The day of moving Rocky, the giant gliding squirrel, to its forever home. Wes didn't want to check on the creature just yet, as the sun could harm it. He slept in a few hours than usual. He checked the computers, nothing unusual. He felt a bit of relief since everything seemed so far so good. He wanted it to stay that way. This mess will be cleaned up tonight, the creature will be sent off, he will have another night to rest before the good doctor comes back. Just a simple list. Easy goals to check off. No worry.
The hamlet of Perfection was busying itself with its daily routines. Nothing unusual, just the normal graboid schedule. Urtzi finished moving his herd to the next valley over with help from Burt and Tyler.
The lights from the semi gave Wes a giddy feeling as he was waiting for the doors to open into the lab. This creature will be off his hands. He got the hoist ready as the semi backed into its designated spot.
The driver was ready to get this over with so he could go back to enjoying his holiday with his family. He tried not to grumble too loud as he opened the doors to the trailer. Wes made his way down to the bottom of the lab. He unhooked himself. Wes pointed a light to the cage. It was empty in one spot. It must have crouched in one corner. Wes walked closer to the cage. He moved his light to the next corner. Empty as well. Wes thought it could be hanging upside down. That's how it escaped last night. The light travelled up the side to the top. He moved to the next corner. Still empty.
He let out a sigh. He was going to have to illuminate the whole cage. He increased the light frequency. The whole cage became illuminated. No giant squirrel in sight but there was a gaping hole that had bite marks all around it.
"Oh no," Wes's heart started to race. "Oh no-oh no! This isn't good." He moved his light around to look at the lobby area. No creature. "She's going to kill me." Wes looked at the cage one more time just to make sure he wasn't wrong. He wasn't. "They're all going to hate me." Wes hooked himself back in and brought himself back up.
"Something wrong?" The driver picked up the panic expression Wes had. "You, uh, have a ferocious beast in there?
"We had a creature," Wes examined the area around the opening. No foot prints or a trail of some sort.
"Had? You had a creature?" The driver glanced around. "What does that mean?" He watched Wes again. "You mean this creature escaped?"
"It escaped the first time, we caught it," Wes tried to keep himself calm but his voice betrayed him. He was starting to get angry as he was feeling guilty for not keeping a great watch on the creature and that he could have called Dr. Frankenstein back to help, but he didn't. He was getting angry, because what was he supposed to do now? It's gone. He can't go further into the lab to retrieve it back. What if it get's back to Urtzi's flock? "You couldn't come pick it up since it was the Fourth of July and now it escaped, again."
"Woah-woah-WOAH!" The driver puffed up. "You don't get mad at me-bub! I said I couldn't pick up on a holiday. I wasn't going to. I didn't let the damn thing escape, you did. You have a package for me to take back?" Wes glanced to him then went back to shining the light around the area again, this time wider range. "I'm going to take that as a no! I wasted my time to pick up something that was never there. Maybe this is some prank you're pulling whatever it is, I'm heading back. I am not going to pick up anything you say unless I hear from Dr. Frankenstein! You got that?" Wes ignored him. "Whatever." The driver waved him off and started to close things up so he could get back to his family.
Wes didn't leave until an hour after the semi did. He checked all around outside before venturing back into the lab. It really was chewed through. He let out a sigh. He couldn't do anything now. It was now time to figure out how to break this to the rest of the group. His heart started to race more when he thought about how he was going to break this to Dr. Frankenstein. We kept himself busy by doing the menial tasks of closing up the lab.
Trying to calm himself with these tasks helped him a little, but he had a rough time trying to sleep. His mind would not stop thinking about how he was going to tell them, how their reactions were going to be, how much trouble was he going to get in. Or possibly maybe lying, but everything is recorded so the lie was only going to last a few days maybe only a few hours. It was going to be a rough welcome back. He shut his eyes tighter trying to get rid of these thoughts.
The next day, Rose said her goodbyes to her best friends. She checked her bags and vehicle to make sure there wasn't any devices. She found a few in both. When she was on the road, she felt relieved to head back to work. She did have bittersweet feelings departing from them.
Rose didn't stop in Perfection, she kept on driving to her facility. Cota and Luciana had faked leaving and headed back into the place they were staying. They watched the GPS to see Rose passing through the town. They looked towards one another with a smile. Cota closed the laptop.
"Perfection is such a perfect place to hold the next photoshoot!" Cota spoke with a big smile.
"It certainly is," Luciana agreed by nodded her head. "Let's get ready for our next road trip."
The two gathered items they would need for that photoshoot.
At the facility, Wes didn't even hear her pull up and park. He was sleeping past his usual time. Rose gathered her belongings and headed inside. She checked the computers first. Nothing unusual that needed her immediate attention. A program tab was opened for her music player. She clicked on the tab to see one of her audio books had been listened to while she was away. Rose had most of those stories memorized as she would play them while she would work. An idea formed in her mind. Rose glanced at the bedroom area before looking back at the time that was paused on the story. She made sure to get up nice and easy, trying not to stir the roommate.
Wes was on his back, his hands gripped at the duvet. Rose sneaked around to his side of the bed. She bent down to be closer to him.
"Shrieking, slithering, torrential shadows of red viscous madness chasing one another through endless, ensanguined corridors of purple fulgurous sky . . . formless phantasms and kaleidoscopic mutations of a ghoulish, remembered scene; forests of monstrous over nourished oaks with serpent roots twisting and sucking unnamable juices from an earth verminous with millions of cannibal devils; mound-like tentacles groping from underground nuclei of polypous perversion . . . insane lightning over malignant ivied walls and daemon arcades choked with fungous vegetation," her voice emphasized the story and haunted his ear drums. Each time she spoke, Wes started to twitch and frown. He tossed a bit. Rose moved herself away from him.
"AH!" Wes sat straight up gasping for air. He started to pant, trying to compose himself. It was just a dream, he reminded himself. Just a dream. Everything was going to be fine.
"Good Afternoon," Rose watched him struggle.
Wes reeled back at her voice, rolling over onto her side of the bed, trying to get away from her. He looked over to see the danger was only her. "Oh, it's just you. Don't scare me like that!"
Rose crossed her arms. "Party and play while the doctor was away? You look rough. I saw the bottles. Do you need something to soothe your body after a week of partying?"
Wes rubbed his eyes. He scooted back over to his side of the bed. "I thought you weren't coming back until tonight." He yawned and stretched.
Rose sat down on the bed. She saw how much of a strain he had. "You look terrible. Are you sure you don't need something?"
Wes couldn't look her in the eyes. "I'm fine."
"Bags under your eyes," Rose noticed. "Fear of Lovecraft stories. Was it a hard week without me?"
Wes felt a bit relieved. "It had its good and bad."
"Oh?" Rose raised an eyebrow. "Want to let me know over a nice meal?" Wes gave a reluctant nod. Rose got off the bed to let him get ready. She headed back towards the kitchen.
As Rose placed the meal on the table, a new message appeared. She headed over as it was marked with high importance. The subject was about a recent pick up that happened last night. She clicked open the message and read the contents.
"Oh dear," Rose turned towards the bedroom door. She titled her head while giving a sympathetic expression. She moved the message to one of the folders and regained composure.
Wes walked in. His stomach had been growling since he could smell her cooking. He sat down and started to dig in. Rose just stared at him. He was halfway done when he noticed her. He fumbled on getting food into his mouth when she saw her staring.
"Is-there something w-wrong?" Wes picked up the food off his lap with one hand. Rose placed both hands on his own hand. He looked down on it before jolting his stare at her. "I-I?"
Rose patted it. "Failure isn't the ending. It's just an ending. Just a dead branch. In science, it still gathers results. Results we may not have wanted, but results none the less. It's okay. We learn from our mistakes and move on, whether that be trying again or trying something different. It will be okay." She gave it a squeeze once more before removing both hands to her side.
Wes tried to speak the letter 'h' for the word how but his lips twitched instead. He blinked several times.
"How did I find out?" Rose grabbed her mug. "A surprise, right? I always find out." She chuckled. The horror on his face made her laugh harder. "No-no. It's fine. The driver has to relay everything that happens. I received an email just now about the incident of not receiving a package from extraction. Is this why you have been so worked up? You failed to deliver?"
Wes covered his face to let out a groan. "I'm a total failure."
"You're not," Rose reminded him. "Things happen. Now tell me everything."
Wes explained the whole situation, starting with the day she left. He ate through the rest of his meal slower since Rose knew now that something happened. After the explanation, both of them were silent. It was troubling that a creature had escaped the cage.
The two wouldn't travel down back to the lab until the next day, for now Rose tried to comfort him when the need arose. He was still feeling guilty. She made him read over papers while she was checking the samples under the microscope. The words on the paper weren't really going to be read but at least it made himself useful in some aspect.
It wasn't until the next day, that Perfection received two new tourists. Cota and Luciana had ventured into the terrain full of sagebrush and sand in a Land Rover with a roof top tent attached firmly on top.
Tyler was ecstatic about today's tours. All the tickets were booked up for today. The patron wanted the full tour that Tyler gave on El Blanco Day. Jodi was curious who this patron was. She waited by the counter with her head resting on her hand. She almost dropped her head when she saw the Land Rover pull up.
"Co-Cota Orlav!" Jodi choked out. She placed a hand over her heart, hoping it would calm herself down.
Cota and Luciana examined the buildings and surrounding area. It felt as if they were like kids at a theme park, everything was amazing to them. The two had on sunglasses and ball caps but Jodi could recognize her idol anywhere. The two shut the doors to head inside the market place.
They strode up to the counter where Jodi was still gawking with a stunned expression. Cota smirked as she recognized a fan. "We're here for the Graboid Safari Tour with Tour Guide Tyler."
"You're the patron, oh!" Jodi blinked in surprise. "Yes, Tyler. I'll go get him." She gave smile before rushing to the kitchen area. Tyler had just finished breakfast that was cooked up by Larry. She whispered to him about how the patron was here. Tyler sprung off the stool. He headed straight to his patron.
"Howdy ladies," Tyler put on his showman smile. "My apologies for the delay."
"Good morning," the two said in unison. Jodi was back to the counter. She couldn't mess this chance.
"We're here for our private tour of the area," Cota mentioned. "We're ready when you are."
"Y-yes, right this way," Tyler motioned to the door. The two went back through it with him right behind.
Jodi watched them leave before calling Rosalita on the good news she just received. Rosalita finished up her tasks before heading down to fangirl with Jodi. She had to be there when they get back.
Tyler was driving to their first destination. "So, ladies before we get there, what brings you down to Perfection?"
Cota was taking pictures with her camera. She was scoping places out for the photoshoot. "We were intrigued by the graboid for so long. We finally got the chance to come along."
"Creatures distinguished by their limbless condition and greatly elongated body and tail fascinate us," Luciana raised an eyebrow. Her lips curved into a mischievous smile.
"Oh," Tyler shifter in his seat and coughed once to get himself under control. "Well, El Blanco is that type of creature." He cleared his throat. "If you have any questions, I will try to answer them. I can also try to get our local expert and monster hunter himself, Burt Gummer, to speak, as well as Nancy. She was there when the first attack happened."
"Thank you," Cota took another picture.
Tyler went to every spot. The two asked questions that were similar to other tourists on the same tour. When they stopped at the residual boulders. Cota made him stay a bit longer as she liked the area and the history behind it. Tyler let her get off the vehicle and tour the area. Luciana had climbed up on the boulder. She posed laying down with a peace sign. This was going to be one of the possible sites to use. When they were done with taking pictures, the three ventured to the next spot.
Burt spotted the dust trail with his binoculars. He radioed over to Jodi. "Burt here, Jodi come in, over."
"Jodi here, what's going on, over?" Jodi and Rosalita stared at one another.
"I see Tyler is back on his tours but it looks like he's going through the tour route," Burt explained. "Two ladies, they don't seem suspicious to you, over?"
"One of them is a famous designer. They're not harmful, over," Jodi knew Burt would be restless of them.
"Hopefully not, over and out," Burt watched them again. He then checked on the two scientists. "Wes, Rose, Burt here, over."
The two were checking out the chewed through cage. Wes flinched at the voice. Rose patted his shoulder.
"Rose here, we're in the lab, is there something urgent, over?" Rose started to pull the hooks closer.
"Just checking in, now that you're back, over," Burt didn't know if Wes brought up the giant flying squirrel incident.
Rose looked over to Wes who just shrugged with confusion. "Thank you for the warm welcome, if that will be all, I would like to keep working, over and out."
"Way to shut him down," Wes hooked the last rigging.
"I was gone for a week," Rose glanced over to the door. "Besides, he was possibly hinting about the incident. We also have next brunch to go over everything." She came up to Wes. "I also didn't think it would be right of me to let him know about what actually happened. Not when you don't feel as ready. You ripped the band-aid off once, you don't need to do so again." Wes softened at the words. "Burt doesn't need to know it escaped unless it escaped from here." She squeezed his bicep. "Failing is natural. It would go against nature if you didn't fail."
"You've been very touchy feely lately," Wes stared at her hand.
"Oh," Rose retracted it. "Just trying to be comforting. You seem the type to berate. Well, then let's continue." She walked on while Wes gave a chuckle.
In a few hours, Tyler brought back the two. Jodi and Rosalita were waiting with Larry. He had some new menu items that needed tasting. The three looked towards the entrance.
"Well, I hope you enjoyed the tour, ladies," Tyler beckoned them to the restaurant side.
"It was educational and interesting," Luciana thanked him.
"When do think we would be able to see El Blanco?" Cota looked around at the trinkets.
All four of them looked at their watch. "Pretty soon." This made the two stopped. Tyler raised his finger to tell them to keep quiet. Their eyes widen in surprise as the rest of them were frozen. They glanced at one another. Through the window they spied ground moving. The ground started to rumble. The market place started to shake all around them. The two held each other's hands while El Blanco passed through. All four looked back down at their watch again. It took a few more minutes before they started moving again.
"Ladies, the rumble beneath your feet, that was El Blanco," Tyler spoke first.
"And you live with it daily," Cota's eyes glinted with wonder and curiosity.
Tyler picked up on it. An air of bravado came over him. He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, yeah. El Blanco has a set schedule most of the time. Just have to be mindful of it."
"How very interesting," Cota smiled. "It's not going to come back when we take a step right?"
Tyler waved his hand. "No, you should be fine. Just don't make too big of a ruckus."
"We won't," Luciana grabbed onto Cota's arm. The two of them then looked at the souvenirs.
Jodi and Rosalita glanced at one another and gave a silent scream with wide smiles. Tyler turned to them and the two became calm once again as if it never happened. Tyler knew something just happened but didn't know what.
Cota and Luciana racked up an astounding amount towards their bill with all the merchandise they bought. They said their goodbyes to everyone and thanked them for a lovely time. The two got back into their elite vehicle and headed off back towards the city. The townspeople reveled about how amazing it was to be in the same vicinity and speak with a celebrity.
Cota took a turn on one of the dirt roads. Luciana was looking at the map. They were back at the residual boulders. She parked it out of the way.
"So, majority of pictures at this area, but I think we should do lots of sand too," Cota looked at the horizon. "I like the topography and the mountains as a backdrop."
"We just need to bring our third musketeer here," Luciana started to mark the map. "GPS says she's still in the same spot."
Cota grabbed her camera bag. Luciana started to grab the suitcases that were full of the new fashion line. In a matter of minutes, a tripod was setup on a small metal square. Luciana was applying her makeup. Cota took a few test shots before getting herself ready.
When sun started to go down, the two packed up the items and drove upon the residual boulder. There they opened the roof tent and prepared for to go to bed.