The LAB

Chapter 35

Everyone was talking, and every news station was buzzing. The news of a beast being captured and alive was enough to grab the public eye, but for the added info that it was a vehicle most knew as a cop was what everyone was going mad over. Jaslo awoke, bound and sedated in a room that was half hospital and half prison. The drugs in her system made every noise a muffled grumble, and made her sight a fuzzy mess. None of her other senses were any better, and her balance was horridly off due to being on a lift and chained in place. They had placed a muzzle over her front and thick plates against her sides to keep her from shifting. Everyone had done the math already, she was the dragon beast that attacked the city not too long ago, and it was a more popular idea to keep her barely alive than to kill her. Somehow, in all of this, only Zotic came forward with knowing about her, besides the Sheriff, but only the Supra was questioned.

Despite his pleas for her to be released, or at least let off the sedatives, nothing worked. Everyone was afraid and if she wasn't drugged out of her mind, Jaslo would have agreed with them too. Still, he came to visit every time that they allowed him to. Today was one of those days, as he drove up to his friend and placed a tire under her front to hold her steady.

"Hey girl, stop swaying so much. I'll have to give you a citation for DWI," he joked, feeling her huff as a response. He honestly didn't know if she could hear him, but she did stop swaying side to side, and he stood there whispering apologies to her.

"I'm so sorry. If I was there sooner, you wouldn't have been hurt so bad. You wouldn't have been rushed into the shop for them to find out you're not made of metal... I'm sorry... I wasn't fast enough..." he pressed his front against her and tried his best to hold back from sobbing. She rumbled against him, and he only weakly laughed at this. It didn't take long for someone to come in and order him to leave again, leaving her to sway on the lift once more.

How many days had it been? The room was always lit, brightly too, so it seemed like months but also still one day. She couldn't get a grip on time, and she was tired of fighting against the sedatives. A car drove in and removed a needle from her side, mostly unnoticed. The only thing that tipped off the drugged Blazer was that the car leaned against her as she did all this, and even patted her side before leaving. It seemed odd, wasn't everyone in the place just out to make her the enemy? It was too late, or early, to think on this, and Jaslo soon drifted back to sleep. Her body was not built for this at all.

"Hey girl, come on back to us." Jaslo slowly opened her eyes, for once hearing things clearly. Her eyes shot open as she realized she was no longer sedated, and a blue Audi stood in front of her with a wide smile.

"Shh! I wanted to see what you would do without those drugs piping through you. Didn't take long for your body to recover, that's pretty neat." She giggled as she watched Jaslo look around and flick her mirrors. This car seemed super familiar but for some reason, she couldn't place it at all.

"Now stay still, I am going to remove that muzzle, but you have to promise to be quiet, alright?" The Audi slowly reached for the clasps on the muzzle, and Jaslo stayed still until the entire thing was removed. It was only then did she stretch her jaws and shake herself the best she could.

"You're not nearly as scary as they claim you are." The Audi pulled up a blanket and lay down in front of the SUV. Her smile made Jaslo smile, and she couldn't help but feel comfortable now.

"It's because I don't eat cars like the other beasts do," Jaslo whispered, which shocked the Audi a bit, but she only giggled.

"I'm serious though," Jaslo continued, "I can promise you that everything they're sayin about me is false."

"They said you couldn't speak our language."

"I'm bad with it, but I can speak it."

"They also said you want to take over the world."

"Too much hassle, and chaos. No more stress for me, thanks."

"And that you can only be killed with fire."

"Fire doesn't hurt me, I'm kinda fireproof."

"And that you can turn into any vehicle you wish."

"Damn, I wish I could do that." The Audi held back a laugh, looking around to make sure she hadn't blown their fun.

"Man, I wish my mother was here to see this. She loved learning about things like you, and I think you could make her laugh too." Jaslo froze, it clicked to her now, and she couldn't help but frown as she realized who this car was. Before anything could be said though, they both looked back at an armored military vehicle that was anything but pleased.

"What have you done?! You have not only violated our protocol but also have killed us all! YOU FOOLISH CHILD!" The truck easily struck fear into the Audi, and Jaslo already had enough. She let out the loudest roar she could manage, and once she stopped, the truck collapsed in the doorway. Everything glass and plastic had shattered around her, everything but anything on the Audi. Vehicles came rushing in and soon they all froze at the sight. Jaslo decided it was time to do something, and with every bit of strength she had in her, she managed to shift and break every restraint on her. The Audi whimpered as she was towered over by the winged Blazer. Vehicles aimed their weapons at her, but she had other things to do.

"What is your name? You never told me," Jaslo asked softly.

"J-Jewel," the Audi answered.

"Jewel, I didn't wish to tell you, but I had met your mother before."

"That's... that's impossible! She went missing years ago!"

"Shortly after I met her, she went missing, yes." Everyone lowered their weapons, waiting to see where this would lead. Jaslo took a calming breath before speaking of her story. She told of the great plague of Reaper's Touch, and the one vehicle that braved the fear to share a simple snack and warmth of heart. She spoke of how on the day of the great escape, a vehicle was there to make sure the good ones got free and stayed safe. Jewel looked on with watery eyes, never before hearing of her mother in such a light.

"She is the reason I'm alive right now, and here in this very spot. She is why I care for vehicles like you," Jaslo carefully reached out a tire to Jewel, who pulled herself forward and hugged the beast with a smile. Jaslo didn't have the heart to tell her that she knew her mother was dead, she could feel it that something had ended such a kind soul with its fangs. One of the guards rolled forward, braving the waters the rest were too scared to tread just yet.

"What do you plan to do now, beast?" he asked with gun held shakily.

"First off, my name is Jaslo. Second... I just want to go home already."