G.I. Joe: Agent Blue Jaye and the Beasts of Lakeside

Chapter 27

Jessie continued to walk down the abandoned mine shaft, her flashlight shifting as she progressed down the tunnel. The walls were made of cut earth supported by reinforced steel beams. She had been walking for about twenty minutes and after stopping to check the map, she realized she would arrive at the complex in the next hundred yards.

Jessie was hoping to find an exit so she could get to the surface and call for help. Jason was fairly alert after she stitched him up, but she had no idea the extent of his injuries or if he would lose consciousness again. For all she knew, Jason could be in much worse shape than she thought, which made every second count. As she continued forward, Jessie saw a soft green glow in front of her coming out of the tunnel wall.

Slowing her pace as the glow intensified, Jessie realized the light was coming from an open doorway. Taking a few steps back into the darkness, she crouched down, reached into her bag, and removed the map of the complex. Putting her head, map, and flashlight under her shirt, Jessie turned on the light and saw the room ahead of her was labeled Nursery.

Wondering exactly what the Nursery could be, Jessie put the flashlight and map back in her backpack and removed a small mirror. Then, she slowly creeped against the dirt wall toward the light. Reaching the doorway, Jessie crouched down and positioned the mirror to get a look inside.

While not the best view, Jessie concluded there was no one else in the room. After a few deep breaths, she nervously turned and walked through the green glow of doorway. The Nursery contained eight large glass cases that lined each wall, four cases on each side. A corridor led straight ahead to another open doorway. Jessie thought the large glass cases looked a lot like cages.

As she walked past, Jessie saw metal name plates mounted on the glass. Each name plate had a solid image of an animal. The plates on the four cages to Jessie's left all had the same name that read, Cassowary. The animal pictures on each resembled a silhouette of an ostrich.

Those must be the birds that attacked us, Jessie thought. Recalling that two were still alive and currently stalking Jason back at the railroad station reminded Jessie she needed to hurry. Turning around, she read the plates on the cages that lined the right wall. One was marked Bear, and the other three were labeled Catamount.

At first glance, it looked like all the cages were empty. However, as Jessie neared the far end of the room, she heard a noise come from the back of the last cage to her right. Looking at the name plate, she saw it was marked Catamount. Squinting her eyes, Jessie saw something small moving behind the glass. Coming out of the shadows briefly, Jessie saw the head of a small lion cub.

Crouching down, Jessie started chirping and snapping her fingers softly like she did with the cats at her parents' house. For a moment, the cub poked its head out of the shadows curiously. Jessie saw the cat didn't have a headset in the back of its head like the other animals. Moving out of the darkness, the cub lied down in front of Jessie.

Backing up slowly, Jessie removed her camera and took a series of pictures. Putting her camera away. She removed the map of the complex. The next room was labeled Archives. With another deep breath, Jessie walked through the doorway.

There was no light in the Archives, and the green glow from the Nursery highlighted the outline of just a few objects in the doorway. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Jessie saw two large file cabinet towers, each about six feet tall standing just inside the entrance. The room contained a total of eight file cabinets. Looking for an exit, the only door was at the far end. Unlike the first two doors, this one was sealed. Jessie saw a display panel mounted on the wall. Like the Nursery, Jessie realized she was the only one in the room.