Day 31

C.R.O.S.S. Laboratories

Aves Department

Observatory

forward to seeing the Subject. I would arrive early and stay as late as possible, talking with him as he ate his dinner.

The first time I stayed I asked him if it bothered him. He simply shook his head no and continued eating.

Over the past few weeks, I have realized that Elias is not much for words. Part of me thinks it was because having a constant companion for conversation was abnormal to him, but I wasn't going to press the matter and ask. Nevertheless, with all my time spent entirely on getting him through his daily routine, it's no surprise that we have been bonding.

From our first meeting, I was scared that he would never open up to me. I mean who could blame him? After seeing his wings, I screamed in his face and ran away. Though after our conversation the other day, he seemed to forgive me. could see why Dr. Pierce had given him a biblical name. He was truly an angel. Here he was safe from the corruption of the world and when he wasn't misbehaving, he was perfect.

Though this shield came with a price. He did not know a lot of things, but I was surprised by the number of things he did. For someone who supposedly had limited contact with the outside world, he surely knew a lot about it. I was surprised I was able to discuss music and movies with him and I found conversation outside of our lessons surprisingly natural. Enjoyable even.

Though most of our conversations were short lived as he could never stay still long enough to have one. Elias was always doing something. Now that he was growing more comfortable around me, I was now his favorite victim to his playful antics.

Thump.

I paused my thoughts when I felt something hit my cheek, forcing me to look up from my journal. In the grass beside me was a small red berry I had seen growing in the bushes in the Observatory.

Glancing around, I realized that Elias had left his spot in the meadow beside me. He must have gotten bored again. We had finished today's lesson and were now enjoying the break Elias got for lunch in the Observatory. Usually, after we ate, I would take this extra time to record my observations for the day. Most days Elias would sit beside me, watching me write with his curious blue eyes before he got bored and would fly up to the trees. The branches towards the top of the Observatory's ceiling seemed to be his favorite spot, probably because it was as close to the outside world he has ever gotten.

Looking above me, I didn't see anything like a bird in the trees above me that could have dropped a berry on me. Scrunching my brows in confusion, I looked back down at my journal and continue writing.

Thump.

Something hit me again and instead of looking for what it was, I turned my head in the direction in which it came. This time I was quick enough to see a patch of white disappear behind into a tree a few yards above me.

I smiled. Like I said, playful antics.

Feigning my confusion this time, I looked back down at my journal pretending to begin writing again. Feeling around with my free hand, I grabbed a leftover apple from our lunch abandoned in the grass beside me.

With the fruit clutched in my grasp, I waited another berry came again.

Thump.

Twirling around, I aimed to where I saw his figure last time and send the apple flying in that direction.

Within moments I heard a squeak of surprise followed by a muffled thud of a figure hitting the grass behind me.

Turning completely around, I looked at Elias who was now lying stomach down in the grass giggling. His long white wings were bent at odd angles and bounced with his laughter.

I shook my head. Such a child, I thought but soon found myself laughing alongside him.

"Alright enough Elias! Come on we have your physical later today." I announced before grabbing my journal and standing up.

He nodded and straightened out his wings. With a few powerful flaps, he lifted his torso off the ground until he stood upright on his feet. He flashed me a lopsided grin as I approached him.

"Ready?" I asked, giggling as I watched him struggle to brush the grass off his black shirt. He flapped his wings in response and together we walked out of the Observatory to the Testing Room. Once inside, Elias took his usual seat on the examination table and I set my journal down on the counter as I prepared to begin his testing. Picking up the syringe, I filled the vile and turned to face him.

"Okay you know the drill," I said as I approached him.

Nodding, he was about to lift his sleeve when a buzz sounded throughout the room. My confusion faded when an all too familiar voice began sounding over the intercom.

"Miss Hall, this is Dr. Pierce. I am on my way please prepare your notes for my early arrival. Thank you". After the click of the speaker, the buzzer sounded again indicating she was done talking.

Weird, I muttered to myself but loud enough for Elias to hear. His brows furrowed in confusion as he mirrored my look of apprehension.

I set the needle down and grabbed my journal from the table beside me, looking through my notes and finalizing what I wrote before Dr. Pierce reviewed it. This was odd. Usually, Dr. Pierce had me meet her outside my office at the end of the day to collect my notes. I wonder why she wanted to meet before the testing? Maybe I did something wrong and she wanted to supervise me?

Suddenly Elias shifted on the table and sat up straight, looking towards the door. Soon enough I heard the steady cadence of heels clicking on the slick tile floors.

Closing my journal, I looked back at Elias only to notice that grasped one his hand, he still had the apple for earlier today. Quickly I stride over to him and snatched the apple from his grasp, slipping it into my lab coat pocket just as Dr. Pierce walked in holding a briefcase.

"Hello Miss Hall, how was your session today?" She asked as she strode into the room.

"Good as usual," I said, ignoring the strangled laugh that came from the examination table.

Dr. Pierce didn't seem to notice as she simply nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. Turning towards Elia, she approached him and just began examining him. The room was silent for what felt like ten minutes before a pleading look from Elias prompted me to break the silence.

"Is there something we can do for you?"

Dr. Pierce blinked, my words shaking whatever spell had overtaken her. Turning back to me, she cleared her throat.

"Yes actually," She said, adjusting her glasses before continuing, "We are going to try something new today"

"New?"

"Yes, Miss Hall." She said before glancing over at Elias. "May I speak to you outside?" she added, nodding her head towards the door to the hallway.

"Yes, yes of course," I answered, my voice betraying my confusion at her odd request. She nodded and gestured for me to go first. I forced a polite smile and began walking towards the door. I glanced back at Elias who was watching us with his wide blue eyes before I stepped out into the hall. He looked afraid. My heart sank at the thought. I wish I knew what was going on so I could tell him it would be okay.

"We will just be a minute Elias" Dr. Pierce added before joining me out in the hall and closing the door behind us.

A moment of silence passed before she began, "First before I say anything, I want you to know that what I am going to ask of you is going to be difficult, but must be done. However, I completely understand if you want to be relocated."

My eyes widened, "What do I have to do?"

She held my gaze for a moment, gauging my seriousness to continue before speaking, "Well, I need you to prove to Dr. Grant that Elias is worth keeping alive."

I froze. My heart began to race as I processed what she just said. "Alive?!" I all but shouted. Dr. Pierce glared at me and gestured towards the door separating us from the subject of our conversation. Sighing, I adjusted my tone to a whisper, "Why is Dr. Grant trying to kill him? I thought he was proud of his achievements?" I asked not bothering to hide the frustration lacing my voice.

She ignored my question. "The only way to do this is to show Richard how valuable Elias by proving that his mutation can benefit humanity."

I scoffed. "Okay well considering a man with wings isn't enough to empress the guy, how exactly are we supposed to do that?"

"I have a plan but the execution of it will be tricky. I have been putting this off because the last time I tried one of these tests Elias lost it, he went on a rampage far worse than you saw in the Training Room the other day. He injured six of my best researchers, that day, and the ones that weren't in an ICU unit quit, and for good reason too."

I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling very defensive of Elias. "You must have done something to provoke that. If it wasn't for what I saw in the Training Room, I would have never believed Elias could hurt anyone. He just seems so...good."

Dr. Pierce's face fell as she nodded. "I know, and he is. But you are right, he was provoked, and I do not necessarily fault him for his reaction. Nevertheless, we did not collect the data we needed to prove his worth to Dr. Grant."

"Why didn't you try again?" I asked.

"Believe me I tried, but after that incident, he struck out at anyone who tried to come near him. I became one of the only people he could bare, until you that is. I have a few theories for why Elias has such an uncanny likeness towards you, but that is beside the point. What matters is that with his special attachment to you, I think completing the tests this time around might just be possible."

I swallowed. I didn't know if I wanted the answer to the question I was about to ask.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the answer I just knew didn't want to hear.

"What kind of test?" I asked, noticing how Dr. Pierce's grip tightened around the briefcase before answering.

"The worst kind."

——————————————-

Hey beautiful people!

I wasn't going to update today, but I just saw that Species Unknown has reached over 1k reads. So, in the spirit of celebration, I figured I would grind out this chapter and post it to say thank you for all the support!

On that note, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and as always, happy reading!