HUMAN

Chapter 17 - Intern

Five months later. . .

We were so close. . .

It should have been impossible for him to escape. . .

How. . .And why?

My thoughts these past months ran wild. Each mention of this case festered in my head like a stubborn mosquito that doesn't leave you alone.

I peered over the piles of documents on my desk, and someone had walked into my office. "Ms. Holmes. . ." I shot up to the voice.

"Commander, sir!" I saluted soon after fixing my disheveled appearance. I waited for him to speak, but the gray wolf remained silent.

His movements were slow and intentional. They were almost scanning my room for any contraband I could hide. His squinted eyes landed on my desk, where stacks of documents, files, and other miscellaneous items were sprawled in a chaotic mess. Cigarette butts lay on my carpet, accompanied by empty cans of energy drinks. Don't even get me started on the scent of smoke that lingers in the room's air.

Then his focus shifted to my face, my appearance. My stark white fur was starting to turn into a gross yellow shade around my face and hair, along with bloodshot eyes that gave the impression of someone who'd been smoking weed non-stop since birth.

The commander huffed a cloud of smoke and casually strolled to one of my couches on the other side of the room, each step echoing throughout my desolate office.

He finally took refuge and sat down, gently placing aside his coat. The commander hadn't spoken yet and didn't seem to care that I looked like a zombie or reeked of foul odor as I began to feel dizzy, standing up, waiting for a response.

"Sir, we're currently searching across the continent for the human, but for five months, we've been left in the dark," I spoke up after 10 minutes had passed of him just puffing the cigarette. "But, there is this one possible location that-" I stopped when he shot me a sudden death stare. On cue, my nerves sent a tingle that ran down my spine, and my sense to flee was overwhelming. Yet I could only remain paralyzed.

The tension was broken off when my new assistant walked in. I discreetly sighed in relief. "Sorry about the delay, Ms. Holmes, the coffee machine was malfunctioning-" He stopped and read the room.

"Ah, well. . .I'll uhhh. . .organize some files in the storage room." Our attention was diverted to him sheepishly walking back out as the door creaked shut. I don't think he even knows where the storage room is yet.

"2 weeks off. No pay." The commander shortly spoke up. My head snapped towards his direction to protest, but it was futile. "You're not working. You're obsessing." The commander stood up and draped his coat over his shoulders. "You've exhausted our resources financially and have begun to use your own money to run this operation, with every single mission being fruitless." I was left with my mouth open, unsure of what to say.

"You're becoming a liability to the company in this state."

The thumps of his boot approached closer. Then his eyes diverted to something that almost sent my soul out of my body. The metallic device I took from the SIU's property into mine was out in the open, fully displayed to show off all its metallic glory as I began to sweat profusely.

Shit! I forgot to put it away!?

"What type of ashtray is this?" I felt like I was about to faint until I pulled a response out of my mouth. "I bought it from the Sci-Fi convention a couple of months ago. . ." I winced as I witnessed the cigar being put out on the surface of the device.

As quickly as doom had entered my office, it soon disappeared as the commander walked out after he'd brought down the slammer.

I slumped down on my chair, hyperventilating, afraid I would lose my job. The door creaked open again, and my assistant carefully peaked inside as I quickly snatched the circular device into my pocket trying my best to shake it off as a stretch.