It was the first day of his internship. He had been thrilled the renowned Dr. Kratzen had first interviewed him and now, as he stood in the empty laboratory, that same thrill was almost palpable. He moved around the lab, assured by Helmich, the butler, that the doctor would be down shortly and their work day would begin. He had lifted a small fleam from the counter, running his finger along the sharp edge before a cat jumped onto the counter beside him with a loud mew.

The metal instrument fell to the floor and bounced under the counter. He swore under his breath at the cat, who began to twirl in a small circle around the medical equipment before plopping down to take a surveying look over the lab. He went down to his knees, searching under the counter with his hand for the tool. Just as his fingers brushed against the metal object, he noticed a soft, deep yellow glow coming from under a sheet in the corner of the room.

He rose, placing the fleam on the counter before brushing the dust from his trousers. He looked to the corner of the room, seeing only a heavy cloth draped over a large, cylindrical object of some sort. He moved closer, feeling drawn to the object. As he came around the edge of the counter, he realized that the glow was coming from beneath the heavy drop cloth where it had lifted slightly from whatever it was covering.

He looked around the room quickly, searching for any indication that Dr. Kratzen would be entering before his hand reached out to the heavy cloth, trembling a bit from unknown nerves. A small could of dust rolled from the fabric as he pulled it toward him, displaying a huge glass tub of the lightest pale fluid. He sucked in his breathe in surprise as he realized there was a body in the fluid.

His mind immediately dismissed the body as a corpse. All doctors practiced on cadavers. There was no better way to learn about the human anatomy than to dissect and actual body. He was a bit surprised that the doctor could afford such a luxury, as cadavers were exceptionally expensive, but it did explain why he tried to preserve it in a solution.

He took a hesitant step forward as he looked over the body, realizing that there were tubes sewn into the spinal column, almost as if they were growing from the back of the cadaver. Why would the doctor have such things connected to a corpse? He moved around the tub, surveying the pumps, vacuum tubes, and few bulbs that were attached and trying to determine why such a huge expense was spent on preserving a corpse. Sure, they were expensive, but the cost of all this equipment seemed to dwarf the cost of two, even three additional bodies. What was so special about this one?

When he came around to the other side of the glass, he saw a beautiful, peaceful face of a woman curled in on herself so her spine with the variety of tubes was exposed to the other side of the tank. Could this be the doctor’s dead wife? Daughter? Was he trying to reverse the effects of death? Why would he have a dead woman attached to so much equipment in his laboratory.

He took a step closer, looking over the woman’s naked, but hidden form through the pale, almost clear, yellow fluid. It was almost like looking at an insect preserved in amber. He was lost in the serene face of the woman, wondering about the details of her life and what had led her here. Her eyes opened and seemed to look through him, into his mind. He let out a cry of surprise as he jumped back from the tank.

Alive. She was alive. He shook his head. Surely it was a trick of the liquid that held her. No one could be alive with those tubes running out of her back, connected to God knows what, submerged in tank half the size of a normal human. He took another step forward, seeing that her eyes were indeed open, watching him. He felt an undeniable pressure in his mind and he swore he heard her whisper “Help me.”

Her mouth had not moved, her body had remained perfectly still, yet there was something about her that called to him, that begged for him to free her. Who would keep a woman trapped in a tank, alive and conscious? What had he gotten himself into when he came looking for an internship?

He stepped back from the tank, reaching for the cloth, ready to cover her back up and flee when the booming voice of his new mentor echoed around the lab. “I see you have met Elizabeth.”

Guess who read today's theme wrong when she started working on this several days ago? Yep. I still like the premise, so I'm posting it anyway.