Project Zero: Escape » Places

         

00316J, 'Kay'

He had been sitting on the side of his bed, watching the scientists through the glass front of his cell, observing them. He’d started doing it more and more often, and had noticed that the ones who became aware of him watching them seemed to get vaguely unsettled by it. Strange. They’d spent his whole life doing it to him, you’d have thought observation was something they’d be comfortable with.
Sharing the mattress with him, Brother sat and followed Kay’s gaze out of the glass; his big brown eyes returning occasionally to his human. They didn’t share any words, aloud or in thought, only the feelings that came to them as they shared each other’s company in a calm silence. And of course, picked up the snippets of thoughts in their heads as they forgot what they’d been told about his abilities and let their guard down.

Anticipation.

Something had to happen. Kay and Brother knew as well as each other that their active military days were numbered, the scientists and other officials practically shouted it with their knowing looks and shifty behaviour, their awkward silences, their muttered conversations in each other’s ears. Something had to happen, it was only a matter of time - waiting for something to happen that would bring some kind of a change into their life.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long.

Brother let out a faint throaty growl as the hair on his hind legs prickled, and there was only a moment until Kay felt it too. A sense of raw panic, growing steadily by the second from deeper inside the facility. He rose quickly to his feet, attracting only a couple of glances with the movement, practically pressing his face against the glance to detect anything unusual about the facility staff within sight. Nothing out of place – and yet the feeling grew, stronger and stronger like a tidal wave.
There it was. One scurrying man with glasses and an alarmed expression on his face and suddenly the wing was overflowing with activity. White coats scurried past, lights flashed, panicked orders, paperwork salvaged or abandoned and left behind, and Kay; nobody’s first thought, nobody’s priority.

He braced himself against the corner of his cell, crouching with Brother pressed firmly up against him. They felt the heat that tore through the building, hid their eyes from the blinding light that came with it.

And like that, everything changed.