You Don't Belong Here

Chapter Two

Brielle had learned quickly after helping to move Project Ghost to her lab that its body was not able to sustain the brisk fifty five degree temperature of her laboratory, and had promptly adjusted the thermostat to one hundred and five degrees. She sent all of her temp-sensitive samples and equipment to an unclaimed office and seeing as how the facility runs a skeleton crew on the weekends, she freed herself from her thick hoodie. To her displeasure, she had to keep her jeans on since you never knew who would barge in unannounced.

The specimen began to come of out its sedated state as four of the security members were transferring it into the vat of cryogenic fluids, but once he fell into the thick liquid Brielle had been quick to add more sedatives to the mix. The last thing she wanted was to be locked in a room alone with this creature without its mobility being restricted. Sweat poured from every inch of her body, and she leaned back in her office chair as she placed a cool washcloth over her neck. The young woman made sure to keep her core temperature in a safe window, but it was hard when the heater was constantly running during the hottest month of the year.

Deciding to take a break from the creature's bloodwork, she opened her laptop and pulled up the music player before turning the volume to its maximum setting. The first song projected from the surround sound speakers on her desk was "Ghost" by Mystery Skulls. How fitting, she thought, it's like its own little theme song...

A loud growl erupted through the lab; it was warped from the liquid, but still very clearly a growl. She rotated her seat until she was facing the large container in the center of the room, and if only looks could kill. A chill rolled up her spine as she locked onto the amber eyes that were staring daggers into her head, and she frowned as her own angry expression crossed her features. "I don't want to hear you complain. If I have to suffer through the heat so you can be comfortable, then the least you can do is tolerate my music. You don't have to like it, but I don't want to hear you bitch about it..!"

"Biiitch." Brielle's widened at the sound. Mimicry, she thought, it's copying me..!

"Do that again..." she was leaning forward in her seat now, waiting.

"Nooo..." she sat back with a huff, her brow furrowing in irritation. It's not copying me, it's just being an asshole.

The door to her lab slid open to reveal Brooks standing there. He opened his mouth to speak and then the warmth hit him like a brick wall. "Jesus Christ, Brielle! It's like the Sahara in here!" The man reluctantly stepped inside the room and removed his suit jacket. "I'll have maintenance look at your heating system on Monday."

"The system is fine, Gregory." She gestured in front of her to the creature floating in the vat, who now had its eyes trained on the man. "Our friend here needs a warm environment to stay alive. He almost crashed twice before he was in the pod."

"That's weird, it was just fine before we brought it in here. Are you sure it's not just allergic to something in here?"

She shook her head, her hair damp with sweat at the end of her ponytail. "No, it's likely something to do with the equipment it was wearing. Probably some kind of thermal-regulation system...keep your clothes on!" She scolded the blue eyed man for unbuttoning his white shirt, and he looked at her with an accusatory expression.

"You're half naked!"

"IT'S MY LAB!!"

"That doesn't mean you get to-" his words were cut short by a loud, predatory roar as the creature spread its mandibles and let loose its unbridled rage of being held against its will. Brooks jumped and cried out in surprise, but Brielle only flinched at the sheer volume of the sound.

A moment later, a single word was heard in the vast room. "Bitch." Brielle stifled a chuckle as the man's face reddened from something more than the heat.

"What the fuck did it say?!"

"Whaaat the fuuuck did it saaay?" Brooks looked as though he would stroke out at any moment and Brielle laughed hard.

"Mimicry, what a spectacle. It's like a parrot." The creature moved its focus to her once more as she offered a scape goat.

"Bitch." She frowned at the word, but Brooks only draped his jacket over his shoulder before turning back toward the exit.

"Yes, a clever display, but I don't want to know if it can copy speech...I want to know what makes it tick, Miss Ronaldi. Given your history with our assets in the past, I expect excellent results."

Brooks gave one last glance at the creature before stepping into the hall to the cooled hallway. As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Brielle heard a voice from the center of the room. "I want to knooow what maaakes it tiiick..."

########

Nearly ten hours had passed since her arrival at the facility, and Brielle was overheated, overworked, and overly exhausted. She turned off the music and packed her laptop into her backpack before standing and pulling her hoody over her head.

"Alright Ghost, I'm heading home for the night. I always lock my lab when I'm away, so I'll be the only one who can get in. You'd better not cause any trouble while I'm gone, because if the facility calls me and I have to come back up here before my shift tomorrow, I swear to God I'll play the most annoying song I can find and I'll put the speakers right next to your tank!" The creature said nothing, and she moved toward the exit with her identification card in-hand. "I mean it, be on your best behavior, got it? I promise, I don't like it here any more than you do."

With that said, the brunette keyed herself out of the room and dimmed the lights before making her way through the winding corridors until she exited the building. Her feet felt heavy as she walked to her motorcycle and headed home for the night.

It felt like an eternity before she reached her loft and pushed through the door, freed herself from the restraint of clothing, and went to the kitchen to retrieve a salad from the fridge. After all the heat exposure, Brielle desperately needed something cold inside her. She gobbled down the vegetables and went to take a lukewarm shower before crawling into bed with her ceiling fan on full blast.

She desperately needed rest since she'd woken up after only three hours of sleep the previous night. Brielle couldn't tell when her thoughts stopped and the dreams began, but she quickly gave in to the lucid experience.