Alex Steven's Arc

Chapter 6 of 6

The blue hauler rolled through the gates at first light. Alex met it on the loading pad, clipboard in hand, her team already waiting in cold gear. The ice block came off the truck on a reinforced sled. Inside the clear blue, the curled trunk and long tusks caught the morning sun. It looked like a mastodon dressed in winter, but Alex knew better. The shape under the ice was older and stranger than that. They rolled it into the staging bay. Alex had a full workup planned. Core drills, tissue scans, sequencing rigs lined up on the steel benches. Flasks and burners stood ready beside the centrifuge. Her lead tech reached for the first probe. Then the amphitheater alarm went off. Alex ran. She crossed the yard and climbed the observation rail above the quarantine pit. Below, the creature was standing tall against the far wall, head lifted, nostrils wide. It was facing the staging bay. It had not moved like this before. It let out a low sound that traveled through her chest. The ice block was still sealed. No one had touched it. And the creature already knew it was there. Alex called the bay on her radio. Lock it down. No drilling. No cuts. Step away from the block. Her tech argued for one quick sample. Alex said no. Whatever was in that ice was talking to the one in the pit, and she would not be the one who opened the door without knowing what came through it. The equipment stayed cold on the benches. The ice block stayed sealed. In the pit, the creature paced a slow circle and would not settle. Alex gripped the rail and understood the trade. She had her answer about lineage. She had lost her chance to study the second specimen on her terms. Whatever came next would be set by the creatures, not by her.