Re: Chapter Two: Experimentation
Dr. Horrible gestured to a Bouncer, who reached forward and lightly rapped William's shoulder with a thin, telescopic rod that could hardly be seen on the screen. She heard William gasp as it shocked him, and he looked up and around, as if only just becoming aware of his surroundings. His head quickly fell again.
"W. Blake, did you recieve any enjoyment from subject S. Black's pain?" Dr. Horrible repeated.
"Yes." William's raspy whisper was hardly audible. Dr. Horrible sneered in triumph, glancing up at the camera in the corner.
"Was it your intention to eventually terminate S. Black?"
"Yes." William coughed after answering this question, the sound rough and raw. His head raised a little and his hands moved in his lap.
Dr. Horrible wasn't paying attention.
"So you're telling me you were going to make S. Black suffer as much as you could before you killed her?"
William didn't answer. He appeared to be slightly squirming in his chair. Dr. Horrible looked at him, then motioned again to the Bouncer, who shocked the boy with his rod. Crying out, William slithered out of his chair to convulse on the floor.
Dr. Horrible watched for a moment, before squatting slowly at putting a hand on William's arm. "Interesting. He appears to be experiencing muscle cramps. Orderly! Fetch a relaxant."
The gaunt doctor stayed squatted and simply watched William suffer. At one point he reached out and took the boy's pulse. "Elevated heart rate." he murmured. He gestured to a Bouncer to kneel on William's other side. "Get his mouth open." The Bouncer took a big handful of William's thick hair, and the other gripped his jaw, forcing it open. William groaned piteously, his spasming hands clawing ineffectually at the Bouncer's arms. Dr. Horrible stuck his long fingers inside William's mouth, prodding around as the boy gagged. "Dry mouth." The doctor continued to poke and pinch around William's face, checking for sweat and skin elasticity.
"This subject is severly dehydrated," the doctor snapped at the male orderly who came in with the relaxant. "I haven't recieved a report that he was starving himself again. What experiments have been performed on him lately?"
The orderly stepped out and came back with a clipboard that had been hanging on the outside of his door.
"He was part of the control group in the drinkability of salt water tests yesterday, but attempted escape before completion." The orderly read off without emotion.
"You fools!" Dr. Horrible exploded, jumping to his feet. "You forgot to administer the freshwater injections to counteract the salt water! Didn't even pump his stomach. W. Blake is dying."
The orderly left again and a slight buzzing sound was heard over the televisions crackly speakers. He was calling for aid.
Dr. Horrible snatched up the slightly soggy paper cup on the tray of food and leaned over William, pressing it to his mouth. The boy coughed and gagged, seeming to be brought around by the liquid.
"No!" he shouted, pushing it away. "No! I hate you! Get away from me, monsters! No!" he screamed. Or tried to scream; he didn't acheive much volume and his voice sounded as thin and crackly as the sound from the speakers.
"He's delirious," Dr. Horrible said matter-of-factly, wiping water from the front of his white coat.
A moment later a response team streamed into the small cell and whisked William away. They seemed to have totally forgotten about Susan and the fact that she was watching all of this unfold. Another doctor stayed behind to chat with Dr. Horrible in the doorway of William's room.
"Do you think he'll live?" he asked.
"It's hard to say at this point," Dr. Horrible answered. "We'll have to act fast if we're to restore proper blood pressure before he goes into a coma and dies from organ failure."
The other doctor nodded sagely. "I'll review the tapes and see when symptoms started to manifest. That'll give us an idea of how long he has."
"Yes, the... the tapes! Quickly, someone get to S. Black's room..." his voice faded as they ran down the hall.