Page 18 of Argurma Warrior (The Argurma Chronicles #1)

M eg’s hands clenched at her sides as she waited for the elevator door to open and release her into the lobby. She hated riding it. It was worse when she was there alone without the comforting presence of the large Argurma male beside her. But, like the morning before, he had tapped into the announcement system and summoned her. She knew she didn’t have to go and that if she didn’t show up after a certain amount of time that he would begin without her but that meant staying alone in her room all day with nothing better to occupy her time with.

The elevator slowed and jerked to a stop, its doors sliding open to reveal the tall silhouette of the alien waiting for her. His tendrils puffed out as he lifted his head in her direction expectantly, sending an undeniable little thrill through her.

She expelled the breath she’d been holding as she quickly slipped out the opening doors, hastening over to his side.

“Are we going down into the labs today?” she asked, craning her head back to look up at him.

Kaylar’s chin dipped. “I calculate that we have utilized what we can from the main floor. It is logical to prioritize our salvaging there.”

“Right, so to the creepy underground lab we go,” she replied with what she hoped came off as a cheerful tone, but he chuffed, seeing right through it.

The relaxed routine of their searching and finding the holiday decorations yesterday had brought her a surprising bit of cheer that she mentally clung to as she anticipated their descent today. It wasn’t exactly that she was scared. She had been in labs before, but this entire laboratory isolated as it was on the island, and as abnormally empty as it was from the usual signs of previous activity, gave her the creeps, though she wouldn’t admit it to Kaylar.

Then there was the fact that E302 was still running loose out there, and that Kaylar seemed to insist on going out there every afternoon to drag scraps to the ship to work on repairs. It did nothing to ease her anxiety about the island. Not even the fact that he managed to bring home some tasty fresh meat every day after completing his work. She was actually grateful that the lab was entirely closed off without a single window to give those inside glimpses of the beauty out there. As ominous as that was and despite seeing firsthand how incredible the forest was filled with more greenery and life than she’d ever seen in one place, it ironically made her feel safer. There was a monster out there, and that wasn’t something she could ever forgot.

The entire setup on the island was unnerving and having floors of laboratories stuck beneath the building didn’t make it feel any less so. What was that book her grandfather read to her as a child? Her lips twisted thoughtfully as she followed Kaylar back into the elevator and gripped the bar anchored to its side anxiously.

The Island of Dr. Moreau.

The book had been badly yellowed, which had appeared almost more ancient in the light of the fire, the pages making a dry, raspy sound every time he turned them and somehow that had accentuated her horror as she listened to his aged voice rasp the tale of the ship-wrecked stranger and the mad scientist’s island.

Meg couldn’t quite suppress a shiver as a chill settled into her. Fuck. Now she was definitely going to have nightmares.

“Your vitals are elevated, Meg.”

Her eyes lifted to the Argurma at her side as she managed a tight, apologetic smile. She didn’t know why she always smiled at him like he was another human being. His expression rarely varied, and he didn’t seem to look for a pleasant expression as a human might. Even his question was asked directly, without inflection, as if they were talking about the weather rather than betraying any real concern. The only hint that he was curious about it was in the puffed out lift of his vibrissae and the way they tipped toward her, the clustered ends that formed rattles shifting with the softest sound.

“I’m fine. Just had a weird thought.” She bit her lip, feeling silly for her to need to even ask. Of course, this wasn’t an island of weird experimentations… but still…. “You don’t think that there could be anything… unnatural… down there, do you?”

His head tipped, the tips of his vibrissae curling faintly in an expression she’d now learned to identify as curiosity.

“Unnatural? You speak of experiments like E302?” At her nod, he thankfully did not release an amused chuff but rumbled a soothing purring sound at her concern. “I do not believe humans to be so advanced. Creations such as E302 are beyond even what Argurma scientists can achieve and I have seen no evidence of humans having advanced tech.”

She nodded again, the tension slowly releasing from her shoulders. He had a good point. Humanity had gotten far but even her grandfather had chuckled back then and reminded her that even in his youth they had still been bound by great limitations.

“You’re right. This whole island is just weird,” she admitted. “I’ve never seen anything like this place. There are no windows, not even in the lobby or residential areas where people here would have enjoyed the sunlight or glimpses of the outside forest. It is feels wrong to me.”

“The ornaments of the human holiday eased your distress.” He paused, his mandibles clicking. “I can transport them to your quarters so that you can arrange them in a way to provide additional mental and emotional support when we are not salvaging,” he added.

She blinked at the suggestion and peered up at him, touched by his offer. “I…would love that. Thank you.”

He dipped his chin, another rough purring sound emerging before reorienting himself with the doors once more as the elevator slid to a halt.

The doors slid open, giving her first chilling impression. Unlike the floors above, these weren’t painted white were a sort of greenish hue she’d seen in hospitals she’d searched through. It made them less bright and cold, and yet she felt all the more chilled as she stared out at them. Why would a lab be painted like a hospital?

The floor of the elevator creaked as Kaylar stepped out from the elevator ahead of her, the heavy thump of his footsteps snapping her out of her mental descent. Once outside, he turned and looked back at her, his vibrissae rising questioningly. Swallowing back her unease, Meg hurried out after him.

This was fine. Everything was fine. The creepy mash-up of lab and hospital was just messing with her imagination.

Stopping in front of the first door, Kaylar’s head tipped back slightly as he peered up its length at it for a moment, perhaps doing another of his scans before raising his foot and kicking the door in with a loud crash that made her jump with a surprised squeak. He glanced back at her over his shoulder.

“It was locked,” he said in a way of explanation before stepping inside.

“Right. Of course,” she muttered, slipping in after him. “Why wouldn’t it be? It doesn’t mean anything. There are no biohazard signs”—those she learned to recognize early on from her parents of what not to touch—“and nothing saying ‘keep out, monsters on the loose.’”

She chuckled gamely to herself but even to her own ears the sound was strained and unconvincing. Like any mad scientists would even advertise the fact. Shockingly, that didn’t make her feel any better.

The lights snapped on the moment they entered—perhaps due to motion activation. The City had those in a few places and it had scared her shitless the first time she’d seen them come on. They didn’t scare her anymore but it still made her jump as her gaze hastily snapped around, taking everything in at once. There was less dust coating everything in the room and the tables set up in the room were filled with carefully arranged equipment. Kaylar glanced at them as he walked through, his mandibles clicking. She was pretty sure he was mentally noting and memorizing everything he looked at. She wasn’t altogether certain what he meant by cyborg other than the understanding that there were machines in him of the sort she couldn’t imagine, but she was pretty sure that it gave him a great memory and he didn’t easily forget anything.

And of course, along with their surroundings, he probably recalled in detail that she tried to stab him… and he was still trusting her in a room full of equipment. Her eyes landed on a sharp instrument on a tray, and she sighed. It really was a miracle that he trusted his back to her, all things considered. Given that he’d been able to effortlessly unarm her both times probably meant that he was also not terribly worried about her having potential weapons within reach either.

“Just so you know, I don’t plan on stabbing you,” she said, following her line of thought aloud as she tore her gaze away from the blades to look up at the Argurma.

He looked over at her, his brow ridges raising slightly, and chuffed. “I shall make record of that.” He returned to peering around the room and made a disgruntled rumble in the back of his throat. “There is some useful metal in here and wiring. It will take time disassembling everything and collecting what is required. Come, over here, I will show what needs to be done and we will begin.”

With a plan of action put forward, Meg hurried over to his side, happy for the distraction and he removed a tool from his belt—one that was identical to one that she wore in hers, both of which he had returned to the lab with yesterday after visiting the ship—and began to meticulously take the screws from the machine taking up significant space on the table. These screws he immediately scooped into his bag before working to detach the metal side from it, gradually exposing wiring and tiny metal components that he carefully removed and put in a smaller container on his belt. She nodded as she watched, drinking it all in. Okay, she could do this. Not a problem.

He glanced over at her as he removed several other wires. “You process how to do this?” At her nod, he tipped his head toward another machine on the table. “You may begin.”

She didn’t know if it was the confidence he showed in her ability to do it, or just because he took the time to meticulously show her what was to be done with the equipment, but Meg smiled as she removed her tool from her belt and approached the boxy machine. With an eagerness that she’d seldom approached any other assigned task, she quickly set to work on it, her fingers moving nimbly along it and removing the screws quicker than even Kaylar did, which earned a purr of approval.

Her belly clenched at the sound but she forced herself to focus on the task in front of her even if a smile pulled at her lips. This was perhaps the only positive thing to come out of being stranded there with the Argurma. As much as the laboratory scared her, she wanted more of this . She looked forward to laboring there at his side for the hours they’d have together before he called a halt to their work for the day and disappeared into the lush forest outside of their walls. For now, she wasn’t alone with her thoughts and fears, she was there with him, working side by side as a team. Right now, she was valuable and useful, and that felt good.