"That can't be right..." Lakshmi checked the briefing Gonzalez had 
shoved at her. 


Morale-boosting interaction as a precautionary measure - no data 
gathering or testing required. 


"Well... okay, then." 
5760 gestured for her to follow it deeper into the forest. 


It led Lakshmi to a little clearing encircled by a ring of enormous 
ossified tree trunks. If she remembered her anatomy, they were 
femurs. 


In the center of the glade was a small, wrought iron table set for two, 
covered with a white tablecloth, complete with candles and a bottle 
of champagne. 


"Is this some kind of joke?" 


"No," said 5760, eyes wide. "Didn't you read the protocol?" 


Lakshmi checked the manila folder again - and found it called for a 
setup identical to the one she was staring at. 


"What on earth..." 

"Sit down," 5760 urged. 

Well, best get this over with... 

Lakshmi sat. 

"Why is this happening?" 

"Check your briefing. | think it's all explained.” 
Lakshmi looked it over again. 


Due to the ancient and alien nature of the entity cohabiting in 5760's 
consciousness that causes it to become randomly aggressive, 
regular exposure to human social customs and normal human 
interaction has proven to be the best way to reduce containment 
breaches. The entity does not appear to comprehend such behavior 
in humans and, as such, they deter it from attempting to regain 
control. 


"Why not just expose you to human media? Why is the bone forest 
even here? Isn't that inhibiting progress?" 


"The thing keeps building the forest every time | tear it down. | just 
have to work within it." 


"That still doesn't explain why we're having a candlelit dinner. " 


"It's the best way to keep it subdued. | listened to some people 
talking on a hike, one day - not hunting them, just listening, 
understanding their conversation. Imagining how | would reply. And 
it started pulling back. They left, but | Kept doing it - imagining 
conversations, calling up memories. The ones that scared it most 
were romantic memories. And | want it to stay scared. When it's 
scared, it's not in control, and then | stay in here, and no one gets 


hurt." 
"But why me?" 


"Well...l was looking for someone else gay, honestly. Gonzalez told 
me you were, and..." 


An awkward silence. 


"So. | guess...Hmm. Tell me about yourself." 5760 said, taking a 
seat across from her and making the rest of the table look doll-like 
by comparison. "Are you single?" 


What did | do to deserve this? 


"lam, at the moment," she said, meeting 5760's eyes without 
blinking. "My previous girlfriend was abducted while hiking in the 
woods two years ago. They still haven't found her body." 


A long pause. 
"That's... traumatic." 


"She broke up with me out of nowhere for frivolous commitment 
reasons shortly before it happened, so it's not quite as tragic as 
you'd expect. But it was a difficult time. We'd been together since 
undergrad." 


"Well, she was an idiot," said 5760 with a suggestive look in its eye, 
"because | can't imagine anyone leaving someone as pretty as you." 


Lakshmi resisted the urge to down the entire glass of champagne in 
one gulp. 


This was going to be a very long evening. 
“This is ridiculous,” Lakshmi said, slamming a hand down on 
Gonzalez’s desk. 


“It’s the only option we have,” said Gonzalez. 


“Are you really sure that’s the case? Because from where I’m 
standing, it looks like you're either prostituting me as an excuse not 
to do your goddamn job, or playing a very ill-thought-out prank.” 


“We’re not prostituting you.” Gonzalez rolled his eyes. “Quit being 
overdramatic. Nobody’s making you have sex with the thing. It's a 
goddamned date every other evening. Takes up two, maybe three 
hours of your time, maximum. You'll get better food than what we 
serve in the caf, if you want to think of it that way. We've been 
testing for months on this, Agarwal. Just trust us. Honestly, people 
would kill for duty like this. Making small talk with the bonewolf and 
eating filet mignon, or some shit? Don't look a gift horse in the 
mouth here!" 


“Fine. I'll do it.” 


“| mean, you didn’t really have a choice. But thanks for doing this the 
easy way. Lot less messy.” 


“But | want a raise.” 

“Well, you'd have to take that up with Administration, kid. But | don’t 
think you'll have trouble convincing ‘em.” 

“So there’s -” Lakshmi was interrupted by the loud crunch of a pelvic 


bone. 


“Sorry,” 5760 said, “that was louder than | thought it would be. 
Continue.” 


“You have some marrow on your...” Lakshmi didn’t know what to 
call the bony plated structure protruding through 5760’s chest fur, so 
she just gestured to the equivalent area on her own body. 


“Thanks,” 5760 said, flicking it off with one clawed finger. 


“As | was saying,” Lakshmi said, “we’ve made some progress in 
capturing the man who instigated your transformation.” 


“They have video footage of the guy who drugged me, dragged me 
back to his shack in the middle of Bumfuck, Canada, force-fed me 


assistance? 


Dr. Mirth: | would like a glass of iced tea. And grab a 
glass of it for yourself if you'd like. 


Mr. Deeds: What kind of iced tea would you prefer? 
Dr. Mirth: Surprise me. 


Mr. Deeds: Certainly. 


Mr. Deeds stood and walked to the door of the 
interrogation room and tried the handle. Finding it locked, 
he turned and smiled at Dr. Mirth. 


Dr. Mirth: What seems to be the problem? 


Mr. Deeds: | must leave your presence to do as you 
request. 


Dr. Mirth: Why is that? 


Mr. Deeds: (Visibly uncomfortable again) It just is, Dr. 
Mirth. 


Dr. Mirth: Okay. Open the door, Agent Graves. 


Mr. Deeds left the room. He proceeded down the 
hallway, under visual surveillance via camera and Agent 
Graves. He paused momentarily at another door, shook 
his head, looked up at the camera and then at Agent 
Graves. Then he ran down the hallway and rounded the 
corner. Agent Graves did not follow, as he had been 
instructed to remain on guard at the door of the 
interrogation room. 


Still under camera surveillance, Mr. Deeds proceeded 
quickly down the next hall and continued throughout the 
halls of the complex, presumably searching for an exit or 
area not under surveillance. Finally, he stopped halfway 
down corridor 2D. At this point, all three cameras in 
corridor 2D malfunctioned, including two that were 


bone powder, and then left me tied to a cliff in the forest wearing 
nothing but a deer skull and a wolf pelt after doing some kind of 
black magic ritual shit. | feel like he should be easier to find.” 


“Gonzalez is furious. Apparently intelligence has screwed up 
royally.” 


5760 took Lakshmi’s hand in its own taloned paw, and put another 
paw along the side of her face. “Let’s not talk about work,” it said. 


Lakshmi powered up the desktop in her lab, glaring at the flickering 
fluorescent lights above her. The strobe effect was worsening her 
headache and her patience. 


She logged into the Foundation database, pulled up 5760's records. 
Somewhere, there would be an explanation for these...Lakshmi 
barely considered them containment procedures. As she attempted 
to access the containment records, an error message flashed on her 
screen. 


LEVEL 3 CREDENTIALS NEEDED. 


Lakshmi swore under her breath. "| am level three," she muttered, 
pounding in her ID number aggressively. 


When it gave her an infuriatingly condescending access denied 
message, Lakshmi had to resist the urge to break the monitor. 


She counted to twenty in Hindi instead, trying to calm herself. As 
she reached sixteen, something occurred to her - that this might not 
have been an error. 


Somebody might be trying to keep something from her. She 
remembered Gonzalez's misdirection and 5760's clumsy attempts at 
evasion - she knew nothing about 5760 before it had come into 
custody, not even its former name. 


She stared at the image of 5760, the flickering lighting giving its face 
an uncanny quality. 


Lakshmi had never taken kindly to being deceived. She was not 


about to allow this... whatever it was... to have the upper hand. 


Gonzalez walked towards the car, the streetlamp above flickering 
ominously. He heard the metallic rattle of a can rolling downhill, and 
checked to make sure he wasn't being followed. He saw only a stray 
cat trotting lazily after its (probably tetanus-infested) toy. 


Gonzalez got into the car. 
"You're late," the would-be driver said. 
"Maybe you're just early." 


The driver didn't seem to enjoy his attempt at humor. "You told us 
you've solved the problem with...remind me of her name, again." 


"Avery. Her name's Avery." 
"Yes. Avery." 


"The procedures I've told you about - they're working. It's been three 
weeks since we implemented them, and we've had no breaches at 
all. Even with the plans before this, we'd get two or three breakouts 
a week. Now, nothing." 


"| imagine we should be ready for extraction soon. | can't imagine 
the Jailors are happy about the current containment methods, given 
their...unorthodox nature." 


"They're not my biggest fans right now, so I'd appreciate it if we 
could up the timetable a little bit." 


"Consider it done. I'll send you more information about a date for 
removal." 


The driver turned to go, but Gonzalez stopped him, putting a hand 
on his arm. 


"We're bringing Agarwal, too. Make sure you tell them that." 


"That would be ill-advised for a number of reasons." 


"If we don't bring her with us, | can't guarantee you Avery won't lose 
it during transport. She snaps, kills her transport team, comes to in 
the middle of Canada, Foundation finds her again, decides she isn't 
worth the trouble and shoots her." 


A pause. 
"Very well. But if anything goes wrong, it's on you." 
"Responsibility accepted." 


The driver left the car, leaving Gonzalez alone in the frigid 
November night. 


End Part 1 


HUB >> 


Show You What All That Howl Is For 


“Please put your hand into the mouth of the statue.” D-19238 did 
nothing. “I said put your hand in the mouth of the statue.” 


D-19238 simply grinned. “I know you from somewhere, don’t |?” 


“Failure to obey will have consequences. Put your hand in the mouth 
of the statue. | won’t ask you again.” 


“You’re the egghead who’s dating the skip, aren’t you?” 
“That line of questioning is totally unacceptable.” 
“Why're you all flustered, then? You seem a little defensive.” 


He had her there. She was saved from having to answer by 
Reynolds’ arrival. 


“Dr. Agarwal, you're needed in the western wing. You have an 
appointment with 5760 scheduled in fifteen minutes. Schedule 
change.” 


As she sighed and shut the door behind her, she could still hear the 
D-Class call, "Try and get it on film for me, will you, Reynolds?" 


When she reached the observation chamber, 5760 appeared to be 
having an argument with itself. 


"Will you just shut up for once in your - well. Life isn't the right word. 
Leave me the fuck alone, why don't you?" 


5760 suddenly raised its paws into the air and howled. Fear and 
adrenaline exploded through Lakshmi, leaving her trembling, weak- 
kneed. 


Is this how the deer feels, when it sees the wolf? 


She did not feel like anything so much as prey. She looked at 5760, 
and saw nothing human at all. 


A grotesque spire of bone had grown in the midst of the forest, 
reaching and grasping. Lakshmi felt a pull in her own skeleton, and 
then a dull ache in the center of her bones. She held up her hand 
and watched as strange, ominous lumps began to grow through her 
skin, yearning outwards towards that awful tower. She turned to see 
Reynolds whimpering as tendrils of calcium pushed through his 
hand, splitting it open. 


5760's voice was the rough, scraping snarl of claws on bone and the 
rustle of ragged fur on dusty cave walls. It said nothing intelligible, 
but concepts and sensations flowed through Lakshmi's mind, a flood 
of alien consciousness. 


Child, youth, inexperienced. A young pup that whimpered with a 
human child's voice. 


A gift. Strength. Speed. The feel of bone beneath Lakshmi's fingers, 
and the sudden awareness of every bit of bone she possessed, and 
those of her colleagues - the entire site, a massive constellation of 
calcium and enamel. The power itching behind those pale green 
eyes. 


The gift, refused. 
Foolishness. 


Humans - a faceless mass of them, the scent warm and delectable. 
5760's hunger made Lakshmi's mouth water, and she shuddered. 


Meat. Blood. Liver, kidneys, muscles. Lifting its face from someone's 
ribcage, skull lurid with blood. 


A man's head crushed in a terrible paw. 
A corpse rotting to nothing. Another, crumbling to dust. 


Disdain for the terrified hearts beating rapidly on the other side of 
the Plexiglass window. 


In the woods at night, prowling silently behind a hiker, tapetum 
lucidum glowing. 


Breaking out, chasing after terrified researchers that could be caught 
at any second, just to prolong the hunt - playing with your food. 


Lakshmi could barely keep from vomiting as she - it - no, she - tore 
open her own chest and ate her own heart, jaws slavering. She 
could feel the toughness of the muscle against her back molars, the 
warmth of the blood coating her hands and mouth. 


"Get. Out." This was 5760's normal voice again, sounding 
breathless, and Lakshmi was back in her own head. 


The structure turned to dust, and the bony vines retreated back 
beneath Lakshmi's skin. 5760's chest was visibly heaving. Yet when 
Lakshmi stepped closer to the window, it began to wave 
enthusiastically. 


"Sorry about that! Fucker doesn't know when to quit. Is your hand 
okay?" 


Lakshmi flexed it carefully. It would be sore for a bit, but it didn't 
seem to require stitches. 


"It appears functional." 
"Okay, good. Good. You ready for our date?" 
"I'm sorry, what?!" 


"You're fine. I've got him under control. Go get your hand bandaged 
up, though. I'll be waiting for you." 


Whether near or far, | am always yours...Brendon Urie crooned over 
the loudspeakers in 5760's containment cell. Unfortunately, Lakshmi 
was unable to appreciate his silken notes due to the fact that every 
fiber of her body was terrified. Pressed against 5760’s bone-white 
fur in a ghoulish caricature of a waltz, she was at least grateful that 
5760 had agreed to lead. Between her terror and lack of 
coordination, she didn’t think she could have led a mannequin. She 


kept waiting for 5760's cheerful voice to morph into that hellish rasp, 
and for her bones to start rebelling against the rest of her once 
more. 5760 was doing an excellent job of ignoring her discomfort 
and pretending like Lakshmi hadn't almost died gruesomely. 
Lakshmi didn't entirely blame it for not wanting to talk about the 
earlier incident - she didn't want to spend another second 
remembering it. 


"It happens all the time," was 5760's only response, when Lakshmi 
asked if 5760 was okay. "You get used to it. You're totally safe now, 
| promise. It doesn't happen when | know you're here." 


Lakshmi wasn't reassured, not after she had just experienced the 
sensation of devouring herself alive. But as she thought about it, that 
had been the exact point when 5760 had become lucid again. She 
tried to remember if 5760 had seen her before its... other 
occupant... had torn the control away. She didn't think so. 


“l’m really glad we get to spend this time together,” 5760 said, as 
though they were at a couples retreat and not slow-dancing in a 
forest full of bone trees. Lakshmi decided the thing was either 
extremely determined to having a "normal" evening, or it had a 
remarkable capacity for self-delusion. Possibly both. 


“Would you mind the claws?” she managed to squeak out, “they’re 
poking into my side.” 


“Sorry,” said 5760, and loosened its grip on her waist. “This is such 
a beautiful song,” 5760 continued blithely. “You know the lyrics are 
his wedding vows to his wife?”