Editing Ghosts of Rage (Warhammer High) (section)

=== Test Subjects ===

Furia wasn’t sure how long she had been knocked out, but that much time couldn't have passed. She could still feel the massive migraine she had earlier as she woke up. Not to mention she felt a bit sore from the fight, even though she had no injuries to speak of.

All she wanted to do was get some fresh air and stretch her legs. Hopefully that would calm her head pains. It was then that she noticed her arms and legs were strapped down to a metal table. As she suddenly realized that she was indeed in trouble, she began to struggle against the bonds, testing their strength with her limbs.

“Subject 09 has awoken, a mere 20 minutes after the tranquilizer was applied. Very quick compared to average time. Could be due to mutation within the mysterious element. Further testing will need to be done to before such a conclusion could be reached.”

Furia turned to the mysterious voice by her head. A very pale and skinny man stood beside her, wearing a white apron, a surgical mask and goggles. He was bald and seemed to have not eaten for several days.

“Who the fuck are you?” she growled at him.

“Subject seems to exhibit the normal anger issues that have been seen in previous tests. Although, she is lacking other symptoms of subjects 4, 6. This puts into question theory #3, this is probably not an STD.”

Furia flexed her arms as she tested the leather straps holding her down. The man looked at her curiously. “Subject seems more responsive to her surroundings compared to previous subjects who took hours before returning to a more normal state. Maybe there is indeed a mutation with the disease, causing a quicker hold on the subject’s sense.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?! Let me go, right now,” Furia ordered.

“All in good time my dear. Once I find out what’s wrong with you, I’ll fix you right up. OR I’ll move on to subject 10. No matter.”

Furia’s eyes bulged when she heard the word “wrong with you”. She finally had enough as she flexed her arms one final time against her binds. The straps strained for a moment before she ripped them off from the table. The man stared for a moment, unsure of what just happened. It was obviously too late when she had grabbed him by the colour, pushing him up against the wall with all her might.

He gasped as he stared at her, completely shocked by her abnormal display. “Don’t kill me,” he whispered.

“Who are you?” she grumbled out as she pinned him against the wall.

“I’m a doctor. A virologist specialist.” The man answered quickly and stammered slightly.

Furia stared at him till he explained a bit more. “I study diseases. I am part of a group that arrived earlier this month to investigate some murders.”

“What murders?” Furia asked, actually curious.

“You don’t know?” he said, a bit surprised. She stared at him unmoving till he got the message. “There has been killings near the miners habitat. Brutal killings that have... sparked some sort of interest in my employers.”

“Employers?” Furia asked. He shook his head.

“You might as well kill me. If I tell you, they will probably do the same.”

Furia frowned as she let him go, not going to go that far. The man rubbed his throat as he looked over her. Furia didn’t mind as she glanced around the room. It seemed to be an apartment of some sort, except without the regular furnishings. Instead of a bed or tables and chairs, the room seemed to be a storage for equipment. Large black boxes covered the walls with the Imperial symbol on it, the double headed eagle. There were a couple metallic tables like the one she was on. Kilau was sound asleep one such tables.

“Is he alright?” she asked.

The doctor nodded slowly. “He is fine. He wasn’t affected by the spray like you were.”

Furia suddenly remembered what the man was talking about. Right near the end of the fight with the gang, she had been sprayed with something she thought she recognized. It was different, but something about the gas reminded her of Terra.

“What was it?” she asked a moment later.

“Not sure, but I believe it to be the source of these murders. The rest of my task force had gone to investigate the possible source of the gas but they have been missing for a week.”

“A week?” she exclaimed. “You are all alone out here while your team has been gone that long?”

“It's part of the job description. Two teams working on either side of the large city. I sent a message to the others, but they have yet to respond. It might be some time.”

“That's stupid,” she said flatly. “So I seem unaffected by the gas. What was it supposed to do?”

“Faster heart rate, increase in adrenaline production, increase in muscle growth. Can cause a various number of affects on the brain, but primarily seems to make the recipient more emotionally unstable, easy to anger and such.”

“Wait,” Furia said, the gears in her head turning. “Easy to anger? Oh shit.”

The doctor looked at her strangely. “What?”

“It's Xelaratin,” she blurted out. “Or the opposite of it.”

“Xelaratin?” the man asked. “I've never heard of such a drug.”

Furia noted her stuff near the door and went to grab it. “It's something I used to take back home. It's an anger reducing drug, something the military came up with. Apparently they had an opposite as well which induced anger in the taker.”

The man looked at her as she grabbed her bag and walked to the door. “Wait, you can't leave!” he shouted.

“Yeah, too bad. Where is the possible source of this drug?” she asked.

The doctor paused, unsure of what to make of the girl who seemed so eager to suddenly investigate the matter. “There's an habitat mine entrance north of here. That's all I know.”

Furia nodded as she opened the door. She paused and looked over at Kilau, still out from the tranquilizer. “Let him go, or else I'll be back.”

The skinny man nodded quickly as she walked out. “Wait! If you find the team, tell them Dr. Hongun sent you!” She slammed the door shut as she left.