))"Alright, are you sure you're ready and okay with this?"
Randy sat down on Toby's bed and considered the question. "I think so. I kind of don't know what I'm getting into. I mean... is this going to, like, shatter my psyche or anything?"
Toby smiled reassuringly. "Nah. Might stir things up a bit, though. But, I've never done anything like this before, you know? So, be prepared."
"Okay." Randy nodded, knowing that this might be his best chance to find a lead. "So... What do we do?"
"Lay down and get comfy."
Randy complied, stretching himself out comfortably on the bed. Toby sat down cross-legged near his head once he was situated.
"Now, close your eyes and relax."
Closing his eyes, Randy tried to clear his mind, stilling the random thoughts that flickered about his consciousness. He felt Toby place a hand on his head gently and smiled a bit.
::You ready?::
::As ready as I'll ever be.::
A moment later, he felt his presence in his mind. He felt almost as though he were two people at once, though he could clearly distinguish between himself and Toby. It was a distinctly odd feeling, yet somehow reassuring.
::I'm going to start looking. Remember, they're memories. They're not really happening.::
::Okay.::
For a moment, Randy felt a strong sense of reassurance and calm. Intuitively, he knew was Toby, and he relaxed and let it wash over him.
Then memories started to flicker through his mind. He was taking this morning's quiz again in Moltar's class, surprised that he actually knew some of the answers. He was eating lunch last week at school, trying to convince himself that it was better than going hungry. He was fighting zombies in a sewer the week before, with Glacier Ann at his side. They felt compressed and fleeting, some giving a strong impression of the moment, others flickering past too quickly for Randy to really grasp them.
He sensed Toby trying to reach further back. He was on a date with Rachel, noticing with anxiety the fur on his arms. He was celebrating his 16th birthday with his friends and family. He was at a nuclear power plant, holding a sign in protest. He was with his pack, sitting around a campfire listening to the older Garou tell stories. The memories were becoming less compressed and fleeting, and he sensed with some anxiety that Toby was narrowing in on the right time frame.
He was eating dinner with his family a few weeks before it happened. He was trying to help his mom remember who sang the song they just heard on the radio, days before it happened. He was reading a book while their RV was on the road, the day before. Each memory was becoming more defined, more distinct, and more "present" than the last.
Then anger, fear, and tension. He winced as the impression of his cell, silver-plated on all sides but the floor, flickered through his mind. The memories felt strained and distant at first, then suddenly surged into clarity.
Gunshots as bullets slam into his body, one after another as he screams in pain.
A needle piercing his skin.
Seeing his mother being taken to one of the lab rooms.
He could feel a sense of tension, as though Toby was struggling with his mind. At the periphery, he could sense emotions that weren't his own, but he didn't have time to consider them.
He's being shot again. Bullets tearing into his flesh. He scarcely notices the scientists nearby, talking and taking notes.
He's strapped to a table. A technician keeps drawing blood samples, lots of blood samples. As he struggles against his restraints, he's vaguely aware of the scientists in the other corner of the room. One of them, a woman in her forties with long brown hair, seems to be in charge.
He's being shot again. Bullets tear into his stomach, his chest. He's faintly aware of the scientists, vaguely notices the woman with the brown hair taking a few notes before leaving the room.
He's being beaten with a club. He's given up yelling at this point. He's vaguely aware of another one of the scientists talking to the same woman.
He's strapped to a table, having more blood samples taken. Two security persons emerge from the cell corridor, dragging his mom towards a lab room.
He felt a strong surge of pain. His mother, the last time he saw her. The memories flickered for a moment, his mind feeling like it's drifting.
He's being shot again, but this time it's ''real'', it's actually happening again. Bullets tearing through his skin, pain exploding through his body. He howls in pain and agony. Bullet after bullet, devastating his chest, his arms, his legs, feeling like the terror would never end.
Then it all vanished, and he was in a strange place. Roaring in agony and flying off the bed with unnatural speed, he shifted into his wereform. He crashed against a bookcase, sending books and trinkets flying. Ferocious, animalistic, and wild, he looked around the room.
A moment passed. The wild flicker faded from his eyes and his posture relaxed, his back and shoulders slumping. He recognized Toby, looking at him with what looked like fear, tears on his face. His growl of a voice was pained and sorrowful. "Toby?"
"Randy?" He paused for a moment, looking and sounding very shaken. "Are you... okay?"
Nodding a little, Randy noticed the books at his feet and felt glad he didn't send anything through the wall. He swallowed hard and loped over to Toby, sitting on the bed next to him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Fine. Pardon me just a moment." His voice strained, Toby wobbled to his feet, then headed towards his door.
"Toby? Where are you going?" Randy stood slowly, watching cautiously.
"I'll be right back."
Randy followed him to the door and watched him walk down the hall to the bathroom. Scarcely a moment later, he heard Toby start vomiting. Eyes widening with surprise and alarm, he loped quickly to the bathroom and knelt next to Toby as he emptied out everything in his stomach, then tried unsuccessfully to vomit up more.
"Toby..."
"Doctor Strobel. Search for Doctor Strobel. She's the senior scientist on the project."
Randy's eyes widened. "You have a name? I mean, you're sure?"
"It was mentioned by several of the scientists." Toby looked for a moment like he might vomit again, but he steadied himself. "They all were deferring to her."
"You... got me a name." Randy was overwhelmed, the pain of the past mingling with new hope for the future.
He finally knew what to look for when he broke into Crey.