Creatures of God

Coarse Black Stitching

"Let us inside, Elliot! Now!" Tober yelled.

The blonde-headed senior was red-faced and rough, as he pounded on the bulwark door to the Pathology Department. Without waiting for an answer, he threw another fist into the metal barrier. Huffing and puffing, he flexed his arms and heaved his chest. Perspiration sprayed off his face and hair, staining his torn and grungy clothes. For Tober, there wasn't any more time. He'd already warned Elliot that the animals were too dangerous, too barbaric to deal with. He already knew there would never be peace. Elliot just wouldn't listen. And now Tober's patience had worn-thin, like the layer of skin over the explosive in his chest. His life was on the clock.

Behind the senior, a crowd of younger students foreign to the Pathology lab had followed. They were wary of its reputation as a dark and creepy dungeon, where only weirdos took study tracts. The students stood, staring; all of them wide-eyed and fresh-faced, and to whom Tober had promised the capture of a monster amongst them. The mixed group watched, half-anticipating a straight-off gaff and glom, but also half-hoping the flying creature might display his razor sharp wings. Most of them hadn't seen the fight against the giant copper snake, but those that had had only spurred on further excitement and interest. They pressed their fragile bodies forward.

Meanwhile, Tober stirred in his stance, his muscles twitching, his punching hand hammering the door with a buoyed conviction.

"We all know you're hiding him, Elliot! You can't protect him!"

Tober glared at the security scanner above, its red lasers flashing over his face and skin. He clobbered the door once more, red-faced at his overt rejection.

"You can't hide, Elliot!"

At once, the outer door to the lab slid open, revealing a second barrier, clear and transparent. Behind it, Elliot stood in plain view.

"What are you doing here, Tober? What do you want?"

"You know damn well what I want! Hand him over! Hand over the monster!"

Elliot's eyes darted over to the many faces of the crowd.

"Under whose authority?"

"We're here on behalf of the entire science community, you gimnot!"

"Then why are there only junior students here with you?"

"Don't get technical with me, Elliot!"

"Look, Everyone, everything's under control," Elliot called out over Tober's head. "I've already talked with Dr. Tomas, Dr. Stone and the other faculty. We've all agreed to hold Alessandro in the lab until further notice. Aless is fully cooperating with the plan."

"Plan! What plan? That freak endangers all of us! We've got to get rid of him! Now!" Tober punched the clear door with his fist.

Elliot had seen Tober angry on several occasions before, but this was by far the worst state in which he had ever seen him. His face had small scattered scratches, with bruising and swelling at his right eye and cheek. His lower lip was fat and bloodied.

"Alessandro is not a monster, everyone," Elliot said to the angry group. "Go back to your sections."

"That's not true, Elliot!" a person in the back of the crowd yelled. "You saw what he's capable of! What if he attacks one of us instead? What if he cuts off someone's head?"

"If he were dangerous, he'd have killed me a long time ago," Elliot reassured. "I've spent the most time with him since he's arrived. He's not going to hurt any one of us."

"Come on, Elliot!" Tober pressed. "You can't know that! What if he threatens your girlfriend? You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"

Elliot ignored the shifty remark. "Everyone, go back to your duties! Finish your evacuation preparation!"