Birds of a Feather

Chapter 4
Chapter 4

Chapter Description: Brandy witnesses what is going on behind the disappearances as Emily gets captured.

The two sneaked in through the door, which hadn’t been closed. Brandy’s heart pounded as she heard Emily’s diaper crinkle all the way, in spite of their slow, steady pace. They finally found a room at the end of the hall with the lights on. The room appeared to be some kind of operating room renovated for that purpose. There was also a window at the side of the door, which the girls used to look into the interior.

Emily and Brandy stood there, watching as both Chelsea and Chris were stripped naked, cleaned, and adorned with hospital gowns. Their piercings were also removed.

A couple waited impatiently, watching the men get syringes out that were filled with some kind of fluid. The wife finally spoke, “You promised us two babies, a boy and a girl. My husband and I aren’t interested in setting wayward students straight.”

Her husband turned to her, “Mary, these guys are the real deal. They’ll deliver, just watch and let them do their thing.”

“Sorry for the wait,” one of the doctors apologized, “We’ll keep up our end, just make sure you have the money.”

The husband nodded and no more was said.

Brandy could only stare, wide-eyed, as a whole group of people in white lab coats checked their prisoners’ vitals and prepped for some kind of operation. Though she wracked her brain for a plan to get everyone out safely and figure out what was going on, Brandy found herself completely useless to their cause. Emily trembled the whole time, but finally steadied herself and put her hand on the door.

Brandy grabbed Emily’s wrist, “Don’t do it.” Brandy wanted to explain to her why it was a bad idea, to make her understand that they were completely powerless.

Emily turned back to glare at Brandy, “That’s my boyfriend. Fuck you.” Brandy hid in the shadows as Emily pushed open the door, ever watchful as everything unfolded before her eyes.

“Let my boyfriend go!” Emily thundered, “I’m calling the police!”

The team paused as two big men that Emily and Brandy hadn’t seen earlier appeared from out of nowhere, grabbed Emily and completely immobilized her.

“Let me go!” she shrieked as a third gurney was brought out. Emily writhed as she was hoisted onto the gurney and forced to lie down. She struggled as her arms, legs, chest, wrists, and ankles were securely strapped down.

“Do you want to anesthetize this one?” one of the men asked one of the lab coats amidst the protests and screams from Emily. “Think she might be a bit noisy, plus she might hurt herself.”

“No,” one of the women replied, “We’re already falling behind schedule and just don’t have time. Take her to another room and get her cleaned up. We’ll be able to find a nice home for her after treatment.”

“What the fuck are you going to do to me?” Emily spat. Brandy was a little impressed with the fight she was putting up; she wasn’t accomplishing anything, but it was an impressive contrast to her usual quiet, passive demeanor.

The doctor sighed, went over to a cart, and grabbed a needle, “Guess there’s no harm in telling you, seeing as you won’t be able to repeat it.”

Brandy watched as the female doctor cleaned Emily’s arm, “What do you mean?”

“We’ve discovered a chemical compound which completely reverses aging,” the doctor replied, “Rather than go public with it and have it stolen from beneath us by big drug corporations, we decided to make a little money and slowly build ourselves from the ground up.”

Brandy didn’t like where this was going, but kept watching, waiting for an opportunity to act.

“What does that have to do with me and my friends?”

“Well, some folks can’t have children and others are devastated after miscarriages. We find those, people, find other people that nobody will miss, add in some age-reversing drugs, and presto! Happy family.” The doctor laughed at Emily’s look of confusion.

“What are you going to do to me? What are you going to do to Chris?” Emily glared at the doctor.

“I’d have thought that obvious by now. We’re going to turn you into little babies.” The doctor beamed at Emily, “This good couple right here is already interested in adopting your two friends over there. We don’t have anyone interested in adopting you yet, but don’t worry, we’ll find you a home.” She poked the needle into Emily’s arm. “So be good while we finish up with your friends and you’ll get your turn soon.”

Brandy stood frozen in horror, unable to believe her ears. They were all going to be turned into babies and sold! Watching as Emily’s gurney was pushed in her direction, she darted into a corner as Emily’s shouts grew louder and the doors opened.

“Let me go! My father will sue your asses when he finds you!” she threatened, “Le-het me go-o-o-O!” shouts turned to screams as she was wheeled into another room.

Brandy was torn on what to do next. Two big, burly men were preparing Emily, who she didn’t consider her friend, for the group’s sick little operation, whereas her friends were in an operating room, completely incapacitated, and a group of college kids were going to try to turn them into babies. Brandy couldn’t believe what they claimed they were going to do, but she realized that didn’t make the situation any less dire. She returned to her spot at the window and watched.

Peering through the window, she watched as both Chris and Chelsea were injected with the reverse-aging reagent. One of the doctors turned to the couple and explained, “The drug will take about twenty, to thirty minutes to kick in, please bear with us while we wait on them and attend to our next subject.”

The team split in half as some stayed to observe the effects of the drug, able to attend to the aftermath and collect payment, while the other team headed in Emily’s direction. Brandy hid again.

She watched as the team of doctors headed into the room where Emily was getting prepped. Emily had quieted down at this point, giving Brandy the confirmation that the anesthetic had kicked in. She waited at the window. Minutes went by. Half an hour passed. She let out a sigh of relief as she didn’t notice any changes to Chris and Chelsea’s condition.

“I knew it,” The wife exclaimed, “This was all just a scam! Waste of our time too!”

“Just give it a few more minutes,” her husband reassured her, “I’ve seen it work.”

Brandy gasped as she began to see changes.

It started with the disappearance of the tattoos from their bodies. Hairs began to recede, and her friends looked…smaller.

The husband and wife held each other as they witnessed their little miracle, “Oh, Henry, look! She’s getting smaller!” The woman’s voice squeaked with excitement.

Brandy watched in complete bewilderment as her friends’ restraints became looser and looser due to their shrinking bodies. She watched as the doctors removed the straps that held them in place. She felt all she could do was watch in terror as she found that the doctors had truly delivered. Her friends both vanished beneath their hospital gowns in a matter of minutes.

A doctor at each gurney fished a sleeping infant out of the gown that trapped it. Brandy was completely dumbfounded that both her friends, whom she had been sharing marijuana with just days before, were now nothing more than sleeping infants. Chelsea was handed off to Mary and Henry took Chris.

Brandy wanted to cry as Mary made faces at Chelsea. Chelsea wasn’t her child, she wasn’t. She was Brandy’s best friend. Brandy turned from the window, inhaling and exhaling slowly, feeling as though she had just watched her friends die. She could still hear the crowd through the window.

“Now, we discussed that you would be the ones providing your childrens’ supplies,” she heard a doctor say. She turned back to the window in time to watch Mary put Chelsea back on the gurney and pick up a package of Pampers, tear it open, remove two diapers, and hand one to her husband as he deposited Chris beside Chelsea.

Brandy fumed as she watched the couple diaper her friends, dress them in baby clothes, and place them in infant-sized car seats. Still, there was nothing she could do. Her heart sank as both of the new parents picked up a car seat. Her friends were gone.

“There’s the matter of payment-“

“Absolutely,” Henry answered, handing the doctor an envelope.

After counting, the doctor confirmed all the money was there, and everyone headed out. Brandy could only watch as the couple stole her two friends from right under her, and then it hit her; this was what happened to Chad, to Richie, to everyone who had gone missing. Nobody cared to investigate because none of them would be missed.

Henry and Mary left the building carrying Chelsea and Chris along with them. All Brandy could do was stand witness. Brandy cursed herself for her phone’s dead battery as she took it out to report the incident to someone, anyone.

Defeated, Brandy made her way to the operating room where Emily had been detained. The room was empty, except for a gurney, and Emily.

She rushed to the gurney and began loosening the straps. She wasn’t sure where everyone had gone, but if she could only save just one person, it might as well be Emily. “Hey, wake up.” She shook Emily’s shoulder.

Emily groaned as her eyes opened, “Huh?”

“You’ve had a bit of a nap,” Brandy couldn’t suppress her excited tone; they’d both escape and be able to report to the authorities. “We really need to get out of here.”

Emily moaned, “I wanna go back to sleep.” She said, curling into fetal position, closing her eyes again. Brandy noticed she wore a hospital gown and wasn’t crinkling anymore.

Brandy sighed, Emily just didn’t recall the gravity of their situation, “We really need to go! They got Chris and Chelsea!”

Emily’s eyes opened, a look of utter resignation on her face. “I know. They’re both babies now. Probably on their way to a new home.” Her eyes closed once again.

“You’re taking the news rather well, considering you charged right in,” Brandy remarked.

“I know,” a sly smirk creeped across Emily’s face, “As I’m the one who orchestrated the whole thing.” Before Brandy could even begin to process the weight of that statement, she felt a sharp pinch on her arm, and her whole world went black.