Requiem-Bennet: For Posterity's Sake
Light was strange within the room, but it did not bother the Elder Mekhet as he made his way back and forth. The floor had been made of thick reinforced plexiglass and below that were row upon row of flood lights - the effect of this strange architecture was an absolutely unbearable torrent of light at the flip of a switch. Shadows hung on the ceiling in strange patterns, created here and their by the items in the room. A large, flat stainless steel table lay in the dead center of the room, and on it was a body unliving, but struggling against its bonds all the same.
"You see, Michael," Bennet said conversationally, "It is Michael, correct? Regardless, Michael, I would hope that you can see that your current situation affords you the privilege of contributing a great deal more than the role you had previously chosen for yourself." As he spoke he placed his black steel cane in a rack set aside specifically for it, never faltering despite his lack of vision. "You were created by an individual without reason, Michael. Yours was the creation engineered by a Vampire who wished to experiment without purpose - a waste of drive, if I may say so myself." Bennet retrieved a steril syringe from the breast pocket of his white lab coat, and picked up a small liquid-filled plastic bag from the counter.
He moved over to the table and paused, reaching with one hand until he felt cold, undead flesh. An arm. "Ah, there you are. As I was saying, yours would have been an existence condemned to madness, uncertainty and ultimate destruction." He gently pulled the cap off of the syringe and pushed the plunger down, expelling the air trapped inside. Moving his hand up his captive's arm, he traced a latex thumb across his shoulder, down his spine, and around to his right thigh. "Now, Michael, you may contribute! You shall further the quest for knowledge and understanding - you shall help us to purge doubt and mystery from the world."
He dug his thumb in, moving it around the inside of the thigh and causing no small discomfort in the captive. After a good minute of searching, he felt it - the slight bump underneath his thumb that could only have been his target. Bennet slid the syringe in very slowly, making sure to pierce the vein but not pass it. "The femoral artery, Michael, is an amazing thing. It ejects blood at such a rapid rate that if it were to be severed in a mortal the poor individual would bleed to death within forty two seconds. Of course, the anatomy of a Vampire is far more durable."
Pulling the plunger back slowly, Bennet filled the syringe with vitae until it was full and pulled it out of the captive's thigh. "It is the goal of every scientist, Michael, to answer questions beyond the shadow of a doubt. Absolute certainty, you see? Absolute certainty is our goal." Bennet stabbed the syringe through the rubber top of a small plastic fluid container and pushed down on the plunger until it was about half way empty. "As such, what we do this evening will be repeated until I can be certain that my findings represent what will, without a doubt, occur if I follow my procedure. Logical, no?"
Bennet lifted the small liquid-filled bag and pushed the syringe in to it, drawing back the plunger once more until it would go no further. "What I have here, Michael, is an equal solution of vitae and high-octane gasoline." Immediately, Bennet felt the beast of the captive Gangrel roil and fight. "Calm, Michael, be calm. This solution will not destroy you, I can assure you of that - as I have said, Vampires have a robust anatomy. This will, however, answer a few questions which have been plaguing me for quite some time."
With a swift motion Bennet stabbed the syringe back in to his captive's thigh, pressing down on the plunger as he did. The Gangrel immediately thrashed within the leather restraints binding him, and were it not for the reinforcing of the chain mesh they might have broken. Bennet could smell vitae released in to the air as the captive vampire fought - he had no doubt bitten through his wooden gag and likely pierced his lip.
"Pain? It hurts? Excellent - I had not yet been aware if such synapses were shut down by the embrace. You see, Michael, this would kill a mortal - were you alive your heart would have stopped by now." He waited until Michael stopped moving, until he regained control of his beast. "Very good, Michael, very good! Now, I need you to concentrate very hard. I need you to will the blood in your veins to move. I need you to funnel your vitae in to your arms and legs - to give yourself the strength which only Vampires might achieve." No response. "Come now, Michael. If you do so - if you can force yourself to increase your strength - you may be able to break the bonds that hold you. It is desperate, but it is the only chance you have for freedom."
Slowly at first, then with building speed, Bennet felt the vitae begin to course through the neonate's veins. In a flash, Bennet reached to the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a small butane lighter. He brought the metal end swiftly to the point where he had injected the solution and pressed down on the button.
Fire ran in both directions, a quick line that traced up and down Michael's thigh along the line of the artery before vanishing and leaving only a cruel burn scar. Michael thrashed and his body shook, his eyes flashing a feral menace as frenzy overtook him. Bennet took two sharp steps backwards, and then calmly lifted a digital recorder to his mouth, pressing down on the button.
"Subject response is positive - flames follow line of vitae as predicted. Flames last point zero three seconds. Damage to subject is considerable." He depressed the button, and a small smile spread on his cold lips. "Very good, Michael. Now, to the second experiment..."