Desperate Remedies

*Warning, there is a tiny bit of sexual innuendo, but hopefully, it’s pretty PG 12 stuff*

“Hey, Gen,” His annoying voice said through the thick glass.

“My NAME,” I snapped, “Is Genevieve, not ‘Gen’.” I yanked roughly on the syringe plunger, sucking the liquid concoction quickly into the holding chamber. I strode over to the door, throwing the door open and glaring at Charlie.

“This one better work,” I said, sicking the needle into his arm violently. He jerked away from me.

“Ow! Careful, it’s not my fault none of this is working.” He said, rubbing the spot I had jammed the needle into.

“Well, it might be. I’ve run the statistics, and all of this should’ve worked! Well, most of it should’ve worked anyway, but I only tried the unreliable ones because nothing was happening. Anyway, hopefully, because this one was your idea it might finally work.” His eyes narrowed.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘unreliable’?” I shrugged, taking a step back for safety.

“Well, there was a slight possibility some of the ones I tried yesterday might’ve turned your brain to mush, but obviously that didn’t happen, so it’s fine. It appears nothing I do works on you.”

“What?! You were willing to turn my brain to mush just to get a result?” He struggled against the restraints, but thankfully that’s why they’re there. He sagged back in the chair, glaring at me. I shrugged again, walking back to the lab to get him more coffee.

“You’re really cold-hearted, you know that?” He said to my back as I retreated into the lab.

“I’m just doing my job.” I reapplied calmly, picking up the now-full cup and walking back over to him. I offered him the cup but his arms remained firmly by his side. I sighed when he raised an eyebrow.

“You’re not actually employed, are you? This is just, like, your playtime or something.” He looked at me intensely, making me want to look away, but something in his eyes wouldn’t let me. I eventually broke eye contact and shoved the cup towards him again.

“Just drink it. You know this is for the good of mankind. Experiments must be done in order to progress, and sometimes you have to sacrifice things to be able to move on.” I turned around and started back to the lab, but then Charlie spoke again.

“Yeah, but it’s not things, is it? It’s people. Stupid people. People who can’t do things like this, people who aren’t ready to kill someone else in the name of science. I’m one of those people. But you don’t really care, do you? I’m just a number, a thing to study and nothing else.” I whirled around, fighting back tears.

“That’s not true.” I said, my voice shaking a bit, “You are more than just a number. And I know that. But I have been tasked with finding this out. That’s why I only resorted to the dangerous stuff after three weeks. Do you really think I would inject you with any random thing, just to get a reaction?” He gave me no response, just threw his head back and drained his cup, looking at me with steel in his eyes. After a while, he turned his face away, just slightly, but that was enough for me. He knew I wasn’t like that. 

I sat back in my desk chair, opening my computer to figure out the next formula that probably wouldn’t work. It was about ten minutes later that Charlie spoke again.

“Um,” He said timidly, “Do- do you mind if I go to the bathroom?” I turned my head sharply to look at him through the window. His ears were slightly pink and he was shifting in his seat a lot. I frowned but got up, closing my computer lid. I walked into the testing room and over to Charlie.

“Sure, but didn’t you go before we started? It’s only been half an hour.” I said, going around the back of the chair and deactivating the wires and monitors.

“I did go before but I have to go again.” He said tightly, still restless. I shrugged and came back around the front of the chair and suddenly I saw why. I blinked.

“Oh.” Was all I said, starting to release his hands from the chair. I slowly undid the mechanism, placing the open cuffs on the chair arm. Then his ankles. Then his chest restraints. And lastly, the one that was placed a bit like a seatbelt over his lap. I carefully undid this one, mindful of the place that was becoming increasingly difficult not to touch. As soon as I got it undone I jumped back like it had shocked me and Charlie sprung out of the chair, his face the colour of a tomato. He walked to the plain door that led to his apartment, but I could see he wanted to run. I heard him start running to the bathroom as soon as he was through the door. I went back to the lab, curious. The chemicals that I had put in the last injection shouldn’t have been THAT powerful, just enough to make him feel physically attracted to me. The fact that it had that reaction was very interesting. 

By the time Charlie returned from the bathroom, I had two cups of coffee ready for him and I was working on the theory of the next injection. When he sat in the chair, his face was less red than it had been but it was still quite pink. When I came into the testing room he was glaring at me, timidness and embarrassment forgotten.

“What was that?!” He asked me accusingly, folding his arms so I couldn’t give him the cups. Again.

“What do you mean?” I said with a sigh, placing the cups on the floor so I could strap him in again.

“My idea was to stop messing with my head because it obviously wasn’t working, but I didn’t mean go and do THAT!” He said, waving his arms around wildly. I grabbed his wrist firmly and a look of surprise crossed his face. I forced his arm down to the arm of the chair, fastening the cuffs that would keep his arms still. I did the same with the other arm, only he didn’t resist me as much.

“You said, and I quote: “Maybe you should stop trying to mess with my head, it obviously isn’t working. Why not try something with my body?” So I did try something with your body, but I didn’t mean for it to be that strong, I thought maybe because the other stuff wasn’t working that maybe I should try and make it a bit stronger. If you drink both of these the shot should be out of your system quickly so I can modify it and see if the same principle still works without the potency.” He shook his head when I offered him the cups again.

“What I meant by ‘try something with my body’ was like what they describe in the movies, y’know, butterflies and electric shocks and stuff. I didn’t mean ‘mess with my hormones’!” I sighed again, wondering why the head office gave me such an aggravating subject.

“First of all, can you stop saying ‘mess with me’ because that’s not what I’m doing. I’m conducting tests on a willing subject and they are all safe and usually work very well. But obviously, because we’re working with deep emotional workings, we can’t use something as simple as a guinea pig or a rabbit. So no, I’m not ‘messing’ with you, I’m scientifically testing you. That’s completely different. And second, all that stuff in the movies is mostly made up, and certainly not replicable in a lab environment. Now, if you want me to make you have a targeted hallucination, then I can do that. But that isn’t what the Head Office wants me to do. If it were that easy you wouldn’t be here. Now, drink these before I force them down your throat, and trust me, I have ways of doing that with very little effort.” I shoved the cups at him, spilling a bit on the floor. He took them quickly and with a strange look at me like he wasn’t quite sure I was sane. I watched as the chains attached to the cuffs on his wrists let out, clinking and clanking as he downed the two cups of coffee. He handed them back to me without a word and without looking at me. I went back into the lab to resume my research.

Charlie had given me an idea though, so I was deep into some calculations before I noticed his foot tapping a million miles an hour. I paused, taking a deep breath, and tried to focus on my calculations again. I was at a very critical part, so I was writing everything down, making sure I couldn’t mix anything up. I started typing away on my computer again, but I couldn’t ignore the tapping now.

“Charlie! Shut up! I’m trying to focus!” I snapped, my voice sharp. I heard him wriggling a bit, the chains making tiny clinking noises.

“But, I uh, really need to go again.” I looked at him through the glass and sure enough, his face was pink again and he couldn’t sit still.

“Well you’ll have to wait, I can‘t stop now.” I turned back ot my work and he didn’t speak again, but I could still hear little clinks and tapps now and again. By the time I was finished, it had been another ten minutes and Charlie looked like he was about to explode. His face was red again and he was really hot when I touched him. He shivered a bit under my touch so I pulled back, not sure how to handle this. I undid his hand and feet straps first and then his chest strap and thanks to our earlier experience I had left the seatbelt-like strap undone. 

As soon as I was finished with the chest strap he stood up, towering over me. I could feel the warmth radiating off of him and he looked me up and down, pausing ever-so-slightly around my midriff, chest and lips. When he finally met my eyes there was something wild and dangerous in them and I quickly stepped back. He snapped out of whatever trance he had been in and rushed to the bathroom, not looking back. I decided to ignore whatever THAT had been and went back to sorting out the next shot. I prepared him four more cups of coffee, hoping more caffeine would make the last injection wear off faster. 

When he came back he drank the coffee gratefully and I finally figured out the chemical combination I wanted. But I had to wait while they came, so I went and got lunch, telling Charlie to do the same.

🧪🧪🧪

I got back from lunch and found the chair empty. I knocked on Charlie’s apartment door and heard him rushing around. When he opened the door he looked out of breath and he was smiling weirdly.

“What did you do?” I asked him with my eyes narrowed, putting my hands on my hips. I was right in front of the open doorway and Charlie took the chance to stand in front of me and look down on me with that silly look on his face.

“Nothing.” He smirked. I rolled my eyes and walked away, my neck not used to the steep angle which I had it at to look at Charlie.

“Come on,” I said, “The stuff’s here now so we can get started on the next injection.” I pointed at the chair, waiting for him to sit. When he did I strapped him in and started mixing the chemicals I had requested. I was done within half an hour, but by that time Charlie looked like he was ready to break out of the chair and go for a run.

“What now?” I asked warily as I approached him with the full syringe.

“Nothing, I’m just bored and I’ve had no exercise for the last month. All I’ve been able to do is run laps around my room and you know how small that is.” I considered him, tilting my head to the side slightly. So that’s what he must’ve been doing when I knocked earlier.

“Well, hopefully, you’ll be able to sleep better with this one. I’ve put a late-acting sedative in here so you won’t be up most of the night.” Charlie frowned.

“Who says I’ve haven’t been sleeping?” I stuck the needle into his arm and injected him before I answered.

“The videotapes of the last week say so. And besides, I’ve given you a LOT of coffee today. I figured you’ve earned a break.” I stepped back and started walking away as he opened his mouth.

“There are CAMERAS in my room?!” He practically yelled. I nodded, still not looking back.

“To be honest I probably shouldn’t expect more from you people.” I stopped and turned on my heel.

“What do you mean, ‘you people’?” I asked, facing him. There must’ve been something scary in my expression because he looked down and mumbled a reply.

“What was that?” I asked sharply, walking closer to him.

“I just said: If human life doesn’t matter much, what’s privacy to you guys? It must be a high-end luxury.” He had gained some of his confidence and was now looking me in the eye.

“Charlie, we’ve been over this, I know you’re not just a ‘number’ or a subject. You’re a person and I think I mostly respect that. So can you please stop making comments like that?” He sighed and looked away, scuffing his foot on the floor.

“Fine. But I still think cameras are a bit much.” I sighed this time and put a hand on my forehead.

“They’re only there for observational purposes. There aren’t any in the bathroom if you’re wondering. We only have them to make sure you don’t try and escape or hurt yourself or do something else that’s equally stupid. Or in this case, make sure you’re sleeping properly.” He didn’t respond so I figured he understood. I put the syringe back in the lab and cleaned it, making sure there were enough of the chemicals I needed for tomorrow. I walked back over to Charlie and unstrapped him, letting him chill in his room for the rest of the evening. I left the room and locked the outside door, putting my keycard in my pocket. I walked down the hallway and into the lift, ready for a break of my own.

When I got to my room, in the students’ block, I opened my laptop and brought up Charlie’s data from today. There were some spikes in his brain activity, mostly whenever I had given him some coffee, and there were some accelerated heart rates recorded, but I knew that myself. I watched his current heartbeat, the beeps soothing me for some strange reason. Then, there was a spike in his brain activity. I watched closely, but it soon ended. I went back and looked at the specific areas where the most activity was and I found the sensory and creative parts were both quite active, but the sensory bit was shut down quickly. I knew what this meant; my treatment had worked. Now all I had to do was wait for the morning. I kept watching his progress and a couple more times his brain spiked and it was the same areas. I was so excited I couldn’t wait. I closed my computer and ran with it through the student’s block and into the teachers' and head scientists’ block. I looked at the signs, finding the office I wanted and running to it. When I got to the door I paused, hearing voices.

“Why? I told you, no one is to give the kids real chemicals!” The voice of the Headmaster said angrily.

“I’m sorry, she was requesting weird chemicals and I didn’t think they were for him! Besides, all I get is a notification for which floor wants it. I wasn’t to know it was her!” A deep sigh followed this comment, then a chair creaking.

“You know full well that all the juniors are on floors 1-3. You should’ve only given her what we told you to give her! Now she’s actually got results and the whole thing is pointless. You’ve wasted almost 4 weeks of progress because you didn’t think! Get out of my sight. You’re fired.” The door flew open, revealing the Headmaster and the Chemical Director. I just stood there with my eyes wide and my computer clutched under my arm.