Chapter 10

For perhaps the first time in my whole life, I was looking forward to Monday.

My good mood meant that the morning passed by much faster than usual. Even my patients seemed to pick up on it, and that made it pass even quicker.

I couldn't really explain why David's mysterious discoveries had made me this happy. Maybe answering a question that had been on my tongue for two years was a relief that I desperately needed. Something that had plagued my mind for so long would finally be dealt with.

But then there was something a little deeper. The slightest hint of worry of what David's findings would mean.

The hours quickly passed, and when my lunch hour arrived, I didn't head to the staff lounge to exchange meaningless pleasantries with Johnson or drown my sorrows in coffee. I headed straight for the laboratory on the top floor.

As soon as I knocked, the door flew open, and David was standing there, a big grin on his wrinkled face. "Steven! Come in, come in!"

I followed his inviting outstretched hand and strolled into the small laboratory. A couple of computers on a messy desk flashed some complicated programme I couldn't even try to understand. Several empty mugs were planted around the room, as were a few loose bits of paper and empty food wrappers. David had been in this room for longer than usual, perhaps the entire night.

He pulled up a seat for me, in front of the computer screens. "Please, sit down." He offered, his face still gleaming.

"Wow, David," I chuckled. "Did you win the lottery or something?"

"No lottery, Steven." He replied, sitting down in his own swivelling chair. "That sample you gave me two years ago…"

I clasped my hands on my lap. "You analysed the DNA?"

"Yes. I'm sorry it took so long, but it turns out that I needed more time than usual. It took me so long to get around to it…"

I raised an eyebrow. "So… What did you find?"

The smile broadened over his face. "Nothing."

An awkward silence filled the small laboratory, and I stared at him in disbelief. "Nothing…" I repeated.

He just nodded, his smile not fading.

"Nothing?" I continued, now a little disappointed. "Not even…? What about the species? Where did it come from?"

He shrugged. "No idea, Steven."

I sighed, frustrated. Obviously, David was seeing something that I couldn't. "Okay, David, I think you'll have to start from the top. I don't exactly know what 'nothing' means when it comes to genetics."

"Well, Steven," He began, adjusting his glasses. "Every living being on this planet contains DNA. Humans, Guinea Pigs, Trees, Single-cell amoebas. And every living thing's DNA originated from a distant common ancestor."

I nodded politely. "Okay, I'm with you."

He continued, "So the DNA of every creature is connected, and we see that quite clearly when we compare it from two different species. Hence, why we say that Humans and chimpanzees share over ninety-five per cent of their DNA. We also share a lot of DNA with Cacti, and spiders, but those are more distantly related."

"Okay…"

"Basically, Steven, there are certain strands of DNA that are universally present among certain types of animals, and allow us to test species' relations, evolutionary events, etcetera… After I finally picked up the sample that you gave me, I did some general observations and concluded that it was some kind of reptile, but nothing native to California. I initially concluded that this was just someone's house pet that had gone missing."

I nodded, trying to keep up with his rushed, excited speech. "But it wasn't?"

He shook his head. "I decided to take a closer look. I took it to the University of California to extract the DNA and analyse it… Do you know how we analyse sections of DNA, Steven?"

"I never paid much attention in genetics." I admitted.

"Okay then. At first, I attempted to analyse the mitochondrial DNA. Specifically the COI gene, which I thought I could use to identify the species. It's a relatively new way of doing it, a method still being perfected, so I put it through some more tried-and-tested methods, but…" He spread his arms. "It didn't work."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean?"

"In order to analyse a section of DNA, that section needs to be amplified. In order to amplify the section, little synthetic molecules called primers are introduced to the DNA molecules. The primers are made to combine to certain sections, and from that, the desired genes are multiplied. I won't bore you with the details…"

"Please don't." I grumbled.

"So I and a couple of colleagues put the sample DNA through a typical PCR process, but it didn't go as expected. I expected certain sequences of DNA to arise, but they didn't. It was as if this creature of yours was missing large chunks of DNA that most other creatures have." He paused. "Then I analysed the sections that I managed to get, and I compared the sample DNA to DNA gathered from a large variety of species from across the world."

I sat up in my chair. "And?"

"Nothing." David repeated. "No matches. From what little DNA I recovered from the sample, nothing compared. Nothing even came close."

"So what does that mean?" I asked, baffled.

His huge grin returned. "I don't know, Steven. All that I know is that whatever this creature is, we have never seen anything like it before, at least, on a genetic level."

"Let me get this straight…" I groaned. "It's taken you two years to find out that you don't know what it is?

"Yes, and no. I don't have the faintest clue of what it is. Don't you see how that is a good thing?"

I thought about it, resting my chin in my palm. "You think it's something not connected genetically to any other creature?"

"I'm damn sure." He grinned. "A completely independent being. Something that did not evolve like we did."

"It couldn't be some sort of hybrid?" I asked, probably displaying my ignorance a little too willingly.

"No. It's not a hybrid. Listen to me, Steven," He urged, his whole body shaking with adrenaline. "This creature did not evolve from any Earth creature, nor does any Human have the technology that can create such a complex biological machine…"

My eyes narrowed again. "You think it's an alien, don't you."

He cleared his throat and tried to restrain his excitement. "I don't want to jump to conclusions yet, Steven, but I can't see any other logical explanation right now."

I huffed, not knowing quite how to feel. Was David right? Did I have a space alien living in my house?

Maybe he was just going senile.

"You mentioned colleagues." I reminded. "How many? What did they think?"

"Just two or three. They were only there to help with sample preparation and the PCR process when I wasn't around. They don't know about the results. Not yet, anyway."

"Not yet?"

"I sent the results of the analyses to them this morning." He explained. "I've asked for the information to be kept confidential for now."

I nodded, a little more relieved, but David was looking at me eagerly. He wasn't quite done yet.

"I want to publish this, Steven." He pressed. "This could be the highlight of my career! This could be absolutely huge!"

He looked at me pleadingly. He wanted my permission, but I was too busy fighting different ideas and possibilities in my head. This was all too much. I could give up Twig's DNA and allow it to become scientific knowledge, or I could put David's work to waste and deny him his breakthrough.

David picked up on my inner conflict, and stared at me curiously. "Is something wrong, Steven?"

I picked myself up with a deep breath and tried to hide my uncertainty. "I'm fine, I was just wondering…"

"I will make it worth your trouble." David smiled. "You passed the sample on to me. I won't forget that, if this becomes as big a breakthrough as I suspect."

That clinched my decision. For now, at least.

He continued, his pleading look briefly returning. "I was wondering whether this creature was still in your possession. If I were to publish these results, I would need evidence that it hasn't been fabricated."

A lump rose into my throat. "Yes. We still have it."

David smiled again. "Oh, wonderful!" He was almost bouncing in his seat. "Could I ask you to bring it round for me as soon as possible?"

I shook my head, lowering my eyes to the floor. "I can't do that, David."

His childish excitement dropped instantly. "You… You can't?"

"I can't bring it in, David. It's not easy to explain why…"

"Then may I come to your home, Steven?" He compromised.

I stuttered, wondering just what kind of hole I had dug myself into.

He continued to press, "Steven, I must see it."

As soon as I had finished cleaning up my office at the end of my work day, I met up with David in the staff lounge, signed out, and walked him to my car. David was eager to ask questions, still as excited as he had been earlier, but I had spent the last few hours mulling over each and every possibility. My previous excitement at discovering David's results was misplaced. Having David analyse Twig's DNA, it turned out, was a dreadful mistake. I could see no easy way out of this situation, and I was either going to betray David, or betray Twig. The sudden change of mood was beginning to make me feel sick.

David was growing suspicious as we drove away from the hospital and towards home. "You aren't sharing much information. Any particular reason?" He asked.

I was driving with one hand on the steering wheel, the other hand rubbing my forehead. "David… I don't think anything I can say will prepare you. You've just got to promise me that you won't tell anyone what you see, got it?"

He gave me a sideward glance, his chirpy optimism dissipating into a mixture of confusion and worry. "I need to know why, Steven. What should I expect to see?"

I sighed. "I… It's… Please, just make me that promise, okay?"

"Okay, Steven," He said, sounding annoyed. "I promise you, I won't say a thing."

"And you won't just run away screaming, right?"

He hesitated and faced me directly. "What the hell am I going to see, Steven?!"

"A giant, walking blender." I grunted.

"Please be serious, Steven."

"I am."

We reached our home in the woods and I took the car into the drive. David had gone from being a bouncing, ecstatic man to a nervous, confused wreck.

I don't know how I do it, sometimes. It's a gift.

I made some observations of the local area to make sure nobody else was around, just in case David did in fact run into the woods screaming. Meanwhile, he was admiring the house, commenting under his breath on the unusual and beautiful location.

As I took him to the front door, I stopped him and gave him one final chat.

"David, remember not to-"

"I remember," He interrupted. "No running, no screaming, no exorcisms."

I nodded. "Good. And remember that he won't hurt you. He's extremely gentle."

David blinked. ""He?" Is it a male?"

"Yes. Strangely enough, we found that out yesterday. Please, don't ask me how. It's something I'm desperate to forget." I cringed at the memory.

David smiled, though he still appeared to be shaking with nerves. "All right then, Steven, let's see your mystery creature."

We entered through the front door to the smell of something cooking. That meant that Twig had started dinner, and would likely be found in the kitchen. I led David in that direction, but held him outside, turning my head around the wall to see Twig tending to a boiling pan of pasta. The radio was on, and he was singing along (terribly) to some dreary pop song.

I took in a deep breath as I prepared myself for the worst, letting David enter the kitchen.

His face said it all. His mouth dropped about a foot, his eyes widened behind his thick spectacles, and all the colour from his skin drained, leaving him completely pale.

"Twig." I called to the creature. He stopped singing and turned around, revealing Brenda's pink baking apron pulled tightly over his front. His reaction was much the same as David's, and the wooden spoon he held dropped from his scaly claw to the floor.

Together they stood, still as statues, eyes fixated on each other. It was up to me to break the ice.

"David," I began. "Meet Twig. Twig, this is David."

David tried to force his way past me, back to the front door, but I blocked him and reminded him of his promise.

"Steven," He quivered. "That is… it?"

I had to hold him to stop him from falling from shock, as his eyes darted over Twig's equally shaking body.

The reaction from Twig was not surprising. Apart from me and Brenda, he had never seen another Human being that wasn't made of pixels. He was brave enough, however, to utter a few words. "Why is strange Human here, Steven?"

That was the final straw for David, and his body collapsed into my supporting arms. The shock had knocked him unconscious. I groaned under his weight, but kept him upright.

"Twig? Help me lie him down on the couch, would you?"