Sibling Test Subjects -

CHAPTER 3 - FIRST TRIAL

Jessica awoke to the chiming bell of her alarm; "

7:30AM"

the screen flashed. She slept deeply last night, having multiple dreams which all blurred together. She faintly recalled the notion of a fish-man in her dreams.

"So stupid"

she said to herself, face still planted in a pillow with a mess of red hair around her head, she tapped a button on her phone to dismiss the alarm. She stretched out, shoving the blankets down little by little.

She swung her slim legs around to the ledge of the bed as she rose, her feet not touching the ground until she slid down and out of bed. Beginning her morning routine of washing, organizing, and maintaining. Following her shower, she walked over to the dresser and pulled open a couple drawers. Choosing a pair of black yoga pants, a faded, blue, cotton bralette, and a white pullover that engulfed her small torso with sleeves that fell just short of her fingertips with her arms at her sides. She threw her hair into a pony tail, the threads of her hair having only become the slightest bit wavy since she'd straightened them yesterday. She took her time in the mirror applying a thin veil of makeup, accentuating her profound cheekbones, noes, and luminous eyes. A noise down the hall caught her attention as she finished up.

Kyle, busy in the kitchen making his breakfast, let the sound of clanging pans ring through the household down the hall. Jessica added a gold bracelet and two studded diamond ear rings to her apparel, complimented with a pair of ivory-green plain tennis shoes with white soles. Her stomach grumbled at the smells wafting down the hall as she finished lacing her shoes up. Something with the scent of bacon and peppers. With a pep in her step she made her way to the kitchen, pony tail bouncing and swaying with each step.

Kyle took a glance at the sound of her sneakers hitting the tile floor with a squeak. "Hey, made some sausage and peppers. I can throw some in a bowl if you want?" Kyle was wearing a similar outfit to his sister. Gray, baggy sweatpants, a black long sleeve quarter-zip pull over with a flared collar, and matching black sneakers with white soles. The dark theme of the outfit made Kyle appear even taller than he already was, and more toned in the arms where the pullover hugged his form.

"Thanks, yeah I'll take a bowl." Jessica opened the fridge retrieving a single serving bottle of strawberry pro-biotic yogurt smoothie and took a seat waiting to be served. Kyle took the pan and a bowl over to the table and began dumping sizzling pan seared sausage and peppers into her bowl.

"I'm going to throw mine into a wrap; I still have to get some laundry in the wash. Eat up quick, I'd like to leave in twenty." Kyle took out a spinach tortilla from the fridge and scooped his food into it, wrapping it up tight and placing it in a towel to be retrieved in a few minutes. He threw the pan and utensils into the sink without rinsing. Jessica dug in paying no mind to Kyle or even thinking she should help to clean up the dishes. She ate with one utensil in her dainty hand, taking her time with each bite, wiping her mouth out of habit and not out of necessity; prim and proper like at a table with royalty.

As Jessica rose from her seat, she pushed the chair in, and brought her dishes to the sink. Kyle came back having accomplished his task. "Hey, you ready?" He said in a hurried tone.

"Yup, just finished." She took her last sip on the smoothie, stepping to the waste bin, and tossing the used bottle in. Kyle grabbed the keys off of the hook next to the door and opened it stepping into the garage clicking the unlock button; the lights from the SUV flashing so bright Jessica could see them from the kitchen. Getting into step behind Kyle, they walked fast getting into the SUV. Kyle hit the button to the garage door as he buckled his seat belt. The morning air was cool as it slipped into the garage, warmed by the sunlight splattering the house through thin clouds.

Kyle backed out of the garage and onto the highway, Jessica thinking again about Kyle's involvement in the testing she would be undergoing today. She felt nervous about the prospect. "So what are they going to have you doing today?" Jessica shuffling her fingers in a nervous tic.

Kyle checked the mirror for traffic as he turned on his signal and changed lanes. "I'm not sure, yesterday was a lot of paperwork, so hopefully not more of that." Kyle slumped back in his seat, passing traffic on the right lane. Jessica didn't receive the answer she wanted, her anxiety began to climb higher. She looked at the clock,

"8:43AM".

The rest of the drive was quiet and strangely tense. Jessica tried to continue to think of ways to get Kyle to talk, to get some piece of information out of him that would put her at ease or answer her question, knowing she couldn't outright ask about his involvement. The last time she felt this nervous, she was younger and had been nervously awaiting results at the doctor's office, to confirm or deny her fears of having to have her tonsils removed. Everything around her was calm, except her. Just like now.

As they pulled into the parking lot of the dilapidated mall, Jessica breathed in deep through her nose, not realizing she hadn't been breathing this whole while. Kyle put the vehicle in park, pulled the keys out, yanked the door handle, and slid out of his seat all in rapid succession. Kyle was in a rush and this tense energy he projected out, making Jessica was hone in on it to chew at her nerves all the worse. Jessica popped open the door, getting out slower than Kyle, moving at a steady and delicate pace.

"Alright, I'm going to head in. I'll be back here at five. If you're done before me just wait in the office and meet me here then, alright?" Kyle looked at Jessica with his intimidating brown eyes, making her heart hit a hard beat as they made eye contact.

"Okay, I should be done around then, too." Kyle nodded to Jessica's statement and stepped away, headed to his side of the mall. Jessica knew she would have to confront Professor Eve about her situation. She had already accepted the position and signed documents.

"I should've asked yesterday about him, how could I have forgotten about that! Ugh! I'm so stupid, stupid, stupid!"

she thought to herself, making her way back to the door of the lab.

Jessica opened the door and was met with a low blast of cool air, causing her pony tail to briefly jiggle in the wind in motion with her pull over. The receptionist behind the desk looked up briefly, "Welcome back Ms. Hammonds. Have a seat and we will bring you in shortly." Jessica smiled at the woman and took her seat, pulling out her phone from her waist band. Yesterday when Jessica and the Professor had parted ways, she was told to be there sharply at 9AM. Her phone read 8:59AM and just as she pressed the button on her phone to close the screen, the magnetically locked door she'd followed Professor Eve through yesterday clicked and swung open. Professor Eve stood there, lab coat fastened tight, clip board in hand, and a white, cloth face mask across her face.

"Ms. Hammonds, please follow me." Her glasses were further down the bridge of her nose, her dark hair wrapped into a tight knit bun on the back of her head. Jessica rose to her seat, leaving her phone with the receptionist, flashing the same fake smile once more. Thoughts of coming face to face with her brother choked her as she tried to come up with a way to bring the subject up to the Professor. The sound of the Professor's inch high heels clacking against the linoleum tile floor echoed off of the walls that seemed to close in on Jessica the further they went. On the verge of a panic attack, the Professor stopped at the end of the hall to open another magnetically locked door. She took her key card hanging from her hip and placed it to a badge reader; it beeped and the red light turned green as the magnet released its hold on the metal plate holding the door tight on the other side with a snap.

Professor Eve shrugged the door open with one arm, motioning with the other for Jessica to pass through. "Hey, um, Professor? I need to ask you something. About the trial." Jessica was shaky with her voice.

"I know you're nervous, but you already have my word that you won't go home looking any different than you do now." The Professor spoke with confidence and clarity, to the tune of mild annoyance.

"No, Professor, it's not that. I just wanted to ask. Well. Will there be other people helping you test on me, or like watching, or anything... besides you?" Jessica stepped through the door into another white room. It was quite large with a ceiling that extended upwards of thirty feet or so, to the roof of the mall. Walls capped each direction, a double door to the left of where Jessica stood, and a single door to the right. In the center stood a large chamber like a greenhouse, but circular. It reminded Jessica of a hypo-allergenic's safety bubble she'd seen in a comedy movie once before. There was a sealed entrance on one side, with a booth on the other side with black gloves that protruded from the wall and a cubby that had a sliding door, presumably for someone to interact with the person on the inside without having to enter. Center of the enclosure was a padded exam table like from her interview.

"What is the concern, Ms. Hammonds?" Professor Eve stepped in behind Jessica, letting the door close with a click. The Professor was irritated to Jessica's exasperation and dodgy nature. Jessica swallowed, feeling her mouth go dry, and a lump form in her throat. The Professor's direct nature wasn't helping Jessica to think clearly.

"Do you have any physical therapists working with us? It's just, my brother interviewed with your company too, and he's like, apparently following a physical therapist around, to, I don't know, learn what they do and-" The Professor grabbed Jessica by the arm before she continued to spiral out of control into a full blown panic attack.

"Ms. Hammonds, slow down." Her grip was firm on Jessica's upper arm "The only other people than myself that will be working with you are my two assistants, who I can assure you have never met you before. Furthermore, any data collected and sent out, will have your identity expunged from it, including any video or audio recordings, and you will be assigned a number that will identify you in anything we record." Jessica calmed at the touch of the Professor, letting her voice of reason and clarity be a calming force. "Otherwise the only other encounters will be with other test subjects. All of which have signed the same non-disclosure agreement that you signed yesterday."

Jessica looked on confused. "But you said there was only one available position, how are there other test subjects?" Two people: one quite feminine and the other androgynous, in gray scrubs with matching face masks and caps, came through the double doors, one pushing a machine on a stainless steel cart while the other helped with doors. Once in the room their hands began making ready the machines that lined the walls. Low whirring noises began to fill the room in cadence.

"And that is correct, Ms. Hammonds. The position

you

have filled was the only one for that part of the trial. There are other segments of this trial with open positions that required filling.

Yours

was but one of many, each with their own points of interest to this study, but certainly no physical therapist positions." Jessica looked on, less confused, now understanding the loop hole she had missed. Relaxed at the thought of knowing she would not be seeing her brother, she was now concerned about who she would be meeting instead. Would it be someone she knew? "This was detailed in the packet you signed yesterday; in case you have forgotten." The Professor reminded Jessica with a firm tone to her voice.

One of the assistant technicians in the lab approached Jessica, handing her a white pill and a red capsule with a cup of water. "Please take both before we begin." Jessica looked at the set of eyes peeking out above the mask of the woman before her, glancing at the pills in her hand, and back before reaching out and taking all three in her own hands. Jessica opened her mouth and slipped in the pills, one at at a time as they were quite large. Jessica took a sip from the cup to wet her mouth, thinking she would have trouble swallowing them. Jessica tilted her head back and swallowed the pills with great effort, feeling the sizable shapes slip down her throat. The technician stepped away to continue her duties alongside the other.

Bright lights in the chamber clacked on as Professor Eve operated a touch screen control panel next to the booth. "Ms. Hammonds, I would advise you to disrobe." Professor Eve spoke, tapping some information into a tablet she now held in her hands. Jessica looked at the Professor and both technicians, eyes flicking quickly back and forth twice with the same hesitance she held when Eve had interviewed her.

"Like... here?" Jessica was timid "in front of everyone?" Professor Eve as engrossed in the info she was entering and didn't pay her much attention, giving her only enough mind to answer the question.

"It is advised, but not required. Do as you wish, but please remove your hair band to avoid potential harm from the treatment." The Professor spoke something out of earshot of Jessica to one of the technicians as they began a large machine that started spinning a liquid contained within a large oval looking device. The liquid was crystal clear, like spring water, but had the consistency of warm syrup.

Jessica chose not to disrobe, hugging herself through her comfy, large pull over in the cool lab air. She took on hand and reached up, pulling at the hair tie holding her pony tail together, sliding it off the length of her hair. The red drape of her hair fell down her back to just below her shoulder blades as she shook her head out, the subtle waves in her hair shimmering from reflected light.

Professor Eve turned and began unlocking the entrance to the enclosure, the clear, thick glass sliding out and away. "Ms. Hammonds, come take a seat in the habitat, we will begin shortly." Jessica walked over to the entrance, the warmth of the chamber could be felt emanating from the opening. Jessica stepped in, noticing how humid the chamber was compared to the rest of the lab. The enclosure was cozy and warm, like a sunny spot in a reading nook. She approached the exam table and hopped up. Professor Eve sealed the door behind Jessica, the rubber seals making a slight thump as the lock tumbled into place. A speaker from above projected the Professor's voice. "Ms. Hammonds, we are going to begin filling the chamber with a mild nerve agent to help you relax. You should begin to feel euphoric, please try to relax and allow it."

Jessica looked up as a misty fog began to pour in from vents at the top of the round ceiling and settle into a cloud on the floor, slowly filling up the chamber. There was no scent to it and Jessica watched as the spreading fog reached her green sneakers, rising ever slowly up. As she watched the gas, an old familiar feeling of being at the dental office, breathing in the 'Silly Gas', the dentist had called it; though not as intense. Jessica was able to stay lucid as the tingly, soothing feeling of being enveloped in a warm, soft blanket washed over her. Her skin tingled up her spine and through her scalp while goosebumps formed on her neck and arms. Her muscles relaxed and she felt the need to lean back on the table, turning her legs up onto it.

With a subtle mechanical hum, the table transformed like a feature-packed memory foam bed into a lounger style chair. "We need you seated upright for this step." Eve spoke. Eventually the gas stopped filling the room and Jessica found herself humming old lullabies her mother used to sing to her when she was younger, completely unaware of life outside the chamber. Slowly the haze of the chemical fog dissipated, sucked away from quiet vents within the enclosure. Professor Eve's voice chimed once again, "Ms. Hammonds, we are going to begin and administer the first round of doses. You should feel some soreness and slight pain as the treatment begins to work; do your best to remain relaxed during the process. Any discomfort should pass quickly."

"Okie doke." Jessica replied, childishly, her eyes closed. Moments later she opened them to the sound of crinkling plastic on her left. One of the technicians, clad in what is best described as white HazMat gear with a clear visor approached Jessica in the chamber. Jessica had not noticed the figure slip in and was rather calm despite the figure holding a large syringe containing the same fluid she had seen earlier.

The voice of the androgynous technician came across muffled through the helmet, "Ms. Hammonds, I'm going to pull up the hem of your shirt, I need access to your chest to administer the dosage." Jessica smiled, squinting immaturely at the technician. A gloved hand reached down and pulled up the hem of the white sweatshirt until it was stretched above her chest and rested on her collar bone, leaned back in the chair. "There is going to be a little pinch and a cool sensation, okay?" Jessica giggled and smiled at the lady in the suit, full of thoughts like why her head was so big, and other rude questions. The technician swabbed the insertion point just above Jessica's left tit, pulling the strap of the blue bralette further away to gain access.

The technician lined up the needle where they'd swabbed as Jessica looked on in curiosity at the large instrument. Plunging the needle home into an vein above Jessica's heart, she gave a very mild reaction "Ouchie" she said. The technician deposited the contents of the syringe and swabbed the insertion point on her skin once more before leaving. Jessica rubbed at where she was injected with a frown on her face.

"Ms. Hammonds, the reaction from the nerve agent should be tapering off shortly. You should remain relaxed but become more lucid in time..." Professor Eve continued on explaining, in spite of the fact that Jessica was very well lost in her own mind. "The first injection is a molecular agent that creates proteins that will allow your body to much more easily accept changes to your DNA sequences. The next injections for the remainder of your time with us will be smaller as a result." Jessica laid her head back, her shirt still resting above her, leaving her near absent cleavage from the bralette on display. She arched her back and squirmed in her seat with her eyes closed, still humming.

"In addition to these mutations, there should be physical manifestations of the changes we are inducing. You can expect mammary tissues to expand beyond one-hundred percent of your current volume, hip-skeletal tissue migration, posterior muscles and fatty tissues to increase in tandem, and a slight increase to your libido." All of these words slowly began to filter in through Jessica's ears as her high began to subside. The cool sensation she felt in her chest began to be replaced by a warming one that started in her chest and continued to spread downward through her stomach and into her loins.

Professor Eve watched behind thick glass panes and through monitors from cameras that recorded every little detail of the transformation's beginnings. Jessica could feel pain in her hips that reminded her of getting her braces tightened as a teen. She grasped the cushion below her in a tight grip in her small hands.

"Nnnnhh!" Jessica groaned through her teeth, squinting her eyes shut to try and push the pain back. Her hip bones slowly pressed out from her sides, sluggishly pushing and pulling in different directions until Jessica obtained a clear pear shape while she squirmed in her chair. The change in Jessica's form had caused the waist band of her yoga pants to stretch wider and pull down slightly like a pair of low-rise jeans on a 90's pop singer.