Gwen was waiting for me when I came to school and she told me she had been worried about me yesterday. I didn't tell her where I went, thinking she might freak out. I told her I felt a little sick and went straight home.
After school, I hurried to the same spot I was at yesterday and soon, the soldier arrived. He didn't grab my arm this time but he helped me up onto the guardian. I couldn't wait to see the papers; I wanted to hurry to the citadel.
This time, we went to a different place instead of the great hall. The soldier shoved me through a large wooden door and shut it behind me. The room he put me in was like a study. Along one wall was a lit fireplace, burning that yellow crystal we mine. The air smelled foul because of it. The walls were lined with bookcases chock full of books. In the middle of the room was a large desk with a single chair. Books and papers were piled upon the desk and there stood the Null King, D'Void.
"Here, Animo's papers," he said with a slight grin as he held up a file.
I approached him cautiously and he handed me the file. I sweated nervously as he watched me open it and read the papers. The papers seemed to be quickly written in Dr. Animo's handwriting and he was describing a machine that could change animals at the genetic level. The last few papers described his plans to modify the machine to reanimate once dead animals. His first experiment would be on a mammoth skeleton.
"I like this Dr. Animo, he goes for the big prize. Don't you think so too?" D'Void asked me as he stared into the fire, standing in front of the fireplace with his hands behind his back.
"Yeah, he is an amazing man. I would love to meet him," I replied as I leafed through the papers. D'Void remained silent.
"You are a very intelligent student, Maybelle. Would you like to come here to study after school? I have plenty of books; a lot of them are on biology," he turned to me with a smile, "Biology is my favorite subject, specifically genetics. That's why I admire Dr. Animo's work."
"Mine too!" I exclaimed. He raised his eyebrow at me and I ducked, coughing into my fist, "I love genetics too. I think it is so amazing," I told him in a calmer voice, "I would love to come here and study. I've read most of the books at the library anyways."
"We are similar, you and I," he smirked before he waved me out. I slipped back through the door where I met the soldier who took me back to the same spot that he had been picking me up from. I don't know for sure if it is the same soldier or not but he never talks to me during the long ride, not even to make small conversation. It's a little nerve racking.
On the way home, a dog jumped out in front of me from an alley. It had its fur raised on its back and I couldn't tell what it was going to do next. I tried to calm it down by squatting to its level and offering my hand. It growled a little before stepping forward cautiously and sniffed my hand. It probably smelled the foul burning yellow stuff on me or sensed that I had been around the Null King because it licked my hand and then my face.
Doors shutting and locking around me signaled that it was almost curfew time and I had to go home. I told the dog to sit and stay as I walked towards home. I felt bad when I looked back to sit it still sitting there, obeying my final order. Dad never allowed me to have pets, but I love animals. I wonder if Dr. Animo was an animal lover too. He mentioned briefly about his many pets that he tested various vaccines on. He must be an animal lover; why else would he study biology?