Seed of Evil by Greig Beck (smart books to read TXT) 📗

“I won’t be here,” Mitch said.

“Okay, so, where will I meet you?” Greg sounded confused. “Don’t freeze me out of this, Mitch.”

“No, I need your help. But we keep everything low key from now on.” He turned away from the desk. “I need to see an expert, and someone who seemed to have a lot of knowledge about these events.”

“Who, where?” Greg asked.

“Red Rock, Oklahoma. I’m going to try and track down a Nightbird. You can meet me there,” Mitch replied.

“Sounds intriguing. Tomorrow afternoon?” he asked.

“Yep, call me when you get in,” Mitch replied.

The pair exchanged a few more details, and then Mitch hung up. He was glad Greg would be joining him. The guy was a rock, a clear-headed thinker, and would also be damn good company. And right now, he felt he needed the support.

He stood thinking for a moment more before a rustling from the cage on the shelf behind him drew his attention.

Mitch walked slowly toward the cage and stared in at the small animal—the once greasy-looking fur of the dark rat was now spiky-looking toward its rear and the head was partially obscured by a lumpy protrusion over the brow.

From its back, things like branches of coral extended, and on seeing Mitch so close it leaped at the bars of the cage, making the entire enclosure rattle.

“Whoa there, little guy.” Mitch took a step back.

The rat had stopped its inquisitive sniffing and the ever-twitching nose had also stopped moving. It simply sat glaring at Mitch, its body pulsing in and out with fast breaths.

“Transitional,” he said, repeating Greg’s analysis. “And what will you transition to, Willard?” he asked and leaned forward.

The rat’s response was to leap at the cage bars again. Mitch could see that the cereal grains he had given it were now largely untouched so he went to his office icebox, took out his ham sandwich, and pulled free a slice of the meat. He went back to the cage and dropped it between the bars.

The rat set upon it instantly. Mitch lowered himself down and watched Willard devour the meat. It held it in its tiny hands and he saw that the mouth that had once had normally ratty chisel-shaped incisors at the front now looked like it belonged to some sort of viper.

After another moment, the entire piece was gone.

A chaotic metabolism in flux needs fuel, Mitch observed.

In response to that food, the rat’s body seemed to balloon, and the coral branching from its back grew another inch into wing-shaped structures. He observed them filling with blood.

“What are they for, little guy?”

Mitch turned away to gather up a few things for his trip. He quickly did an Internet scan of Red Rock and of some local hotels he could potentially stay at, and then stood thinking about what else he would need or should do.

“Oh.” He let his bag and folders slide back onto the desktop and snatched up the phone.

“Hi, Karen.” He wanted to sound calm and upbeat even though he felt a pall of doom being pulled across them. But just hearing her voice made him feel…good.

“Hi back,” she said. “Watcha doin’?”

He smiled. “Just heading out of town for a few days, medical conference.”

“Sounds boring, where is it?” she asked.

“Probably will be.” He smiled brokenly. “It’s in Red Rock.”

She chuckled. “Really? Red Rock? Have you been there before?”

“No, have you?” he asked, now wondering whether he should have told her somewhere else, more medical conferency sounding.

“Well, great sunsets, good hiking, and the best food in the state at the Red Rock Canyon Café. But it has a population of only around 290 people, so it’s very quiet.”

“Quiet is good; it is a work thing, you know.” He checked his watch. “Wish you were coming. That’d make it less boring,” he said and felt his face redden at the forwardness of the suggestion.

She didn’t reply and he immediately regretted saying it. “Sorry,” he added.

“Don’t be,” she said softly. “I like you, Mitch, but let’s just take it slow, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Can I see you when I get back?” He held his breath.

“Okay. And one more thing.” She sounded like she smiled. “Wish I was coming too.” She rang off.

Mitch looked skyward. “Thank you.” He gathered up his gear again.

On his way to the door, he cast a glance at the rat and paused. “What am I supposed to do with you? I can’t exactly let you loose, can I?”

Mitch quickly went to the icebox, grabbed the rest of his sandwich, and then dumped the entire thing in through the top of the cage.

“That’ll keep you going until I get back. And when I do, I’m gonna make you a star.”

He then threw a fire blanket over the cage, hopefully damping down the smell and sound in the event Shelly poked her head in. He peeked in again and saw that the rat was glaring back at him, but this time its once beady, red eyes now glowed yellow.

“Yeesh.” He dropped the blanket back down.

Mitch Taylor took one last look around and then went out the door fast.

*****

The silence of Mitch’s office was soon broken by the sound of scrabbling, and then a grinding, followed by a metallic plink. After another few moments, there came another, and then another.

One by one, the bars of the cage were being broken off or bent away. And then the fire blanket was moved aside.

CHAPTER 23

The taxi turned off Fir Street at the huge luminous green sign that glowed even in the sunshine and announced they’d arrived at the Perry Holiday Inn.

Perry was the closest town Mitch could get to Red Rock, and given they were only a few miles from the town center, it’d do just fine. Mitch thanked the driver, tipped him, and then stepped out into blistering sunshine.

“Ouch.” He flipped his collar up from the burn. He squinted and turned slowly. Across the road was an Exxon gas station and then beyond that, miles and miles of