THE TEKULA PROJECT

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Bzz, bzz, bzz.

I am rudely awoken from my slumber by my phone buzzing on my nightstand. I bleerily open my eyes to see Dr. Anderson's name flashing on the screen. Why would he be calling me? Especially at 1:05 a.m., no less.

"Hello?" I say groggily. I sit up and roll my shoulders.

"You need to get to the lab now! The Project has escaped," he says, fast footsteps and labored breathing audible.

"What?" I ask. How could he have escaped?

"This is no time for questions miss Odair. 6 security personnel have been critically injured and 10 more are wounded. He is somewhere in the woods surrounding the facility. We have canines tracking him now, but we need your help."

"Okay. I'm on my way," I say, hanging up the phone and pulling on a pair of jeans. My hands shake from bothe nerves and fear as I struggle to tie my shoes. Oddly enough, the fear isn't for my safety, but for Theseus'. What could have driven him to act so rashly?

I throw my hair in a bun and grab my keys. My heart hammers in my chest as I think of the situation. Coupd he try to hurt me? I doubt it, but nothing is stopping him from hurting anyone else. I hope they don't try to approach him before I get there.

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B.E.A.R. LABORATORIES
MAIN GATE

I step out of my car at the main entrance and rush to Dr. Anderson, who seems to be giving orders to a man with a German Shepherd. I come to a stop, worry etching itself across my features.

"What happened? What can I do to help? Have we located him yet?" I ask frantically. I scan the area around me, looking for any indication of a tall man with long hair and tattoos.

Dr. Anderson dismisses the guard and turns to me. "We were performing an experiment and he didn't react well. He broke through the glass and shifted, attacking anything in his path. He disappeared into the woods about 20 minutes ago," he says. His eyebrows are furrowed in contemplation and his shoulders are tight.

I flip my hood over my head as it starts to rain. My hands shake with worry and anxiety. If he were to escape he could possibly hurt someone--definitely hurt someone--but that isn't what concerns me. What concerns me is the possible affect this could have on him.

What if someone tries to hurt him? My heart clenches at the thought. Somewhere in the past few weeks, unknown to me, I have grown attached to the lycanthrope--something that is extremely unproffesional. He is a project, and should be seen as such, but I can't help feeling more.

I am jarred from my thoughts by Dr. Vanderwall pulling me to the side, away from the others. He pins me with a steely gaze and I straighten my shoulders.

"Sir?" I ask.

"I assume you have been informed of the testing we did on the project prior to the subject's rampage?" He says, his words seeming to be bathed in authority.

"I am aware testing was done, but I am in the dark as to the nature of the testing," I say with equal seriousness. I wish he would hurry up with whatever it is he wants to say; I should be helping with the search.

"We wanted to see how attached to you he had become," he says slowly. The rain is getting heavier now, puddles are forming around my feet. He continues: "We told him you weren't coming back--that you were removed from the project."

"You what?" I say, unable to stop myself. They told him I was gone? How could he have ever thought that was a good idea? Theseus freaked whenever I was gone for just a day, and they thought it was a good idea to tell him I was never coming back? I mean, what did he expect? "In what way was that a good idea?" I say hotly.