Deep in the Forest (Wattpad Editor's Pick, June '22)

10

Zoe's phone buzzed with a text notification from Takota. 'I'm at the quad. Where are you?' 

'I have a meeting with Professor Cambridge and won't be down there for lunch today. Sorry.' Zoe hoped he couldn't tell she was lying, but she needed to figure out what the hair she found came from before she told him anything. Knowing Takota, he would assume the brown strands are from Ste ye hah and there was nothing scientific about his gut feeling guesses. 

'I'm drinking your caramel macchiato.' 

'*Sad face*' 

'LOL. Meet me in the parking lot after classes.' 

"Why?' 

'We need to go talk to the Shaman.' 

'I don't understand how that is going to help with our situation since we don't know what we are dealing with.' 

'Z, don't make me turn cave man on you and drag you up there slung over my shoulder.' 

'I can't go tonight; I'm covering Vanessa's shift at the coffee shop.' 

A few moments passed before another message filled the screen. 'Tomorrow then.' 

She couldn't think of a reason not to go. 'FINE, we can go.' 

'I knew you'd see things my way.' 

Zoe rolled her eyes and stuffed her phone into her coat pocket. She hobbled up the stairs to the second floor of the biology sciences building. At the end of the hall, she held her ID under the card reader. The light turned from red to green, allowing her into the lab. 

Zoe weaved between the large benches, equipped with a touchscreen computer monitor. Whiteboards hung above microscopes, cushioned between cabinets filled with bottles of chemicals and clean beakers. A projector hung from the center of the room for sharing information to the class. An acidic bite tinted the air and mingled with AXE body spray. 

Her gaze landed on the gel slicked, black hair near a monitor that belonged to Price Johnson. He is the top student in biology, who over-used the body spray like a desperate man looking for a woman or a one-night stand. Either way, Zoe figured he wouldn't succeed because he never left the lab--not even to sleep or eat. 

She made enough noise to attract his attention as she located an empty set of slides. She added a drop of clear mounting medium and placed a hair in between the two glass pieces, flattening the strand out. The digital microscope and connecting monitor hummed to life with a press of a button. A blurry image of a red brown luminous dash came into view before the microscope automatically adjusted. 

"What do you think you are doing in here?" 

"Price, hi!" 

"Zoe Thornton, what are you doing with that microscope?" 

She jerked her chin at the monitor. "I had a visitor last night and I wanted to determine if it was a bear or possibly a large dog." 

The dark eyes behind Price's thick eyewear moved to the screen. "That specimen is not from a Canis. Their hair is hollow, making them buoyant in liquid." 

She remembered some information she learned about different types of hair and fur and their structure, but not enough to know what she should look for. "How can you tell if the hair is hollow?" 

He pointed to the center of the strand. "Those tiny black marks are hollow spots, but if you look closely, this is almost all solid brown." 

"Could it be from a bear?" 

He shook his head. "The cuticle pattern doesn't look right for an Ursine." 

"Any idea what it could be?" 

"I don't make guesses, but I can run it through the data base to check if it matches anything." 

"That would be great." 

He scrunched his face. "Whatever the sample came from, it needs a bath." 

She was surprised he could smell anything other than his body spray. "Yeah, I noticed the foul odor. It's one of the reasons why I wanted to bring it in and figure out what animal it is." 

He pushed his thick glasses up his nose. "Where did you say you found this?" 

"Caught in the bark of a tree in my backyard." 

He rubbed the stubble on his chin. "The end is tapered, meaning Stinky has never had a haircut. Also, I don't see a skin tag, so no DNA can be collected that I can test for a definitive answer as to the animal's origin." 

"I thought that might be the case, but Doctor Green came up with a way to identify DNA without a skin tag. I'm not fully versed on how that's done, but I thought you might be." 

Price stood and straightened his lab coat. "I've read his work and I should be able to recreate his process, but it will take a while to get myself set up to do it." 

"How long do you need?" 

"Give me a few days, maybe a week." 

She rested her hand on top of the monitor. "Any way that you can speed it up a bit? I don't want something attacking my parents if they take a stroll outside." 

"I'll do what I can, but no guarantees." 

"Thanks." Zoe smiled. "Send me a text the minute you find something, okay?" 

"Sure." 

Zoe hobbled towards the door. 

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Price licked his lips. 

"What?" 

"This isn't a free, Zoe. I expect you to pay the usual fee for my expertise and time." 

"Oh, yeah." Zoe opened her backpack and pulled out a square Tupperware. "A full batch of mom's famous molasses cookies, baked yesterday." 

Price grabbed the container and cracked the lid open. He took a deep breath and reminded her of the Cheshire Cat with his large toothy grin. "Consider it done." 

Zoe pointed at the plastic container. "You'll get another batch when you give me an answer." 

The door to the room slid open, letting in several students in lab coats. The prized Tupperware vanished from sight. 

"I'm on it." Price slid into the chair and his fingers flew over the keyboard like a musical savant.