Yes. It's back. I'm finishing Splice for Life and with that means new releases. So here's a new one. Also, I've started posting my work (both past and present) on a deviant art page with improved edits.. As always any comments or criticisms are welcome. And enjoy.
Neela was exhausted from the long flight. Despite how tired she was though, she struggled to sleep on her first night on the island. Roland was still by her side, but that didn't settle her nerves.
She was still having nightmares about that day. Traumatized with fear and pain.
She was about to be spliced to help. An advanced splice that would supposedly regenerate all the damage her body experienced from that terror attack.
Neela had been involved in the splicing industry since the early days more than a decade ago. She saw those early chimera splicing experiments. And even after meeting the Conrads, their granddaughter, her lover, Roland and his former unit. All successful 'advanced' splices. She still couldn't shake her uneasiness. She’d seen the issues with chimera splicing in the early days. And this just added to her anxieties
When the morning came, she did not feel rested. She was unsure about what was about to transpire. She wanted the perfect outcome, it was the chance of failure that terrified her. Roland offered to help her to the dining room for breakfast but she chose to walk herself today.
After a hearty meal, Neela was escorted to the lab, Roland not leaving her side. A short while after she'd received her treatment, Derek Night entered the lab.
“I guess we're going to be going through this together then.” he told Neela as walked to the other side of the room.
“You're also getting spliced here, Mr Night?” Neela asked to confirm his earlier statement.
“That is correct Ms Hatch. I am now a proud employee of the Conrad family. And they take great favour to splicers. They've even got a special 'soup' ready for me.” he confirmed.
“Soup?” Roland asked. Confused by Derek's choice of the word.
“I'm getting some complex new advanced splice they want me to try. Seriously, I hope I'm not too different from you. Hmph. They're giving me dinosaur DNA I hear.” Derek said, sounding cool and calm, despite his words giving off a different vibe.
“Dinosaur? Do you know what species?” Neela asked.
“Velociraptor. Why?” he stated.
“Well, some dinosaurs, like velociraptors, had feathers. Over their scales.” Neela answered.
“Great. Now somebody tells me. Best of luck to both of us then.” Derik’s nerves showed through his bravado.
Over the next few days, Neela found it easier and easier to walk. On the fifth day, her vision also began to clear up. Even her scars were fading. On the 8th day after her treatment, Neela was back on her feet and was even able to run.
As she was running along the beach with Roland, the couple were enjoying a romantic picnic date on a beach on the south of the island. They suddenly were disturbed by a loud, bellowing roar. Neela was unfazed by the unusual sound. But Roland, he was terrified. His instincts and training drove him into the ground, seeking cover. When he noticed Neela's lack of a reaction, he got even more confused.
“Neela, what, is going on? What was that?” Roland had to ask.
“Oh, I forgot you've still not met them yet. I promise you we're safe. You don't have to worry about” But before she could finish there was another roar. Sounding deeper and distinctly different, yet equally as powerful.
The power behind that roar sent shivers down Roland's spine. His fight or flight response was screaming at him to run.
“Hey, hey. There's nothing to worry about. If you want to know, I can explain.” Neela tried to calm the anxious lizard man.
“Is this what Miss C was talking about? That thing we don't speak about?” Roland asked.
“Yes. We've avoided them since coming to the island. But if it will help, I can arrange a meeting. That's only if you want to know.” Neela further tried to comfort him.
“I think I need to know. I'm pretty sure I'll be traumatized if I don't know what that is.” Roland was still uncharacteristically shaking from this experience.
“It’s not a what but a who. They are the owners. The masters of this island. Serenity's grandparents. Joseph and Julia Conrad. The 90 year old couple decided instead of waiting for death, they'd do something very extreme. They did some super advanced chimera splicing. They're lucky they didn't kill themselves honestly. Now, it's hard to even consider them human anymore. They're more like dragons now.” Neela explained, her voice wavering at the talk of the couple's extreme splicing.
“Dragons? I'm not sure if you're joking but” Roland tried to respond before he heard another roar.
“They seem to be out for a run today. Or maybe a swim? They're playing outside tonight at least.”
“Playing? That’s? Playing?”
“I swear they sometimes act like teenagers. Especially when moving around. They have to be very careful when inside. Due to their size and strength. So they go a little wild in the outdoors.” Neela explained.
“So this is serious? Dragons? How, how big are they?” Roland asked, fear still creeping over him.
“Most of this I've heard from Serenity. I've not seen them in over a year. And I've heard they've grown quite a bit since then. They were more than twice as tall as you were back then. So, maybe 15 feet tall now?” Neela tried to answer.
“15? How do they get about the house? I know the ceilings are tall but not that high? And the doors?” Roland was trying to process everything.
“They walk around on 4 limbs mostly. I think it's best if you meet them. They can be very intimidating. Just don't cross them and you'll be fine. They're more patient than you might first think.” Neela smiled at Roland.
That's when she looked to the ground and spotted a small box in the sand.
“What's this?” she asked as she leaned down to pick it up. Roland too noticed the box and panicked after checking his pockets.
“Wait, wait wait! That's ah. Stand up and let me do this properly. I was waiting for the right moment but, I guess this will have to do.” Roland asked her.
He bent to pick up the box before going down on one knee and proposed to Neela, unveiling a diamond engagement ring nestled inside the box. Safe to say she was stunned. She never expected him to propose. And couldn't speak for a few moments before answering yes.
That night, there was a party on the island to celebrate the engagement. Roland was introduced to the dragon couple who were far more terrifying in person than he first thought. Although, he was curious about the large sheets they wore over their backs that evening.
Serenity and Lauren were very happy for the couple. Although, Serenity did give Roland a not so light jab in the arm for proposing before she did.
In less than a week, about 15 days after Neela's treatment. The now engaged couple were set to leave the island. Derek Night was also joining them on their return to the United States as was Lauren's grandfather Reginald, the elderly elephant man. He was to help with Derek's reorganisation of Nightlord securities.
Certain reptilian traits were beginning to develop for Neela. Including her first scales, a growing tail and even a small horn growing on her hardened nose. And she wasn't the only one on that flight who was undergoing some drastic changes.
Derek was also seeing changes from his recent splicing. He was growing feathers on his arms and head while being mostly obsessed with his new developing talons and fangs.
It was a long flight and while Reginald and Derek were discussing business, the newly engaged couple made themselves scarce in the private room aboard the private jet. Deciding to join the mile high club. Roland received another not so gentle jab from Serenity when they next met for beating her on this front too.
Upon their return, the newly engaged couple were assigned a media tour from their benefactors. Multiple interviews throughout the press about the benefits of splicing. Of course the added details of the couple's engagement increased the mainstream media attention and further fuelled online attention.
As the weeks passed on, Neela was getting taller, stronger and scalier. Her scales had a much lighter hue than Roland's, an almost midnight blue shade, which gave her a more exotic look. A look Roland greatly admired. The couple only grew closer and closer. Neela even had Roland train her at the gym, where they made an interesting discovery.
Neela was far stronger than she appeared to be. Within 2 weeks of gym workouts, her lifts were almost matching Roland's. A man with large well developed muscles and were at least twice as thick as hers.
They contacted Serenity for some answers and she told them they'd given Neela some extra enhancements including some extra strength, durability and even some lifespan extension. She also gave the couple an extra incentive of further enhancements by expanding the splicing agenda. She’d need to work hard if she wanted a long life together with Roland, she was told.
They weren't the only ones going through some changes upon their return. Derek Night had gathered all of his men, even those retired from injuries to bless them with the good news and their future plans. On that day, Nightlord securities would become Nightraptor Security Force. A fully spliced private security firm dealing mostly with spliced clients while secretly also being the private assassination and covert operations unit of the Conrad family. A position Derek Night felt much happier in than under the thumb of Rupert Lord.
Speaking of Rupert Lord, in less than a year after the change to Nightraptor, the man was found dead. He'd been missing for several months prior although it was hard to find people who actually cared. Lord had burned every bridge he'd ever had in his life through his poor decisions. And despite the grievous nature of the injuries found on the body, his death was ruled a suicide. If any non-corrupt officials saw the report with such a finding, some heads would have probably rolled.
