Sunlight drifted through the window and she wrinkled her eyes, trying to preserve the precious few hours of sleep she had gotten. Rolling over, she checked her clock. 8:34 am. She panicked for a moment before remembering it was her one day off and she breathed a sigh of relief. Her bliss was soon halted when she remembered what had occurred the day prior. The eerie and frightening noise had shook her to the core, and she had to physically push it out of her mind in order to fall asleep.
Last night, her and Armin had FaceTimed for hours, continuing their theories from where they had left off in the coffee shop. Unfortunately the best idea they had was that the company was containing a large animal under the building, and had not announced it to the public. But deep down inside they both knew that wasn't the case, they just weren't willing to say it out loud. After they had hung up she had done hours of research on large mammals with extreme vocals, even going as far as listening to different recordings. The largest and loudest she could find was a blue whale however, and she crossed that out- there was about a 2% chance that was the case. After forcing herself to quit she completed her breathing exercises in order to relax and forced her mind to shut down, though it still took her hours to fall asleep.
Rubbing her eyes, she swung her legs over the side of her bed and shakily stood up. Stretching, she headed over to the bathroom to shower and try to look a little presentable. After taking part of her daily ritual of scrutinizing her reflection, she made her way to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. Tentatively sitting down on the couch, she turned on the T.V. to catch up on news. Armin always complained that she was always 'out of the loop', whatever that meant. The news reporter had plastered on a fake smile and was talking about the one thing she didn't want to hear about.
"Titan Industries has teased to the press that they have a new project they are working on, supposedly the biggest one yet! CEO Erwin Smith addressed the public yesterday at a press conference."
It cut to a recording of dozens of reporters shouting at the blonde-haired blue eyed man, who held the biggest and bushiest pair of eyebrows she had ever seen, and along with Mr. Ackerman's embarrassing height, they were the center of gossip around the office.
"Mr. Smith! Is Titan Industries planning any new projects for the foreseeable future?"
His eyes seemed to glimmer through the screen, not escaping her attention.
"All I can say is that we are working really hard at the moment and we have big plans for the future.", a small smirk gracing his lips.
The reporters blew up with questions and she rolled her eyes, turning off the T.V. As she poured a cup of coffee, she sunk back into her questions on the day before, one standing out more than the others:
Does his announcement have anything to do with it?
Cold wind nipped at her nose and cheeks as she stood outside of her destination. The Museum of Natural History was one of her favorite places in New York City, not that there were many to begin with. Her curiosity had consumed her until she caved and began researching again, not standing to go without answers. Her digging had led her here, which was a pleasant surprise because of its status as a favorite.
Now that I think about it, I haven't been here in a few months, she thought. When she was still in school, her complicated science degree often led her here for information on different species. She smiled to herself. Maybe my half-completed biology degree will do me a favor here.
Leaves crunched under her feet as she ascended the stairs, taking a moment to admire Teddy on his trusty steed. After flashing her annual pass at the entrance, she made a beeline for the Africa section, already used to the overwhelming sights and sounds of the museum. Taking a moment to collect herself, she began browsing the exhibits for any hint of similarity between the animals and her mystery sound. The roar, if she could call it that, was extremely loud, having to be around roughly 150 decibels, which is not far off from the blue whale. That was considering that it had come from underground, so there was no doubt it was even louder that that, probably around 190 decibels. Making a sound that loud would require and enormous pair of lungs, considering the blue whale's lung capacity was 5000 litres. But that was where she hit her dead end. There was no other animal documented who could even come close to that measure.
At least my half-degree came in handy
Sighing, she began to make her way back to the front of the museum, even stopping to consider if Titan Industries had some how managed to re-create a dinosaur. She shook her head. This wasn't Jurassic Park.
After walking back to her apartment and heating up a frozen Alfredo, she did not allow herself to begin researching again--she needed a break. Making a decision, she went to draw a bath. She couldn't remember the last time she took a moment for herself and her hygiene, since she never had the time or money. Digging out half empty bottle of bubble bath, she sunk into the luxurious hot water and sighed heavily. However her thoughts began to spin again. She went back to work tomorrow, since it was a Monday, and she planned to take a closer look around the area she heard the sound resonate. She concluded it would be best if she waited until everyone had gone home and then go to take a look. Nodding to herself, she sunk into the bath until the water was up to her nose.
I hope I don't get fired...
The clock had just struck 6. The last person had left an hour ago, and she was trembling from fear, yet also underlying excitement. She had relayed her plan to Armin, who claimed she was absolutely crazy for pulling a stunt like this, but even he couldn't deny that he was beyond curious about what was going on down there. She had not heard a peep since the first incident, and she began worrying that it was all in her head.
No, I know what I heard.
After scanning the office one final time, she took the elevator down to the lobby, sweat forming on her brow. Peeking out to once again check for activity, she crept towards the back double doors in the hallway, trying to see beyond the darkness behind the windows. It seemed deserted. Strange... She looked down and realized there was a I.D. scanner, and felt a nervous jolt run through her. Will my I.D. work on this door? Taking a deep breath, she removed her lanyard and swiped the card across the scanner. A second passed and she held her breath and the door clicked green, and she sighed in relief. The doors had built in alarms so people without certain access could not get by undetected and could be punished for even attempting to enter.
After gathering her bearings, she continued down the hallway which was suddenly brightly lit. Motion sensor lights, makes sense.
But why is there no one here?
The question kept repeating itself as she approached a heavily built set of doors-- they appeared to be made out of steel. After looking around, she realized the whole structure seemed to be made of metal. They are trying to keep something in. When she was in front of the doors, she stood on her tip toes to look through the small window.
It was a highly advanced laboratory with so many tools and machines even her biology degree was no help to her. The entire room was stark white and spotless, giving her a sci-fye movie vibe. However what intrigued her the most was a group of white lab-coated scientists standing in front of a large window. Squinting her eyes, there seemed to be a huge metal container beyond the glass, and before her mind could put together the pieces, a huge green eye blinked at her through the gaps in the lab coats.
She ran.
Slamming the door to her apartment behind her, she slid down and sobbed. Everything she knew had been turned upside down by that 2 second glimpse, her rational brain spiraling with what could possibly be behind the eye. Sucking in a breath, she attempted to slow her mind through her breathing exercises. You are ok, everything is fine. The words echoed in her mind for what seemed like hours until she found the strength to open her bleary eyes. Now that her panic had subsided, the logical side of her brain kicked into gear. She had found the source of her mystery sound. There was no living animal that had an eye that big, it even dwarfed the blue whale's. It had to have been at least four feet in length and 3 feet wide, the thought making her head hurt. Judging by the size of the eye and if creature the had a humanoid proportional body, she estimated it was around fifty feet tall, if that was even possible. The iris itself had been the most vivid green she had ever seen, even appearing to have flecks of gold in them. It was wide and unblinking, and it had immediately zeroed in on her, as if it had already known she was there. Echolocation? Or maybe just extremely strong senses. However, one thought struck her and she sucked in a breath.
It had seemed scared...but why would creature that large be afraid?
She called Armin once she had completely calmed down and told him what she saw. He was quiet for a while, obviously in either shock or spilling with questions-probably both once she thought about it. She heard him inhale.
"You need to go back down there."
