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Without warning, the video feed centered on her office area went black. Frustrated, she vacated her hiding place to remove what turned out to be a surgery gown. It had fallen over the webcam. She unlocked her phone to confirm the webcam worked again and froze. The screen showed Allen Withers opening the door to the room at the same time as the sound of it creaking open behind her reached her ears. She whipped around and screamed. He raised a large wrench in his hand. Seyla threw her arms in front of her to block her head.
“Seyla? What are you doing here?”
It took a second for his words to register.
Seyla’s eyes opened to see Allen standing there, the wrench at his side. His bushy brows were hiked high above wide eyes that shifted left, then right, before returning to her face.
“I, uh, needed to get a few extra things done.” Seyla dropped her arms and attempted to act normal.
“I thought you were an intruder.”
She offered him a thin smile. “Nope. Only me.”
“Okay, then.” After a pause, Allen pointed over his shoulder with a thumb. “I, um, I’m heading out. See you tomorrow.” He shuffled out the back door, ending the awkward moment.
Seyla inhaled several deep breaths to calm her shattered nerves.
Did he stay late again to finish some projects?
Or did he know what she planned and chose that moment to reveal he wouldn’t play her game?
Seyla stepped sideways, running into a box she’d knocked over when she turned around. It lay on its side. A doll’s head had rolled out, a hole where one eye and the side of its face should be, the porcelain shattered. A chill ran through her body at the blank stare on the broken face.
After regaining her composure, Seyla began the trip back to the closet to hide again. Along the way, the shrill screech of the pump alarm on one of the animals’ water-powered heating pads went off. She veered toward the intensive care ward to refill the water reservoir. When she rounded the corner, she came across a figure lying on the floor in the semi-darkness. Using the flashlight on her phone, she saw that blood smeared the back of their head. It stood out in stark contrast to their blond hair. She ran to the person and dropped to her knees next to them, rolling them over. Chase?!
“What happened?”
Chase groaned and raised a shaky hand to his head. “I…someone conked me on the head.” He groaned again, curling into himself.
Seyla leaned over him to get an idea of the severity of the wound but couldn’t see anything other than blood. The sudden sharp crackle of electricity, followed by a painful jolt, swept away all thoughts excluding one. Agony.
/////
Jax shifted a bit, impatience beginning to win him over. She’d ignore a call or text. He was sure of it.
Perhaps he could flag her from a window or find her near one of the outdoor enclosures.
He left the carrier on the front steps and circled around the side of the building in the direction of the black jaguar’s area. The heavy smell of animals got stronger with each step closer, making his stomach quiver. Ignoring the old response, Jax kept going until he got to the rear of the building where he knew he’d find another exit door. He grasped the handle and twisted it. The door opened with a soft click.
He should have been thrilled; instead, his skin prickled. A feeling hit him that he instantly recognized.
Danger.
Jax opened the door in increments and stole inside. The lights were on, yet only an eerie silence greeted him. He ventured further into the room. A box lay on its side on the floor. A doll’s head lay next to it with part of its face smashed in, leaving a black hole where one eye and cheek should be. The intact eye stared blindly forward as if in death. The hair on his arms stood on end at the creepy sight.
Jax opened the door with painstaking care to avoid making a sound. His shoulders dropped when it creaked. He found a few papers, rolled them up, and closed the door with them in it to prevent the handle from clicking when the door closed. Mission accomplished, he crept down the hall, listening for any sounds. Hearing no noise that would indicate a person’s presence, he checked the rooms with open doors next.
No sign of anything wrong.
Something was very wrong, though. The air settled around him like sludge, the weight of danger pressing in on his frame.
Circling back to the first room, he grabbed more papers to wedge in the doors. Next, he opened the closest door on the right as soundlessly as possible.
Despite the darkness, the stainless steel surfaces in the room caught the moonlight from the window, allowing him to see through a dim gray filter. A flat, rectangular surgery table satin the middle of the space, with one of the shorter sides facing him. Two large cages lined the wall to the left of it. A dark shape pressed against the bottom of a transparent plastic door of one of the cages. A small machine and two tubes were connected to it, resembling an anesthesia machine Jax had seen in a friend’s surgical practice. When he edged closer, his eyes widened, his lips parting in shock. A face pressed against the plastic door.
A human face.
Jax rushed over, crashed to his knees and hauled open the door. Seyla tumbled into his arms. A wave of anesthetic gas hit him, leaving him disoriented. He held his breath and swept Seyla aside. Unsure where the shutoff valve was located on the machine, he slammed the cage closed to contain the gas.
