THE NEXT MORNING, ABLESON escorted Mutter downstairs. The Almightys in the laboratory ran tests on him and then he was returned to his cell with a meal. The door opened and an older Almighty entered. He was tall and thin with thick, gray hair.

Mutter stopped eating and stood. By Ableson’s body language, this was an important Almighty.

“Professor Conguise, this is the Guard I was telling you about,” said Ableson.

“He’s definitely big, but is he obedient?” The professor’s eyes were hard as they roamed up and down Mutter.

“Very,” said Ableson.

“The tests?”

“All good. He has a cold and some broken ribs, but nothing that would prevent us from continuing the project.”

“Hmm.” The professor stared into one of the microscopes on the table and then read the lab reports. He smiled at Ableson. “Let’s begin.”

Ableson pulled a syringe from a drawer and walked over to the cage. “Give me your arm.”

Mutter stepped forward and put his arm through the bars. “What’s that?”

“Now, you have a question?” Ableson plunged the needle into Mutter’s arm.

“Sorry.” The liquid was warm as it flowed into his blood.

“It will help with your cold,” said Ableson.

The two Almightys moved to the next cage, so Mutter sat down at the table to finish his breakfast. An arm, thin and hairy stuck through the bars of the neighboring cage. Whatever that thing was, it made him nervous. He was pretty sure that it had spent the night watching him. It didn’t move much, but when it did it was fast. Faster than anything he’d ever heard.

“How’s he eating?” asked the professor.

“He refuses.” Ableson’s face paled.

The skinny arm waved in the air, seeming to want whatever they would inject into him.

“Have him moved to the other wing and then feed him.”

Ableson nodded, his hand trembling as he marked in his notebook.

They moved on to the next cage, continuing their journey around the room. Sometimes they spoke to the creatures in the cages and sometimes they spoke only to one another. Mutter tried to make out what was in the other enclosures, but they were all situated so that it was impossible to see inside of them. From the scent, he was pretty sure that there were other Guards and House Servants in the cells, but there were other things in here as well; things he couldn’t name. Fear trickled down his spine. There was something very wrong about this place. He finished eating and sat on the blankets on the floor, studying the room. He had to become familiar with the routine of this place so he could figure out a way to escape. His eyes drifted shut, but he forced them open. He couldn’t let the Almightys think he was sick or weak. They’d take him back to the shelter. He needed to escape not to be sent away to die. His eyes closed again and he shook his head.

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The Almightys finished their rounds and stopped in front of his cage.

“He’s still awake.” Ableson was surprised.

“Stop fighting it,” said Conguise. “Lie down. You need to rest.”

That was one command he was happy to obey. He collapsed on the blankets and sweet darkness swept over him.

When Mutter awoke, Ableson was at the desk working.

“You’re awake. Good.” Ableson walked over to the cage.

Mutter stretched and then stilled.

Ableson stopped with his hand on the door. “What is it? Tell me everything, even if it seems little or unimportant.”

“Doesn’t hurt.” He raised his arms above his head and then swung them back and forth. Not a twinge of pain.

“Really? What about your cough?”

He breathed deeply. No rattle. No tickle. “Gone, I think.”

“Fascinating.” Ableson went back to his desk, jotted something down in a notebook and then opened the cage door. “Let’s go run some tests.”

He was starving but he knew better than to mention it. His stomach rumbled as he moved out of the cage.

Ableson laughed as he wrote in his notebook again. “You’ll get breakfast when we get back.”

“Breakfast? I just had breakfast.”

“That was two days ago.”

He followed the Almighty downstairs. It wasn’t possible that he’d slept that long. He’d swear that he’d only rested a few minutes but he felt stronger now than ever before. All he’d needed was rest and food. Vickers had made a huge mistake. He could have made the Almighty a fortune.

When they returned from the lab Mutter went back into his cage and Ableson brought more food than he’d seen in his entire life. As he was eating, Conguise entered the room.

“His cold is gone and his ribs are completely mended.” Ableson’s voice trembled with excitement.

“Not entirely unexpected.” Conguise bent, staring into the microscope.

“You never thought—”

“Think about it.” The professor straightened. “Guards are known to heal quickly. It is well documented. The serum just enhanced his natural abilities.”

“Still, we didn’t see this with the others.”

Mutter glanced at them, but kept eating. What others?

“They weren’t injured.” The professor studied a few different slides under the microscope. “I agree that this is interesting, but we’ll have to run more tests to see how much can be attributed to the serum.”

Mutter finished his food and stood, stretching. He was restless. He wanted to move, to run, and to hunt.

The Almightys chatted about the slides and then walked from cage to cage either drawing blood or giving shots. Mutter dropped back onto the blankets but he couldn’t relax. The Almightys finished their rounds and returned to the table, studying the blood that they had drawn.

He could not sit still one more minute. He jumped up and began pacing.

The Almightys stopped working and turned toward him.

“Are you feeling unwell?” asked Ableson.

“I…no.” It wasn’t smart to ask an Almighty for anything.

“No lies between us. Remember?”

Conguise rolled his eyes and went back to his papers.

Ableson ignored the professor and walked to the cage. “Mutter, tell me what’s wrong.”

He stopped pacing but kept his eyes averted. “I need to run. I can’t sit still.” He grasped the bars of the cage. “I’m going crazy in here.”

The professor looked up from his work. “Are you normally restless?”

“No, but I used to exercise all the time. I like it here, I do, but”—he began pacing again—“I need to move, run, swim, fight. Anything.”

Ableson and the professor shared a glance and then left the room. They stood outside the door whispering. Mutter had no problem hearing every word.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with the serum. He was very active in his previous life and we didn’t see this with the others,” said Ableson.

“But we’re taking a more aggressive approach this time,” said Conguise.

“I think we should let him out,” said Ableson.

“No. Absolutely not. We have too much invested. We need a success.”

“We need his trust for this to work,” argued Ableson.

“He will obey because his kind was bred to obey.”

“I disagree. Yes, they will obey until you are out of sight. We need him to want to obey us. That’s the whole point of this isn’t it?”

“It’s too soon,” said the professor, but there was no conviction in his voice.

“Let me take him outside. I’ll chain him. He won’t run. He won’t be able to run.”

Mutter held his breath. Some agreement must have been made silently because when the Almightys entered the room, Ableson was smiling. Mutter exhaled softly. He’d won. He’d get to go outside.

“Tonight, I’ll take you for a walk”—Ableson’s smile fled—“but you have to promise that you’ll obey.”

He would promise anything for the smallest taste of freedom. “I’ll obey.”