Elemental Protector by Savannah Verte

Author:Savannah Verte [Verte, Savannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MTW Press
Published: 2019-05-23T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Taylen was still groggy after her third cup of coffee. The evening before had gone on longer than she’d planned for. “Maybe next time don’t do it on a weeknight,” she chastised her reflection, noting the dark pockets beneath her eyes, even after two different concealers. “Emmers is going to give me hell,” she moaned out.

She’d be pissing away the day literally, but she’d be awake, she decided as she poured the remaining half pot over a pitcher of ice and began to guzzle as she set another on to brew hot. She might also be wired for a supersonic leap at this rate, but it was going to be a jump from negative numbers to one thousand, or nothing at all. The caffeine deficiency in her blood stream was not helping her get out the door.

Reaching the lab, she heaved a sigh of relief, Emmers wasn’t in yet. If she got straight to work, she might not have to see him much, if at all. Changed into her lab coat, she hit the button for messages. Emmers had called in late. Taylen tossed her hands in the air with a shrug. “Sure Canton, couldn’t have called my cell on this…leave a message at the office.” She growled openly. “I could have taken my time instead of throwing my guts into revolution with too much coffee too fast.”

Slipping through the pocket door to the lab, nothing new awaited her. The samples they had gathered last night were on the table where they’d left them in the early hours of the morning before she and Hastings had parted company. She decided to try a different approach.

Cutting a new sample and running the sequencing for the plants DNA, she took a plant from the first batch and re-ran the tests for it as well. Surprisingly, there was little breakdown once the results were in. “How odd,” she exclaimed to the empty, sterile room.

“What’s odd?” Emmers asked from behind her, making her jump.

Turning to face him, she measured her words carefully. “There’s no degradation.”

“Why is that odd?”

“This is the first group of plants. This long out of the water, or soil, they should be breaking down…dying, but they aren’t.”

“Not my area, but that sounds suspicious to me.”

“It should. Every living thing, plant, human, or anything else, should break down when it is cut, moved, removed, or in this case, starved. I haven’t given these plants anything to sustain them, yet they continue to thrive. It’s not normal,” she retorted.

“So, is it a hybrid?”

“It’s a something.”

“And, what are those?” he asked, pointing to the group on the table from the night before.

“Hastings and I grabbed another group when we took water samples last night.”

“You’re doing field work?”

She shrugged. “I thought I might see something he was missing.”

“And did you?”

“No. Just a field of plants existing where they shouldn’t be.”

“Update me later then,” Emmers commented as he turned to leave. “And, next time, go earlier. You look like hell.”

“Gee thanks, boss,” she countered to his retreating form once he was through the door.

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