He trudged down the hallway quietly, concentrating on his movements.
Struggling not to make a sound as he passed through door after door.
When he finally reached his destination he sighed in relief. This part of the wing was completely empty at this time of night, so he had no need to be quiet. There was no one around to hear anything.
Opening the clear door, he walked in and flipped on the light. Froze when he saw her, sleeping in the chair.
She woke immediately, clutching the half-eaten bag of chips to her chest, eyes wide with fright. When she saw who it was, she relaxed.
"Mr. Davies. What are you doing here?"
He summoned up a smile for her.
"I could ask you the same thing."
"Kyle," she answered simply.
"I'm sorry, Liz."
"Oh, it's alright. I don't mind staying here."
He shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"Well I was just coming to...check up on it."
She flinched at the word it.
"Well, sir, everything's fine here. No problems whatsoever."
She cast a nervous glance over at Max. He was sleeping.
"Are you sure there's nothing else, sir?"
She could sense that he had not just come here to check on 'it'.
"Actually...yes. I need to talk to you about something, Liz."
Dread crept up her spine, the small hairs on her back standing up.
"What about?"
"About A1."
No. Please, God, no. Not so soon.
"What's the problem?"
"Well...you know what we are here for, Liz. To study the unknown. And that's what A1 is. The unknown. We intended to learn everything about it when we first captured it. But it's been a month. And we haven't gotten very far."
"What do you mean?"
He took in a breath to speak, but she interrupted him.
"Hold on. A month? I've only known about him for a few days."
"I know. I waited because�well, just let me finish."
She pursed her lips together.
"We've studied everything about it that we could. His eating habits, its sleeping habits...everything. Its blood, its cells, its functions. Everything that can be known by just physical observation, we know. But�it's just not enough. You've got to understand, Liz, this is a once in a lifetime chance. It may be the only alien that exists on this planet! And we've got to take advantage of that. Learn everything. And we can't learn everything without..."
"Cutting him open."
He stared at her, unblinking.
"Yes."
Her head was spinning. She'd known this was coming, but it was so soon. It was too soon. She'd barely had any time�
She couldn't think. She had to think. She had to concentrate. She had to save him�
"Why, though? Why can't we just keep him alive? Let him live out his life span; let him tell us everything there is to know? We could learn so much more that way�"
"But he can't talk, Liz."
Her breath caught in her throat.
"But�yes�."
"No. It's not possible."
"Have you tried?"
"It's not possible."
"But�"
"Liz, I'm sorry. Nothing can be done to change it."
"Why did you tell me? If you were planning this all along...why did you tell me?"
He sighed, and touched her shoulder.
"I knew how much you needed to know. I know you, Liz. I thought that you would want to know about it. Even if it was only for a few days."
"No...you can't do this�"
Her voice was barely a whisper now, and the threat of tears was stronger than ever.
"I'm very sorry."
He looked at her again, smiling a little, and then looked over at the cage.
He squeezed her shoulder a bit, then stood and left the room.