part i

Nahla had to wonder where it had all gone wrong.

The morning had started out just as any other. It was the same mundane practices of biking to the museum for work that she usually did, the chaotic chorus of city life and people. They were, as always, a blur of faces and objects with little to offer her. This was just to get by. Nahla had spent the day propped up by her elbows and feeling a deep sense of numbness. The highlight of the day was the turn of the page in what was basically a large coloring book of birds. Nahla had a fascination with nature, but maybe not that great of one. She was more particular about the science of it all rather than the actual animals themselves.

Which was what made her job a little more peculiar. But that, at the current moment, was an entirely irrelevant thought in light of what was happening. And what was happening was by far the most peculiar thing to ever happen in her life. Maybe this was just some messed up coffee dream her brain had cooked up from lack of sleep. That sounded like a logical explanation.

Dark hair clinging to sandy skin with sweat and tears—and maybe a little bit of spit; who knows at this point—Nahla could feel the numbness creeping into her legs. The kind of numbness that came from overworking your limbs until they just gave up. Holding off a pack of whatever those things outside were with just a door was some tough business. The corridor she was wedged into was lit, but not well enough that she was ready to risk running down it. She'd seen horror movies before; she knew exactly what kind of situation this was and no thank you she was not about to become a Hollywood stereotype.

Her attention was thrust back into the present by the appearance of a clawed hand. Really, it was closer to a paw with the soft padding of the palm, but that didn't matter so much as the fact that it was getting dangerously close to her legs. The hand reached further through the hole it had created, tufts of thick black fur poking out over pale skin as it searched for her. The seconds ticked by as she held perfectly still, her ears filling with the whooshing sound of her blood as she held her breath. It felt like an eternity before claws dug into her ankle and a scream ripped through her throat.

Nahla kicked at the door, hoping to scare the creature that had caught on to her leg. The sting of claws tearing into flesh had her eyes watering and she was sure she was still screaming. Her mind was a slowly degrading puddle of panic, spiraling further downward as another hand reached through the hole the first had made.

Maybe this would be it, this would be the moment she died. Wow, okay, thanks so much mind. She wasn't ready to kick the bucket just yet, right? Right? She glanced around her for something to use to pry the claws from her ankle—why hadn't she done this before—but found nothing. Just her luck. She wises up and then she's left hanging.

Perhaps she had been too pre-occupied by her musings of her own death, but it took a moment for her to register that there was nothing around her ankle anymore. And that it didn't even look like there had been claws shredding her skin a minute ago. The door was no longer a tattered mess, but was perfectly intact like nothing had happened. No hands, no holes. Mouth agape, this was how the biologist overseeing her for the day found her. Nahla was pretty sure the researchers had already developed an interesting take of her, but now they were sure to think she was crazy.

Scratching idly at the scruff on his chin, Dr. Gavin cocked his head to the side as he turned slightly.

"You all good back here," he asked, voice hiding a hint of laughter.

As if the furious burning of her cheeks had not been some form of answer, Nahla nodded and attempted to get to her feet. However, through whatever that hallucination was about, her legs were still numb. Just the mere act of pushing herself up was an endeavor her legs weren't all that ready for. She fell right back, her cheeks only turning a more brilliant red.

Gavin's hand was in her face before she could compute what was happening, his expression expectant as he waited for her to take it. He looked like an overgrown puppy, with his hair a mess of dark curls against his russet, clay brown skin. Large eyes dark enough to be black invited her to take the hand, like it was some sort of sacrificial offering. Excuse her if she developed a phobia of hands, considering she had just had some kind of hallucination about being attacked by huge hands. Nahla, however, took his hand. She wasn't about to ostracize herself now.

"You're probably stressed out," Gavin observed.

Nahla weakly conceded with, "Probably," as she tilted her head back to look at him.

"Hey, why don't you take a break? Walk around the museum?"

Nahla wouldn't say that she didn't like the idea of not working. But, a walk around the museum might invoke yet another stress-induced hallucination, so she wasn't entirely jumping at the idea.

"Uh, sure?" It was the most she could respond with after a moment of thought. Maybe she was stressed out. There was plenty going on here since it was the summer. It meant people had more time to do their research, and visitors would be flooding in for the new exhibit. There was only so much work she could do before she would be a mess yet again.

Gavin left her with a pat on the back and a flash of his pearly whites, most likely to return to his own work. It occurred to her that she might have just interrupted his break, which sucked to think about. This job was just supposed to be her earning enough money to buy a plane ticket to see her mother. The woman was a globe-trotter and keeping up with her was hard on the bank. Nahla had learned early on that if she wanted any chance of seeing her mother at any time other than a holiday, she'd have to get as much money as she could.

Wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, a grimace took hold of her lips as she set a course for the bathroom. It was a good thing she had opted for a low-maintenance day and had only to reply moisturizer. Lord knows her face would have been a complete mess if she'd gone with her usual makeup. Her luck was turning around as she entered a perfectly empty restroom. Which meant that there wouldn't be a whole horde of female coworkers and visitors passing gossip around about her.

Splashing cool water on her face and patting her face with a towel, Nahla sucked in a breath before exhaling deeply. She repeated the action several times before nodding at herself in the mirror. She would take this time for a break as Gavin had suggested. It was for the best; after all, everyone needed a break at some point, right?

It certainly looked like she needed a break. The slightest puffing under her eyes, an indicator that they would soon be swollen from her crying, was also a sign of her lack of sleep. The nights had been rough lately, odd considering she had no classes for the summer and shouldn't have been stressing about work. But it was all a haze of nightmares and insomnia that she kept telling herself she'd deal with later. Gavin had been more right than he knew.

But the question that remained was where she would go. Nahla had a plethora of exhibits to choose from, but not one in particular that she wanted to go to. Her feet, however, had her destination planned for her. As if she had blinked and transported herself there, she found herself staring into the glass eyes of a tiger. The great beast was frozen mid-stride, teeth displayed in a perpetual feline smirk. The mesmerizing orange and black stripes held her gaze before she blinked again, her eyes now focused on her reflection in the glass that separated her from the fine taxidermy scene.

The imagined rustling of long green leaves died into the background with the soundtrack that weakly slid out of the single speaker beside the exhibit. Nahla could make out her frame beside that of the tiger, but something behind her made her brows furrowed. The looming figure of a man not that far behind her, staring her down through their reflections. The sight made her shudder before turning around, only to find the man was not there.

A disgusted scoff left her as she shook her head. She was certain of how stressed out she was at this point. But turning to around to walk off, Nahla had to hold back a yelp—literally, with her hands pressed over her mouth—as the man in the reflection stood right in front of her. The first thing to come to mind was a question of how he'd gotten over there so fast. But then, he could have been one of those crazy fast walkers.

Amused blue eyes stared down at her, far less intense a gaze then he'd given her before. The bare bones of a beard lined his chin and lips, a narrow nose pointing at her. But his angular features and square face held this familiarity she could not place. He, however, seemed to have no problem remembering her. The stranger engulfed her in a hug, something close to bone-crushing but not too unpleasant. The smile that had taken residence on his face disappeared, though, as he pulled back from the hug.

// and there it is. sucks ass, but y'know. thanks for reading~ cheers, rem