I slid around the corner, my body conforming to it like water for the instant I went around it, springing upright the moment I was past it. Bright red lights were strobing and a strange omnipresent alarm was making an electronic noise that wasn't really a siren, but was clearly an alarm of some kind. Despite it, I felt no particular worry.

With a low clop-clop, I walked forward, each step different in my ears. One hoof was cloven, the other the clack of sharp claws. One was thicker and had a dewclaw, and the other did not. I was no longer much good at matching left to right across my body. Even my eyes were different colors, though considering how many other things didn't match, it was perhaps a mercy that it followed the trend.

Despite all the mismatches, my gait was easy. I was balanced, smooth even. "Now where is everycreature hiding?" I called out, my tongue curling a little as a little smirk appeared on my face. "The hiding part of hide and seek can only last so long. I will find you."

The clean halls of the medical facility offered little cover to my sweeping gaze, but there were--oh, no, there was someone, several someone's. The elevator door chimed with a simple beep before sliding open, revealing three men in full body armor. Two of them had billy clubs, the third had a gun. A stun gun?

They saw me, not like I was hiding from them. "Return to your room," shouted one of them as they spilled out of the elevator in a hurry, fanning out as if to surround me.

"I'm in the middle of playtime," I casually dismissed, my red scaled tail flicking behind me. It was still odd at times to think I had one of those, but, in perspective, it was perhaps the least odd thing about it all. "You can try asking a lady more politely than shouting at her like that. You're sending a bad message."

The one with the gun raised it and fired with barely a pause between. A loud pop echoed in the hard-walled area we were in and the barbs were flung at me with almost sonic speed. As I began to dodge out of the way, it struck me.

I hadn't explained who I was, or what I was, or any of that. How rude I was being. Let's start from the, well, start. The beginning, that fateful day when the dominoes began to fall and led to this situation.

I was in front of my standard PC, typing busilly on a standard keyboard with normal human fingers clacking away at the data entry that was my life. Check and double check what had been given, enter it into the proper columns, upload and verify, repeat. This was much of my life, and I was alright at it. I was at home, a place I did that from more often than not.

More and more often since the outbreak. Shelter at home, work from there if you could. Well, I could, so I did. At least I didn't have to worry about money. A television played to the right of me, offering some noise to keep me company.

"Infections continue to spread at an alarming rate with cases doubling every three days. The CDC strongly recommends staying home unless you absolutely need to go outside for food or exercise."

"Vaccines are being developed as a #1 priority, with human testing scheduled to begin any day. Our contacts report they hope to have it ready for the public within 6 months."

I glanced over at that just in time to see a needle being drawn from the frame. Stock footage likely. A commercial break, and it wasn't trying to sell me something. They were doing clinical tests for the vaccine they had just mentioned. A phone number was displayed, a local one in my area code.

"Lauren," I told myself. "Why not help out people?" It wasn't like I didn't have the time, and I hadn't gotten sick. I jotted down the number and got back to work. "Hey, Google?" My phone chimed softly in reply. "Call 555-6219." It calmly noted that it was calling that very number, and it began to ring.

An actual human picked up, startling me mid-entry and forcing me to restart that bit. "Oh, hello. I thought I'd hit a menu before any people picked up."

"I get that a lot," laughed a man on the line. "Hello. How can I help you?"

"Well, I just saw a thing on the TV." I was still typing as I talked. The phone was no excuse to be lazy. "You're testing the vaccine and were looking for healthy volunteers. I'm a healthy woman in the area who'd like to see this virus go back to where it came from."

"Great! Why don't you come in..." I could hear papers shuffling, then some clicks. A mouse or a keyboard? "Are you available tomorrow?"

"I can be. What time and can you give me an address?" With a quick combination, I tabbed out of the work to an open wordpad to jot some notes. He provided the time and place. "Thank you, got it. I'll be there. Do I need to bring anything with me?"

"Your ID would be preferred, legalities. Other than that, just you. See you tomorrow. Oh, my name's Doctor Miller. I should be here when you arrive." Another few clicks. Definitely a mouse. "Did you say you were local?"

I plugged the address into a map site and laughed aloud. "You're about five blocks away. Oh, my name's Lauren."

"Lauren, it'll be nice to meet you. Since you're so close, you can even go right home afterwards."

That got a brow quirk from me. "Can you normally not?"

"Though the odds are quite low of it, we don't want any bad reactions hurting people too far away for us to reach. We'll exchange contact information and you can enjoy the comfort of your own home. Thanks for helping."

"You're welcome," I barely got out before the line went dead and the phone flashed the time the call took. I had a date, with science.

I pulled into a spot just outside the facility. It was like a hundred other medical buildings I'd ever seen. Unassuming with a sign out front declaring it as such. I locked the car with a button press and made my way inside, the wind of the day fluttering through my sweat pants. I was not feeling fancy that day, or much any day since I was forced to just stay home all the time.

Who was I being fancy for? Of course, as I started to see other people dressed properly, self-consciousness began to return with a vengeance. I was criminally underdressed. "Too late now," I muttered to myself, elbowing the door open to avoid putting my hands on the bar and slipping inside.

There were about six people sitting in the waiting room. Each was spread out from the next. Social distancing was in effect, I quickly noted on my way up to the counter. "Hi, I'm Lauren. Doctor Miller's waiting for me?"

"Let me see." I could hear her rattling quickly on her keyboard that was hidden behind the counter and her monitor. "Here we are. Go on to room 105." She pointed the way. "You have your ID?"

I did and dug it out for her to see, attached to my phone as it was. She took it from me and copied some of the information down before offering it back. "Thank you."

"Thank you," I echoed, heading out of the waiting room. Were the other people there for medical reasons? Besides clinical trials, I meant. There were few hints given about it, and they probably didn't want me prying into their business, so I didn't. I focused on trying to walk professionally, as if that could hide the fact that I was basically dressed in my jammies.

Opening the door revealed not a checkup room, but what looked more like a doctor's office. He had a desk he was seat at, looking up at me. "Hello. Lauren?" He was already rising, thrusting a hand at me before suddenly stopping partway out and drawing it away with an awkward smile. "Habits die hard. Now, thank you for coming in today. This shouldn't take long, but there is a little paperwork involved."

"Doctor Miller," I replied, shaking the air between us as if I had held his hand, which I did not. "Disclaimers and things, I bet?"

"Got it in one." He sat back down and grabbed a clipboard, popping it up at an angle towards me. "It's not long, thankfully."

I took it and claimed the only other chair there. Name, address, gender, ethnicity, do you agree to not sue us if everything goes horribly wrong, the usual. Thankfully, there was a note saying that if something did go wrong, they would cover that. Good. I wasn't up for working with some shady people ducking responsibility for what they were doing. I signed my name at the bottom and dated it. "So, will this really fix it?"

"It won't do a thing for people who already have it," he corrected, taking back the board. "But, assuming it works, it means more people don't have to suffer through it. A quick shot and enjoy the immunity. Hopefully, it'll be lifelong, but we can't be sure of that until we test, which is what you're here for today."

"Right. So..." I rolled up one of my sleeves and turned to offer the exposed arm. "Now we get to the part where I get jabbed, for science."

"For science," he half-laughed, but it was that time. He got out the needle and poked it into a bottle, withdrawing some fluid into it, mostly clear with a faint pinkish hue to it. "I may not be a nurse, but I know how to use this. It'll be over in just a moment. You may feel a bit light-headed after injection and we recommend you stay put for at least an hour before going home."

Is that what those people in the front were doing? That made more sense. A soft prick was the signal that I had been needled. A strange coolness rushed down along my arms and back up towards my chest, and then, gone. "That wasn't so--" The room began to spin and I fell sideways into the chair, clutching weakly as I tried to ride it out.

"It's alright." I could hear the needle being set down. "It passes quickly if you don't pass out."

I could have passed out?! Well, I hadn't. The vertigo began to fade and I sat up, huffing for breath a little. "That has a hell of a kick! Is that something you plan to work on?"

"If we can. But even if we can't, if it's effective, would a moment of vertigo be reason enough to not use it?" He backed up from me, nodding softly. "You're looking better. How do you feel?"

Besides a faint bump where he had jabbed me, I was intact. Standing up, my balance seemed returned. I pulled my sleeve back down. "All better. So, what happens next?"

"You check in, daily. Do you have a computer?"

Did I have a computer?! My amusement must have shown on my face. He sat at his desk. "Give me your email." Which I did and he typed. "I'm sending you an email now. Reply tomorrow and every day with an update. I've attached a PDF for you to fill out. After two weeks, we'll need you to come back in, assuming nothing makes us want to do it earlier than that."

"So go home, live, work, and do the usual things. I just have to add updating the PDF to the daily checklist and I'm doing my part?"

"That's it. Easy."

It wouldn't be easy.

Author's Notes:

Welcome to a new story! Our protagonist was just given a little shot that will flip her whole world upside down, and nobody is around to rap about it for her. Rude... This is being done for a lovely patron, and will be a slow burn, so enjoy the process!

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