Forbidden Project Chapter 1 Part 1 (May be subject to rewrite)

 

                                                CHAPTER 1

 

The tension hurt fifteen year old Jackson Malerdeen’s head. It was difficult for him being neglected by his step-father. Okay, that was a little stretch of the truth; his step-father didn’t completely ignore him, or his friends for that matter. No, Jackson’s step-father knew all of them fairly well. You see, Jackson and his two friends, Marcus Jenario and Katelynn Briarfeild, were the personal science experiments of Jackson’s step-father.

They were all kept in the step-father’s lab in Locust Hill, Maine. Nestled just off the border of Canada, this is where Dr. Manser did the atrocious experiments that would change the lives of these three close friends. He altered them, all the way down to their DNA, merging them with some of the wildest animals known to man. He started with the fastest and strongest creatures feared as predator, merging young Marcus with a leopard, mutating lithe Katelynn into a tigress, and making his own step-son Jackson, one with the cheetah.

Jackson felt himself slipping towards insanity. He started being unable to control himself. No, he had to control himself. He started thinking about his friends. They were each sitting in a room that was to them was like a prison. Jackson’s had a small table in the middle of the room with two chairs, and a small bed to sleep on. He had no idea why the table was there, his step-dad never gave him food, and the bed was useless because he never slept. Jackson had gotten to the point where he felt like his step-dad had crossed the line. He was tired of being alone.

He was allowed to have visitors, but the only person, who his best friend, Harmony Talder ever came. This was sometimes the best thing for him, because she was his only link to his little 10 year old brother Tyler. The reason Tyler couldn’t come see Jackson himself, was because Jackson didn’t want his step-dad using Tyler as his guinea-pig too, so he stayed with Harmony and her parents. She wasn’t there now.

He had told her he expected that his step-dad was going to set of one of his harebrained experiments sooner than later. “I don’t want you to turn into a freak like me” he told her. He hugged her. “If something does happen use this to get back into the building” he gave her a keycard he swiped of a guard. “Take care of Tyler” he said as she walked out. Jackson sighed, that was an hour ago and he missed her already.

This was one of those times where he really missed his dad, Phillip Malerdeen, who had died in a car crash 2 years before. The strange thing was they had never found the body. Jackson used to believe he would come back, but then he started thinking that if his dad were still alive, he would come back. Last year his mom, Catherine Malerdeen, married a famous animal biologist named Harold Manser. Jackson had never really trusted the guy. Besides he wasn’t going to change his last name, even if you paid him.

As he sat in his prison of a room, he rubbed his head with his paw. He was right not to trust Manser. Now he, his friends, and his mom were being held in the lab, in their own rooms. He heard the door to his room open and turned. His step-dad walked into the room. Jackson growled “Dr Manser”.

Dr Manser sat down at the table and motioned for Jackson to take the other seat. “Hello Jason, we need to talk, sit down please.”

Jackson stayed standing. He hated Manser, he hated his stupid Scottish accent, he hated everything about the lunatic “My name is Jackson, and even though I’m part animal you don’t control me like I am your pet and you never will”.

“Listen Jeffery, sit down and let me talk”. Manser said putting up his hand, as if that would stop the boy from speaking his mind.

Jackson sat down “Its Jackson” he growled crossing his arms.

Dr. Manser looked unfazed by his retort said “I’ve just come to say I am going to perform a few tests on you and your friends”.

Jackson narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to end up killing us”.

Dr. Manser smiled “If you insist I can do just that, or I can just starve you and set you loose in the city”. He smirked.

Jackson yelled “You’re a monster. You have already been starving us. You know how many people could die or get hurt if you let us loose? What would stop us from devouring you?”

Manser’s expression didn't change, “Uh-uh-uh” He said shaking his finger at Jackson, “We both know who the real monster is, and it is not me.”

Jackson’s face fell.

Manser smirked and continued “To answer your first question; I do know and I know you do too, that's why I know you won’t dare try anything foolish. The side-effects as you know can get quite dangerous.”

Jackson cringed. He knew from experience what hunger could do to a mutated carnivorous animal human hybrid. Eleven months ago Manser had made evil clones of Jackson and his friends and made them fight. The copies won and escaped into the wild. Jackson hated them because they had almost killed Harmony and injured his friend Jacob Winthrop.

As he was thinking this his stomach started to rumble. He was hungry. He wanted meat. Juicy meat. He licked his chops. No, he couldn’t turn into an animal… If he did everyone would be at risk. He fought to keep madness from taking over him. Besides, that was what Manser wanted anyway.

“As for your second question” Manser said, “I’ve considered the fact that if I set you free and you come for me, I’d kill you first.”

Jackson stared at the animal biologist. “Go back to the mad house you psycho”

Manser struck him and he fell on the floor. “You will not be conscious when we do the tests; you, your friends, and your mother will be in stasis tubes” Manser chuckled as two guards came into the room cuffed Jackson and led out of the room. “That’s where we keep the animals.”

The guards took Jackson to the main laboratory. He saw his friends already asleep in their stasis tubes. There were only two left, his and his mother’s. He looked around and saw his mother and two more guards walk into the room.

She saw him looking and said “I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t listen”.

He frowned when he saw she was crying and said. “Manser doesn’t care. He never did.” Jackson yelled as Manser walked into the lab.

“What are you doing” Manser cried. “They should be in the stasis tubes”.

The guards started pulling him towards one of the open stasis tubes.

“No” mom screamed and started struggling against the guards and reaching towards Jackson.

As he was being pulled away his eyes met hers and a tear fell down his face. “It’s okay mom, I’ll be okay” he tried to say but he was interrupted when the guards pushed him into the tube and sealed the door.

As soon the door was sealed, he couldn't hold the madness in any longer he started clawing at the glass and growling. His eyes had turned a dark crimson. He wanted meat. He looked at all the scientists walking around outside. If he could get out they would all be fresh meat, HIS fresh meat.

A voice in the back of his head said “NO!!! Control yourself! Do it for Harmony and Tyler! Do it for your mom!”

Another voice, a strong voice drowned out the other and rasped “HUNGER!!! They did this to you, they will pay with their BLOOD”

Manser walked up to his stasis pod. "The rage from hunger, it flows through you, you must feed Cheetah-boy and you will."

Sleeping gas started to pour in from the ceiling. He tried to fight the gas and stay awake but it was no use, but the last thing he saw was his step-dad flipping a switch, then everything went dark.