Chapter 1: Introduction

John was never sure how he was taken. One moment he was making love to a beautiful, voluptuous woman, and the next, he was blinking against the overhead lights in some strange, sterile laboratory. Panic coursed through him as he tried to scream, but only a feeble cry managed to pass his lips.

"Ah, there you are," a voice boomed through the empty space of the lab as the fluorescent lights flickered on one by one.

John squinted against their harsh glow, his eyes adjusting as he tried to make out the silhouette of the figure approaching him. "Welcome to the Department of Experiments and Intermediary Solutions, Mr. Johnson," the figure said, stepping into the light. The man wore a lab coat adorned with various insignia and patches, a stark contrast to the leathery skin on his hands and the deep, crimson eyes that bore into John.