Page 19 of Beneath the Light of the Moon

After buzzing him in, he waited for her to appear, fidgeting in the quiet space, mind loud. Any minute, one of the wooden doors lining the room would open and the doctor would lead him back to her lab.

A buzz came from his phone.

Cristiano:Where are you

Of course he’d be the one to notice his absence.

Cristiano:And don’t lie, I have your location

A fact he’d been pressured into giving up for the sake of safety. But now, Mikko wondered if that’d been a ruse so his friend could spy on him.

Calling in a favor:Mikko

Cristiano:Care to loop me in

No:Mikko

Cristiano:You’re such an ass

Cristiano:Ialso have favors I can call in and find out

I’ll tell you later, it might be nothing:Mikko

As he sent the message, a door opened and Dr. Žofia stood there. Her brunette hair was graying prematurely near her temples, the color noticeable from the tight bun she kept her hair in. This job hadn’t been easy on her body. She was short and fiery—a fact Mikko haddiscovered accidentally one evening when trying to push her for an expedited forensic analysis. Her eyes were dark, damn near black, as she watched him.

Tucking his phone away, he rose from his seat and walked forward.

“Thanks for takin’ me in this late doc,” he said, brushing past her.

“I would say ‘anytime,’ but I wouldn’t mean it,” she replied, a slight smile evident in her tone as she stepped into rhythm beside him. “You remember the way back?”

“Yeah.”

Taking a couple turns, Mikko ended up in the sterile lab, the room devoid of colors and filled with equipment he had no idea the names of.

“Let’s see the sample,” Žofia said while donning gloves.

Pulling it from his jacket pocket, he wished to suddenly hide his face. Layla didn’t know what this was about, but he did and it made him skittish. This little game he was playing was for his eyes only, but he was desperate. The internet could’ve helped him with his sleuthing, but that’d take too long. This testing would still take some time, but it’d be accurate. And that was what Mikko wanted at the end of the day. No guessing or fumbling through social media. He wanted concrete facts.

“Do I want to know what this is about?” Layla asked, prepping her equipment and eyeing the plastic bag.

“Uh, probably not.”

“I figured. Well, this will take a while,” the plastic bag crinkled as she opened it, “so you can either wait here and get comfortable, or I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Holding up his helmet, Mikko made his decision. “I’ll be running some other errands. You know where to find me.”

“Of course.”

Before crossing through the lab’s door, he glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks again, Layla.”

Her nod was the only affirmation she gave, and he was on his way.

Little did he know the name flashing across his phone screen a couple hours later, nighttime at its peak, would change everything.

* * *

Anika