Wolf Pack

Midnight Confessions

Everything was relatively calm the rest of the day. Michael was taken on a tour of the facility, and its name was quickly made clear. While the main focus was on rehabbing wolves and rescuing wolf-hybrids from irresponsible owners- which was Katie's passion, Lian was responsible for taking in abandoned and abused reptiles and occasionally rehoming them to more capable owners. Snakes were the most numerous but there were also lizards, frogs, salamanders, and even what Michael thought was a pair of alligators. It turned out they were actually caimen.

Most of the reptiles were used for educational purposes to show interested visitors they weren't scary, but much to Michael's surprise there were a few endangered species that were involved in a breeding program to release back to the wild in an effort to save their indigenous populations. Not too different than what Katie was trying to accomplish with the wolves, actually.

Michael had been offered one of the spare guest rooms at the facility in case something happened, since the nearest town was a good 50 minute drive. KITT remained in the parking lot along side a yellow Saturn, which he assumed belonged to one of the two siblings.

The night was quiet aside from a few insects and howls every now and again. KITT found it interesting, the very different cries that came from the wolves here as opposed to the coyotes he had heard before in California. The two animals were so similar and closely related, yet they sounded so different.

Of course, it was merely an observation.

His scanner shifted back and forth as he monitored the vicinity for trouble. But the only notable thing was when someone inside the facility got up and began moving around. He knew it wasn't Michael since he could still hear his driver snoring through the com link, but then, who would be up at this hour?

That question was quickly answered when Katie came meandering outside with her hands in her pockets. When she caught sight of the sleek vehicle parked in front of the facility, she looked surprised to see him for a moment as if she had completely forgotten he was there.

After the day she had, however, he couldn't blame her. "Hi, KITT," she sighed, sounding absolutely exhausted.

"Katie, what on earth are you doing up at this hour?" KITT asked in concern.

She didn't want to tell him that she actually never slept well, and that it had only gotten worse since the shooting and break-in. "Just making sure everything's ok, and that nobody's trying to break in again," she admitted. It wasn't in her to lie to him, so she at least gave him part of the truth.

"I am watching things," he assured as his scanner flicked back and forth. "You should go back inside and get some sleep."

Katie frowned tiredly at him. "I can't KITT..." She ran a hand over her face and through her hair. "...I really just can't," she said, sounding more irritable than she intended.

KITT was silent for a moment before opening his passenger side door. "Then come sit with me, if you'd like. We can monitor things together," he offered, seeing how high her stress levels were at the moment. Perhaps, with some quiet companionship, those levels would go down.

This time, even though she clearly had to stop and consider it, Katie didn't object. And she got in wordlessly. KITT closed the door and adjusted the internal cab temperature so it would be more comfortable for her.

Once settled, Katie let out an exhale as if to let some of the weight off her shoulders, and her eyes scanned across his dash. A small smile crossed her face. It had been a long time since she had seen these instruments, and the nostalgia gave her a bit of happiness.

The AI could see the wheels in her head turning as she watched the scrolling data on his internal monitor. She frowned a bit, and her eyes stopped on one line of information. "Hm." She hummed uncertainly to herself.