Chapter Text
The heels of his boots clacked down the hall as The Doctor traversed the sterile and cold environment. Cells lined the one wall, yet he did not pay mind to any of those within. His mind was too focused to notice his guinea pigs begging for freedom. He was running numbers through his mind, toying with his thoughts when he stopped in his tracks. He looked into a cell. A recent purchase. It was coughing, and not looking at him. The Doctor just observed for a few moments quietly. The person in the cell turned, his hair greasy and mangled, his eyes were sunken in, and his skin seemed almost a sickly yellow. His eyes met Dottore’s. They seemed crusty and infected. The two of them stared in silence, until the sickly man squeezed his eyes shut and turned away.
“I remember why I purchased you.” He opened the cell door. “Come along.”
“What?”
“I’m going to help you.”
“What would help is not leaving me in this cell without food or water for days.” The prisoner snarled.
“I’m going to change that now, so either come along or you will be dragged out.”
He pried his eyes open and stood, squinting as he stumbled out of the cell. He tried to see where he was going but his eyes burned.
“If you’d like, you may hold onto my arm and I will guide you. I imagine it’s quite painful to try and see in your condition.”
The prisoner had not much fight left, so reluctantly, he grabbed the man’s outstretched arm and rested his eyes. “Why are you taking notice of me?”
“I bought you to see if I could fix you. Nothing more.”
“You’ve been torturing the others, why am I- cough cough cough.” He went into a coughing fit.
The Doctor paused his movements and waited for it to pass. When it did, he answered the other man’s question. “It is a challenge for me. I want to test my skill.”
“I am more than a challenge.” The prisoner grumbled.
“Are you now?” The Doctor laughed as they set off again. “Do prove it to me then, after I fix you.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“I haven’t decided yet. More than likely I’ll replace your lungs, borrowing from a less interesting subject, possibly replace your liver which I assume is in acute failure right now and as for your eyes-” He stalled, gently grabbing the prisoner’s face, “would you open them for a moment?”
He complied. It hurt, but he opened them, staring The Doctor in the face. His eyes were as red as fire, and burned with the same vigor.
“Yes, it seems that a salve should be enough to fix that issue. You may close them.”
He stared for a moment more, then shut his eyes again.
They entered the lab with The Doctor guiding his patient to the table. “Lay down, I’ll be just a moment.”
Another voice shouted frightenedly across the room. “What are you doing?”
“Be quiet.” The Doctor snarled.
“No. What are you- AHHHH!” His screams grew wheezy as if something- or someone- was ripping the lungs out of his chest. The prisoner opened his eyes once more but everything was blurry, but he could make out The Doctor with bloody gloves, holding something pink. He saw The Doctor return to his side again.
“Rest your eyes. Feofan, was it?”
He nodded.
“Good, Feofan.” It was a couple minutes before anything else happened, but then, “I’m sure you’ll want some anesthesia. It may make the process easier on both of us.” He placed a mask on Feofan’s face and waited for him to sleep, resting his hand on his head, gently running his fingers through the patient’s hair.
The next time the patient woke up, he was lying in a bed, confused. His eyes were covered, but the burning sensation was much more muted now. His chest ached, and he reached his hands up to his chest and could feel bandages underneath his clothes. The clothes themselves were not the ones he had on previously. He pulled off the blindfold and noticed a note on the bedside table next to him. The room itself was Sumerian in style, small, but comfortable. The note read:
“Feofan, the surgery went well. Unfortunately I have other matters to attend to at the moment, but if you would like, there is food on the desk near the door. I suspect your eyesight doesn’t reach that far, and you may want to continue to rest your eyes after you finish your meal. There is a small jar next to the food with a salve. Apply that to your eyelids if your eyes were to become irritated again and rest them for at least fifteen minutes. The door is locked, do not try it. I will come check on you once I am done with my other test subjects. Rest for now.”
Feofan stood, gingerly walking over to the food. He did try the door handle, but it wouldn’t open. The food wasn’t much, but it was still edible, and he ate it happily. After he was done, he returned to the bed with the salve, applying it to his eyes and resting them once more. If this was The Doctor all the other test subjects feared so badly, then maybe Feofan was just something special.