Chapter 1 #2
I guess I should tolerate him if there’s a chance we’ll end up working together. Or, the suspicious part of my mind whispers, maybe he’s so chatty because he’s some kind of company plant working undercover. “Willow Hawkins.”
I expect him to immediately start off with the questions. People always like to ask questions about being a woman in this line of work, which are usually just thinly veiled comments that I don’t belong. Instead, he seems content with my name.
The room falls back into silence. The rustling and scratching noises gradually fade to nothing. I’m the last one to finish; the man who came in after me flipped through the stack and signed everything without reading what he was agreeing to.
I wonder if our potential employers will consider that a good sign or a bad one. Because I’m certain they’re already watching us—I noticed two cameras on the walls the moment we walked in.
Barnes returns a few minutes later and collects our clipboards before moving to the television.
“I’ve got a quick video for you to watch that should answer some of the basic questions,” he says.
“It’s a bit old-fashioned, but we’ve never updated it, so bear with me here.
I’ll be back.” He hits Play on the tape and leaves us again, the door shutting behind him with a click.
Cheesy music crackles out of the TV speakers. The video shows a bird’s-eye view of the building we’re in now, slowly zooming in, before swapping to a woman standing in the front lobby. She wears thick-rimmed glasses and is dressed straight out of the ’70s.
“Welcome to the Melsbach Research Facility,” she says.
“We’re delighted that you’re interested in being a part of the security team at our top-of-the-line facility.
I’m sure you have questions about the nature of our work here, so allow me to give you an overview.
” The scene changes. The woman is now walking through the hallways of the Facility, looking over her shoulder at the camera.
It’s impossible to tell if she’s in the hallway I walked through earlier today or if it’s a different, identical one.
“As a security officer, you will have three important jobs,” she says, holding up three fingers for the camera. “First: to prevent any curious outsiders from entering the Facility. Second: to ensure the safety of the other staff within the building. And third: to keep the subjects contained.”
‘Subjects’ is the first mention of what exactly is happening within this place.
A sense of foreboding makes my skin prickle.
Ellis’s mention of aliens doesn’t seem so far-fetched now.
I hear him let out a breath at my side, his chair creaking as he leans forward, but I can’t take my eyes off the screen.
“I’m sure you’re wondering what I mean by subjects,” she says.
“As you’ll quickly realize, that question is not easily answered.
The nature of the subjects here is unusual.
In fact, you could say the unusual is what our research is all about.
” She opens a door via key card, still talking to the camera over her shoulder.
“The MRF specializes in the containment of creatures whose existence is not known to the outside world. In fact, we work very hard to ensure that the outside world never has to learn about them—or have any reason to fear them.”
A shiver runs up my spine. The other security applicants murmur among themselves, and I’m tempted to look over and gauge their reactions, but I can’t seem to tear my eyes off the television screen as the woman approaches a metal table with computer screens and other equipment.
“This is Observation Room 9,” she explains, gesturing around.
“And this is Subject X-9.” She hits a button on one console and metal shutters slide open above the desk, revealing a glass window into the next room.
The camera moves behind the woman, peering through the window over her shoulder.
It reveals a stark metal cell, and within…
I suck in a breath at the sight of the creature strapped to a table inside.
It’s a monster straight out of myth. A minotaur.
It’s easily eight feet tall, built like a tank and covered in bristly brown fur.
It lets out a bellow that is inaudible through the recording, hot breath steaming in the air above the table.
It tries to buck, horns spearing at the air above it, but can’t break free of its leather restraints.
“Is this some kind of joke?” asks the jittery man in the back row.
I’m silent, arms folded over my chest. Surprisingly, so is Ellis at my side.
The video could be a prank, pulled off with special effects, but why would they go through the trouble? Maybe it seems impossible, but I’ve been through things that most people would find unbelievable, too.
My eyes remain locked on the screen as the camera zooms in further on the strapped-down minotaur. A man in a white lab coat steps into view behind the creature, flicking a syringe before lowering it toward the beast’s thick neck. The needle draws closer, and—
The video cuts off abruptly, along with the lights, plunging the room into darkness. Someone grumbles a curse. A chair screeches behind me. I stay stock-still, head cocked, listening.
“Hello?” Ellis calls. “Somebody? Did we lose power?”
“Top-of-the-line research facility, my ass,” the older man mutters from somewhere to my left, no longer in his seat. “Can’t even keep the lights on. Are you kidding me?”
Beneath the murmur of voices, another faint sound reaches my ears: the creak of the door opening.
A whisper of a footstep, barely there.
I stand, straining to see in the darkness. My eyes are starting to adjust, revealing the outlines of chairs and bodies around me, the cracked door.
“Shut up,” I snap at the other applicants. “Somebody’s here.”
Everyone goes silent. More scraping of chairs and footsteps as the others get to their feet.
“Hello?” Ellis says uncertainly.
“Who?” the older man demands.
There’s nothing but silence in response.
I narrow my eyes, still struggling to see.
There’s no one, nothing out of place, but every hair on my body stands at full attention.
I’m certain that door was shut, and something isn’t right here.
I back up slowly, one hand behind me to make sure I don’t run into anything, so I can place my back against the wall.
I take a deep breath and catch a faint whiff of smoke.
“There’s nobody here,” the reedy man snaps after a moment. “Your imagination is getting the best of—”
The lights click on. Static hisses on the television set. I raise my hand to ward off the unexpected brightness, and when I lower it again, there is a shadow in the center of the room. A shadow in the outline of a man, his faceless head turned toward me.