>The centrifuge spins the test tubes around and around.
>As they spin, you write down more notes on each of the possible cures.
>You'll need some sort of regenerative property to negate his rapidly deteriorating muscular system.
>A way to fight the disease into submission so that your one year old son can have a chance of living.
>You think back to the way he looked at you from the hospital bed.
>He wanted the pain to stop.
>Fluttershy could have seen it too, had she not been so hysterical.
>Those nurses and doctors don't even know what they're doing.
>But you...
>You can cure him.
>The centrifuge stops spinning and you turn to it, taking out the four possible cures and place them in the rack.
>Now you just need test subjects.
>Looking around the lab, you see a hamster cage with three hamsters.
>It'll have to do.
>You move it over to your work station and separate them into three different cages.
>Just to be safe, after all, you haven't the slightest idea what the side effects could be.
>The best cure should heal a wound within ten to twenty minutes.
>You reach down into the first hamster's cage and grab it.
>It looks at you as you hold it.
"This is for science... Sorry, friend."
>With a quick movement, you break its leg.
>The light snap sound mixed with the squeal it makes is almost too unbearable for you.
>You manage to compose yourself and drop it back down.
>It is limping, a sign that it is hurt.
>Now it's time to test cure number one.
>Popping off the top of the first test tube, you pick up the syringe and suck up some of the fluid.
>Then you hold it up and squeeze it a little bit to get the air out of it.
>That's the last thing you need, to be pumping air into his body.
>You reach down into the cage and grab the hamster once again.
>His trust has obviously been broken since last time you held him, and he tries to struggle.
>As he struggles, you stab the needle into his lower back and push the first cure into him.
>You quickly let go of him and retract your arms.
>Placing the syringe on the desk, you pick up the notepad and pen to take notes on his behavior.
>For the first few minutes, he does nothing but limp around.
>But then he stops completely.
>His body starts to shake and puss seeps from his eyes and nose.
>He voids his bowels and dies nearly seconds later.
>Cure number one is a no-go.
>You slide the cage containing the dead hamster to the right for autopsy later, and slide the next one down.
>Cure number two is next...
>Performing the same process again, you sit down, prepared to document what happens.
>This hamster starts limping like the other did.
>It limps around for a while and then you start to notice a growth on the leg.
>Leaning forward to get a better look, you see that the tissue around the leg is pulling itself back together.
>This is incredible!
>It's exactly what you need!
>Just as you're nearing the peak of excitement, you notice that the leg has not stopped building itself.
>It now forms a second leg from that leg.
>And a third from that.
>This is insane...
>You continue writing down what is happening and then the hamster completely stops moving.
>That one didn't work either.
>Shit.
>This isn't good.
>There's only one more hamster left.
>What will you do after that?
>Listen to yourself.
>There's no time for thinking, your son has been given an estimate of a week to live.
>You move the hamster cage over with the other one to later find out what happened on the inside.
>Sliding the last hamster over, you prepare the next cure.
>You break his leg like you did the others and inject him with the third cure.
>With fingers crossed, you click the pen and start writing.
>The hamster doesn't seem to change much within the first few minutes.
>It just stands there looking around the lab.
>But when you watch it move, it seems to be walking differently.
>Spinning the cage around, you see that its leg has been severed at the joint.
>You didn't make that happen.
>All you did was break it at the middle.
>After writing down a little bit more, you observe that the hamster is completely fine after its body completely severed the broken limb.
>If your son had a broken bone that would never heal, then this would be great.
>But you don't want his body to completely sever the bad pieces.
>As you continue to watch the hamster, something strange happens.
>It is drinking out of a tiny bottle when the bottle suddenly explodes.
>Scribbling that down, you continue to watch the hamster.
>Nothing else of importance happens after watching for a few hours.
>Exhausted, you look over at the fourth vial.
>It's that, or your son dies.
>Why couldn't there have been four hamsters?
>Scanning the lab once more, you hope to see if there could be another test subject.
>Your eyes stop once seeing a mirror.
>Well...
>You are the closest thing DNA-wise to your son.
>That would make you the best subject to test on, having most of the same molecular structure as your son.
>Turning around in your chair, you pop off the top of the last test tube.
>Then you take a syringe and suck up a little bit into it.
>It shouldn't take much.
>Even if you do this...
>How will you be able to know if it has worked?
>You look down at your desk and see a small scalpel.
>You pick it up and look at it.
>This is crazy.
>About to injure yourself just to see if this will work.
>But...
>It's for your son's life.
>You shake your head.
>Then raise the scalpel.
>And quickly stab down into your leg.
>You let out a an angry growl as you try to keep composure.
>The pain is unreal as you yank it out of your leg.
>The area around where you stabbed starts to get warm quickly.
>Wasting no time, you squeeze the air out of the syringe and inject it into your arm.
>The instant you feel the cold sensation of the fluid passing through your veins, you fearfully regret it.
>You grit your teeth as a sudden pain shoots through your body.
>Falling out of the chair, you try to grab on to things to help yourself get back up.
>All you manage to do is pull papers and things off the table and onto the floor.
>The pounding pain makes it too hard to crawl anywhere.
>You look up and the last thing you see before blackness is yourself in the mirror.

>You awake on the cold lab floor.
>When you sit up, you feel no pain in your leg.
>Fearfully, you look down to see if you even have your leg.
>You do.
>A bloodstain is on your pant leg where the stab wound is.
>Slowly, you remove your pants to further inspect the area.
>Once they are completely off, a smile appears on your face.
>Absolutely no sign of pain being inflicted is seen anywhere on your skin.
>You've done it!
>YOU'VE FUCKING DONE IT!
"I'VE DONE IT! I'VE FOUND THE CURE!"
>Standing up, you look down at your desk.
>Shit.
>Both the vials and the papers are cluttered around on the ground.
>The vials have been shattered and all mix together on the floor.
>The papers containing the chemical formulas of all four of them are covered in your blood.
>Oh no.
>Quickly picking them up, you inspect them to see if the cure's formula is damaged.
>All four papers are barely legible.
>Fuck fuck fuck!
>Your son only has a week to live, and the cure to his ailment is on one of these blood drenched papers!
>Looking down to the tiny puddle of chemicals, you develop an idea.
>Rushing over to the wall, you grab a dropper from the container.
>When you come back, you suck up a bit of the combined chemicals.
>If one of the four chemicals combined in this can cause cell regeneration, it should be able to combat the other three's effects.
>Just to make sure, you roll your chair over to the microscope and put a tiny drop of the combined chemicals under it.
>You look in it to see a purple substance consuming most of the other things.
>Scooting over to the right where a second microscope is, you take a syringe from the desk there and clean it off.
>Then you take a tiny sample of your blood and put it under the microscope.
>The same purple is seen floating with your white blood cells, as a sort of back up defense that speeds up the process of regeneration.
>This is fantastic.
>You wheel back over to the combination of the four chemicals and look into it.
>The purple consumes most of the red, which is the second attempt at the cure.
>However, the purple only slightly covers the green and blue, which are the first and third attempts at the cure.
>So...
>If you were to give your son this.
>There would be a great chance his body would regenerate itself and he would be healed.
>On the off chance, he seeps puss from his eyes and nose and his body severs the pieces it thinks are not strong enough.
>This is a terrible decision for a father to make.
>You take the chemicals you are looking at under the microscope and put them into a cleaned vial.
>It's barely enough for a tiny shot, but given the strength of it, it should be fine.
>When you stand with the vial and a clean syringe, you run through everything in your head once again.
>The chances you're taking.
>The risks you're making.
>But...
>If this works, you'll have your son back.
>With a deep breath, you say to yourself as if you were talking to your son.
"I'm going to save your life son."

Eight years later...

>"Just hold still, it will only hurt for a little bit."
>A needle appears.
>"Mr. Anonymous, we've already told you that visiting hours are over."
>A table is thrown.
>"Quiet son, just be quiet. You're going to be all better soon."
>A light sting is felt on your arm.
>Then a cooling sensation as something moves throughout your body.
>The cooling suddenly turns to a burning feeling.
>Everything turns red.
>All you see is redness and all you hear is a constant screeching sound.
>The screeching becomes clearer and louder until finally it strikes your ears and your eyes open.
>You put your hand on the alarm clock to stop it.
>Then you slide out of bed, waking the dog with the sound your hooves make as they hit the hardwood floor.
>Your dog, Buster, jumps up on the bed and wags his tail happily.
>As you pat his head a little bit, you speak to him.
"Just another nightmare, boy."