It was a sleepless night. 

The creature, still without a name, groaned, making funny little noises as its condition had worsened over time.

 I wasn’t feeling too hot myself as I started to have cold sweats. I'm starting to wonder if it's from the side effects of the experiment or alcohol withdrawl. 

Then, a horrifying realization stirred me up. Yolanda might be the only one who knows her way around this. But I couldn’t go back to that hellscape. Yet I had to if I needed to get the monkey some help. 

I have grown attached to it during these last couple of days. I couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was the thought of him being experimented on again that made me sick. 

But it’s now or never.

I gathered him up and frantically knocked on Lily’s door. Every knock struck louder until Lily arrived, rubbing her eyes beneath her paper mask and asked with a bit of annoyance, “Foil? What are you doing here at this hour?”

“Hate to bother you, Lily, but I need your help with the monkey. He’s been slowly getting sick.”

She hesitated, lightly scratching the back of her paper bag mask. "Well, are you sure it's not something contagious? I mean... do you even know what’s wrong with him?" 

“Well, no. That’s why I need your help.”

She looked unsure, glancing behind her into the dark room. "I don't know. This all seems so sudden. Something about this feels... off. Are you telling me everything?" 

I didn’t answer her directly. "Just look at him!" I said as I held the shaking monkey.

“Oh my, anything I can do to help?” she asked, her concern evident as she stared at the suffering monkey.

“I just need a quick ride, that’s all. I know a pet store where a friend works.” 

Lily frowned slightly. “Is it open? It seems to be pretty early now.” 

I paused for a moment. “Yeah, there are certain times when the place is open early for… reasons. But right now, we need to get this little guy some assistance before it's too late." 

"Alright. Let’s go,” she nodded. 

I glanced over at Lily, who followed my directions as we drove. The monkey rested on my lap, too sick to even care where we were going.

“So,” Lily began. “How long have you known this... friend?”

“Trust me, it’s not something you’d want to get caught up in.” I could feel the skepticism in her eyes, but then she just sighed.

We pulled up to the pet store, with the sunshine coming out. Hopefully it's a good sign.

"Wait here, I told Lily. “I’ll just go in, get the monkey some help, and everything will be cool."

“Are you sure? You aren’t looking so well yourself.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It shouldn’t be long.”

Behind the counter, Yolanda jumped at the sound of the bell, and her expression stiffened as I approached. 

"Florence," she said, stuttering. “I expected you to return sooner… " 

I handed over the trembling monkey to her and double-checked if we were alone, so I had to whisper. "This is one of your…special pets that escaped. He’s not doing too well. I thought maybe you could—“

"Now is not the best time to come in. Just drop him off and leave." It struck me odd how much she avoided eye contact, unlike her usual self. 

"No. We both go in, or I'm not leaving," I said, my tone taking on an edge of unease. I glanced toward the front again, watching Lily patiently wait outside in the car, listening to music on her radio. 

Yolanda's voice grew sharper. "I have bigger and better things to focus my attention on. Now please leave."

I found myself starting to make low, guttural grunts. "Yolanda, I swear to fuck, if you don’t let me in, so help me-“ 

“I already told you, no Mames!" she shouted. 

I quickly responded with a louder volume. “Alright then, I see how it is. Before I leave, why exactly did you nearly crack my skull open and experiment on me?

"W-well, you wore your metal funnel hat. Surely, it did not leave that much of a mark! It is just a scratch. Do not be such a baby. Here, take some lollies for you and your sweet little monkey friend and skip back home. " The more she talked, the more I could tell she was full of it.

“Enough with the goddamn games! You used me as a guinea pig in your sick, twisted experiment, even after I told you I wasn’t interested!"

Just before I thought of something else to press her further, the monkey jumped from my arms, storming off into the room that leads to Yolanda's lab.  

"Ay! Get your monkey ass back here!" I exclaimed.

“Hey, NO! You stay BACK! I can get him!” 

"We'll see about that," I said, pushing past her. 

With Yolanda running behind me, I rushed after the monkey, following his every move. 

The lab was an absolute mess, more than usual. The lightbulbs were flickering out of control, and the electric bill must be through the roof. Most of the cages were haphazardly covered with blankets. I told her those animals were probably dead, and the sour smell had gotten worse. I could tell Yolanda tried to mask the odor with lavender around the place, but it did not help.

From my view, the monkey’s bones clattered as it scurried over to the odd-looking structure in the corner of the room. He rubbed on it, made a quick yank, and the sheet flew to the ground. He jumped back and yelped so loud that the noise bounced off the walls. He frantically started to make gestures towards the figure.

"What the hell is this supposed to be?" I asked, startled by the unexpected setup.

Yolanda hesitated. Her anger turned to the monkey, who sat there with a glassy look in his eyes and decided to slowly tip-toe away when she turned back to me.

"It is just scrap; do not worry about it," she replied, her tone unconvincing. 

"We're already in here. There's no going back. What is underneath?" I pressed on, determined to uncover the truth of what was really going on behind the scenes. 

“Look, I already told you! It is Scrap! Junk! Zilch! It is nothing!” 

“You wouldn't be so shaky if it were nothing!” 

Yolanda started to fidget around a little more. Her lies were unraveling right before me as they were tangled up in her nervous gestures. 

Even though she was mostly an honest person, she’s not the best liar. “W-well yeah, if you were being questioned about everything, you would feel the same way!” 

She stepped back, feeling cornered, and slowly approached her desk, digging around in her drawer. 

“What are you trying to do over there?” I said, slightly nervous. “Don't you dare think that killing me is going to get you out of this. I know what you are capable of now.”  

Mountains of sweat ran down Yolanda’s face. “Oh, come on. I would not DARE harm you in any way,” she said as the search for whatever object she was looking for stopped.

My eyes were locked on the machine. I walked closer to it, every step slow and deliberate. The air choked me with the thickness of the strange lavender scent. It wasn't soothing anymore—it was sharp. Beneath it, another smell wafted up, and it made me feel nauseated to my stomach as the two opposite fragrances combined. 

Rotten flesh.

I brushed my fingers on the machine's cold, dusty, metallic surface. It was leaking something far worse than just bad vibes. I got zapped by it and quickly backed off.

“What is that machine for?” I mumbled, pulling my shirt over my nose.

“This machine is vital to the kind of research that I am really interested in. Something bigger than these hybrids, something bigger than you and me. However, the machine does not work at the moment. I have put a few subjects through the machine to test it out, but nothing worked. So, I am about to toss it.” 

“So, you’ve been using more animals, I assume?” I asked, narrowing my eyes towards her. 

Sighing, she explained, "I have been visiting graveyards." In the most blunt way she could have.

I blinked, my voice flat. “What?” 

A tense silence stretched between us until she had the gall to lean over and whisper to me. “I am trying to bring the dead back to life.” 

I quickly snapped at her. “Christ, are you kidding? You robbed graves?!” 

“Hey!” Yolanda yelled. “Don't say the Lord's name in vain!” 

“But you're basically playing God right now!” 

Yolanda stepped closer, pleading with me, “I cannot help but use the tools God has given us! Please understand! I did not have a choice. This was the only way to push my research forward!” 

I stepped away from her, taking a deep breath, trying to force myself to calm down. I need to get down to Yolanda’s level.

“Yolanda…” I began, my voice still shaky but firm. “I already have enough trust issues with people. And you were one of the only people I thought I could truly trust. But the conniving, the sneaking, the scheming, and the lying I endured these last few weeks is unbearable. What else haven’t you told me?”

She stared at me as if the guilt hadn’t registered to her yet. “Lies? Sure, you are not so innocent, Florence,” she said coldly. “You’ve had your fair share of secrets, too. What about ghosting me all those months? After the... incident? The one that you never showed up to? Or are we just going to pretend that never happened? Because you sure do a great job at doing it.”

 

My fists clenched up as I started to get upset again. “Never speak of that again. You hear me? Ever! The nerve to compare either of those. This isn’t some noble scientific endeavor. You’re playing with death like it’s a goddamned game. What the hell have I gotten myself into? This is insane!” 

Yolanda’s eyes started to run wild with intensity as she waved her arms around the lab. "It is not insanity. It is progression! Do you see? This can change everything! I am a risk-taker and did all of this for the greater good!

“It’s tearing apart what’s left of your sanity, and you’re dragging me down with you!"

"I am not crazy. I am not losing the plot! I am a pioneer! And I will NOT let you stop me!"

"Yolanda, you need serious help."

But she just shook her head, turned away from me, and blew a raspberry. "Help? The only help I need is more time and resources. And right now, you are wasting both. So if you are not with me, stay out of my way. In fact, why don’t you run away like you ran away from everything else?"

“No, dice. I came here for a reason. And if whatever is behind that door is what will end of this, then so be it.”

With all my strength, I grabbed on the handle and pulled until I couldn’t pull anymore. 

“Foil…you are not going to like what you see…" Yolanda quietly cautioned me. 

I ignored her, and the door broke open. 

My heart sank when I recognized the face or what remained of it. 

"Izzy," I whispered, witnessing true horrors never felt before. The truth of what Yolanda had been hiding all this time came to light. I needed answers. But it only raised more questions. The sight of Izzy's form, connected to wires and tubes, rotten, decayed, and lifeless. Her flesh was partially decomposed with these sickly gray-green patches of rotting skin clinging to her bones. A grotesque scene. I shut the chamber and closed my tear-filled eyes. This was the thing that my brain tried to ignore. But the bottled-up emotions I had patched up for so long slowly spilled out.

Yolanda’s expression finally contorted in panic and guilt as she stumbled backward. "Florence, I can explain..." 

Anything Yolanda tried to explain went on deaf ears. "Explain what? That's your sister! Your flesh and blood? How the hell could you do this?!?" 

"I was trying to save her," she pleaded, tears running down her face. "I thought I could bring her back. I thought I could fix it." 

"Fix it?" I spat off, my words laced with bitterness. "You made shit worse! You had no right to dig up her corpse, you absolute fucking maniac!" 

“EXCUSE ME?!?” she yelled. 

“You heard me!” I yelled back. “She never asked for this! No one did!”

“Last time I checked, she’s my fucking sister! If there’s ANYONE who knows what to do with her, it’s me! And in case you have not opened your big pointy ears, I will repeat it for you. She. Is. My. Sister.” 

I couldn’t take it anymore. My voice cracked as I spat at Yolanda, “Yeah, sure, your SISTER, that you DUG UP from the GRAVEYARD. Oh, and how can I forget about the other corpses you probably violated that have NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. The animals that you constantly torture the shit out of, yet you claim that you are helping them, but you’re actually hurting them! You’re not just wrong, Yolanda. You’re fucking insane.” 

The atmosphere became alive with the sound of anguish as we continued to argue. I was trapped in her twisted world, and I wasn’t sure if we could ever escape. It seemed never-ending until I heard a thumping noise in the background. 

“Wait, did you hear something?” I said as I turned to look around the area.

“Yeah, I hear the sound of your annoying voice!" Yolanda slyly added on.

I caught a subtle movement from the corner of my eye.

“Now I think I saw something. We should probably stop.”

“No, come back here! I am not done berating you!” she angrily stomped.

I started to grit my teeth and aggressively waved her over. “Will you pipe down? Now look over there…”

I thought it might have been the monkey, but he stood right behind me with his fingers in his ears.

The stomach-churning smell of flesh and lavender combined was louder. The monkey had to be right behind us the entire time. It can’t be…

Unbelievably, Izzy's body, lying amidst the debris, shook around. She was lying on the floor; the chamber was wide open. 

The monkey was speechless and fainted, as he had seen enough. I don’t blame him.

Yolanda's eyes widened in disbelief as she noticed the unexpected movement. "I cannot believe this…" she whispered.  

My mind was unable to process this surreal turn of events. “That actually fucking worked?!?" 

The impossible was unfolding right before our very eyes. Izzy, who lay there lifeless moments ago, started convulsing, her body twitching involuntarily. A strange bubbling sound escaped her lips, which then turn into coughing and, finally, a sound barely audible but unmistakably human. She was shaking while she tried to stand up and look around.

She sniffed the air as she continued to shake with such unnatural movement. It seemed to take all her effort, her throat making a death rattle noise as she tried to speak.

Finally, she muttered, "Is that lavender? My favorite!" 

Her voice was hoarse, strained from the prolonged slumber and plagued vocal cords. 

Yolanda moved slightly as she watched her masterpiece unfold, disconnected from everything else surrounding her. In her heart, she knew that she had made it. She had brought Izzy back, and now she didn’t even care that her secrets were unraveling. She ran over to give Izzy a big hug.

With seemingly nothing else to lose, Yolanda turned to me and asked, “Want to be my lab assistant?’

You got to be fucking kidding me.

…