ACCIDENTALLY HIS LAB EXPERIMENT

CHAPTER 23: TRAINING LOOP -DAY 3

VANT POV - CUT

Vant’s tablet lit up on his desk. One encrypted notification. No preview. He knew who it was before he swiped it open.

Starfall HR. Subject line: `Transfer Application - Dr. Maya Ocoro, Genetics. Urgent Review Required.`

He tapped it. The file loaded fast. Maya Ocoro. 27. Genetics Researcher. Former colleague of Selene’s from Vant corp lab before the accident. Clearance: Level 3. Request: Immediate reassignment to Starfall facility. Reason listed: Personal relocation. Closer to family._

Vant scrolled. Application date: 3 months ago. Council-backed. Standard pipeline. Nothing flagged.

So why was it hitting his desk now? Today?

His jaw tightened. He knew Maya was Selene's close friend, but he couldn't trust her fully. Selene would be happy to have her around though.

Maya was smart. Council smart. She’d asked questions about VantCorp’s hiring freeze last quarter. Too many questions. Suspicious timing, with Professor Kade pushing for full control of Project Apex and Nolan’s people sniffing around the city.

_Infiltration._ The word sat heavy. If Council planted her, Starfall was compromised. If she was genuine, she was still a variable he couldn’t control.

He stared at the bottom of the screen. The approve and deny button waiting to be chosen.

For three seconds he didn’t breathe.

Then he thought of Selene yesterday. Day 2 training. She’d hit 5.0 seconds and collapsed anyway, hands shaking so bad she couldn’t unclench them. Vireks had called it “weakness.” Vant had called it “progress.”

She needed to unite with her new DNA. She needed to perfect her control, to improve her hunting skills.

Maya was her anchor to being human.

Vant exhaled through his nose. _Don’t worry about it._ He could watch her. Track her. If Maya was a threat, he’d know before she ever got close to the training room.

His finger hit *APPROVE*.

He typed back: `Transfer approved. Effective 1800 hours today. Assign Dr. Ocoro to Research Wing B under Dr. Selene Thorne. Do not inform Dr. Ocoro of personal approval. Standard onboarding applies.`

He locked the tablet and set it down.

" If it takes one friend to do the trick for you Selene,then I'm willing to take the risk."

He didn't know one of Nolan’s mutant men had clocked in for the night shift disguised as a staff twenty minutes ago.

---

*[SELENE POV]* _

The training room lights were colder today. They always were.

Vireks stood at the control panel. No greeting. No “how did you sleep.” Just data. “Five voices. Five seconds. Helm stays at plus one percent from yesterday. No adjustments.”

I sat on the concrete circle. Back straight. Hands on knees. The position that made my spine ache after four minutes.

Sweat was already on my neck and we hadn’t even started. Yesterday there were four voices and I’d barely scraped a pass. Today was five. One more layer of hell.

The small steel door on the far wall opened with a pneumatic hiss. Vant walked in. Arms crossed. Face neutral. CEO mode. He took his position against the side wall like always. Didn’t look at me. But I felt his attention land on me anyway. Heavy. Anchoring.

“Begin,” Vant said. One word. No emotion.

Vireks pressed the button.

Sound exploded.

1. *Vant’s recording*: His own voice, looped. “Little thorn, keep breathing. Three in. Five out. You’re not the noise. You’re the door.” He’d recorded it last night after hours. I wasn’t supposed to know.

2. *Nurse with numbers*: “Heart rate 142. Cortisol spiking. Blood pressure 160 over 95. Subject unstable.” Clinical. Cold. The way they’d talked about me when I first woke up in the medical bay.

3. *Static with buried words*: A radio frequency, half-tuned. Words bled through. “Subject... control... fail... terminate if...” I couldn’t catch the rest. The Apex hated static. It sounded like the mountain.

4. *Child laughing*: High, bright, innocent. The Apex hated that one most. It wasn’t my laugh. It was the memory of a laugh from before. Before the accident. Before the DNA. It tore at me.

5. *My brother Ben’s voice*: From an old voicemail I’d saved years ago. “Sel? You there? Pick up. It’s Ben. Call me back, okay? I’m worried about you.”

My chest seized. _Ben._

One second. I found Vant’s recorded voice in the noise. Grabbed it. Held it like a rope. Anchor.

Two seconds. The nurse’s numbers passed. I let them go.

Three seconds. Static and the child laugh hit together. Blue marks flared behind my ears. I felt them heat up. 1 second. 2 seconds. They glowed bright enough to cast shadows on the concrete.

Four seconds. Ben said my name again. “Sel? You there?” The Apex lunged. Not me. It. Rage and grief tangled together. It wanted to hunt the sound. Rip it apart. Destroy the voice that was gone. My claws pressed against my palms. Skin split. Blood welled.

Four points eight seconds. I couldn’t hold it. “Off,” I screamed. Not a word. A raw sound.

Vireks cut the sound.

Silence crashed down. Real silence. My ears rang.

I hit my knees. Hands shaking so bad I couldn’t make fists. Blood dripped from my palms onto the concrete.

“Fail,” Vireks said. Flat. No disappointment. Just fact. “Four point eight seconds. Helm increased pain response by 12 percent. Pathetic. Tomorrow we run it again at plus two percent if you can’t hold five.”

Vant didn’t move from the wall. But his knuckles went white where his arms were crossed.

Vireks reset the panel. “Again. Same five voices. No changes. You will pass today, Subject S-01.”

My lungs were burning. My vision swam. I wanted to tell him I couldn’t. That Ben’s voice was too much. That the Apex wanted blood.

Instead I straightened my back. Put my hands back on my knees. Blood smeared on the concrete.

“Breathe out longer,” Vant said quietly. Not to Vireks. To me. Not an order. A reminder. Like Cael’s note was his. “Five counts. Not four. You’re not fighting the sound. You’re letting it pass.”

I nodded. Couldn’t speak.

Vireks pressed the button.

Sound exploded again. Same five voices. Same order.

In. Three counts. Out. Five counts. Long exhale. Cael’s trick.

One second. Vant’s recorded voice. “Little thorn, keep breathing.” I held it. Tighter this time.

Two seconds. Nurse numbers. I let them slide past like water.

Three seconds. Static and the child laughed. Blue marks flared again behind my ears. Hot. But I didn't grab the laugh this time. I let it pass too.

Four seconds. Ben’s voice. “Sel? You there?” It hurt. God, it hurts. My brother was gone. Because of me. Because of the accident. Apex wanted to scream with me.

Five seconds.

Timer beeped.

Silence.

I stayed sitting straight. Hands still on knees. Blood is still dripping. But I was upright. I was breathing. In for three. Out for five.

“Five point zero seconds,” Vireks said. No praise. No smile. Just the number. “Pass. Barely. You have enemies coming for you Subject S-01. Remember that. Tomorrow: five voices, six seconds.”

Relief hit me so hard my vision went black at the edges. I didn’t cry. Didn’t fall. I just sat there and breathed. In three. Out five. Like Vant said. Like Cael taught me.

Vant exhaled. I heard it across the room. One word. His only word for every pass. “Good.”

Vireks shut down the panel. The room felt ten degrees warmer without the sound. “Dr. Thorne,” he said for the first time. “It's been weeks since you got here, still no transformation. We've agreed it's safe for you to resume your regular work routine.vStarfall lab hours begin at 1800. You will report in your lab coat with your ID badge. You are Dr. Selene Thorne there. Not Subject S-01. Vant’s orders.”

I nodded. Finally. I was excited about the word 'work'. I Got to my feet slowly. Legs shaky. Every muscle screamed. When training stopped, I had to become Dr. Thorne. Pretend to be the Normal researcher i used to be. I was having mixed feelings. Deep down,I have accepted my life will never be normal again. This special gift came with a deadly price.

I walked past Vant on my way to the door. He didn’t look at me. But as I passed, he murmured so low only my new leopard ears caught it:

“Maya’s transfer came through. She’ll be at Starfall tonight.”

My head snapped up. “Maya? Here? At Starfall?”

Vant’s eyes were still on the wall. Neutral. CEO face. “Approved her application today,” he said. Voice flat. “Her file came in this morning. Council-backed genetics researcher. Said it would be good for Starfall productivity to have another qualified researcher on Wing B.”

Lie.

I heard it. His heartbeat sped up for half a second when he said “productivity.” Then he controlled it. Flatlined it back to normal. But I’d heard it.

He was suspicious. Of Maya. Of the timing. Of Council.

But he’d approved her anyway. Pushed the suspicion down.

For me.

I didn’t know what to say. I was so excited about the news that I didn't realize my hands were wrapped around his waist hugging him. I jerked away from him immediately like I was shocked by electric. My cheeks are turning red from embarrassment “Thank you,” i quickly said

Vant was staring at me.Too long. His eyes were drilling into my soul. I felt too exposed even though I was wearing an oversized hoodie and joggers.“Go rest. Day 4 will be six seconds.” He said he and walked away.

The door hissed shut behind me.

Day 3 done. I passed. But Vant had just let a possible Council into the facility Because of her, because she needed her friend.

The weight of that hit harder than any of the five voices.