We Are the Snakes Hidden Among the Clovers (A Project 863 Fanstory)

Chapter 2: The Underestimated

     Avery took a deep breath as he stared at the front door of the laboratory facility, trying to calm his nerves. He had spent the previous night mulling over what had happened the day before, his mind trying to get a grasp on this new reality. It all felt too sudden, as if he had been pushed down a deep hole with no rope.

     Everything will be fine, he told himself with a shaky breath, it's just like any other day... except this time I am meeting with him...

     He bit his lip and considered the possibility of turning around to head back to his apartment. But he quickly realized that if he did so, they would find him and do who-knows-what. He glanced down quickly and took a step forward to pull the door open.

     The woman sitting at the reception desk looked up from her computer screen and greeted him with, "Good morning, Dr. Richard."

     Avery gave her a shaky smile, finding new irony in that friendly phrase, and said, "Yes, yes, good morning..."

     "Is something the matter?" she asked concerningly.

     He shook his head, correcting his smile to a wider one as he replied, "No, nothing's the matter, I just had a long night is all."

     "I'm assuming that has to do with your recent work?"

     Avery glanced away for a moment and responded with, "You could say that."

     "Well, I hope things get better for you," she said with a cheerful smile, returning her attention to her monitor.

     He nodded slightly and moved to walk past her, but she stopped him by saying suddenly, "Oh, I almost forgot! Dr. Delmarz was looking for you. He said he needed you in Lab 3A."

     What does Daniel need? Avery thought as he continued out of the reception room to go change into his laboratory clothing. As he was doing so he glanced at himself in the mirror, taking in that this could be the last time he would do this. It might be the last time he would be in this building. The last time he got to be with his co-workers.

     There were a lot of "last times" that sprouted in his mind, which overgrew the possible "next times" to the point of suffocation.

     Before he knew it he was walking down familiar halls. He had never felt the immeasurable amount of longing he was now experiencing before in his life. It felt as if the weight of his newfound situation was crushing his chest, and he had no way of escaping it.

     He had just made it to his old laboratory's door when someone on the other side hastily pulled it open.

     "There you are!" Daniel gasped with a red face.

     "Why did—?" Avery started, but he was interrupted by the man grabbing him by the front of the shirt to yank him inside.

     The room looked like a hurricane had swept through it: papers littered the floor, Petri dishes and microscopes were left out on workbenches in disarray, and test tubes filled with different substances were haphazardly thrown in racks.

     Avery turned toward Daniel with a mortified look, but all he saw was a man who held a frantic gaze as he asked, "What have you done?"

     The other scientist made a humming noise as he darted his eyes around, twiddling his fingers before he replied, "I had to make it look like I was working on something," he then walked toward one of the benches with a twitch, "yes, then Dr. Syphus would have to keep me here..."

     Avery gave him a pitiful look, saying, "I don't think—"

     "What were you working on, Avery?" Daniel demanded, turning to him with a crazed look, "I have to prove that I'm useful to him here! He can't send me away if I am working on something very important!"