As the scientist finished speaking those chilling words, Jelo sat up straight against the cage bars, his entire body going rigid. A familiar surge of danger and panic rushed through him, the kind of primal warning his instincts had developed through countless life-or-death situations. His heart rate spiked immediately, adrenaline flooding his system despite his injuries and exhaustion.

"What do you mean I won't be alive?" Jelo asked, his voice controlled but carrying an edge of tension he couldn't fully suppress. He needed clarification, needed to hear the scientist say it explicitly even though part of him already understood where this was going.

The scientist's response was immediate and enthusiastic. A broad smile spread across his disheveled face, revealing those missing teeth, and he actually raised both hands toward the bunker ceiling in a gesture of gratitude and celebration. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, stars! Thank you, universe! Thank you, fate!" His voice was filled with genuine reverence and joy, as if he'd just received the most precious gift imaginable. "For delivering a test subject to me! After all these years of isolation and limitation, finally, finally, you provide what I need!"

In that moment, as the scientist's words confirmed his worst suspicions, Jelo realized the full truth of his situation. The man planned to experiment on him. Not just keep him prisoner, not just study him from a distance—actual physical experimentation. Human experimentation. The kind of research that had been banned for ethical reasons, the kind that turned people into guinea pigs for scientific curiosity regardless of consent or consequences.

Outwardly, Jelo forced himself to stay calm. His expression remained neutral, his body language controlled despite every instinct screaming at him to panic, to rage, to throw himself against the cage bars until something gave way. But he'd learned through his experiences that panic was useless, that losing control only made bad situations worse.

But internally, his thoughts were racing at breakneck speed. He had to escape somehow. Had to find a way out of this cage, out of this dampening field, out of this underground lab before the scientist could implement whatever horrific plans he had in mind. The urgency was overwhelming, pressing down on him with suffocating weight. If he didn't escape, he was going to die here. Not in combat, not fighting, but strapped to some laboratory table while a madman injected him with experimental chemicals and recorded the results.

The scientist turned back to face Jelo fully, his manic energy focused and channeled now into explaining his work with the enthusiasm of someone who rarely had the opportunity to discuss their research with anyone. "You see, I'm close to a major breakthrough," he began, pacing excitedly in front of the cage. "So very close! Years of work, countless failures and iterations, but I've finally developed something that could change everything!"

He gestured wildly toward one of the workstations covered in chemical equipment—beakers and tubes and distillation apparatus that Jelo couldn't identify. "The chemical I've developed can be extracted and studied outside the body, of course. I've done that extensively. But there's a problem, you see. A significant limitation." His voice took on a frustrated quality. "It behaves like a super virus when isolated—not fully dormant, but not fully active either. It exists in this strange liminal state that makes it impossible to properly understand its full effects and capabilities."

The scientist stopped his pacing and gripped the cage bars, his wild eyes blazing with the intensity of someone completely consumed by their work. "To properly test and refine the chemical, to unlock its true potential and understand how it actually functions in the environment it's designed for, it must be placed inside a human body. Living human tissue, functioning human systems, the complex biological environment that can't be replicated in any laboratory setting."

He released the bars and stepped back, his expression becoming more somber, almost vulnerable. "I once feared I would have to inject myself, you understand. When I first realized the necessity of human trials, I thought I would have no choice but to use my own body as the test subject." A shudder ran through him at the memory of that prospect. "No other humans were around, you see. Just me, alone in this bunker, faced with the choice of either stopping my research or taking the risk myself."

The scientist's mood shifted again abruptly, swinging back to manic joy and excitement. He spread his arms wide, his tattered lab coat billowing around him. "But now! Now the universe has provided you instead!" He actually laughed, spinning in a circle. "Don't you see? This proves that my research is important and meant to continue! The cosmos itself has intervened, delivering exactly what I needed at exactly the right time! It's destiny! Fate! Scientific providence!"

Jelo remained silent, watching him carefully while his mind continued working through potential escape scenarios. None of them looked good but he had to try something. Anything was better than passively accepting what was coming.

The scientist continued his excited rambling, going into technical details about his chemical compound—something about cellular mutation and adaptive resistance and enhanced regeneration that Jelo only half-processed because he was focused on survival planning rather than scientific explanation.

Suddenly, a beeping sound cut through the scientist's monologue. It was sharp and insistent, emanating from the device strapped to the scientist's wrist—some kind of advanced watch or monitoring system. The sound repeated three times in quick succession, each beep accompanied by a flashing light on the device's small screen.

The scientist stopped talking immediately, his attention snapping to the watch with laser focus. He checked the display, his wild eyes scanning whatever information was being presented there. His expression went through several rapid changes—surprise, then curiosity, then growing delight.

He looked up from the watch, his gaze fixing on Jelo with renewed intensity. That disturbing smile spread across his face again, wider this time, revealing more of those missing teeth. His eyes were practically glowing with manic joy.

"Oh!" the scientist exclaimed, actually clapping his hands together with childlike glee. "Oh, this is wonderful! Truly wonderful! The universe is not just generous—it's downright lavish today!"

He held up the watch, showing Jelo the display even though the distance and angle made it impossible to actually read. "Because it has just provided a second test subject!" His voice was rising with excitement, each word coming faster than the last. "Someone else has triggered one of my perimeter sensors! Another human, wandering right into my surveillance net! Can you believe it?"

The scientist did another one of his theatrical spins, his lab coat flaring out dramatically. "This is unprecedented! Years of isolation, and then two subjects in one day! It's like the universe looked at my research and said, 'Yes, this work is vital! Here, have not just one test subject but two! Be fruitful and multiply your experiments!'"

Jelo's blood ran cold as the implications crashed down on him. A second test subject. Another human in the area. There was only one person it could possibly be.

Mira.

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