The Lizard Reborn Rough Draft

Chapter 3: The Lizard

"What do you mean, you won't get me another?" Connors asked the man on the receiving end of his phone. His voice was laced in both shock and desperation.

"Connors, you've killed and maimed over 15 little critters and all of them were failures. I'm not going to have you massacre another animal for experiments that are going nowhere!"

Connors was insulted by what he was hearing, he never meant to harm those animals. He had to test his serums on something, it's not like he could just test it on a human with blind faith. Still he did his best to hold his tongue. "You don't understand George, the rabbit completely regrew its leg. The serum works!"

"Oh? And what happened then Connors?!"

"It..." Connors' voice got softer and quieter as he looked down at the ground. "It died, sir. But it was due to shock."

"Oh my god... look, it's not just about what I think, ok? These people I'm getting the animals from are starting to charge more and more for their animals since they caught on to what's happening. Getting you a new animal would cost a small fortune now. Amputee animals aren't exactly common, ya know."

"But I just need..."

"One more, right? Jeez Curt, that's what you always say. Forget it. Either go find someone else to get your animals, or just give up. Missing an arm isn't the end of the..."

"It's about more than just that and you know it. It's for all the other young men who were just like me. It's to make the crippled walk. It's so men with no arms can finally hug and hold onto their children. If I do this, it'll be a medical miracle on par with the vaccine, if not greater."

"I know...I know... look, you can get your subjects somewhere else, this doesn't have to be the end."

Connors once again draws his eyes towards the stump that was supposed to be his other arm. "You know what? You're right George. Now that you mention it, I think I have some other contacts that can help me out."

"Good, I don't care what you do after this, just leave me out of it."

"Will do sir, thank you and good night."

As he hung up, he grabbed another sample of the serum he had used on the rabbit. He lied, he had no one else but George to supply subjects. Even if he could find one, how long would it take to find him, let alone buy an animal off of him. Days? Weeks? Months, even? Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, George was right about the money. He had been paying tons of money to get these subjects in and the price would only go up, if he kept on doing it. He couldn't afford that. No, this was the only option left. The only opportunity to truly test his serum and see if it really did work. However, if his theory was wrong and the rabbit died of something else in the serum... Connors continued to pace in his lab for hours on end, clutching the serum in his hand, thinking of whether to take the risk or not. Even when everyone had left the building, his anxiety made him stay.

Suddenly, his phone began to ring, he set the serum carefully down on a table to look at his phone. It was Martha, he answered it, of course.

"Curt, are you still in the lab again?" Martha asked.

"Yes..." he meekly answered.

"We talked about this last night, you can't keep doing this..." Martha sounded like a mix of tired, worried and a bit frustrated.

"I know, I know. I'm just... in a bind right now. George can't get me another animal."

"Dear Lord. Well, just come home when you can, ok?"

"Ok, I'm sorry."

"It's alright...just... take your time."

"I love you..."