"I'm afraid they are."
I looked up. Callahan's face was grim. "There's a room that I was afraid to go into. It was welded shut, but broken. They put boards through the handles."
"Then why would we go in?" I stood and stepped over the table. I waved my hands wildly. "If you see obvious signs to stay away, you do so."
He laughed dryly. "You don't think I know that?"
"Then what's the issue?"
Callahan looked like he was going to explode with anger. Suddenly, he snatched my wrist and dragged me out of the unit and down the hall.
"You're hurting me!" I whined as I stumbled over my feet.
He slowed to let me catch up, but kept his grip tight on me as he led me through the floor of housing. Finally, we rounded a corner and he stopped short, letting me go and pushing me forward.
"What's th--" I stopped short, reading the red words painted on the metal doors.I read the words again.Andthen a third time. "That can't be right. How can that be?" I turned to Callahan. "Daddy?" My voice cracked with the very littlestrengthI'd had left.
Callahan hurried to me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him. He kissedthetop of my head, like a father, trying to comfort his little girl.Like a Daddy, working with his Young Lady.
"It's going to be okay," he soothed. "We're going to figure it out. Let's go back to our room and prepare."
I nodded and pulled away but reached for his hand. It was warm, large, and comforting. We started back, and I took one last look at the warning written in what appeared to be fresh blood.
The only way you're getting out is by going in, Eleanor.
Chapter 29 - Callahan
Stay close to your DADDY during missions.
We returned to the room we'd slept in the night before. Eleanor sat down and hugged herself. I'd felt the same way when I'd seen it. The words were freshly written and the smell of copper was so strong, I knew it'd been written in blood. We weren't alone and they knew Eleanor.
I'd stayed up late, pouring through the paperwork we'd been given regarding this mission, but it told us nothing about what to expect down here. Just that it'd been abandoned and they wanted us to know why. I had a suspicion that the reason was on the other side of that door.
"If we want to leave, we have to go through that door," Eleanor said aloud. It felt like she was speaking more to herself than to me, so I let her continue. "And we know they were doing awful things to people and fish. Blending them together into weird mutants." She stood, and began to pace around the room. "They weren't mutated like creepies and crawlies are. It wasn't chemical, it was done by their friends, their family - people they trusted."
She looked at me, her expression deflated. "They were used like lab rats and that's why they left."
"What do you want to do?" I asked. I had a plan but I wanted to discuss it with her. If we weren't completely in tune with each other, something could go horribly wrong.
"I don't think we have a choice. We have to go through."
The silence was thick as we prepared ourselves for the next leg in our journey. I put my PARA suit back on and made sure my weapons were loaded. Eleanor had nothing to protect herself, so I had to make sure I was on full alert.
She took my hand and we went back out. I'd noticed she'd taken to touching me whenever she could. I wasn't sure if it was intentional, or it was purely a comfort thing, but I liked that she found my touch safe. After all the years I'd spent saying cruel things and then the spanking… I wasn't sure she'd ever even look at me again.
We paused at the painted door, reading the words again. They were chilling.
"The only way you're getting out is by going in, Eleanor."
"Are you ready?" I asked her.
She looked up at me, her doe brown eyes large and shiny. She nodded and went to the door herself, pulling the boards away and letting them fall to the floor. We both stood completely still, waiting for something to explode from the room, but nothing moved. No sound came and the hall where we stood was still.
Her chest rose and fell quickly as she closed her eyes and threwthedouble doors open. White lightsflickered on and we both flinched at the harshness. Eleanor leaped back and fell against me. I clutched her tightly as we stared into what appeared to be a large laboratory. The walls were stark white, which made the lights seem so much brighter. My nostrils constricted as the faint smell of fish wafted out of the room.
"Do you think..." Eleanor started, but didn't finish. She didn't have to. I knew exactly where her mind was. She was staring at all the tanks. The room was full of tall, slim fish tanks. Much likethe Octosharks, their glass was covered in algae which made it impossible to see what was inside.
"I don't know. Stay close."
