Blackwood Labs: Series 1 (TBN)

It’s been two weeks since I became infected with the 0621 variant of the Pathowogen. When I started at university, I never imagined I would be a Geneticist in this kind of situation. Could you imagine what it’s like being a six-and-a-half-foot tall anthropomorphic pink wolf!? I mean, sure, some of my fur is white. But, why pink of all the possible colors? If that wasn’t odd enough, I seemed to have heterochromia now! My left eye is green, and my right eye is blue!

“Kaida was right, I really do look like a big fuzzy donut!” I thought out loud before following up with a drawn-out sigh.

I looked at myself in the mirror while inspecting the various aspects of my new body. I poked and prodded at my new, very sharp, fangs that partially protruded from my maw. I still think I look closer to grey wolf, if we ignore the pink fur, but I’m not entirely sure which genus of Canis lupus I am. I know it’s been a while since I changed, but I still can’t get over the way I look!

A knock came rapping on the door to sick bay 2.

“Maniak, are you still sleeping?” The bright sounding voice asked from outside of the room.

“I’m awake, you can come in!” I called back in response.

Kaida came into the room shortly after, her big puffy fox tail wagging rapidly from side to side and taking my immediate attention. She kind of skipped happily toward me and wrapped her arms around my torso and looked at me with her big beautiful brown eyes. I moved my paw up to her face and gently pushed a strand of her auburn hair off to the side. She smiled, showing off her sharp canines, before closing her eyes and leaning in for a kiss. I couldn’t help but find myself admiring her beautiful red and white fur and the way the end of her muzzle puckered slightly in anticipation. I could feel her starting to get antsy while waiting for me, so I leaned in without further ado, and pressed my muzzle against hers in a loving kiss.

As our lips parted, I noticed her poofy tail wagging even faster now. I can’t exactly say anything, because I can feel mine doing the same thing.

“I love you, Professor Kaida Smith” I said while staring into her eyes.

“I love you too, my Dr. Fuzzy Wuzzy Maniak Smith!” she exclaimed in return while nuzzling my chest.

Once Kaida stopped, she rested the side of her head against my chest while we continued to hold each other in a comforting embrace. I, as I usually do, rested my chin on top of her head. I always enjoy these little moments, it’s times like this I almost forget that…

“Oh! Is Rene ready for more tests?” I asked out loud while mid thought.

“That’s right!” Kaida responded while pulling away from me. “That’s actually why I came here! Sam just finished compiling the results of the data from our brain scans. Rene wanted to start digging into them, but Johan and I insisted we come get you first.”

“What…already!? That should’ve taken the Automated Research Artificial Intelligence System (ARAIS) at least another day to compile!” I responded in surprise.

Kaida took a further step back and turned on her heel for the door before looking back. “Sam was able to work his magic a bit and improved some of the code, we got pretty lucky he was with the BEAN team that night.” She said before stopping and turning to face me again. “Now cover up that gorgeous body of yours and get to the lab, ASAP!” She then promptly turned and exited the room.

I took a moment to absorb what Kaida just told me before looking down and noticing my belt was unbuckled.

“When did she…?” I thought out loud. I’ll never understand how she is so good at doing that without me noticing. I quickly refashioned the buckle and slipped my shoes on. I started for the door when I realized I had nearly forgotten my lab coat and glasses. I swiftly grabbed my glasses from the table and placed them on my head. They were a bit uncomfortable, as they were meant for human me, but I really didn’t have my choice if I wanted to see clearly. I slipped my fur covered arms through the sleeves of my coat and made my way out the door.

As I entered the corridor, I noticed the other sick bay was occupied. I didn’t pay it too much mind and continued to the lab to meet up with everyone. As I entered through the doorway, I could see Rene Beckett right in front of me, tapping her paw impatiently on the floor with her orange and black striped arms across her chest. She immediately met my gaze with her striking amber eyes and started walking toward me.

“It’s about time you got out of bed!” She said with a tinge of frustration. “Quickly, you need to see this!” She grabbed my arm with her massive paw and started pulling me over to her terminal. I couldn’t even think now as she excitedly hurried us over and began pointing to a three-dimensional graphic on the display. As I attempted to settle in on the data being presented, all I could feel was Rene’s intense stare. I turned my head slightly to look at her, only to see her massive toothy grin, almost out of place on her fierce tiger-like face.

“Rene, I feel your excitement ready to explode and it’s making me nervous.” I explained, trying to get her to contain herself for a moment. I don’t do well when people hover around me, I need my space if I’m going to focus.

“o-oh! Sorry, Dr. Smith. I’ll let you review the data!”, she said apologetically as she took a step back from the terminal.

I flashed her a smile. “Thank you, Rene. I’ll only be a moment.” I said as I refocused on the data. I could see the data compiled was from a brain scan occurring two days prior. It looks like the data is from when I was wearing the Brain Computer Interface (BCI) the night Kaida was infected. We found that beta blockers helped control the compulsive urges to try and infect others. I had been wearing the BCI for almost a week while I interacted with Kaida, wearing a hazmat of course. The medication seemed to control it perfectly, but two nights ago, there was a bit of a snafu. While I was sleeping, Kaida decided she was going to sneak in the room and snuggle up to me, feeling safe with the results thus far. When I gained consciousness the following morning, I found myself pinning her to the bed with my nose pressed up against hers. It would seem, we can still be compelled when the medication is at its weakest, even in our sleep.

You could see the moment, clearly visible, when the Pathowogen took control of my body and passed on the infection to Kaida. The interesting data is where you could see a spike in the activity roughly every 40-50 minutes. The first spike occurred roughly four hours before full control was taken from me and each subsequent spike being more substantial than the previous. This data is quite useful as it serves as a timed warning to help us know when we need to take more beta blockers.

Unfortunately, the casualty of the situation was Kaida becoming infected. She understood the risks and I couldn’t be mad at her; it had been far too long since we were able to spend a night together. The positive being that she did not turn feral and it’s also a huge bonus that she transformed into the most adorable fox girl I could’ve ever imagined.

Lost in thought, I almost didn’t notice that Rene had moved back in and was staring daggers into the side of my head. I took a step back to give myself a little breathing room before meeting her gaze.

“Sorry for making you wait, Rene. I feel like I have a good understanding as to how often the Pathowogen can compel its host. Has this data been submitted to Professor Blackwood yet?” I asked quizzically.

“I wanted to get your thoughts on the data before I sent it up. I’m glad to see you came to the same conclusion and I was also thinking of requesting time released beta blockers.” She replied while shaking her head indicative of saying no.

I didn’t expect anything less from Rene, she is a leading Professor of the Biological Engagement Assessment & Neutralization (BEAN) Team and graduated at the top of her class in genetics. I couldn’t help but give her shoulder a gentle pat from my paw before saying, “Nice work, Rene. You’re Grrrrrreat!”.

As I watched her smile fall, a familiar voice spoke up from behind us. “Oh honey, I know you didn’t just say that with a straight face.”

I turned to find Sam Roux, one of the other BEAN Team members that came down here to attempt to contain the incident and who was also transformed by the Pathowogen. They were a kind of a Macaw hybrid, covered in blue and yellow feathers. As I met the gaze of their pale-yellow eyes, I noticed they were still wearing the primary ARAIS BCI device that was just barely clinging to their skull.

I nervously scratched the back of my head as I replied, “Heh, yeah…I guess that was pretty bad! Sorry about that…”

“You only get one more joke this week, better not waste the opportunity so easily!” Rene remarked.

I nodded in reply before stating, “I promise to not allow my thoughts unwind like a ball of yarn.”

“That’s your last one!” exclaimed Rene just as Sam bellowed out a guffaw which soon spread to Rene and me.

As our laughter died down, my eyes scanned the rest of the lab area and noticed both Kaida and Johan were absent.

“I thought Kaida and Johan were here?” I asked no one in particular.

Sam, the first to respond to me, “Johan was cold and went to go warm up, and the last we saw of Professor Kaida, was when she left earlier to get you.”

Rene nodded in agreement before saying, “Yeah, I was surprised when you came to the lab alone. Maybe she’s checking on the ferals?”

It is understandable as one of her closest friends, Dr. Claire Hazzo, was one of the unfortunate ones who turned feral from the infection. In addition to Claire, two of the three other BEAN Team members were also feral. Toby Chai and Lily Mullen were infected shortly after the tank containing the 0621 variant of the Pathowogen exploded. The remaining member, Simon, unfortunately lost his life in the explosion. We are also aware of at least one other person down here during the outbreak, and that was the on-duty security guard, Frank Tapas.

We know for certain that Claire, Frank, Lily and Toby are all feral. This means they are essentially mindless husks serving as a vehicle for the Pathowogen to use to infect others. It’s pretty much what happens to us when we encounter a non-infected individual, and we are compelled to pass on the Pathowogen. Except, ferals never regain control of their bodies and are just forced to wander mindlessly.

We believe to have identified one of them so far, a house mouse hybrid we are certain is Toby, and we are keeping him in a containment cell within the lab. In just a short time, we have learned a lot about how ferals continue to survive in their state. We hope our research can lead to an effective method to cure them, or at the very least, help them gain control of their new bodies.

Rene cleared her throat before asking, “Dr. Smith? You have that look on your face.”

“Oh! S-Sorry about that! Just got lost in my head for a bit there!” I replied quickly as she broke my train of thought. “I’m going to go look for Kaida, go ahead and send the information up to Professor Blackwood. Hopefully we can get time released beta blockers as you suggested. Thank you, Rene, and Sam.”

They both nodded and continued their work and I made for the door. I was immediately back in thought, hopeful that we can get the medication down here soon. Unfortunately, since Kaida was our last non-infected persons down here. We’re going to need a new test subject soon; I wonder who we can convince to come down here. I’m sure Kaida will have a few people she can suggest, let’s go see what she’s up to!