Creature of Creation

Part 3 - Chapter Five - Memories

Sam wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. The freckles on her chest and arms glistened. She reached up and tied her mass of curls into a high ponytail to get the heat off the back of her neck.

"He better get here soon. I need a break."

"You don't have to wait," Gabriel said. "You can go rest and I'll finish up here." He was dying of heat himself, but didn't want to be idle. He found it made his mind wander too fast and too far.

"I don't want you to have to do this all by yourself."

"No, please get some rest. You shouldn't be exerting yourself..."

She cut him off. "Don't be so old fashioned. I'm perfectly capable of sorting through junk."

"Hey, it's not junk."

She grinned and pecked him on the cheek. Her lips were soft against his skin and he wanted to scoop her up into his arms, but Zach would be here any minute.

"Did you want me to get you anything?"

"Well, a glass of water would be nice."

He playfully smacked her bum when she walked out of the room. She laughed and headed downstairs.

"Gabe, he's here!"

Gabriel hurried down the steep staircase and met them in the kitchen. Gabriel and Sam hovered around Zach while he tried to get through the door.

"What happened?" Gabriel asked. "Did she tell you anything?"

"What did you think?" Sam said.

Zach stepped back to get enough room to kick his sneakers off. "Geeze guys, give me a minute."

They backed off and joined him at the table.

Zach summarised most of what Cameron had told him, but had left out the personal details of her affair and pregnancy. When he finished speaking, he dug the jump-drive out of his pocket and placed it on the table. "And she gave me this. She said it has files and pictures on it that she grabbed before she left."

Gabriel brought the memory-stick to his eye as though he had x-ray vision. "What do you think is in here? Why couldn't she use whatever is on here to get the lab shut down all those years ago?"

"I'm getting there," Zach said. "I'm going to sift through the drive to see what I can pull out that might give us a lead, or at least more information."

"What if it's a virus?" Sam asked. "She could still be in league with them, and want to sabotage us."

"That's unlikely. She told me a lot of other stuff that gave me insight into the lab. I promised I wouldn't include it in the article, but I think it would help you understand more about what's going on, or at least it helped me." Zach told them the rest of Cameron's story.

"That poor woman," said Sam. Her hand pressed to the base of her throat. "I can't imagine what she's been through."

Gabriel was sickened. He leaned back in his chair. "The more I learn about this place..." he rubbed at his temples. He couldn't help but picture Sam in such a predicament and his stomach rolled. "I just hope we're taken more seriously."

"We have additional evidence," Zach assured him. "We have the projects with us, or at least we will, when it's time to release the article."

"Zach, she might..." said Gabriel.

"It doesn't hurt to be optimistic Gabe," said Sam. "I'm sure Clay and Anpiel will both be back before the week is up."

"I really hope so," Gabriel agreed, though he had become uneasy. He noticed Sam looking at him with concern.