Queen Of The Ventils

VII

The ride to Area 49-B was probably the most anxious time of my life.

We'd taken a week to let the military staff and scientists perfect their containment methods for the Ventil. We'd also taken the time to let the news about the 'Flying Mystery Woman' die down. As luck would have it, Mary Wang showed up at the Battle Of The Bands, and she had a 2 minute video of the Ventil flying around the clearing. She'd posted it on her FaceSpace, and it had gone viral in about 10 minutes.

We eventually convinced her that it was special effects, but that didn't stop the people from the concert interrogating us about who she was and how she was flying. Luckily, Costas was one step ahead of them, and posted a news article about the girl a couple of days later, under a false name of course, giving her a full fake identity.

The report said she was an out-of-town stunt performer who wanted a change of pace from the busy city of Las Vegas. Everyone bought it, just as we'd hoped. Even Mary had to admit that a flying woman was a little far-fetched, even for Arcadia.

Now, we were going to see who this girl really was, and why she was at the concert.

We arrived after four hours of winding roads and recycled air. Toby had been stress eating a lot of Stuart's burritos the whole way, so the air got pretty rank towards the end of the drive. We couldn't even open a window; there were none. We were literally encased in a huge, metal box of flatulence on wheels, in the dark, with no breeze or natural light. I was really starting to envy the scientists in their airtight suits, even if they were a ridiculous canary yellow.

Once we arrived, and we got through security, we were greeted by a Costas that looked like he had been through the worst week of his life.

His hair was singed off and blackened on the right side of his head. His face on the right side was also covered in red marks that looked like seriously bad burns. They also looked incredibly strange, shape-wise. It looked like a hand made of molten fire had grabbed the right side of his head. His burns and the patches of missing hair were shaped exactly like fingers.

There were enormous bags under his eyes, and the left side of his cheek was swollen and bruised. So was the eye on his left side. Crimson fluid leaked from under his nose and dripped onto his lips. "Hey. How was the drive," he asked halfheartedly, all formality and business gone. Probably along with his sanity. 

"We're doing wonderfully," Archie said. "Aside from Tobias and his incredibly large appetite for burritos." Toby paused, about to take another chunk from his Diablo Maximus 3-Meal Giga-Sized Burrito. "I like food! Is that a crime?" he asked, then continued to devour his meal. "It is when you're sitting in a literal can of farts," Steve said, casually slinging his baseball bat over his shoulder.

"Sargeant, let's cut to the chase," Douxie said, stepping forward. "Is the Ventil still in the lab?"
"You mean the demon who's been driving us off the deep end for a week," Costas asked, and he seemed to internally wince at the mention of her.

"Yep, she's still here...unfortunately. We're keeping her under 24/7 constant surveillance, and heavy sedation, but for some reason she's still active and moving around. She hasn't tried to pull any crazy stunts yet, but we'll be ready for her."

"Costas, you'll never be ready for what magic can throw at you," Archie said flatly. "There's a reason magic is used to define the unexplainable; It defies the laws of physics, and can never be scientifically explained because no two tests, even if it's the same spell, are identical."

Costas suddenly became very interested in his own shoes. He wasn't used to being told he was wrong. "Well, are we gonna just stand here or are we gonna go inside," Jim said, breaking the silence. "Let's go meet the most dangerous creature known to mankind."