Red Eyes

Part 6: PETs

Tim sat behind the steering wheel. Devyn casually watched the shade of white his knuckles took as he clenched. She knew she shouldn't stare but couldn't help herself. Tim would be her first live, undead being to examine.

Sure, her brother and Paige were in the trunk, acting like they were dead next to the actual dead guy right now. Sort of awkward. But, their discomfort was worth her scientific triumph.

"How long is this going to take?" Tim asked, making Devyn jump and turn straight.She shrugged. "I'm guessing about two hours."

Tim's eyebrows went together as his frown lines deepened. "You sure it can't be done quicker?"

Devyn shook her head. "Ideally, but the dye needs time to activate to get the most out of this. I could say we did two scans if someone sees us bring those two in on surveillance."

She did not see the lines on his face ease, but he nodded anyway.

Joy sighed in the backseat as she looked out of the window. The moon and stars danced across the broken glass of windows as they drove through the old West University neighborhood towards the med center.

"What's my story?" She asked.

"Assisting me?" Devyn shrugged. "It is a lot to get this done. You know the manuals and study materials."

Joy sighed again and nodded. "Makes sense."

Devyn glanced back at her friend in slight concern. She didn't know what to say, so they rode on in silence. They pulled up to a dimly lit building. Devyn directed Tim to take the bodies around to a side entrance where the cameras were broken.

The three walked inside and retrieved gurneys for Paige and Jim. Devyn assured everyone that there would be no cameras in the rooms where the studies occur.

Tim cleared his throat as they pushed Jim and Paige down the hall towards the elevator. "You sure they won't ask about the timing of everything?"

Devyn snorted. "Doubt it."

Joy nodded. "They would be happy she was able to convince you to let us get a sample before you burned the bodies."

Tim pressed his lips together as his eyebrows came together. "But, most of the data is—"

"If you say fabricated, I will punch you in the balls," Devyn cut him off, sending him a side-eyed glare.

Tim shook his head and clucked his tongue atop the roof of his mouth. He thought it best not to respond. The lady did have Palmer blood running through her after all.

Once inside the room, Jim and Paige got up from the gurneys and moved around. The room was simple. It contained the computers used for the study and a small bed on the side with a long metal stand beside it. Joy and Devyn began to prepare Tim for the study.

"What records can I access here?" Jim asked.

Devyn glanced over at him and let a curse loose underneath her breath. "Jim, I can't help you with that right now? Can you just give me one second?"

Paige let her fingers trail over the equipment. She stepped out of Joy's way as the woman moved to hand Tim a drink.

"You will need to drink all of this," Joy smiled. "Sorry, it kind of tastes bad."

Devyn walked out of the room and turned on a large white machine. She walked back into the room and over to her brother. Her shoulder pushed him out of the way, and her fingers ran across the keys. The screen now showed the typical loading message.