184 Doctor (1/2)
”Clean this mess up.” Ed ordered the nurse as he turned around and began washing his hands. He obsessively scrubbed them clean to the point that they turned red in color. Once finished, he stepped outside. 'A bit chilly.' He thought as he covered his arms and shivered. Looking out over his surroundings, there were many armed Nazi German soldiers guarding the area.
”Sir!” A brown-haired soldier saluted to him as he walked by. ”Shall I fetch the vehicle?”
”Mm.” He nodded while folding his hands behind his back. ”I think I'll visit the twins today.”
The soldier hurriedly nodded and rushed off to complete his duty. A short moment later, he returned in a dark green jeep. Ed stepped inside and sat down in the passenger seat. The soldier drove the jeep through the compound towards another building.
Ed watched out the window as they drove. There were emancipated humans on the other side of a long-fenced area. They looked more like zombies than humans, and to any ordinary person, such a sight would produce nightmares for weeks on end.
The soldier noticed the doctor's staring and grinned. ”So doctor, how are you enjoying Stammlager so far?”
”Once you've seen one camp you've seen them all.” Ed sighed while shaking his head. ”As long as the Fuhrer allows me to complete my experiments, he can send me to hell for all I care.”
”Haha, is that so.” The soldier nodded in understanding. ”Well, the war will end soon. I'm looking forward to heading home to the wife.”
”A pity that you're probably wrong.” Ed derided.
”Sir?” The soldier glanced at him in confusion.
”The war was lost even before it began.” He sighed while shaking his head again. ”We can conquer the west easily enough, but the British and Soviets are the real problem. Our navy is as good as nonexistent, making an invasion of the British islands impossible. If they don't surrender, then the war simply won't end. The Soviets are also a hardy bunch, and not even the great Napoleon could conquer those wastelands. Do you think the Fuhrer is comparable to Napoleon in warfare?”
”Sir.” The soldier frowned. ”You could get in a lot of trouble for what you're saying right now.”
”As if.” He snorted in disdain. ”You could get in a lot of trouble if you spread it. Me? I'm not an expendable asset.”
An awkward expression appeared on the soldier's face as they reached their destination. Ed opened the door and stepped out of the car. Before leaving, he gave the soldier a final piece of advice. ”If you really want to see your wife again, then I'd suggest you start planning now.” He smiled. ”I hear South America is lovely this time of year.” He slammed the door shut before the soldier could reply and headed for the nearby building.
Upon entering, he saw dozens of sets of twins playing in the front lobby. Some were as young as five, and others were just on the verge of adulthood. Unlike the emancipated skeleton-like bodies the people outside had, these twins were all healthy and well-fed.
”Doctor!” A little girl ran up and shouted excitedly. ”Lollipop?” She asked, her pleading gaze shining with joy.
”Mm.” He nodded while smiling. He patted her on the head while reaching into his coat and pulling out a handful of candy. The girl took one and the other children immediately rushed to grab pieces of their own.
”Let's see...” After finishing the handout, Ed picked up a nearby chart and began reading through it. ”Betty, Frania. It's your turn today.”
Two teenage girls looked over to Ed, a hint of worry in their eyes. Unlike the younger children, they at least had a vague idea of what was really going on. However, they knew they had no choice. Their best chance of surviving was to obediently obey the doctor's orders.
Ed and the twins entered a large doctor's office. The floors and instruments were all new and clean. One would think of it as a normal doctor's office if they didn't know any better. ”Lay down please.” He gestured towards a pair of patient beds.
The girls obediently laid down and Ed began strapping them in with leather belts so that they couldn't move. When finished, he walked over to a nearby microscope and cycled through several different slides. Each slide featured a different type of bacteria that he was currently studying. 'Mm, it'll be this one today.' He nodded to himself. Opening a freezer, he removed a sealed jar. He stuck a needle into the jar lid and slowly extracted the bacteria from within it. 'I wonder if I would win a Nobel Peace Prize upon curing malaria?' He chuckled to himself, as the idea of himself winning such a prize was absolutely ludicrous given the current circumstances of the world.
Taking the needle, he walked over to one of the strapped girls and stuck it into her hip. He slowly injected the contents into her bone marrow. Once completed, he wrote down some notes and patiently observed for any changes. Over the next hour, the girl quickly developed a fever, and her skin turned a harsh red color around the injection site. Strange blisters festered on her skin, causing an excess of bleeding.
”No good.” Ed sighed while shaking his head. He had already isolated several strains of bacteria that were effective against malaria, but all had extreme adverse effects when tested on humans. 'Well, I might as well continue the experiment.' He sighed to himself while preparing another needle. This needle was filled with the malaria-causing parasite, and he injected it into both girls. He then patiently observed while taking down notes.
'Oh, the experiment is reacting worse to the parasite than the control?' Ed smiled as his interest grew. 'Who would have thought that the bacteria would actually increase the speed with which the symptoms spread despite it killing the parasite in isolated experiments?' He hurriedly edited his notes to reflect his new findings. Today's research placed him one step closer to his goal, and that was always good news.
Suddenly, the girl that had been injected with the bacteria started trembling and sweat covered her body. ”Ughh.” She groaned as she struggled against her restraints. Her fever quickly grew worse, and her heart rate sped up drastically.
Ed grabbed his stethoscope and placed it to her heart to listen. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. THUD! With a big final beat, the heart burst. ”A pity.” Ed feigned sorrow while shaking his head.
”What happened to my sister?” The other twin shouted hoarsely in fear, as she couldn't see well due to the leather straps.
”No need to worry.” Ed nonchalantly replied while preparing a new vial. He walked over and injected a clear fluid into the girl's neck, and her eyes quickly grew dull. A short moment later, she joined her sister in death.
”Hahhh.” Ed let out a long sigh. 'I really do love twins. Such perfect control groups are the best reward this war has to offer.' He glanced down at the one he had just killed himself. 'A pity that the remaining one is useless when the other twin dies.'
Ed exited the office and glanced at a blond nurse waiting just outside. ”Clean up inside.” He ordered as he walked away.
The nurse silently nodded, not wishing to extract the doctor's wrath by back-talking. She always made sure to do her job perfectly, which was why the doctor had kept her around so long. She raised a mask to her face and entered the room to dispose of the bodies.
Walking back through the lobby, the remaining twins were ignorant to what had just happened. Twins vanished all the time, and most of the younger ones simply thought they returned home or switched facilities. The older ones were smart enough to keep their silence, as the loudmouths had long since met their fates at the hands of the crazy doctor already.
Exiting the building, Ed returned to the waiting soldier and vehicle. He stepped inside. ”Take me to the chambers.” He ordered.
”Sir.” The doctor nodded and began driving. After a brief period of silence, the soldier gulped and asked what was on his mind. ”South America... How long until it would be ideal to visit?” He asked. ”I do have some leave time accruing...”
”Two years at most.” Ed replied without looking up from his notes. He was reviewing some of his previous experiments to see if any of them were worth revisiting. In one such experiment, he had attempted to create Siamese twins by stitching two boys together. Unfortunately, both boys died as a result. ”A year would be safer though.”
”Thanks.” The soldier nodded, grateful that the doctor was showing him such kindness despite them having just met for the first time this morning.
Screeeech. The jeep stopped in front of yet another series of buildings. Ed took his notes and briefcase with him as he walked over to the chambers. The soldier took the jeep keys and followed while wielding his MP40. It was his job to ensure the doctor's safety should anything go wrong.
”Relax.” Ed smiled. ”They won't be in any sort of state to cause problems.” The duo walked pass several patrols of armed guards and reached the chambers. Ed walked up to a heavy and thick metal door. Glancing through a small window, several adults were inside.
Suddenly, a gas began to fill the chambers. The prisoners began to cough and gag as their eyes and skin turned red. The gas quickly resided, leaving the suffering prisoners a bloody coughing mess.
”Mustard gas.” The accompanying soldier muttered in disgust. He held contempt for such weapons of war.