For Better or For Worse chapter 1

Story by Takahiro Hamato on SoFurry

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#1 of For Better or For Worse Chapters

 

My head ached, my body burned. I didn't know what was happening to me. I...


My head ached, my body burned. I didn't know what was happening to me. It felt as if a thousand daggers were being continuously stabbed through my entire body. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, the extreme pain that came with every beat of my heart. I searched around me. A few people were standing, watching me. I called to them, but they did nothing, they only watched. A new figure appeared out of the darkness. He walked toward me, and stood directly in front of my face, but did nothing to help me. I thrashed in pain for hours, my hands, my feet, my back, my entire body burned like fire. Soon it was too much to stand, and I finally slipped into the black blanket of unconsciousness. When I awoke, I was cold, I felt like I had been in a freezer for a whole year. I opened my eyes, looking in every direction. Above me, a bright light shined. I felt a presence. It was a girl, in a white lab coat. She had a clipboard in her hand, she was writing, and talking to somebody.

"His vitals are stable, his heart beat is regular, and he's reacting well, although we still have more tests to run."

I heard another voice. It was a male that spoke.

"True, but how do you think he will react when he sees what has happened to him. He's not the same. We may have to sedate him incase of a violent reaction. He could easily overpower us."

The woman nodded and wrote something on her clipboard. I seen her pick up a syringe, and bring it towards me. I didn't have the strength to fight back, but soon felt numbness, and then the black blanket fell over my eyes once more. When I came to again, the pain was gone. No fire, no aching, just...bliss. When I opened my eyes, no light was shining. A male was standing over me, writing on a clipboard.

He let his eyes wander away from his task, and he looked at me. I stared back, not saying a word. He went back to writing on his clipboard. Only the sound of the pen scribbling was in the room. I tried to talk, but when I did, it came out completely wrong. My tongue felt like lead. When I noticed this, the man looked at me.

"You've been sedated. So your body won't be able to move for awhile. And you will have trouble talking, which that you have already found out. Oh, and even if you could move your body, it would feel as if 10 tons are on your arms and legs. Now I'm going to remove the straps that are binding you to the table, now if I get any trouble out of you, I'll sedate you again, got it?"

It took me a moment to understand all that he said, but I nodded. He gave a slight smile and undid the straps that were binding me. I didn't even know I had been strapped down. As he undid the last strap, I tried to sit up, and half succeeded before falling back down to the table. I could barely lift myself up, my body felt insanely heavy. The man started writing again, but talked to me as he did.

"You can move around, but when you see yourself, you'll be shocked. When we knocked you out and brought you here, our intentions were to make a new species, a hybrid species. And with you, we have succeeded."

I stared at him, I wanted to ask what he was talking about, but my mouth wouldn't work. He put his hand to my neck when he finished writing, then checked my temperature. He wrote on the clipboard again, and then looked at me.

"Can you sit up?"

I blinked, and then tried, this time I succeeded. My eyes never left him.

"Open your mouth."

I did. He bent over a little and looked inside, then straightened.

"Now get off the table, and stand, keep looking at me the whole time."

I nodded. My understanding was coming back quickly. My body didn't feel as heavy. I slid off the table and stood, the floor was ice cold. When I stood completely straight, I towered over him by at least a foot! He looked up at me, and then scribbled on his clipboard. He stopped and looked back up at me.

"Now, I want you to look down at your body, I want you to remain calm, and keep still."

I nodded slowly, giving him a curious look. I slowly looked down and when I did, my eyes widened. I wasn't the same, not even close! My body was massively built. My skin was red, and it looked like scales! I looked at my arms, they were huge, and my hands! My hands were large, I had all five fingers still, but my fingernails were now black claws! My legs were built entirely with muscle. My feet were sort of different. The only thing different was my toe nails, which were the same as my finger nails. I raised my hand to in front of my face, it shook.

I tried to say something, but again, I couldn't. Just then I noticed, when I tried to talk, it felt different sort of...foreign. I looked around, searching for a mirror or something. I seen a metal circle plate thing and ran over to it. The man was protesting behind me, but I ignored him and grabbed the plate, bringing it up to my face. What I saw made my eyes widen even more! My face was completely different. I had the face of a reptile like Dragon.

I had a medium sized snout. When I opened my mouth, my teeth were white as snow and sharp as daggers. My eyes were a bright gold, my pupils were slits. My skin was now scales, and when I touched them, they felt rough, but soft at the same time. I had no hair on any part of my body, the only thing covering me was a white hospital gown that was way too small, and almost didn't cover my waist at all. The metal plate slipped out of my hands and made a clattering sound on the floor. I took a step back, completely in shock. The man stepped in front of me and was trying to calm me down, but his words weren't registering to me, I was confused, alarmed, but mostly angry.

I looked down at him, and when I did, he stepped back. I took a step forward, my fists clenched. I wanted to strangle him, to demand him to make me human again. I felt a breeze behind me, specifically behind my waist, and when I looked behind me, I seen a red scaly tail. Sort of a Dragon like tail, and when I looked at the base, it belonged to me!I spun around, then around again. My tail swung wildly from side to side, and when I turned, it knocked over medical supplies that were next to the table I was laying on a little bit ago. I turned back at him, a deep, dangerous growl rumbling in my throat. He jumped back, grabbing a syringe that was filled with some blue liquid.

"Stay back," He said, his voice filled with fear. "I don't want to use this. This will cause your body to convulse, and you will die within minutes."

That made me stop, I stared at him, my eyes daring him to attack me. He could see that I was ready to attack. He slowly set down the syringe, and put his hands up in an attempt to calm me down.

"Listen, you're a hybrid now. I know what you're thinking, you want me to change you back, but that is completely impossible. This is an extraordinary discovery, your half human, half Dragon. You are what we call and Anthro Dragon. Yet you don't have wings, which is because of your human side. Your body is able to stand and function as you did when you were a human because of your human genetics. But your Dragon DNA rules over your human DNA."

I breathed deeply, letting his words circle in my head again and again. I was a hybrid? A Anthro Dragon? Half human, half Dragon. This was cool, but I didn't want this. I wanted my old body back, I wanted my old face back. I stopped myself from thinking and reached back, feeling for the table before I sat on it, letting my head hang. I heard his footsteps, then seen his feet. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"You are the beginning of a new race, a mix between human and Dragon. You should be honored to be in this position."

I didn't reply. I didn't feel numb anymore. I could move just fine. He moved away. I looked up, seeing him pick up a cell phone, dial a number, then he started whispering a few seconds later. I could hear him, it was as if he was talking directly to me.

"I'm going to leave the room. When I'm out, come in and act like your going to take him to a room where he can sleep, but take him to one of the unused rooms. When your there, kill him...yes, yes. I know he is a success but we already have his mix of both DNA, but he is obsolete, something is wrong with his genetic code. Something I haven't seen before. There will be no need to run tests to see what is wrong with him. I already know that there is no answer, we don't have the right equipment. So take him, and then kill him."

He closed the phone and let it drop into the pocket of his lab coat.

"I have to go look at your readings. I'll be back after while. In the meantime, some of my colleagues will come in to take you to your living quarters."

I didn't say anything as he left. When the door closed I waited a few minutes until I was sure he was gone. I sprang up from the table, my eyes searching for a window, or another door that would lead me out of this place. I heard distant footsteps and spun to face the door, a low growl rumbling in my throat. I didn't really know why I was growling, it just happened when I was mad or scared. The footsteps grew closer, as they did, I tried to calm myself. I had to act normal. When they take me to the room, before I get in, I'll run, and escape. The door opened, 5 people walked in, one was a girl, and she was very pretty.

"Hello, we'll be taking you to your room, if you will follow us please?"

She gave me a sweet smile. I wasn't affected by her charm, I knew there plan. They lead me through a long hallway, we turned left, then right, then right again. We stopped at a grey door. A man opened it, and told me to step in. Now was my chance. When I walked in, I clenched my fists. My eyes fell on someone else in the room. A Anthro Dragon, just like me. Except his skin was black as coal, and his eyes were bright blue. He shook his head slightly, as if he knew my plan. I continued to stare at him, and allowed them to fully push me into the room.

I heard the door slam behind me, but I still stared at him. I took a slight moment to scan the room quickly. The room was plain with two beds, one on the left side of the room, one on the other side. A stand up lamp with a bright bulb was in the middle. Another door was beside the lamp. It was probably the bathroom. The other Anthro stood beside the lamp, leaning against the wall casually with his hands behind his head, his left leg crossed over his right. He wore barely anything at all.

He wasn't dressed in the hospital gown I was in, just a pair or loose boxers and a muscle shirt. He gave me a slight smile, showing a bit of his sharp teeth. I growled in response, this made him chuckle, a deep, throaty chuckle that indicated he had sort of a rough, deep voice. I took a step forward, afraid that if I got any closer, he would attack. I stood in the exact same spot for a few minutes before he pushed himself off the wall and slowly walked toward me.

"So, you're the newest one. Only been 3 others before you. The people came in here and took them out. I never saw them again, only lasted half a day though. Bad experiments I guess. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I got a good feeling about you."

Now he stood in front of me, only a few feet away. He was very intimidating. I decided against being offensive, he could definitely beat me in a fight. I relaxed, looking him up and down before giving a little smile and attempting to talk.

"The guy said to have me killed..."

I was surprised that I was talking, but chose not to linger on it. He nodded, looking at me from head to toe.

"Yeah, I'm guessing that's what happened to the others. But if you stick with me, they won't touch you. I got some pull around here, even though I'm just like you."

My eyes widened as he spoke, my heart filled with hope. I might be able to get out of this place alive.

"You can keep me alive, really?!"

He nodded, smiling a bit bigger.

"Yeah, but when they come in to take you away, they'll say your going with them so they can do a few tests.. When they do that, just don't say a word, and play along."

I was confused on what he meant, but I nodded and smiled, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"Thanks."

He nodded in a silent form of 'your welcome'.

"You're friendlier than the others. They didn't speak a single word to me. The people just threw them in and they ran and huddled on the bed. I could have helped them too, but they never asked."

I understood what he meant. He was a nice guy it seemed, all you needed to do to get his help was ask. I sighed in relief, walking over to the bed and sitting down. I glanced up to him, he was leaning against the wall next to the lamp again.

"So, what's your name?"

I had just noticed how odd my voice sounded. It sounded rougher and deeper, sort of like his, but lighter. He switched his feet, looking to the floor, then at me again.

"My name isn't really important, but if you really want to know it. It's Chris. I can't remember my last name."

I nodded, about to give my own name when I realized...I didn't remember my name....He looked down at me, giving a slight toothed smile.

"So, how about you tell me your name now."

I froze, trying to remember it, but all I kept drawing were blanks. Why couldn't I remember my own name, how long have I been here? What exactly have they done to me besides change me into what I am now? Where exactly is this fucking base anyway? For all I knew, I could be in fucking Europe!

"I....can't remember it." I said in a low voice.

He smiled and nodded, pushing himself off the wall with his shoulder and turning, walking over to the bed on the far left of the room and sitting down on it.

"I know how you feel. I couldn't remember my name for awhile either. But I know it. Don't worry, it will come to you sooner or later. Just try and get some rest. It will do you good."

He laid down on the bed, not saying another word as I sat silently for several moments. A million questions running through my head that I wanted to ask him, but most likely he would ignore me. I sighed and finally laid down, stripping of my hospital gown and pulling the covers over my exposed body. I didn't want the anthro, though nice as he seems, to get freaked out by seeing me. As I closed my eyes, my body started to feel numb, and I fell asleep quickly, the blackness giving me peace, and comfort.

When I awoke, I heard soft grunt. I sleepily opened my eyes, thinking all that I remembered a dream, but sighed with regret as I looked at my hand. I heard the grunt again, and looked to the source of the sound. As I did, my eyes widened at what I seen. The black anthro, who I had met yesterday, was lifting weights in the corner. I didn't see the weight bench there, how could I have not seen it when I surveyed the room?! The weights he lifted were massive, his muscles bulging tremendously. I blinked once, thinking that it wasn't real, but as I heard the soft grunt again, then the clang of the metal bar being set down, I knew it was real. He sat up, sighing heavily before reaching for a towel and wiping off his torso area and his face, As he finished, he noticed that I was up.

"Oh hey, I didn't know you were awake. I'm sorry if I woke you. I'm just going through my daily routine. In case your wondering. I have these weights so I can stay in shape. When they put you in here, you can't keep your physic. So I asked for these, and surprisingly I got them. "

He laughed and stood, I now noticed that he was only dressed in a tight pair of white boxers. He threw the towel on the bed and knelt down, reaching under the bed and pulling out a set of clothes.

"They think I'm not a threat, because I've been here so long and haven't caused any trouble, thats why I have some pull around here. Not much, but enough to get by with acting as if I don't want them to kill you."

He looked at me over his shoulder as he dressed slowly.

"You have to play along alright, or it won't work. This will work, so you absolutely have to play along and just go with it, understand?"

I nodded, not really understanding him but agreeing anyway. When he finished putting on his clothes he turned, putting his hands on his hips and smiling.

"Now, how about we get you some clothes, seeing as you didn't really like the hospital gown they had you in."

As he said that I look down and gasped, quickly covering between my legs as I realized I was sitting on the edge of the bed, completely exposed in front of him. Damn it! I thought I had the covers on me!I heard him laugh and I pulled the covers over my body frantically.

"Don't worry about that. It's not like I'm going to think its gross, its natural, why would I be scared or shocked by something as natural as somebody's body?"

I looked down at my hands, then back up at him.

"I'm just....new to this. I'm a little, suggestive about letting myself be naked around another person Thats all."

He laughed again and walked over to beside me and knelt down, pulling out a small white box. He sat it beside me and went back over to his bed and sat down.

"There are clothes in there, they will fit you, don't worry. It's probably just a pair of shorts and a tattered shirt. Its always something simple."

I looked at the box, then down at my body, and then back up at him. He smiled and stood, turning around so his back faced me.

"I won't look. I promise."

I swallowed and quickly started changing. The only things in the box were an ordinary white t-shirt, a bit too small for me, which showed off my muscles. A pair of baggy basketball shorts came with it. Simple clothes, yep, he was right. There were no socks or shoes, so I put the box back under the bed. When I finished he looked over his shoulder and turned, looking me up and down with a grin.

"Nice, I started off with a pair of faded blue jean shorts and a muscle shirt. If you ask, I'm sure they can give you specific clothing next time."

I nodded and looked down at the ground, tears threatening to fall down my dragon like face.

"If there even is a next time..."

I heard his footsteps then a comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, the tears already spilling over and down my face, falling to the floor. His look was one of sympathy.

"Hey, I promised you I would get you out of this, your going to be alright. I always keep my promise. Understand?"

I nodded, reaching up and wiping the tears from my cheeks. My skin felt so weird now, but I was slowly growing used to it. I could walk right now, and speak easily. His hand fell from my shoulder as a loud knocking came from the door that lead into the hallway. They had come for me. I gasped and grabbed onto his arm, hiding behind him. As I did, he pulled me back to in front of him, spinning me to face him. He grabbed my shoulders tightly, staring deeply into my eyes.

"Remember, no matter what, play along. Understand?" He said urgently, but in a whisper.

I nodded quickly and as the door opened, he turned, bringing me with him, and slammed me against the wall. As the door opened and a soldier stepped in, he quickly pressed his lips to mine. My mind was blown as he kissed me deeply, his clawed hands holding tightly to my shoulders. I wanted to push him off, but he told me to play along, and no matter how much I wanted not too, I did. I kissed back, wrapping my arms around his neck. I heard one soldier say whoa in surprise and then another one gasped.

After a few moments Chris's actions changed, he started moving his hands up and down my arms. I heard a whisper then footsteps. I felt Chris's lips leave mine and then heard him scream loudly in pain. My eyes snapped open as I stared at him as he stared at me with wide eyes, then fell to the ground, his body completely still. He was out cold. I looked and seen a soldier standing in front of me, smiling. The last thing I remember was a blue flash of light in my face, my scream of pain, then nothing. Blackness took over my vision.