Colin gaped open-mouthed at the man who walked into the room. He had to be the most beautiful man Colin had ever seen. Tall, Dark hair, deep blue eyes that practically glowed with intensity and cheek bones sharp enough to cut glass.

  Colin hoped this man swung for the other team, because if he were straight, all other men were doomed to be single.

  ”Colin, this is Doctor Charles Bell,” Merrin motioned a wing toward Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.

  ”Nice to meet you Charles,” Colin said.

  “Please, call me Chuck. It’s very nice to meet you, Colin. I was hoping you’d accept my invitation,” Charles said with a voice that was deep and butter smooth.

  “Are you genetically modified? Or should I just hate you for being natural?” Colin said.

  Chuck laughed, “Lets just say I discovered a few things that will shatter the plastic surgery industry.”

  Colin stared for a bit, not sure if that was a joke.

  “Anyway,” Chuck said, handing Colin a name tag, “Shall we get started?”

  Colin read the name tag, “What’s ‘Experiment CX21’ mean?”

  ”That is you,” Chuck said, walking Colin through a sterile hallway.

  Merrin shifted back into a monkey and followed close behind after gathering her things.

  “Come again?” Colin said.

  “For your duration here, you will be referred to as CX21. The others have similar titles for the sake of privacy.” Chuck reached a metal door and punched a code into a keypad on the wall. The door slid open with a depressurizing sizzle.

  Past the doors was another hallway. One side of the hallway was lined with glass walled prison cells. Across the hall from each cell was a view of everyone else’s cell on camera. Each cell was occupied by either a single man or woman. As they walked by, some openly stared at Colin with animosity, some ignored him altogether.

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  Colin looked around nervously. There had to be at least twenty people here, “Um, Are you planning to keep me here for awhile?”

  “Two days a week, yes. Your wife has been notified,” Chuck said before stopping in front of an empty glass cell. It had ‘CX21’ labeled on the door, “Welcome to your room, CX21.”

  “Umm, thanks,” Colin said, opening the glass door and stepping in.

  Chuck closed the door behind Colin, “Your first task is to stay in your room and clear your head as much as possible while you prepare for the first attempt. If you need anything, please let Merrin know. Please hold your arm to the slot in the wall.”

  Colin found the slot in the wall and held his arm to it hesitantly. Some sort of clamps latched onto his arm and kept him from pulling away.

  “Hey!” Colin shouted and yanked at his arm.

  A pressure gun slowly descended from the top of the slot and onto Colin’s wrist. He tried again to free his arm, but it was no use. He was trapped. The pressure gun made a hissing ‘Cthnk’ sound and a searing pain exploded through Colin’s wrist.

  “Ah! What the hell!?” Colin was breathing deep and staring daggers at Chuck. He tried to open the door to knock some sense into the guy, but the door was locked. Colin punched the door hard enough to split open his recently healed knuckles.

  “I’m sorry about that,” Chuck spoke in a calm voice.

  Merrin wore a sympathetic look on her monkey face.

  Colin was furious. He punched the glass again and shouted in rage, “Sure you’re sorry, you prick!”

  ”I’ve found that the process is less traumatizing if you’re not expecting the pain.” Chuck said, with his stupidly smug face, “The painkillers should be kicking in any second now”

  Colin felt a wave of relief spread from his wrist and throughout his entire body. He was still pissed, but without the pain, he was calming down easier, “Next time, I don’t care how bad it is. Warn me first. Now unlock this door!”

  “No can do,” Chuck said, “The experiment has begun. For the next forty eight hours, you are mine. Paid for in advance. That chip in your wrist was the only painful portion though.” Chuck placed a hand on his chest. “You have my word.”

  “What did it do to me?” Colin said in a growl.

  “Inserted a simple chip that tracks your vitals and lets you communicate to Merrin if you need anything. It will also let us know if you’re about to violate your NDA and take extreme measures to prevent such an event, but that shouldn’t be a worry.”

  Chuck felt a pit open in his stomach. He should have backed out when he had the chance. The money was great, but this guy was unhinged. What did ‘extreme measures’ mean? He looked at his wrist and punched the glass door again.

  “Merrin, see to it that he gets something for his knuckles,” Chuck said then raised his voice to address all of the subjects, “I apologize for the terrible first impression. I hope you will find the rest of your experience worth the minor inconvenience. From cuisine and comfort, to fine wines, let Merrin know and she will provide it for you. Listen to her advice if you would like the best chance at compatibility and returning for the next stage of tests. Otherwise, it was nice meeting you all and I wish you the best.”

  With that, Chuck walked away wordlessly.

  Colin stared at the other people on the screens, the glass room didn’t let you see into the room next to you, but he could see each person on the wall across from his cell. They all had mixed reactions from worry to excitement, but all Chuck could feel was anger. He reminded himself that this was for his family to calm down and it slowly helped.

  Either way, Colin would make that doctor pay for what he had done.