Doctor Whitlock's Experiment

Chapter 5

Sera listened to him speak. In a daze, the words hardly registered. She barely noticed as he walked away from her and towards the counter behind him. The perfect subject, his voice rang in her ear. She didn't know what he meant, but it sounded bad. Pictures and words flashed through her hazy thoughts: Her father. DNA. Blood samples. Needles. She squeezed her eyes shut against them.

Meanwhile, Dr. Whitlock returned holding something small. Feeling his presence hanging over her like the dark shadow of a vampire bat, Seraphina opened her eyes. He was holding a little, metal box. She yawned, feigning disinterest even as every fiber of her being trembled and ached to know what the box contained.

Regardless, she was soon to find out. The metal box clicked open. Sera's eyes widened, and she took three shaky, shallow breaths. She wanted to run and hide. She wanted to be hugged by her mothers comforting embrace. Seraphina started to sit up. She hadn't gotten far before a firm hand clasped her shoulder and shoved her forcefully back. She struggled against his hand. Tissue paper crinkled. Tears flooded to her eyes. "Let me go!" she begged. "Please!"

"Sera, Sera, Sera," the doctor's voice sang, "you are perfectly safe."

"It's a lie," she whispered, breathlessly. But, she didn't look at him; Her eyes were glued to the syringe.

"Are you a bit trypanophobic?" he asked even as he knew full well that she had a serious fear of needles. He lifted the injection from the box.

Seraphina let out a cry and sprung away from the table, seeking an escape. Dr. Whitlock simultaneously dropped the box and the syringe and grabbed Sera before her feet even touched the floor. He slammed her onto the table, knocking the wind out of her. For a long, awful moment, she couldn't breath. She gasped, struggling to fill her lungs. Her eyes were blurry. When the tears cleared a bit, she saw Dr. Whitlock staring down at her.

"I am growing tired of this." His voice was very soft. Every syllable was carefully pronounced. Even so, the electricity of his cold blue eyes seemed to fill the room with sparks. Sera shrunk back into the table. All pretense of kindness had left Dr. Whitlock. His anger was horrifying. "It would be in your best interest to stop fighting and take the injection," he said calmly. Every monotone word rang with threats.

"Noooo," Seraphina whined faintly. Her eyes were closed tight.

"Very well, then," Dr. Whitlock responded. She heard a sliding sound and opened her eyes. Dr. Whitlock was pulling a black strap from under the table. At the idea of being restrained, she squirmed. She would be completely helpless, even more than she was now. Dr. Whitlock pressed his arm across her chest, pinning her to the table. She heard the buckle click. She shook with rage-filled sobs. Dr. Whitlock traced his fingers over her cheek before she jerked head away. "You will be alright," he murmured. The show of pity was fake. Sera wished she'd bit his fingers when he touched her face.

He had retrieved the syringe. Sera felt sick. 

"Ready?" he said though it was hardly a question. He didn't care if she was or not. Sera shook her head feverishly from left to right anyway. He went on, ignoring her protest. "I'll count to three. Blow on three."

Seraphina whimpered.

"One."

He was only doing this for painful suspense.

"Two."

Sera blinked as her vision began to darken. Finally, unconsciousness would rescue her. She was suddenly afraid of it.

"Three."

Seraphina felt the needle stab her arm before she passed out.