she made her way through the cage at a rapid clip.
It didn’t take her long to reach the small faux-rock “den” hidden among some of the rocks. One side opened to a one-way glass where observations could be made without the specimen aware of being watched as it slept. Charlie had to duck to enter it, but was glad to be able to drop her large bundle. With nimble fingers, she untied the bindings and made rapid work of spreading out the bedding the best she could. It all still looked like scraping, poking straw to her, and that didn’t scream restful.
Satisfied that her work would be good enough to meet the needs of any animal brought in, Charlie slipped out of the den once more and made her way to the rear of the cage. There she came across the natural fountain protruding like a waterfall from one wall. She activated it with her codes and watched the small stream trickle down the rock face. That would pump plenty of clean water into the habitat for the animal to refresh itself. The water that collected in the stone basin would be recycled and reused by the fountain.
Charlie brushed her hands off. A loud tap on the glass sounded just as she neared the access door, and her heart jumped as she spun around to stare wide-eyed at the source. Erik watched her with a grim expression as he waved, gesturing for her to come out and join him.
Exiting the habitat again, she walked over to his side with an uncertain smile.
“Boy, you look grim. Who died?” she joked.
He shook his head. “Two people, and a third lost his hand and forearm. The creature woke up as we attempted to remove it from the containment unit on the field transport. It’s…” He paled. “It’s monstrous, Charlie. It looks like us, a little, but like something contorted in a nightmare. Keeping it here is a mistake. I tried to tell Dr. Shelby, but she wouldn’t listen to me.” He shuddered and gave her a hard look. “Don’t trust that thing, Charlie. Don’t let it anywhere near you. Come on. Let’s get the fuck out of here while they get that thing in there. Our job is done for the time being.”
Charlie nodded and followed him back into their work room. He immediately poured cold coffee into a mug and followed it with a splash of something from the flask he procured from inside his jacket. He glanced up and caught her watching. His lips twisted wryly.
“A bit of liquid courage,” he muttered, as he tipped the cup back and took a huge swallow.
Charlie wrinkled her nose. “Do you really think you should have that out?”
“When you’ve seen what I saw, you will want a share too. Trust me. In fact, I should give you some now to fortify you.”
He poured another ration of spiked coffee and lifted the cup to her. Charlie shook her head in polite refusal. Erik shrugged and threw back that cup too. He wasn’t going to be in any condition to do anything at the rate he was going.
A throat cleared from the entrance, and Charlie glanced over, cringing to have possibly been caught with alcohol out in the lab. Even though she hadn’t accepted it, she still felt the weight of its presence as if casting guilt upon her just by its proximity. Fuck Erik and his booze. Where the hell did he even get it? She knew damn well there was nowhere alcohol could be bought, and it couldn’t be taken off the premises at the tavern.
Dr. Shelby sighed and rolled her eyes away from Erik, focusing her attention on Charlie. Only then did she notice just how pale the scientist looked. Dr. Shelby nervously clutched her data sheet hard enough that her knuckles turned white. Her lips pinched together as she appeared to gather her thoughts.
“Charlene, Dr. Santo wants to go over a few special instructions that he has for the new specimen. I’m sure Erik has already warned you about it, but if it poses a problem that interferes with your assigned duties, I need to know immediately. I can’t have a member of my team incapacitated from carrying out their regular schedule.” She gave Erik a meaningful look.
The tech smiled nervously in the face of her displeasure and wiggled his cup at her. “No worries, Doctor. I’m getting a handle on it.”
“Just so we’re clear that this will be the only time