"Casey, is there something bothering you?"

The young, red-haired woman did not respond to her teacher's question. Instead, she simply stared down at the floor, lost in thought. She didn't even feel the strain in her thigh muscle as her leg rested high on the banister.

"Miss Little?"

Again, no answer from the ballet student, her head swimming with different thoughts and ideas. The only indication that the young girl wasn't frozen still was the occasional blinking that interrupted her dead-eye stare.

"CASEY!"

At the sudden shout, Casey jumped, her leg slipping from the banister. With a yelp, she fell over instantly, letting out a soft "oof" when she hit the ground. She hissed when a sharp pain emanated from her inner thigh. Luckily, it blocked out the laughter of her classmates as she could only focus on the now dull throbbing in her leg. She pushed herself up off the ground, wincing as the throbbing turned back into a sharp stab.

"Did you pull something, dear?" Miss Bellerose, her dance teacher, asked. She didn't look all that concerned for Casey's well-being. Most likely only asking out of curiosity.

"Ugh, maybe." Casey huffed, the action causing her hair to blow out of her race. She stretched her leg as a test and groaned at the painful feeling. "Yep, definitely." She sighed heavily.

Miss Bellarose tutted disapprovingly. "What is going on with you today? You're less attentive than usual." She crossed her arms, directing a scowl at her student.

"It's… just some stuff going on at home." At this, the tell-tale whispers of her classmates' gossiping started up. Mutters about her crazed father met her ears, but she paid them no mind. She was used to it by now. "May I go home early?" The girl rubbed at her thigh to try and soothe the pain.

With a tired sigh, Miss Bellarose nodded. "Yes, I suppose so. You'd be of no use to us today." She watched as her pupil walked stiffly towards the exit.

Casey tried her best not to limp, not wanting to look dumber than she has already. She made her way down the hall and to the left where the locker rooms were. With some difficulty, she changed out of her leotard and into a bright, blue romper. Tying her hair back and slipping into her sneakers, she put her ballet shoes back into her locker and left with her sports bag in hand.

The sounds of the LA traffic assaulted her ears as she stepped out of the dance studio and onto the sidewalk. Glancing at her phone and reading that traffic was going to be a problem, she concluded that pulling a muscle was the right call today, even if it was accidental. If she had left when class ended, she would have been late for her interview.

She rounded the studio to find her car in the parking lot. Spotting it quickly, she rushed to it, entering and locking the doors as quickly as she could. She made a mental note of the baton and pepper spray in her bag, sighing in relief when she remembered that her weapons were still with her. LA drug addicts and muggers were something she was in no mood to deal with today. She started her car, growling to herself as the ignition stalled for a bit. When it finally kicked up, she pulled out of the lot and into the Hellish traffic that awaited her.

After an agonizing two hours, she finally reached the end of the city and onto the freeway. She checked the dashboard clock, reading five pm. Relief washed over her as she calculated the times and realized she was still going to be on time for her interview. She turned off the highway to take a quicker route, one of the few times taking a backroad in California was faster. She didn't need a map to find her way. She'd been to the facility she hoped to work at many times in her youth, courtesy of her father.

When the thought of him came to mind, she sighed deeply. She still remembered the conversation they had this morning before school. Her mind glossed over many details, keeping the memory purposefully vague as to avoid recounting his hurtful words. She blinked back tears before they could spill, taking a deep breath and forcing a smile on her face.

Now was not the time.

The drive to the small town of Twentynine Palms was a boring one. Her fingers occasionally twitched with the intent of picking up her phone and reading any texts, but she ignored it. She wasn't careless, something her father ingrained in her head.

Her whole life, he made sure to teach her the importance of being careful, almost to a paranoid degree. Because of this, her confidence was less than ideal, but it didn't stop her from everyday life. She socialized well despite her well-mannered, shy nature. She was cautious of people, knowing how cruel they could be. Her father is her first example. However, she rationalized that he was only like that because of her mother's passing. Yes, that was it. It wasn't her fault at all.

As she approached the little desert town, she adjusted the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of herself. Perhaps she should have put on a little makeup if only to even out her freckles. Oh, well. She glanced at the clock, deciding that she had enough time to eat a small dinner.

She didn't like how late her interview was, but it made sense. Her dad worked night shifts so, of course, her interview would be in the evening so he could be nearby as support. That alone made her smile. Kind gestures like that were rare and often come across as calculated, but this felt different. It felt real.

Spotting a Denny's in the middle of the town, she quickly pulled into an empty spot on the side of the street, parking her car. She grabbed her bag, exiting the car and triple-checking the locks. A habit she picked up from city living.

After grabbing a BLT to go, she ate on the way to her interview. Her drive out of the town only took a few minutes given how small it was. After shoveling down the sandwich, she popped in a breath mint as her destination came into the distant view. She reached into her bag and pulled out an energy drink, popping it open and gulping it down in one go. She bristled as the sugary concoction invaded her system, not used to drinking such a thing.

She suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable as she approached the Splice of Life facility. Her heart pounded, but that just could have been from the energy drink. She felt a bit exposed in her romper as she caught sight of a well-dressed woman smoking in the building's parking lot. Perhaps, Casey pondered, she should have worn something more professional, despite her father telling her to wear something that she wouldn't mind being stretched. A weird request but she followed it nonetheless with blind naivety.

She approached the security gate, smiling at the guard manning the checkpoint station as she rolled her window down. "Hey, Marvin." She greeted the man who had worked there for since she could remember. "Dad's here, right?" She asked, her fingers drumming on the wheel as a nervous tick.

The security guard looked up from his phone, regarding her with little interest. "Yes, Casey. He checked in an hour ago." He pressed a button on the wall next to him, opening the large, metal gates. "Go right on in. They're expecting you."

"Thanks, man." Casey drove in, bringing her window back up. She turned into the parking lot, pulling into a spot. She sat there in silence for a bit, fingers still tapping the wheel. Her head was swimming with thoughts again, her insecurities biting at her ego.

"You got this, girl. Just go in, ace the interview, start as soon as you can, be the best, get promoted, and live out the rest of your life dissecting cute little animals. Easy." Casey gulped. Her conscience decided then to bring up that this was not the life she wanted. She quickly forced that annoying voice down, knowing that this is the life her father wanted and she'd do anything to make him proud.

With another gulp, she grabbed her bag and got out of her vehicle, heading inside after doing her triple-check of the locks. She winced as her pulled muscle started to act up again, wishing she had thought of buying painkillers back in the town.

She pulled out a slip of paper from her pocket, unfolding it. It was a list of directions her father gave her. The building was practically a maze. The size of it could be compared to the Mall of America in terms of square feet. She didn't even know what eighty-five percent of the facility held. She had never been that far. It could have a movie theatre for all she knew. Most of it was underground as well, which she was thankful for since she wasn't the biggest fan of heights.

She entered through one of the many backdoors of the building. Going through the main entrance would take too long. She came across a very large corridor, passing by several scientists in white lab coats. Looking down at the paper, she knew this was going to be a long walk.

She took a right, then a left, another left, down three flights of stairs, down another corridor, through a lab the size of a house, then through the cafeteria which was as big as a theatre. She passed a school, glancing in to see a classroom of children being taught by a chimp with some sort of metal helmet on its head. She went down another few levels using an elevator, reaching a sort of giant underground greenhouse.

She stepped in, looking up to marvel at it. The glass walls reaching a ceiling that must have been thirty feet high. The room itself was comparable to a small zoo, considering it was holding a plethora of animals. She passed by elephants and giraffes being monitored by scientists. She ignored the sight of a dead tiger being eaten by a band of meerkats, not feeling very excited about possibly working in this section if she had to deal with that.

Finally leaving the grassy biome, she went down one more level through a staircase and reached her destination. She exited the elevator and onto the main laboratory of the entire building. It was even larger than the first one she saw. She stared on in awe at the sights around her.

A scientist was stuffing a live rat into a flashlight. Another one was leaning over a cage holding an infant gorilla that was solving a complicated equation. Casey passed a woman pouring a pink liquid onto a tomato. She paid no mind when the tomato grew ten times as large and engulfed the poor researcher, which caused several other scientists to rush over to yank her out.

At the end of the room, after passing many more wild sights, Casey came across a large cage that was covered by a blanket. She stopped in her tracks, looking around to see if anyone was going to approach the cage. With a shrug, she stepped forward to move on but was stopped in her tracks by the sound of an unearthly growl. She turned back to the cage, hearing the growl turn into a soft whimper.

She knew she shouldn't, but curiosity got the better of her. She approached the cage, hesitation just a moment before reaching out to pull back the blanket. However, a limb suddenly shot out of the cage, to which Casey immediately stepped away to avoid being scratched. She watched as a green, three-taloned hand wave frantically for her.

"Yum, yum!" The hand pointed to the table behind Casey. The young woman turned around, seeing a twinkie sitting on the table among a pile of beakers and papers. She looked back at the limb, pointing to the twinkie to make sure this was what the creature wanted. Despite it not being able to see her beyond the burlap blanket, it somehow knew what she was doing and shouted "Yum" again with heightened enthusiasm. Casey shrugged, grabbing the twinkie and handing it to the limb. It snatched it from her, causing the young girl to let out a surprised yelp and it retreated under the blanket, slobbering loudly as it devoured the twinkie. The red-haired woman cringed at the sounds it emitted, deciding that now would be a good time to continue.

She quickly made her way out of the lab and entered another hall that led to a set of office rooms. Glancing one last time at her directions, she finally reached her destination at the end of the hall. Two large double doors towered over her, making her feel small and even more insecure. She brushed off the feeling and reached up, knocking on the door twice. In seconds, the door opened on its own, revealing her future employer's office.

The walls were lined with wood panels and the ceiling was pale white. Hung from the center was a silver chandelier, lighting up the room considerably. It stuck out amongst the warm colors of the room. The carpet was a muted teal which complimented the mustard-colored couches that sat around a coffee table in the left corner of the room. Nearby, in the middle, was a large, mahogany desk housing a blocky computer and many files opened for reading. Behind the desk was a brown leathered chair that faced away from her, hiding the identity of her boss. The entire room looked like something straight out of the 1990s, especially with the outdated computer.

Sitting at the front of the desk was a gold-lined nameplate that read Allen Wright.

"U-Uh," Casey quickly cleared her throat to distract from her nervous stammer. "Hello, Mr. Wright. My name is Cassandra Little. I'm here for an interview." She forced confidence into her tone, cringing at how unnatural her full name sounded coming out of her mouth.

The chair swiveled around, revealing a lean, Caucasian man who looked to be in his 40s. He had auburn hair that was combed back into an outdated pompadour style. His tailored, maroon suit seemed to be vintage, matching the style of the room. He smiled at her, intimidating and comforting at the same time.

"Ah, Miss Little! Your father has told me all about you!" The man took a brief inhale of the cigar he was holding. "I trust he informed you of the position you'll be interviewing for?" Smoke danced from his lips as he spoke.

Casey nodded, walking forward to stand in front of the large desk. "Yes, Sir. I believe it is the position of Student Support Monitor. He told me it was similar to an internship for college students."

"Yes, I suppose it is," Wright said thoughtfully. "And I'm sure you know what this job entails?"

Casey nodded again. "Monitoring the behaviors and reactions of test subjects."

Wright nodded back. "Good. Your father will be here in a moment to help with the proceedings. For now, follow Autumn for your CBC." He gestured towards someone behind Casey.

The woman whipped around, seeing an older lady in a lab coat standing by the doors. She hadn't even seen her come in. "Uh… CBC?" Casey asked curiously. "My father didn't say anything about a blood count."

"Standard procedures, Miss Little, as are the rest of the tests today." Autumn opened the doors for Casey to step through.

"Tests?" The girl squeaked out nervously.

"Why, of course! We want all of our employees to be in good health. It's a requirement." Wright spoke up from behind, but Casey did not turn back to him. She walked forward, stopping in her tracks when Autumn shoved a clipboard at her.

"Sign here to give us your consent for these tests." She pointed to a blank line at the bottom of the single-paged agreement.

Despite her conscience screaming at her not to, Casey picked up the pen from the top of the clipboard. "Can I read this?" She asked.

"Just sign it." Her father's voice spoke up. She looked up from the board and saw her father, Harvey Little, standing next to Autumn. Are these people teleporting in?

With a sigh, Casey signed and printed her name. "Yes, Father." She set the pen back on the clipboard, following Autumn and her father out of the room.

"Good luck, Miss Little!" Wright called out to her before the double doors shut behind her.

Casey was silent throughout the walk back into the giant laboratory but felt much less nervous with her father here. She was led to a large platform with a railing in the middle of the room, which resembled a low stage. She felt her nerves come back full force as she was practically displayed for all to see. She could see across the room, which meant they could all see her through the shoulder-high fence circling the stage. In the middle of the platform were an operating table and a cabinet with tons of medical supplies inside, as well as a sink next to it for hygiene.

It didn't help when she noticed a sitting on a three-legged stand. Cautiously, she looked around and her jaw dropped at what she saw. Projected on a twenty-by-twenty foot screen high on the wall behind her, was a film of what was going on. She had to bite her tongue hard to cut off the panic attack that was approaching, but her nerves were obvious to anyone watching the projection.

"Relax, dear." Suddenly, arms enveloped her and all she could feel was warmth. She looked up at her smiling father, her panic attack going away completely. Was… was this really happening? He was… hugging her? "It's all procedure. I had to do this too. It's going to be uncomfortable, but you got this." If he was this warm with her because she followed his plan for her, then she will never question him again. She allowed someone to take her sports bag away as her father held her.

Casey smiled back, relaxing into the hug. She inwardly lamented the end of it when Harvey pulled away, but still felt the ghost of his arms around her. That feeling kept her calm throughout the blood extraction. She thought it was going to be a simple blood count, but it turned out they were doing every kind of measurement. She was very happy she had already supplied them with a urine sample weeks ago.

Autumn called up three more helpers to make this go by quicker. They measured the length of her limbs along with her height and weight, they calculated her mass as well. They took hair and skin samples, as well as a bone marrow extraction.

That one was…. unpleasant.

It certainly made her scared again, but her father's hug grounded her once more and she was able to continue, albeit with a brief pinch in her hip.

This went on for quite some time. A small audience had gathered around her halfway through the sample extractions and were jotting down notes on their clipboard. Measurements were splayed on the projector and any results of tests they did were shown as well.

Casey felt like one of the test subjects she was soon going to be monitoring. She was thankful that they shielded her for when she had to undress for a physical. It only took five minutes and she was relieved it was over so quickly.

Finally, it was over. Her head was starting to hurt from being in the spotlight for so long. But when she thought she could finally leave, Autumn pulled out a remote from her pocket and pressed a button. To Casey's shock, the fence surrounding her suddenly sparked to life with electricity. But before she could dwell on that, the platform started to shake slightly. Beside her, two large holes opened up on the stage floor. She stumbled back when two large, cylindrical, glass tanks slowly rose from the holes. This drew the attention of most of the scientists in the room, who added to the audience to watch.

The left one was empty, but the right one held a small, chimp-sized creature. It was a sickly green color with a spotted pattern. Its skin looked tough and scaly, with green limbs and a yellow-colored torso. Its legs were bent in a permanent crouch and its shoulders had spikes. The wide, angled face had spikes too. As well as two large ears that fanned out of its head like wings.

"Wha… what is that?" Casey backed away slowly, suddenly coming into contact with the fence and crying out as it shocked her instantly. She fell away, caught in the arms of her father.

"It's our latest project that you will have the honor of partaking in." No longer was there a warm smile on Harvey Little's face. Instead, he stared down at his flesh and blood with cold eyes that were devoid of the love Casey had felt only an hour or so ago. "Up to your feet." He helped her up, leading her over to the empty tank.

Casey, still in shock, allowed her father to lead her towards the tank. Right as the glass door opened, however, that little voice in her head came back full force and screamed at her to run.

And run she did.

With sudden courage, she tore herself away from her father, rushing at the surgical table. With years of nimble athleticism at her side, she leaped up onto the table and launched herself over the fence, the other scientists staring in shock.

"Stop her!" She heard her father scream after her.

She landed on top of an audience member, adrenaline blocking out the pain of her pulled muscle. She busts through the crowd with surprising strength, charging towards the closest exit. She dodged other researchers trying to tackle her, ducking under and hopping over tables. She crashed through experiments and caused the various animal subjects to panic, to which they started to run amok. It distracted some of the crowd as a group broke off to corral the frightened animals.

She looked back at the giant crowd after her, which ended up being her downfall. She slammed right into a metal cage, knocking it over as they both fell. The cage's lid popped open and the burlap blanket was tossed away. Casey landed right in front of the cage, letting out a cry of pain as her head knocked against the cold, tile floor. Her world spun as something jumped from the cage and on top of her body. She managed to focus on the weight on her, a look of horror crossing her face.

Standing on her chest was the same creature that she saw in the tank. However, instead of limp and lifeless, it looked ready to attack.

And attack it did.

Casey brought her arms up to block the attacks just as the green creature slashed at her with its talons. It tore at her clothes and scratched her arms, trying to tear her to shreds. Casey let out a cry of pain, which made the creature stop. It stared down in confusion at her, cocking its head to the side like a curious dog.

"Yum, yum?" It asked in a scratchy voice. It seemed to recognize her voice.

Casey had no time to process that since as soon they were both suddenly grabbed by the crowd of researchers. She kicked and thrashed about, trying to get loose. She saw the creature trying to do the same thing, but unfortunately, both of them were knocked out by a swift strike to the skull.

Both Casey and the gremlin went limp. The gremlin was put back in its cage while Casey was dragged back to the platform. She was unceremoniously dumped at her father's feet, who looked down disapprovingly.

"I didn't think she'd do that." Harvey sighed, reaching down to pick her up.

"I told you the fence was necessary, but it looks like we'll need to extend it higher," Autumn remarked, rolling her eyes. She and Harvey strapped Casey into the tank, removing her shoes but leaving her romper and undershirt on. IV tubes that hung inside were stuck into her. The glass door was shut and Autumn pressed another button on her remote.

Green blood started to extract from the gremlin in the tank. It was sent to Casey's tank, the IV tubes filling with the same blood to inject in her. A lone empty tube was suddenly filled with some sort of black liquid that seemingly came from nowhere. As it entered Casey's blood, her body started to react.

At first, it was the occasional twitch and spasm, but as minutes crawled by, the spasms became more frequent. After only five minutes, her body started to seize. Green froth spilled from her mouth and her skin bubbled as if bugs were crawling underneath the flesh.

Her ears were the first to change. They slowly grew and the tips sharpened to a point, fanning out like the gremlin next to her. Next, her shoulders grew out as her bones snapped to reshape into a new skeleton, her shirt collar tearing to accommodate the new shape. Her feet stretched with the sickening sounds of flesh ripping, becoming more slender and pronounced. Spikes suddenly tore through her shoulders and face, causing red blood to spill out. However, the red blood soon stopped seeping out and was replaced with green blood. Her nails fell out and talons burst through her fingers, causing more green blood to leak.

Finally, her jaw twisted into a more angled shape and her eye sockets started to protrude out. Her brown skin slowly turned to a sickly green, her natural freckles fading and being replaced with a spotted pattern over her body. A stripped-yellow formation slithered up her neck and ended just under her chin, presumably covering her torso as well.

When the transformation was complete, the tank let out a comical "ding" like a cooking timer. Both tanks opened their doors and released the latches. Quickly, Harvey and Autumn untethered the gremlin and Casey from the IVs. With the audience watching in awe, the same samples they took before were extracted once again for comparison.

"Harvey, Subject C2 did not survive the procedure," Autumn informed as she checked the gremlin's vitals.

The cold doctor shrugged. "Feed him to the meerkats. We can make more later." He turned his attention back to his daughter. He undressed her, this time he had one of his interns film her up close for everyone to see. "Subject C3's mammary glands have smoothed over and appear to be nothing more than a thick layer of fat now. Further investigation will be done during Thursday's vivisection." His voice was carried through the camera's microphone and projected for the audience to hear. They all noted this with perverse excitement in each of their eyes. "Subject C3 vaginal cavity is still intact. Keeping in mind that male gremlins have reproductive organs as well, it can be concluded that they may be able to reproduce like humans. Vivisection may be pushed back to perform a possible pregnancy. We'll see."

Casey was dressed in the same ripped clothes for now. She was picked up and carried off the stage. A large cage on wheels was brought over and she was placed inside. Harvey led the interns pushing the cage out of the laboratory and back to Allen Wright's office. He knocked on the doors and was let in immediately.

"So? How did it go?" Wright looked up from his computer, his eyes blowing wide at the sight of Casey in the cage. He let out a "hot damn" and a jovial smile as he rushed over from his desk.

"The procedure was a complete success, Sir." Harvey looked quite pleased with himself as Wright looked over his daughter.

"That's what I wanna hear!" With a boldness Harvey didn't think he possessed, Wright opened the cage door. Before Harvey could say anything, Wright was already sticking his head in. He reached out and gently prodded Casey's foot.

The second he touched her, Casey's eyes shot open and she bolted up. She swung at Wright before he could get away and slashed at his chest. The man gasped and threw himself back, Harvey immediately slamming the cage door shut and locking it. He and the interns rushed to Mr. Wright. They helped the bleeding man to his feet and towards the desk.

"Are you alright, Mr. Wright?" Harvey asked worriedly, ignoring his awoken daughter behind him.

"Y-Yes, I'm alright. She's got spunk!" Wright laughed as if he didn't have deep gashes in his chest.

While the interns bandaged his wounds, Casey was slowly processing everything around her. The last thing she remembered was the little prick that attacked her and the words "yum, yum." She felt an ache take over her body and she looked down, immediately letting out a terrified screech.

Harvey spun around and watched as his daughter examined herself, crying all the while. She tried tugging at her skin as if it were a costume, accidentally scratching herself with her talons. She felt her face, feeling the spikes and gross texture of her skin. She felt along her ears, causing them to twitch at the feeling. She tried standing up in the large cage but quickly fell over, not used to the shape of her new feet. She curled up into a ball, sobbing hysterically.

Her father rolled his eyes at the sight. "Honestly, Cassandra, you're overreacting." He huffed, hating her whines and cries. Her voice didn't seem to change which meant her vocal cords will certainly have to be examined at the eventual vivisection.

"I'll come by later to get a good look at her… maybe not so close this time." Wright waved Harvey and the interns off once his bandages were finished. "Let me know of any changes, Mr. Little. And hey," his enthusiasm never wavered, "I see big things in your future here, Harvey." He chuckled, ignoring the strain on his chest.

Harvey lit up and nodded eagerly. "Yes, Sir! Thank you, Sir!" With his mood lifted, he left the room with his interns and daughter.

However, after the long walk across the laboratory, his happiness was considerably dampened by the never-ending cries of his daughter. "Cassandra, shut your trap." He huffed at her.

At this, Casey looked up at her father. "Dad… I'm sorry… whatever I did… I'm sorry!" She sobbed even harder, heaving and hiccuping violently. Harvey noted that her tears didn't affect her in the slightest. "Please change me back!" She pleaded. "I'll do whatever you want, I promise!"

Harvey shook his head in annoyance. "What I want is for you to be quiet."

They approached a set of swinging double doors on the right side of the lab. Two security guards pushed the doors open and followed them inside. They walked down another large corridor with many doors on each side. Each one was large and looked to be made up of steel. Some of the rooms they passed had muffled screaming behind the doors, which frightened Casey even further.

They stopped at the door furthest down the hall, Harvey's interns pulling it open with great effort. As soon the door was open, the guards aimed their rifles at the room's current occupier.

The white, padded room held one roomy bed and a small desk. Sitting at the desk in an even smaller chair was a brown gremlin. His back was facing them and he paid them no mind. He was dressed in a tailored, white button-up and grey slacks. A pair of spectacles sat on his face as he read through a book in his talons.

"Good evening, Harvey." The gremlin spoke in a distinct accent, almost sounding like a talk-show radio host from the 1960s. He still didn't look up from his book, but his large ears twitched at the sound of sobbing.

"Hello, Brain. I have some news for you." Harvey suddenly kicked the cage, which effectively shut his daughter up. "Good and bad." He clarified.

"Oh?" The gremlin, now identified as Brain, casually flipped a page in his book. "Do tell."

"The good news is you are getting a roommate!" Harvey opened the cage, suddenly striking at his daughter's head to make sure she behaves and causing her to cry out. At this, Brain finally turned around to see what was going on. At the sight of Casey, he removed his glasses, cleaned them with his sleeve, and placed them back on to make sure he was seeing things correctly. "The bad news is that she's quite a crybaby." The guards grabbed Harvey's daughter, throwing her in the padded room.

Immediately, Casey scrambled to her feet. She tried to run but fell over again as she still hadn't got used to her feet. She clumsily crawled on all fours towards her father, watching as the heavy doors slammed shut in her face. She started to bang on the metal doors and screeched for her father, not having noticed Brain's presence.

When a panel on the door slid open, Casey pushed herself onto her feet, using the door as support. As she pleaded for her father to help her, Brain took the opportunity to visually analyze her. She was as tall as a human and her body shape was more feminine. Her chest was not as wide at the top as most gremlins were. And unlike the only other female gremlin, her hair was not green, but a fiery red. Brain quickly reached for a notepad and pen on his desk, taking them in claw and jotting down some notes.

After Harvey dismissed his daughter, the panel was shut. The defeated girl fell to her knees, her entire body shaking as she cried. She tried to wipe at her eyes but hissed as she accidentally sliced her cheek with her long talons. That was when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Straightening up, she slowly turned around, her eyes going wide at her new roommate.

"Here." Brain offered her a handkerchief he had retrieved from his shirt pocket. He half-expected her to cry further or take it with animosity.

He did not think she would scream bloody murder, but he really should have expected it.

Here's a link to what Casey looks like btw redvalentina/art/Casey-the-Gremlin-880523658 redvalentina/art/Casey-the-Gremlin-880523658 redvalentina/art/Casey-the-Gremlin-880523658 redvalentina/art/Casey-the-Gremlin-880523658