[ --- Sebastian Preußler --- ]


How many years had it been since he began working on this dreaded project? Three? Four? No, longer than that. He was only a young man, right out of university when they contacted him with the job offer. Of course he leaped to it, thanking God that he had not been forced to look around himself.

Now Sebastian wished he had been smarter all those years ago. He wished he had thought it through, or at least asked what he was going to be doing. Then again, he supposed the company would not have told him anything regardless of whether or not he questioned them.

The dark haired man cast his fingers over his mouth and frowned. He was twenty-six years old. Twenty-six and here he stood barely five feet away from the body of a deformed human being. A person who once had a life. A person who once looked normal. A person who once had a family and was not labelled 'missing' by the government.

Yeah. He really, really wished he had been smarter.

Reaching over, Sebastian plucked a clipboard from off the table. He clicked the end of his pen and scribbled a note down, speaking aloud to the voice recorder in the room. "Subject's breathing and heart rate are both stable. Time is..." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "18:35." He paused, dotted his final period, then tucked the clipboard under his arm and turned. As he left the experimental room he checked the morphine that dripped continuously into the once-human. No air bubbles. Good. He closed the door behind him on his way out and let a breath of air escape between his lips. He was so tired. So, so tired..


[ --- ]

--------------------------------------Drew Romaine-----------

It was barely 9:00 AM when he received his diploma from the institute where the man had been studying scientific research. The tall male, around 6 foot, with his brown hair and green eyes, stood with his back to the door and he looked at the diploma in his hand. He was finally done with school, ready to plunge head first into a scientific research lab. There was only one problem... He didn't quite have the job. In fact, he had merely applied to several labs and was shot down by all because he lacked experience. The male was 23 years only, a late bloomer in college. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life until he had already finished his first three years. Running his hand along the rolled up paper, he smiled slightly. This would be the start of his life, one that would hopefully lead him to discover and invent and learn so much.

Turning around to leave the building that he would hopefully never need to return to, the man bumped into an older gentlemen. Saying a soft sorry, he looked up to see the owner of one of the world's most prestigious research labs. Fumbling with the diploma, he listened as the man asked to see his papers. It seemed only a short time before he heard the words... "I would like to extend my hand to you. Congratulations on completing your schooling. Would you be so kind as to join my team of researchers in a fairly new development in human studies?"

----------------

That was where it had begun for Drew Romaine. Within a few hours, he had taken his first trip in a limousine, received his first authentic lab coat, arrived to his first job, straight out of college. Drew felt it all incredulous, but never the less, took every second in as he learned new training and information for the job he was about to take on with another scientist. He was being treated as a gift to the other, to give the other fresh eyes on the confidential experiment. Everything was so new and so exciting! It seemed like everything was going well in his life, and he had only merely just graduated.

Being led down a long hallway, the fluorescent lights flickering only now and then, Drew was taken to a large door that lead to the most confidential experiment in the entire facility. And he would now be working on it! Drew watched as the leader shown him the code for the door, making him swear, and sign a paper, that he would never disclose the code, or reveal to anyone what was waiting inside the room. Agreeing, the two men entered the room, the time having flew so fast over the course of the day. Looking at his watch that we currently set to standard time, he read the numbers. It was now quarter of 7:00 PM. He would have to adjust that to military time later, but for now, it amazed him how long he had been in the facility, how long he had his diploma. Only a few hours, it seemed, but now the entire day had nearly gone by.

The men entered a small room, and Drew stood watching as the other addressed the man he assumed he would be working with. The man was certainly attractive, but he looked fully exhausted. Catching a little of the whispered conversation, he heard his soon to be partner's name. Sebastion. It seemed as though a few hours had gone by, even though it was just minutes, when the superior finally left for the two to get acquainted.

Reaching out his hand, he smiled slightly. "Hey.. I'm Drew Romaine." He wasn't the most formal person, which he hoped would not make this other, more experienced scientist, hate him right off the bat.

Sebastian turned at the sound of the doors opening behind him. This particular lab was almost like his own personal space. Only his superiors came to check on his work and that was for a mere second or two every month. They glanced at the paperwork, nodded in approval, and spoke a few words before stalking out, leaving Sebastian on his own yet again. The experiments that were done in this lab were horrible. They sucked the life out of innocent people, killing them painfully slow. Why would anyone who was sane want to be around such monstrosity?

Yet here stood one of his bosses and a young little thing whose eyes were large and bright, ready to learn. He looked fresh. A student who hopped out of university and into a field he didn't deserve to suffer in. Sebastian stood, greeting them both with a nod of his head, and shook hands with the older man.

"Hello, Sebastian," the superior greeted. His hand shake was firm. Powerful. Nothing like the scientists flimsy grip. "How is everything?"

"Fine." Sebastian slid his gaze to the young man--or was he still a boy? He certainly appeared as such.

The uniformed man in front of him noticed his staring and explained in a swift do-not-try-to-refuse tone. "Your new partner. I assume you've been briefed about this..?"

Sebastian nodded. Yes, last week he was told he would have a new assistant. A "partner" as this older man said. Someone to share the same guilt and disgust with him, to bond in a horrible way. He did not expect the mystery figure to be a child though and it sickened him how twisted the ones in charge of the entire operation could be. "Yes."

His superior nodded back, said a quick farewell, and disappeared out of the lab with a bob of the head to the boy.

As the door slid shut behind him, cutting off the air from outside, the young brunette stepped forward and extended his hand, smiling very slight. Sebastian took the slender palm in his own larger one and forced the corner of his mouth to twitch. His own personal technique of smiling. "Sebastian Preußler," he replied.

The boy was young in the face and body, but he wasn't at all small. Standing at six feet with a finely shaped torso, Sebastian felt slightly meek compared to the younger male. He himself was only five foot ten or so, and his frame was lithe compared to the muscles that shaped Drew. Suddenly the scientist had a tingling sensation of self consciousness. He must have looked like a mess with his hair strewn all over the place, heavy bags under his eyes, the slight fuzz of stubble on his jaw. Drew was nice and clean, looking ready for anything.

The air filters whirled, kicking in after sensing the penetration of non-clean air. Sebastian stepped back from his new "partner" and picked up the clipboard he had jotted down his notes in. "These are the stats of the subject," he explained, passing it over to Drew. "At 19:00 hours we must enter the testing room and check on it. We do this every half hour." He spoke under the belief that Drew knew exactly what was happening.

Drew was slightly taller than his new teacher in the field. Though that was normal for him. Most people were shorter than six foot. Of course, it was now that the twenty three year old noticed how unkept the man he was to be working under was. 5 o'clock shadow, hair a mess, deep bags from lack of sleep, wrinkled clothing. Surely, Drew did not want to become like this. He took much pride in his appearance, always clean shaven and well put together.

As the air filters kicked on, Drew jumped a little. He would certainly have to get used to that. As a clipboard was handed to him, the younger male looked over the sheet, many pieces of data and statistics recorded. He realized the man had slightly messy hand writing, showing someone who seemed to be under a lot of stress. Handing back the stat clipboard, he listened as Sebastion spoke, telling him the general procedure of the experiment.

"So.. I only got a light briefing on what goes on with this experiment.." his voice was certainly not as confident as he began to ask his question. "What exactly.. does go on here?"


(Fail post is fail.. sorry for the wait.)