that is excused. This is just like any other specimen. Once the shock wears off, you will see that, I believe. Charlene, you may go.”
Charlie nodded and squeezed past Dr. Shelby into the corridor. She turned down the hall that led to habitat thirteen. She wasn’t quite out of earshot when she heard the woman’s clipped voice addressing Erik. Although she couldn’t make out the angry words, the tone was unmistakable. She didn’t look forward to confronting whatever had caused the uproar, but it may have been better than being disciplined with Erik.
She would deal with whatever it was… Just as she had dealt with every strange and unpleasant thing that came with colony life.
As she neared the habitat, her eyes were drawn to the glass. In the distance, she could make out an indistinct pale gray shape lying in the grass. She squinted in an attempt to see it better, but with great reluctance tore her gaze away to focus on Dr. Santo. He was standing only a few feet away from the habitat, leaving a large path between himself and the cage.
Charlie stopped and tucked her hands into the pockets of her tunic as she waited patiently for her presence to be noticed. She had learned the hard way that interrupting any of the scientists for any reason shy of an emergency didn’t go well. As he had his back to her, conferring in deep conversation with the small group of men and women clustered around him, Charlie knew she had no other recourse.
Pinching back a sigh of exasperation, Charlie turned back to face the habitat. Pale white and gray fur stirred in the environmental air circulation within the habitat that was set to mimic a gentle breeze. She peered at the fur, making out the slightly darker gray striations through it. The body, from what she could see, was enormous. A long back, comparable in size to that of a horse. Yet there was something more that was… unusual.
A frown creased her face as she slipped closer to the glass barrier.
What was it?
Her nose grazed the glass. A long tail rose, covered with a row of relaxed spines, and the sides of the beast’s belly heaved with an indrawn breath. Its ribcage was enormous. The body twitched, heaving, and she recoiled from the glass as the specimen rolled over, lifting a bizarre secondary torso from the ground.
Spittle hung from its mouth, fangs exposed in a grimace as it twisted its upper torso where it was rooted to its lower torso in a way that appeared horrifyingly unnatural. Four arms—each barbed with a long, thick spike thrusting back from the elbow—flailed in the air. Wicked claws splayed, and a rattling snarl carried through the audio receptors as the creature twisted its body again, pushing up onto four legs.
Though its legs were muscled with large, flexible paws like a cat, in proportion to its body they were much longer than a feline’s, the ratio closer to a greyhound or a large horse. The creature spun around, disoriented, teeth bared in a terrible grimace, its vaguely humanoid upper torso twisting back and forth as it took in the habitat. At last, it spun around and faced her, the pale hair that grew in a long mane from its head falling around its face and shoulders.
One green eye stared at her, the slit pupil expanding, as the other—a green glowing sphere—spun in its socket. It seemed to focus entirely on her, its lip curling back. The tail lashed out, the spines scratching deep with a loud shriek against the reinforced glass as they made contact, cutting grooves into the surface.
A piercing scream shot out of her as she stumbled away from the habitat, back right into a pair of firm hands that grasped her upper arms, keeping her in place.
“Charlene, I see you’ve met our newest acquisition. Isn’t it marvelous?” Dr. Santo asked, his mouth so close to her ear that she could feel his breath fan against her hair.
Swallowing, Charlie pulled out of his grip at an angle to put as much distance as possible between her and the thing that watched her. The creature’s mechanical eye shifted again as the four arms flexed with tension at its sides. Turning toward the head supervisor, she swallowed back her fear. She couldn’t appear weak in front of him. She dipped her head in silent agreement, earning her a stiff smile.
To Charlie’s surprise, Dr. Santo didn’t appear the least bit unsettled by