Emmett rubs his temples, feeling a headache coming on as Dr. Krueger starts packing up his shit. Or maybe it's the fluorescent lights beaming down on him 24/7 like some kind of corporate interrogation. They've had this same song and dance before, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

"Dr. Krueger, I really don't think I should be the one left to—"

"Emmett." Dr. Krueger cuts him off, not even bothering to look up from his bag. Emmett can see that he's starting to grate on the man's nerves, but it's hard to give a fuck at this point. "How many times have we been through this?"

Emmett fidgets with his ID badge, feeling a lot like a child being scolded. "Uh, I don't know, sir… a lot?"

"Yes. And every time I leave you alone, you bitch and moan, but you always pull through. With exemplary results, I might add." Dr. Krueger slings his bag over his shoulder, straightening his thin-rimmed glasses with an air of impatience. "You'll be fine. Instructions are on the table by the window. I've got other things to deal with today, and the rest of the team is busy with—"

"But, sir—"

"Emmett, get to work."

And just like that, the door clicks shut and Dr. Krueger is gone, leaving Emmett alone with the soft hum of equipment and his own spiraling thoughts. "Great. Just great," Emmett mutters sarcastically, running a hand through his shock-white hair in agitation. "Left alone with the most important discovery of the century. No fucking pressure or anything, Emmett!"

With a heavy sigh that seems to come from the depths of his soul, he drags his ass over to check the list of instructions Dr. Krueger left for him. Picking up the paper, Emmett scans the tasks, his eyes narrowing further with each line. Collect a skin sample from Subject 01, identify its cell structure, test reactions to stimuli, and... collect a urine sample for analysis?

"Fuck me, seriously?" Emmett groans, pinching the bridge of his nose so hard he sees stars. "I didn't sign up for this glorified lab tech bullshit. Does it even need to piss?"

Emmett goes over the instructions for a couple minutes longer before finally snapping himself out of his own self-pity. He knows complaining won't get these tasks done any faster, and Dr. Krueger is counting on him to continue their research into this frankly remarkable discovery. Might as well stop bitching and get this shit started.

Collecting his bag of equipment, Emmett heads over to the room containing Subject 01’s enclosure. He takes a deep breath to steady his nerves, then scans his ID and enters the code. 1572. The door slides open with a hiss, and in the middle of the room is Subject 01, surrounded by the thick glass walls of its enclosure.

“Here goes nothing.” Emmett says to himself, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. The door slides shut behind him. “Make this easy for me, okay?”