It was the strangest-looking creature I had ever seen. I stared hard at it. It seemed to be staring back at me. Suddenly, I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I jumped and swiveled around. Doctor Jenkins smiled at my fright. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you." I shook my head. "It's alright. But what is that...that thing?" I pointed to the strange creature. Doctor Jenkins' smile widened. "That is one of my projects - a masterpiece! I made it out of human and animal cells!" I gasped. "What are you going to do?" Doctor Jenkins chucked, and I felt a strange chill running up my spine. "I will bring it to life!" Again I gasped, in disbelief. "But...but you can't! It's against...it's against Nature! I won't let you do this!" I started to move towards the exit. Suddenly, the Doctor's whole demeanour changed. "Oh no you don't," she hissed. Grabbing me by my shoulders, she pushed me against a wall. As i struggled to get out of her grasp, she snatched a needle full of chemicals from the table. "No!" I screamed. "No, please, don't!" As if she hadn't heard, Doctor Jenkins plunged the needle into my arm. Slowly, I stopped struggling. My brain fogged up, and I was faintly aware of being dragged onto something cold and hard. Then everything was black. A few hours later, (or was it a few days?) I opened my eyes to find myself pinned down at every vital point. Even my head was held down in someway. I was in an enclosed tank. Next to the tank was a dial. There were numbers around it - ten, twenty, all the way up to eighty. Tears rolled down my face. A few hours (or days) earlier, I had gone to Doctor Jenkins' house, to interview her for my school project. She had welcomed me warmly, but said that as she was busy at the moment, would I like to go down to her laboratory to see her work? I jumped at the opportunity, and entered the spotless lab, located in the basement. There I had seen the strange-looking creature, and there I had protested to her work, and there I had become a victim of the doctor's madness. My musings and regrets were cut short when the doctor came into the laboratory. More than ever, she looked like a teacher correcting a wayward but promising child. "Well child," she said, "if you co-operate, the procedure will be painless. If you don't, however, you will leave me with no choice but to use this." She reached out and turned the dial to ten. I gasped as a wave of pain racked my body. The doctor eased the dial down to zero. "Wh-what do you want me to do?" I stammered. Doctor Jenkins smiled, and I again felt that all-too-familiar chill run up my spine. "It will be easy. You will know nothing about it once you agree. You see child, I have been working on this project ever since I had my own private laboratory. And I have almost finished. Except for one essential part. I need a life for it." I shook my head. "No," I moaned, "this can't be happening." That evil grimace that was supposed to be a smile appeared on Doctor Jenkins' face. "You see, that's what I mean. You will be freed from the pains and worries of this life, and you won't know a thing about it. I will strap you to a wooden board, next to my masterpiece. And when I pull the lever, all your thoughts, your mind, your energy, will slip from you to my baby, and it will come to life!" She's mad! I can't allow her to do this! "Say you will." Doctor Jenkins snarled. "Never!" I screamed. The dial shot up to thirty. My head felt like it would burst. Sweat sprang across my body. The doctor moved the dial to ten. "Will you say yes?" I breathed in deeply. "No." The dial shot up to eighty. The air rushed into my lungs, cutting my face and throat. Even by clenching my teeth I could not stop it. "Say yes." said the doctor, softly. "Yes! Yes! Anything! Just stop it! Stop the pain!" I sobbed. Doctor Jenkins let the dial drop to zero, and opened the tank, releasing me from my confinement. But try as I might, I could not move. The doctor smiled at my feeble attempts to escape, then lifted me from the tank. Carrying me as you would a baby, she placed me on a wooden board. She attached little suction tubes to my body, and wires to my arms and legs. Then she strapped me to the board. Over my head, she placed a little helmet full of wires. Then she pulled down the lever connecting me and the creature. Slowly I felt my energy leave me. Slowly, my eyes started to close. Slowly, the creature in the tank started moving. Slowly, it opened it's eyes. I looked around me, feeling full of life. But, what's this? I have a tail? And what's that body lying on that wooden plank? Why, that - that's me! That's my body! "What have you done?" I tried to scream, but only a sort of whine came out. Doctor Jenkins smiled. "It's alright, my pet. You are mine." Funny. I was into Gothic when I was 13. Yup, ttz Eng Lang Paper 1 Part 2, Sec. 1/5, 14 Oct 99. Disturbing. I was inspired by that George Orwell novel - 1914, or sth like that. What disturbs though, is the insistence of the Doctor for her victim to agree to her fate. She could have just forced her. And the last three words. Part of a hymn. VERY disturbing. There is more too...but I havn't finished looking through my old files. I'll post more when I'm done.

I don't think my writing style has changed much...my sec. 4 stories, though slightly different in terms of content, still holds pretty much the same themes and style. Death, dying, moving on, holding on, torture, fear, entrapment, confusion. Havn't really written since my O-level English paper. Wonder if the themes will continue. Well, guess there's only one way to find out. Adios Amigos.