"This is more serious than I realized," Garry stated. "Whatever this thing is, we need to get to the bottom of it."

"What should we do?" MacReady asked, shifting his gun over his shoulder.

"Blair, you, Fuchs and Copper bring this thing back to the lab; dissect it. And check out that dead Norwegian too." The three men nodded and left to find a stretcher.

"Let me go with them," Kay said. "I know more about this creature than anyone here; I can help."

"Not at the moment, Miss Kennedy," he replied. "You'll be escorted back to your room until the dissection is complete."

"But I can help!" Kay exclaimed. "I was one of the people who discovered that thing, and you need—"

"Miss Kennedy," Garry narrowed his eyes. "Until we know more about this creature, you will remain in your room. When we need you, you will be called."

"Garry, she's right," MacReady said. "She's the only survivor of that base; she can help."

"Yes, she is," Garry replied. "That also makes her a huge liability. Childs, Norris, take Ms. Kennedy back to her room. Make sure she stays there."

The two men gripped Kay's arms and dragged her away before she could protest. She struggled and tried to talk them into taking her to the lab, but they wouldn't hear of it. When they arrived at her door, they tossed her in and locked her inside. "I'm sorry," Norris frowned. "It's nothing personal, just orders."

Kay felt like punching the walls, screaming her head off. She was shaking as she sank to the floor, her mind racing as she thought of what she had just witnessed. The creature that had ruined her did not die, and now it would spread all over the base unless she stopped it.

Kay was alone for about an hour before there was a knock on the door. It opened up and a man wearing a red shirt came in. He was carrying a doctor's bag. "Ms. Kathryn Kennedy," he smiled. "I'm Dr. Copper, and I wanted to give you a small checkup, just to make sure you're doing better."

She tried to smile back. "Okay, do what you got to do." As Copper sat down and took out a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff, she realized what the pilot had told her earlier. "You found us in the snow, you and MacReady."

He nodded. "Yup, we sure did. Good thing, too; I thought you were going to die before I could help you."

"Thank you," she said. "I appreciate what the two of you did."

"You're welcome," Copper smiled as he took her blood pressure. "And I'm sorry about Dennis Morrison."

Kay's heart sank as she thought of Denny. "I know you tried. He was injured pretty badly."

"Were you two close?" he asked.

She nodded. "Denny and I were on the same research team for about five years."

"Five years, huh? That's a long time," he pressed the stethoscope against her chest. "You know, I'm sorry Garry's being a pain in the ass. He's just stressed out with this whole mess."

"I can tell," she chuckled. "Is he afraid of me?"

"Honestly," Copper looked up at her. "Probably."

"Are you?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. You seem like a kind woman; we all think so."

Kay swallowed. "There's not a lot of women down here, are there?"

"No, but don't worry; they're all pretty civilized," Copper took out a syringe and a small bottle. "I'm gonna give you a small dose of penicillin. It'll take care of any infections you may have in you."

"Alright," Kay shrugged off her robe and rolled up her sleeve. As Copper prepped the needle, she said, "Is MacReady scared of me?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. He stood up for you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but after this dog incident…" she winced as the needle entered her skin.

Copper chuckled. "MacReady doesn't scare easily. I think he may even like you; he barely talks to anybody else around here."

"Really?" Kay asked.

"Oh, yeah. I know he looks tough, but he's a good guy. Best pilot we have," Copper packed up all of his instruments. "You are in perfect health, Miss Kennedy. And since you are, I've been asked to take you to Garry. I think he's ready to listen to you."

"Call me Kay," she said, slipping her robe back on her shoulders. "Did you and Blair find anything interesting about the creature?"

"The only thing he could really find was that this creature has the ability to imitate other life forms. Know anything about that?"

Kay nodded. "Denny and I did some experiments when we dug it up. All my notes are back at our base."

"No, they're not," Copper replied. "I brought them back here."

She frowned. "Really?"

He nodded. "Some of the men are watching that video of your team digging up that creature."

Kay felt a small surge of anger wash over her. "Take me to them."