LAB RATS ON THE LOOSE (season 1)

[Cal]

Columbia University, 08.00 AM

Before heading out, Kjolmar grabbed his cellphone and his official letter. It said he was selected from tons of people to give blood, after passing all requirements to be considered. He knew very well that they weren't aware of his sexual preference, but he was determined to not mention that. After all, he knew that his blood wouldn't be a risk. He texted his friend Kyle about his acceptance: 'Seems I am officially declared healthy. I wonder where all the alcohol went.'

Kyle was his best male friend. It wasn't an easy friendship because Kyle's girlfriend Rose couldn't stand their friendship. She had found out that Kjolmar was bisexual and was certain that he'd somehow make Kyle doubt his sexuality as well. The two guys knew it was ridiculous but Rose sticked to her opinion. Kjolmar was a bit jealous of Kyle, more specifically of the fact that Kyle got into Yale. Columbia was Kjolmar's first choice, but thinking about the possibility of being in Yale could not be avoided. Kyle was richer than Kjolmar was, so that didn't help putting the jealousy aside. Despite those obstacles, Kjolmar and Kyle's friendship was a very close one, even if they don't always admit it.

In the dorm's hallway, he ran into his other best friend, Claire. She was still half asleep but just returned from the bathroom. "Kjolmar... Will you be... back for lunch..?" she asked while yawning halfway. Kjolmar replied while passing her: "Probably not, I'll have something in the city."

Claire was so attached to him, that she could easily pass as his girlfriend most of the time. He cared deeply for her and despite having a past together that includes some midnight action, he explained her that a relationship between them would never work. They are too similar, which would cause extreme trust issues. It takes one to know one, right?

Manhattan Medical Center, 09.00 AM

When Kjolmar got off the bus, he looked as if he would move mountains to never get back on that bus again. He hated public transport, the old people on it, the crying children and the way it smelled like sweat. It reminded him of his childhood in Brooklyn. "I really have to get myself a limo." he mumbled under his breath. Before entering the building, he heard a familiar voice call out for him. "Kjolmar, hey Kjolmar!" He turned around and saw the pretty face of his niece Emma. "Are you going in? Are you ill?" Kjolmar gave her a kiss on the cheek as a greeting. "No, my dear, I have the pleasure of sharing my outstanding blood to an unfortunate soul. But I'm running late, shall I text you later?"

Emma was Kjolmar's only relative which he felt close to. She favored him as well, but she also had some strong bonds with other relatives. Technically, he was her uncle, considering Kjolmar's older half-brother was Emma's father. But the two of them were close to the same age so they felt more like brother and sister. He was rather protective about her. Emma went to NYU because she couldn't afford other colleges. Kjolmar sometimes treats her on new clothes, because they both know that appearance is everything on the social ladder.

At the reception, they didn't find anyone on the list under 'Barrow-Delacroix'. Kjolmar frowned slightly. "There must be a mistake, I have the letter right here. Why don't you check under 'Crawford'?" The nurse at the reception, black and overweight, smiled as if she had stumbled on a great discovery. "Here you are. My apologies, Mr Barrow-Delacroix, it seems they had indeed filed you under 'Crawford'. Could you please wait for the doctor in the waiting room over there?" Kjolmar sighed and checked his watch. First he had to ride the bus there and now they were forcing him to wait. The nurse' name-tag said 'Elisabeth'. He suppressed another frown and forced a smile on his lips. "Of course... Elisabeth, is it? I'll be right there, then." When he took a seat in the waiting room, he checked his watch again.

[Day-Z]

Neena had arrived at the Manhattan Medical Center at 8 sharp and had been waiting ever since. She was not in a hurry, however, as she didn't have anything scheduled for the day, so she was content sitting in the waiting room with a book and reading peacefully for once.
Her blood tests were all right, except for a tiny little thing. The doctors had informed her that they were running more tests since they had apparently come across something interesting. She didn't worry, however, she knew she was prone to anemia and calcium or iron deficiency, so maybe that was what they were looking into. Any other blood-borne diseases were overruled and so were other diseases of the blood as far as she was concerned. There was nothing about their information that had the least effect on the young psychologist.

At a bit after 9 o'clock, she lifted her eyes from her book and set it next to her to reach for something in her purse. At the same time, a young man that she assumed was either in his teens or very early twenties entered the waiting room with a disturbed expression. A small smile appeared on her lips. Impatience wasn't necessarily a non-virtue, but it was definitely something she sometimes enjoyed witnessing from afar. Impatient people had this tendency of making her laugh through their facial expression, gestures and behavior. They had something special - surely, everyone was different in their own way, but impatient people had this little thing in common that made them amusing. Plus, she was on the same side. They helped her observe herself objectively for once.

A door opened and a young, blonde woman came out. She was very pale and was soon joined by a nurse who offered her a candy bar and some sugared cola. Blood donations could be rough on people, no doubt. A name was called, echoing through the speakers placed on every corner of the room. It wasn't hers. An elder individual rose and disappeared behind the white door, still some five other people were left in the waiting room. She was starting to get weary of waiting and couldn't help but wonder how many of those people she could now see were scheduled for the blood donation, as well.

"It would go much faster if they had more nurses on the job." she muttered to herself, a bit louder than she had intended.

[Cal]

Kjolmar had paid little attention to the other patients, had barely noticed how pale they looked. Every now and then, that nurse from the reception offered people sugary food or drinks. Not far from his seat, a woman -he guessed she was about fourty years old- (if she knew, she might decapitate him?) that make a comment about the hospital staff.

"Indeed. I'm starting to think Elisabeth over there is the only nurse assisting the doctor at this point. It's outrageous, when you think about it."

The door opened and two patients came out, one of them looking pale. Kjolmar couldn't believe his eyes, it were Kyle and Rose! "Hey!" he said, to get their attention. "I didn't know you were donating."

Kyle had a look in his eye that Kjolmar knew by now. Don't bring up the text, don't bring up anything at all. "Yeah..." Kyle started. "I was planning to tell you so we could go together, but I... forgot." When he mumbled that last word, his eyes peeked at Rose for a brief second. Kjolmar knew what was going on. He wasn't allowed to tell him. Kjol knew how to play along by now. "No problem man. I'll see you around. Bye Rose." The girl mumbled a "See ya." while dragging her boyfriend along. Kyle didn't look pale, well, not paler than usual at least. He probably didn't donate, for some reason.

Kjolmar narrowed his eyes and made brief eye contact with the woman from earlier. He looked away, hoping she hadn't analyzed the scene. Luckily, the speakers called for him. "Kjolmar Charles Crawford Barrow-Delacroix." He got up, relieved it was his turn. But there came more. "Neena Eriksen." Oh great, apparently, they were trying to speed things up by having multiple patients enter at once. Without saying another word, he smiled weakly at Neena and held the door open for her - as a real gentleman. "After you, Mrs Eriksen."

[Day-Z]

There was something about the name that made Neena fall into some sort of thoughtful trance, yet when the speakers called for her, she responded with a jolt as she almost spun around to face the door. She clutched her bag and walked towards the consultation room, giving the man a small smile - it was fairly rare to meet someone who had manners, although Neena thought it was something more self-imposed than embedded into his system by the way he had been brought up. Which made the gesture all the more valuable.

She entered the room and followed the nurse's instructions easily, while her mind kept analyzing the scene from before - the discomfort in this Kjolmar person's friend and the repulsion and rejection in the gaze of his female companion. She had also noticed something strange about Kjolmar himself - more tolerance towards the male than towards the girl - a complicated triangle, if she were to say so herself.
She lifted her sleeve and turned her head away from the exposed arm as the nurse started tapping her skin in search of her vein. She had never been a fan of needles - there was something too... subtle and brutal and, as a consequence, confusing and unnerving about the way a needle looked, about the way it was handled and about its purpose, as well - something that would prick your skin and that, in some cases, endangered lives.

Neena was surprised to notice that the first pinch was not to draw blood - it took a little under 20 seconds and it had definitely been an injection of sorts. She looked like a question mark, but did not ask a single question as the next round with the needle drew in. She decided she would have to ask afterwards, if there was any time. As the nurse prepared the new syringe, Neena's eyes rested, almost worriedly, on Kjolmar. Was he concerned about the vaccine as well? Or, more importantly, at all? Or was it just her overly cautious self that was kicking in again?

[Cal]

While nurse Elisabeth draw blood from Neena, or so it seemed, a doctor walked by. He wore a typical white and long hospital outfit. He was rather tall and wore glasses but you could tell he was still rather young and fairly handsome. The type of doctor you would instantly trust. His badge said 'Dr. Hank Truman'. Kjolmar could no longer resist his urges.

"Excuse me, Dr Truman? I can't help but being concerned about your amount of staff. That nurse over there seems to take multitasking to a whole new level."

Truman had a blank facial expression. It was hard to tell if he was insulted or understanding. But then he smiled, a perfect picture of a doctor you'd prefer. "I understand your concern, Mr Barrow-Delacroix, but let me ease your burden. The nurse at the reception is her twin sister, forgive us the confusion."

Kjolmar frowned. Twin sister? So obvious, they looked exactly alike. "My apologies, doctor, I didn't mean to criticize." Truman smiled again. "We are just glad you are here to donate."

When the nurse was done drawing blood (as he still thought she was doing), she came for Kjolmar. Kjolmar's gaze met Neena's for a moment and she looked worried. Had it hurt a lot? Was she regretting her decision? Was she feeling weak by the process? But then he felt the reason, the nurse was injecting something. Her badge said 'Elisabeth' again. Unless both twin sisters were named exactly the same, this was the nurse from the reception after all. "Excuse me, doctor?" But Truman had left the room. He faced Elisabeth. "Nurse, why are you injecting us, and with what?" Elisabeth didn't smile like Truman did, but she provided a somewhat logical answer. "It's a serum that accelerates the regeneration of your blood cells, to prevent you from fainting after donating." She turned her head a little after she was done, so she'd have both Neena and Kjolmar's attention.

"The serum can have some side-effects, but nothing major. Still, Doctor Truman would like the both of you to keep track of the side-effects for the means of science. Like a journal of some sorts, so we can learn from it and improve our serum."

It didn't even occur to Kjolmar that he never agreed to the serum, he was so surprised by it that he accepted it to be a part of the blood donation.

Elisabeth continued. "Unfortunately, it takes a short while to activate so you might be dizzy after all. There will be sugar waiting for you, but do you have anyone that can come pick you up? The safety of our donators is our priority, we can not send you in the traffic like this."

Kjolmar, trying to grasp the situation, aimed for a answer to the question. "My niece is near the hospital, I guess I can call her to pick me up." Elisabeth faced Neena. "What about you, Mrs Eriksen?"

[Day-Z]

Neena frowned. She had never heard of such a serum before, but then again, she was a psychologist, so she didn't exactly dwell in the world nurse Elisabeth was so familiar with.
There was something about her tone of voice that worried her, however, although she didn't think to link the existence of her presumed twin sister to her premonition. It felt as though the nurse was on the defensive, although her voice was perfectly professional. Not a single trace of worry inflected anything on it as she mentioned their concern for their donors, which made Neena believe strongly that neither Elisabeth, nor anyone else on the staff actually cared about what happened to the donors. She was saying it as a formality again.

But the journal of side-effects was a completely different story. If they needed their donors to keep track of what they felt post-donation, then whatever side-effects they spoke of must be stronger, graver than this almost expressionless nurse was trying to make them believe they'd be.
Still, Neena found herself wanting to leave as quickly as possible. But she did not have a ride, nor was she in the mood to wait for her dizziness to wear off.
Normally, she wouldn't take any offer of joining a complete stranger in their car, nor be the one to suggest it herself, but circumstances being what they were forced her to say this: "My brother is out of town and I don't have anyone I can call right now. I suppose I could call a cab or so." She mumbled uncomfortably, not wanting to sound rude. But she did want to talk about these events with someone and since Kjolmar had been there to experience them himself, she would go as far as to ask him to join her somewhere if it were necessary.

[Cal]

Kjolmar had similar worries about the serum and everything around it. He felt the need to discuss it more privately, far away from nurse Elisabeth and Dr Truman. When Neena mentioned not having a ride, Kjolmar saw it as the perfect chance to talk things through. "If you need to get to the center of Manhattan, you can ride with us. Why spend money on a cab if you got a free ride?"

Manhattan wasn't thàt big, they could travel the distance to campus by foot if they wanted. But then again, what if the side-effects kicked in with no one else around? Dizziness in the middle of the street could be dangerous.

He grabbed his cellphone and called Emma, but slapped his hand against his forehead when he heard her reply. He mumbled something along the lines of "Of course, I didn't think clearly... And there is no one around that could... No worries, Emma, I'll call Kyle."

Kjolmar smiled at Neena to reassure her that everything was fine. He scratched his shoulder. "Emma doesn't own a car. What was I thinking? I'll call my friend to pick us up. This will just take a second."

He wanted to dial Kyle's number but there were two things stopping him. The first was the reason that occurred most of the time: Rose. The second reason was related to the first. Neena had seen Kyle and Rose earlier in the waiting room. Kjolmar dialed Claire's number instead. He scratched his shoulder again. Damn, where was that itch coming from? A first side-effect?

After a few minutes, Kjolmar and Neena were let out of the room. "Claire will be here shortly. We'll drop you off." While they waited, Kjolmar checked the little shop and noticed some sort of notebook. "That would make a perfect journal. Excuse me for a moment, I'll go buy one."

[Day-Z]

Neena took note of the itchy sensation that seemed to be located on his shoulder. Was it just above the vaccine? Neena held her breath for a moment, feeling a surge of paranoia sweep over her. She knew where that could lead and the last thing she wanted was have an asthma attack in front of a stranger.
She nodded as he headed towards the small book shop and took advantage of the situation to grab her inhaler from her purse. She turned her back to the man, just to make sure and took several inhalations before she put the small item back inside her back. The whole action did not take her too long, so she just followed Kjolmar afterwards, entering the store herself and silently browsing the items on display, a fleeting smile on her lips as the saleslady paused in front of her for a moment with a friendly expression.

"I wanted to thank you. Uhm... it's not all that often that people offer to help out a complete stranger." She said once her steps had carried her in the vicinity of Kjolmar, her tone low, but holding a certain warmth.

[Cal]

"No worries, Mrs Eriksen. I might not be the nicest guy around, but I do have my manners. Besides, we wouldn't want you to cause an accident by fainting mid-street. The traffic might delay me."

Kjolmar added a little smile at the end of that.

As they waited for Claire to arrive, Kjolmar scribbled some notes in his new journal:

Entry #001
I was asked to keep a journal about the side-effects of the serum. I’m not really sure if it’s even connected to the serum, but ever since I got injected, I have this weird - itch - all over my body. It started at my shoulder, close to where the needle went in. It’s probably not that big of a deal, but definitely relevant. That damn itch better not keep me up at night.

Then Clair walked in. She looked around the same age as Kjolmar and looked a bit like him, could've easily been siblings for the public eye. She did seem to lack the arrogant smirk that Kjolmar possessed, so there was at least a little difference.

"Kjolmar, hi. I came by foot but I'll walk you home safely."

Kjolmar turned his head towards Neena. "Clair, this is Mrs Eriksen, she'll be joining us on the way home. Can we make a small detour and drop her off?"

Clair smiled at Neena, much more sincere and natural than Kjolmar usually did. "Of course we can! Would you like to give your body some rest at our dorm, Mrs Eriksen? If you can stand the mess, I'll gladly make some coffee or tea."

Kjolmar frowned his forhead very slightly. Being polite was one thing, but inviting people over? He didn't let anyone notice his doubts and kept smiling. "Shall we go then?"

On their way out, Kjolmar noticed nurse Elisabeth and Dr Truman stare at them from a distance. This whole hospital had something creepy, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

[Day-Z]

The old joke about women drivers, eh? He was a joker, this one, but not a particularly good one, Neena reckoned. At least, not the harmful kind. Without a word, she let out a small giggle and bought a notebook of her own, although she assumed that psychological profiles would go in it, much rather than her own personal thoughts. Something about her innermost fears and personal opinions placed on paper seemed ominous to this otherwise very closed-in person. Sometimes she couldn't help wondering whether her choice of profession was simply her own attempt at getting treatment for her issues.

Claire seemed to brighten the dusty place as she made her appearance. Her presence was definitely much different from this Kjolmar's person. It was fresher, livelier, sincerer. Less...guarded, one might dare say. It made Neena offer a smile of her own and as the girl invited her over, she found herself mulling over the offer. It was obvious to her that Kjolmar did not particularly share Claire's enthusiasm towards strangers, but there was something about the girl that made the psychologist want to be in her company for a bit longer.
"Tea sounds great right about now, thank you." Neena said simply, but truthfully.

As they walked out of the shop, she looked behind and was forced to stop in place, looking back at the hospital and at the two figures whose eyes loomed over them like watchful ghost guardians. It sent shivers down her spine and she had to try hard to start moving in time to catch up with the other two, a distinctive heaviness in her chest.

[Cal]

Along the way to the dorm, Kjolmar noticed a lot of weird side-effects. At least, that's what he thought they were. When they got to the dorm, he and Neena went to Kjolmar's room while Claire went to the kitchen to make some tea. "Do have a seat." he said, pointing his hand towards the chairs. "I will be right back." His room seemed rather big for a dorm room. The main colors were shades of blue, giving the room a calm and relaxing lounge mood. It looked rather modern, telling visitors something about Kjolmar's futuristic views.

When Kjolmar got back, he took a seat at his desk and opened his journal. "Excuse me for one more second. If I don't write this down, I'll forget it." While he wrote, Claire entered the room with the tea, apologized for having to leave and left the room again. Kjolmar was done writing rather quickly and took a seat next to Neena. He took a cup of a tea himself and handed the journal to Neena. "You can have a look if you want to. After all, it's what we have in common. I can't believe they are testing this serum on us. Is that even legal?" His question seemed rhetorical, because he continued talking. "I already wrote my second entry, you can turn back one page to read the first. Not that they're long or anything. How about you? Have you noticed anything odd?"

Kjolmar turned the heat up on the radiator while he shivered.


Journal page 2:
°°°
The itch has stopped for now, which relieves me. The injection wound seems to be healed already, so my best guess is that the itch was caused by it. I noticed that another patient's wound was still there, so they must've put the needle further in her skin or something.

A lot of strange things happened to me since I left the hospital, so I'm labeling them as possible side-effects. One of the weirdest things is that I feel cold, while I usually have a rather hot body temperature. My friend noticed it to and she thought it was really odd as well. My hands even seem paler, but perhaps my tan is finally running out.

I also have this disgusting taste in my mouth all of a sudden and I have no idea where it's coming from. I tried mints and brushing my teeth but nothing's really helping that much. Hopefully it'll go away soon, like the itch.
°°°

[Day-Z]

Neena's fondness of tea was notorious to everyone who had spent more than two days in her presence. The way she handled the cup, took in the scent and patiently sipped the warm, steaming liquid was one of her trademarks. Along with the atmosphere and dominant color of the room, the tea did wonders on her stretched nerves.
It even took away the awkwardness of being in the same room with a man she knew was not fond of spending friendly time with complete strangers regardless of the circumstances. She had been following him with her eyes the entire time he had been moving around. His way of writing, his position over the notebook - they gave her an idea of just how seriously he was taking the nurse's advice, but something told her that it wasn't respect and trust for medical staff, not even an obsession with health that pushed him to taking notes of the side effects.

She herself hadn't experienced much - save for the panic and the almost painful sensation in her veins as the first needle pierced her skin and the serum went through her body. And, of course, that wild sensation that she felt as she looked back at the doctor and the nurse as they watched them leave the tiny bookstore. Still, those sensations, although more significant in amplitude, were not new to her.
She did, however, take the diary as he handed it to her and, as instructed, turned the page and read both entries. She frowned as she read it, nearly certain of the fact that those were not reactions that were usually associated with blood loss and the fact that she knew next to nothing about the vaccine (save for what the nurse had told them) was helping towards yet another panic attack.

"This will require more insight. I can start researching the vaccine first thing tomorrow. I have... connections in the medical world. And well, my brother." Vernon. She hadn't spoken to him in so long, but the man was a complete genius when it came to computers - he would be able to collect the information she required without special effort. Plus, he was an adrenaline junkie, so the idea of a mysterious serum being injected into people who have no access to information about it would definitely appeal to his exhibitionist side.

[Cal]

"Maybe it's because I'm the curious type, but I would like to know more about this whole thing. None of the side-effects sound logical at all. I'm still considering to sue the hospital for doing this without our knowledge. As a Law student, I might know some people that could help us with that."

Suddenly something caught Kjolmar's eye. He stared at a tiny device, barely visible, and walked up to it. "This isn't mine..." he said while grabbing it. "The hell? This is some sort of camera. The school can't do that! What about the privacy policy?"

He threw the camera out the window. "First the hospital, now the school. I can't believe they get away with all of this! Look, Mrs Eriksen, I think we should both leave for now. I feel violated on my privacy and with everything that's going on, I need to get some fresh air." While speaking, he looked in the mirror as if he wanted to make sure he wasn't losing his mind. There was something different about his reflection. Were his eyes becoming more blue than they already were?

[Cal]

Once outside, Kjolmar raised his hand and whistled. "Taxi!"

"Come on, Mrs Eriksen, we're going to confront that creepy doctor. I'm pretty sure he did -something- illegal. The injection can't be undone but perhaps we can a financial compensation for this."

At the hospital, there was a different nurse at the desk. The weird thing was that they had never heard of a nurse Elisabeth or a Doctor Hank Truman. Kjolmar's eyes showed a certain fear as he looked at Neena. "How is this possible? They have no record of us ever being here!"

He tried to think of witnesses, someone to prove that they had actually been there. But the only ones he could think of besides themselves and Claire were... Kyle and Rose.

[iBenYeah?]

Olli took his time doing his 'finishing touches' to his hair, this took a few minutes and then finally he decided that it was good enough to leave the bedroom finally. As he walked out of the bedroom he looked up to the clock on the wall in the hallway. It was 11 o'clock which meant yet again Olli was probably going to be late for his appointment. He made his way into the living area, Jordan was sprawled across the sofa, staring at the television on the wall. Olli smirked as he shook his head as he carried on walking to the kitchen area. He finally made his way up to Faith who had her back to him as she was cooking. Faith was Olli's long term girlfriend, she was his world. He smiled as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms round her waist. "Morning Beautiful" He said and then kissed her cheek before proceeding to sit at the breakfast bar.

Faith came over with Olli's breakfast and smiled. "I made you breakfast but your going to be late if you eat it, so i'll give this to Jordan so its not gone to waste" She laughed as she stared at his blank expression. She leant over and kissed him. "Sorry Olli, but you know you don't want to be late for this."
This was true, Olli did want to go because it meant alot to Faith for him to do it with her. See a couple of months ago Faith got a letter about giving blood and being a big samaritan, Faith volunteered herself... and Olli. However Olli went along with it. "Yeah your right babe, but I still think its weird that were both giving for the same cause but we have appointments an hour after each other in a different hospital. Just seems odd." He added. "Olli, just go and do it. It doesn't matter which hospital we are in. Ill see you at 12.30 after my appointment ok? And remember mine is at a different hospital to your's!""

11.34 am

"So Olli, the serum may contain side effect's but dont worry I have this journal which I want you to fill out with any side effects you think you may feel. Right then, we are done here so if you'll excuse me I have more appointments" He said as he stood up and walked out the room. Olli was left sitting in an empty office with so many questions. He hadn't volunteered to be a lab rat, he was only giving blood, and did that guy just call it a serum?! Serum is not a word they use in reality that much, it sounds like the bad stuff in superhero movies. Olli left confused with his new journal in his hand. He opened it as he walked towards reception.

When he reached Reception there stood two people with the same journal he had in his hand. He stood and watched awkwardly, wondering if he could get more of an insight on what the hell this was about if he listened in.

[Cal]

Kjolmar sent a text to Kyle. "This may sound odd, but did Rose get injected with anything when she donated blood? Did it cause side-effects by any chance?"

While putting his phone back in his pocket, Kjolmar noticed someone watching them awkwardly. The guy had a journal in his hand, similar to Kjolmar's. "Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but do you happen to use that journal in function of a serum?"

While waiting for an answer, he received a text message from Kyle. "Yeah and she's been acting really weird ever since - even for her. She took off just now, rather upset about something."

Kjolmar wanted to text back, but he waited for the guy in front of him to reply first.

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