shoulder was heavily bandaged and he also had dark circles under his eyes. If you looked closely you could see minor changes still erupting here and there across his form. A patch of fur, a hand tipped with sharp claws...

"Why are you here Alyek, you can't just waltz on in here and take control. You put Aramay's life in danger locking her up in there." He hissed. Alyek tilted his head eyes narrowed.

"Well I was phoned in by one of your own guard and according to him it's your life that was in danger. I simply put the bitch where she belonged." Alyek said easily.

"She needs more than an occasional feeding, she needs bathing and constant observation. You made her sick! If the Chief comes by and sees a sick dying girl he will have her put down and the whole program scrapped"

Alyek smirked, "And this is supposed to disappoint me? Humans should never be given our gifts, Doctor. They can't use them the way they're meant to be used. This incident proves that. I'll be reporting to the Chief myself the deaths that this beast has caused. The program is not worth it if you can't make a creature that is obedient."

"Obedient? Alyek look in there right now. Alma has been nothing but sweet to her and she is literally being nothing but sweet!"

"She killed TWO of your men, Doctor Abrams. Two of them. Tore their throats out in cold blood, they where armed with nothing but TRANQUILIZERS! This girl cannot be trusted amongst civilians. She is a FREAK. There is absolutely no way that the Chief can allow her to live." Alyek seemed to tower over the Doctor, fists quivering. "YOU need to put her down."

"I. Will. Not." Dr. Abrams literally growled, staring into Alyek's cold eyes.

The entire time she posed no hassle for Alma save for her persistent clinging. She stuck to the side when the bed was being replaced. Then pulled herself onto it when the floors were being cleaned. The overpowering scent of citrus irritated her nostrils and made her sneeze. She would still rather have this than be left until she eventually succumbed to sepsis. Ara was close to falling back to sleep on the bed once the room was finally clean. Laying sprawled out on the bed was so much more comfortable than on the floor, she was just too afraid to. Closing her eyes when she gets a kiss on the nose.

Her ears perk up hearing a familiar voice. She stepped off of the bed and limped towards the window, egged on by her curiosity. "She killed TWO of your men, Doctor Abrams." Ara blinked. It was apparent they were talking about her. She could catch hints of smells coming from under the door. The smell of Doctor Abrams and more specifically his wound caught her attention. She flinches as a flash of memory pierces though her mind. "Hnnnn!" She lowers her head and recoils back anxiously. The phantom taste of blood and fabric lingered in her mouth. That wasn't right at all.

She slinks back to Alma unable to piece everything together enough to understand it. It kept bothering her, gnawing at the back of her mind. Eventually she couldn't even find comfort near the doctor and started to push herself back underneath the bed, whining and shivering.

"This is the very first time we have ever tried something like this. We where never prepared. When we altered her DNA it traumatized her and because of the trauma I have reason to believe her personality has split. None of this was her fault. It is my blame to bear." Abrams said calmly

"This kind of thing shouldn't be done in the first place, Abrams. Fucking with an innocent girls body in this way. Even if you do manage to perfect it, it'll just be done on a new test subject and Aramay will be put to death as a failed experiment." Alyek said. He turned away from doctor Abrams. "and I'll be the one to cut off her head."

"It's not your decision to make Alyek! It's the chief's decision to make. She can still be useful I will make sure of that-" Alyek interrupted Abrams with a laugh.

"How are you going to take control of two separate personalities? One docile as a lamb the other violent and unstable? Just face it Doctor. You sentenced her to death by doing this."

Abrams watched as Alyek walked away, going back to have a talk to his soldiers and move out. His babysitting job was over for now but Abrams had a feeling he'd be back, possibly to put Aramay down. He looked through the glass then opened the door. "Aramay? Alma....How about you and Aramay have a trip to the bathing rooms and I'll have her old room fixed up. It had a much more comfortable bed in there...."

Ara is half way under the bed, whining and trying to hide herself again. Alma has a hand on her side trying to coax her back out. She looks up at Abrams with a concerned look. Aramay stops upon hearing Abram's voice. He could see her shivering heavily. "She was doing well until just a couple minutes ago." Abrams would see a nose stick out from under the bed. With another gentle tug Alma would be able to slowly slide her back out. Her eyes met with Abram's and his slinged arm, and she slowly recoiled back against the female doctor while keeping her head low. The flashbacks were only small glimpses but they were painful all the while.

She stiffened when Abrams drew closer, there was a hint of happiness when her tail started to wag, if hesitantly so. A dizzy spell hits her due to her fever making her weaken and lean against Alma. The doctor feels her forehead. "She does need to cool down. I don't know how long she's had a fever but we're gonna have to bring it down before it gets any worse." Ara hooks a paw over Alma's arm, whining softly against her. Her infected eye blinks from the irritation.

Aramay managed to walk to the bathing area, limp and all as she refused to be helped onto a stretcher. She kept her kept her head down the whole time for fear of what she might do. Just smelling a guard was enough to make her growl to herself. She was abnormally quiet during the shower. Having the cool water run over her was both soothing and painful at the same time. Some of the cuts may have been cleaned but much like the harsher ones, ie her arm, having any of the water directly hit it made her gasp and recoil in pain. Other than that she simply leaned on Alma every chance she got, shivering against her.

She stopped sniffing around the halls and simply followed wherever Alma went while keeping her head down. The cool water had lowered her fever, she started to drink again. The closest thing she could get to eating was through a broth. Ara only started to whine again when she tried to fall asleep. Alma practically had to climb into bed with her to get her to calm down again. She was utterly afraid of what she couldn't understand.