“What is that?” I ask Leo as I point at the liquid sludge bubbling in a puddle in the middle of the ground.
“I have no idea; this is the first time I’ve seen that. No one has been back here since they evacuated after Brie got sick,” he tells me.
“Even the doctors you hired?” I ask him, wondering what kind of amateurs wouldn’t come back to the scene of the crime.
“No, they took one look at the death toll and the sick back at the clinic and told me there was nothing they could do to help, no matter how much I was offering. I think they were just scared of getting sick,” he tells me.
“A bunch of pussies,” I say under my breath, but I’m pretty sure he heard me, judging by the smirk on his face.
“Well, let’s go check it out,” I say to him, and we walk closer to the sludge. The closer we get, the more horrible the smell becomes.
“God, that smells awful,” he says.
“Yeah, it does,” I tell him. I take my bag from him, place it on the ground, kneel, and get out my supplies. I put on my gloves and mask, then pull out a test tube and a cotton swab.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go anywhere near it?” Leo asks.
“Well, how else will we find out what it is?” I ask him, but he still looks worried.
“It’s okay, Leo. I’ve been exposed to my fair share of dangerous diseases in my time, and nothing has happened to me. I’ll be fine. I promise I’ll be quick,” I tell him.
He stays by my side as I take a cotton swab, place it in a tube, and also put a good amount of the sludge into the tube. Then I take off my gloves and mask, get up, and Leo takes the bag from me.
“There, you see? All done,” I tell him, but he doesn’t seem to find it funny. Just as I start to walk away, something feels off, so I stop.
“What is it?” Leo turns around and asks me.
“It’s the ground-it’s too soft,” I tell him. He stomps his foot on the ground, and his leg sinks in. Then another puddle of goo pops up, and now it’s all over Leo’s shoes and the hem of his trousers.
“Are you okay?” I ask him, but it’s still funny, so a laugh bubbles out of my mouth.
“It isn’t funny, Lena,” he tells me as he tries to shake the goo off his leg.
“It is a little bit funny,” I tell him, and he glares at me.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But this is a huge problem. Where did all this goo come from? And from the state of the land, it’s clear that it’s underground, but the question is, how far has it spread?” I ask him.
“I need to get the men here immediately so we can find out. Because if this is what’s causing the disease, then we need to find the source immediately to stop it from spreading further,” he tells me.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. And while you guys do that, I’ll be at the lab trying to figure everything out. Come on, let’s get to the car. I have a few wet wipes in my bag that I can use to wipe off the goo,” I tell him.
“Thank you,” he says, and we walk the rest of the way back to the car in silence.
“I’ll just get the water and soil samples first; I won’t be long,” I tell him, and I don’t wait for him to argue or anything like that. I already have the vials in my hand.
I walk down to the stream and put some water into the vial. Then I take a soil sample, but I get this feeling that someone is watching me. At first, I think it’s Leo, but then I get a cold chill running down my spine. When I turn around, there’s no one there.
I don’t linger. I immediately get up and run back to the car.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Leo asks with urgency in his voice.
“I think there’s someone back there,” I tell him.
“Did you see anyone?” he asks me.
“No, but I got this cold feeling running down my spine. Someone or something was definitely watching me,” I say, and then I realize that I’m shaking.
Leo steps forward, drags me toward his chest, and wraps his arms around me. “Shhh. It’s okay. Everything is going to be fine. You’re safe. I won’t let anything or anyone harm you,” he tells me, and I stay there in his arms, feeling safe as he rubs circles on my back to calm me down.
Even after all these years, I still feel safe in his arms, and his words still have the same calming effect on me. Fuck, I’m still in love with him.
Lena’s pov-
After I calm down, I pull myself away from Leo and immediately start building up my walls. Whatever moment just happened between us, it can never happen again.
“We should head back. The sooner I start analyzing the samples I took, the better,” I tell him, and he gives me a worried and confused look.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to do that now. You can go back home and start tomorrow,” he tells me.
“I’m fine, Leo, trust me. If I go home, all I’ll be able to think about are the samples waiting for me back at the lab. So it’s better if I just go to the lab,” I explain to him. For a moment, it looks like he wants to argue, but he lets out a sigh and decides against it.
“Okay then, let’s head back to the lab,” he says. I walk over to the passenger side of the car and get in. The car ride is mostly silent, but unlike the ride over, this silence isn’t comfortable. It’s filled with unsaid words and tension, but neither of us is ready to speak up.
We arrive at the lab, and it looks like Emmett is here because my car is back.
“Thank you so much for your help today,” I tell him, and I genuinely mean it.
“Of course. Is there anything more you need help with?” he asks, and I get the feeling that he’s stalling for time.
“No, not at the moment. I just need to work on these samples, and if I need anything, I have Emmett,” I tell him. He gives me a look of rage, but quickly masks it, and I start to question whether I imagined it.
“Plus, you need to get the guys to check on the land,” I remind him.
“Yeah, you’re right. If you find anything…”
“You’ll be the first to know,” I tell him, then get out of the car. I wait for him to drive off before I walk back into the lab.
“Emmett! Are you here?” I shout out when I don’t see him anywhere in the lab.
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