Day 35
C.R.O.S.S. Laboratories
Aves Department
The Observatory
LETTING GO OF ELIAS, I rushed to the recently barricaded exit with him following closely behind me. Pulling out my access badge, I tried scanning the door open. To my dismay, the lock only flashed red eliciting another round of robotic warnings.
ACCESS DENIED. LOCKDOWN IN PROGRESS. ACCESS DENIED. LOCKDOWN IN PROGRESS...
I cursed. Taking a few steps away from the door, I looked around to survey our surroundings. All the exits were blocked off and from the looks of it, whatever was inside the compound was determined to keep everyone else here too.
I tried wracking my brain for a plan, but the constant alarm screeches and flashing lights made it impossible to focus and I found myself blanking on forming any possible ideas of escape.
With a sigh, I ran a shaky hand through my disheveled hair. I let my gaze fall to the grass beneath my feet as I let the reality of the situation sink in.
Suddenly, I felt fingers brush against my cheek. Looking up, I realized Elias was a lot closer than I thought he was. While I was lost in thought, he had put himself between me and the door. His brilliant white wings were fully spread and curved protectively to shield me from the thing he thought was causing me so much distress. Meeting his eyes, I met Elias's worried look with a hopeless one of my own.
We were trapped. Completely at the mercy of whoever or whatever was on the other side of the door.
Glancing back down at my access badge, I sighed, shoving the useless thing back into my pocket. While doing so, my hand brushed against my phone, giving me an idea.
Looking back over at Elias, his blue eyes watched me with curiosity as I began forming a plan. A potentially dangerous and extremely risky plan, but it was only thing I could think to do.
Besides, considering the situation, it seemed like one of my only options. Pulling out my phone, I dialed the three digit number that would hopefully be our way out of the compound.
One way or another.
An image of the worse possible scenario played out in my mind, causing me to shiver involuntarily. Images of me being held back by handcuffs kicking and screaming while officers tried to take Elias away burned their way into my thoughts. They felt so real that a new fear blossomed inside me. I shook my head to rid myself of these thoughts. I needed to be strong. We would get through this. We would be okay.
As I was making the call, something slammed into the door from the other side and immediately I took a few steps back.
An enraged growl followed, vibrating the ground beneath us sending chills down my spine.
Not even seconds later, a series of loud bangs erupted from the door as the thing slammed itself against it over and over.
Whatever was on the other side of the door wanted in, badly.
I looked at Elias who still stood confidently between me and the door. His nails had begun to elongate into deadly talons and his wings were prickled and spread to full capacity, prepared to fight whatever threat was on the other side.
The thought made my stomach twist.
Whatever made that sound sounded feral, and nothing I wanted Elias to come into contact with.
By the next bang, the metal began to split open, giving us a glimpse of elongated claws coated in black fur.
Grabbing Elias by the arm, I pulled him away from the door. Together we ran deeper into the Observatory when a loud screeching noise sounded from behind us. Looking back, I watched in horror as the metal door was ripped open, leaving a big enough gap for the creature to push its way inside.
Once through the door, the creature's nostrils sniffed the air frantically until it paused, catching a scent. I watched as it's deranged red eyes trained themselves on me, and it charged. Terrified, I stood there frozen, until I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and lift.
Next thing I knew I was a few feet off the ground and rising as Elias began to fly us, until he stopped with a yelp. The wolf had bitten into his leg, and with a yank, Elias and I tumbled back to the ground.
Sprawled out in the grass, I groaned as I rolled over. Looking around, I saw that Elias was beginning to get up from where he fell a few yards ahead of me.
A growl sounded from behind me as I looked towards the source. My eyes widened to see the alarming sight of a large black wolf charging towards me. It's lips were pulled back in a snarl and it opened its jowls, preparing to attack.
Before I could scream, Elias thrust himself in front of me, putting himself between me and the wolf.
In a few strides the wolf was upon him, leaping towards Elias with its jowls open and snarling. Elias reached out, grabbing the wolf by the jaws and wrestling it to the ground. I could do nothing but watch as they attacked each other.
After a bit of a struggle, Elias had the wolf pinned to the ground, scratching and biting as it struggled to get free. Eventually, one of the wolf's large paws managed to reach Elias, and scratch him across his chest. Letting go of the wolf, Elias clutched the open wound, crying out in pain.
"Elias!" I yelled. Standing up, I rushed over to them only to be yanked backwards. I gasped in pain as cruel fingers wrapped around my hair, dragging me away from them.
Twisting and kicking, I was pulled across the grass to the wall beside the ripped open exit of the Observatory. Slamming me up against it, I closed my eyes in pain as thin fingers found their way to my neck. They tightened and I choked on my next breath.
Gasping for air, I opened my eyes to find the smiling figure of Dr. Grant looming above me, his cold fingers tightening their hold around my throat. His eyes gleamed with sinister success as he loomed over my struggling form. Grabbing a his arms, I dug my nails into his skin. With a growl, he loosened his grip enough for me to speak.
"Let me go!" I snarled, kicking at him fruitlessly.
"Not a chance, you're one troublesome intern I cannot wait to rid myself of," Dr. Grant said smugly.
In the background, I could hear Elias growl. Despite wresting with the wolf, his eyes were trained on us. With a deep breath, Elias grabbed the wolf and tossed the creature aside as if it weighed no more than those 500 pounds weights in the Training Room.
Elias's eyes burned with blue fire as he approached, directing the full extent of his rage at Dr. Grant and his hands that were currently around my neck.
However, the wolf recovered with unnatural speed and began charging once again.
"Elias watch out!" I rasped.
Elias turned right in time to see the wolf come up behind him. The wolf launched itself at Elias, who grabbed the creature by the neck to stave off its deadly bites. Despite the struggle, the wolf was able to pin Elias down, snarling and snapping at his throat.
Elias was barely keeping his attacks at bay. The wound was taking its toll on his body and exhaustion was beginning to take over. He was covered in a mix of sweat and blood and I wanted nothing more than to rush to him.
Rage boiled up inside me and I struggled harder. My nails began to draw blood until Dr. Grant groaned in pain, brutally slamming me up against the wall and dropping me to the floor.
I hit the ground with a sickening thud and pain blossomed throughout my body, especially at the back of my head. Against the throbbing pain, I forced myself into an upright position with my back against the wall, sucking in uneven breaths as I fought to stay conscious.
Dr. Grant kneeled before me and for the first time I was actually able to look at him. Not through a monitor, but up close in person.
Maybe it was the blooming concussion, but up close I could see his grey eyes were actually a dull shade of blue. With his dark hair, he almost looked like...
Like...
No.
My eyes widened. "It can't be. You wouldn't..." I whispered glancing between him and Elias in horror.
Dr. Grant's eyes gleamed. He watched my face as my brain reluctantly put together an awful truth. As the realization dawned on me, Dr. Grant seemed to realize my thought process, and his thin lips slid into a cruel smile.
"Jeanine was right, you are perceptive," He began, standing back up to loom over me. "Do you honestly believe that after the Board rejected my proposal to cross animal and human DNA the Board would let me anywhere near human donors? Ha! I had to be resourceful to get what I needed."
I felt sick as another question formed in my mind. "If that's true, what about the embryos?" I asked. "Where did you get all those from? For all 43 trials!"
He let out a dark chuckle that made me instantly regret asking. "A couple of different sources, including desperate interns like yourself willing to do anything to make a buck. But the most prominent source was one I was more familiar with."
I swallowed. "Was?"
Dr. Grant ran a hand through his greying midnight hair, "Oh yes, you see that's the thing about women. They catch feelings. She didn't want to stay an anonymous donor and she got too involved, acted too maternally. So naturally, I had to put a stop to it," Dr. Grant added, waving his hand in the air dismissively. His tone was far too casual for the subject at hand.
"Y-you killed her?" I stammered.
"Yes, rather recently actually," Dr. Grant quipped.
My mind put together the pieces, Dr. Pierce's motherly actions, her screams only minutes ago cut off my an unknown force. Now maybe not so unknown, I thought to myself as I stared at her killer. Disgust, shock, and rage all hit me at once and I found myself fueled by the strength of these emotions.
"Let us go, you monster!" I yelled, finding the strength to stand. Once I was up, I clenched my fist and, with my remaining strength, threw a punch towards his face.
Catching my fist, he slammed my hand above my head on the wall.
"Nice try, but you and I both know I can't let either of you walk out of here," Dr Grant mused, tightening his grip on my wrist.
Suddenly, the wail of police sirens echoed from somewhere beyond the Observatory. Dr. Grant's eyes flashed with confusion before molding into anger as he glanced back at me.
It was my turn to smile. "But you will let us go...if you want enough time to hide from the police headed our way," I said as I reached into my pocket for my phone, flashing him my call history with the black numbers 911 at the top.
I took his stunned silence as an excuse to continue. "And unless you ever want your secret to get out, you will leave us alone. If they find out what your really up to, they'll do more than just cut your budget. I don't know about you, but I bet your line of work will prove difficult behind bars."
Dr. Grant snarled, mentally debating the issue in his mind before abruptly releasing me and calling off the wolf.
"Enough!" He yelled and the wolf immediately ceased his attack on Elias.
"Shift," Dr. Grant commanded, and the wolf whined as his bones began to snap and bend as its body morphed and straightened into that of a man.
My stomach twisted and I fought back the bile rising in my throat from the gruesome display and gut wrenching sounds.
What the hell was that thing?
Once fully transformed, the now nude subject limped to Dr. Grant's side with his head hung low and his golden eyes glazed over.
He looked exhausted. Both physically and mentally. I felt a wave of sympathy for the creature that was cut short when I heard a dissatisfied grunt come from Dr. Grant.
My eyes went back to Dr. Grant who simply glared at me. "Perhaps I underestimated you."
I huffed. "That makes one of us."
His lips curled back up into a smile more reminiscent of a snarl before adding. "We'll be seeing each other again Miss Hall...of that I am sure."
With those final unsettling words, Dr. Grant turned, rushing out of the broken door with his creature following closely behind like an obedient dog.
Once I was sure they were gone, I wasted no time rushing to Elias. He was lying on his back with his wings spread out the grass. I took comfort in the fact I could see his chest slowly rising and falling. When I came close enough to get a good look at him, I gasped at the sight.
He had deep claw wounds across his chest that soaked his shirt in blood. His arms has similar scrape marks, albeit not as deep, from the creature's claws. My eyes welled up with tears as I rushed to his side. Carefully, I lifted his head and placed it gently in my lap. Brushing the sweat-matted hair from his face, my eyes met his.
"Will you be able to heal?" I whispered, my throat constricting with emotion. From Dr. Grant's journals, I knew his modified genes gave him healing abilities but I didn't know the full extent of them.
He nodded and I closed my eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. I opened my eyes at the feeling of fingers tucking my hair behind my ear. Looking at Elias, he gave me a weak smile that I did my best to return.
I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that, but the sound of officers approaching was our cue to leave.
"We can't let them find you," I said, hurriedly helping Elias into a sitting position. "We have to get going, I can help you up," I added as I grabbed Elias's arm and I swung it around my shoulder. Helping him to his feet, we made our way through the broken door, and out of the Observatory forever.