Chapter 46
Seri took a deep breath and sent the two men standing guard outside a hesitant and likely awkward smile, before pushing into the private backroom within Hidden Places.
The small room was round, and held a single medium-sized circular table with booth seating.
The walls above the booth, that looked to have sprouted up from the floor, gave the illusion of a forest at night, with branches coming up and dividing randomly.
The floating lantern over the table was bright enough to see and eat, but dim enough that it didn’t ruin the atmosphere.
Seri found Emmet was already inside, the human flinching the second he walked in. He couldn’t help but notice that Emmet had scooted far enough into the booth that he was directly facing the door.
Dr. Emmet Finley was short and on the thin side, and his pale skin seemed even more so with the contrast of the maroon-colored turtleneck he had on.
The professor’s short brown hair was as curly as it had always been, if not possibly streaked with a few more strands of white than before. He also looked tired and…nervous.
Emmet’s gaze was just a little too wide and fearful. The bags under his dark-green eyes stood out starkly against his skin, the large black frames of his glasses not hiding them in the least.
The man was wringing his hands together on the table, clasping them just a hair too tightly. And he could tell Emmet’s jaw was clenched, even as he sent him a smile that likely was as awkward as the one Seri sent back.
Aside from the tiredness and stress, Emmet didn’t look much different than the last time he’d seen him, even though it had been years now.
Oddly, Seri would even say the human possibly looked younger.
He would swear the lines around the man’s mouth, and at the corner of his eyes, seemed lighter than before.
Which didn’t make sense, as Emmet was in his late forties now.
Of course, he could just be mis-remembering. It wasn’t as if the man had too many wrinkles to begin with. Emmet had never looked his age, which definitely spoke more on the human’s genetics than anything.
Clearing his throat, Seri slid into the left side of the booth. “Hello. It’s been…”
“A while?” Emmet finished for him with a hesitant laugh.
“Yeah.” He licked his lips, hesitating for a second before asking, “What’s going on, Emmet?”
It still felt weird to use the man’s first name.
Back when he’d been studying under him, he’d always used Dr. Finley.
But that was what the human had insisted he call him when they’d reconnected.
Seri sort of assumed that the usually quiet man, aside from when his temper flared, had been looking for a friend.
Emmet grimaced, his gaze flicking around, as if he was either looking for small listening devices, or waiting for people to pop out of the shadows, which…been there, done that—still did it on occasion…
“I…” The man swallowed. “I mentioned that private study I joined…didn’t I?”
“You did…vaguely?”
Emmet wrung his hands together. “It was…fine, at first. Things seemed normal. Multiple tests and experiments, with differentiating variables, taking place at once, endless reports and so on… But then the others I work with started acting odd.”
“In what way?”
The human sighed. “I was supposed to be the lead, but once there, I quickly found I had no authority over the experiments, or the other scientists in any way. In fact, I have never even been privy to what exactly they were doing. Only that it seemed, based on the vague and mostly doctored reports I managed to get my hands on, that they were expanding on my own results. But I don’t really know, I still don’t know.
“I suppose it’s not totally abnormal. I’ve come across many coworkers who have been extremely protective over their work. The odd part is the way they started acting. Like they were hiding something, not from everyone, just from…me.
“As time went by, I realized not only was I not the lead, but I was someone they were purposely keeping out of the loop. And I’m beginning to think this wasn’t a recent development. That I’ve in fact been excluded from the very first day.”
Seri pursed his lips, eyeing the human. He couldn’t help but note there was this almost hesitant fear shining in the man’s eyes.
“There’s more, isn’t there? You seem afraid of something.
I'm sure you no doubt have confidentiality clauses in your contract, but what exactly were you hired to do? Because I can’t help but think that is the reason you are here. ”
Emmet took a drink of water, before taking a deep breath and divulging, “I won’t say who, but I was hired to research and find a solution, likely a DNA-altering one, to the fertility issues of a particular Cryptid species.
And I’m pretty sure I had uhh—” The human pushed his glasses higher on his nose, his hand trembling slightly. “—a breakthrough on that…but…”
“But…?”
“I think I was mistaken, or—” The man licked his lips. “—rather lied to about who exactly they plan to use this drug on. And I think I asked…one too many questions. Or maybe it had nothing to do with that, and more just the whole reason I was hired in the first place…”
His brow rose. “And who exactly do you think they mean to use it on?”
“Humans…” Emmet whispered. “I don't think they plan to fix the problem, I think they plan to create a separate—” The human wrinkled his nose. “—breeding pool…”
Seri frowned. “Just because something may alter DNA, doesn’t mean it will ultimately turn someone into something they are not. That would take a lot more drastic experimental intervention.”
“I know that… I know that what I created wouldn’t be able to do that, but what I don’t know is what everyone else is up to, and I feel like I’m being…” Emmet trailed off, sagging a bit.
“What, Emmet? What is it?”
“Like I’m being watched and followed when I leave the facility.
But it’s more than that…I’ve been getting sick.
I did some tests on myself and everything came out normal, but I think they were tampered with.
Hell, my white blood count wasn't even elevated to suggest I had been sick, or that I am sick, but something is wrong.” Emmet rubbed his face, and let out a shaky laugh.
“I’m probably just being paranoid. I haven’t…
been sleeping well. I feel like that’s when they… they do whatever they are doing.”
That told him that either they had access to him at night, or Emmet believed they did. “You are staying in housing they supplied?” he asked, for clarity’s sake.
“Yes, the facility has dorms.”
The man looked exhausted, but sleep deprived or not, Seri didn’t think he would exaggerate or…
As far as he knew, Emmet was not someone with paranoid tendencies. The man could be overly logical to a fault. So, if the human thought they were experimenting on him, Seri believed him.
“Is there anything back at the dorm that you can’t live without?”
Emmet’s mouth twisted into a confused frown. “No?”
“Then let me make some calls, and get you to a safe location.”
The human’s eyes widened. “I-I don’t… I mean, that’s not necessary. I just—I’m sure I am just being paranoid.” The man took a calming breath, running his hand over his chest. “I didn’t come here for you to, uh...do anything. I just needed someone to talk to, and couldn’t do it over the phone.”
“Emmet, I may be a lot more paranoid now than I was when we first met, but even before everything I went through, I would say, feeling like you are being followed, and believing that they are experimenting on you in your sleep, are major warning signs that you should get the hell out of there while you still can. Because sure, you could be wrong, but what if you aren’t? ”
Emmet swallowed hard, staring silently for a moment. He could see the worry and doubt in the human’s eyes, but also the rational mind trying to shove it all away as nonsense, and sadly, he knew when the man’s expression became stern that the latter part had won out.
“No. No, I’m fine. I haven’t been sleeping well, and obviously, that is making me paranoid. Paranoia is a common symptom of sleep deprivation. And like I said before, I just needed someone to talk about it to… So, thank you for listening, Seri.”
Seri sighed. “Okay, but I want you to tell me where the hell this place is, and text me or call me if you find you need more than just someone to listen,” he said, before blurting, “If you think you are in danger, and you need me to send people to come get you, send me a text saying ‘the birds are chirping’.
It sounds stupid, but it is something you would never send me and that's the point.”
Emmet just pulled out a small pocket notebook—something the man had always carried with him since he’d known him, despite most people never having paper anything anymore—and started writing on it.
The fact that the human didn’t argue, told him deep down how worried he really was.
As Emmet tore the sheet off and handed it over, Seri frowned on seeing the address.
“You’re local? Why didn’t you mention it, we could have met up sooner?”
“I…” Emmet’s pale cheeks flushed as he pocketed his notebook again, his hands once again twisting nervously. “I know how busy you are, and I…didn’t want to bother you.”
Despite his worries about the human’s situation, Seri smiled. How hadn’t he realized that Emmet was as socially awkward as him? “You aren’t a bother, Emmet, you’re my friend. You calling to meet up, even if it's just to eat, wouldn’t be an inconvenience to me.”
“I-I am?” the human sputtered, his face reddening further, before blurting, “I mean…I’d like that.”
Him calling the man his friend was stretching it a bit, considering how little they talked, but he decided that it was now something he was going to make an effort with, as it seemed like Emmet could use a friend.
Goddess knows he could use a few more. Not too many more…
but a few. Crowds were just not things he liked, even if he liked all of the people there.
He wouldn’t want to deal with everyone at once.
“I’d like it too. Now, back to the possible illegal experiments…please, text me as soon as it gets too much. Even if that happens to be minutes after you leave here.”
Emmet took a deep breath. “I promise.”
Here was hoping, by then, it wouldn’t be too late…