Page 8 of Heart’s Prisoner

Lana did hesitate this time, but only for a moment. She had been waiting for a chance like this for so long, she wasn't going to let her fear ruin it for her now. With her tablet clutched tight in one hand, she walked into the room.

The first thing she noticed oddly was the smell. It smelled like someone had just brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Lana frowned looking around the room but saw no steaming pot or cup anywhere. The only things she saw were a single chair and table in the center of the darkened room, seated perfectly in front of a huge glass window that stretched from floor to ceiling (though the ceiling was rather low) and was as wide as two armored cars. The glass, she noted, looked as if it had some sort of milky film covering it and she realized it was a screen meant to hide the contents within...or keep the contents from seeing out.

Lana slowly brought herself up beside the chair and stared at the screen. Beyond the milky cover, there was only a bright red. She shivered thinking it reminded her of a pool of blood.

Her eyes flitted to the side where two monitors hung next to the window. One monitor showed a video feed which was black currently. The other showed...

Lana's brow furrowed and she crept closer to observe until she realized it was vitals. Some program was monitoring the subject's heart-rate and energy level. The pulse didn't change, never going above 40 bpm.

"Interesting scent." Came a voice filling the room.

Lana jumped but quickly recovered. She looked down at her tablet and saw the QS translator blinking on; when she tapped on it, the program brought up a window that showed two separate wavelengths pulsing slightly. The voice had been deep, like a man's. The translator was working to mimic the tone and pitch like Cole had said.

"Different," came the voice again. "What new little toy have they brought me to play with this time?"

Lana tapped back to the home screen of her ISpad and found the controls for the room. As she searched for the options that would lift the screen from the window, a large shadow passed by. Lana glanced up in time to see the silhouette of the subject glide by and then disappear. She had to quickly sit down before her knees gave out.

He was huge. With long limbs and a slender mid-frame. She could make that out enough. His tail slithered and weaved behind him as long as the window was wide. Horns along his head twisted upward from the top and down the back of his neck. The sensation Lana felt seeing his shape pass the screen was akin to the time she had seen a massive great white shark swim past her cage as a tween back when her father had taken her cage diving off the pacific.

Lana sat motionless, trying to gauge exactly what she just saw. If his shadow could produce such a reaction from her then she feared what his true form might do. Jacob had warned her.

No, she needed to focus. Whatever he looked like, she must remember what she was here for and to keep her mind calm; to approach the situation as a professional scientist and doctor should. Leave personal feelings aside.

Lana cleared her throat. "Hello, Xerus. I am Dr. Hart."

There was no response. Lana pursed her lips and glanced back down at her ISpad. She could see the QS translator working to translate her voice for the alien to understand on his end, so he could clearly hear her. "Forgive me, I am trying to pull up the screen so that I can better see you but it seems I am having trouble with finding the...ah, here we are." Lana tapped through to the windows controls and slid her finger upward. In response, the milky film along the window began to slowly fade. When she peered up again she had to stifle a gasp. Swallowing it down was painful. Immediately her body went cold as she stared into the cell.

Xerus stood in the center of the room and all Lana could think was what Jacob and Torrence had told her was true.

He was evil-looking.

Lana had seen her share of horror films and sci-fi art depicting the horrifying creatures man's imagination could conjure. To these artists, Xerus may well be a true masterpiece.

Xerus cocked his head slightly as he watched her through the glass. His tail, which had been motionless only a second before, began to lazily sway behind him. A tail, Lana noticed, covered with purplish-red spikes all the way down to the sharp dagger-shaped tip. Those very spikes started small then grew in size as they reached further up his backside, all along his spine and to the nape of his neck where they merged with long twisted horns that formed the base of his skull. It reminded her almost of a mohawk only instead of hair there were solid, deadly points with two main horns that grew on each side of it. Long and curved like an african impala's antlers.

The room beyond was colored red. But Lana could tell even then that Xerus' skin was the same color only a shade darker. It was not soft skin like a person's but rather more like a lizard's. Scales that started smooth underneath but turned increasingly rougher to the outer parts of his arms and torso. Her eyes drank him in until they rose to finally look on his face. She flinched when she saw his eyes cutting into her. They were red, bright red, like hellfire. And around the iris was black.

Lana looked away and cleared her throat again. She didn't want to seem rude by staring at him and nothing else. Her hand shook slightly as she tapped on her ISpad to bring up her work files and the program she'd use for her notes. She was silently grateful to have noticed they let him keep on a pair of what looked to be armored leggings to cover himself so that he wasn't housed like a complete animal.

"I'm here to...communicate with you," Lana said carefully. "To hopefully–"

"I know why you're here."

Lana looked up. Xerus still leered down at her. He turned his body slightly but didn't move a step. "They'll keep sending yourkinduntil they think they can reach some agreement with me."

Lana found herself focusing on his mouth as he spoke. A mouth that was wider than a human's. She caught a glimpse of shiny black teeth as sharp and long as the rest of him. When his mouth moved she could see him speaking his own language but obviously couldn't hear it. The QS translator spoke over him.

He began to slowly walk alongside the window, his movements smooth and agile like a cat's. "Or when you've learned all you need to. Then I can be cut up so you can take a look at my insides."

Lana frowned. "No, actually that isn't true." She paused. "Well, the learning part, yes, but we aren't here to dissect you."

Xerus stopped and turned toward her. "Is that what they told you?"

"I was given this job solely to help you."

A strange clicking and growling noise escaped him, catching Lana off guard.

"To help me..."

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