�How many��
�Over eight hundred dead...�
�She was even more vicious than the male��
�Careful, she could awaken at any time��
�Good the cage is ready now��
Cold, hard, metal. That�s all Lydia could feel at first. Then her sight started to return. As she got up, a bright light from above caught her attention. Then the walls, a small stainless steel sink, and toilet. Was that a door in the corner?
It looked like she was in a room, but how could that be? Unless... Wait her fur, it�s clean. There�s no blood, guts, or dirt. Is this a hospital gown? And what are these patches? They sting, like someone had poked her with a needle�
�Well nice to see you�re finally up.� A male voice announced over a PA system.
�Who, who are you? Where am I?� Lydia asked nervously.
�That�s a little hard to explain. But don�t worry all of your questions will be answered soon.� The voice replied coldly.
Lydia realized that one of two things had happened. Either she was no longer a 100ft tall or someone who was had captured her. The fact that she no longer felt large and powerful all but confirmed her fall from grace. However the loss of that power actually was almost welcome. The evil cravings that came with the macro size were just too high a price to pay.
�I hope you�re hungry Lydia, the guard will be bringing you dinner soon. Oh by the way, don�t try to grow. The floor you are standing on has electrical wires running through it. And the walls have sensors in them that are constantly monitoring you. If you try to grow or escape; well you get the idea. Now please forgive me but I must give you a brief demonstration.�
Without warning a bolt of electricity ran up through her paws all the way to her head. Lydia howled out in pain as the voltage surged through her body. It felt as her whole body was starting to boil. Then it abruptly stopped and she fell to the ground twitching in pain.
�I�m sorry I had to do that, but it was necessary. Eat something and we�ll talk in the morning.� The voice of her captor announced.
The loud metallic scratching echoed through the room as the door opened. A young male human entered carrying a plastic tray. He was wearing a military uniform and a pistol was strapped to his hip. Despite the fact that he was armed, a look of panic was on his face. Was he still scared of her? After placing her dinner on the floor, several yards away, the man rushed out the door and slammed it behind him.
Lydia walked over to the tray, cringing with each painful step of her aching paws. Although the shock only last a few seconds, the residual sting of the electricity remained in her.
She took a small bite out of what looked like meatloaf. It didn�t taste that good but she was too hungry to care. She hadn�t eaten in days.
The next morning Lydia was awoken by the slam of her cell door. Two men in white lab coats entered escorted by four armed guards, including the one that had visited her last night.
�We need a sample of your blood.� One of the men announced.
He stepped forward and grabbed her arm. Lydia instinctively pulled away and was immediately rewarded with a jolt of electricity. This shock lasted longer than the one they hit her with yesterday and left her shaking on the ground. The men patiently waited for her seizures to subside before walking over again.
�Are you going to cooperate now or do we need to shock you again?� The man asked in a cold tone.
Lydia said nothing. Instead she presented her arm to the awaiting man. He grasped it tightly, tied a giant rubber band around it, and pricked her with a needle. A small cylinder on the needle�s tip quickly filled with blood. Once the cylinder was full the man removed the rubber band and needle. He taped a small cloth patch over the insertion point and left the room.
A moment later another man in a white coat entered �Good morning Lydia, I�m Dr. Licos. Over the next few months we are going to be working together. If you cooperate, we shouldn�t need to implement any more� punishment.�
�Why did you bring me here?� Lydia demanded.
�To save lives. Do you know how many you killed in Twivan city?�
A wave of memories overtook her as she struggled to answer his question. After the slaughter at the town square, she systematically hunted down most of the ones who escaped. Then she took her rampage to the unaffected parts of town. But everything after that is a blur. She must have passed out. That was when they captured her.
�No.� She simply replied.
�832 at our last count. So I hope you understand the precautions we took.� Licos replied while pointing to the floor.
Lydia didn�t respond. Instead she just sat on the cold floor staring at him.
The doctor then knelt down in front of her and said, �But that�s not the only reason we brought you here. We want to find out more about the virus the male gave you, the macro virus. Rest now, we�ll talk later.�
Licos and the rest of the men in lab coats left the room. As the security detail left behind them, the young guard from last night stayed behind for a moment. He looked like he wanted to say something but just smiled and left instead.
Over the next few weeks Lydia received several visits from Licos and the other men in the white coats. They questioned her about everything from the way she got infected to what it felt like to be a macro. In between the interrogations, the doctors conducted all kinds of unpleasant tests on her. Unfortunately Lydia would often give some resistance to these tests and would receive more electricity as a result.
It didn�t take long for the physical after effects of the electric shocks to starting taking its toll on her. The pads on her paws went from their nature color of black to an irritated red. It hurt when she walked and her fur began to smolder after the longer shocks. And occasionally she would enter into uncontrollable seizures after being zapped.
Yet the emotional toll of her imprisonment was far worse than the shocks. Memories of the awful acts she committed were brought to the surface by Licos�s questioning. A deep depression had overtaken her and at one point she even started to see delusions. However despite the fact that received daily visitors, she was lonely. The only people that would talk to her were those in the lab coats. And they did nothing but ask her questions. Questions that only made her feel worse.
Then one night a glimmer of hope made its way into her miserable existence. That was the evening she was awoken by a gloved hand over her muzzle. The hand belonged to the guard that brought her dinner that first night. During her entire stay there, that one guard would show up almost every night to bring her a meal. Unlike the other guards, this one never hit her or yelled at her.
�Please don�t scream, I won�t hurt you.� He whispered gently.
Realizing that such an action would only get her another electric shock, Lydia nodded and kept quiet as the hand was removed.
�My name is Lt. Tommy Lifco, I�m the chief of security. We sort of met your first night here. I want to help you but you must trust me. For the moment I�ve made arrangements for some privacy. The guards can�t hear us on the audio sensors, just don�t try to grow because they�re still detect that.�
�Why? Why do you want to help me? I�m a monster.� Lydia asked and bowed her head in shame.
Lt. Lifco started to stroke the fur on her head gently, �You�re only a monster because that is what they have turned you into. What have they told you about the virus?�
�Only that the male wolf fur that captured me was infected. That�s how he turned me into a macro.�
�Well that�s partially true. What they didn�t tell you is they�re the ones who created the virus to begin with. Then they infected that male fur, but they didn�t expect him to escape.�
�So they invented this thing inside of me. Why?�
�The ultimate soldier... One that could simply grow into a giant and literally crush the enemy. But something went wrong�� Lt. Lifco paused and took a deep breath before continuing. �When that first macro went out of control they didn�t know what to do. It was believed that he would be able to control his natural predatory instinct. And they had no idea that he would attempt to infect another fur��
A feeling of disbelief overtook Lydia just then. The horrible reality of what he just told her began to sink in. She was part of an experiment gone wrong. A super weapon, or to be more precise a killing machine. All those people she killed�
Fighting back tears and trying to stay focused, Lydia asked �Alright Lt. Lifco, you said you wanted to help?�
�Please call me Tom. I�m going to get you out of here but first we need to get you fixed up. You don�t deserve this, no one deserves this.�
�But how do you know I won�t go on another rampage?� She asked as Tom started to stroke her fur again. Lydia liked being touched by someone who wasn�t conducting some awful test on her. That small gesture made her feel better than she had in weeks.
�Listen you can control it. Shortly after we captured you the male was also captured. He was put through a more thorough interrogation and testing session. However the scientists were able to confirm something that encouraged us all. The fact that he gained the ability to control he deadly impulses over time.�
�What? That can�t be true, I slaughtered hundreds of people and couldn�t stop��
�That�s because it takes time for the virus to adapt to your physiology. It�s suppose to enhance your nature predatory instincts and senses, that�s why furs were used instead of humans. Besides they�re trying to create a super weapon here not a doomsday device.� Tom responded with a grin.
�But how do you know for sure that I can control it?�
�I don�t, but the male claimed he could before they�� Tom made a slicing motion with his finger over his throat. �Listen, I�m betting my own life on this. You see I�ll have to come with you. If I stay here after your escape they�ll find out that I helped you and... Well let�s just say I would disappear just like the male macro. Do you understand everything I just told you?�
Lydia nodded in acknowledgement. Although the full effect of his visit would take several days to sink in.
�Good.� Tom replied with a warm smile. �Now here, you need to build up your strength.�
Tom then pulled out a small package from a bag he was carrying. The package contained several sandwiches and bottles of fresh water. He then gave them to Lydia.
Lydia ripped into the sandwiches and shoved them into her mouth. Her captors had given her just enough to keep her alive. The lack of nourishment had left her frail and weak, which was probably the idea. While she feed, Tom stepped outside to check in with his command center.
After she had finished all of the sandwiches, and most of the water, her newfound saver came back into the room. This time he was carrying an empty garbage bag and a white bottle.
�Are we leaving now?� Lydia asked in almost a pleading tone.
�No. The time is not right yet. Besides you�re in no condition to travel right now.�
�Then when Tom? I don�t know how much more of this I can take.�
�Soon.� He replied with a warm smile and sat down in front of her. �Now give me your paws.�
Lydia cautiously placed her paw on his lap. Her pads felt like they were on fire from all of the abuse they had taken over the past few weeks. She fought the temptation to scream out in pain as Tom inspected her injuries.
�I need to rub some of this medicated lotion on you pads.� Tom said as he took off his gloves and squirted some of the white goo into his hands. �This is probably going to hurt, but don�t cry out. OK?�
Lydia nodded her head in acknowledgment. Then she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She could tell Tom was being as gentle as possible, but it wasn�t helping much. His delicate rubbing felt like a thousand needles working their way up her legs.
After a twenty-minute rubdown, her paws hurt more than ever before. Tears were now freely rolling out of her eyes and she was whining softly. Although the medication was slowly starting to relieve the pain, its application was pure hell.
Once finished, Tom carefully placed her aching feet back on the cold metal and collected up everything. Although she begged him to leave some of the water, the water from the sink tasted funny and made her stomach ach. However he told her there could be no trace of his visit. The lotion would be completely absorbed in by morning but any leftover water bottles would definitely draw unwanted attention. He was right.
Tom left her that first night with one set of simple instructions, cooperate. Any discipline she received would only slow down her recovery process. And the doctors would become suspicious if her injuries began to heal while she still being shocked. Lydia agreed to and followed these instructions without question.
Over the next few weeks, Tom would visit her every night. Each night he would come at a different time, but never forgot. He would bring her food and water at first. Then later he would also bring vitamins pills to help her restore strength. Luckily the doctors were finished with their blood tests or the vitamins would have given Tom away. He explained that was the reason he waited to give them to her.
Also every night Tom would rub the medicated lotion into her paws. Each time there would be less and less pain. Within a week, her paws had completely heeled. The painful application sessions turned into relaxing massages as her paws began to react favorably to the attention.
However despite the fact her paws were now completely heeled, Tom continued to rub the lotion into them. Lydia had no objections for this brief moment of pleasure in an otherwise dismal existence. She also suspected that he was doing it to help lift her spirits, it worked.
With every anticipated visit the same question would be asked by Lydia �Are we going tonight?� For three long weeks the answer to that question was always �no.� The she wolf was beginning to lose hope. Then one night the answer changed.