In the morning, JiYong drove back to the main branch of the research facility. He parked carelessly, not bothering to see if he was in the lines or not. Compared to the rules he’d broken the day before, this was a minor infraction. His thoughts instead mulled over the President’s words.

    The researcher drifted through the main entryway, absentmindedly nodding at the security guards, passing through each automated door. The TVXQ team in Lab 1 greeted him respectfully, to which he gave a halfhearted nod in response. The same happened with 2ne1, JYJ, and many others. Kwon JiYong had garnered attention in werewolf-human relations department. They’d named him and his team Big Bang for their efforts. JiYong wasn’t sure whether to be mortified or pleased.

    Mortified, he decided, when he walked into his lab. His team members were lollygagging around the laboratory, and seemed to be engaged in a spontaneous game of paper volleyball.

    “I see we’re being productive.” He voiced his irritation. The paper ball fell to the floor with resounding finality.

    “Th-they haven’t woken up yet.” YoungBae pointed towards the observation window then scratched his head at his team leader’s glare. “We were playing to see who would get the night shift tonight.” JiYong raised an eyebrow.

    “DaeSeung and I will take the night shift.” He ignored the cry of protest from the man next to the control panel. “Now listen, I need everyone’s attention.” His team members sobered up at his serious tone. Their team leader was never an overly serious person. Focused, maybe, but he always did have a muted sense of humor.

    “What’s up?” DaeSung asked.

    “You all have probably noticed that I’ve been gone for a few days.” The team leader began, “I’ve been setting up Phases 2 and 3. But I was interrupted yesterday when the President called.” The other members clambered at the news.

    “What’d he say?” TOP gasped, grasping the situation quickly. “Are we in trouble? Is it because of Jordan?” JiYong leaned back on the nearest lab table with a sigh.

    “He’s not happy despite the progress we’ve made.” He rubbed his temples, trying to rid them of the exhaustion pounding there. He wasn’t sure how to continue. “He-” JiYong paused, thinking for a while. His team gazed at him, confused.

    Finally, JiYong looked at his team members, one by one.

    “I think we’ve forgotten that this is an experiment.” He began. “At the end of the day, Jordan is a criminal. Chen is a werewolf. After this experiment, even if it succeeds, Jordan goes back to prison and Chen stays here to undergo further trials. Nothing but data will come out of this experiment. Do you understand?” He fixed each of them with a pointed stare. He tried to relay his indirect message, despite his own dubiousness.

    “Yes, Team Leader.” They replied, formality returning to their tones.

    “Then get back to work.” JiYong turned to sit down.

    TOP nodded, and began sorting through the printed observations from the previous days. He had to file them in the paper database. YoungBae wandered over, and the two exchanged a questioning look, both glancing at their team leader. He sat on the tall stool. His eyes were troubled, hands balled into fists on his lap.

    “They’re up.” DaeSung called out. Only then did they tear their eyes from the defeated figure on the stool. DaeSung tilted his head. “Well, he’s up.”

    Chen sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He rolled his shoulders back and raised his arms above his head in a stretch. The werewolf tilted his head to the left and right, eyes closing for a brief moment. He cast a glance at the other side of the room before rising and disappearing into the adjacent bathroom.  Jordan’s eyes were open, but she didn’t rise. She stayed in her fetal position, staring blankly at the wall.

    Another day. When she was in prison, the thought of continuing wasn’t a pleasant one. She wasn’t like some of the inmates, who didn’t have lifetime sentences. She was in until dead did her part, with nothing to remind her of life’s pleasantries. All she had to look forward to was an occasional stolen conversation. Jordan thought back to the first year, her darkest point. The point when she felt like dying, but couldn’t: she had nothing to kill herself with. She had combatted that darkness. She’d fought it back for another year.

    Another day here, however, although cramped and under scrutiny, held incentive. The day held possibilities and the nights were not full of invisible terrors. The cramped whiteness and utter lack of privacy did not horrify her as it probably should have. She had five other human beings and a werewolf to observe. The humans could talk to her if she did enough to draw words to the surface. Jordan surprisingly found herself looking forward to her small, usually infuriating, interactions with Chen. Their wordless bickering added a little bit of embellishment to the otherwise peaceful monotony. For now, the darkness had abated.

    Jordan briefly registered the clatter of the food bowl, an indication that the usual werewolf interaction would soon follow. She would have to be fully awake for that, otherwise her threshold for irritation would wear dangerously thin. Her capacity of patience had greatly heightened over the last week or so.

    “Door.” She called out. A click of the telltale doorknob answered her. “Thank you.” She said dryly, and swept through the doorway.

    She tried a different strategy at the food bowl today. She took the spoon and doled out a tiny spoonful from the main bowl. She pointed at Chen and then at the pile.

    He ate it without complaint. This Jordan found highly suspicious.

    Despite her suspicion, Jordan decided that it was a promising sign, and scooped out a minute portion for herself. She blew on the hot rice.

    As she raised the spoon to , Chen leaned over, wrapped his lips around it, and stole the rice for himself. Jordan and the researchers alike gaped at him. He grinned with his mouth closed, still chewing with gusto, watching for her reaction.

    “Cheeky little .” Jordan muttered. She glared at him, though she couldn’t prevent her amusement from leaking out. The corners of her lips curled slightly upwards, which she tried in to lower in vain. Inwardly, she couldn’t help but feel like he was flirting. It bothered her, in more ways than one. It bothered her that the werewolf knew how to flirt, and it bothered her more that she was responding.

    Behind the glass, DaeSung hid his smirk. He wiped it however when he turned in his chair in order to comply with the new serious protocol.

    “I’m curious,” He stated, “Why he likes her so much. Chen’s behavior is a complete 360 from the first 4 subjects. Why is that?”

    “Well,” TOP began, “There could be infinite possibilities, considering how much we don’t know about werewolves. They could have an innate sense of personality. He could read minds and we still wouldn’t know.” He mused. “He might have been able to tell that she’s a different brand of criminal.”

    “To just run with that idea,” YoungBae added in “It would make sense in the way that wolves are let into packs, since we still haven’t found a method of communication between wolves. If they can see into each others’ thoughts and intentions, it would become a way for them to communicate in both wolf and human forms.”

    “That’s worth doing some research.” JiYong nodded thoughtfully. “I could submit a proposal to the board.”

    They talked of the mysteries of the werewolves for the remainder of the day. They wondered about their cell composition, how their cells could regenerate at incredible rates, how those cells contained two nuclei, each containing DNA. One belonged to the human, and the other belonged to the wolf. TOP voiced a curiosity about the origin of the werewolf, which despite decades of investigation, had never been realized.

    They finally rolled around to the topic of their own experiment. DaeSung suggested that they move on to the next stage.

    “Their...relationship won’t change.” He assured the rest of the group. TOP nodded in agreement.

    “Yes, their meal is only one day away from being at the smallest portion. They're reacting surprisingly well to this round. Tomorrow, we can probably move on.”

    “Are you sure?” JiYong raised an eyebrow. This step, which they had anticipated to be one of the most difficult, had essentially equated to playing games with some work on the side. Chen's morality was no longer a question.

    “Positive.” His team affirmed. The leader’s eyebrows raised in approval.

    “I’ll inform the Variant Maintenance Team.”

The three remaining passed around the task of taking notes, and JiYong contributed when he returned. The human subject, after recovering from the initial shock of having her spoonful stolen, split the rest of the small portion of the rice and quickly retreated back to her bed. The werewolf commenced his usual pacing of the room. On occasion he’d peek into the window, fixing each of the researchers with a pointed stare. The human was not feeling interactive, and spent several hours of the day with her eyes tightly closed, hands hovering over her lap, as if resting on an imaginary keyboard. Her fingers would twitch and dance, coding mental sequences. She would use her exercise routine as her break. The hour hand of the clock moved seamlessly with little events. Soon, the werewolf drifted towards the mattress and escaped his captivity in the form of dreams. Jordan shifted from her conscious mental world to an unconscious one.

The workday was almost over. The rest of the team began to clean off their stations. DaeSung propped his feet up on the control panel, getting ready for a long night. He contemplated what type of takeout he should order.

“Why don’t we get some drinks tonight?” The team leader surprised everyone with his question. DaeSung pointed at the observation room.

“And just leave them?”

“I can ask someone from 2ne1 watch for tonight. I’ve covered a couple of their shifts before.” JiYong said with a smile. The team remained hesitant, none of them voiced their many concerns. Finally, JiYong voiced the one sentence he knew would push them to go.

“I’ll pay-”

“I’m free!” Team Big Bang chimed. JiYong rolled his eyes, but didn’t suppress his smile. The five men removed their lab coats and hung them on the hooks next to the door, chattering about their favorite bars.

They settled on TOP’s favorite place, a small place manned by an old grandmother with outdoor tables. The team sat nursing their drinks, conversing for the first time about their life outside of the laboratory.

“So none of us have girlfriends.” TOP mused. He pointed at the team leader. “Even you, with your pretty face?” JiYong sent an irritated but harmless glare at his subordinate.

“I’ve been working.” Was his reply. The rest of his team groaned.

“Boss!” DaeSung exclaimed. “You have to seize your youth! You’re the youngest researcher to ever have his own laboratory at the prestigious YG Research! You make six figures a year! What lady wouldn’t have you?”

“Then what about you fools?” JiYong wildly waved his beer can at the other four. “You’re all about the same age as me, making money, doing well! Why only lecture me? I get enough from my mother about this, I don’t need my employees too...” He trailed off and downed a large mouthful of his drink. The rest of his team chuckled at the sudden outburst of emotion.

“I just haven’t found the right one yet.” YoungBae sighed and took a long draught of his rum and coke. “Girls these days have such high standards. You have to have a good body, a good face, a solid job, triple degree from the best university, a car, a nice apartment, you just can’t please them!” He complained, drawing a few dirty looks from a nearby table of women. “If I can find a smart, independent, girl who will go to church with me on Sundays, great. If she can deal with my irritating work schedule, even better. If I meet a girl like that, she’s a keeper.”

“I’ll drink to that. Though I’m going to ignore the schedule comment.” JiYong raised his beer can and the group made a toast. “To the bachelors.” Their glasses clinked, and the group sat in comfortable silence.

“Hey Team Leader!” YoungBae burst out after a few minutes, the thoughts he had shoved into the back of his head raced forward with drunken boldness. “I really dreaded working with you at first. I was really unhappy that you picked me to be in your team. I thought you were going to be a complete prick: the “flower boy” in Department 5.” He paused, taking another sip. JiYong gazed him in half-sober amazement. “But you know what Team Leader?” YoungBae smiled at him. “You’re pretty alright.”

“I’ll drink to that!” TOP shouted. “To the team leader we all thought would be a prick but is actually alright!” The team cheered. JiYong raised his glass with a lopsided smile.

Old memories resurfaced in JiYong’s mind. Memories of hurrying through corridors to deflect attention. Memories of bitter coworkers and stuck up supervisors. Memories of flinching at shattered test tubes and angry shouting. Memories of putting it all behind him and ascending.

He rested his gaze on the men surrounding him, commending him for his non-ry. A peaceful smile crossed his mind.

He’d chosen a good team.

To any outsiders, they were an eclectic group. Four men: one with orange hair, another with blue, a third with absurdly long brown bangs. One lacked a shirt completely but wore dress pants.

To a stranger, they were friends.

The next morning, the team tumbled into the laboratory. DaeSung and YoungBae entered with sunglasses, both obviously had not recovered from the previous night. JiYong handed them cups of hangover soup, which they both accepted gratefully.

“Stage 2 begins today?” TOP confirmed. The team leader nodded.

“The VMT said that they’ll start in a minute.” As he spoke, a hissing rang out overhead.

In the observation room, both the human and werewolf were jolted awake. A deep blue mist poured out from hidden vents in the ceiling. Jordan’s eyes filled with panic and she pulled her tank top up to cover her nose and mouth.

She only remained conscious for a couple of seconds. The compound in the tranquilizer had been designed to knock a werewolf out. It was extremely potent for a human.

Chen, however, hung on. He leaped towards the glass, pounding a fist against it. His eyes glowed blue in his anger. His teeth were bared, his snarl audible over the hissing of the tranquilizer. The blue mist filled the room, rendering it invisible. But his snarl continued. For three minutes, it relented.

The team was never sure exactly when he lost consciousness.

Jordan woke to the smell of pine. She stumbled to her feet, trying to focus her fuzzy vision. A backpack rested on her shoulders, it wasn’t heavy. Her outfit hadn’t changed.

Pine trees. They stretched out farther than she could see. Wind shifted through the needles and the woodland critters chattered. It would have been peaceful, had she known what was happening.

She glanced to the right. Chen was awake. He was excited; he was in his element here. The crunch of pine needles and the smell of the wind were his home. For once, a bright gleam shone in his eyes. His teeth bared into a wild smile. He shifted into a crouch, scenting the air. An excited huff came out from his teeth.

He took off. Jordan had never seen werewolf abilities shown off, and she was astounded. His limbs were blurs, and his form was gone in moments.

Jordan tore her eyes away from the place he used to be and bent down to open the bag and organize her thoughts. It contained the majority of what she needed to survive: socks, a roll of copper wire, a knife, flint and steel, a water bottle, and iodine. She glanced to the side. Chen had been given a backpack as well. He’d left it behind. He likely didn’t need it. She opened the zipper. It held extra clothing, nothing else. He definitely didn’t need it.

She faced the forest, fending off the panic. She was a hacker, used to being surrounded by computer screens and infinite circuits. Here, in nature and all of its elements, she was useless. All of her knowledge equated to garbage.

Jordan hefted her backpacks. However unprepared, she would weather it. She was going to survive this. She marched forwards, eyes scanning the forest cover and the tree trunks.

Chen flew towards the west. His arms pumped at his sides, his legs stretching out to take longer strides. He relished the feeling of the forest floor against his bare feet, the smell of pine sap and ice, the natural wind flowing through his hair. Freedom and exhilaration flowed once more through his veins. He wasn’t home, but this was close enough.

Jordan stayed in the general vicinity. She walked a couple hundred feet in all directions, beginning to form a mental map. She scanned the tree trunks and foliage. She looked for something familiar, unnatural bumps and red lights, anything that signified cameras. She was going to take this forest apart chunk by chunk, until she knew it all.

And so began Stage 2.

***

What up, everybody? Once again, thank you to HunHan623!

I changed the pace of this chapter a bit, I hope everyone likes it! Let me know what you think, and as always, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged!