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It had all happened so fast. Did it happen in an hour? Minutes? Seconds? Just yesterday he had been in the bathtub..he was in her apartment, he was safe. Then the next he.. Wasn’t. He was ripped away from her. He wasn’t safe anymore.
It was quick, when it happened. The sound of a door being ripped off the hinges, loud bootsteps banging against the frail wooden floor. Light still leaked from the theatre below. The one peice of normality in the situation. A container of salt was kicked over by one of the men that lunged for Elisa. The whole situation was so confusing. Giles was being held back by one of the men, Elisa, another. Nothing was said, it was almost eerily too quiet. The creature in the tub was quickly injected with something, a sedative perhaps, and he went limp. Elisa lunged forward, only to be held back by the men in lab coats. The creature’s limp body was swiftly removed from the tub and carried out of the bathroom, as quickly as they came in. The man holding Elisa promptly dumped her to the ground, Giles meeting the same fate. The front door was shut, and the apartment was silent again. She knew it was Occam come back to reclaim their prize, but she just wish she knew why.
Giles had chased after them, bubbling on about how they couldn’t do this and how illegal this must be. Elisa just.. Sat there. Leaned up against a heater, she sat still in shock. The images had just barely begun to process in her head. Giles ran back into the apartment, huffing and puffing, his face red as the paint that stained his shirt.
“They..they they can’t do this! How did they do this? Well we know how but how did they…” He trailed off, looking to the woman on the floor. Elisa looked shell shocked. Stunned. She signed nothing, gave no response.
“Elisa...I..” Giles started. Thoughts raced through his head as well, partially about what just happened, and what this would mean. Giles sighed.
“Elisa maybe it's…” he stopped again, sitting down on the floor next to her. He never finished his thought but if he had, it’d be along the lines of ‘maybe it's better this way’.
Eliza did not go into work the next day. She couldn’t bear it. Giles had called in sick for her, made sure she had something to eat, then left her to her own devices. That mostly included her sitting still as a statue on her couch. Zelda had stopped by after work, her heels clicking hurriedly on the floor. She had rapped on Eliza’s door numerous times to no answer, before moving to do the same on Giles’s door. He let the woman in, who rushed into Elisa’s apartment and practically dove herself at the smaller woman.
“Oh sweetheart I saw him back in the lab.. I knew something must have been wrong but I just.. Oh sweetheart...I saw him.Giles told me what happened... Don’t worry, I saw him.” Zelda spoke softly, reassuring her with a back rub she sat next to her. Eliza looked up at her, eyes searching for a continued answer. Zelda sighed.
“I don’t..understand him like you do.. But he looks… Scared.” She sighed. Elisa nodded and lowered her head.
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Elisa went to work the next day, if anything to keep up appearances. She didn’t know if she should go visit him, if it would be too risky. She couldn’t just leave him there though. Without knowing what was going on.. He needed to see a familiar face. During break time, when everyone was eating lunch, Eliza slipped into the lab. The dripping of water echoed loudly. Elisa tip toed over to his tank, tapping lightly on the glass. Nothing swam up to her. Elisa proceeded to the open faced water. She touched the surface lightly, swishing her hand to create bubbles and ripples. The chain moved suddenly, signalling the creature under the surface. Elisa took a few steps back.. And a tear rolled down her face. He was alive, in the very least.
Two eyes poked their way up from the surface, blinking the salt away. The moment he laid eyes on her, he stood up to his full height. He waddled his way to the edge of the tank, an arm outstretched towards her. He chirped and squeaked like he always did when he was happy to see her. Another sob burst from Elisa’s chest, though quiet as it was. She rushed forward towards him, dropping the packed lunch she had brought. Without thinking she threw her arms around him, ignoring everything in the way. The chain pulled tight against his neck, though the creature just squeaked more, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck. Elisa leaned backwards, signing furiously to him, though he more than likely didn’t understand.
“I’m..sorry..so so sorry…” she signed, tears rolling down her cheek. The creature looked on confused, before opening his arms to sign ‘music’ back to her. Elisa gave him a smile. She shook her head no.
“I don’t have music..I have.. Food.” She signed, before looking down to the packed lunch and pulling out his favourite snack. She placed the hard boiled egg on the side of the tank, gesturing for him to take it. The creature chirped before taking the egg and devouring the entire thing, shell and all.
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Having to say goodbye to him at the end of the day was always tough, but that morning was even tougher. The creature had chirped and squeaked as she walked away from him after saying her goodbye, and that she’d see him again when she returned to work. The creature was.. Confused. One minute he had been safe and loved in Elisa’s apartment, the next he was back at the foul smelling lab, being poked and prodded all over. Elisa did her best to keep her tears to a minimum, until she at least got off the bus and in the hallway of her apartment. She knocked lightly on Giles’s door, who opened it almost right away.
“How was it? How’d it go? Was he..? I mean did he..?” Elisa put her hands up, swatting them to calm the man down.
“He’s fine.” She signed calmly, hoping the red around her eyes wasn’t noticeable from crying. “He’s just...scared..I think.” she finished. Giles nodded, running a hand through his quickly thinning hair.
“If..if if you need anything.. Just let me know..okay?” He said, rubbing a hand down her arm. She nodded and jammed her key into the door, opening it to the smell of the chemicals and salt water she kept the creature in. Elisa silently sighed, setting down her purse and shutting the door behind her. Almost right away she began to rise and scrub the tub, putting the container of water purifiers and salts away in the cupboard. It was lonelier in the apartment now that he wasn’t here, and it was a feeling that Elisa wouldn’t ever get used to again.
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The actual time was probably around 11 or 12 in the afternoon, an equivalent of around 2 or 3 in the morning to Elisa. The loud ringing phone in the hallway echoed loudly. It was such an obnoxious sound, Elisa thought in her sleep filled mind. The faint sound of Giles padding down the hall and picking it up reassured her, and soon Elisa was drifting back asleep, forgetting the whole thing.
Life had to continue on as normal, she thought. The evening had arrived and so had the preparations for work. Make lunch, make food for Giles, masturbate, bathe, bring food to Giles and hurry off to work. Today was...different. At least it felt different. Her routine had gone according to plan as normal, until she went to deliver her food to Giles. He had seemed jumping and anxious, which wasn’t a stretch from normal Giles, but usually it had a reason. He thanked her for the food and practically pushed her out the door to work.
“Go, go,” he had said. “Don't’ want to be late.” He finished as he shut the door behind her. Elisa was more than confused, but the thought of being late to work brushed it out of her mind. Work was just as strange. Hushed whispers flew amongst the scientists all throughout the day. Work had Zelda and Elisa staying in and around the cafeteria for the day, giving Elisa no chance of seeing the creature in the lab. This reflected on her mood, though Zelda understood. The same routine occurred, as soon Elisa found herself leaning against the side of the bus’s window on her way home. Life happening too fast seemed to be a repeat thing with her.
Giles did not answer the door when she knocked. Elisa had shrugged it off. He was probably out and about, or still asleep. She shoved the key into the lock and went to go open it, only to be met with..a still locked door. Elisa frowned and turned the key again. The ‘click’ of it unlocking still greatly confused her. She slowly opened the door, looking up from the floor to see Giles, standing in her apartment. He looked very bewildered and surprised.
“Elisa! You’re..you..you’re home early!” He said, taking a few steps forward with his hands out towards her. Elisa signed the word ‘confused’, eyeing the man. Giles looked back behind him, toward the bathroom. He sighed.
“I was..we were...trying to keep this a secret as long as we could..” He started, as the scientist walked out from the lab. Elisa recognized him as Dimitri. He gave a smile towards her.
“Ma’am.” He said, a brand new box of water purifying chemicals in his hands. Elisa’s heart raced. She put two and two and three and four together and looked frantically at Giles. Her eyes screamed the words she could not speak. ‘You mean he’s here?’ she said with just a look. Giles answered her unasked question and nodded. It was enough for Elisa to rush over to the entrance to the bathroom and drop her purse in shock. Sitting happily in the bathtub, was the creature. Her creature. The tub was full to its limit with grimy, sludgy green water. The water purifiers littered the surface of the water. An empty container of salt sat just on the edge of the tub. Elisa spun around to face the two men, who both wore smiles on their faces.
“How?” She signed. Dimitri nodded and took a step forward.
“It took some planning...a repeat of how you got him here in the first place, I cannot promise you they won’t come looking again…” he said, his tone of voice turning a bit more harsh. Elisa nodded, understanding that, but it didn’t matter at this point in time. She turned around again, to face her lovely, beloved creature. He chirped happily, leaning forward towards her in the tub. In this point in time, nothing else mattered. He was happy to see her.