Creature of Unknown Origin

48

I squeezed my eyes shut, screwing them tighter and tighter still as I shrank back into the

shadows of the closet. The floor creaked as Spencer shifted. The movement abruptly halted with

the thump of something against the other side of the door and the click of the lock.

The door closed just as quickly as it had opened. Plastic shouted and things thudded against

the carpet. Spencer let out a groan, and my eyes burst open.

He was doubled over, panting, as Dr. Richards kicked him in the shins, twice, in an attempt

to get him to lose the firm grip he had on her arm. Dr. Richards reached out with her free hand,

searching for anything she could use as a weapon.

Her head snapped up as I stepped from the closet. Her lip quivered. All fight seemingly

sapped from her body. “ You! ”

Terror wafted through the room. In her fearful freeze, Dr. Richards had allowed Spencer

to get a better grip on her, effectively silencing her with a steady hand over her mouth. The

woman’s wide, frightened eyes didn’t waver. Her gaze was locked firmly on me, and me alone.

I didn’t exactly remember what I’d done to her to deserve such a full -body terror response,

but I had a few guesses. I probably lost control when I first came through the portal, and that was

all Dr. Richards knew of me. A monster. A thing to be feared, and nothing more. Something less

than human.

“Al l right, all right, settle down,” Spencer started, licking his split lip, “We’re not gonna

hurt you, but I do need you to work with us.”

His words must’ve rebooted Dr. Richard’s fight because she immediately tried to break

free again. Spencer somehow swung them around so he had Dr. Richards pinned up against the

wall, his hand still on her mouth, without more than a little squeak of surprise from the woman in

his grasp.

“I don’t know how Kelman put up with this for so long, this is way too much work,”

Spencer grumbled in a way probably meant only for me even though his back was to me, but I

couldn’t bring myself to respond.

Spencer filled the silence, addressing Dr. Richards. “We need your help, but before we can

tell you why, I need to know if you’re gonna scream.”

Dr. Richards’ eyes darted to me, her chest heaving. I backed away slowly, hunching my

shoulders in an attempt at making myself shrink into nothingness. Unfortunately, the universe