The previous night's defeat by Jane had left Will's body sore and his mind racing. He could not help but think about his past... Had he wandered for so long simply for the sake of wandering? Had he indeed spent too much time looking down the scope of his crossbow for the sake of others instead of looking for... something? Anything? Every day he kept himself at bay with alcohol, and perhaps it was time to sober up. As he walked the street, the smells of coffee and freshly baked goods crossed his nose's path. As late as it was, the Tea 'N' Tomes was still open. Never too late for a good coffee, he thought.

Will stepped inside, taking a moment to look over the room. It was empty, save for the old woman behind the counter. He walked over, taking another deep breath. The old woman smiled, ?What can I get for you??

He exhaled slowly. ?It smells like I'll be having your deepest, darkest coffee and your largest scone,? he replied. As she poured his coffee and rummaged for the best looking scone, he looked back to the front windows. He noticed a large decorative globe near the door. He smirked, ?Where do you get something like that anyway??

She smirked right back, ?I'll never tell. That globe is special... it'll show you the world you want to see.?

Will raised an eyebrow, not out of skepticism but intrigue. He dropped a handful of coins into her hand. ?Hm. Well... thank you? as she handed him a very large black coffee and a scone twice the size of his hand. With a nod, he turned and started back for the front of the room. He took a sip of his coffee as he weaved through the tables and chairs. His mind was so focused on the globe that he almost did not hear the jingle of the front door's bell.

As the woman walked in, he quickly sidestepped a table, pausing only long enough to dare a look after she had passed him. Her black clothes and black hair outlined a trim, fit female form. If there was one thing about the Rhy'din hubs he missed, it was the night life. He uttered an inaudible ?Mmh.? Easy there, stud... around here the night life sometimes bites back, he mused.

Will set his scone on the table next to the globe and pulled up a chair, shimmying a little closer. He looked over the surface... at first glance it did not seem like much, but the golden glow was enough to make one pause. He reached out to try to touch the glow, to no avail.

?Okay,? Will said to the globe, ?how do you work?? He cleared his throat. ?Ah... hm... Show me where I am.? In his own mind, the surface of the globe quickly wiped to a more realistic from-orbit view of the world. As he watched, the image turned and zoomed in to the roof of the coffee shop. He furrowed his brow, examining the level of detail. It was impressive, all the way down to the people in the streets.

On the sidewalk a woman in a bright red dress stuck out amongst the other pedestrians. Will looked outside, and saw the same woman walking past the window. As she passed she looked in at him, an irritated glare back to Will. He looked back to the globe... this image was live!

It was time for the real test. ?All right...? Will began, ?show me where I was three weeks ago.? The globe's surface shifted north to a long mountain pass.

?Where was I three years ago?? he asked. It rotated further north to a snow-covered mountain kingdom.

?Fifteen?? The globe's surface completely wiped itself, replaced with an image of Earth, zooming in towards the northeast of the U.S. ?Okay...? Will sipped his coffee, so infatuated with the globe that he hadn't noticed the woman he had ogled earlier had sat down in the chair behind him, watching and listening intently.

Will continued, ?Show me.. the old castle.? The image wiped back to Rhy'din, panning over to a coastal kingdom to the southwest. He smiled, thinking That's where it all began. He caught something moving in the reflection from the corner of his eye, focusing on it for a second. It was her... he grinned slyly as he turned his attention back to the globe.

?Show me the Fury.? The globe shifted to a small inn.

Will took another long sip of the coffee, now cooled to his liking. The grin left his face as he spoke again, ?Show me the old man's lab.? The image turned to a small, burnt out cabin completely overgrown with vegetation. He touched the globe and pulled it back to the castle. Huh, he thought, about fifty miles.

He looked back to the woman in the window's reflection. She turned, seemingly hiding her face behind a book intentionally. She closed the book, tossing it on the chair next to her and stood up. Will, now almost in a trance, was snapped back down to reality when he heard her voice right next to him.

?Lost?? she asked. She was standing near the globe, peering down at it. Will looked up to her, then back to the globe, then back to her.

?Oh,? he responded, ?you couldn't...??

The woman looked back to him. ?Couldn't what??

Will looked back to the globe, now simply a globe, and laughed at the situation sank in. ?I look like I'm insane, don't I?? Smooth.

?No, of course not? she lied with a calming smile.

Will stood up, pulling another chair closer. ?Here,? he uttered as he stood behind the chair waiting for her to sit. Ever the gentleman. Her smile dropped sharply as she muttered something under her breath. As she sat down, she calmly rested her hands on the sides of her thighs.

Will sat back in his own seat, looking to the globe for a moment. ?The woman at the counter told me this globe shows you the world you want to see. I think I'm figuring it out. I think...? He looked back to her, pausing at her eyes. The vibrant blue seemed to stop him in his tracks long enough to take her in from the front. ?...I'm sorry... I'm Will? he stammered as he extended a hand.

She took his hand in a brief shake. ?Oh, hello, Will? she said with a smile. ?I'm Leta.?

Will smiled back and gave a deep, almost bowing nod. ?A pleasure, Leta.? He sat upright in his chair, regaining his composure. ?I think I have an idea. If you want to see the world I see, then just tell it.? His eyes were drawn almost magnetically back to hers. ?I think it will work.?

?Ok? Leta said, smiling as she looked back at him. She turned to the globe, giving a glance to Will's reflection in the window. She took a breath and spoke. ?Show me the ?old man?s lab.? In Leta's mind the globe shimmered and showed her what it had shown Will.

Will spoke, more softly this time, ?That place is... where my memories begin. The old man was some kind of scientist. He pulled me out of some kind of wreckage and... said he was going to help me.? He sighed. ?He kept me in his lab for... had to have been at least a year. Tests, experiments. He was just trying to figure out if I could be used in some way to further his lifespan. After a while, I'd had enough.? Will narrowed his eyes. ?I burned it to the ground.?

?Oh? she replied.

He shook his head. ?I was just a teenager. After that, I started walking. I found...? he paused as he leaned in towards the globe. ?...The old castle.? The image turned to show her the kingdom fifty miles from the lab. It was lush and full of activity. ?I grew up in this area. Found friends in some of the local inns, like the Fury...? The surface panned out slightly, giving a larger view of the area. He paused, thinking back on familiar faces he had not seen in a long time. ?For a while, I left for Earth with a few of them. Earth... was not for me.? The image wiped to show her Earth.

He scowled, thinking back on Earth. There were creatures there as there were in Rhy'din, but hidden. Everyone with some type of ability had to keep it a secret. People like him from other worlds lived under false identities. Politics consumed all, and the whole planet was always on the brink of war. ?So I came back,? he continued. The globe wiped back to Rhy'din, zooming out. ?I hit the road. After maybe... ten years or so, I wound up back here.? The globe zoomed back to its starting point, the Teas 'N' Tomes. ?And that's my story so far,? he said as he concluded his tour. He looked back to her, to those bright blue eyes. ?If you'd like to have a go at it, I only had one more question to ask before I head home.?

Leta smiled. ?I may take you up on your offer another time,? she said to Will. ?But please, feel free to ask...? She turned back to the globe.

Will took a deep breath. ?Show me where I was born.? The globe darkened, the color drained from its surface for a moment then replaced with a gray desolation pockmarked with smoldering craters. Fire dotted what appeared to have once been massive cities. Smoke swept across the globe like huge black storms. Will's eyes went wide with horror as cracks began to spread across the surface. Canyons formed and swallowed the cities in flames as the surface seemed to collapse in on itself. There was a bright flash of light, and the globe went dark.

Leta turned back to Will, speechless. Will stared back at the globe as it resumed its decorative state. After a long pause, he uttered ?Maybe I need to stop asking so many questions.?

?Maybe,? Leta said with a polite nod. ?Or maybe stop looking to the past. There?s a whole world of opportunities for a new beginning out there.? Will looked to her for a moment. She's right, you know he thought. You never asked it the most important question. He looked back to the globe, and spat one last request at it in a defiant tone.

?Show me the world I want to see.? The globe's surface wiped over one last time, showing Rhy'din. It panned out as far as it could, the entire world in front of him. They both smiled at the globe as she stood. ?It was nice to meet you, Will? she said as she walked back to the chair she had been sitting in behind him, picking her book back up to her face.

Will stood, finishing his coffee. He glanced back to Leta, lingering on her face for a second. Way to make a first impression, genius. He carried his mug back to the counter, handing it to the barista. He dug into his satchel for a few more coins... the globe alone was certainly worth a tip. As he rummaged, he pulled out an old leather bound book. He studied the cover for a moment, the word ?Journal? stamped across the front. Smiling, he walked to a bookshelf on the wall and looked around. His eyes fell on an empty slot. He paused and flipped through the book.

?No,? Will uttered, ?you're someone else's problem now.? Will turned back to the first page and tore it out, crumpling it in his hand. He closed the journal and stuck it into the empty slot on the shelf. As he turned to head for the door, he tossed the page into a wastebasket near the counter. He smiled, looking to Leta one last time as he opened the door. ?Pleased to meet you too, Leta.?

It's a small world, he assured himself, there's always next time.

Will had been living in the Inn for a few weeks, trying to find his place in the old world. His encounter with the globe and the mysterious Leta had brought him to the conclusion that he needed to put his past behind him. The answers he sought to the questions of his origins would do him no good in the present or future, nor would dwelling on the things he had done in the last few years. It was time for him to move forward with his eyes looking in front of him. He had taken on a job as a guard within the city's walls, his references from Castle Wyndsor helping to speed the hiring process. As with any new hire, though, he started on the day shift. Will walked the streets from sunrise to near sunset, counting the weeks until he could transfer first to midday and finally the more dangerous and much more interesting night shift.

Another shift ended, Will walked into the Inn's side door and up the stairs to his room. He had specifically asked for an interior room without window access, and at the top of the stairs. As puzzled as his request had left the innkeeper, Will had his reasons: the nearest light to be tampered with was a few doors away, he could hear anyone coming up and down the stairs, and there was only one way in or out of the room. To others it may have seemed stifling and noisy but to Will it was tactically perfect. He stepped inside and locked the door behind himself, turning up the lamp at the bedside.

"Payday," Will said to himself with a smile as he started to pull off his armor plating, laying it out across the bed. Every month he went through a thorough routine of checks of his weapons and armor, and with a steady source of income he could now get his gear repaired. He looked over every leather strap for cracks, every plate for rust, tossing a few odd pieces into a laundry bag to the side. The good armor laid in a pile on the corner chair, Will turned his attention to the crossbow. The wood was light but incredibly sturdy, doubling as a club more than once since its purchase. The body had not one etching that could be considered even remotely ornamental. The bow mounted to the front was long, and folded in half at the middle for portability. Will looked through the old rusted scope mounted to the top, focusing on the lamp. He examined the leather cheek pad tacked onto the stock behind the rear sights. He ran his fingers down the bow string, uttering a disapproving "Hm." He would have to ask the shop about Elven bow string now that he could afford it. He collapsed the bow and pulled the string off from each end, coiled it and tossed it into the laundry bag with the armor.

Bag slung over his shoulder, Will headed back out to the Inn's hallway, down the stairs, and out into the street. He paused to look up at the sky... the sun was almost down and he needed to get moving. After a long winding walk west to a part of town that seemed long forgotten, he turned down a dark alley that anyone in their right mind would only see in their nightmares. The vermin and piles of garbage lining the alley made little sense as there seemed to be no business or customers for at least a block. The shadows moved on their own, accompanied by the echoing skitters of tiny feet. Will approached the one lit window and glanced up to the sign above the door that read "Mitzo." Will knocked three times on the heavy steel door, answered by a knock from within. He knocked four times, paused, and once more. The door unlocked with a loud "click-th-thump" and creaked open as Will stepped inside. The door closed on its own behind him, locking itself with a "th-thump click."

The inside of the shop was a welcome sight to anyone willing to brave the neighborhood. The front room was brightly-lit, lined with dozens of shelves stocked with thousands of weapons and parts. To the side, dirty mannequins showcased the latest armors and the back room held the repair shop. The adjacent abandoned storefronts had all been boarded off and sealed on the outside but gutted from the inside and added to the weapon store, making it much larger on the inside. The only other remaining business that stood in his way was The Stub, a dive bar on the opposite side of the building.

Mitzo latched and bolted the door behind Will. The short balding man was mute but he spoke volumes with the quality of his work. "Hey Mitzo," Will greeted. "Got some repairs I need back sometime tomorrow. Can you swing it?" he asked as he handed him the bag of armor. Mitzo took the bag and opened it, pulling each piece out and carefully looking the straps over. He looked to Will and nodded, his face scrunching into an expression that said "I could have this done by morning." Mitzo looked back into the bag and pulled out the bowstring, holding it up to the light for a better look. He walked to the front counter, ducking down for a moment and rummaging for something. Will followed, smiling and nodding as Mitzo stood up holding a coil of pristine Elven bowstring.

"Mitzo, you know me too well" Will replied to his offer, reaching down into his satchel and pulling out a small bag of coins. He slapped it down on the counter as Mitzo handed him the bowstring. "This should last me a bit longer" Will mused as he examined it before stuffing it down into his satchel. Mitzo opened the coin pouch and dug through it for a few seconds. "It's all there, don't worry" Will assured him. Mitzo replied by holding his hands up in a "Just making sure" manner before pocketing the money. Will nodded to the side. "I'm gonna go browse a bit" he said, Mitzo answering with a thumbs-up as he took Will's armor to the back room.

Will started at the closest shelf, an almost childlike smile across his face as he picked through throwing knives. As he reached the buckets of arrows he heard a knock at the front door. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mitzo's head pop out from the back room door, eyebrows raised. Will looked to him, then to the front door. Two customers at one time was rare here, even at this time of night...

Will watched Mitzo walk from the back room to the front door, returning the knocks of another customer. Will turned away from the door for a moment, facing another shelf as Mitzo let the person in. It did not take long before he recognized the other voice from a few weeks ago. He looked over his shoulder, seeing Leta from between a display of longbows and cheap swords. He recognized those eyes from across the store, and it seemed like they had recognized him.

Will could not help but crack a small smile as Leta walked to him. She seemed to be wearing a few more layers than the first time they met, but the way she walked was as unmistakable from the front as it had been from the back when he had sneaked a peek in the coffee shop. It seemed a bit warm this summer to be decked out in black leather though...

?Oh, hi?? Leta said to him. ?Phil, wasn?t it??

Will's smile turned to a smirk. "Sure," he replied, "short for 'Philliam." He gave her a second to figure it out.

Leta waited in the alley behind the Inn while Will picked up his crossbow. She always preferred the shadows to public spaces. Although she had lived long enough to know how to properly hide her ?unholy? identity, she did not like to take chances. Her affinity to work at night might be a little more telling but, at least, most could assume her porcelain cream coloring was simply from a lack of sun. Her fangs, on the other hand, would be the nail in her proverbial coffin. Even with her widest smiles and grins, she would refrain from flashing a glimpse of those extra long pearly whites unless it was absolutely necessary. To work with Will, it wasn?t necessary.

On their way to Watkins Laboratory in the northeastern corner of the Old Temple district, Leta explained more about the situation.

One of Leta?s co-workers, Dr. Dustin Myers, was the lead scientist of an experiment to open a wormhole to another dimension. After several months, his team was successfully able to stabilize the portal. On the day they were scheduled to begin their exploration through the gateway, a horrific creature breached the entrance, rushing into the lab and attacking the crew. An alarm was pulled and the entire Laboratory was quickly evacuated while security flooded the lab where the creature entered through the portal.

As the survivors began their head count outside, parents were reunited with their children that attended the Laboratory?s on-site daycare program. All, but one. Dr. Myers?s eleven year old son, Charlie, was missing from the group. Dr. Myers frantically asked the teacher and the other children where they last saw him. Eventually Charlie?s best friend, Mike, finally came clean and explained that they were playing hide and seek during their recess and it was Charlie?s turn to hide. Juliet piped up then and said, between tears, that they didn?t had a chance to find him before the alarms started going off and the teacher came around to the groups to instruct them to leave the play room and hurry outside.

?Dustin started to run back inside to get his son,? Leta continued explaining as they rounded the corner towards the Laboratory, ?But the other scientists grabbed him and held him back. Honestly, it was probably the only thing that saved him. The scientists attacked by the creature and the security personnel that went to defend them never came out of the facility. Everyone is presumed dead. The Company that owns Watkins will not allow anyone in yet until they amass their little army of trained personnel because they do not want to endanger any more lives, but that could take weeks, and Dustin fears if Charlie is still alive, he won?t have that kind of time.? Though she continued her pace, she paused her story, collecting her breath from her hastened stride. ?I explained to Dustin that he shouldn?t give up hope just yet. I do believe Charlie is still alive. He was always such a good hider.?

They soon came upon Watkins Laboratory, as evidenced by its large engraved cement sign sitting on its front lawn. The two story sandstone brick building was surrounded with a ten foot chain-link fence, save for the matching gate located at the front. The double doors of the gate were connected with a simple metal chain and fastened with a heavy iron padlock. ?I don?t have the key to the lock, but Dustin gave me his key to the building and his electronic key card that will get us access to most of the building? the parts that matter, anyway,? Leta said as she reached into her oversized leather jacket pocket and half pulled out both in order to show Will. There was no evidence of security stationed anywhere along the exterior, though there were ?Do Not Enter? and ?Danger? signs posted every ten yards or so along the fence.

Leta icily glared at Will. She had been hoping for some awe-inspiring lock picking technique or a special tool in his pocket to cut through the chain. Instead, she had to climb over a fence like some common street thug. Hoping his skills would prove more productive inside, she softly sighed and grabbed hold of the chain link fence with both hands.

?I wish I was in my heels,? Leta thought as she brought one of her tactical boots up to one of the links. The pointed toes on her heels would have slipped in and out of the links easily, but her rounded toe tactical boots were a tighter fit. Eventually wedging each foot in the links enough to get to the top of the fence, she eased a leg over and began her route down the other side.

Considering the amount of technology and invaluable research in the building mere yards from them, the lack of barbed wire spiraling over the top of the fence might be surprising. Watkins Laboratory must have held to the mentality of ?don?t advertise?, thinking that if they didn?t have a lot of exterior security, most people wouldn?t suspect just what the building had to offer. Since the only incident they had was this ?internal matter?, their theories on security must have been working well enough.

Once on the ground, Leta said in a hushed tone, ?Now, once we?re inside, it would obviously be best to find Charlie as soon as possible. By now, he?s probably realized he?s alone in there and, since he?s had to have seen the bodies, he?s going to be extra scared. I don?t want us to spook him and get him to hide even more, and I definitely don?t want us to be loud and draw any added attention from the creature, so we should probably try to keep quiet. Once we get closer to him, I?m hoping he will recognize my voice. Of course I know his father well, but I only was around Charlie a few times. But if he doesn?t remember my voice, as long as I can get him to see and hear me, I?m sure we?ll be able to get him out.?

Leta was grateful as Will took the lead across the yard in front of her as she was able to hide her grin from him. ?Look at him, being on top of things now, getting his weapons out already,? she thought. Knowing there would be nothing for him to hear, she pulled her the key from her jacket pocket as he listened at the door. Once he offered her a nod and stepped back, she stepped forward, inserted the key in to the lock, and opened the door.

Inside the door, they would see the small lobby. Fluorescent bulbs above alternately flicked on and off, keeping the room relatively lit. A bulletproof glass window was on the wall to their left. Peering into the window, there was the receptionist?s desk in a small office. Her papers were a scattered mess over the desk top and littered on the floor. The phone on her desk was off its hook. The wall to the right was bare, except for what might have once been a row of modern plastic waiting chairs. As an indication of the rushed evacuation, a few that apparently had gotten in the way had been overturned.

There was a large metal directory on the narrow wall in front of them. On either side of the directory was an angled left and right corridor, creating a forked ?Y? appearance. Etched in the stainless steel, there were two columns. Under the ?Left Wing? heading was a list of offices and storage rooms. Leta would have loved to make a detour and steal some of the valuable research in those offices. Maybe once they took out the beast and got the boy out, she might make a return trip in a night or two before the mini-army of security would swarm the compound.

The ?Right Wing? on the directory had a list of several of the labs and experimental rooms underneath it. Under each room had a temporary box where a little plastic plate could be slid in and out to change the name of the room as the experiments changed. ?Neural portioning?, ?Transhumanism?, ?Protoscience?, and others. Passed the lab rooms, there were other rooms labeled with names. Victor, Mike, Juliet, Sierra, Oscar, and Charlie.

?Sure, let him think he?s in the lead on this,? Leta thought, glaring at him as he quickly swept through the lobby and took point heading down the right corridor. ?Oh wait,? she reminded herself, ?He is supposed to be in front. Let the creature get him first, right?? As she finished arguing with herself, she pulled out her new firearm from Mitzo?s, keeping it held securely in both hands, and followed Will down the Right Wing.

The door to the first experimental room they came across on the left was half ajar. A small gooseneck lamp was the only light still on, casting a dim light from its perch on a small desk towards the far side of the room. The room was lined with large floor to ceiling computers that were apparently still on and analyzing, with their small LED lights blinking away. Scattered papers and binders of collected information covered most of the dull linoleum tiled floor.

In the center of the room, there was what appeared to be a dentist?s chair, though few dentists? chairs had thick leather restraints for the wrists, ankles, and forehead as this one did. Aside from the restraints themselves, their positioning would have seemed odd. They were about a foot too short than what one would assume would be appropriate positioning. Although they sat at the level of an adult?s forearm, below the knee, and across the chest, they were clearly sized smaller for the wrists, ankles, and head.

Behind the dentist?s chair was a small robotic arm that was connected to the computers around the room with thick coated wires that ran along the floor. At the top of the machine, suspended over the reclining head of the chair, was a rounded transparent bowl that looked as though it had been cracked. A small metal chair on its side next to the dentist?s chair would have revealed the weapon in question. Peeking through small holes throughout the bowl were small wires that connected at the top and trailed back and into the machine. As a result of the onslaught, a few of the wires had been dislodged or severed, causing some to be left dangling over the head of the dentist?s chair.

The label in the hallway next to the left door said, ?Neural Partitioning?.

Across the hall on the right side was a closed door that, at first glance, would appear to be locked with a simple lock and key mechanism. There was a small, rectangular window on the door, about three inches tall and about seven inches in width. It was set at just the right height to allow one to peer into the room if standing right in front of the door. Anyone less than five and a half feet tall would have to stand on tip-toes to peek in.

The bright white fluorescent light overhead gave no warmth to the off-white walls and cold gray blue linoleum tiled floor. In each of the far corners of the room there was a small hospital bed, clearly sized for a child. There was a round, convex mirror mounted close to the ceiling in the middle of the far wall, allowing anyone peering in through the window in the door to be able to clearly see what was going on in the corners that would have been obscured from view. In each of those corners, there was a small child?s desk. Each one had various educational toys and puzzles in many colors, but each seemed more advanced than what a small child would normally be playing with.

Between the almost blinding light, the rectangular eye-slit window, and the convex mirror, it was clear to see there was no one in the room. Even the bed sheets had been properly folded and tucked in to ?hospital corners?, allowing view under the beds. The room was pristine with nothing out of place, save for a small stuffed teddy bear with its head laying on the pillow of the bed on the left.

The label outside of the right room said, ?Oscar / Victor?.

There were several more rooms on both sides down the well lit hallway, though it was impossible to see just how many due to the slight curve to the left. It would also be impossible to see any danger coming up on them fast.

?Oh,? Leta said, as if not expecting to hear the cries, ?Yeah, yeah, let?s go.? She was content to follow behind Will now.

The faint crying came from further down the Right Wing. The next room on the left was labeled as ?Transhumanism? next to its closed door. Further inspection would prove that an appropriate key card would be needed to unlock it.

The room across from it on the right had a similar window as did Oscar and Victor?s door. The cries could be heard more clearly coming through this door. If looking in through the window, it would also look identical to Oscar and Victor?s room, but instead of a child?s stuffed bear, one would see a small child sitting on top of the made bed positioned to the right.

Sitting on the bed curled up with its head buried in its arms resting on its knees, the child appeared to be around seven or eight years old with a thinly shaved head that had less than a centimeter of light brown hair growing out from its pale scalp. Barefoot, it only wore a light green hospital gown. Due to its age and the lack of hair, it was hard to determine its gender.

What might be more revealing was the room label outside of the door, ?Juliet / Sierra?.

Leta looked at him and pulled out the key from her jacket pocket. With her gun in one hand, she put the key in the lock and turned. The lock mechanism make a soft click as it unlocked. Grateful that she must have been given a master key, she gently turned the handle and barely pushed the door just enough to make a small crack. Leta then took a step back, allowing Will the opportunity to go in first.

Trigger. Will's finger slipped inside the trigger guard of his crossbow as he slowly pushed the door the rest of the way open. He gave Leta a look of concern mirroring hers, almost bordering on wincing. If Charlie and the creature are all that's in here, and this isn't Charlie?

As the door slowly opened, inside the room, the child waited patiently. As it noticed the weapons both held, her eyes lit up in terror and she screamed a deafening scream that could bring any to their knees. It was as if the sound echoed up and down the hallways, causing their eardrums to be on the verge of rupturing.

Once she heard the scream, Leta instinctively covered her ears. Being over-sensitive to sound, a light trickle of blood began to leak out of one of her ears, falling slowly along the side of her face and down her neck.

Will stepped back, his free hand covering one ear while he pressed the other against his shoulder.

While still screaming in defense, the girl took the opportunity to run between them, turning left towards the lobby. The shrill sound ended abruptly as the exterior doors were opened, slamming shut behind her as she fled outside.

One eye shut, he kept the other on the girl as she ran away. When the screaming subsided Will relaxed a bit. ?You okay?? he asked Leta over the ringing in his ears. He pointed to her ear and the blood.

Still clutching her ears while he spoke to her, it took a few minutes for the ringing to stop in her head. Once the pain subsided, Leta wiped some of the blood on her cheek with the back of her hand and licked it. After sliding the key back into her pocket, she cautiously studied the hallway, with both hands on her gun. ?Well?? she said slowly, testing how much hearing she had regained, ?My hopes to stay quiet so the creature wouldn?t know we were here haven?t quite panned out??

Will made gave no verbal or facial hint that he'd thought anything of Leta licking the blood from her hand. ...?kay? ?No need to tiptoe around it then.? He looked to the lab door. ?Let's check this one while we're here.?

?Yeah,? Will replied. He walked back into the hallway, looking further down.

As they would move closer towards the next two doors, they would be able to see that they were set up just as the previous ones, with the lab door on the left and the children?s room on the right. The difference with these was that the children?s door was ajar about two feet. The label next to it was hanging by a single loosened screw, as if someone had attempted to rip it from the wall.

It said ?Charlie / Mike?.

While the lab door across from it remained closed, the open door allowed bright white fluorescent light to leak onto the hallway floor. Once they walked up to the door, they wouldn?t even need to use the convex mirror on the back wall to see it was empty inside. But unlike the other children?s rooms, this one looked as if it had been ransacked. The two beds had been overturned, the puzzles and toys were scattered in broken pieces on the floor, and the desk chairs looked as if they had been slammed and splintered against the walls. What seemed even more out of place were the deep claw mark grooves carved into the gray blue linoleum tiled floor, cut deep into the walls, and etched into the inside of the stainless steel lined door.

Will looked at the nameplate on the wall. He paused outside the doorway, every sense straining to pick up a hint of what may wait inside. He poked his head in, nudging the door open the rest of the way with the end of the crossbow. He took a brief look around the room and turned back to Leta. ?We might be too late? he reported, then looked down to the gouges. No blood though.

They could be followed along the floor across the hall and under the lab door. Its room label was completely ripped off, or clawed off by the looks of the wall. The little LED bulb on its key card reader was green, indicating it was unlocked.

Leta stared at Will, then repeated her question from earlier, ?How do you want to play this? Are we going in guns blazing or what?? She added quickly, ?If you can preoccupy the monster, I can try to get Charlie. Remember, I need him to be able to see me and hear me. It would be bad to spook him more than he already is.?

?If he's gonna react like the last one, then yeah, we need to be careful,? Will replied. He moved to the side of the door opposite the card reader. ?Go ahead and open it?? He held his crossbow back to his side, out of sight of whoever may be inside. ?If it's in there I'll draw it out.?

Will watched the creature as it entered their plane of existence, glancing to Charlie for a fraction of a second. ?Charlie, come on over to Leta? we?re gonna get you out of here, okay?? He slowly adjusted his path towards the space between the boy and the beast, and continued his advance. He held one hand out towards the creature, palm open, hoping it understood the concept of ?we?re all cool here.? One wrong move and it?s on. His other hand began to casually move back, at first as if to his pocket. Better get that crossbow up, or this is gonna hurt.

Leta immediately ducked behind one of the overturned stainless steel tables to hide from the creature. ?Will?s on his own for this one,? she thought selfishly as she began crawling on the ground towards where she last saw Charlie.

The hairless creature gave off a deep throated growl in response to Will?s gesture and hunched down to a more comfortable four legged stance, revealing the long, pointed spikes covering its back. Seeing that Will was no immediate threat, its curiosity was peaked and it began to move towards the boy.

?Hey.? Will snapped his fingers, the open palm closed into a pointed finger. ?There isn't anything over there for you. Come on.? By this point his other hand was on the crossbow, hidden under his clothes. Will narrowed his eyes at the beast, the corners of his mouth slowly turning up into a grin.

The monster paused and looked to Will then back at the boy. It snarled in return, baring its numerous, thin, needlelike teeth, then continued walking towards Charlie.

?All right.? Will pursed his lips, put his tongue to his front teeth, and blew a surprisingly loud whistle at the creature. The crossbow was down at his side as he continued to close the gap.

All eyes were on Will as he whistled. Even Charlie and Leta?s heads popped up to see what was going on. Leta quickly ducked back down and continued to meander through the overturned furniture towards where she saw Charlie was when he looked at Will.

The creature had had enough. He lunged towards Will, attempting to take a swipe at his torso with its long thick claws as he came down.

Will leapt back towards the doorway and took a few bounding steps as he landed. ?Come on, you big bastard!? The crossbow was at the low-ready, but he was not ready to fire quite yet.

The creature landed empty handed, and growled loudly, readying itself to strike at Will again.

Leta started walking towards Will, and the door, saying quietly, ?Thank you so much. Derek will be so grateful that we found his son.? She hid her wince behind an even brighter smile once she realized she had previously told him Charlie?s father?s name wasn?t Derek, but Dr. Dustin Myers.

Luckily for her, that detail had gone in one ear and out the other; Will had been more excited for a job than he had let on. ?What about the other one, the girl with the? lovely singing voice??

?Oh, I?m sure she?ll be able to find her way back home now,? she lied while rocking the boy, feigning a maternal instinct. This had probably been their home for quite some time. Watkins Laboratory had a habit of kidnapping ?special? children and performing testing on them to learn more about their talents. The Company that Leta worked for was much different, in that, they wanted the children to manipulate and use their abilities for their own gains. That was why Leta knew she would be trying to find the girl later. Bringing in a girl with an earth shattering scream would certainly give her as many bonus points with The Company as bringing in a boy that could control his own imagined monster. There were plenty other employees like her in The Company that could control people?s minds that could eventually wear down the boy until he did The Company?s bidding. Leta wondered if she could have controlled Will just as easily, but she thought the challenge of the deception was half the fun.

?Is there any way I can repay you for your heroism?? Leta asked tersely as she began to walk out into the hallway towards the lobby. She was hoping to make a swift exit before Will caught on, or before anyone else might be alerted to their presence.

Will followed her out, looking over his shoulder. Heroism? I don't know if I'd go that far... ?Oh, I don't know? I'm sure whatever you think of is fine.? He looked back as he opened the door for Leta and Charlie. ?You don't suppose there's any more kids in there, do you??

Leta honestly had no idea. The little screaming girl wasn?t even supposed to be there. She had heard that the Watkins crew had cleared out as many of their little prot?g?s as they could before getting out of there. Either way, it didn?t matter right now. Her objective from The Company was to grab the boy and turn him in so that they could do their own tests on him.

?No, no one else would be in here. All of the staff evacuated awhile ago, and we went through all of the children?s? nap rooms,? she responded. Once she made it to the exterior doors in the lobby, she nodded appreciatively to Will as he held the door open. She sighed softly to herself, only now realizing she would need to get the boy over the fence.

Will stopped at the gate. ?Sorry. I don't know why I thought we were trying to be? sneaky.? He reached through the locked gates and grabbed the padlock. He pulled it through, raised one foot up to the gate to steady himself, and pulled with both hands. The chain creaked as Will pushed the gate with his foot. With a snap the padlock broke open in his hands.

Impressed by the feat, Leta?s eyes widened slightly. She brushed it off and said, ?I think I should have it from here. I thank you for all of your help. Maybe we can work together again soon.? She lightly kicked open the gate and began to walk down the street, heading north.

Must've done something right. ?Sure. Maybe next time, bigger monsters.? Will tossed the padlock on the ground ?Well? be safe, then.? He watched her walk away for a few seconds then turned away and started his walk back to the Inn. He grinned and chuckled to himself; just two weeks back in town, already an adventure under his belt with more potential work ahead.

Always leave ?em wanting more.