Three years after Lucinda's confrontation with the mastermind behind the infection, she is forced to risk everything to save Lucella once and for all.
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Fifteen-year-old Lucinda Emerson was well aware of the fact that she didn't take TIO down...
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"It's been a while since we've seen civilians."
I turned to the lion with a smile. "It's been a while since we've seen anyone else, too," I replied. We were met with introductions as soon as we got to the lab. The owl's name was Oliver, and his assistant, the cheetah, was Catherine. The lion I was with was Sergeant Liam. The two of us walked behind the others as they were given a tour by Oliver. Fortunately, Liam secretly told me that everything needed to carry out my plan was all set. I just needed to tell them when I was ready. And now was as good a time as any.
"Excuse me, Mr. Oliver?" I called out, grabbing his attention. "Is there a restroom somewhere around here? It's a feminine emergency." That was a lie. My cycle had already passed. It was an indirect way of me telling them that I was ready to relay my information to them. Oliver seemed to realize this and smiled nervously. "O-Oh! Yes, of course," he confirmed before turning to his assistant. "Catherine, be a dear and take her to the restroom for me."
The cheetah blankly nodded before making her way over and past me. She stopped and turned back to look at me before gesturing her head in the direction she was going. I smiled before following her away from the others. The further we went, the softer the voices and machinery of the lab became, and soon, we were in a more secluded hallway that had doors on each side. I assumed that Catherine was aware of what I had to say because she didn't stop walking until we reached a room where the hallway was nearly pitch black.
Catherine took a set of keys out from within her lab coat and unlocked the door before going inside. I snuck a peek inside the room before following her, the sound of the heavy door closing behind me filling my ears shortly after. The only thing keeping the small room illuminated was the tiny ceiling light hanging from above. Other than that, the room was entirely dark. In addition, there was a table sitting on the ground with three chairs surrounding it, two on one side, one on the other.
I made myself comfortable on the lone chair facing the door, where Catherine stood next to. She was probably waiting for Oliver and Liam to arrive. I didn't know why or how, but Catherine seemed... familiar to me. I knew I saw her somewhere, but I didn't know where, and from the way she glared at me, I could tell she felt the same way. The only thing I could do to ignore the awkward feeling was set my bag down on the table. There were multiple things inside that could potentially help the others out.
Soon enough, Catherine opened the door for the scientist and the soldier.
Speak of the devil.
"You might want to sit down for this," I joked with a smile in an attempt to strike up a conversation. "There's a lot we need to talk about." Oliver chuckled at my enthusiasm while Liam just seemed weirded out. "I admire your willingness to see the good in this situation, Lucinda, but this is serious," the owl gently reprimanded as the cheetah closed the door and locked it. Liam rested his clasped hands on the table once he sat down alongside his temporary colleague. "Let's cut right to the chase, kid," he huffed.
