Rose gathered a few items before she left Perfection for a week. She grabbed a computer tablet, her personal phone, and charging cords.
"Are you just bringing yourself to this?" Wes saw her place it all in a tote.
"Yep," Rose slung it on her shoulder.
Wes blinked a few times. "Okay, I am missing lots of information here."
"You are," Rose nodded. "This is also confidential. Besides, you think I can keep the rest of my wardrobe here?" She headed out the door. Wes followed her. "If you need anything, I am still in the area and will have my work phone on me. Don't hesitate to call me."
"There isn't going to be a hesitation," Wes reassured himself and her. "When there is some danger, Dr. Frankenstein needs to come back here asap!"
The two stood there in awkward silence. "Well, I am off then." Rose spoke up first. She got into the Hummer, started it up, and waved goodbye to him as he waved back. He headed back inside the facility.
It was a bit busy for the town as they tried to get ready for the fourth of July. Jodi watched the white Hummer drive through town. She was putting up the last decorations. "Rose is headed out?" She pondered out loud. "Huh? Did Wes leave with her?"
Chang's Market had patriotic streamers but there were some signs about warning about the effects of fireworks in the area and how it hurts El Blanco's sensitivity to seismic vibrations. There were bottle rockets, roman candles, sparklers, and other fireworks that wouldn't cause seismic harm. The only seismic harm was in case of emergency such as Burt's homemade bombs.
Rosalita entered the market. "This looks so good, Jodi!" She glanced around. "Does Larry have any new cocktails for the fourth?"
"I think he does," Jodi started to climb down the ladder. "His blogs and videos have been helping us out immensely. Nancy and I are getting items ready to send off to people who bought our stuff over the web and not just a few, about fifteen people and upwards."
"That's amazing," Rosalita's jaw dropped. An idea popped into her head. "What if I get my ranch going enough that the beef we harvest, we can sell. You know like those happy cows coming from California, something like that. 'Your beef isn't perfect if it doesn't come from Perfection.' You know? Something like that."
Jodi liked the idea as her mouth dropped a bit as well. "That's a good idea. There are some items that are only geographical copyrighted, like Walla Walla Sweet Onions and Champagne from France. We could totally do something like that. We would just have to find a facility to humanely harvest the cattle under USDA and FDA regulations as well as packaging. Oh, we would have to make sure that they aren't contaminated by Mixmaster. That would be the other thing."
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that," Rosalita's excitement dropped down a bit then it spiked back up. "But we do know two scientists who are working on Mixmaster." She raised her eyebrows.
"You are absolutely right," Jodi moved the ladder off to the side.
Another vehicle pulled up. The two turned to see who it was. Wes came striding in. "Hello, Jodi, Rosalita."
"Well this is a surprise," Jodi smiled. "I thought you were headed out with Rose."
"No, she went on vacation," Wes inclined. The two were perplexed. "That's the same reaction I gave when she let me know."
"You probably don't know where she headed off to either?" Jodi moved back behind the counter.
He let out a sigh. "No. Confidential like everything else. I get to keep up her work while she is away though. Anyways, I came by to see if there is a potluck going on besides the fourth."
Jodi and Rosalita looked towards one another then back to him. "No," Jodi shook her head. "Just that day since we don't get many people this holiday."
"Okay," Wes glanced at the snacks. "Well, then I will just get some snacks and drinks because she enjoys healthy foods at all times." He glanced back at them before grabbing a few items.
"I can see that," Rosalita agreed.
"If you need any company," Jodi comforted. "We are always here for you."
He nabbed a six pack before heading back up to the counter. "Thanks, I appreciate it." He paid for the items. Told them goodbye and headed back to the facility. He couldn't really leave it alone for hours on end since there was a bigger opening.
Wes glanced at all of the data being collected on the computer. There was nothing on the radar that spooked him. He sighed as he opened a bag of chips. He clicked through her computer to see an audio book. He had heard of that author before. He decided to past the time by listening to it. As he was about to click play, the rumble of El Blanco made him freeze even though the facility was on thick steel plates.
Once El Blanco was away, he clicked the audio. He started to listen while chowing down on his snacks and drinking one of the bottles. It was eerie and creepy. His hairs stood on ends as his skin raised in goosebumps. He had to pause a couple of times since it started to scare him, but he could not stop from wanting to know how it ended.
He paused the audio when it got time to meet the semi-truck driver at the opening. Wes put his gear on, took another sip of a bottle before heading out. The driver let him know that he can be called at any time.
"You're saying you don't want to be called on a national holiday," Wes rigged himself up to be hoisted down.
"Well, I hope not," the driver chuckled as he leaned on the forklift steering wheel. "So, Dr. Frankenstein left you here to take care of her work while she parties."
"I wouldn't say partying," Wes started to propel himself down. "She doesn't seem the type."
"You'd be surprised," the driver scoffed. "Women." He repositioned his ballcap. He glanced around the horizon before viewing the night sky.
It took twice as long than usual for Wes to perform all the tasks since it was just him. He didn't notice that a creature had escaped from the facility. It had been clinging onto the ceiling, watching until there was a moment for it to crawl out. The driver wasn't watching the entry as he was too busy stargazing. The creature scuttled out of the lab right without trouble at all. The two did hear the sound of wind but didn't think anything of it.
When it was all over, the driver gave Wes a carbon copy of the shipment order. Wes waved goodbye to him as he double checked everything to make sure it was good and closed. He headed back to the empty facility. He called it a night.
The creature didn't call it a night. It started to explore the new world and find a new place to hide for the time being. It started to leave a trail that only one person could pick up on it so easily.
Burt did his morning rounds. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He was happy that during this time of year, El Blanco would go into hiding since the seismic vibrations caused by fireworks didn't sit too well with it.
He patrolled the area as he usually would. He stopped by to see a familiar face. It was a shepherd who took this time to gather up his flock. Burt shut off his vehicle.
"Kaixo," Burt smiled.
"Ah, Kaixo! Burt!" The shepherd smiled. "It is that time of year again."
"It is," Burt nodded. "Moving your flock, a valley over as usual."
"Yes, they roam like usual," he nodded looking the sheep. "This time we made sure to keep away from the sand. We stayed on the rocky ground but, I hear that the sheep might be affected from the foliage."
Burt grimaced. "Yes, Urtzi, but if you see any changes or notice anything, give me a call, I have better resources to help you this time."
"Oh good-good," Urtzi smiled. "I will have all of my flock moved this week to the valley. I won't have any strays. Don't want to keep feeding the giant worm. Hey-when this is done, we shall meet up again like always?" Burt nodded. "Good-good. It has been a while since you had paella, bacalao pil-pil, and some pintxsos paired with a good wine."
Burt nodded in agreement. "I will come." The two had become friends over the years. Urtzi would just roam with his flock all over the West. Every so often Urtzi would come back to this area. It became a tradition to hang out and have a nice dinner together after Urtzi moved his flock to a different area. He would have them hauled in semi-trailers from state to state.
"You should take a break from here," Urtzi persuaded. "Come to Reno or Boise with me for the next festival. You would enjoy it!"
"I would most certainly love to go, but right now, this place needs me," Burt was reluctant to leave at all. He had left before and he came back to hearing the troubles. The town did great without him but he didn't know how much more they could handle alone. "Keep me posted. I may be able to in the future."
Urtzi raised his eyebrows before smiling. He started to chuckle. "Okay. Okay. I will make sure. I am off. Make sure don't get txamisuek jota." He wagged his index finger at him.
"I'll try not to," Burt chuckled. "I will definitely try not to." He watched Urtzi and his Border Collies maneuver the large flock further up on the rocky area. He waited until they fully passed before he started his Jeep back up again.
Burt wondered about those who have gotten struck by the sagebrush. He took a hold of his radio. "Dr. Frankenstein, Burt over."
Wes was trying to sleep in but the voice of his father over the radio jolted him awake. His heart was racing as he looked over to the clock. "Are you kidding me?" He maneuvered himself up. Since it was just him, he headed over to the other side of the facility in his underwear. He sat down on the chair, grabbed the radio, and let out a sigh before answering him. "Dr. Frankenstein is on vacation, Wes here, over."
Burt was taken aback. Rose was on vacation and his son was alone in the facility. He believed that was odd but it could actually work out for the better. He could get a glimpse of the facility while the good doctor is a way. "Vacation? And you got left to tend to the lab, over."
Wes groaned as he rested his head on his arm. "Yes, she is on a week vacation, she will be back soon. Do you need to ask her something? Over." He hoped that his dad wouldn't compromise his integrity by asking him to show him the lab. Right now, was not a good time.
"Did she say where she was headed? Over." Burt headed back into town.
"Las Vegas, over." Wes rubbed his eyes trying to keep himself awake.
"Las Vegas? What would a scientist like her do over there? Over." Burt was surprised about Rose's private life.
"That's what I said," Wes yawned. He clicked on the radio. "She said it was confidential, but if there was any emergency, we would only have to call and she would come back asap. Over."
"You coming to the potluck on the fourth? Over." Burt slowed down as he got into town.
"Yes, would not miss that. Over." Wes stretched. He reviewed the readings, nothing concerning. It was going to be a long week without her.
"Well, we are here, come have lunch or dinner at Chang's, Burt out." Burt dropped his radio to pull to the front gate of his place.
Wes looked at the clock on the computer. "I'm going back to bed." He treaded back over to bed and flopped on it. He snuggled back under the blankets.
It was a routine day for the hamlet of Perfection. On the fringes of the area, it was not. The creature, with its beady eyes picked off different animals to taste. First it was lizards and snakes then moved up to rabbit and foxes and now it eyed the sheep grazing under it. It was full now from all the animals it ate. It closed its eyes and fell asleep but when it would wake up, it would be hungry again.
That evening Urtzi moved his sheep camp to be near the flock with his truck. He brought the wagon in a better spot and set up camp again. His dogs were watching over the flock. He spoke some cues and two of the dogs came back to him. He called out a command again and his third dog didn't come back but barked instead. He commanded the other two dogs to watch the flock while he trekked over to where his third dog was at. He heard the barking again. Urtzi called to the dog. The barking seemed frantic. He jogged over to that area. What he saw stunned him. Upon the ground was a large chunk of skin and wool drenched in blood. He calmed the dog down as it was barking to alarm him. He turned all the way around but didn't see anything else. It might have been a fox or a coyote. His dogs were well trained to attack and scare off any of those but there were times were a pack of them might have gotten to it. It could not be the albino graboid as they were on rocky terrain. Something else attacked his sheep.
Urtzi was flustered as he lost one of his sheep. He commanded his dogs to move the flock a few yards away. He would have to stay up the whole night with a gun handy to make sure his flock was safe. He fed his dogs and himself with a home cooked meal inside his sheep camp. He put on a coat and had a gun resting against the sheep camp. He drank a cup of coffee to keep himself up.
There wasn't much out of the ordinary. He drank another cup. Around midnight, he could hear a bit of rustling and bleating from some of his sheep. He rose up from where he was sitting. Urtzi commanded the dogs to keep the flock huddled to together. He grabbed his gun. Urtzi placed a hat on with a light. He turned the light on and trekked towards the danger that made his flock scared. He scanned the area, not seeing any reflections of eyes from wolves or foxes. His light did illuminate another remain of bloodied wool and skin. It pained him to see that. He called out commands and he heard his dogs follow by making sure the flock was together. He scanned the area one more time and saw nothing again. He let out a gruff before heading back to his camp.
This kept on for the next day. Urtzi was ready again to watch over his flock that night. This time he was closer to his flock. He sat down with his gun laying beside him. He sipped his coffee watching into the night, waiting for this predator that was taking bites out of his flock. He heard the wind blew. Urtzi pulled the coat tighter around his neck. He heard a rustle again. This time he didn't command the dogs, he picked up his gun and was ready this time. He moved through the flock with his gun raised and aimed. He heard the bleating of a sheep. He saw the reflection of a predator's eyes. He pulled the trigger.
Bam!
Urtzi missed but he heard the drop of something and the bleating of a sheep. He moved his head for his light to shine on a sheep that had bloodied patches all over. Urtzi patted the sheep's head. He glanced around to see if he could find the predator again.
From above, the creature tried to get its meal again. It descended upon Urtzi. "Ah!" He flailed about, trying to get whatever it is off of him. He called for the dogs. They came sprinting over, barking and growling. Whatever was on him snapped its jaws before jumping off. Urtzi could hear the wind again. His dogs surrounded him and the injured sheep.
Urtzi slung the gun over his shoulder and grabbed his wounded sheep to haul back to his camp. His dogs stayed next to the flock. Urtzi cleaned the wounds, applied salve, and let the sheep rest next to the wagon. Urtzi got his radio out.
"Burt, this is Urtzi, over," he sat down on his padded bench.
"Burt, here, everything okay, over," Burt had just finished looking through the readings he had gotten that day. He couldn't sleep since Rose left Wes alone with the lab.
"No, not at all," Urtzi sighed. "Something is eating my sheep and almost got me, over."
Burt looked up from the seismic graphs. "I'll be right there, over." He hooked the radio back up and grabbed a few items before driving out there again.
The lights from the jeep shined upon the flock and then the wagon. Burt shut it off and jumped out in a few seconds. He headed over to Urtzi who looked like he was mauled by something.
"Ah, Burt, I am glad you are here," he smiled coming out of his camp. Burt only took a few strides to reach him. The concern on his face made Urtzi feel a bit guilty. "It's not that bad. I'm a little hurt."
"Not that bad?! Have you looked at yourself?" Burt put a hand on his shoulder and forced him to sit on the floor of the wagon. Burt kneeled down. "You have been attacked by something. Tell me what happened."
"I-I, one of the dogs," Urtzi didn't know where to start. "Informed me there was something happening. I checked it out and came across one of the remnants of my sheep. Skin and patches of wool all bloodied. So, I had the dogs move the flock away, stayed up last night to find a predator. I didn't see anything but again I found the same thing from another sheep. Moved the flock again. This time I-I stayed with the flock. I saw the reflection of two eyes like a predator. I shot but I missed. Scared it most likely. I slung my gun over my shoulder. Started to pick up my wounded sheep and it attacked me from behind. I kicked and fought and tried to get it off of me. I called the dogs, they came and rescued me. I could hear its jaw snap back at them. It jumped off but I don't know where it went."
"It looks like you haven't fixed yourself up, let's get you to the lab, maybe they can find something," Burt wasn't taking any chances this time. He was going to wake Dr. Casey Mathews. This wasn't a regular predator. This was probably Mixmaster. "Let me call someone to watch your flock. You stay seated."
Burt headed back to his Jeep just for some privacy. He switched frequency to contact Tyler. "Tyler, Burt here. We have a situation. Over." He had to repeat himself a few times before he got back a response.
"Tyler here, over." He sounded sleepy.
"I will send you my coordinates," Burt mentioned. "I need you to watch over a flock while I take care of some business. Over."
"Sure, sure," Tyler yawned. "Where exactly? Over."
Burt let him know but Tyler needed it in simpler terms. Burt described the location using mileage and landmarks. Tyler would be there in fifteen. Burt woke up Casey to let her know what was happening. When Tyler arrived, Burt came to him, informing him the situation. Tyler nodded. He stayed by the camp with a gun ready while Burt took Urtzi to Casey's place which was just a few minutes away.
Tyler looked around. "I got woken up for this?" He saw the wounded sheep lying next to the wagon. He sat down where Urtzi had sat. He stared out into the night. "This is going to be a long night."
Urtzi explained the whole situation to Casey. This time he informed them about hearing the wind. This got the two concerned. Casey took the samples from the clothes and him before doctoring him up. Burt side stepped out again. This time to contact Wes.
"I cannot sleep at night now, and have to take opiates when it thunders. The thing came abruptly and unannounced; a demon, ratlike scurrying from pits remote and unimaginable, a hellish panting and stifled grunting, and then from that opening beneath the chimney a burst of multitudinous and leprous life - a loathsome night-spawned flood of organic corruption more devastatingly hideous than the blackest conjurations of mortal madness and morbidity."
Wes was anticipating the next paragraph. He was deep into the story, listening to each syllable the speaker annunciated. Burt's harsh voice spoke over the quiet, professional voice of the audio speaker. He let out a yelp. Burt repeated with urgency. Wes's heart was pounding so much that he placed his hand over his chest. He paused the audio book. Wes grabbed the radio. "Wes, here, what's going on? Over." He tried to calm himself.
"Has there been anything out of the ordinary over there, over," Burt hoped for something.
Wes looked through all of the data. "Nothing from the same old unusual that we see every day, over."
"Dammit," Burt grumbled. He just wanted some information. "We have sheep missing and a man attacked by something. We are at Dr. Casey Mathew's place getting clues of what could have attacked them. If you find anything let us know, over."
"Will do, out." Wes let out a breath. He needed to calm himself down. He raked his fingers through his hair. "I need to call it a night." He headed over to the bed while shutting off the lights.
That morning, Wes got up early to check the readings. There was nothing out of the ordinary. He took it upon himself to check the areas where the lab exhausts itself. There were no markings or dirt removed to show a creature had escaped.
He met up with Burt at Chang's. Burt let him know all the details. Urtzi was still with Casey getting treated. Burt asked if he called Dr. Frankenstein. Wes didn't need to, this situation they could handle on their own. He also didn't want to ruin her vacation. He didn't believe this was just any vacation. It seemed something important and close to her. Even though he said if there was any emergency he would call. If it did get worse, then he would call.
Tyler drove into town. Burt and Wes turned to see who drove up. Tyler came up to them at the counter in the restaurant area.
"I have an idea," Tyler was thinking about it all last night. "This thing attacks sheep. Why not have a fake sheep and kill that way? Like how they do with duck and turkey hunting."
Burt was about to say something. He closed out his jaw and thought about it again.
"Wait, we can't kill it," Wes interjected. The two gave him a doubtful look. He glanced at both of them. "We, mostly Dr. Frankenstein and the rest of the mad scientists, would probably want it alive. Get it to the lab."
"We can get it to the lab in a black cadaver bag," Burt crossed his arms.
"I have cages and guns that shoots nets," Wes argued. "We can catch it, instead."
"It could work, but do you have a fake sheep lying around?" Burt poked holes in the plan. "And does this creature have other abilities we don't know about?"
The three were silent. None of them thought about that.
"Where is Dr. Frankenstein and her weird Jeopardy like knowledge when you need it," Tyler let out a sigh. The two gave him a look. "What? She does. You could probably say to her, 'this thing lives in the trees, has eight tentacles, and shoots webs,' and she would answer 'what is an octopus crossed with a spider thingy,' or whatever we caught that one time." He waved them off.
Wes agreed. "She does have that going for her." Burt nodded.
"We could use the sheep skin over something or someone," Tyler was throwing out ideas.
"Who would be willing to wear sheepskin to catch this creature?" Burt threw up his hands. Wes looked over to Tyler. Burt also sensed the same thing. He looked over to Tyler as well.
Tyler looked back and forth between them. "Oh, come on!"
"I am supplying the cages and the guns," Wes mentioned.
"I am a better shot than you," Burt added.
Tyler let out a sigh in defeat. He threw up his hands. "Alright, alright. I'll do it."
Rosalita came into the market to get her mail and saw the commotion. "What is going on?"
Tyler put his hands down, turning around to see her. She beamed a smile at them. "Morning." The other two greeted her.
"We have another situation," Burt informed her. "None of your cattle have gone missing?"
"No?" She looked at all three of them. "Why? What's going on?"
"Some Mixmaster creature has been attacking sheep and attacked the shepherd who was watching over them," Burt caught her up. "You haven't come across any wounds or anything like that on your cattle?"
"No, not at all," Rosalita put a hand upon her heart. "When did this happen?"
"Past few nights," Burt was relieved. The creature was still at least in the same area as before.
"No clues, I'm guessing," Rosalita searched their faces. She was right. Not many.
"Not much, but we should be able to catch it tonight," Wes was certain.
"Tonight?" The two turned their heads to him. Rosalita saw the hostility. She decided to skip out to go get her mail from Jodi.
The three were discussing the plan and how to call it into action. They started to argue a bit.
Jodi gave Rosalita a bundle of mail. She spotted the magazine. "You read that magazine too?"
"Always been a fan!" Rosalita placed the pile down to push the letters off to the side to see the magazine fully. "One of my favorite-FAVORITE designers is launching her newest collection. Cota Orlav and her Gorgon Sisters will always be my favorite! Ah! I love it! Can't afford it though."
"You love Cota Orlav too!" Jodi fangirled with her. "I am so happy I can talk to someone about her. I know its expansive but I love her Gorgon Sisters collections as well as her collaborations with other cultures, artists, and designers. Isn't her new one about the Asian folklores of snake women? I have been so excited since she first came on the scene, breaking through as an Asian herself."
"Yeah, the latest one is!" Rosalita nodded. "She is amazing for us women and women of color. I love Versace but his logo of a Medusa head is about seduction-which is fine and all-but the Cota Orlav's Gorgon Sisters are all about taking back the female rage and promoting feminism. I enjoyed reading that for one of my classes. It's so amazing when she teams up with other designers and keeps with the female lore with snakes in all cultures." She was flipping through the pages. "Here it is!" She turned it to face Jodi. "She let everyone know she is also doing a new collection for the Gorgon Sisters itself. She is working on advertisements for it as we speak!"
Hearing gorgon repeated, Wes perked up. He couldn't listen to Tyler and Burt. He kept glancing over to Jodi and Rosalita.
"Okay, sounds good, meet at the place before sunset, got it," Tyler nodded. He saw Wes' focus. "Hey! You alright there?"
"Yeah, got it, before sunset," Wes looked back to both of them. "I'll have everything ready." Burt nodded to them and headed out. He went to check out how Urtzi was going while getting any updates from Casey.
Tyler checked on Wes. "Are you okay? You kept glancing over at Rosalita and Jodi. You, uh, having withdrawals?" His voice got lower.
"Withdrawals?" Wes was confused by his question.
"You and the good doctor have been sharing a bed for a while now," Tyler had to point it out to him. "A few days of not having her and you, uh, yearning for something."
It clicked. Wes gave him a look of disappointment. "Really? That's what you think we have been doing this whole time?"
Tyler shrugged his shoulders. "Close confinement, tension building, sexy scientist-"
"-Stop-stop. STOP!" Wes raised his hands up before Tyler tried to utter more nonsense. "That's not the type of relationship we have."
"Then why keep glancing at the two ladies?" Tyler raised his eyebrows. "I'm surprised something hasn't happened between the two of you yet, both young and single. You smiled when she was laughing and happy." He was trying to elude him to say something more.
"Something I keep hearing that reminds me of something," Wes walked over to them. Tyler followed, confused at what he just said.
Rosalita pointed to another picture. "The one on the left is Stheno, who is Cota. The middle is Medusa, unknown. The last one is Euryale, also unknown."
Jodi nodded. "They still haven't been outed yet of who these two are. Only part pictured is always that leg with the tattoo. I also love their tattoos. I don't think I could pull it off."
Tyler saw the advertisement of three legs posing upon pillars with a woman praising the legs wearing some high fashion outfit. "I think I have heard of this brand before."
"It's not some brand its designer," Rosalita smacked his hand that was trying to turn the magazine towards him. "You probably have greasy fingers still. I'll move the magazine for you."
Wes stared in awe at the picture before putting on a poker face. "Thank you. That's all I needed to know." He nodded to the three of them before heading off. He had a hunch of that this magazine and Rose's vacation had something in common.
"What was that all about?" Tyler was still confused.
Rosalita shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he's going to buy Rose a present or something. If he does buy from here, he's got good taste and a lot of money."
"You think those two connected someway," Tyler watched him leave.
Jodi and Rosalita glanced at Wes then back to Tyler before looking back at the magazine.
"Maybe," Rosalita shrugged her shoulders. "We don't know their history or if its all business at facility like Casey and Roger."