Chapter 7

It was morning again at Brookdale and small traces of life began to stir around the old mansion as one by one, its occupants, each with their own thoughts, prepared themselves for the day ahead.

In his private apartment on the top floor, Dr. Quinn splashed cold water on his face, washing the sleep from his blood shot eyes, and peered thoughtfully back at his image in the mirror. All in all things were going even better than he had originally planned, for he was already a month ahead of schedule in the preparations of his hormone injections and if all went well today, he would be ready to start the long awaited tests on Garth tonight.

Last night he had made a strong breakthrough in testing the stimuli effects of his new hormone on the response of a male chimp who, by nature, indifferently will mount his female counterpart, and with no more than a dozen thrusts or so, will ejaculate with little sign of facial expression or excitement, then walk away from her when he is finished. The female, in turn never appears to experience any kind of climax and remains docile and disinterested through the entire procedure. This attitude, when compared to human response was so dry and unanimated, that months before, Dr. Quinn had programmed a series of injections for both primates, keeping them in separate cages until the entire dosage had built up in their bodies to a predetermined level, and last night he had entered the lab with his notebook and paired the two creatures, recording their following responses.

The experiment had been dramatically successful, with the two monkeys leaping on each other like a pair of sex-starved humans, the male being so potent that Dr. Quinn later was forced to enlist the help of Garth to separate him from his mate, then gave the chimp a tranquilizer to stop his screeching rage. The female had been equally eager in her participations and tried to attack Garth when he had entered the cage to retrieve the male.

The stimulating effect of the hormone was more successful than he had hoped, and tonight, after he had started the first series of injections on Garth, he would be able to record his first reactions to this most complex solution that had taken so long to develop. Soon, Garth would be ready for testing, but until that time, just to be on the safe side, he would have to lock him up in one of the larger cages to keep him under control. His next problem would be to find a suitable mate for the experiments, but he would have plenty of time to decide that later. Right now, he would go down to the lab and start a fresh experiment on the two chimps, then take a break to consume a large country breakfast that Nell always prepared for him each morning.

On the floor below, Nell was already up and around her room, neatly placing the spread over her pillow and wedging her hand beneath it, forming a straight crease under the fold. She walked over to the wooden framed window and opened the panel wide, sucking in the fresh morning air, expanding her matronly chest to its fullest capacity. Thoughts of Lisa still dominated her lewd mind as she remembered the night before when she had creeped into the sleeping girl's room and had slowly taken the fullest advantage of the situation.

When she had first entered the room the night before, it was partially illuminated by a small night light that threw a pink glow over Lisa's youthful, curved torso. Her breathing came in slow deep breaths which remained undisturbed at Nell's attempts to test her consciousness. Her long golden strands of hair flowed away from her white forehead and softly draped the edges of the fluffy white pillow, and her bud-shaped lips were slightly parted and tinged with a soft pink blush that matched the faint glow on her cheeks. Long, thick matted eyelashes fringed the tips of her lids and brushed softly down on her face, which was now peacefully slackened in a drugged sleep.

Standing naked by the beautiful girl, Nell had gently pulled back the bed covers, and feasted her eyes on the soft voluptuous body laying helpless beneath her lewd stare. The sheer flowered nightgown had crept over Lisa's thighs, fully exposing her shapely legs and the ripe whiteness of her thighs. Dark, silken strands of downy pubic hair covered her vaginal opening, contrasting sharply against the background of white translucent flesh.

Breathing heavily, Nell reached down and worked the flimsy material over the girl's full rounded breasts until her body was completely exposed to her lustful cravings. Beads of perspiration formed on her wrinkled forehead and trickled down the side of her face as she slowly eased her bulky body down over her helpless prey, who was completely unaware and unable to defend herself from the unnatural love-act that followed. Hours later, when Nell had finally satiated her lust and cravings she had crept back to her room safe from detection. The slamming of a car door momentarily startled her and she looked out the window just in time to see Thea entering the back door to the kitchen. At the time, she had vaguely wondered where Thea had been night prowling, but was relieved that she hadn't run into her outside in the hall. That was a close call, she thought as she drifted off into a restless sleep, I'll have to be more careful the next time.

In another room far down the corridor, the sleepy haze that dimmed Lisa's vision gradually cleared and the unfamiliar room slowly came into focus as she tried to blink away the sleep. When she grew accustomed to the light, her eyes traveled around the room, searching for an object to identify with, over the dingy ceiling and faded wallpaper, up to the antique canopy that covered her bed. Stretching her graceful limbs, she yawned and sat up on the edge of the bed, then with great effort stood up and made her way to the bathroom. Her legs felt wobbly and weak and her stomach twitched nervously inside her as she gulped the cold water from the bathroom tap. She could vividly remember the strange dreams and nightmares that had pervaded her sleep all night, and decided to use the tranquilizers more sparingly in the future. The drug had a strange effect on her body, which was now drenched in a clammy sweat that had a strange musty odor to it, and even her night gown, which had been freshly laundered, was now wrinkled and stale, even one of the side seams had loosened and was coming apart. She quickly showered and dressed, then stood before the mirror combing out the thick tangles of hair until they fell free once more in soft waves around her shoulders.

She opened the bedroom door and made her way downstairs quietly so she would not disturb the others in their rooms. When she reached the foot of the stairs, she looked around the corner into the living room but it was still quiet. She went into the kitchen, hoping that Nell or Thea would be there but it was empty, and not knowing what to do until the others came in, decided to go back up to her room and wait. It was then that she noticed the door to the basement, slightly ajar, menacingly inviting her to explore the dark interiors below. She could remember now the small windows on the outside of the mansion when she had first come to Brookdale, and at the time her curiosity had been aroused by the mysterious lights that had glowed from within.

Cautiously, she placed her hand on the wooden panel and slowly opened the door, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. The morning light burst through the opening exposing a rickety stairway, but beyond that she could see nothing but blackness. Looking around to see that no one was watching, she stepped through the doorway and slowly inched her way down the creaking stairs, guiding herself with one hand on the railing and the other held out in front of her blindly groping its way, until gradually her eyes became accustomed to the dimmed interior. Signs of neglect were strewn around as far as her squinting eyes could see... peeling, faded wallpaper curled away from the wall and broke and fell to the stairway as her trembling hand brushed over it. Cobwebs, intricately spun, hung undisturbed from the corners of the low ceiling, while all around her the air became gradually stale with a dampened mustiness as she slowly descended farther and farther down the staircase.

Lisa knew that she should turn and go back, sensing instinctively that something evil was lurking below in the depths of the cavern she was now entering. Dr. Quinn was a strange incomprehensible person, almost inhuman, she thought as she remembered his cold penetrating eyes, almost devoid of emotion. He must be up to something that he was trying to hide, she reasoned or why else would he choose to work in such a foreboding atmosphere. Even before she opened the laboratory door, she was sure she had guessed right and was determined to find out the reason for all his secrecy.

The door to the laboratory was faintly outlined at the foot of the stairs from a bluish glowing light that beamed behind it. Lisa pressed her ear tightly against it to see if she could hear anything, but no sound could be heard from within. She hesitated for a moment, not certain what to do, then slowly turned the steel door knob. It was unlocked. She pulled it open with a concentrated effort to be as silent as possible, and peered inside the laboratory, mewing its contents with a gasp of surprise.

Under the bluish hew of large fluorescent lights, gleamed the equipment of a large, fully equipped modern scientific laboratory, lending sharp contrast to the decaying entrance through which she had just passed. Long aluminum counters lined the walls of the room, holding assortments of strangely shaped glass bottles and tubes which were filled with liquids of varied consistency and colors. Coppered-toned electric filaments connected to panels in the wall entwined many of the glass containers, while others simmered unattended over small individual hot plates. Over the counters, the walls were lined with shelves that were fully loaded with amber-colored jars each meticulously labeled and dated. In the center of the room, was a large double sink that had large chrome spigots and knobs protruding from it. On one side was a dual hose attached to a small circulating pump, which connected two plastic tubs that contained a pink foamy liquid. Lisa stared at the bright liquid as it was circulated from one tub to the other, while the low drone of the pump whirred without a miss, mixing the slowly evaporating chemicals to a predetermined consistency. The motor seemed to be controlled by a time clock that was connected to the side of the strange looking device.