Eighty-three

I've been assigned to work with subject 83. Before I went to his cell, I was told he was brain damaged, and had a degenerative skin disorder caused by exposure to the mal. When I got there, he was slumped against the back wall, his remaining eye clouded over with blue mist. His skin was a pale yellow, and inches thick. A network of deep, brown cracks covered his body. He didn't seem to be able to move. The other two researchers assigned to 83, Smith and Miles, explained that they're studying how his skin condition responds to different stimuli, and the growth factors that cause his problem. They told me I was about to see an experiment.

Smith and Miles entered 83's cell and shackled him to the wall. His skin split when they moved his arms, releasing thin pus. Once he was shackled, they took wire brushes and scrubbed his skin. The brushes quickly became soaked with blood, the bristles clogged with fragments of skin. While they scrubbed, 83 whined, a high-pitched, unsettling sound. When they were done, they unshackled 83 and he fell to the floor. He trembled, and his body was slick with blood. They told me to inject him with a sedative, which I did. His arm was slippery and hot.

I feel sick.