Monstrous

Chapter 1

The sky was cracking with a new, refound rage. This rage was quite like something I had never seen before in my twenty-seven years of life. Not even one of my niece's infamous tantrums could be considered akin to the way the sky flashed, the clouds wept, and the air boomed. Storms had always been interesting to me. I loved the raw power they possessed. In fact, I reveled in them-but this one was different. For the first time in as long as I could possibly remember, I was scared by something that had comforted me for years.

I drove through the flooded streets for what seemed like hours before finally making it to my work. The parking garage provided a much appreciated cover as I made my way into the building. After passing through security, I took the elevator to my floor, and waved hello to my coworkers before I finally reached my office.

I closed the door behind me and gratefully sank into my large, black, leather desk chair. Turning the computer on, I surveyed the room, taking in its simple brilliance. The walls were a light cream in color, the door a dark black wood that matched my desk. My desk was relatively large and housed my Mac desktop computer, some photos of my friends and family, and a small cacti that I purchased from an adorably quaint flower shop around the corner. Two black chairs sat in front of my desk and more pictures of those I loved were scattered on the walls.

The floor was carpeted with a soft fabric that's color was only a shade lighter than that of the walls. It was a cute office, but my favorite part was the window that sat behind my head. The window was floor to ceiling in height and corner to corner in width. Everyday, I looked out of it and saw the bustling city of Philadelphia below me.

I worked as the supervisor in one of the mutations departments for the company Genetics Unlimited, or GU. My department actually studied blood mutations and things of that nature. After spending getting my bachelor's degree in Biology, I went back and received my doctorate in Molecular Biology and Genetics. I know it sounds idiotic, going for my doctorate right away, but because I did, I was offered my job almost a month after I officially graduated, and the company paid off my debt. Things like that don't happen often, so I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones.

I first became intrigued by mutations in my freshman year of high school, when we dissected frogs in biology and mine had five legs. There are so many different types of genetic mutations, it's astounding! There are visible mutations, the ones most people will notice, and invisible mutations. Those are my favorite, you can't outright see them but they still exist.

After I threw on my lab coat, I began walking down the hallway. In order to get into the lab, I had to pass the offices. As I headed towards the lab entrance, I was intercepted by my best friend, Briona Whitmire. She and I had clicked the first day I had began work.

I had been setting up in my office when she practically barged through the door and explained how relieved she was that I was a woman saying that "there aren't enough of us in this building and I can't keep being around all this testosterone without some kind of backup."

Not only was Briona great for a laugh, she was one of the smartest people I had ever met in my life. In fact, she would have had my job, if she had wanted it. She turned down the offer because she preferred being in the group, not looking over it. I myself love working with people, but I've always done it better while being in charge.

After a quick conversation, and a promise to have lunch together, I continued into the lab to check and see how everyone was getting along that morning. Inside the lab, I checked in with each worker individually before I went to the last person in the room. His name was Isidore McAlister and he was a pain in my ass. I've encountered some pig headed men in my life, and that is to be expected, but none of them could hold a candle to Isidore. Maybe it was the fact that he thought he was going to get a promotion and didn't, or the fact that he got looked over not once, but twice, for a woman. Either way, he hated me with a passion.