u/Indriggy

Little Buddy gets a present from his new foster parent

One time when he was younger back in captivity, Little Buddy found an abandoned E-PDA left by a careless staff member. He then proceeded to find a video game installed on the device and play it for two hours before he was discovered. It was the first game he's ever played!

The infection started slowly, barely noticeable at first. Just a little itchy around the area where the thing had bitten him.

Then it got worse. Much, much worse. Little Buddy’s paw started to burn like he had dunked it in boiling water, the skin around the cut swelled and reddened, spreading across his paw like wildfire. Foolishly, he bandaged it up and tried to sleep it off, thinking it would disappear. How stupid he was to think that.

When he awoke hours later, his paw had blackened, parting the fur, he noticed it was already spreading up his arm. Worst of all, he couldn’t feel anything. His training came back to him. He remembered the… What did the humans call it? Yes, the video. How to treat severely infected limbs.

Shaking like a leaf, Little Buddy took the tourniquet from the first aid kit, wrapping it tight around his arm, cutting off blood flow. Using a marker he had found in an abandoned life pod, he marked the spot with black ink. His entire body trembled as he raised the primitive survival knife towards his arm. Suddenly, the gravity of his situation hit him as he realized he was about to cut off his arm. His chest started to rise and fall as he started to panic. He didn’t want to do this; he’d rather do anything but this… But he had too.

Little Buddy gripped the knife tightly, his toes digging into the sand as he brought the knife closer.

“O-Okay…” He said out loud, “On three… I’m going to do it on three. One… Two… Three…” He pushed the blade onto the dotted line, shrieking in pain as the steel pierced his flesh like butter, orange, alien blood drooling out. He dropped the knife onto the sand, eyes welling up with tears, “N-No… I c-can’t… I c-can’t…” He batted the knife away, catching a glimpse of his infected paw as he did.

If he didn’t do this… He would certainly die. Lose a limb, or die here alone in this cave, swiftly forgotten, another casualty. He picked up the knife again, his grip much looser this time. “I… I can do this…” He told himself, “I can do it… I h-have no…” He sobbed, tears running down his face, “I have no choice…”

His scream echoed across the cave as the knife pierced flesh again. He pulled the knife away, its blade covered in orange blood, “Fuck you!!” he swore, “Fuck it all!” He threw the knife at the wall, hugging his knees and crying into them.

“Help me…” He whimpered, knowing nobody would answer his plea, “Somebody help me… Please…”

Against all odds, Little Buddy made it to the fifth layer, where his final challenge awaited him. But he's come so far, he's not going down without a fight.

The younger experiments are given recreation time throughout the day to keep morale high. The rec room has a small variety of toys, books and board games, which are rotated every month. The toys and board games carefully selected, never containing sharp pieces to prevent staff harm or self-termination. The room is closely monitored at all times via cameras, and all rec room items are removed from the experiments when their time is over.

Little Buddy loves recreation time. Stuffed toys are the only thing that bring him joy, and the time he gets to spend playing are always his favorite. He always asks the humans if he can have one in his designated chamber, but they never agree. Experiements aren't allowed to have things.

Little Buddy, my expie, comforting another unlucky survivor on the brink of death. This is only my second time drawing an expie but I'm happy with his this turned out :D