The Things We Bury - Part 2: No Big Apocalypse [Completed]

Chapter 11: Rebirth (Parts 10 & 11 of 11)

There was only a single line on the first page of the notebook. Despite sitting in front of it for the entire morning and feeling like he had volumes trapped inside of his head, R.J. had only managed to mar the blank page with an accidental swoop from his blue ballpoint.

The large chamber was quiet except for the scuffing of hard claws on concrete. They paced back and forth like an ominous soundtrack to his thoughts. The dark and ancient forest looming just beyond the glass wall was of little distraction. Except for a faint breeze stirring the leaves now and then, it was static like a picture in a book of fairy tales.

Just before dawn, Mila had come to get him. He had been trying to sleep in one of the many nap room provided for workers doing overtime in this remote complex. He lay in a closet sized apartment. It wasn't even as wide as he was tall, so he had to keep his legs bent in the bed. The room's twelve foot ceilings gave it the feel of an elevator shaft.

Mila had shaken his shoulder to wake him, just as she used to in the old days when he forgot to set an alarm. "Come with me," she said when his eyes opened.

He threw on his clothes and headed out with her into the deserted hall, lit only by the dim security lights.

"Where are we going?"

"You wanted to know why I brought you here. I'm taking you to your answer," she said leading him down the corridor.

"Don't be cryptic, Mila."

She laughed in that same carefree way she did when they were first dating. It felt like it had been a millennium since he had last heard it.

"Isn't that our field? Cryptozoology?"

R.J.'s initial passion had been dampened by suspicion. She was up to something—something a lot bigger than kidnapping him. And along with the paranoia, the old resentments seeped back in through every crack. "Maybe you're a cryptozoologist but I'm just a biologist these days."

"God, are you still mad about that. We could have both gotten through that discipline hearing if we kept a united front. You're the one who confessed and took the blame. I told you to stick to the story."

"Yes, you told me." His limbs felt heavy. He didn't have the strength to fight. He barely had enough to keep moving forward. Mila seemed to sap the vitality out of him.

"Come on. It'll be easier to understand if you see it."

"Is this why you abducted me, because you wanted to show me something?"

"Abducted is a pretty strong word. Don't you think? I needed to employ unorthodox methods to get you here, since you were a kidnapper and a fugitive."

"About that...I didn't kidnap that girl. It wasn't what the news was saying."

"Oh don't explain." Mila waved it off. "I don't believe the high and might Reginald Blass stole somebody's teenage daughter to get his kicks. I know you too well for that. And I'm aware of the DTAA. You know, I was actually happy when you went to work for them. Got you out of that godawful canned tuna factory."

"That wasn't what it was."

"Whatever. The point is you were wasting your talents there. I don't know what the DTAA had you working on but they've always got something juicy on the go, don't they?" Mila waited with her head tilted like he should spill the whole story but when he kept silent she started moving again and said, "You'll tell me eventually. But anyway, it felt like an improvement. I should have known you would do something to piss them off. When I heard your name on the news, I could tell it was one of their frame-ups. I had men in Galveston ready to pull you out but they got spooked when the government forces surrounded the place, so I had to wait until Mexico. I had a hunch you'd aim for Campeche. We had such a great time there in '04." Then, as though it was an afterthought, she added, "Sorry to take you away from your little love nest. Don't worry, she'll get over it."