Voices in Her Head (TF)

"Dr. Peters to Test Room 1. Dr. Peters to Test Room 1. It's time." Leo Peters turned to his friend.
"Good Luck mate. Hope it all goes well." Leo nodded nervously.
"Thanks. I'm going to need it. I just can't help thinking about this though. Either the serum  works and Miss Dawson is ready to undergo rehabilitation therapy, or it fries her brain and leaves her in a vegetative state." The friend acknowledged this sadly.
"Yeah. Shame if she does die, but it's no loss as much as I hate to admit it. Her relatives disowned her and she has no place in society. Her schizophrenia is so severe, she's not had an education." Leo rolled his eyes.
"Thank you for telling me everything I already know. I'll catch you later, hopefully in a good mood."

***

Kayla Dawson. Schizophrenic. One of the worst examples of the case anyone has ever seen. Most patients with the disease have two personalites. Not Kayla. Unbelieveably, she has nine, yes you read that right, nine seperate personalities. And these aren't just silly little shifts from one to the next with no base of conscience, there are true 'people'. Aside from Kayla herself, Personality Number One, There's the self-proclaimed Lorraine, Delia, Lauren, Catya, Michelle, Natasha, Tanya and, the so-called ringleader, Francia. These other minds all fight for dominance over Kayla body, but all seem to unified in one cause: destroying Kayla. However, their plight will lead them to self-destruction. Kayla is highly unstable and suicidal and leading her to oblivion could possibly lead to her killing herself. Death of body = Death of Personalities. These past few years I have been working on a cure for schizophrenia. I have chosen Kayla to be the first to be administered with it.
How does it work? What is it made of? Basically, it's supposed to replace the defective brain cells with those from a modified creature. Schizophrenia, in fact almost all kinds of mental issues, are non-existant in one of Earth's deadliest creature: The Komodo Dragon. Originally, I was going to use DNA from a Great White Shark to complement the serum, but I feared the incredibly strong immune system of the animal could kill the subject. Therefore, I chose second-best. The Dragon will not kill Kayla, just her alter ego's. With luck, she will be able to resume a healthy, normal lifestyle within a few weeks. But I'm still not optimistic. I don't see myself rich and famous from selling a wonder drug. I keep seeing it going wrong, Kayla dying and myself ending up  in jail for manslaughter. I just know that something is going to go wrong.

***

"Let GO of me!" she cried. I immediately knew it wasn't Kayla who was resisting restraint. Kayla was timid, troubled. The others varied, but the Lorraine persona was strong-willed and defiant. I watched as she suddenly stopped struggling and instead, stared one of my assistants in the eye, a cold glint to it.

"I will let you know," the new persona spoke grimly, "That when I get free, you will be the first one I kill!" I sighed in shame. The narcissistic, out-spoken Catya. One of the dangerous ones. She had managed to gouge out a nurse's eye once. It was only by my request that she wasn't put into secure holding. I knew Kayla was the soul for this body. My serum would assert her dominance and eradicate the others. Without a word, I gave the final command to my assistants and they clipped her into place.
"Hello? What are you going to do to me? Why am I tied here? Let me out please!" I ignored Kayla's futile cries.

"It's going to be all right Kayla. I'm going to fix you."
"NO! Kayla doesn't deserve this vessel! I do! We do! All of us except HER!"
"Natasha, what a grim pleasure it is to meet you again." I said sarcastically. She sneered.
"You will only succeed in angering me further." I raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so?"
"No," she sobbed, "Fix me, FIX ME!" The transition to Kayla was sudden, but not exactly unexpected. I took her chin gently, looking into her eyes affectionately. But she had already changed.

"Get off of me imbecile!" The Catya persona cried out, thrashing her head about and attempting to bite me. We had to begin the procedure now. There was no point in trying to comfort all those personalities. I ushered the two nurse's to stay back. One of them handed me the hypodermic syringe that contained the serum and lightly swabbed a patch of skin on her arm with alcohol. The girl's eyes grew wide with apprehension.

"What is that?" she spluttered, "No, don't you dare stick that thing into me! Noooo!" Her struggling was useless. I managed to pierce her skin with the needle and emptied the contents into her bloodstream. Upon withdrawing the needle, the effect was immediate. She began convulsing, rattling the restraints as the serum took effect. In all of ten seconds, Kayla (at least I hoped it was Kayla) was still again, breathing softly and steadily. I approached her, unsure of her condition.

"Kayla? Miss Dawson?" I heard her gasp slightly.
"Dr. Peters? I... can't hear them. They're gone... They're GONE!" she screamed in joy. Years of anguish had finally ended, suffering spent hard, but no more would come. I whooped in success. She was cured! Schizophrenia had a cure! I had done it! I would be famous! I would be rich! I would be a hero!

***

"How are you feeling Kayla?" I asked happily, smiling so much it hurt. We were sitting in a small recreation room. A few other patients were here, mucking about or eating a small lunch.
She returned the smile and replyed gleefully, "Like a great weight has been lifted off of my shoulders Dr. I owe it to you that I can finally lead a normal life." I blushed and shook it off.
"Nah, I just mixed it together and administered it." I lied and badly at that. She punched me lightly, laughing. I don't know why, but I joined her.
We laughed for about 30 seconds, by which time I was getting a sore throat (I don't do much laughing you see). Kayla, however, kept going, giggling uncontrollably, taking short, sharp breaths at irregular intervals. I smiled lopsidedly, but I was starting to get a bit distressed by her refusal to stop laughing. Some of the staff were looking on, bewildered.

"Kayla?" I asked, "What are laughing at? There's nothing funny anymore." My distress started taking hold. This wasn't right. Had the cure not worked properly? It seemed so when all of a sudden, she stopped laughing and doubled over in obvious pain.

"My legs!" she gasped, "There's something wrong.. with my legs!" She grabbed her head and ran her hands down to her shoulders, "What is happening to me?!" she cried. I stood and summoned for a stretcher.
"Get the other patients out of here!" I ordered.
"GAAAHHH! My sides! My... FEET! AH! MMmmpphh!" I stared down at Kayla in stupefaction as her mouth began to distend, as bumps formed on her shoulders and sides, as her feet ripped her shoes apart.

This is when I it finally clicked. When I saw her feet, I remembered the Komodo Dragon DNA that was used in the serum to 'kill' the extra personalities. Her feet weren't human anymore. They resembled large lizard feet. Dark blue scales had penetrated the skin and had begun coating her entire body. I stepped back in a panic, but unable to tear my eyes away from the freak of science occuring before me. I winced as Kayla gave an ear-piercing scream, her arms melding with her sides, pushing the medical gown down, stretching the neck. It suddenly gave way, revaling that her chest was splitting into seperate colomns. The bumps on her sides pushed out and became lizard-like forefeet and she crashed onto all fours. A tail forced it's way from the base of her spine, plating itself in scales as it grew and bulked up.

"My GOD! What have I done?!" I shouted in abhorrance as the metamorphasis entered its final stages. What had once been a slightly below average girl had become a hulking dark blue, nine-headed monster, the heads comparble to a mythilogical dragon. My memory conjured up images and facts from my junior school days and Year 4 History lessons. Greek mythology. The Trials of Heracles. Kayla had become, none other, than the mighty Hydra.

Continued in Part 2...