Elizabeth pursed her lips together and stared at him. He met her gaze. How he knew about the plant, she wasn't sure. Perhaps Phil said something when he arranged the internship. Her failure of a trip wasn't widely known, but locally it was the punchline of many jokes.
"That's a subject that is no longer open for conversation. This way please." She turned before he could answer, walking out into the lab, past one of the researchers standing over a microscope to a line of computers along one wall. Elizabeth shook the mouse to wake it up. She didn't have to turn around, she felt Gavin standing behind her. Something about his presence seemed warmer than normal, like he radiated energy towards her.
"Are you familiar with collating Intelletrix databases?" she asked, her eyes on the computer screen as she pulled up a spreadsheet of test results.
"Um, no. I don't think I've use that program before."
"How about Mallinx?"
"Nope."
Elizabeth paused. "What did they have you doing over at Halvex?"
"Uh, a little of this, a little of that."
The scientist glanced over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow.
"I did coffee runs. Some filing. Made some labels for the storage room..."
Elizabeth spun around, folding her arms over her chest. "What is your thesis about?"
"Well," Gavin was starting to look nervous, his eyes forever rolling down towards his feet as he searched for the proper words. "I haven't decided yet."
"You haven't decided yet?"
He cleared his throat. "It's only my first semester."
Elizabeth opened her mouth to yell, then thought better of it. She looked down at the floor, counting to ten before she looked up again. "Go find Trish. Ask her for some administrative work, kay?"
Gavin nodded, then hurried across the lab. Elizabeth watched him until he disappeared around the corner, then stormed over to Dr. Preston's office. She didn't knock, just pushed the door open and went right up to his desk.
Dr. Preston looked surprised, but didn't move from where he perched over his keyboard.
"Is this a joke?" Elizabeth demanded, her voice wavering with fury.
Her supervisor leaned back, analyzing her, trying to surmise what outburst was about. "Did something happen in the lab?"
"Who is this—this child that Phil sent over?"
"Ah, well—" He leaned forward, interlacing his fingers on the desk in front of him. "He's just your standard intern—"
"He doesn't know anything about labs or research. He's in his first fucking semester! He's not even qualified for internship credits yet."
"Ah." Dr. Preston considered this for moment. "That's quite confusing. Phil was raving about him in his email, said he was brilliant and intuitive, an asset for any lab."
"They were using him as a gopher."
"Isn't that bizarre?"
Elizabeth stared at him, wide-eyed. His blasé attitude seemed so strange. "He doesn't do us any good for the Feltrex project if he can't even open Intelletrix on a computer?"
"I understand how that could be frustrating for you, but what do you want me to do? Send him away."
"Yes!"
Dr. Preston frowned. "Well, this is quite inconvenient. I haven't even received his paper work yet—" He turned to his computer, opening his email. "Tsk. I guess I shouldn't have brought him in until that was sorted out, huh?"
Elizabeth bit her tongue to keep from responding.
"Well, just find some things for him to do. Keep him busy until I can figure out what's going on, okay?"
She wanted to yell out, tell him no, to get that boy out of her lab. But she couldn't quite do it. She already knew he'd be a nuisance, like a puppy under her feet all the time, wagging his tale and wanting acknowledgement.
Instead she just nodded. "Call Phil today." Her voice was so low, it sounded like a hiss. She left before he could respond.
***
The next day when Elizabeth came in, Gavin was already there, seated next to Trish at her desk. She was trying to show him how to use the postage scale to print package labels, but she couldn't give him much instruction between her bouts of giggles.
Elizabeth shot her a glance as she walked past, and Trish sat up straight, clearing her throat.
She was tired from another late night scouring the internet for clues about the creature's whereabouts, but she had to be focused today. The new intern was a bust, so she had to do at least half her normal input of work to keep the Feltrex project on track. And she planned to do most of her work in her office—with her door closed.
She made it about 30 minutes before her first interruption.
"Good morning, Dr. Morrel," Trish said as she pushed the door open. Her cheeks were flushed as she slipped in and stood at the edge of the desk.
"Good morning." Elizabeth turned her eyes upwards, but kept her head tilted towards her computer screen.
"So, I, uh, I've taught Gavin all the general administrative tasks around the lab. Is there anything else you'd like me to teach him?"
Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, crossing her hands over her chest. "Have you seen Dr. Preston today?"
Trish shook her head, her long shimmering hair dancing around her shoulders.
"Figures," Elizabeth mumbled. "Have Gavin take over your administrative duties for today, and then jump on with Matt and Dan. They could use a hand running some sequences."
"Really? Okay. Great!" Trish was out the door before Elizabeth could respond.
She thought about yelling after her to close her door, but instead shook her head and returned to her computer screen.
The lab was mostly quiet today, everyone too busy trying to catch up on work to chit chat or joke around, so Elizabeth didn't mind having the door open, until an hour later.
"Dr. Morrel?"
She didn't even have to look up to know that Gavin was standing in her doorway, wearing another obscure band t-shirt and a goofy-shy smile on his face.
"Yes, Gavin?"
"Do you have any tasks you'd like me to do?"
"No. Please stick to whatever projects Trish assigned you. Once Dr. Preston returns, he will be in charge of your assignments." Or your dismissal.
Immediately Elizabeth felt bad for the thought, but she pushed the guilt from her mind.
"What are you doing?"
When the scientist looked up, she realized the intern had inched his way through the office door and was standing just two feet from her desk. She stared at him, hoping that would be hint enough for him to leave.
"Researching?" He took another step forward.
"Yes, of course." She turned back to her computer screen, pretending to read the figures in front of her.
"Anything to do with the plant?"
Elizabeth exhaled and counted to five in her mind. "We talked about this yesterday, Gavin. That project is over. The plant is gone."
"Are you sure?"
Slowly, she looked up at him. His face seemed genuine, as if he was curious.
"What?" she asked.
"Are you sure it's not just out there somewhere, waiting to be found by you?"
"The plant is gone," she snapped. "Extinct."
Gavin jumped back and then glanced over at the open door, considering whether or not he should retreat.
"Do you need anything else?"
Gavin shook his head. "No. I just—"
She raised an eyebrow, watching him expectantly.
"You shouldn't give up. I think you'll find it again. I—" He shook his head and smiled. "Sorry for bothering you." Gavin left, closing the door behind him.
Elizabeth turned back to her computer, but couldn't focus. That strange kid, he had this weird way of getting under her skin. She wanted to yell at him, tell him to get out. But she couldn't. Some small part of her didn't want him to leave—which was unbelievable to her because sometimes when he was around her skin crawled.
She tried to focus on her work, but she couldn't stop thinking about the creature, wondering where
it was and what havoc it was causing. New reports of death and strange "illnesses" had ceased since the dorms were closed, but she didn't think the creature was gone for good. She still felt it in someway—she knew it was out there, somewhere.
When noon rolled around, Elizabeth decided to get out of the office. She wasn't particularly hungry, but she couldn't stare at her computer screen anymore and pretend to work.
Dr. Preston still hadn't turned up, so she looked for Trish. She wasn't in the lab, but Elizabeth eventually found her standing next to her desk, talking to Gavin. She was twisting a lock of hair around her finger, giggling as Gavin talked.
"What about the movies?"
Trish shrugged, giggling as Gavin rolled his eyes.
"So, you never go out and have any fun."
"Well, there's no one to take me out."
Gavin slapped the desk and shook his head. "That's it, I'm taking you out tonight. What do you want? Dinner? Movie?"
"Yeah, sure." Trish was trying to be coy, but her voice was pitched with eagerness.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and decided to leave without interrupting them. She didn't want to be trapped in another of Gavin's strange conversations.
***
Dinner that night was a nuked frozen dinner of fettuccine alfredo, but the noodles along the edge were dry and inedible, while the middle was still cold.
Elizabeth sat at her kitchen counter, stirring the noodles to try to evenly distribute the boiling hot temperature. It was still too hot to eat, so she set it aside for now and opened her laptop.
Her news alerts hadn't triggered anything all day, so she browsed the local news sites and even the kooky conspiracy theory forums, but there wasn't anything new.
She sighed and attempted another bite of her pasta, the sauce feeling chalky against her tongue. She washed it down with beer and then shoved another fork-full in her mouth. Her stomach was grumbling for real food, and this was all it was going to get.
Elizabeth navigated to Twitter, checking out some of the hashtags students at the SDU had used when all of the strange occurrences started, but there was nothing of interest. She was actually starting to consider the chance that something may have happened to the creature. Maybe it impregnated a student that rushed home to mommy and daddy, and now it was running loose in the suburbs. Or maybe it was dead.
She shook her head and took another gulp of beer. She wasn't ready to accept that just yet.
Then there was what Gavin said to her today—she couldn't get that conversation out of her mind.
Are you sure it's not just out there somewhere, waiting to be found by you?
Why would the creature care about her? It already got what it wanted out of her—a chance at survival and another hot young host to impregnate.
And then there was the other thing that she couldn't shake from her mind: why was Gavin so obsessed with the plant? It was almost like he was encouraging her to find it—like he was trying to give her some clue.
Elizabeth pulled up Google and typed in his name. She pulled up a few articles about a high school basketball player in Georgia, but nothing about her mysterious intern.
Then she tried Facebook, inputting his name and scrolling through 7 results, none of the photos matching his smiling face and green eyes. Just as she was about to close the page, she noticed something—the last result was from SDU.
She clicked on the link. Most of his profile and his wall were private, but he was a second year student working towards a PhD, with a couple other lab internships under his belt. He seemed exactly like the kind of student that should intern in her lab, but his face didn't match the one that showed up at her door yesterday.
Elizabeth leaned back and took a long drink from her beer. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Trish's number. It rang once and went straight to voicemail.
"Hey Trish, it's Dr. Elizabeth. Could you call me when you get this message. I—uh, I need to ask you about something important tonight. I—uh, I think I'm close to a breakthrough, but I need you to verify something for me. Please call me, ASAP."
She turned off her phone, already feeling bad for trying to interrupt her assistant's date. She hoped she was wrong, but if she wasn't...
***
Gavin didn't have a car, but Trish was more than willing to pick him up before they went to the movie. After the movie, they discussed going to a bar for drinks and food, but since they were broke students they opted to head back to Trish's apartment.
She lived by herself in a small studio apartment. It was neat, but felt crowded. A tall bookcase loomed against one wall, her bed was a futon with a green cover that took up most of the space in the main room, a small table with two chairs was pushed against the wall next to the kitchen.
She shrugged when she walked in, but Gavin was all smiles.
"It's nice. You've got a space of your own. No pesky roommates up in your business all the time. I like it."
Trish smiled. He'd been full of compliments all night, impressed by her education, her ambitions, her junky old Camry. He also wanted to hear a lot of stories about her mother, who was born in Japan, and what kind of weird things she ate as a kid. He laughed at all of her jokes, even the ones she didn't think were that funny.
She was falling for him so hard and so fast she didn't even notice that he never really talked about himself, just some vague references here and there to classes, school and a slightly strange obsession with rainforest conservation.
While Gavin seemed sort of young when she first met him, now he seemed older, more mature. Trish couldn't help smiling when she looked at him. She hadn't felt like this since she was a teenager, lusting after football stars.
"Take a seat," she said, motioning towards the futon as she walked over to her fridge. "Want a beer?"
"Sure." Gavin sat down, looking at the few posters hanging on the walls: a movie poster for Amelie, a periodic table where all the elements were drawn as cartoon characters.
"Here you go," Trish said, holding out a frosty bottle and taking a sip of her own as she sat down next to him.
"Thank you," he said, tipping the bottle towards her in acknowledgement, before he set it down on the side table.
Trish slowly turned her body so their knees were touching ever so slightly. Now was the inevitable awkward moment when she didn't know what to say or what to do, the moment she wished she could skip past. She took another sip of her beer and then set it on top of a magazine on her coffee table.
Before Trish could react, Gavin's arms were around her, their mouths slamming together in passionate, hungry kisses. She hugged his torso back, surprised to feel defined muscles underneath. He didn't seem like the type to go to the gym, but his body told a different story.
The last time Trish had slept with a man was over six months ago, after an awkward blind date with a guy her best friend set her up with. She had one too many glasses of wine and fell into bed with him faster than she would like. Then, of course, she never saw him again.
Gavin was different—sure he was a little bit younger that her—but he was very attractive and very funny. She didn't see anything long term or serious with him, but she definitely could imagine a quick and sweaty fuck.
Their hungry kisses turned sloppy as her head started to feel a little foggy. There was a strange scent in the air—something floral, organic. Though it tickled her nose, she was too swept away by Gavin's kisses to give it much thought. The beer must have gone straight to her head, because she was feeling light-headed. She didn't want to stop though.
They parted long enough for Gavin to peel off her shirt and toss it expertly onto the laundry basket against the far wall. Trish smiled as he started kissing her again, his lips soft and so inviting. She ran her fingers through his soft, black hair, as his fingers tickled over the warm skin on her back. His touch sent shivers up her spine, as she felt her pussy waking.
A hunger was igniting within her, so she pushed Gavin back, and quite boldly pulled his shirt up and over
his head. He tossed it aside as she was distracted by his rock hard abs and his smooth pecs, her hands running over them as if she needed to verify they were real.
Trish pulled him towards her, their mouths colliding again, tongues dancing within their eager mouths. She didn't protest as he softly pushed her backwards until she was lying down, Gavin positioned himself over her, his free hand exploring her body.
As they kissed Trish felt lost in the sensations, as if she was drugged and everything was magnified. Her pussy was so wet, her panties grew moist with her juices. Though it'd been awhile since she'd been with a man—especially one as hot as Gavin—she was surprised at how turned on she was and how much she wanted to fuck him. She should probably just make out with him, maybe give him a hand job, but sex on the first date probably wasn't a good idea. However, her pussy was screaming for his hard cock.
Wanting was winning out over reason.
When Gavin pulled back a little to work his hands under her back, she didn't protest, in fact she sat up a little to give him better access and then tossed her green bra to the side as soon as it was unhooked.
Gavin grinned down at the sight of her breasts, his hands flying to her small, perky breasts, massaging her warm flesh, his fingertips tweaking her pointy brown nipples.
Trish let her head fall back and moaned at the sensations. She always enjoyed having guys touch and squeeze her breasts, but this felt heavenly. As Gavin leaned down, sucking on one of her hard nipples, she squeaked with pleasure. His teeth lightly grazed her flesh, the other hand squeezing her free breast.
Trish grabbed the futon cushion, her hips bucking against Gavin. His miraculous mouth was bringing her close to coming.
When he pulled away, Trish almost sighed with disappointment, but soon he was on top of her again, their mouths joined together. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling his body close and grinding her crotch against the noticeable bulge in his jeans. She couldn't get her craving for his dick out of her mind. She wanted it and she wanted it now.
Trish reached down for his pants, her fingers fiddling for his zipper, when Gavin pushed her hand away, bringing it up over her head and restraining her wrist with his hand. She tried with the other hand, which he pushed up over her head and held it in place. This she liked even more; her body strained against him, but Gavin was in control and wouldn't let her move. She was getting so hot she felt like she couldn't stand it. Every move he made seem to intensify the feelings within her.
Bred by the Jungle Tentacle Plant: The Complete Trilogy Page 7
