”Alright, the new rabies test just got delivered today, which category should test them?” Nathan questions. 

“This is a pretty serious matter, what about category C? That's the only group that can handle it.” Bernard’s ears flopped. 

“Perfect, we’ll do category C-” Ranton gets cut off by the sounds of crying that arose from the corridors.

 “Well sounds like category A just got dropped off, I have to go to take care of the babies.” Ranton scoffs his whiskers.

“Well I should probably get back also, I have to start the rabies test.” Nathan stands up.

 “Me too category B has been anxiously awaiting my presence and I think we have a new guy.” Bernard's ears flopped down as he springs up onto his hind legs. 

Bernard walks out of the modern office room and down a slim concrete hallway. The hallway is dark and shady, there is a small scent of chemicals seeping through the cracks of the walls. Mold grows in the forgotten corners. As he crossed into a large intersection a door frame stood tall with the words, Category B, imprinted on. Small groups of people fluttered around. Some individuals look nervous, others look in pain. Either way there was definitely a sense of tension roaming through the building. 

A group of middle aged sluggish people stand in a large line that stretches all the way back to the sleek walls. 

Bernard stands tall and confident in front of these people. His fur was a combination of black, white, and brown shades. His snout was long and his ears floppy. Wrinkles crept in just below his eyes and his tail was long and straight. Bernard’s hind legs grew longer than the other council members, though his voice was the most irritating of all. 

“Hello everyone, I'm sorry I got stuck in a meeting. Today as most of you know, you’ll be testing a treatment for canine parvovirus. I am gonna go get my stuff set up, but we will start calling people shortly.” Says Bernard as he walks away from sight and into the testing room. 

A middle aged woman covered in bruises stands in line. The lady wore a gray sweatshirt with overused black yoga pants. Layers of thick blonde hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. She looked as if she had forgotten what sleep was. The bags under her eyes grew more intense everytime she blinked. The girl was the definition of a nervous wreck. This tense woman greets a man about the age of thirty looking nervous. He was tall with short brunette hair and forest green eyes. He was wearing a dirty zip up hoodie, and black sweatpants. This man also looked nervous, but a different type of nervous he looked unsure and a bit frazzled. The boy had questions deep in his mind that were dying to be answered.

 “First time?” asks the lady 

“Yeah” The man responds. 

“Don’t worry about it, I get tested all the time. It hurts and you might be sick for a little while, but it’s not the worst thing in the world. It all really depends on your pain tolerance.” 

“Oh ok,” the man says in a monotone voice.

 “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself, my name is Sherald Sherman, yes I know it's a bit of a tongue twister.”

“ Nice to meet you, Sherald, my name is James. I am sorry if this is a little personal, but what's with all the bruises?” 

“Oh well, long story short-”. 

“Alright people, it is time to start testing. First two in line follow me.” Bernard says while clasping his paws together and walking away. 

The first two in line scurry away in a panicky state of mind, they know what’s about to happen.

“So, what goes on in the testing rooms?” James asks. 

“Well, they first give you some type of medicine to make you fall asleep, then they inject you with chemicals and if you have a reaction you have to go back in for testing until they get it right. They have been testing me for canine parvovirus for years.” Sherald responds. 

“Jeez, is that where all the bruises are from?” 

“Yeah they messed me up pretty bad.”

“Next group of two will follow me.” calls Bernard.

“Guess that's us”

Sherald and James followed Bernard uneasily through hallway B. They Walked past a group of guards. The guards stood tall and still, armed with weapons and covered in dark clothing. It was intimidating to say the least. 

Traveling past the intersection, the two had found themselves into a new wing. The screams that had once been distant were getting louder and louder the more they walked. Sherald and James trembled in fear.

Eventually Bernard stopped in his tracks in front of a door. Hanging high there was a clean wooden sign saying the words, “Category B Testing”. 

“Well guess we’re here” Sherald spoke softly.

Bernard opened the door slowly and led the two testers inside. There stood two large tables. They wear gray and dull at the bottom, but towards the top this design becomes more complex. It was covered in metal restraints. Some were for wrists and one was for the head, it was inhumane. The walls were that same rusted metal as the rest of the building. The room was big, huge actually. Doctors wearing white lab coats and holding needles flooded the room. The scent of chemicals was even worse here than in the hallway. 

Two doctors went up behind Sherald and James and injected them with a syringe. Both individuals fell slowly to the ground, their bodies unconscious and out of their control. The doctors dragged Sherald and James apart from each other. They were carefully placed onto the tables and then got locked up with the restraints. A white fluffy paw gave each tester another shot which brought them back to life. 

“Ahhh, what happened? Where am I?” James shouted fearfully.  

“Shut up.” Sherald whispered.

An area on each arm was wiped down, they were impaled with a long thin needle. Deep red blood drew from their bodies slowly traveling up through a long cylinder tube. The gushing liquid then dripped into a pouch. The doctors reached their furry paw pads into the pouch grabbing samples and examining them.

With each tube inserted into the bodies the more pain filled the eyes of Sherald and James. 

Another needle was inserted into Sherald’s body and her skin started to puff up. Bruises form on top of bruises. There was a sort of struggle in her breath. 

Sherald’s soft voice whispered the words of, “My lungs are closing”

“What did you say?”

“James, I can't breathe.” She says unconsciously. 

James shouts, “Guys she can’t breathe. She can’t breathe, you're gonna kill her!” The doctors ignored the screams they just kept testing, pricking, and inserting. 

By the time testing was over, the doctors had disposed of Sherald's body. They threw her in a dark room in the back of this hell hole only to be forgotten about. It made James wonder, how many people had they killed? How many secrets filled this place? Why is no one speaking against this abuse? 

“I have to do something about this.” James spoke under his breath. 

Limping out of the testing room James found a group of people surrounding the intersection looking gloomy and concerned.

“Hey guys, we can’t just sit around anymore, we need to stop testing. It is abusive and cruel.” James yelled. 

The group of people turned alarmingly to face him. 

“You can’t talk about testing here.” 

“Why not?”

“If they hear you complain about testing they will kill you and throw you into the dark room.”

“Well, why are you worried about them killing you? We can fight back, we can make a difference. Testing is a messed up system that we have the power to fix.”

“You're crazy, just get out of this place if you're done testing. There is no point in getting yourself killed for something that will never change. ”

James left the room, but the chatter continued.

Voices in the room rose saying, “If they heard us complaining, they are gonna kill us all.”

“Well what should we do?”

“Maybe we should report him-”

“Report who? For what?” questions Bernard from behind.

Startled, a man from the crowd says, “ What are you talking about? We didn't say anything about reporting.” 

“Yeah what do you mean?” questions another woman looking guilty.

“Oh for crying out loud I'm a dog I have better hearing than all of you nasty humans.” shouts Bernard.

“So, on that note are you guys gonna tell me or should I just kill every single one of you?”

“Well, the new guy was complaining about testing and I think he wants to start a revolt against it.” A person shouts in fear.

“Thank you for informing me, I’ll take care of it from here. See, wasn’t that easy? Now all of you can spare your useless lives.” says Bernard.

There was a distant sound of a door slamming shut, James had left the building by now. 

“Don’t let that trader get away!” Shouts Bernard as he storms out of the room.

James sluggishly walks to his clean black Toyota and steps in. One foot on the gas, one bruised hand on the wheel and he left. Driving through the open fields back to his house James had know idea of the trouble he had got himself into. 

Once opening up his bright red door into the relaxing home he was greeted by a warm scent of febreze. He untied his shoes and placed them on a mat near the door. Struggling towards the couch James turned on the TV and crashed down to the soft gray cushions. Laying there James felt almost disappointed in himself. He couldn’t believe that his words wouldn’t convince anyone to fight back, mainly because he was angry. He was angry about how people were just taking the pain even though it was wrong. James kept this thought on his mind for a while when all the sudden there was a knock at the door then a crash. 

It was Bernard. He barged into James’s house with the body guards.

“So James, I heard you were trying to protest against testing.” Bernard says as he starts walking closer.

“No, no there must be a mistake.” James says, backing away in fear.

“Yeah I don’t think there was.” Bernard exclaims with a smirk.

“Agent C, hand me the rabies shot.” 

A small tube came out of agent c’s pocket. It looked new. The needle was large and sharp. 

A hand grabbed onto Jame’s arm. He breathed heavily waiting to be injected. Goose bumps formed on top of his skin like little snow hills making him shiver to his core. His stomach filled with nerves and butterflies. Teardrops fell like a rainstorm pounding down on the wood floor. Is this really the end? James thought to himself.  A desperate cry called,“Please.” Though Bernard ignored this call for help, just like he ignored Sherald. Bernard fiercely walked over and slowly pressed a syringe into his arm. The breathing stopped. A lifeless body dropped to the ground. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.

“Works every time” Bernard says, laughing. 

“Agents drag that body into the trunk; it will be good for experimenting.”

They pulled James’s body through the house and threw it up into the car. The bones and blood that used to belong to James were now being taken away from him. Now he was just a lab project. The car sped away and James was never to be seen again.