SauraCorps, page 5
Kam patted his hand against his lower jacket pocket. He’d brought the little black box just in case he had a good opportunity. “The more I think about it, you’re more than both of those things combined. You’re my universe.”
Viv figured her entire face had turned a shade of pink. “Kamren, what’s gotten into….” Her gaze traveled past him.
Someone from across the dining room stopped staring at them and sipped their beer to seem inconspicuous.
“Viv?” Kam waved his hand through her field of vision. “Dinner date to Viv, come in Vi—”
“There’s some weirdo over there,” she responded through clenched teeth, hoping to not bring any unwanted attention their way. “Pretty sure he’s been watching us.”
“Watching?” Kam changed tracks in his mind as the night seemed to be going in a different direction. He peered over and noticed the man take another brief glance. Disappointed, Kam sighed internally. Why this night of all nights? He took a shaky sip of his drink. “Maybe he just looks scary all the time, you know, resting-creep-face.”
Viv managed a little snort at the term. “He’s definitely giving off those vibes.” Taking their day into consideration, she took a pensive pause. “What if he works for the Arrowsmith person?”
A shockwave of dread coursed through Kam. Rather than show his fear, he cleared his throat. “Maybe his name is Janie and he’s got a gun.”
“Dude, you need to stop with the Aerosmith jokes.” Viv leaned over and smacked his arm. “Besides, you weren’t even alive for their greatest hits.”
“My parents were, though.” He wore an amused grin. “They taught me their jedi-music ways.”
“Uh huh, sure thing Master Eckhardt.” She finished off her mocktail and glanced around the room. “Let’s get the waiter’s attention so we can leave.”
* * *
The whole way to their hotel room, they made sure to keep an eye out for anyone who might have followed them. As far as they knew, the man from the restaurant hadn’t tailed them. Swirling concerns took center stage in both of their heads.
Kamren tapped his fingers against the little black box in his suit pocket. I wanted it to be tonight. Now she’s going to be all worried about other things. He gave his head a minor shake before tapping his key card to the reader, then opened the door for his girlfriend.
Not even crossing the threshold into their room gave Viv a sense of protection. She’d nibbled on the inside of her cheek and picked at one of her thumb’s cuticles since they left the table downstairs. If Arrowsmith is the dinosaur black market kingpin, a little hotel lock isn’t going to stop him. That guy had to be his spy. She started glancing all around the room. What if this place is bugged? I can’t handle—
Music pulled her out of her downward spiral.
One of her current favorite songs flowed from the small speakers of Kam’s cellphone: Your Love is My Home by The Light the Heat.
“Lady Lancaster,” Kam held his right hand out to her, “Come hither.”
She squinted at him, though couldn’t keep a small smile off her face. “What are you—”
“Dance with me.”
Taking his hand, she gave him an anxious stare. “Kam, this isn’t—”
“Vivienne, please,” he implored, a blend of tenderness and nerves in his voice. “This is nowhere near the way I wanted this night to go.”
She obliged him, taken by a subtle hurt in his tone. Part of her wondered if the guy down in the restaurant wasn’t even a concern in the first place. “I didn’t mean to ruin our night.”
“It isn’t ruined.” Kam led in their swaying to the song. “You and me, right here and right now, this will always be perfect.”
A single tear trickled down Viv’s cheek as she set her head on his shoulder. Her frustration toward his desire of stepping back into a world she’d wanted to move on from wrestled with falling for this loving, sensitive moment he’d created.
“Tonight, it’s all about you and me,” he cooed, keeping his tone suave and reassuring. “As for tomorrow, we’re going to Mission: Impossible the crap out of it.”
She’d been close to getting herself under control until he brought up the next day. Rather than spit something negative back at him, she opted to tease. “Trying to make yourself sound like Tom Cruise?”
“Heck no,” Kam laughed in reply. “Your Lara Croft moves with that millipede proved you’re more like Cruise, which…I guess makes me Ving Rhames.”
Viv chuckled at his actor comparisons. “Mhmm, you know that’s right.” After giving him a squeeze, she yawned as she stepped away. “This crazy day has me emotionally exhausted. We should finish eating, then just cuddle until we conk out.”
About to say something, Kam closed his mouth and nodded. He figured her mind wasn’t in the right frame for what he’d been dying to say to her. Guess it won’t be tonight then. Removing their boxed-up food from the mini-fridge, he brought it over to their hotel bed. “As you wish.”
EARLY THE next morning, Vivienne woke to her Spotify playlist. She would usually wake up before the custom alarm could even start playing. Though it randomized, it seemed to favor Dancing in the Street by Stephen Day lately.
Turning over, she found Kamren on his side and facing away from her. Deciding on letting him sleep, she automatically started her morning routine.
She leaned her head side to side. The tension in her neck gave way to a couple of cracks. Her arms raised into the air to help in stretching out her back. Her legs barely dangled from the edge of the bed.
She let herself slide out and onto the thin carpet.
Crunch!
Her heel had struck something.
Sleepiness still filled most of her mind. Did we…leave food on the floor?
Gazing down, she lifted her foot.
A smushed millipede.
“Fricking gross!”
She leaped back onto the bed, which jostled Kam into being awake.
“Vi.... Viv?” He righted himself into a sitting position. “What’s wrong?”
“On the floor,” she blurted out while wiping her foot clean of any bug bits. “It’s a damn millipede.”
Kam raced into the bathroom to grab something to clean it up. “I’ll get it.”
Once she’d made sure her heel had been cleaned, she noticed a difference in color coming through the window to their room. She turned her gaze to the right.
Prehistoric treetops.
“How in the heck?” Uneasy steps brought her closer to the view. “Did the whole hotel get time rifted?”
A massive reptilian head rose from below, bringing its menacing eye level with hers.
She backed away even slower than before. “Oh…my…Go—”
RRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRR!
Viv screamed in tandem with the Giganotosaurus. The entire room shook, and she worried the thick glass would shatter from the piercing bellow.
She hurried and slammed the bathroom door closed behind her, figuring she’d be far enough away from the raging dinosaur.
Catching her breath, she glanced around.
“K-Kam?”
The lack of response told her he wasn’t in there.
“Kam?” Her throat tightened, making it harder to call out for him. “Ka… Kam, where….”
Uncontrollable sobs sent her leaning over the sink. Tears dripped from her cheeks to the drain. “Kam, I… I need…you.”
Something light tapped her on the back.
Wiping her face clear of waterworks, she looked up through the mirror.
Hiiiisssssssssss!
An oversized millipede twitched its mandibles inches away from her face.
Viv backed up into the door and scrambled for the handle. “No, no, God noooooooo!”
“Vivienne!”
Whipping bed sheets off of her, Viv woke to Kam sitting up beside her. “No… Wha-what?”
“Viv, you were having a nightmare,” he stated with a concerned yet caring tone as he shuffled over to slip his arms around her. “You’re okay, Viv. It’s all okay.”
Though one of his arms had pulled her head into his chest, she made sure to look over at the window.
Buildings lined the street on the other side.
No sign of any dinosaur.
The longer he held her, the easier it became for her to breathe. Among everything in her dream, the only part that crossed over into reality were the tears on her cheeks.
“I’m right here.” Kamren kissed the top of her head and didn’t care if some of her hairs stuck to his lips. “You’re okay.”
* * *
Half an hour later, they were finishing up their continental breakfast—which Kam had asked to be delivered—inside their room.
Mostly silent, Viv had let her phone’s indie playlist fill their environment.
Kam popped the last bite of bacon into his mouth. Having her full-on jolting and whimpering beside him earlier in bed made him concerned for her emotional and mental well-being. “Vivienne, was that the first time you’ve had nightmares like that?”
She stared at the floor while the acidity of orange juice awakened her palate even more. His question had registered in her mind. Strands of her hair swayed as she shook her head in a distressed and shameful ‘yes’ formation.
“And…you never wanted to tell me about them?” Being as sensitive as possible, he wished she would look him in the eyes. “Not…once?”
“I….” Viv had subconsciously bunched up a section of the bed’s duvet in her left hand. “Believe me, you’re the only one I’ve wanted to tell, but….”
Since her left hand was closest to him, he placed his right hand on top of it. “It’s okay, sweet pea. Your heart is important to me, even when it’s hurting.”
For a split- second, she gazed into his loving eyes and forced a grin. “I didn’t….” All throughout her life, he’d always been there for her. She’d always cherished their past moments when he’d given comfort with his arms wrapped around her, letting her sob by his side. She sucked in a deep breath, then huffed it out. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” Reassurance oozed from his voice. “Hardships and triumphs are more meaningful when shared with those you love.”
His loving tone gave her more strength to look up at him. “There you go being all mushy—”
Kam pressed his lips into hers and slid his hand behind her head. Where words couldn’t make a full impact, he made sure his actions filled in the cracks.
She kissed him back as a grin made its way onto her face. On coming out of the kiss, she sighed with delight. “Your words are even better when they’re coated in bacon grease.”
Kam’s snort transitioned into a chuckle as he leaned back toward her. “Oh, so you want more of this, huh?”
“Ew,” she countered, picking up a napkin and tossing it at him. “Wipe your face before you come at me with those again.”
Buzzzz. Buzzzz.
Kam closed his eyes in defeat. As he slid over to his bedside table, he noted the name trying to contact him. “It’s Sebastian. Must be the signal that Dr. Beaumont’s waiting for us.”
As Kam took the phone call, Viv returned her gaze to the carpeted floor. Getting through the day’s plan continued to be her main goal. Cause a distraction. Get in, get out.
She nodded to herself as she added one more part of her own.
And then we’ll stay out.
THE FAMILIAR minivan pulled up outside of the hotel.
Dr. Beaumont rolled down her window to make sure they recognized her.
Kamren held the hotel’s front door open for Vivienne. Nerves and exhilaration jumbled together inside of him as he marched over to the vehicle.
Beside him, Viv fought to keep every muscle in her body relaxed. As soon as she’d kept one anxious thought at bay, another one broke free inside her mind and caused havoc. There had still been so much more she’d wanted to emotionally unload onto Kam up in their room.
Now, it had to wait for at least a couple more hours.
As they made it over to the van, Dr. Beaumont glanced over to them, then quickly finished up a text message.
One of the side doors slid open.
Kam hopped right in. “G’mornin’, Dawn. Although, don’t those two words mean the same thing?”
Dawn chuckled as she sent the message off. “I actually haven’t heard that one before.”
“It’s my job as a fledgling writer to be quippy.”
Viv climbed in, buckled up, then looked into the back of the mini-van. “How’s Phrodo holding up back there?”
Dooo-dooo!
She giggled. “Good morning to you, too, bird-bud.”
Once he’d buckled up, Kam glanced through the rear window. “Noticed you’ve got a trailer hooked up to the back. Is that the distraction?”
Nodding, Dawn pressed the ignition button. “Only if we need it.”
The minivan pulled away from the hotel and into traffic.
Unbeknownst to the trio, the man from the previous night had been leaning against the wall a few feet from the hotel’s front doors. Putting his newspaper away, he pulled out his cellphone and dialed. “Package is on its way.”
* * *
Within minutes, they’d parked at the north end of the Lincoln Zoo.
Dawn made a quick exit from the driver’s seat and carried on to the van’s rear. As the hydraulics let the door open up slowly, she pulled some berries out of a satchel hitched onto her belt. “Here you go, Phrodo.”
Viv came up beside the veterinarian and slipped her boyfriend’s hoodie on once more. “All right, time to make me look chunky again.”
Kam slid the door closed. “It’s just feather weight, my dear.” He made an audible chuckle. “Maybe that could be our distraction, pretending you’re giving birth to a dodo.”
The randomness of his idea made Viv burst out laughing. “Kamren… Ewww. That has to be the grossest image you’ve ever put in my mind.”
“But it made you laugh.”
She went to smack his arm, but patted it instead. “I needed that laugh.”
As Phrodo gobbled up the morsels of fruit, Dawn rolled her eyes at the young man’s suggestion. “If you two are done joking around, we need to get this bird inside.”
“Just trying to lighten the mood,” Kam responded with a shrug. He backtracked a step when he noticed the veterinarian’s vest swing open for a moment. “Uh, Dr. Beaumont, are you packing?”
Dawn realized he’d seen her gun holster strapped to her body. “It’s a tranquilizer gun.”
When the word ‘gun’ registered in Viv’s ears, she also backed up. “Why does almost everyone we meet have one of those things?”
A sigh left Dawn’s mouth. “It’s just in case of an emergency.”
* * *
Inside the building which housed the zoo’s hospital, Kamren and Vivienne stepped up to the receptionist’s desk. While Viv managed to keep her arms around the hoodie-contained dodo bird, Kam made his face stay deadpan.
The receptionist typed away on her business computer. She finished logging medicinal inventory before looking up at the teenagers. “Good morning, can I help you?”
Kam rubbed a hand against his torso. Tightness seized its first grasp onto his gut. “Hey, uh… We, um…” Get it together. “Is there a, um…manager or—”
“Are we able to speak to someone high up here?” More direct, Viv needed things to get moving. The faster we get through this, the faster we’re done with it. “It’s urgent.”
Not seeing an animal anywhere near or with them, the pixie-cut receptionist stood up from her rolling desk chair. “Do you need a house call?”
“No, we brought it with us,” Viv responded, giving the lady a knowing expression.
A door opened up about ten feet away, and Dr. Isabella Kol marched through with a clipboard in hand. “Krystal, have the antibiotics come in for the aardvark?”
“Should be in later today,” Krystal the receptionist answered promptly. “Since you’re here, Izzy, these two say they need to speak with someone. Can you help them?”
Dr. Kol gave the teens a dubious glance. “Sorry, I don’t really have the time for—”
“You had an animal escape yesterday, right?” Kam blurted out, halting the doctor from walking away.
“We did.” Dr. Kol kept her response short. “And it’s been contained.”
“Really?” Kam countered, closing the gap along with Viv. “Because my girlfriend and I stumbled across something that, well, we’re pretty sure is supposed to be extinct.”
Dr. Kol’s cheek and neck muscles twitched.
Viv shifted an arm to hold the creature as she used her other hand to lift up the front of her borrowed hoodie.
It took a moment for Dr. Kol to study the bird. Once the album of bird pictures flipped through her mind, she stepped toward them and held her hand out. “Is that a—”
“A dodo bird, yeah,” Kam answered with a nod.
“What did you just say?” The receptionist couldn’t see it from her position to confirm the bewildering statement. She’d only taken a few steps away from her desk when Dr. Kol lifted a hand to stop her.
“Krys, hold my calls.” Isabella rushed back to the door, then waved the teens on to go through. “Come with me to my office.”
“SO IS there like, a reward or something for finding the dodo bird?” Kamren stayed close to Vivienne’s side as they followed the zoo’s doctor. “Being that it’s alive and all.”
Dr. Kol opened her office door and ushered them in. “Why did you think we wanted this bird back?”
“Well, it’s not that, per se.” Viv sat down in one of the chairs. “We found this dodo near our hotel, and figured the best place to take it would be here.”
“And the fact that it’s a freaking dodo bird…” Kam rested his hands on the top of the plush chair and leaned forward. “…that’s a pretty big deal.”
