“Please sign this form.” the assistant told Frank, giving him a pen. “We cannot be held responsible for whatever happens to you if this experiment fails.” Frank shrugged his shoulders and accepted the pen. He had always been a nobody for the government even though he had paid a terrible price in the war in Iraq. He had served his country and for what? To come back to a wife who immediately asked for the divorce and did all she could to keep their son away from him. He had killed so many civilians, children included, and Carrie couldn’t stand being married to a murderer. Worse, she couldn’t stand that her son’s father was a murderer. However, Frank wanted his son to be proud of him and this experiment was the perfect chance. “Thank you for volunteering, Mr Bryant.” the doctor said, filling the syringe with something that looked like dishwashing liquid. “If this goes well, it will be an amazing breakthrough and we’ll be assisting many trauma patients.” As he cleaned Frank’s skin with a cotton pad he went on again about how the liquid was supposed to reduce the adrenaline production in the amygdala and limbic system, the cells responsible for emotions and memory. He then pierced Frank’s skin with the needle. “Done. Your bad thoughts and memories should fade way soon. Please keep me updated.” ———— Frank felt good throughout the day. It seemed like the injection was working. He didn’t even get upset with Carrie when he phoned her later. He usually would, he hated what she was doing. “Carrie, you can’t keep hiding Samuel from me. I’ve done something that will make him proud of me. I took part in an experiment and if it goes well, many people will benefit from it. Just give me a chance.” He told her what the experiment was about. Carrie didn’t really sound impressed, though. “Do you think being a guinea-pig will clear your crimes? You’re disgusting!” she shouted on the phone and hung up. Samuel, by her side, was just staring. Since Carrie had won the custody of the boy, she had been making up stories about Frank being very sick in hospital and unable to see his son. The judge had also forbidden Frank to approach Samuel without his mother’s consent which favoured her stories. However, she knew she couldn’t lie forever. “Was that dad again, mommy?” he asked in a sweet, innocent voice, while playing with his Legos. “Yes, honey. He’s still unwell. Unfortunately he can’t see you yet.” she said, squeezing her both temples with her fingers in a feeble attempt to calm down. ———— Frank moaned in his bed, his body soaked with cold sweats. “I had a life ahead of me and you killed me.” the girl hissed at him, blood oozing from the hole Frank’s bullet had shot against her temple. “You will pay for this.” He woke up panting with the shock, his heart drumming in his chest. He knew who that girl was. He had shot her. Why was he dreaming about her? The injection was supposed to make bad memories fade away. He laid his head against the pillow again and tried to calm down his mind. All would be fine. ————- “Did you think I wanted to die, Frank? I was only 12 but you didn’t hesitate when you threw that grenade against my house.” the boy was laying on the ground, his face and body burned. “Frank, you will pay one day.” a mother cried, with the dead body of her young son in her arms. Frank was now waking up every single night with horrendous nightmares. He remembered every single person. He had killed them. The experiment wasn’t working. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. ———— “Samuel, what are you doing here?” Frank shouted at the boy who was playing outside. Everything was burning around and there were dead bodies everywhere. What was he doing there? “Go inside!” The little boy raised his innocent, brown eyes at him. Then he fell lifeless on the ground. “Noooooooo! Samuel!!” Frank ran to him only to be greeted by a sinister smile from an Iraqi soldier. “How does it feel to see your own son die, Frank?” Frank woke up in agony, his heart galloping in his chest. He was soaked in sweat, crying and sobbing. The doctor had told him his thoughts would fade away in an instant but now Frank didn’t think he would ever be able to close his eyes again. ———- “Doctor, I’m terribly exhausted. There must be something you can give me. I can’t stand this.” Frank begged. “Your experiment has failed.” He had lost weight and looked like a living ghost with dark circles around his eyes horribly contrasting against his sickly pale skin. “I’m so sorry, Mr Bryant. This was just an experiment, there is no antidote. Nothing I can do.” Frank punched the table. He was enraged and had to restrain his urge to punch the old man too. “Frank Bryant, must I remind you of the form you signed?” ———- Carrie parked the car next to the hospital where Frank had been admitted. The nurse who called her said it was urgent. Samuel must go too. “He is dying and would like to see his son, mam.” she said. Her ex-husband was lying in bed, hardly any muscle or fat left in his body. He was just a skeleton covered with skin. Samuel was hiding behind his mother. The boy jumped in fright when Frank started in a shouting frenzy. “Samuel, it’s me, your father. Samuel!” The nurse immediately gave him an injection to calm him down but Frank was maddened. “Samuel, it’s dad!” Carrie took the boy out of the ward, walking as fast as he could. She should have never agreed to take him there. “Mom, was that really dad?” “No, Samuel. He was just a man who tried to play God but failed. God doesn’t play tricks.”