Spliced

It was 5:30am when Indi awoke. She stumbled out of bed, and wandered off to find the bathroom. The colouring of the bathrooms pleased her. Even the showers at the end of the short row of stalls had pink shower curtains. It was nice to see a little splash of colour buried within the otherwise dull grey facility. Indi walked past the row of sinks and entered one of the stalls. A few minutes later the main bathroom door swung open and footsteps pounded across the tiles. Someone entered one of the other stalls and vomited into the toilet.

Indi emerged from her stall and took her time washing her hands. Whomever had come in was still in their stall. They were quieter now though. She hesitated. Should she wait? Ask if they’re okay? Some people didn’t like others around when they were sick, especially not a stranger. But what if it wasn’t someone else from the facility? What if it was Amanda, Cat, or Kass? Even if it wasn’t she should probably wait in case they needed help? If they didn’t then maybe they’d walk with her at least part of the way back upstairs. The facility may be hidden away from the sun but she still knew it was night. Places like this were creepy at night, undeniably so, even without a murderous creature running about. Indi waited.

A few minutes later, and an incredibly pale Cat emerged from the bathroom stall. She eyed Indi warily then bent over the sink to wash out her mouth and her hands.

“You alright?” Indi asked.

“Fine” Cat grumbled. She turned to walk out the door.

Indi scrambled after her. Neither of them talked as they walked back towards the elevator. Once inside they stood in silence as the elevator began its journey upwards. Indi snuck worried glances at Cat, but Cat ignored her, didn’t even look at her.

Beyond the silence that lay between them, and the background noise of elevator motor, Indi could hear something else.

Was that banging? She cocked her head slightly trying to listen. The whirring sound of the elevator almost drowned any other sound out but she could definitely hear something. There was a distant clanging sound coming from somewhere deep below her feet. The longer she listened the better she could hear it. It took her a few seconds to realize it wasn’t just her imagining things, that the sound was actually getting closer. She glanced at Cat who didn’t appear to have noticed.

But before Indi could ask Cat frowned and looked towards Indi. “You hear that?”

Indi nodded afraid to move otherwise.

The banging got louder. It was much more obvious now. Whatever it was, it was working its way up the elevator shaft. Cat tensed, her hand moved to the weapon at her side. Despite the fact that she must have been feeling sick she'd obviously found the spare the time to put on some clothes: a black singlet that could have been pajamas or day wear given she was wearing no bra, her Kevlar pants, and her holster. Meanwhile, Indi had just thrown an oversized t-shirt over nothing but a pair of panties and some socks.

Indi took a step closer to Cat. She tried to breathe and suddenly found that she couldn’t get any air in. The lights went out. Deafening clangs surrounded the outside of the elevator. Something was trying to get in? The elevator came to a sudden and screeching halt. The sound stopped almost as quickly. Blue emergency lights blinked on. Indi tried to breathe and managed to gasp in some air but it was shallow and not enough.

Cat was focused on the elevator buttons. She tried pushing a bunch. Nothing happened. Indi wanted to step back against the wall but feared whatever was on the outside at the same time. She stood where she was, just struggling to suck the air into her lungs. She grabbed at Cat, who was still stabbing at the buttons. Cat spun. Indi tried to talk, to tell her what was wrong, but she was having trouble talking fast enough. She’d barely gotten a word out when Cat saw the motions her hands were making and figured it out.

“Where’s your inhaler?”

Indi pointed up and managed to say “room” in a gasping voice.

Cat swore. She looked around, trying to think of something. She looked up and froze. Indi followed her glace and barely registered the maintenance hatch in the top of the elevator. Cat reached up. Had she been any shorter she might have needed a ladder.

Indi half wanted to stop her. She was afraid of whatever was out there. She could hear something screaming. But she was also getting light headed.

Just as Cat started to push against the maintenance hatch the lights flicked back on. With a groan the elevator started moving again. Indi took a half step, almost a fall backward, leaning most of her weight against the wall. She started to slide down. Cat grabbed her and pulled her upright just as the doors opened. Cat threw Indi’s arm around her shoulder and half carried, half dragged, her out of the elevator and down the hall towards Indi’s room. It took her no more than a few seconds. Cat was strong enough to bench press her own weight and Indi weighed about 5 kg less than she did. Cat didn’t knock. She turned the handle and kicked the door open with one foot. She turned the lights on but didn’t bother shutting the door behind her.

“What?” Falco said, as he was suddenly dragged from a dream, and didn’t quite yet comprehend the urgency of the situation. It took him only a few seconds to register Cat in his room with Indi. By that time Cat had sat Indi down on the edge of the bed and had started over to where their bags lay and was throwing clothes everywhere.

“Where’s her inhaler?” she snapped at Falco.

Falco shot out of bed, reached quickly into one of the bags then handed the inhaler Indi who had been struggling to talk between gasping breaths but was still aware enough to use it herself. From experience Falco knew the talking was a good sign. Things weren’t as bad as they probably felt to Indi. While Indi took a few puffs on it Cat lent with arms crossed against the wall. Falco sat beside Indi, one hand placed gently at her back, stroking softly. Cat waited until Indi was breathing normally again then she left, closing the door behind her.

“What happened?” Falco asked wrapping his arms around Indi.

Indi took a deep, glorious, breath. “I got up to go to the bathroom,” she paused. She breathed in and then out. Just making sure she still could.

“Ran into Cat.” Another breath.

“On the way back… there was something outside the elevator. I don’t know what, or how, but it stopped the elevator. I thought it was the creature come to eat us.”

Falco gave her a squeeze. “It’s alright. You’re fine now.”

Indi nodded and rested her head on his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a moment and then he helped her into bed and snuggled down beside her, wrapping her in a cocoon of arms.

Cat managed to sneak back into her own room without waking Zephyr. She lay awake for a while longer. Staring at the ceiling. Thinking. She managed to fall asleep not long before Amanda got up and patted down the hallway towards the showers.

6:30am. A showered and fully dressed Amanda banged on the door.

“Come on, meeting in half an hour. Get yer arses outta bed.”

“Yes sir” Falco saluted at the door. He was already up, searching through his bag for a pair of jeans. He’d found his other white t-shirt already but Cat’s attempt at hunting for the inhaler had made a bit of a mess. Ah, there they were, now where did his belt get to? He fumbled about a bit longer before he found it buried beneath one of Indi’s brightly coloured jerseys.

Indi groaned and tried to bury her head under the pillow. She pulled her head out momentarily and marginally opened one eye to watch Falco searching. However, she found the light blinding and soon had her head back under the pillow.

“Come on Indi” Falco, sat down on the bed next to her. “You gotta get up now if you want a shower.”

“No.” Indi pulled the pillow down tighter.

“Come on” he gently rubbed her shoulder then lent down to nip playfully at her ear. “You can sneak into my shower.”

“Mmm,” Indi murmured taking the pillow off her face and opening one eye. “Alright,” she said as she struggled to sit up and rub the sleep from her eyes. Falco handed her her glasses. She put them on and gave him a mischievous smile, then followed him down to the men’s showers.

“Cat! Zeph! Outta bed”

“Alright, alright, I’m getting there,” Zephyr mumble shouted as he swung his feet over the edge.

Cat had already gathered up her things and opened the door before Amanda could finish knocking.

“Jeez Cat you look awful, you sleep alright?” Amanda commented as Cat walked out the door. Cat didn’t reply, just brushed past her and stalked off down the hall. She passed Kass who had just stepped out of the elevator in time to hear Amanda’s comment. Kass glanced up at Cat’s face and silently made the same observation. Cat’s face was a clammy looking white.

Kass dumped her shower things back in her room then headed back downstairs towards the lounge.

When she got there she found Sirius sitting on one of the couches alone, tea in hand, reading a newspaper.

“Morning” she said.

“Hey,” he replied with a smile.

“Where did you get the newspaper?” Kass asked.

“Found it on the table.”

Kass made herself a tea then sat down in on the sofa next to Sirius. For a second she wasn’t sure if she should say anything to him but he took the pressure off, handing her half the newspaper to read.

She smiled softly and murmured a small “Thanks.”

Sirius gave a nod and smile in reply then returned to reading.

Kass started reading her half.

Sirius glanced over at her. He’d already read most of the more interesting news stories. He wasn’t good at starting conversations though and what if Kass just wanted to read in peace?

She noticed his glance. “Anything interesting happen in the news?”

“Just the usual.” he replied momentarily distracted by her smile. “Malcolm Corradi wants to implement a curfew in the Emerald City, separate the vampires from everyone else.”

“He’s been wanting to do that for years. Most people think he’s a crackpot. The media likes him though.”

“Yeah.” Sirius paused, not sure where to take the conversation. Malcolm Corradi was popular with the papers and so he was often the first thing that came to mind if one was asked about the news. Malcolm and his views didn’t really hold up to a pleasant conversation though.

“I hear they’re looking at implementing a tax on any ship entering the Emerald harbour, does that affect your ships?” Kass asked shifting the topic.

Sirius shook his head. “We don’t usually stop by the Emerald port. Most of the places we stop at are small towns like Little Rock. It might bring more ships into Little Rock though.”

“Why is that? I would have thought it would be easier to hide in a big city, blend in amongst the other ships.”

Sirius shrugged. “Yeah but the politicians care less about what happens in the small towns and Little Rock probably gets more deliveries by ship than the Emerald City. Most of the sea traffic they get is cruise ships.”

“How does one smuggle something into the city then?”

“Well they don’t in large shipments. Anyone who wants something illegal would likely get it from Little Rock.” He paused. “But I don’t really know. It depends on what you’re shipping.”

“Do you always know what your clients want shipped?”

Sirius started to shake his head then gave a half shrug. “I don’t do live shipments and I like to have a rough idea of what’s on board, but for a price I don’t ask details.”

Kass nodded.

It was at that moment that Wolf entered the room. He said good morning and then went about making himself a tea.

“Do you guys want some tea?” he asked.

“No thanks, we’re good.” Kass replied. Sirius just shook his head.

“Can I grab a section?” Wolf asked as he sat down on a couch.

“You can have my half” Kass said “I was just about to make some toast anyway. You guys want some?”

“Sure,” Sirius replied.

She walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard. The plates were on the top shelf. Too high for her to reach. She hesitated for a second, contemplated pulling over a couch. It was that or climb up on the counter which felt just a little undignified, especially given she was wearing a skirt. She could use her magic but that was equally as likely to send a plate flying into the other wall. Her telekinesis was powerful but not very well controlled.

Sirius looked up at noticed her problem. “Do you want some help?” he offered.

“Yes please.” she replied, relieved she hadn’t had to ask.

He put his newspaper down on the table and walked into the kitchen to help her. The top shelf was well within Sirius’s reach. Kass was still impressed by his sheer size.

She was still busy admiring the size of his arms when he handed Kass the plate. He released his grip on it a moment before Kass realised she needed to grab it. The plate slid beneath their fingers. It shattered with a loud crash on the floor.

“Dammit,” he growled to himself.

Kass gave a small gasp “Shit! I’m sorry. That was my fault.”

“It’s alright,” Sirius reassured her as he bent down to pick up the pieces. Kass had the same idea and they almost bumped into each other in the process. Sirius glanced at Kass as she fumbled about picking up the larger pieces of plate. He tore his eyes away again as he realised he could see right down the front of her blouse. Oops. He stood up and looked around the bench for some paper towels to put the smaller pieces of ceramic into.

Wolf had glanced up at the initial crash but upon seeing everything under control he’d returned to reading his paper.

Sirius found some paper towels and they’d almost finished clearing up the last of the broken plate when the door opened. Indi stepped into the lounge wearing her favourite purple jersey, fitted dark jeans and small-heeled boots.

“Hey guys” she smiled. She opened her mouth and eyes wide in surprise when she saw them picking up bits of ceramic from the floor. “What happened?”

“Dropped a plate,” Sirius replied.

“Watch your feet,” Kass said as she tipped the last of the pieces she could find into the nearby bin.

Indi gave a nod, stretched her arms in the air, and then asked “What’s for breakfast?”

“I was just going to make some toast.” Kass replied. “Would you like some?”

Indi pondered the idea for a moment. “Hmm. I might see what’s in the freezer.” She soon found some things more to her liking than toast and went about cooking up a storm.

Falco wandered in a few minutes later. He come up behind Indi and wrapped his arms around her “Mmm smells good. What ya cooking?”

Indi turned and gave him a quick kiss “Bacon.”

“Mmm.” Falco licked his lips. “I hope there’s some for me?”

“Sure thing, just give me a moment.” She put several slices on a plate and handed it to him.

“You’re the best.” Falco gave her a wink as he took the plate.

Indi piled the rest onto a large plate and turned around to find Wolf standing beside the kitchen counter looking longingly at the bacon.

“There’s enough for you too if you want some” She told him. “I also cooked some eggs.” She then stood on tip toes to fetch another couple of plates so people could help themselves.

Wolf gave a grin “Thanks.”

“Right! Next up, coffee! Coffee! Coffee!” She turned on the hot water jug and found some coffee in the cupboard. While she waited for the jug to boil she piled bacon and eggs on her own plate. Atop the bacon she poured maple syrup and…

“Cream!” Kass exclaimed as she returned to the kitchen for a piece of bacon and caught a glance at what Indi was putting on her plate.

“It was in fridge,” Indi replied.

“How can you eat that?”

“Easy, like this” and Indi picked up a piece of bacon topped in golden syrup and cream and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth.

Kass gave her a look of disgust. Wolf had a similar look. Sirius just laughed.

“Imagine if you actually ate healthy, you could be skinnier than Kass,” Sirius teased Indi, giving Kass a gentle poke at the same time. Human contact was rare for him and it made Kass’s heart jump into her throat in surprise. She managed to maintain her composure other than the slight blush she could feel in her cheeks. Hopefully no one noticed that.

“I’d die without sugar,” Indi replied, “and nobody could be skinnier than Kass, not without being invisible.”

“Mmm hilarious,” Kass deadpanned. She knew Indi and Sirius didn’t mean any harm but she was still never quite sure how to handle teasing. She could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks.

“I’m just kidding. You’re totally fine.” Indi widened her eyes and managed to look genuinely incredibly apologetic. She was like a naughty puppy no one could stay mad at.

“I thought it was just blood you vampires needed to survive?” Wolf quipped with a grin that said he knew better.

“We don’t need blood to survive,” Indi replied “It just makes us really really really tired if we don’t, and a high meat diet tends to be good enough for us halfs anyway.” She leaned back her head and dropped and entire strip of bacon into her mouth.

Wolf grinned. He didn’t correct her knowledge of vampirsm. She wouldn’t have liked it. She was half right, right about the halfs that is, but a full-blooded vampire, well it depended on the vampire. He had known of some that had danced with death when they’d lost access to their supply. It was more complicated than Indi might lead one to believe.

“It’d just be like not having coffee, for me anyway.” she added once she was done chewing and as she reached for her cup. She gave the coffee a deep sniff. “Actually not having coffee would be way worse.” She shuddered at the thought. Wolf chuckled along agreeably.

“Where’s our great all-knowing leader this morning?” Falco asked Sirius. “She reminded me of one of my old drill sergeants when she came banging on our doors this morning.”

“Did I?” Amanda asked as she walked in through the doors, carrying a pile of Wolf’s books. She sat them on the kitchen counter then spied the bacon.

“Speak of the devil,” Falco quipped with a grin. “That’s some spooky timing. You know, I had an old instructor that used to do that too.”

“Oh, I’ve just been waiting outside the door for the right moment,” she replied with a wink. “I thought you’d be used to getting up early in the Navy?” she added as she grabbed a piece of bacon off Wolf’s plate.

Wolf gave a yelp. “Hey get your own.”

Indi laughed. “I can make some more.”

“Yes please.”Amanda looked up hopefully.

“Give me a few seconds,” Indi replied.

“It’s alright I can do it,” Amanda said.

“Oh no, it’s no trouble. Go sit down.”

Amanda gave a nod and a “thanks,” and headed for the couches, taking the books with her.

She had barely sat down when the door to the lounge opened again and Cat entered the room followed closely by Zephyr.

“I ran into Mark in the hall,” Amanda spoke to the whole group. “He said he’d be down to speak to us shortly. You might want to eat quickly,” she said to Cat and Zephyr.

“Whatever.” Cat replied flopping down on one of the couches. She made no move to get food.

Amanda frowned. Cat never skipped breakfast as far as she knew. She was looking less pale than earlier, but still...

“Is that bacon?” Zephyr asked sniffing the air.

“Down boy,” Amanda teased.

Indi laughed. “Yeah, come have some.” She handed him a plate a few minutes later. “Take some to Amanda as well.”

They were half tucked into the bacon when the lounge door opened once more and Mark walked through.

“Morning guys” he said.

A few people returned his greeting. Others, like Cat, simply scowled. Okay, that was pretty much just Cat.

“Hello.” Indi held out a plate. “You want some bacon?”

“Yeah, sure, thanks.” Mark got over his surprise quickly and grabbed a few slices. “Mmm, this stuff’s good.” he said after taking a few bites.

“You could cook for a living” Falco said.

“It’s just bacon,” Indi replied taking a seat.

Wolf shook his head. “Best bacon I’ve ever tasted.”

Indi gave a laugh.

“No, really. I’m making you official chef.”

Falco nodded in agreement. “Uh huh.”

“Only if you guys do all the washing up,” Indi replied.

Wolf nodded. “I’ve tasted some of your other cooking, I’d say that’s a good deal for us.”

“You haven’t seen the state she can leave the kitchen in,” Falco chuckled.

”For her food, I’ll clean it with my tongue” Wolf added. Indi grinned broadly. Cat raised an eyebrow sensing an opportunity but was too tired to think of anything witty to say.

Amanda opened her mouth as if to say something clever as well but then thought better of it. “How about we get down to business” She said instead.

Mark gave a nod. “Right, I have something to show you. Follow me.” He turned and walked towards the door.

As they got up to follow him Indi turned to Cat. “Aren’t you going to have anything to eat?”

“I’m not hungry” Cat replied and gave Indi a look that discouraged Indi from pushing any further.

Amanda, who was in hearing distance, glanced back with narrowed eyes. Indi frowned and was about to say something before she remembered how Cat had been throwing up earlier that morning. Maybe she wasn’t feeling well. Surely food would help. Cat could be stubborn though so Indi grabbed an apple from the fridge on her way out. She placed it in the small black leather backpack she carried with her. Cat might want it later.

Mark led them to the elevator. Once they were all inside he pushed a few buttons. Indi watched closely. She wanted to know the code for each floor. She almost had it figured out. The elevator started to move up a floor.

“Where are we going?” Amanda asked.

“Top floor, to the morgue,” Mark replied.

“Why do you keep the morgue on the top floor?” Zephyr asked.

Mark shrugged.

“We’re sleeping under dead people,” Zephyr emphasized.

Mark shrugged again. “Yeah, I guess so.” He gave an amused smile. Falco was chuckling in the background. Even the corners of Cat’s mouth curled upwards and she rose one eyebrow in amusement at the interaction.

The elevator stopped and they all stepped out. This hall was small. There was only one door centered between them and the end of the hall. Presumably that was the morgue. Stairs at the end of the hall curved downwards. The hall was entirely hospital white, including the floor and door. It pretty much had the same interior design as the rest of the place. Mark led them through to the morgue and they found themselves in a brightly lit room. Benches and cupboard’s surrounded them, all piled high with various vials, tubes, and containers. Two regular sized-fridges stood in one corner. Against another wall was a large heavy-set door, the kind that usually led to a walk-in freezer. Further along the wall there was a smaller door, much like the one they had entered through. In the center of the room lay three gurneys, each with something on them covered by a white sheet.

As they walked further into the room the other smaller door opened and an older man walked in. He was tall, wearing glasses, and had some of the most chalk-white yet full-headed hair they had ever seen.

“You think he keeps guinea pigs up there?” Zephyr whispered to Indi. She stifled a giggle.

“Ah good morning.” he said as he pushed his glasses further up his long nose. “I’ve summoned you all here to show you… err,” he hesitated then started again. “There were a few more instances in the night and well…” he hesitated again.

Mark took the opportunity to introduce him. “This is Professor Nickson.”

Professor Nickson gave a small nod of his head. “Yes. Maybe it’s easiest if I just show you.”

He pulled the sheet off the first object. Probably a witch. Much like yesterday’s body there was not much left. The Professor, with Mark interjecting every now and again, talked about what had happened and his theories on the whole ordeal. Basically he didn’t have much more of an idea than they did currently. His medical knowledge was good, not that anyone here was qualified enough to check that. But he lacked a grasp on magical creatures. Wolf found he could already rule out several of the man’s suggestions. They walked around and had a closer look at the three bodies and then started to argue about what the next plan was.

Indi stopped paying attention half way through. She had started to feel light-headed and then quite dizzy. It wasn’t so different to how she had been feeling when they had first arrived yesterday, and even though the room was cold the bodies had definitely started to decay a little. It wasn’t normally something that would bother her, but today, the cold and the decay, combined with a layer of antiseptical pungence, just made her light-headedness all the worse.

Wolf had just finished explaining that he thought they should hit the books and go through the list of creatures in more detail. Cat wanted an armed splinter group to go downstairs and look around. Wolf considered it too dangerous without proper research first. Amanda agreed with Wolf.

Indi wasn’t listening. She was focused on not passing out. She blinked a couple of times trying to clear the spots invading her vision.

Wolf was listening to Amanda explain to Cat why they couldn’t or at least shouldn’t go barging about the place with guns when he caught a look at Indi. Noting how pale she was, even for Indi, he bent forwards and whispered, “You okay?”

She nodded and forced a small smile. Wolf frowned but then turned back to the others to add his bit to the conversation again. Indi placed a hand on the bench beside her to brace herself upright. A moment later her vision went black.

Indi awoke to find herself on the floor surrounded by concerned faces. No one was arguing anymore. Falco and Amanda were kneeling by her left side. Wolf stood beside Amanda, frowning.

Indi sat up slowly.

“You okay?” Amanda asked.

She gave a small nod in reply then added weakly, “I’m fine.”

“You look pale even for you,” Zephyr commented from the back.

“He’s got a point,” Indi heard Amanda say almost as if from a distance, as she closed her eyes for a moment. She felt Falco put his arm around her to stop her falling backwards again.

“I’m fine,” Indi insisted opening her eyes again. The room moved slightly in ways it shouldn’t. She didn’t want to stay on the floor with everyone still looking at her though. She shifted her legs underneath her and tried to push herself up. She wobbled slightly and Falco grabbed her to steady her.

“How about you just sit for a while,” he suggested.

Indi did as she was told.

“It’s probably better if you stay lying down for a bit,” Amanda added and then turned to Mark. “Is there somewhere nearby she could rest for bit?”

“We’ve got a doctor, just down the hall” Mark replied. “I’ll go and get them.”

Indi stayed sitting. She didn’t want to lie down. It was embarrassing enough just sitting on the floor with everyone watching.

Amanda sat down next to Indi. She drummed her fingers absently along the floor in thought.

“You were feeling dizzy yesterday?” she asked Indi.

“Um.”

“By the elevators? When we first got here?”

Indi nodded.

“Anytime else?”

Indi shook her head.

“What about last night?” Falco asked.

“Last night?” Amanda looked up.

Falco nodded. “Cat brought her back into my room in the midst of an asthma attack. Something tried to attack them in the elevator.”

Amanda turned to Cat who gave a shrug. “Maintenance issues probably, the elevator was making noises, power cut out for a while, it spooked Indi.”

Amanda turned back to Indi to confirm.

Indi shrugged then turned to Falco. “That was different… I think.” She hesitated, frowning, then looked up at Cat. “I heard screaming.”

No one said anything for a little bit.

Cat raised an eyebrow, “Maybe you do need your head checked.”

Amanda shot her a warning glance but then her expression shifted into one of concern.

Mark returned with a woman they hadn’t met in tow. She was medium height with light brown, almost blonde hair, the sort that had probably been much lighter in colour when she was younger.

“This is our resident doctor, Tanya.” Mark introduced her.

“Hello,” Tanya said giving the warmest smile.

She crouched down in front of Indi.

“How are you doing?” she asked softly.

“I’m okay,” Indi replied.

“Are you feeling dizzy still?”

“Not anymore.” Indi paused. “I feel fine now,” she insisted more earnestly. She looked up at the others cautiously. She didn’t want them to worry. Anyway she did feel fine now, mostly. The antispetic smell still bothered her a bit.

“Do guys mind backing up a bit?” Tanya requested the group. “Just to give her some space.” Everyone shuffled back except Amanda and Falco who stayed either side of Indi.

Tanya studied Indi’s face for a few moments. “Well you look alright. Is she usually this pale?”

“She’s half Vampire” Falco replied. Much of Indi’s normal colour had started to return.

Tanya gave a nod. “I’d like to perform a couple of tests anyway. Just take some blood samples if that’s alright? We can do it here or we can go to my office if you feel you’re up to travelling a short distance with a bit of help? I don’t want to get you standing too fast though.”

“I can carry her,” Falco said.

Tanya gave a nod.

“I can walk,” Indi protested.

Falco shook his head. “No way.” He reached one arm under her arm and behind her back. The other under her knees. Indi didn’t complain further but she frowned and her cheeks heated up. Falco carried Indi out of the room, following Tanya.

“The rest of you are alright to continue?” Mark asked. “We are short on time.”

Amanda nodded. She turned back towards the rest of the group, giving a passing glance to the bodies on the slab.

“So what now gang?” she asked.

But before anyone could reply she turned to Mark. “Do you have a necromancer on your crew?”

Mark gave a snort. The nearest to a laugh they had heard from him.

“No.” He shook his head. “Even if they weren’t rare as hell I doubt we could afford one.”

Cat raised an eyebrow. “You can afford us,” she stated.

“As a permanent staff member,” he added. “We’ve had necromancers in. None of them good enough.” His eyes glanced at the bodies on the slabs then danced away again as if he didn’t want to look too long, as if there was something he was holding back.

“Err, maybe I’m wrong but doesn’t necromancy require a sacrifice?” Kass inquired.

Wolf and Sirius nodded silently while Amanda explained. “Temporary resurrections of the recently deceased can be done with limited bloodshed.”

“Limited bloodshed?” Zephyr asked, eyes wide. “What exactly do you mean by limited bloodshed.”

“A pint or two,” Amanda replied. “No need for slaughter.”

Wolf snorted. “You’d need more than a pint. Even for a good necromancer to get something out of that.” He nodded at the slabs.

“Think we could do it with a spell?” Amanda asked.

Wolf laughed. “No. And not with limited bloodshed. Think of how they’d feel anyway. Half-arsed resurrections aren’t particularly nice on the subject.”

“Agreed,” Sirius added.

“Okay, well any other suggestions?” Amanda asked.

“Go in guns blazing,” Cat suggested with a smile.

Amanda sighed. “We’re not doing that Cat.”

“Why?”

“We need some more information first. We could go back to the books for a bit.”

“I feel like we’ve limited the list down as much as we can.” Zephyr replied hesitantly. He didn’t exactly want to endorse Cat’s method.

Cat pouted, leant back against the bench, and crossed her arms. A moment later however she straightened up and her face took on a much more serious look.

“How about a trap?” she suggested.

Amanda’s eyebrows raised, interested. “What kind of trap?”

“A bait trap. We send someone down as bait for the creature, entice it to us, set a trap for it.”

Amanda pursed her lips, more hesitant.

“Actually that’s not a bad idea” Sirius offered his opinion.

Amanda glanced at him. He shrugged.

“Who would we send?” Amanda asked.

“Indi would really be best with her shield magic,” Cat replied but her voice wavered. “Or I could go?” She offered sounding more sure. She opened her mouth to say more.

“How would we trap it?” Wolf interjected. “We don’t know anything about it. We set the wrong trap and it gets out we could lose our chance or worse get someone hurt. We need to come up with some details, and some backup plans.”

Amanda was silent, thinking. She liked the idea of the trap but Wolf was right they did need more information.

“We could create a shield spell,” Cat suggested. “All we need is an exit plan. Get a sighting of it and then we’ve got our information.”

“We could have a look around?” Kass suggested “Stay in groups.”

Sirius nodded.

Cat sent her a glare. She disliked Kass agreeing with her, even if, or possibly because, Amanda actually looked more convinced now.

“It rarely attacks people in groups of three or more,” Mark, who had been silently listening to the whole conversation, stated.

“Rarely?” Zephyr repeated “implying sometimes it does?”

But everyone ignored him.

The group seemed to share a look of agreement. Even Cat had a look of resignation on her face.

“Yeah?” Amanda asked them.

“Yeah,” Sirius repeated.

There was a mixture of nodding and agreements. No one objected.

Just then Falco walked through the door.

“Hey guys, what’s the plan?”

“Split up into two groups and have a look around” Amanda replied.

“Isn’t splitting up how most horror movies start?” Zephyr stated.

“How’s Indi?” Amanda asked Falco.

“She’s alright. Doc suggested she have a bit of a rest for a while.”

Amanda nodded.

“You guys have surveillance right?” Zephyr asked Mark.

“Yeah, most of the halls,” Mark replied “but it’s not much use anyway, we always lose power to the cameras when the creatures attack so we haven’t managed to get any visuals of them so far.”

“No,” Zephyr shook his head. “I was thinking, since we have Falco now, maybe one of us should stay behind and observe the others on the cameras, and maybe do some research at the same time. If the cameras cut out we’ll see it straight away and then we can alert the others and send in help.”

Mark hesitated then nodded. “Fred did say you were to be escorted everywhere other than the living quaters but he’s a stickler for order. Anything important is locked up anyway and you won’t be able to access the labs. I can show you to a computer where we can bring up the surveillance and keep watch from there.”

“You don’t have someone doing that full time?” Amanda asked.

Mark shook his head. “Only occasionally.”

“Why don’t you go with him?” Sirius said to Amanda.

“I can do it,” Zephyr offered.

“Amanda’s better with computers,” Sirius replied.

Zephyr frowned but didn’t argue. There had been an extra layer of tone to Sirius’s statement.

Amanda peered at Sirius trying to figure out his game. Did he think she could find some useful information on their computer systems? Amanda understood computers a lot better than Sirius did. Anything interesting was likely to be password protected, if there was even anything interesting. Getting to protected files was probably beyond her abilities, at least not without a couple of weeks with the device. Indi was better at this sort of thing, although Amanda doubted even she was that good on the spot. Worth a look anyway. Sometimes people left things around unsecured.

“Okay” Amanda nodded.

“I trust the rest of you can find your way around?” Mark asked. He seemed confident that they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere that they shouldn’t.

A few nods was all he got in reply.

“Okay then” he turned to Amanda. ”This way.”

She followed him out the door leaving the rest of the gang on their own.