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“Yes. We’ve collected a fair number of samples and have quite a few more banked, but the experimental procedures are sensitive and Dr. Livingston has assured me that you would know how to proceed, that you have the very best hands for the job in the world,” she responded.
I paused for a moment, processing everything she’d told me so far.
“You mentioned that you captured a few of these shifters?” I asked next.
“Yes. They refer to themselves as betas. According to our previous research, they are wolf-human hybrids, which is the reason we’ve been resistant to wiping them out before, especially since they haven’t caused any large-scale problems for us. It’s become difficult to handle those we have in captivity though and there is evidence that those in the wild are becoming much more brazen and aggressive as well. There’s been quite a few that have broken out of our facilities. There’s been deaths on the outside. We’ve had to explain a number of casualties as animal attacks, placing blame on mountain lions or coyotes or wolves instead.”
“Where are you taking me?” I pressed. There was no more need for secrets from her.
“We’re heading to a black site in the forests to the west of Helena in Montana. It’s run by my department. Once we arrive, you’ll be introduced to our labs and you’ll be able to begin your research immediately. Dr. Livingston has been preparing for your arrival and has assured us that you can start right away,” she replied.
I chewed my lip.
“You mentioned that the betas are not docile anymore. Is it safe to work with them or ask them questions?” I asked next.
“Yes. As long as you keep yourself out of their cages,” she answered.
* * *
The black site location was well hidden within the mountains. Once the plane landed on the ground, I was funneled into yet another black tinted SUV that drove off into the countryside. At least ten others just like it surrounded us. After that, we drove off the road and into a tunnel that cut through a tall cliff side. The cars pushed onward through the northern Rockies and emerged onto a dirt road on the other side, well hidden from any eyes above that may be watching. The trees were thick as we wove in and around the mountains.
When we finally arrived at our destination, I barely had any time to appreciate how well concealed the facility was amongst the trees before I was led inside. What appeared to be a building only a couple of stories high descended well beneath the ground, hiding several floors of labs, offices, and meetings rooms underneath. It was really quite incredible.
Amy led me into an elevator at the back of the ground floor. We descended several levels to B6 where it stopped, we exited and climbed into a freight elevator that went even deeper. The screen indicating the floor went black and I no longer could tell where they were taking me. Amy scanned in with a keycard and the door finally opened, revealing the most magnificent lab I’d ever seen. I couldn’t contain my surprise and my resulting gasp was quite audible between us. She led me out of the elevator after that, thankfully not commenting on the heated blush I could feel all over my face.
We walked into the most advanced scientific setup I’d ever encountered. The room was massive, practically the size of a warehouse, and segmented by bays of equipment. T
he closest bay was lined with a multitude of sequencers. The second had a number of flow cytometers and sorters and the third had mass spectrometers, as well as some machines that even I didn’t recognize. There were a number of bays that I couldn’t see down, but I had no doubt they were filled with the fanciest and newest tools that money could buy and probably a great deal more that weren’t even available on the open market yet. There seemed to be billions of dollars’ worth of scientific equipment hidden here deep underground in the northern reaches of the great Rocky Mountains.
It was a biologist’s dream. Instead of waiting weeks to perform an experiment, I could do it myself in a matter of days. All in one centralized location.
I could get used to this.
Off in the distance, I saw a man working under a large clear plastic hood and I grinned, recognizing his thick white hair. It was Dr. Livingston. Amy led me over to him and he turned his head, smiled back, and put down his pipette. He had such a friendly face that always left me feeling comfortable, no matter if we were talking about life or arguing over differences in our hypotheses and that hadn’t changed one bit in the time since I’d last seen him.
“Dr. Dawn Lowe, it’s been a few years,” he started, his eyes glowing with joy.
“It has been, hasn’t it,” I replied. I smiled in return and his grew even wider.
“I’d love to sit down for a coffee to catch up some time, but Amy here is a workhorse and she wants answers, so why don’t you come with me,” he said. “I’ll take it from here,” he told Amy and she nodded in agreement.
“Anything you two need, you just let me know,” she replied. “It was nice to meet you, Dr. Lowe. I’ll look forward to working with you.” With that, she handed me a keycard. It had both my name and face on it. Apparently, they’d been prepared for my arrival long before today. I clipped it onto my lab coat and thanked her politely, even if nothing about this had been my choice.
She didn’t say anything more, turning on her heels and returning to the freight elevator. Once it closed, I sighed.
“Well, it’s been a day,” I started, swinging my gaze to meet Livingston’s soft brown ones.
“I bet it has. Why don’t you and I go into the specimen hold and I can introduce you to the creatures we’re studying. I imagine you have your doubts about the truth of what Amy has told you so far, so let’s get that out of the way first,” he suggested.
Of course, he was right. Even though I’d seen all this circumstantial evidence to suggest that paranormal life existed and was worth protecting in secret, it still didn’t feel quite real or tangible in any way. It felt like a story and the fastest way to make it a reality would be to see it myself.
“How did they find you?” I asked as he led me down the bay of sequencers to the back, where there was a large metal door. He swiped his own keycard and it slid open. The two of us walked inside. We were greeted with another pair of doors. After walking through those, we were met with a third set before we walked down a long hallway. Finally, we passed through a fourth set of doors before the hallway opened up into a much larger room, only instead of scientific equipment, this was lined with large glass cells.
I froze. Inside each one of them was a person.
“These are the shifters you’re going to be studying, Dr. Lowe,” Livingston said.
“Call me Dawn,” I answered.
