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You had left the lab earlier in the day at the request of Dr. O’Deorain, the woman in a fuss and insistent that she be alone whilst studying her slides and flasks. She was on to something - what it was, you didn’t know, but you knew better than to go against her when she was near a breakthrough. She often stressed over her experiments, not being nearly as collected as you used to presume she was.
Before being employed as her assistant, she had seemed stoic and proud. She always kept her chin up and her eyes down. She was incredibly smug in those first meetings, but now you saw her as an average mad scientist, constantly muttering and brushing her fingers through her hair, snarling at the slightest of mishaps. She was incredibly blunt in private and was less than enjoyable company on most days. However, again, you would often just stick to whatever task she gave you and kept to yourself.
You were in your home on the couch when she called your phone, a disappointed sigh passing your lips as you stared at her name. You had just warmed up some leftovers from the night before and you were practically starving. You let a few more rings pass until you begrudgingly picked up the phone, holding it up to your ear. She was already talking.
“Took you long enough to answer,” she said, her accent thick and the sound of turning pages mingling with her voice on the other end. “I need you.” You pressed your lips together and sighed quietly, slouching your spine into the back of your couch. “You sent me home not even two hours ago, doctor. Are sure you want me there again so soon?”
“I told you I need you. The process is all good and done, I want to show you what I have created.” Her voice, though spoken with her typical lilt, seemed a little more excited. Her words were quick, making it sound like she was speaking Gaelic more than English in a few parts. “I have managed to discover a new means of conducting energy between parties, and I need your help with testing my results.”
You paused, O’Deorain’s muttering and rummaging filling your silence. You stuttered out your compliance: “I’ll be over shortly. Do you need me to bring anything?”
“No,” she quickly answered. “Just bring yourself. Please be here promptly.” With that, the call ended and you rose to your feet, putting your leftovers back into your fridge before preparing yourself for the lab.
You arrived as quickly as feasibly possible, briskly walking through the main entrance of the lab and turning down O’Deorain’s hall. It was eerily quiet, spare the sound of your shoes on the flooring while you approached her door. You lifted your hand to knock your knuckles upon it but quickly decided against it, reaching for the doorknob and opening with gentle haste.
“Doctor O’Deorain?” You called.
“In here.” Her voice came from a room to your right and you immediately turned to follow. “This is a tremendous breakthrough, my dear.”
You stopped in the doorway, caught off guard by the words of endearment. She never spoke like that to you before. She had always been curt, as she normally was with most colleagues. You would have kept your distance if not for her beckoning you over with a free hand. Though she wasn’t looking at you, you could feel eyes staring into you.
You moved to stand beside her. “What’s this?” You asked, noticing the small contraption mounted on the table before her. It looked looked like some sort of mold for jaws, but there was bizarre tubing that you couldn’t quite understand at your first glance.
“This,” the doctor sighed, amused, “is something that is going to change everything about about my work. This device has the potential to save thousands of patients from blood borne illnesses.” She paused, moving in to realign wiring with a small set of tweezers. It was all so small you couldn’t even see what she was changing. “This can rejuvenate the dying and reanimate the dead, possibly. Maybe with more augmentations… I’ll certainly be upscaling this into something greater, if this proves to be successful.”
Your eyes widened as she continued muttering to herself. “What the hell?” You whispered, subconsciously taking a step back as O’Deorain detached the device from its mount. You could see it better like this: it was a clear mold which could fit over teeth, fitting from molars to canines and leaving a gap at the incisors. Within the mold there was a network of microscopic wiring, a cluster of them looking like nerves opening where the canines were molded. From there the wires tracked back into a set of two small tubes. The remainder of the wiring joined together at the back end of the tubing, opening into what would be the back of the wearer’s throat.
You shivered. It was hard to believe all of that could fit into such a small, nearly invisible mouth piece. What the hell was it even for? How could that tiny thing save people? What did it do?
You didn’t notice that O’Deorain had been watching you, a brow quirked in amusement. She knew that you rarely understood what she was doing and it entertained her. It made her feel superior, a feeling she always welcomed. While you were busy with your own thoughts, she fit the mold onto her own teeth, the device smoothly and seamlessly sliding into place. The only thing that made it obvious something was there was the slight lengthening of her canines.
She approached you, making you come around again. You noticed the teeth almost immediately and O’Deorain chuckled, allowing you to see how they fit. You couldn’t help but be impressed despite being equally terrified, staring at the wiring and tubing that fit perfectly over her pearly whites. She hummed, concluding the exhibition with a smirk.
“Now,” she clasped her hands together, “this is why I needed you here. I do not trust anyone else with this experimentation. You are the only one who has been with me this long, and I think that is something quite remarkable.”
“I was employed by you. What else would you expect?”
“Most people see what I do and leave within the first few weeks. They cannot stomach my theories, my process. They fear my progression and the lengths I will go to get what I need.” A dark chuckle filled the room. “You may be afraid, but you stay. You might think me mad but you’re too curious to leave. You don’t want to leave me.”
She was close to you now, looking down at you with something fierce in her eyes. You gulped, looking up at her and nearly fumbling backwards as she grabbed at your shoulder with her clawed hand. It was cold through your coat, the tips of her nails indenting your skin beneath. You didn’t cry out, though. You just stayed still, petrified. She was right. You were curious, too curious for your own good.
“You simply can’t leave me.” She leaned into you, her breath hot on your neck. “Now, stay still and tell me how this feels.” Her words thrummed in your head, but your trance shattered when you felt a piercing pain in the flesh of your neck. You tensed and O’Deorain’s grip on you strengthened, her nails only now beginning to hurt you.
“Moira!” You cried through clenched teeth. That only seemed to make her bite harder, forcing a scream out of you. Your body weakened but she still held tight, the feeling making you believe your bodies were fusing. Your eyes lazily rolled back as you gave in, but the sensation came to an end and she released you, your body collapsing to the floor in an exhausted heap. The world spinned as your vision grew hazy, your eyes only able to see O’Deorain’s shoes as she paced before you. You recognized her voice speaking, but it was muffled and you couldn’t understand what she was saying.
Your ears rang, loud and piercing while you saw her darkening figure kneel before you. Her voice was louder, shivers going down the left side of your neck. You whimpered out something before you felt her grab your forearm, rotating it so its underside turned upward. Something cool rubbed on your skin before something pushed into the crook of your arm, replacing the cold with a warm sting. The ringing in your ears subsided quickly thereafter, your vision lazily returning as you came to.
“Well done,” O’Deorain soothed, removing what you saw was a needle from your arm and pushing a cotton ball to the puncture site. You groaned, holding your head with your free hand and stealing an occasional glance at O’Deorain.
“I… I’m sorry,” you muttered out, “for my informality.” When she looked at you questionably you continued, a bit embarrassed. “For saying your name. Y-Your first one,” you chuckled, your awkwardness filling the space around you. Moira laughed heartily as she finished dressing your arm, rising back to her full height and offering you her hand. You took it and she lifted you effortlessly, to your surprise. She was stronger than you remembered.
“It was enjoyable. I often get tired of formalities.” She glanced you over, quirking a brow and humming at the sight of your neck. She gently held your chin and tilted your head so she could see the marks better. “This is good. There is nary a sign of distress on your skin, spare a couple of pinpricks.” She released you. “The syringe seems to have also worked well. This is great news.”
“What was in that syringe?”
“It’s just the same fluid as this mouthpiece generates, but in a more convenient form. It has the same potency as a bite - and is more sanitary - though biting is more fun, no?”
You blushed lightly and chuckled, passively inspecting the bandage on your arm. You decided to avoid the fact that you enjoyed the experiment by heaving heavy sigh, followed by a stretch.
“That really wiped me out. Do you think I would be fine to go home, now?”
Doctor O’Deorain laughed again, shaking her head. “No, you’d better stay with me for at least another hour. I need to see whatever side effects may come with victims of this process.” She smirked at your concerned expression, tilting her head upward just slightly. “Don’t fret, dear. Like I said, you’re far too curious to leave. And I won’t let you.”