Chapter 24- Tom
A little while after lunch, when Abby had left to make sure everything was covered with the autopsy, they received a call from Connor about Duncan and a missing Dodo. Apparently they had kidnapped it when one of the Dodo's slipped out during the confusion of rounding up the other Dodo's.
They quickly walked across the road and explained to Lester about the situation. "Well what are you waiting for? Get what you need to get ready, I'll send captain Ryan to back you up."
When they got to the 4x4 the soldiers were already there waiting to follow. Avery hopped into the back while Nick drove and Stephen sat in the passenger's side.
They arrived in the back alley of a block of cream stone flats. They were in an industrious area and appeared to be made from old warehouses or factories.
"How infectious is this?" Claudia asked walking behind them.
"It's not a virus, it's a parasite." Avery explained.
"And Tom's the host?"
"Yeah."
"And we have to isolate him before he passes it on to anyone else." Nick interjected. He stopped Ryan at the double, sky blue doors to the flat. "Now whatever you do, when you go in there, don't let him come anywhere near you." Nick told him before they entered.
Connor arrived with Duncan just as Nick entered.
"Whoa, heavy." Duncan said. His open mouth and the slight fearful look in his eyes almost made Avery laugh, for someone who wasn't aware of the dangers it was a bit much.
"Are you the idiot who stole the dodo?" Claudia intercepted them at the door.
"There's no law against capturing extinct animals." Duncan intercepted back.
"You stole government property. That makes it treason." Claudia said with a final glare before walking inside, past Avery.
"That was a joke? Right?" Duncan stuttered back looking over his shoulder to Connor, who merely patted him on the shoulder and walked him through the door.
Connor pats him on the shoulder as they go inside.
Inside was quite large and cluttered with random stuff. There were fossils and other paraphernalia relating to shows and movies. They had a small tv and several computers, there was a large skylight in the roof, a wall covered with cartoon clippings from newspapers, and in the middle of the room, against a floor was a Hawaii themed bar bench, but with no alcohol behind it. On one of the walls was a wallpaper of a sunset on a beach.
The room looked ok but the floor was a rusty red and the walls were a mixture of colors. They walked into the room containing the dodo and found it under a small, single bed. There was a desert setting on one of the walls and piles of clothes in an open cupboard.
Ryan stood at the doorway, with Connor and Duncan behind him, gun loosely held in his hand, finger on the trigger in case it moved. Stephen and Nick crouched on the floor looking under the bed, while Avery stood on a wooden ladder next to them. Avery, Nick and Stephen could have used guns, but they decided not to, in case one of them accidently shot one of the creatures. It was dangerous, but the implications could be worse if a creature died when it was not supposed to.
"You know those movies when you think the killer is finally dead and then all of a sudden they just jump up again?" Stephen said not willing to move.
"Yeah, I hate those films." Ryan said, coming to crouch next to Stephen.
"Me too." Stephen and Avery told him. "After you." Stephen said turning to Nick.
Nick gave him a look as if to say really! But Stephen was dead serious and made no movement to go closer. Finally after a moment of staring at his friend, he crawled towards the bed and hit the dodo on the nose. "It's dead."
"Are you sure?" Claudia asked, just arriving.
Nick hit it a couple of times on the head and the flightless bird made no movement. "Pretty sure."
Nick lifted the bed up to reveal the dodo lying on a bunch of dirty clothes. It had dark brown, black and white plumage and a thick hooked beak.
"Alright, bag it up. But be careful." Nick said looking at Stephen and Avery. Avery looked at the dodo in sadness and approached. She started to stroke the fur on its head, as if it could still feel it. Stephen came closer and did the same to the dodo's chest, sending a look to Avery, asking if she was okay. Avery nodded back and continued to stroke the dodo.
"One minute it was friendly, and the next it just went crazy." Duncan explained.
"The parasite changed the dodo's behavior to suit its own purposes." Avery said gesturing at the bird.
"Which were?" Claudia asked. Avery suspected she didn't know that much about how to deal with creatures, only how to deal with people.
"To pass itself on. That's why it bit Tom, so it could incubate its eggs in the new host." Stephen continued standing up.
"It's not safe to be around him." Nick said looking towards Connor. He had an almost betrayed look on his face. From the little time she had known him she felt he was a very loyal kind of person. It was a good trait that Avery admired, but sometimes it just caused more pain and trouble. "I'm sorry." Nick apologized as he and Stephen look at him sympathetically. "But maybe if we'd got to him straight away, then he'd have stood a chance."
"Our parasite is light sensitive," Avery noticed looking up, "it's why it hid under the bed and broke the light."
"So wherever Tom is, he's going to be trying to stay in the dark." Nick explained.
"He's probably at a hospital, It's where I would go." Avery stood up and turned towards Duncan. "Where's the nearest Hospital?"
"T-there's one just down the road, but I don't think he would go there. Too obvious a place to find him." Duncan whispered the last part, looking over his shoulder to Claudia.
"Boy, you guys are really big on your conspiracies." She left the room with Nick. They needed Lester to help find Tom.