Page 10 of Heart’s Prisoner

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"She looks a little pale," said Torrence.

Lana gave him a sharp glance then turned to Cole, clearing her throat. "I'm fine."

Cole placed a hand on her shoulder. "Quite the specimen, yes? Disturbing. But intriguing."

Lana nodded. "I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised. I'd been warned. I should have prepared better..."

"Very little would have prepared you for that. You did well."

Lana looked back at the door to unit three and frowned. "He tried to scare me," she said softly. She looked back at Cole. "I think I might have angered him. So much for a good first impression."

Cole chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about it. The creature already hates us. But that's why you are here, to hopefully remedy that."

Lana heard Torrence make a noise behind her. When she looked over at him he was smiling.

"I think you've had enough for today. You can be shown the rest of the facility tomorrow. Go and get some rest." Cole patted her, turning back to his desk before she could speak. Lana frowned but decided against arguing. Her hands were still cold and clammy. She nodded to Torrence and went to leave.

"Ah, one thing, Lana," Cole said. He brought out his own ISpad and began sifting through files until he swiped his hand toward her and she heard her ISpad ring. She brought it up and saw the files he had sent her pop up.

"That's the rest of the confidential files about the asset I had forgotten to send. Not much still I'm afraid, but you can go over it before your next meeting." Cole sent another file over. "And that one is your appointment."

"Appointment?"

"You'll have to go to level six before you come back."

Lana opened the file and saw it was a required appointment with Dr. Ramstine and his associates. Signed by Cole.

"This isn't necessary," she said. "I'm fine."

"Sorry, standard procedure."

Lana wanted to argue but Cole's stern gaze quieted her.

She was completely fine! Sure a little shook up, but who wouldn't be after seeing a creature that might have come out of a nightmare dimension. It didn't mean she was scared, or in trouble of gaining PTSD...

"Also," Cole continued without glancing back at her, "in your room you will find your new work cell. I'm afraid your old one won't work here. Your computer should be up to date as well. See you tomorrow, Doctor."

That hollow dismissal didn't go unnoticed by her, but Lana shook it off. She eyed the other doors, her gaze falling last on the door to unit three, before turning away.

***

Lana didn't finish working despite Cole's orders to rest and get herself situated in her new home away from home. Instead, she poured over Xerus' files, organizing and studying each carefully. She didn't even bother to unpack, only taking a moment to use the bathroom and eat a small meal before turning on the computer at her small work desk where she remained late into the night.

Several of the files were just notes from the other Doctors, each describing their encounters with the creature; trying to decipher every movement, every sound, word, gesture. One–a Dr. Grimmer–mentioned in his theories that the way Xerus moved and the way he was built showed evidence of what he believed to be the "perfectly evolved predator", unequaled by any other. He even believed that Xerus' species could withstand bites or stab wounds of even the most critical nature. That the species` skin was so tough he wondered even if it was bulletproof. Course, there was no way of knowing any of this for sure unless one tested the theory. His notes mentioned his and Officer Torrence's discussions on the matter.

The other Doctor–Dr. Cronberg–had other ideas. He believed Xerus was far more than just some top predator. That he was highly intelligent. Much more than what they were led to believe. Though Xerus had given them little information or background on himself (and there had only been reports of a few others of his kind being sighted on the hellish planet where he had been captured), Dr. Cronberg firmly believed Xerus` kind were more than just some primal community like those groups seen and studied in the amazon; that they came from a vast civilization, with technology beyond anything they currently held. Sadly, most of his theories and remarks were shot down or slighted, and he made very clear his frustrations on the matter.

Though, even Lana couldn't help wondering too how he came up with the theory. As she searched through the report on the day of his capture, it showed no indication that Xerus came from any such civilization; no equipment had been found, no tech, no ships. And by the information given, Xerus had never mentioned or even hinted about others of his kind. Granted, Lana reminded herself that the last behaviorists didn't exactly stick around long enough to gather a wellspring of data on the subject.

As the digital clock on her computer ticked at 2 AM, Lana sighed and sat back, biting her nails as she stared at the screen. Lost in thought, she searched the folders, thinking she'd found everything and just needed to go to bed when she clicked on one folder and found several undiscovered videos. She perked up, leaning forward in her chair.

The videos were feeds from previous sessions.

Lana could clearly see Xerus in the still and the other doctor sitting behind the large window looking into his cell. She clicked on the first video and it instantly started playing.

"Asset X, analysis 3," came the voice of a man clipped with static. "Hello, Xerus."

---