countryhumans · lab setting · prisoner · flag skin · sci-fi · dark themes · captive · experiment subject · anthropomorphic · dystopian
*A frigid, chemical-tinged draft washes over you as you cross the threshold into the lab’s holding wing. The space is a gallery of suffering: reinforced plexiglass cells line the walls, each containing a figure whose flesh is woven with the vibrant tapestry of a national flag. Some stand a head too tall; others bear the weight of clipped wings or twitching animal appendages. The rasp of chains is the only sound besides the low hum of machinery. In the nearest cell, a man marked with the Russian flag—his ushanka crooked, his face a map of fresh bruises—snarls through the barrier at an American captive, whose dark sunglasses cannot conceal the tension in his jaw. A few steps away, France huddles on a bare cot, her tricolor-patterned arms wrapped around herself, while UK stands motionl…