As we walked into the restaurant, a girl ran into the restaurant. Ben took his arm off my shoulders. She threw her arms around his neck and took a step back. She tucked her red curls behind her ears. She looked only a few years older than me. Her skin was tanned, but I could see the thick freckles on her cheeks. The same cluster of freckles littered her neck and arms. Her white sundress made this all the more obvious. When I saw her feet, I glanced down, trying not to gasp. They look like monkey's feet. Her toes are extended like fingers and thumbs.
"Diana, this is Jane," Ben said.
He nudged me with his elbow, and I felt a pang of guilt for staring at him. The feeling didn't last long because when we made eye contact, Jane's jaw dropped.
"Wow, that's so cool," she said. "I overheard that you were coming early, but I didn't know if that was true." "Greg wanted to see Diana sooner," Ben said.
Somehow a wider smile spread across Jane's lips.
"Is he going to buy her?" she asked, then hugged me tightly. She smelled like coconut. She let out a scream that I thought could only be found in novels. "I'd love to have a girl here again. It's not for boys."
"Is she still alive?" Ben asked.
"Unfortunately," Jane whispered. "The longer she lives, the more arrogant she becomes."
The door on the other side of the room opened and two vague figures walked in. Their arms were filled with metal containers. They sat at a table covered with a white cloth. They opened the lid and a strong smell filled my nose. My stomach growled and I realized I hadn't eaten yet today. The two servants hurried out of the room.
Jane grabbed a plate from the table. Her back was turned to me, which made me look at her feet again.
"Great, time for dinner," she said, pouring some food onto a plate.
"How long has she been here?" I whispered to Ben.
He shrugged.
"I don't know," he said. "She's been here since I got here."
Ben scooped the food onto his plate, but instead of handing me the spoon, he filled my plate with food. Before I could say anything, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to a table. Jane was already eating at the big round table. I sat next to her and Ben sat next to me. We all ate in silence until the door opened again.
""Hey, Ben's here," a man said.
I looked up and saw two men approaching the table. They pulled out a table and sat across from us. At first glance, they seem normal.
One of the men appears to be about Ben's age. His hair was cut short and his skin was tanned. A smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth. His dark eyes seemed to be borrowed from mine. I made eye contact with him and shoved another forkful of food into my mouth. His smile grew wider and a dimple appeared on his cheek.
"A friend?," he said. His voice was thick and he sounded like he was from somewhere in Europe.
"This is Diana," Ben said. "She's from Weenie."
These words gave me goosebumps. I had to bite my lip to keep from shaking.
"Dr. Alexander might buy her," Jane said.
"Oh," said another. He looked to be in his thirties, with slicked-back black hair. "He's still worried about the new subject?"
"Matt, don't be rude," Jane said. "I'm not," he said. "I'm just pointing that out."
"Well, I think you're right," Ben said. "He won't want her."
I looked over at Ben and saw him raise an eyebrow. It’s a silent signal to follow his story. This must be his plan. He would make me appear completely undesirable.
Matt snickered. They ate in silence until the door was pushed open again. I was the only one looking up. A woman walked in briskly. Her thick blond hair was tied into a bun. On top of her head was a pair of sunglasses. She wore a black bikini with a sheer white gown over it. Her sandals made a loud noise as she walked to the table. She also filled her plate and sat at the table.
A wide, jagged scar ran down her chest. The pale part of her front stood out against her tanned skin. She looked up and saw me staring at her. She frowned.
"Who is this?" she asked. "You remember Ben, Candace," Matt said. “He brought a new project from Veni.”
"What did he do to you?" she asked. "What's that supposed to be? A snake?"
"A cat," Ben said.
"Are you worried, Candace?" another said. "Do you think she'll replace you? Gregory might buy her."
"Stop joking," she snapped. "No way."
"You're right," Ben said. He stood up and grabbed the crook of my elbow. He pulled me up. "I want to show Diana around." He urged us out of the room without waiting for our response. His fingers dug into the flesh of my arms. We walked back into the hallway and I pulled my arm out of his grasp. His hands grabbed my hips and pushed me against the wall. He looked over everyone's shoulders. I squinted my eyes to see what he was looking at.
I put my hands on his chest and pushed him.
"Ben, let me go," I said.
"Lower your voice," he said. "I don't want anyone to hear us."
"Why?"
Ben looked around the corner of the hallway.
"What's your plan?" I asked, making sure to speak softly. "You're just going to make everyone who listens to me think bad of me? So why do I have to learn how to be perfect at this dinner?"
Ben grabbed my chin and leaned toward me. I gasped and heard him chuckle.
"Things have changed," he said. "You still have to do what I say. I promise you will come back to Canada."
"Then let's run away?" I asked.
"We're going to get out of this together."
Ben gave me a tour of the locked portion of the house. There is another corridor. We walked into a room with a large TV and bookshelves filled with books. I was shocked to see a bar in the back and stools in the front. It's too blurry for me to see if there's alcohol.
Ben showed me the room at the end of the corridor. The ceiling is a tall glass dome that lets in sunlight. A large pool is surrounded by white tiles. A woman collects dirty towels from a lounge chair.
Walk back to my room. I try to retrace my steps and remember how to get back. As we walked by, I looked into the lounge and saw Jane curled up on the couch with a book in her hands. Candace was applying nail polish next to her.
After returning to the room, I sat cross-legged on the bed. Ben sat on the edge of the bed.
"What happened to the others?" I asked. "What did they do to them?"
"Okay," he said, leaning back. "You can see what they did to Jane."
"What on earth did you do?"
"Matt has been here the longest. His kidney has been replaced. A chimpanzee, a gorilla or some kind of monkey."
"Does this work?"
"He's still here." Ben bit his lip to stop himself from smiling at me. My face felt hot and I knew my cheeks were red.
"Elias, that Swedish bastard, has wings," he said.
"What?" I asked.
"Some kind of bird. He was Greg's last experiment. You can see he lost his sense of touch because of his illness. Elias couldn't move anything."
I nodded as I listened. He must have hidden his wings under his shirt.
"Candace has a heart transplant," he said. "It was transplanted from a pig. She was the first one Greg bought instead of original."
"This is all crazy," I said, "None of this should work."
"It shouldn't," he said, "and almost never does. Most of their subjects don't survive the surgery, and those who do survive only a few years."
"Why? They don't have any medicine?"
"Despite what they think, the body is not designed to do this. Brandi is dying now. Her tongue was replaced by a snake, but now her body is rejecting it."
I touched the skin around my eyes. Still aching. Even if I continue taking the medication, I may lose my vision. fear!
The door just opened. Oliver walked in. He was rolling up his shirt sleeves and I could see the dark moons of sweat under his armpits.
"How is she adapting?" asked Ben.
"Good," he said, rising from the bed. "We had dinner and she met other people."
"That's good." Oliver turned his attention to me. "Kitten, I have prepared a gift for you."
I tried hard to overcome my fear and dislike of this cat name. He pulled a box from his shirt pocket. He took out a pair of glasses and handed them to me. Sliding down my face, my vision quickly went from blurry to clear. I must be adapting to this poor vision because my eyes feel tired from the clear view provided by the lenses. My field of vision is wider and my peripheral vision has improved. The lenses are large and the frame is clear so it's barely noticeable.
"How does it feel?" Oliver asked.
I looked around the room, awed by how clear everything was. Without looking in the mirror, can I pretend my old eyes are back?
"Very good," I said.
I have regained a part of my life.
