Wolves of the new dawn

The savage

*Freesia*

I hurry through the sterile white walled hallways of the underground lab that is my daily work place. There is a distinctive smell hanging in the corridor, in the whole place.. or actually it is a lack of smell, a void. I have always found that a bit unsettling.

I have been called in early, something that has never happened before, but this is big news, huge actually. One of the android patrols has caught a savage just outside the city wall, on the edge of the wasteland. And this one they actually managed to get alive and bring back here. My boss wants me as part of the senior staff that examines and tests him.

To be honest I am rather curious about seeing an actual savage. Both as a doctor and as a human. I mean I have heard about them and read about them. They are supposed to be descendants of people who didn’t get into the safety of the city during the big drought. Humanoids, but deformed, wild, dangerous.. hardly more than wild animals. But I have never seen one, very few people have, even less have seen a live one.

This could turn out to be an amazing thing for humanity. I mean as far as I know, no savage has actually been fully examined before. Who know what it’s blood and dna is hiding ? Maybe it can help us with some diseases or maybe even unlock the secret to this male infertility we are battling.

As I scramble into the lab my boss, Cass Nesral, a beautiful and smart woman in her mid thirties, who is the leader of the lab is already there, ready to brief me. “Morning Freesia. I had them throw it into one of the isolation rooms. It is clearly a male and it seems agitated. Come have a look.”

She walks briskly over to one of the white walls and I follow her, waiting while she pulls out a control panel and push a button, making a section of the wall become see-through. Only on our side though, for the male inside it still just looks like a wall.

I don't know what I expected, but not the figure pacing the floor and the surprise makes me gasp slightly.

“Yeah, I know. It looks very different than I expected too.” She rubs her chin thoughtfully. “So far, it has shown no sign of having a language. But otherwise, it looks... well, human... besides being taller and a bit hairy.”

And she is right; he looks like a human, a bit more... Well, I'm not sure what to call it... stronger, rougher, maybe. He is tall, at least 6’1”, maybe 6’2”, and by far the tallest person I have ever seen. He is clad in simple but human clothes: black fitted pants with a lot of pockets and a tight long-sleeved shirt in a blue color. Both look to be made of some natural material.

He looks fairly slim with long, well-shaped limbs, but the most captivating is his face. He has an actual beard, reddish and coarse, covering the lower half of his face. I know men used to have beards, but due to the lack of testosterone, no one is capable of anything but a slight fuzz these days. I have never seen a beard. Does this give hope that this male possesses other male attributes in working order?

His face is... well, handsome, I guess. With sharp cheekbones and a well-shaped nose. His hair is a mane of sandy-reddish curls. When he looks up and our eyes seem to meet through the wall, I almost gasp again. His eyes are blue... a clear and bright blue, like nothing I have ever seen before. Eyes are grey or rarely green... but not his; they are sparkling blue.

“He looks different... but still human.” I bite my lip, swallowing as my eyes travel over his form. He seems alert, intelligent. I know I should probably find him repulsive, strange, maybe even scary. I mean, he is so different from the men here in the city. But if I have to be honest with myself, I find him... well, attractive, I guess. “So, what are we going to do with him?”

“I think we should start with the basic blood work, you know, to see how close to us it actually is. But we should probably sedate it first; it could be dangerous.” She reaches for the control panel.

Without thinking, I grab her wrist, stopping her, not even knowing why I did it. “Uhmm, would you allow me to try without sedation first? Maybe it is possible to communicate with him.”

“Are you sure about this, Freesia? We don’t know how aggressive it is. It could attack.” She looks thoughtfully at the man. “You have to promise not to take any chances.”

“I will... I just think it is better for later examinations if we start off on a good foot... also, we don’t know how he would react to sedation.” I nod at her. Then I go change into my lab coat and find the kit I need to draw blood.

I walk over to the door, taking a deep breath. Cass sounds a bit worried. “Remember, no unnecessary chances... if it attacks in any way, I am sedating.”

“Okay.” I nod, then I slowly crack the door open and slip inside; we can’t risk him getting loose in the lab.

His head snaps up as I enter, those crystal-like eyes boring into me. He stands tall and proud, without a hint of fear. I try with a friendly smile. “Hi there, I am Doctor Freesia Prell... I am not going to hurt you, okay? I just need a bit of blood from your arm.”

He narrows his eyes, and what sounds mostly like a low growl rises from his chest. Maybe Cass was right; maybe trying to communicate is a waste of time.

“Look, I know... you don't want to be here... you don’t want us to draw blood and do tests and all that. But it will happen no matter what. So... you can let me do it, and I promise to be fast and gentle... or it will be done the hard way.” I look directly at him, knowing I should not show fear.

He c***s his head slightly, his tongue slipping out to wet his lips. He looks like he is considering whether I can be trusted.

“Do you understand what I am saying?” I mean, if my words make no meaning to him, this is fruitless.

It takes a moment, but then he nods, and he actually rolls his eyes slightly, like it was a very stupid question.

I take a couple of steps towards him. “Will you allow me to draw a small amount of blood? I promise you it won’t hurt.”

He hesitates for a moment, then he sighs and nods again.

“Thank you, I will just come over to you then.” I walk over to stand in front of him and he holds out his arm, looking at me with a curious look in his eyes.

I take the small cylinder with the needle from my pouch, putting the pouch on the table. “Could you pull up the sleeve?”

He does, revealing a sinev and strong looking underarm. I take hold of his wrist, gently running my fingers up his skin, finding the right spot. I lift the cylinder, pressing it to the spot and push the little button to insert the needle. He looks with wide eyes as the cylinder fill with blood.

I remove it, putting it back in the pouch, taking a little napkin and swiping it over the prick. “All done for now. Thank you for cooperating.”

Then I leave the room, remembering to walk backwards to the door. I am curious to see what his blood says.