Dr. Gautron looked down the line for the umpteenth time. Approximentally two hours had passed - and he was almost done. He was on the last four letters of the alphabet, and there weren't very many citizens left to fill forms out, since you don't generally see a town starting with X, Y, or Z. He sat back in his chair and placed his hands on the back of his head, ready to go back to his lab. He stared up at ceiling which was up relatively high. A man in his 60s was almost finished filling out his form. Dr. Gautron thought about what he was going to do about Cass. Originally, she was going to be admitted into taking the treatment, but that alien cat distracted him from admitting her - he also wondered how badly he could've gotten in trouble if they found out he was keeping her hostage. The man in his 60s set his pen down and walked through the doorway, leaving Dr. Gautron two more patients to deal with. He looked down at his watch - it was half past four. He looked around at the other scientists - many were standing up from their chairs and stretching, some were leaving early. Dr. Flax was still waiting for one last person to sign their form. Dr. Gautron came to the conclusion that he had the most applicants to wait for before he could leave. He twiddled his thumbs and sighed impatiently.
Cass woke up from her slumber at 5:00. She sat up and stretched her arms - she hadn't had a good nap like that in awhile. She slipped on her boots, tied the laces, and closed the encyclopedia that was sitting in her lap. She got up from the chair and neatly placed the two books back on the shelf, as if they hadn't been touched before. She walked over to the room Milo was in - he was still sleeping. Typical of him, cats generally slept more than half the day. The steel door slowly creaked open - Cass quickly turned around to see it was just Dr. Gautron, slicking back his hair and letting out a huff of air when he took his first step inside the lab. He caught Cass looking in the window of Milo's room before she turned her head.
"Oh! Cass. I forgot I had left you here by yourself." he said. He turned his back towards her as he locked the steel door with the keys on his lanyard.
Cass ignored his remark.
"How's Milo doing, hm?" he asked.
"Good, I guess. He has done anything but sleep the whole afternoon. I think he may be ready for the set of tests you're going to be doing on him."
Dr. Gautron walked over to the room Milo was in and peered in. Milo was sitting up, licking his paws daintly.
"He does look quite content indeed." Dr. Gautron observed. He turned back to Cass and looked at her in the eyes reassuringly.
"However.. It's getting late. Ten after five. Generally, I leave in ten or so minutes.. would you like to come to my house with me? I can't leave you here in the lab. Security would probably see you in my lab, and take you away, leaving you in with the other homeless, and I'd probably lose my job." he explained.
"Yeah, sure. I'd love to. Can I take Milo, too?" Cass asked.
"Go ahead."
Dr. Gautron turned again and unlocked the door for Cass. Cass hopped out of the chair and grabbed Milo from the examination table. Dr. Gautron held the door for her until she exited. As she did, he swiftly closed the door behind her. He flicked off the lights in the room - each one of the light switches clicking. He slipped his black jacket on and zipped it up. He took his brown leather messenger bag off of a chair and slung it over his shoulder. Suddenly, he stopped.
"Oh, darn. How am I gonna get you out without them noticing you?" Dr. Gautron asked quietly, before opening the door that lead them out into the open.
Cass shrugged.
"Be honest with them, I guess. Say that you have special business with me and Milo or something."
"Sounds good enough to me. It's better to be honest than a liar, no?"
Cass didn't reply. Dr. Gautron and Cass made their way down the hallway, Dr. Gautron happily waved to his fellow coworkers, while Cass was pacing directly behind him, almost stepping on his heels. She planned out her steps and movements to be as quiet as possible, as she, along with Dr. Gautron, did not want to be caught by security. Dr. Gautron pushed the doors and held them for Cass. He paused to look up at the security cameras for just a moment, jumping to a conclusion that made him sick to his stomach. A shiver ran up his spine and he shook violently for a few seconds. The thoughts drifted off into the back of his head, where useless information and thoughts belonged. He figured that his brain would fish out those thoughts again from the back of his head at the middle of the night whilst he was still locked in his slumber. He pushed open the second set of doors and made it out into the parking lot, free at last. He spotted his car and escorted Cass to it, a sleek, black car. The car was compact looking on the outside, however, it was much roomier on the inside, unlike what others speculate.
"Backseat or shotgun, Gautron?" Cass questioned.
"You can have the front seat if you want. I'll throw my things in the back this time." he answered. He wasn't used to the terminology Cass used, so he had to quickly think of what Cass meant by the term "shotgun".
Dr. Gautron pulled on the handle of the car door and escorted Cass inside, like a true gentleman would. Cass thanked him and smiled. He closed the car door and made his way over to the driver's side. He got in, put his seatbelt on and stuck the car keys into the ignition.
"Have you got your seatbelt on, Cass?" he questioned.
"No, not yet. Sorry. I haven't been in a car for a while."
Cass fumbled around for the seatbelt and the lock in which it was placed in. Milo looked around curiously in Cass' lap. The car's dashboard and controls looked familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place his finger - or, in this case, his paw - on where he recognized it from. He was just an alien cat, after all.
"I'm all buckled in and ready to go now. Let's roll." Cass declared.
Dr. Gautron pulled out of the parking spot swiftly and with ease. Cass watched out the window, looking at the orange and yellow sky. The colours, almost evenly and perfectly, striped the skies. Cass looked up even further and could see purple starting to cascade down on the warm colours, eventually going to take over them once night came.
"How long will the drive be, Gautron?" Cass questioned.
"Around three quaters of an hour. Oh, and you can just call me by my first name, Perry, if you want." he explained, not facing Cass, as he was too busy focusing on the road.
"Nah. I'm fine with calling you Gautron. I generally call people by their last names. Plus, it sounds kinda cool. 'Gautron'. Like you're a robot or something." Cass giggled. She playfully nudged his elbow with hers.
"Whatever suits you, Kranzer." Dr. Gautron chuckled.
Kranzer.
'How on Earth did he find out my last name?' Cass thought to herself. The surname 'Kranzer' danced around in her head. She placed her elbow on the black leather front console and leaned on it, puzzled. Milo stood up on his hind legs on her right thigh and looked out the window at the passing cars on the intersection on the quiet, tranquil September evening.
