Saturday's Short Story - NAIA Pt. 2

Good afternoon everyone, Dillfinger is back with part 2 of NAIA! I had to pry myself away from The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I absolutely adore the Sherlock Holmes series and highly recommend them to all of the young and old souls who are fond of murder mystery. Now, I won't keep you much longer. Last week we entered into the life of Natalie Jones, a scientist who's mutant escaped its enclosure...let's see what happens next.

What she saw chilled her to the bone. There, mangled and bleeding, was Michael. She dropped to her knees beside him,

“Michael, Michael! It’s me, Natalie, from work. Michael, what happened?” Her heart was racing, she was fighting back tears. When there was no answer, she grabbed his hand, “Michael, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand,” she ordered, hoping desperately that he would respond. She felt a squeeze, her hopes were lifted. She examined Michael; his left leg was as good as gone, shredded to pieces, a victim of the mutant. His left arm appeared to be broken and bruised and his right forearm had a large gash that bled freely. Natalie pulled off her lab coat and ripped off one of the arms at the seam. She tied it tightly around Michael’s right upper arm. She tore off the other sleeve and tied it to his left upper leg. After a few seconds, the blood flow subsided. She checked his pulse, which she realized she should have done before anything else. It was faint, but it was there. After making sure he was breathing, she pulled out her phone and dialed 911. The operator answered.

“911, what’s your emergency?” Natalie explained everything and gave the operator the address of the alleyway. By now, there was a steady snowfall. Natalie took what remained of her lab coat and laid it over Michael, hoping it would bring him some warmth. She continued to talk to him, hoping he would soon wake up. When she finally heard the sirens coming near to their location, she was able to calm herself. When the EMTs arrived, they carefully loaded Michael onto a stretcher and lifted him into the ambulance. Natalie got in behind them. As they started to drive away, she called Mary. When she told her what happened, Mary broke down in tears. Natalie calmed her down and ordered her to let the people at NAIA and the police know that Michael had been critically injured by the mutant. It was only a few minutes after Natalie hung up when the ambulance arrived at the hospital.

Everything happened so quickly, Michael was whisked away to be treated by the nurses and doctors. Natalie was given the option to stay at the hospital in the waiting room, but she decided to go back to the office to talk to Mary, the police, and her other coworkers. Before leaving, she gave one of the nurses her phone number and told her to call her as soon as they knew if Michael was going to be okay. She then left the hospital and called Mary to come pick her up. As Natalie waited, she started to grow incredibly cold. Her lab coat was being used as a tourniquet for Michael, so she was left with just her black long sleeve shirt and blue jeans. She hoped that Mary would think to bring her coat. After 10 minutes of shivering out in the cold, Natalie was relieved to see Mary pull up. Luckily, she had thought to bring Natalie her coat. On the ride back to the office, Natalie could tell that Mary was worried. She didn’t have a sparkle in her eyes or a smile on her face. Despite that, Mary managed pried every last detail from Natalie,

“Mary, that beast is still out there. Who knows how many people it has killed or at least injured,” ranted Natalie. By the time they got back to the office, the shock was starting to wear off but Natalie’s hands were still shaking uncontrollably. In the parking lot, there were four police cars. In the lobby, a police officer greeted the two women.

“Hello, I am Officer Wells, you can call me Martin,” he said before ordering Mary to go back to the hospital and keep everyone updated on Michael’s condition. Mary bristled at his manner, but nevertheless obeyed. After she left, Martin took Natalie to her office. On the way, they had to pass Michael’s. The door was wide open; she could see four other police officers collecting evidence from the room. Natalie stopped outside the door and slowly swallowed. Martin put his hand on her shoulder and encouraged her to continue down the hall. When they finally made it to her office, he told her to sit.

“Miss Jones, I understand that you are under a lot of stress and anxiety right now, but is it possible you could answer a few questions for us?” asked Martin, “I can promise you that I am just here to help.” Natalie stared at the floor for a few seconds before nodding her head. She would do anything to help find the mutant,

“Great, this will really help our investigation.” He continued, “Now, could you please tell me if there is anywhere you could think of where the mutant could be?” he asked. Natalie’s mind raced,

“The mutant would want to be somewhere warm but in an open space.” She thought deeply for a few seconds,

“Could it maybe have gone to a barn somewhere?” asked Martin,

“No. I think it might be going to the town square. There is a large open space there and heaters lining the sidewalks.” She looked up at him, “Sir, if I’m right…we need to get there now and we need to bring a tranquilizer.” The officer nodded, saying something into his radio before looking back at Natalie,

“Alright, let’s go. My partner is going to meet us in the lobby with a tranquillizer.” He replied. The two hurried down the hall and into the lobby. Retrieving the tranquilizer, Natalie and Martin got into his police car, turned on the sirens and lights, and sped to the town square. On the drive, Natalie prepared the tranquilizer gun and Martin called for backup.

When they made it the to the town square, the beast was out of sight. Martin got out of the car, ordering Natalie to stay inside. He walked into the middle of the square, his breath visible in the cold air. He surveyed the area while Natalie watched from the car. With shaking hands, she held the tranquilizer on her lap. Suddenly, something caught Natalie’s eye. In the corner of the square, hidden behind a dumpster, was the mutant. Martin hadn’t noticed it yet. She had to warn him. She had just gotten out of the car to shout to him when time slowed down. She watched, stunned, as the mutant bounded across the square. Martin turned around, but it was too late. The freak overcame him before he had time to pull his gun. Her vision clouded. The last thing she saw was the mutant standing over the torn and bloodied body of Martin. When she finally regained consciousness, there were two police officers kneeling beside her,

“Ma’am are you alright?” asked the police officer to her right. This officer had short, brunette hair and hazel eyes. Natalie tried to answer, but could only manage to mumble the words,

“It’s still out there,” the police officer looked at her partner, a confused expression plastered over her face. Natalie laid on the cobblestone for a few more minutes, reorienting herself, before the paramedics arrived. The paramedics examined her and confirmed that she did not have a concussion or any serious injuries. Despite the large bruise on her head and being in shock, she organized her thoughts. She sat on the back of the ambulance, wrapped in a blanket, as the police questioned her. She could not hold back tears when she explained how the freak attacked Martin.

I hope you enjoyed this part of the story! What do you think will happen next? Make sure to tune in next week for part 3!

-Dillfinger