Page 35 of Feral Mates
Hearing Carl’s voice brought a sense of normalcy.
“Have you logged onto the secure area of the system this morning?”
“Not yet. I needed coffee first. Why?” He peered over my shoulder. “You’re locked out. That’s odd. Let me try it from my login.” Reaching over me, he typed in his credentials, immediately shifting to the results page.
Another red screen.
“That’s not normal,” he huffed. “Maybe a glitch. I’ll call technical support.”
Before he had a chance to turn away, I grabbed his arm, looking from right to left to ensure no one was paying any attention. “Listen to me. Something isn’t right.”
“I know. That’s why I need to make a call. It’s happened before.”
I shook my head. “I think we were locked out on purpose. Can I trust you?” He was the only person I felt I could fully trust in the facility.
Carl narrowed his eyes. “Of course you can. What’s going on?”
“After I left here on Friday, something out of the ordinary happened.”
“You’re being cryptic, which isn’t like you.”
I was trying to be careful with my words. Even though we were both working with the portal, to openly admit an intelligent lifeform had slipped through, and had attached to not one but three hosts, didn’t just sound like the premise of a sci-fi horror flick. It made it sound like I’d lost my freaking mind.
“You mentioned Dr. Blackwell and his team were having trouble closing the portal. How did you discover that? There are no memos or emails.”
“They probably didn’t want it widely known.”
“I’m serious, Carl. How did you know that?”
His expression reverted to something almost childlike, a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar at midnight. Now he was the one glancing over his shoulder. “You remember my friend Dr. Tyler. Right?”
I had to try to remember who he was talking about. “Camden. Doesn’t he work on the fourth floor?”
“Yes, he does. We went to the university together. That dude is a walking, talking machine of science. One reason he has full security clearance.” He half laughed. I didn’t. “Okay. Okay. We get together every few weeks for a basketball game. He happened to mention it last Thursday night. I could tell it concerned him.”
I thought about what I’d learned. “Did you press the issue?”
“There was no need at the time. Besides, he plays by the rules. Are you going to tell me why you’re so nervous? I can tell by the tic on the side of your mouth.”
“What if I told you lifeforms have already slipped into our universe?”
“I know that’s what you’re hoping for, but from what we’ve been told, is very likely nothing more than a response to a magnetic pull. Don’t tell me you had a breakthrough.”
“In a manner of speaking. Not only did my configurations on the laser system finally work, but…” Here goes. I couldn’t back down now. “Three wolves escaped the refuge that’s only a few miles away.”
“Okay.” Carl laughed. “I’m not making the connection.”
“I saw them over the weekend.”
He scratched his head. “You saw them. As in the escaped, likely dangerous wolves.”
“Yes.”
“Did you call animal control or the refuge center?”
I shook my head. “Just wait. I saw them as wolves and… and as men.” I lifted my head, waiting for his reaction.
He knew I wasn’t prone to taking things at face value, constantly double checking our work. When he burst into laughter, I wasn’t shocked. Maybe a little hurt. “I didn’t know you had a funny streak in you.” His smile faded. “Wait a minute. You’re serious.”
