Alone?

Chapter Two

Nothing. There's nothing there. No trace of movement, not even a follow-up sound.

I take a few hesitant steps forward. The stillness is eerie but I continue moving. I round the corner and sweep the flashlight over the space. And there, in the middle of the hallway, I find what looks to be a pile of bones.

I take a half step back. I'm startled, but not scared like most girls would be. Even now, after the initial noise, I'm not as startled even. I'm more intrigued.

I crouch down and pick up one that looks longer than the rest. It's still strong and has some weight to it. I compare it to all of the skeletons I've seen over the years and place it immediately. It's a radius. The main bone of a human forearm.

Human. Looking more closely, I see that they're all human. A pile of human bones. I scuttle backwards and lean against a wall.

Everything I've dealt with before this point has been freaky, let me tell you. But not mysteriously materializing human bones. I've seen ghouls and goblins and even the occasional alien, but humans are as foreign as anything.

Monsters I can deal with; humans are difficult.

I've always been kinda antisocial. I grew up in a rural area without other kids around so no "bonding time". I was never in any summer camps and the only extracurricular I've ever done was first year university and it got me roped into UTD. People are not my strong point. Everyone in the agency just kinda accepts that.

I mean, what's so great about other people anyway? We're all just bumps on a log that are destroying ourselves more quickly as time goes by. Some day the sun will explode and nothing will be left; so what's the point of doing anything now?

We're just animals that have evolved into something called a society. But how can we be great if we're planning our own demise? Are we intelligent at all? Or are we all just cogs in the machine?

These thoughts fly through my head every time I face one of the forsaken bastards that fill my life. These "monsters" are really no worse than we are; they're just more primal. We've developed, but our urges are the same.

So when I'm forced to kill these things, it feels almost wrong. Between my species and theirs, who's killed more people? Who causes more destruction? It sure as hell isn't them.

We are the monsters. I am the monster.

I could never say any of this out loud. Logan would try to make a joke of it and no one else would get what I mean. But these are the thoughts that crowd my mind. And they're important to me.

I've gotten over the shock of the bones and now I begin to wonder about how they appeared. I scan the area around the pile but see nothing obvious. I then proceed to go through the pile, looking for anything that might give it away.

All I find is a length of fishing wire that I assume was holding them in a bundle. My hands move swiftly along the wire, searching for where it ends.

As I look, I put the flashlight between my chin and shoulder so I can use both of my hands. I notice the light reflect off of something suspended from the ceiling.

I put down the bones in my hand and grab the flashlight from its perch. I stand up and sweep the flashlight from left to right, hoping that the light will reflect again.

There, I think once I see it. I hold the flashlight still and reach out to grab the item. It's another length of fishing wire.

No, I look more closely. It's the same length of wire.

The wire surrounding the former bundle on the ground is connected to this one. The wire leads up into a space between two of the ceiling panels.

My hand follows the wire up to the small gap and I know I have to figure out where it goes.