Stuck in the Deepend | ONC 2024

Chapter 4

Lucas rode the elevator up to the fifth floor, hating that this was their only idea. It had just gone seven. Most of the labs were already in darkness, everyone having left for the day, and secretly he hoped that's how he would find Dr Penna's.

He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her, even if he did find her.

After Howard left, Lucas and Diana had gone back and forth on how to approach Dr Penna without revealing Lucas' conditions. It was the one thing Lucas agreed with his father on. He did not want the rest of the world to see him for the freak he already felt.

Maybe it was stupidity holding him back from going public, or good ole fashioned fear. Either way, he knew that wasn't a decision he was going to make overnight.

And that's how he found himself approaching the brightly lit lab on the fifth floor.

He knocked quietly before hearing a muffled voice call from the other side.

'Dr Ashfield?' Dr Penna straightened.

'I figured you'd still be working late.' He looked around, noticing that there were still several boxes left to be unpacked. 'I wanted to ask if you needed any help. You said your lab assistant is sick?' he recalled.

She blinked, her mouth snapping shut as she looked him up and down. Her gaze wasn't unexpected. Very few people knew what he looked like, and considering he shared his mother's dark locks rather than his father's blonde curls, most people could be forgiven for not immediately knowing who he was. It was the kind of anonymity that he liked.

'Thank you, but it's really only this tank that needs to be moved. They placed it by the windows, but it would be much easier on the floor.'

He moved to the tank, but she slid into his path.

'It's quite heavy. I've been waiting for the maintenance team to be free.'

Lucas laughed at that. 'Trust me, the maintenance team are rarely free, unless you're willing to bribe them with dark chocolate cookies.'

He stepped around her and contemplated the tank before easily lifting off the workbench.

'That was over 50kgs,' she said slowly as he positioned it where she indicated.

Lucas shrugged. It had barely felt heavy to him.

'I'm just here to help. Are you sure there's nothing else I can help you with?'

He watched as she bit her lip, her eyes sliding to some of the other tanks, and he smiled.

'Just tell me where they need to go.'

'No, I can't let you move them all by yourself.'

He picked one up and held it in the air to demonstrate that it was fine. 'Where do you need it?'

Five minutes later, the tanks were rearranged, and Dr Penna stepped back to admire what they'd done.

'Thank you for helping. I have my specimens arriving tomorrow and I would have been screwed if you hadn't shown up,' she admitted.

'A win for one of us is a win for us all, right?'

She laughed as she unpacked a box. 'A lot of scientists wouldn't agree with you. We're a secretive bunch.'

'Don't think I should comment, considering my lab is off limits.'

Her eyes went wide. 'I didn't mean to imply-'

Lucas held up a hand. 'Don't worry about it. I know what people here say about me and my work. But it is experimental and can be dangerous. There is a valid reason it's off limits.'