Chapter 2

The unsettling encounter with Joshua had blown Minerva’s concentration. No way she’d the desire to write more lines of code. Besides, with the fiasco with the royal blow up in the lab, she doubted her programming skills would be needed at least until tomorrow.

Turning off her computer, and switching off the overhead light, she paused as she reached for her coat on the back of her chair. What had caused the explosion? She knew the scientist involved in the project. Holly Teak, one of the primary brains behind the project, was above and beyond thorough. She’d gone over the simulations a thousand times. Minerva knew. She’d helped program them.

“Then what went wrong?” The question hovered in the air like a dark rain cloud.

It unsettled her that the very day of their groundbreaking experiment, it all went kaput. She stared over the empty desks, her mind focused on that variable of the equation.

Wasn’t it just a bit coincidental that this accident happened?

“No, no.” She dismissed the idea from her head. “We obviously missed something. It was simply a matter of Murphy’s law. If something can go wrong, it will.”

She pulled on her coat and zipped it up. No matter how much she enjoyed Colorado, for all its mountain vistas, varied landscapes ranging from arid desert to lush greenery, and hidden natural gems, the state had a spoiled, child-like tendency to flash hot and cold at the strangest times. Wrapping a light scarf around her throat, she grabbed her purse and her empty food container and headed out the door, following the path Joshua had taken.

Her footsteps echoed down the hall. Shadows stretched along the floor in an eerie way that made her quicken her step. The sooner she was out of this building, the sooner, she’d be back at home, safe and sound.

Rounding a corner, she glanced down at her watch to check the time. A little past 9 pm. Maybe for dinner, she’d pull out the wok and stir fry some—

Minerva paused and then squinted in the semi-darkness.

What was that lying on the ground in front of the metal doors?

Her hand drifted to her throat. Was it that thing?

Of course not! Stop it Minnie! Nothing came through the fissure. Nothing, do you hear?

Shaking her head at such nonsense, she drew closer to it. As soon as she saw the booted feet, she gasped. “Joshua!”

Hurriedly, she fell on her knees at his side. Placing two fingers on his neck, she found a pulse.

“Oh, thank God!” she exclaimed just as a groan erupted from Joshua’s lips. His brow creased and then he opened his eyes.

“My head,” he growled. “Feels like I musta got hit by a baseball bat.”

She leaned over him. “Joshua, are you okay?”

He blinked rapidly. “Ms. Wong? What? What’s going on?”

She cupped the side of his face, feeling the nice rasp of his beard against her palm. Gosh, she loved men with beards. Baby butt smooth cheeks did nothing for her.

Shaking her head at the errant thought, she replied, “I don’t know. I found you on the floor. Are you hurt?”

Minerva bit her lip to keep from swearing. Of course, he was hurt. He wasn’t lying on the floor unconscious a moment ago because he was feeling well!

Oh Minnie, what’s wrong with you? You’re not usually this stupid.

He moved experimentally. “Except for my forehead, I feel all right.”

“Do you think you can get up?” She’d have to take him to the doctor. She couldn’t just let the man go.

“I’m sure I’m all right, Ms. Wong.”

He used his elbow to shift his big heavy body upward. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders to assist, feeling the muscles ripple along his back. She doubted she could be of much help. Nonetheless, she was happy he gave her a nod when he sat upright. “Thanks, Ms. Wong.”

“It’s no problem.” She sat back. “How do you feel?”

“I’ll be okay. I’ve been hit by worse.”

“Do you remember what happened?”

He scratched his beard. “I was about to leave when I saw—” He whipped his head in her direction. “Ms. Wong, I saw it again!”

Minerva had no wish to say it, but she had no choice. “Saw what?”

“Whatever it was.” From the pointed tone, she knew what it was. The thing she didn’t want to admit to seeing because seeing was believing. Believing meant altering your view of the world. The last thing Minerva wanted to do was believe in the incredible.

She hedged instead. “What—what did you see?”

“Its shadow. It was right behind me.” He gestured abstractly. “I looked down at the floor and there were two shadows. My own and—”

His voice cut off like someone had taken a pair of scissors and severed his vocal cords. He shook his head. “Maybe I’m crazy.”

Minerva toyed with the temptation to just let it be. Must she and Joshua acknowledge something they weren’t quite sure of?

Seeing is believing.

Fatalistically, she accepted her fate. Cowardice wasn’t an option. Joshua, big as he was, admitted that whatever it was they may have seen had scared him. The least she could do was give him the dignity of getting it off his chest.

“What did the shadow look like?”

He was silent for so long, she thought he wouldn’t tell her. Of course, he didn’t have to tell her anything. The investigation by the higher ups should be privy to this conversation.

But they weren’t there. Only she and Joshua in a dim hallway, cocooned from the rest of the world.

“Tall. Tall as a building,” he answered in awe. “Its ... head looked like a small mountain, round at the top with weird spikes coming out the top.”

“Is that all?”

“Ain’t that enough?” An incredulous note rose his voice a full octave.

“What happened after that?”

“Not much, Ms. Wong. I started running, but I could see it running after me. I was getting scared. Then all of a sudden I figure if I’m gonna die, I might as well die seeing what it was that’s gonna take me out. My last stand like in that movie, Predator. The old one, not that trash with the piano player.”

Minerva had no idea what he was talking about. “I see. And then?”

Joshua rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, Ms. Wong, I tripped and slammed my head into the door.”

She blinked. “That’s all.”

“Ain’t that enough? I’m the one gonna have a big knot on my head come morning.”

Minerva felt some of the tension that had entered her body ease away. For some reason, she thought that whatever Joshua saw had attacked. What did that mean then? If there was some sort of ... creature roaming the hallways of the VEIL facility, wouldn’t it have been a dangerous creature?

Gosh, why was she even entertaining this nonsense?

“Well, Ms. Wong, thank you for stopping by. I think I’m good enough to make my way home.”

Minerva stilled his movements with a hand on his shoulder. “You can’t expect me to just let you go on about your business, can you?”

Joshua’s forehead creased. “I can’t?”

“No!” She stood and then reached out with her hand. “I find you unconscious on the floor and you think I’m going to let you drive home? You must have hit your head harder than I thought.”

He enveloped her hand in his own huge one. Heat once more engulfed her as he let her assist him up as if he needed her help. For some reason, it pleased her that this big, strong man accepted her flimsy aid. He wasn’t afraid to ask or receive help. It said something about his character.