Chapter 1

They were splicing wolf DNA and inserting it into all the kidnapped children. Nobody in the program knew why, the people never told them. There were rumors. Some of the victims believed they were being turned into weapons for the government. Some thought they were being turned into loyal slaves. Nobody knew the true purpose though... they never would.

W-17-D had been there for a good few years now. Aside from the experiments he wasn't treated horribly. He was given three meals a day, toys to play with, friends among the other experimented children, and even an education. He still missed his mom and brother, but his memories were starting to get hazy. He almost couldn't remember what they looked like anymore.

He used to look in a mirror to remind himself that they probably looked like him, but he was hardly looking like him anymore. The wolf DNA was starting to take an effect, his ears were starting to reshape themselves and his honey-brown eyes were taking a more golden-yellow hue. Even his canines were sharpened to animalistic lengths and his nails were hardening into claws.

W-17-D knew that he would eventually come to look like W-01-A.

He had his own room. They all did. Each Sequence in the Alphabet had their own hall with rooms for 01 through 99. W-17-D, naturally, lived in the D hallway in the 17th room. He hardly got to see his neighbors outside for recreational time in the gymnasium. They talked through the walls sometimes.

W-16-D was a quiet girl, but she got bored too. She liked to talk about horses, she was a fanatic. She read all sorts of books and watched all sorts of movies and shows during the before days. Told W-17-D all sorts of random horse facts.

W-18-D was the opposite. He jabbered on and on about his day, or what he could remember about his life before, or what sorts of tests they ran on him that day. He even insisted that he remembered his old name. It changed daily, but W-17-D listened nonetheless because it was something to do.

W-18-D was quiet today. W-17-D assumed that he was in for weekly experiments. Everyone was always quiet afterward for a few days. The experiments were painful, they needed to let their bodies adjust. He left his neighbor be and instead attempted to read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief for the umpteenth time. W-17-D had read it so many times, he could probably recite it, word for word. He needed to put in a request for more reading material.

The footsteps turning down hallway D caught his attention quickly. Wasn't that hard to do considering how bored he was with the book he was reading. "Recreational Period! All of D Hall head to the Gymnasium for Recreational Period!" W-17-D was on his feet in an instant. He enjoyed the Recreational Period the most out of all reasons the humans came down his hall. There were only four reasons they ever did. Recreational Period, Experimentation Period, Meal Times, and Checkups, not necessarily in that order. Still, he knew the schedule pretty damn well. W-17-D shot up to his feet and left the cramped space of his room in favor of the Gymnasium.

The Halls were always mixed up to avoid anyone getting attached. Despite males getting neutered and females getting spayed when they came of age, the hormones were still there and nobody wanted to see that. So it was always different sets of groups. W-17-D really wasn't looking forward to losing his balls, but such was life. "Hey you, 17, you were close to 18 yeah?" W-19-D. W-17-D already knew, by the way, he was speaking, he wasn't going to be seeing W-18-D anymore. "Something went wrong." W-19-D rubbed his neck. "Far as I heard, he died on the table... sorry man..." W-17-D wasn't a stranger to loss. Many die on the table. Such was their life. "Thanks, 19. My condolences to you too..." W-17-D replied quietly.

"W-17-D?" His ear twitched as he turned to the wall next to W-16-D's room. It was currently dinner time and he was enjoying his venison steak with mashed potatoes and peas. "What's up, W-16-D?" He caught the sound of a sniffle, the faintest noise of tears plopping onto fabric. He felt his heart go out to her. "A-Are we going to die here...?" He couldn't say. It was a very real possibility. "I don't know..." He whispered. He knew she still heard him though. "A-are we even human anymore...?" It was a fair question. One he wanted to say yes to, but... "I... I don't know..." He didn't. The more experiments he went through, the less human he felt. "Do-do you think we could leave...? R-run out those doors and keep going?" He didn't know. Nobody's ever tried. "Maybe..." He replied.

She never made it past the first doors before she was gunned down.

This was a break in the schedule. 5 am and everyone from all the halls were marched down to the basement where W-16-D was hung up for all to see. Bullet wounds from an automatic riddled her arms and chest, and blood stained her clothes and skin. A pool of I was drying underneath her. Everyone knew immediately. She was the example. She was what happened if they tried to leave. To run away.

Someone walked up to the front. W-17-D couldn't see who it was but by the sound of his footfalls, he was important. Those who could see reacted nervously, which was another hint that he was someone to be messed with. Even the doctors and facility workers were antsy. This was someone really high up in the ranks.

For a moment it was silent. A microphone made a loud sound, making W-17-D, among others, cringe and grab at their ears. "Ah, my apologies." Even the important man's voice held an air of authority. "I am Michael Jonah, the Director of the W Series. That is you all. I am the one that makes sure you all receive food, shelter, and education. We even make sure you all can run around and talk and play... so I don't understand why anyone would want to leave." Heads turned up to W-16-D's body. "You were all donated to science. Your families didn't want you so I took you all in. All I ask is you let the doctors do their thing and you can do what you want within reason! I want to take care of you all as a parent would their child, and I would rather not punish my children, ok? So you be good individuals and nobody has to get hurt again, understood?" The room stayed quiet. Everyone was too intimidated.

The director left not long after his speech and everyone was dismissed one hall at a time. W-17-D looked up at her once more. He should've said something else, should've stopped her. She could've escaped this. Then again, maybe it was quicker and less painful. He didn't know. He never would. He was no hero, he would abide by the rules of the director. He was gonna end up dying here like a dog, but he accepted that.

W-17-D gave up years ago.