A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

PTA Meeting

Summary: The team catch pterodactyls, Carlos meets some absolutely non-angelic beings and getting behind on the lab rent has sinister consequences.

By the time they got back to the lab, it had been a long, long night for the scientists. I mean, pterodactyls? At a PTA meeting?!

Carlos had once again worked through the night to aid the efforts to put the pterodactyls back in whichever crazy void world that they had sprung from and chart the observations. It was the third night in a row that he had neglected sleep or rest, and it was beginning to concern his fellow scientists.

Carlos didn't see what all the fuss was about on that front. A scientist should be prepared to work for hours on end if it meant the goal was reached.
As for eating, well, he didn't exactly ignore the food, he'd just sort of forgotten about it.

Ellie, of course, had dismissed that as "utter bullshit" and the moment the last pterodactyl scan was uploaded she, with Jeffries' help, had taken Carlos away from the laboratory, made him have a large piece of Perez's homemade lasagne - the man had turned out to be a great cook, who would have guessed? - before sending him to bed and demanding that they didn't want to see him up and about for at least 12 hours.

Carlos had obliged, on the condition that he could go to the meeting about the lead door at 2pm the next morning. He really wanted to go; partially because there was apparently a lead door outside of town that protected Night Vale from plutonium and partially because he'd heard that 'Old Woman Josie' would be going. He wanted to see these so-called "angels" that she claimed existed. Carlos had turned his back on the idea of angels and their heavenly father being real a long time ago, much to the disappointment of his grandmother. He was still pondering the angel's existence as he drifted off to sleep.

~

Carlos awoke to the sound of Cecil's voice drifting from the radio.

"...PTA meeting ended in bloodshed, as a rift in space-time split open in the Main Street Recreation Center Auditorium, setting loose several confused and physically aggressive pteranodons. The glowing portal remained open and shrieked incessantly..."

Pteranodons? Carlos laughed tiredly. Pteranodons, Cecil. Really?
Carlos heaved himself out of bed. He hated to admit it, but he had really needed the rest. He looked at the clock. 13:00. He couldn't be sure that that was the actual time, it being Night Vale, so he checked multiple clocks. At least 70% of the clocks around him said about that time, so he figured that was good enough.

After getting dressed and grabbing a bite for lunch (again, he was forced to eat), it was agreed that Carlos would go to the meeting, whilst Perez and Jeffries would go out to the door near the canyon to have a look at the subject.

"Anyone have any gum?" Carlos asked, when they reached the meeting to drop him off. He had neglected to clean his teeth like an idiot.

"I do. Picked it up from the Ralph's." Jeffries said. "They're weird flavours, but definite' non-lethal."

"What do you mean 'weird flavours'?"

"Well the gum is all from th'same packet, but every bit I've had so far has been a differen' flavour. I'm pretty sure I got calamari on Wednesday. It's not so bad. Natalia had a piece yesterday though tha' tasted like....oh, what did she say?"

"Stale blood. It is apparently a popular flavour." Perez said. He was frowning.

"Huh. Okay, then." Carlos said.

He took one and put it in his mouth gingerly. Then a smile lit up his face.

"What is it?" Jeffries said eagerly.