CAGED ANIMAL
Brody’s head ached. Even with his eyes closed, he felt like there was a blinding white light triggering his brain. He could tell he was waking from a sleep, but he had no idea how long he was out. When he opened his eyes, he half-expected to be at home in bed, hungover from a night of too much drinking.
He noticed first that he was cold. Not freezing, but definitely not wrapped in the warm, soft comforts of his bedding. He worked through his pain and managed to open his eyes. When he did, he couldn’t believe what he saw.
Bars. Metal bars surrounding him. He became more alert and saw that he was in a cage. It was short, the size for a large dog or animal. It was a total humiliation. He got up to try and break himself out, but as he did, he felt a tug on his neck. A collar wrapped around, just barely enough room for two fingers to get through. It was tied to the cage by two white ropes, securing him not only inside, but facing one particular direction.
It was clear that whoever put him in there wanted to be able to control which way he looked. But why? As he wondered, he felt up his neck to his face, discovering the truth that he’d hoped was included in his dream. Short fur covered his face, almost hiding the long snout and wet nose that extended out.
“Fuck,” he said under his breath.
So it seemed his fate hadn’t changed. Trapped in his promethean body, now bound inside a cage. A cage in a room he did not recognize or know its location. The lights were off. That coupled with his sleeping made him assume it was night. But looking around, there were no windows to the outside world. It could be midday for all he knew.
The only illumination came from some sleeping computers nearby and some security cameras up in the high corners. Their small red, green, and yellow lights were painfully common, yet terrifyingly sinister. While he didn’t know where he was, he knew for sure who was watching.
H.A.R.P.E.’s work was dirty and violent, but at the end of the day, they brought their captives kicking and screaming to the men no doubt on the other end of that video feed. Scientists and government agents keen on understanding more about the physiology and behavior of this seemingly new, humanoid species.
Brody never knew what happened after he turned the young men over. He never asked and never cared. As far as he was concerned, there was no punishment or fate harsh enough. His ignorant convictions now left him uneasy, knowing that he was stuck in that same unknown place.
He tried pulling on the ropes, seeing if he could bite into it with his canine teeth. Alas, it wasn’t going to break easily. It was clearly made of some sort of synthetic material, no doubt designed to withstand even the most aggressive of beasts. And that’s what he was to them. Just a beast. A creature to be studied and probed… or worse…
One of the cameras made a mechanical noise as it turned to face his cage. It locked onto him, as if it was staring back. He looked at it, not sure whether to scream or pretend to be asleep. It was dark, but there was no way it didn’t see him up. He held his breath. He didn’t know what was better, being unconscious or being awake. All he could hear was his heart beating in his chest, waiting for something to happen.
And suddenly, the red light on the camera went out. Odd, he thought. The power was cut, but why? And then the other cameras went out. One by one, he saw them all shut off.
This made him nervous. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that whoever was watching him had those cameras on for a reason. And if they were shutting them off? It couldn’t only mean that something was about to happen they didn’t want anyone else to see.
Brody felt a cold chill run through his spine, sending the hairs and fur on the back of his neck up on their ends. These people knowingly kidnap people, strip them, test them, and who knows what else. What could be so bad that even they don’t want witnesses or recordings?
After a few terrified moments, he heard footsteps approaching the door to the room. With his canine ears, he could tell it was only one person. They were walking softly, but not terribly slow. They didn’t seem to be sneaking, rather walking with confidence. He tried to listen further, hoping to get any hint of what was coming. But before he could learn anything more, the door opened.
The light from the hallways was blinding. It was only a couple dim fluorescents, but compared to the pitch black room, it might as well have been midday sun. He couldn’t see the man who entered, blocking his eyes and squinting. The light felt like a jackhammer to his already sensitive head. He let out a growl, pained and uncomfortable, but unable to turn away.
The man knelt down in front of the cage, taking out a flashlight and shining it at Brody. Brody was not happy with this at all, trying his best to lunge forward at his examiner. He reached out his hands, trying to claw, but he could barely get his fingers through the bars of the cage. The restraints did their job well, leaving him panicked and alarmed.
Once the light turned off, it took a while for Brody to adjust his vision. His arms flailed out until he lost steam, seeing the futility of actions. And once he stopped, he could see much more clearly.
The man sitting across from his appeared to be in his late 40s, salt and pepper hair and beard with icy, gray eyes. He was handsome, for sure, dressed somewhat formally in a collared shirt and dress pants. He had a lab coat as well as papers on a clipboard and a medical flashlight. Perhaps one of the scientists.
The man just watched him, cool and collected, unaffected by his growls or signs of aggression. He seemed to have no fear of him whatsoever. Brody looked for any sign in his eyes that he might be able to exploit, but the man was completely at ease. Brody thought that he would even be this way without the cage or restraints–a thought that made him all the more uneasy.
A moment of silence passed with the two of them looking at each other before the man wrote something down on his paper. Brody felt this was his moment to finally break the silence.
“Are you going to kill me?” he asked, sounding more threatening than his true feelings let on. He was scared, but he didn’t want to show it.
The man looked up from his writing, put his pen down, and locked eyes with him once more.
“Why would I do that?” he replied. His voice was deep and full of authority. This was not some low level person. Clearly he had power.
“The cameras. They’re off.”
“So they are.”
Brody didn’t have the stomach to say what he feared. But his silence hung in the air and communicated more than any words could.
“You’re safe. Don’t worry.”
“How the fuck am I safe? Look at me!”
The man looked at him, looked at his papers, and looked back. “From what I can see you’re doing well. Healthy weight, strength, good reactivity, you’re not groggy or impaired from the sedative. From what I can tell you’re likely to experience no ill effects other than a little nausea and some minor headaches.”
Brody was even more pissed off. His head was pounding and this guy was flashing him with lights and giving no answers.
“Why the fuck am I here?”
“Why, Brody,” the man replied, stunning him that he knew his name. “You know exactly what this place is.”
Brody paused. He looked at the man closer. He didn’t recognize him. And he wasn’t brought in with any clothes or ID. How did he know his name? And how did he know his association with the work of the scientists? He must know he’s in H.A.R.P.E., but how? And if he knows, why is he in there?
“Listen… if you know who I am, then you know what I’m capable of. Get me the fuck out of here or else I’ll kill the second I get the chance.”
The man smiled. “Is that so?”
“I’m telling you, man! Do as I say or else!”
Suddenly, the man stood up, clenching his fists and pumping out his chest. Brody couldn’t quite figure out what he was seeing, but the man seemed to grow two feet taller, his muscles swelled up and burst his shirt open. He looked up at him, seeing him nearly break out of his pants, stressing it with not just his size, but with a throbbing, concealed cock as well.
On the man’s head, horns appeared, making him look like some sort of demon!
“Or else what?” he answered, a powerful, booming resonance in his voice that made Brody cower in his cage. For the first time, he was happy he was in there, protected from whatever it was that stood in front of him. He almost wet himself from fear, but instead found himself just shaking uncontrollably…
“What are you?” Brody asked, unsure of how to feel or what else to say.
“I’ll tell you. In time. For now, I just need you to trust me. …I’m going to get you out of here.”
Brody’s heart sank. He couldn’t believe what he heard. He’d almost given up hope, and those words nearly made him leap up in his cage.
“Are you not one of the scientists? One of the military guys?”
“Don’t worry about them. I’m going to get you out. That’s why I came.”
“So, come on! Let’s go!”
Brody tugged on his restraints. He was ready to be free. To run out and get back to his life. He could almost smell his bedroom, but then he felt the sting of rejection.
“I can’t do it right now.”
“What?! Why?!”
“I need your help. You’re too important.”
“Fuck that! Wait–please! I’ll do anything!”
“In time. Right now I need to trust me. I’ll come back later tonight.”
“Please… don’t leave me here!”
The man buttoned up his shirt and his strength and power waned. Suddenly, his horns were gone and he was just a regular man again. Brody whimpered, wanting to go with him. He pawed at the cage, making it shake.
“You’ll be alright. …It looks like you’ve got something to keep you busy. Don’t be afraid to use it.”
The man gestured down to Brody’s cock. It was throbbing hard and aching to be milked. He didn’t understand, but he felt he could trust him.
“…Why am I so horny?”
“It’s part of the change. …I’ll come back for you later tonight.”
The man turned and gathered his things, heading for the door behind him. He had his hand on the knob, about to close it when the young Promethean stopped him.
“Wait!” Brody yelped. “What’s your name?”
Turning back, the handsome man replied softly, “Korzak.”
It was a strange name, and Brody wasn’t sure that he heard it right. But before he could ask anything else, the door was closed and Korzak was gone.
Brody looked down at his cock, too upset to jerk off, but no doubt wildly aroused. Something about the man seemed to trigger his erection, but he didn’t know why.
Korzak. Who was he? What was he? Was he a Promethean? Was he a wizard? Is he magic? What is magic? Am I magic? Brody’s thoughts were flooded with questions. Questions he would have to wait to have answered. He got lost thinking about what he didn’t know, when suddenly the red lights of the cameras turned back on, one after the other.
Brody knew he couldn’t do anything, so he slumped down in his cage and tried to get some sleep. Who knew when his escape would be, and he wanted to be rested. Still, he couldn’t help but be frustrated, and not just sexually.
As he got into a comfortable sleeping position, he looked up at the camera nearest him, looking into the dark, shiny, black lens. He lifted his middle finger up at it, displaying his anger and defiance before closing his eyes and nodding off to sleep.
Brody barely managed to fully relax before the lights turned back on. It might have been an hour or two, but it was impossible to tell without a clock on the wall. He could have nodded off for 10 minutes or slept anxiously for hours. It didn’t help a bit as he was still trapped, bound, and now helplessly waiting the arrival of whoever was coming.
He’d hoped it was Korzak, but seeing the cameras still on and in position, it seemed unlikely. He heard footsteps approaching with his animal ears, but it was not the calm, collected pace of a single individual. Multiple steps were walking with some determination, talking with each other and getting louder.
When the door opened, he saw about half a dozen men enter the room, all carrying different instruments and clipboards. Korzak was with them, but he didn’t seem to be in charge. In fact, he didn’t speak much at all. Brody looked at him, scared and desperate for any indication that he would be okay. Korzak looked at him in the eye once, briefly, and with a poker face that gave no sign of what was to come.
A man in classes took a syringe off a tray near the computers. He spoke to his colleagues, not so much as acknowledging Brody’s personhood as he prepared it with an unknown substance. He engaged in technical conversation with his nearest partner and then, without any hesitation or warning, he stuck the needle into Brody’s neck.
It stung at first before the liquid made its way into his body. It didn’t burn or hurt, but he immediately began to feel heavy and slow. Another sedative.
Brody couldn’t believe it. They didn’t talk to him, address him, or even prep his skin with an alcohol wipe. It was like he was just an animal. Less than an animal. They treated him like nothing. Disposable.
His vision went blurry and his jaw went slack. He couldn’t speak or fight. His hands felt like they were made of lead. The sedative did his job at making him unable to resist, terrifying him beyond comparison.
Immediately he thought of the dozens of young men he and his H.A.R.P.E. brothers captured. Young men who had done nothing wrong except be burdened with a supernatural status. He couldn’t imagine what they must have thought or felt as they were in a similar situation. He wish he could take it all back. But all he could do now was be a witness to whatever he was about to endure.
They opened the front of the cage and disconnected his collar from the restraints. He tried to rush forward and escape, but he found himself unable to react with any haste. He appeared to take two or three times as long to form a thought, and had even less aptitude to execute an action. In fact, by the time he had fully formed the intention to break free, they’d already put him on a leash and had begun dragging him out of his cage.
Across the room was a large steel table, bare of any comforts like a sheet or bed. It looked more like an autopsy table than an exam table, making Brody whimper under his breath. He looked at Korzak as he was moved. The man gave him a look back, more deliberate than before. Something about his expression told him to calm down, that he would be okay. It was impossible for him to believe it, but the message came through in his head as if it was his own thought.
He had no choice in the matter regardless, but he tried to put his trust in the older man. And for Korzak’s part, he never once took his eye off of him.
The other men in the room lifted his body off the ground and put him up on the table. Brody was a strong, muscular man before he was a Promethean, now he had added strength that made him hard to move. And without being able to control his body, he was basically dead weight that they had to maneuver.
Brody turned his head limply as they began to strap his arms to the table, quartering him so that his arms and legs were spread out wide. Even without the sedative, he wouldn’t have been able to move. It was clear they took no chances. The cowards.
One man took his cock in his hand, feeling its size and weight, fondling him and testing him. Brody felt the man’s touch, triggering his arousal. He didn’t want to, but he’d been so horny since he transformed. Literally just the friction of skin on skin sent blood to his member, swelling it up to full size. Within seconds, he was hard as a rock.
He rolled his heavy eyes over to Korzark. Again, he stayed focused on him. Still watching. And hopefully, still keeping him safe.
Through the haze of the drugs, Brody could hardly make out what any of them were saying. They talked back and forth to each other, but it just sounded like dull noise to him. Brody managed to make out one word, however. “Sample.”
The men began stroking him, working his heavy balls and long, throbbing shaft. It felt so good. Even with his slowed reaction time, the feeling of being jerked was almost too much to bear. Instead of rapid feelings of arousal, it was like he was being filled up with a dense, thick source of orgasmic pleasure. It lasted for what seemed like minutes before retreating and starting again. Multiple times, he felt like he was on the edge of climax, only to come back down and begin again.
Over and over, his balls tightened, his hole clenched, and he felt his prostate vibrate with anticipation. The men looked around at each other, clearly getting worked up themselves. It was a rare sight to see a Promethean on the verge of cumming, and Brody was all theirs to tease and toy with.
The air in the room became thick with the scent of his precum. It filled their nostrils, exciting them all and making them even more sadistic and devious. They could have finished him off right away, but their heightened sense of power and sexual appetite made them edge him over and over.
Brody wanted it to end, to feel the release and have them gone. But with all that flooded his brain chemistry, it was like he was having a dream of being pleasured.
Still, biology did its part. Brody clenched his teeth, tightened his muscles, and his ass contracted hard as an eruption of cum flowed up from him like a geiser. Cum shot straight up, falling down over his cock and balls.
One of the men rushed in with a petrie dish, trying his best to collect as much of it as he could. He was late, distracted by his own arousal, but luckily for them, Brody’s climax wasn’t over with just a single burst. They managed to collect more than they needed before Brody’s body completely went limp.
Brody needed that. He was so anxious and stressed and scared. But in that elongated, sedative-infused moment of ecstasy, he felt more pleasure than he’d ever known as a mortal man. He didn’t know if it was part of being a Promethean or the drugs, but for a moment, he had no fear.
Now, basking in the wake of that release, all he wanted to do was close his eyes and get real sleep. He didn’t know what more they had in store for him, but he held onto the words that Korzak said: “I’ll come back for you.”
