Avian

The Assistant

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Ava awoke to the sound of typing on a computer near the same wall as her cell. The figure of the assistant from yesterday sat at the computer. She peeked around through the glass wall. He was a shorter man, with a kind face (although, his actions so far did not prove that true.) Observing him carefully, she could see his eyes flickering back and forth from the keyboard to the screen. It took him a while to notice her peering up at him. Capturing his attention, he quickly glanced at Ava surprised.  She ducked back a little, trying to avoid his gaze. He quickly looked back at the screen, smiling. Something about this man seemed surprisingly more genuine then that horrid Howard. He wore a card around his neck, it read, Assist: Thomas Waters.

He finished up the typing, and seemed to know she was observing him, every now and then he would grin at his screen. After printing a few papers he stood up from his chair. Quickly, Ava backed into the corner of the cage. He stepped in front of her cell, but all she could see was his waist. He slowly bent down and curiously looked at Ava. There was nowhere for her to go. 

"Its alright." He said with a soft smile

She breathed heavily, This was the man that stuck her with the needle earlier. 'Buddy, things were not alright, that was a fact.' She thought. With a clip board in hand he wrote down a few things, and then would look back at Ava. His eyes were wandering all over her. It was indeed, uncomfortable. When he seemed done, he moved to a small box on a desk and place some contents on the side of the cage. A small tray appeared out of the wall within the cage. On it were a combination of fruit, and nuts with water. Here eyes widened. She was starving, the color contrasted the stark white cell. It was just what she needed! Glancing back, he appeared to have moved out of sight. Inching forward, she took a blueberry in both hands. Then without hesitation sunk her teeth. Blueberry juice dripped from her lips. It was amazing! She quickly took the water in the small cup and chugged it, wiping her mouth with her forearm. A quiet chuckle from beside the cage caught her off guard, realizing that the assistant never left. He was standing there the whole time, she gulped, embarrassed.

Then suddenly a door slid open on the opposite wall. It was Doc. Howard! Ava put things down and backed up in response.

"Good morning Waters!" He greeted excitedly.

"Good morning sir."

How's our little female doing?"

"Just having some breakfast." He answered.

Doc. Howard moved to one side of the room, washing his hands in a large basin and put on some gloves. Ava's heart raced, as flight or flight started kicking in. But she remembered what Tynon said. She couldn't ruin her only chance of escape. She took a deep breath and tried to suppress the feeling.

Doc. Howard made his way over to Ava's enclosure, peering in at her. "Oh yes, she's looking good and healthy." He smiled shifting to Tynons cage. "Cant say the same for this one, but he will do."

Ava glared. It hurt her to hear him talk about Tynon that way.

He glanced over at her cell. She bravely looked up at his eyes. He stared at her for a few seconds. "We might need to sedate this one before handling, just in case." Ava's eyes widened. 

He chuckled, "No?...yes, go ahead." He told Waters.

Waters pushed something on the control screen. immediately a gas filled the chamber. Ava breathed heavily trying avoid the spreading gas. Her body started to feel numb once again and she collapsed.

Waters open the top of the cage with his card and reached for Ava. He gently scooped her up in his hands and carried her to the middle table where Doc. Howard sat. Ava was scared inside, hoping nothing bad would happen.