CHAPTER 6
Leila worked into the wee hours and, as a result, slept in late.
A rarity for her. She scurried to the dining room for some breakfast, relieved to find it empty, which meant she could grab her breakfast and go.
She’d left the blob in a glass aquarium overnight and wondered if the little sample had finally realized it lacked a body and died.
She entered her lab with her croissant, coffee, and a container of bacon, only to stop dead.
The aquarium holding the sample appeared empty.
Had the tissue disintegrated? She set down her breakfast items and, as she headed for the vacant tank, scanned the room and received a shock as she noticed the disarray.
The blob hadn’t died, but rather escaped, had somehow managed to climb the sheer and slippery walls of the containment unit while she slept. Even worse, it had sought out food.
The mice, kept in cages at the far end of the room, were dead, with only their skeleton remains left behind. The holes in the metal mesh were small enough to keep the rodents in, but not to keep the small blob out. It hadn’t stopped with the mice, though.
Glass jars had been knocked over and broken, the tissue samples within gone.
The thing had gone after all the flesh in the lab, but of more concern, it obviously managed to propel itself and showed enough intuition to not only detect but consume.
And why did it want to eat? Only one disturbing reason came to mind. To grow.
“Where are you, my squiggly blob?” she murmured, crouching to see if she could spot it. It had to be in here. The reinforced metal door, which she locked every time she left so no one could accidentally wander in, remained intact and lacked any kind of gap for escape.
Tinkle. The faint noise of glass scattering drew her gaze to the far corner of her lab, the view blocked by a large metal island with reinforced cabinets underneath.
The blob must be on the far side, hiding. Unsure of what she might face—and suddenly recalling Asterion’s mention of the movie with the blob that absorbed everything in its path—she cast about for a weapon. Her gaze settled on her butane torch. Most living things feared fire.
She grabbed and lit it, the blue flame sizzling and, hopefully, a deterrent in case the blob proved dangerous. Given how it had consumed everything meat-based, it might try to do the same to her. Perhaps she should call for help.
“Tower, I might need a hand with my situation.”
No reply. However, she didn’t doubt it would send someone to aid. Perhaps even the handsome new Libra. What was she thinking? Since when did she notice a man’s appearance? Not the time to analyze the why.
She crept quietly, even as she didn’t know if the blob could hear. A few paces from the counter, she paused. Was startling it really the best idea? What if it waited in ambush? She grabbed a pen and tossed it on the floor, watching it roll to within a foot of the metal island. Nothing stirred.
If it lacked auditory senses, then noise wouldn’t draw it out.
However, it obviously could sense, or smell, what it needed to grow.
She retreated for her breakfast and grabbed the bacon.
She flung a piece of bacon a few paces from her, then another piece a little bit beyond, and, finally, a third piece just past the far corner of the island.
With her flaming torch in hand, she crouched and watched. It didn’t take long before she heard something moving, almost a scritch, as if something sharp dragging. It turned out to be claws.
Her jaw dropped as the blob came into sight, only it was no longer a misshapen hump but a miniature version of the aliens responsible for the recent attacks around the world.
“Oh, that’s not good.” For several reasons.
One, the aliens the warriors killed might have come back to life.
Two, even small pieces of the aliens retained enough instinct to seek out and consume the nutrients required to grow and evolve into new threats.
Lastly, and of more imminent concern, she faced off alone against an alien, which fixed her juicy body with its three eyes.
It might only be the size of her fist, yet she didn’t doubt it posed a danger.
With two of its orbs fixated on her, and the third glancing downward, the creature took a step and grabbed the next strip of bacon, unhinging its jaw and ramming it in. It shuffled for the last piece, and she retreated, holding out her torch.
The tiny alien paused after swallowing the last piece of bacon and stared at her. Maybe it wouldn’t attack? After all, she did technically outsize and outweigh it.
With it standing still, she studied it. Four-armed, three-eyed, and with a stubby tail, just like the bigger versions she’d seen on the news.
Obviously hungry, given its overnight escape and the way it devoured everything it could get its grubby claws on.
She wished now she’d had cameras installed in the lab.
It would have been interesting to watch its progression from blob to fully limbed alien, the speed of which astonished.
Had the large versions begun as tiny hunks, too?
It darted at her so fast she barely had time to react, uttering a small shriek and retreating from it while waving her torch.
The creature screeched when it neared the flame and paused to eye her balefully.
Maybe not the most scientific observation, but she sure felt like it glared at her with hatred.
Or was that hunger? Most likely anger because she wouldn’t let herself be eaten.
As it growled and clacked its teeth, she realized, in her panic to stay out of its reach, she’d placed herself farther from the door.
The alien now stood between her and the exit—bad planning on her part.
She needed to somehow shift it away so she could escape.
What did she have that might tempt it? It had already devoured everything flesh-based sitting on her counters. Had it missed anything? Her gaze slewed to the unopened fridge with its chilling samples. She had a few vials of blood and tissue in there.
Her momentary lapse of attention led to it scurrying in her direction. Once more, she held out her torch and stayed out of reach. It slowed its rush but kept creeping in her direction, staying just out of range of the flames, biding its moment.
Sly little bugger. She reached the fridge but didn’t turn to look inside, rather held the torch outstretched while fumbling with her free hand to open it.
The blast of cold against her back almost distracted, but seeing the creature tense, she remained with her gaze forward and locked as she scrabbled to grab.
Her fingers closed on a test tube, and she pulled it free, not caring what sample it was.
She tossed it to the floor, and when it shattered, the blood within spilled.
The little alien didn’t seem to care about the shards as it pressed its mouth to the tile and suctioned.
Surprise had her gaping rather than fleeing for the door.
Dumb. She snagged a few more of the glass tubes and clutched them in her fist as she began to sidle sideways. The alien ceased siphoning to glance at her. She smashed another test tube a few feet to its left, leading it away from the door.
She sidestepped more quickly, and the alien noticed. Up came its head, and it ignored a few missed spots of blood to bolt in her direction.
She held out the torch and tossed the remaining vials. The alien paused at the sudden abundance of blood and tissue. Now was her chance. Before she could whirl and break for the exit, the door opened, and seeing Grayson, she exclaimed, “Thank goodness you’re here.”
“What the actual fuck?” Aquarius swore, ogling the alien. A man she’d never met but had seen images of since she’d studied the images of all the warriors.
“Get into the hall. We’ll handle it,” Grayson declared, advancing with a menacing mien.
“I don’t want you to kill it, though,” she exclaimed.
“Why ever the fuck not?” Grayson snapped, never taking his gaze from the alien.
“Because this might be my only chance to study a live one.”
“A valid point, but I do get the impression that will be very dangerous, as it will try to kill you,” Aquarius pointed out as he shifted to flank the alien.
“I’ll take precautions. I’m not stupid,” Leila huffed.
“Debatable,” Grayson muttered.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Leila couldn’t help an indignant note.
“You fed it,” he accused. “Despite knowing it was trying to regenerate and obviously didn’t have it locked away.”
“I only left it with a little. When I went to bed, it was a tiny blob. I didn’t expect it to escape the aquarium while I slept and find itself more food.” A weak excuse. She’d been negligent in not placing a cover over the top. In her defense, the sheer glass walls shouldn’t have been climbable.
“Are you sure we can’t just kill it? I mean, if you grew one alien, surely you can grow another?” Aquarius noted, having made it to the rear of the alien, who kept twisting its head to keep them all in view.
“What if it doesn’t work because it’s a copy of the original?” she countered. “We can’t take the chance if I’m going learn more about it so as to help the Zodiac Warriors find a way to counter the threat they pose.”
“While your reasoning is valid,” Grayson interjected. “I’m not sure how you expect us to contain it. The only thing I see that might have worked is those cages over there, and I don’t know how we’re supposed to stuff it inside.”
“Tower can help with that.” She glanced at the ceiling. “Could you please provide us with an animal trap, like those used to capture racoons?”
As if it understood its sudden danger, the creature suddenly rushed Leila. She squeaked, waving her torch, only to realize the flame had gone out. Grayson dove at the alien with his bare hands! More astonishing, he actually managed to cup it, only to yell, “Ow, the fucker’s biting me.”
“I got you, dude,” Aquarius crowed. “Right behind you, the door is open. Toss the little fucker in.”
Grayson turned and flung, the small alien landing in the mouth of the trap. The moment it landed, it got to its feet and bolted for the opening, only to hiss in rage as its weight triggered the flap that slammed shut. It gripped it with four clawed paws and rattled it with clear rage.
“Angry fucker,” Aquarius noted. “But looks like the cage will hold it.”
“It might hold a normal creature, but given this one has too many unknowns, I think we need something a bit more secure,” Leila murmured. “Tower, I’m going to need a containment chamber with an unbreakable viewing glass and, inside, a metal cage with holes too small to poke a finger through.”
“Did you just ask Tower to build you a new room?” Grayson queried with raised brows.
“Got a better idea?”
“What you’re asking is—”
“Done,” she chirped, heading for the door that appeared in the wall. Beside it, a window overlooking the newly created chamber.
“I’ll be damned,” Grayson breathed.
“Coming through, move aside,” Aquarius sang as he toted the trap through the doorway Leila opened. He plopped it inside the waiting cage, latching the hatch before exiting.
Leila eyed the angry alien rattling around before murmuring, “You can remove the trap now, Tower. The threat is contained.” The smaller cage disappeared, and the creature immediately began exploring its new prison, showing no signs of its agitation abating.
When it realized it couldn’t escape, it hissed in her direction.
Leila exited the new containment chamber, closing the door and locking it before exhaling. “Well, that was an exciting start to the day.” That didn’t come without injury. A glance at Grayson showed his hands dripping blood. “Oh, no. You’re hurt.”
“Told you it was biting me,” he grumbled.
“Let me grab some supplies to fix you up.”
“Why bother? Just send him down to the Stardust Room and he’ll be good as new within the hour. You remember where it is, dude?” Aquarius asked.
“Yeah, but how do I know which jar to use and how much to sprinkle?”
“They’re marked with our symbols, and you can never use too much,” Aquarius replied. “I’d go with you, but I need to go report this development to Aries right away. With the exception of Toronto, we’ve been dumping the alien bodies in places they could decompose without notice.”
Leila frowned. “Don’t you usually drop the carcasses in the void when you’re beaming?”
“Would have, except it didn’t work. We lose our grip on them soon as we try. Might be time to crack out the flamethrowers and incinerate their asses.”
“Probably the best thing to do for the moment.”
“Hope you feel better soon, dude.” Aquarius slapped Grayson on the back.
“I’ll take care of him,” Leila offered, surprising herself.
“Perfect. I should go. Was nice to finally meet you, Doc.” Aquarius waved as he exited, leaving Leila alone with Grayson.
She pursed her lips. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
“I’m just glad we got here before that thing attacked you.”
“Is it me, or did you come to the rescue with your bare hands?”
“Tower didn’t exactly explain the situation before racing us up here.”
Come to think of it, odd it hadn’t provided Leila with any protection either. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. Your arrival was timely.”
“One day on the job and already rescuing damsels in distress,” he stated with a lopsided grin that had her heart stuttering.
“Shall we go get those hands healed?”
He nodded, and so of her own free will, she left her lab, in the company of a warrior, who didn’t technically need her help. So why did she go?
Not because of gratitude, because she’d technically been handling the situation before their arrival—albeit not very well.
Not because of her medical oath, either, because, technically, the Stardust could do more to aid him than anything in her cabinets could.
It surprised her to realize she accompanied him because she wanted to.
Wanted to spend time with him, and that was even more frightening than the blob that tried to eat her.