Work Text:
People had long wondered what was hidden away in labs, what scientists and the government hid from them. Genetic testing had long been debated, wondering if they did things to unsuspecting people.
The Government always denied it, but it was clear they did test things without the knowledge of others.
There were plenty of places within the United States that had hidden labs and experimentation, one such lab was in Hawkins, Indiana. There was a rumor that people were doing something there that was inhumane, possibly even trying to find something from another world. Hawkins continued to be a more mysterious place on the map.
Nancy Wheeler was on her way home from a late night study session with her friend, sighing she had to walk past the gated lab. As she raced past it she heard a man yell for her. She turned back, narrowing her eyes. She didn't recognize the men.
Nancy froze.
She didn’t know how to react to this, this felt off. She couldn't force herself to move as the men grew closer. She began to breathe heavily and everything started to grow fuzzy. She thought she could force her legs to move but she ended up on her ass. The men looked between one another as she hit the ground.
The men picked her up and dragged her inside, they had a new experiment they were hoping to complete and Nancy fit the bill.
The men prepared her for the experiment, she was stripped, cleaned, and then given anesthesia. They had been planning to do this experiment for a while. They began to work on the procedure, Nancy’s life would change immediately. They cut from just above her hips. “Do this quickly.”
The men nodded and quickly replaced her bottom half with the tail of a shark, they watched and tested making sure to keep her new bottom half wet. They could still see her heart beating on the monitor. They smiled.
This was working.
They moved her from the table to the large tank they had secured, she was placed on her stomach so the long tail could stay in the water while her upper half was on the fake beach they created.
Nancy blinked awake, suddenly feeling strange, her lower half felt heavy. She looked down at herself and let out an ear piercing scream. The researchers watched her as she fell into the tank in terror.
She panicked as she tried to undulate her body, finding her legs no longer intact. She gasped and sputtered before pulling herself back onto the safety of the fake beach. “Wh-what is happening?! She screamed as she flicked the new tail. They were impressed she could already control it nicely.
“What are you doing please.. Please…”
She was looking down at her tail in horror, her eyes wide. She was trapped, she couldn’t walk or run, these men had her under full watch. She could see the cameras and looking further up she could see glass panes allowing them to look in at her.
She began to sob, running her hand along the shark fin.
How was this even possible? She never thought this would be possible, this felt like something out of a sci-fi horror. She leaned back, the sand sticking to her wet body. She wanted to go home, but instead she was here trapped in this tank, now a mermaid? She didn’t even know how to react. She wanted to have freedom, she wanted safety.
She couldn't believe all she did was freeze when the men came for her, they didn’t even have to kidnap her. She passed out and she was free to take. She slammed her fist against the sand and sobbed harder.
She was now this creature, something to watch and experiment on.