#daaaamn!

I have to hide my chuckle as we work out our plan of attack. We decide to form a chain with Jo on the end closest to the outer wall, Finnick next to her. He may be good to take on anything or anyone we come across, but without his flashlight app, he’s not much use right now. I’m between Finnick and Peeta, who is closest to the interior wall.

We walk toward the other end of the attic, sweeping our lights back and forth in front of us so we don’t trip on anything. None of us speak; I for one am holding my breath, listening for a clue as to what else may be hiding in this attic.

The sounds of the birds behind us are fading, but the knocking is getting louder the closer we get, and the stench of dirt and stagnant water morphs into the musky stink of wet animal fur. Some other creature besides birds must have taken up refuge in this attic from the storm.

In the distance, my light picks up a shiny rectangular object. I stop and point my phone light directly on it. “Guys,” I whisper. “Do you see that?”

“Looks like a stainless steel work bench,” Peeta replies.

“Yeah, something out of a science class, maybe,” Finnick adds, and he’s right. The closer we get the more we can see. On top of the bench is a microscope surrounded by various other pieces of equipment I have no name for, along with a few large syringes. Above the table is a row of lights with wires hanging limply down the side.

Peeta picks up the wires and shines his light down to the floor. “Looks like someone was using a generator up here,” he says as he points to the square that is a shade darker than the rest of the floor.

We each shine our light around what appears to be a makeshift laboratory complete with a filing cabinet and shelves of glass beakers and test tubes.

“Whoever owns this stuff this is getting evicted right along with their creepy birds,” I say and I realize that it’s finally quiet. “Hey, I don’t hear them anymore.”

“And the knocking has stopped, too,” Peeta adds.

“Thank fuck,” Jo says and I can’t agree more.

Jo starts rifling through the filing cabinet, while Peeta and Finnick go through the drawers under the workbench.

I wander around, not really focusing on anything. My mind is stuck on the question of why would anyone set up a lab in the attic of an abandoned home? Surely not Uncle Haymitch. In his letter he said he closed up the manor and walked away after his first wife died. Someone else then, definitely not Aunt Effie.  The thought of Effie, with her long manicured fingernails and designer dresses wearing a lab coat and working a Bunsen burner makes me chuckle. Certainly her wig would catch fire.

My light catches on a row of what appears to be boxes along the interior wall. Each one is covered by a white sheet. I reach out to pull one back when Jo calls out, “Guys, come have a look at what I found.”

We gather around the filing cabinet as Jo reads from one of the files. “Subject M has been successfully modified. After several avian variations,” Jo looks up from her reading, “I guess we now know where those creepy flying things with hair and teeth came from.” She laughs, then continues, “This is the first genetic modification of a mammal that has survived the gene modification process.”

“What kind of weird shit was your uncle into, Everdeen?” Jo asks.

“This isn’t my uncle’s stuff,” I sputter. “He was a technology guru, not some mad scientist. He didn’t even like birds. He always complained about the geese when we went to the park.”

I turn to Peeta, pleading with my eyes for him to believe me. I don’t care what Jo thinks, but I don’t want him to think I come from a family who would do such things.

Peeta just smiles down at me and hugs me close.

“Don’t worry, Brainless. I’m just messing with you,” Jo says with a laugh. “These reports are signed by a Dr. Coriolanus Snow. Ring any bells?”

“Nope,” I reply, but Finnick cuts me off.

“Coriolanus? His name is Coriol-anus, ha ha. What kind of name is that?” Finnick jokes.

“Very funny, Finnick,” I reply as we all chuckle. Leave it to Finnick to lighten the mood.

“If he was experimenting on animals, I think I know where he keeps his subjects,” I add as I point my light back over to what must be cages under those sheets by the interior wall.

“Holy shit, brainless,” Jo says as we approach the cages. “You think there are some freaky altered animals in these cages?”

“No way to know without pulling the sheets back,” I point out.

I reach out toward the first cage, but Peeta pulls my hand back. “Do you really think that’s a good idea, Katniss?” he asks. “We don’t know what’s under there. Maybe we should wait and call animal control.”

“I don’t hear any noises, so I bet they’re empty,” Finnick adds. “Hey Jo, shine your light this way, will ya?” he asks as he walks past me to pull the first sheet back with a flourish.

We all look inside, and Finnick points out the obvious, “See empty. What’d I tell ya?” He proceeds to pull back the sheets off the next few cages, all of which are also empty.

“Well, something made that loud knocking sound,” Peeta reminds us.

“Must have been a branch on the roof,” Finnick suggests as he pulls off another sheet. He moves onto the next cage but Peeta stops him.

“Finnick, I would move away from the cages. Look,” he says as he points his light into the cage. The door is bent inward, hanging precariously on only one hinge. “Something very big made that kind of damage. What’s that at the bottom of the cage?” He shines the light down on some kind of red substance.

“It looks like a patch of fur that was ripped out of something,” Finnick adds with a slight tremble to his voice.

“Probably one of the mad doctor’s failed experiments,” Jo suggests. “Let’s see what else is in here.”

Finnick slowly reaches for the next sheet, but he pulls his hand back and turns back to face us. “Do you guys hear that?” he asks, his eyes wide.

“What?” Jo snaps. “You whining?” she asks as she points her light in his face.

“Hey,” Finnick complains as he raises his hand to block the light.

That’s when I hear it, a low rumble coming from the last cage left to be uncovered.

“Shhh, I hear something,” I tell them as I take Peeta’s hand. “It sounds like a growl.”

“Maybe we should get out of here,” Peeta suggests. I’m about ready to agree when Jo speaks up.

“Pull the cover off, Finnick. Let’s see what’s making that sound.”

Finnick looks to both Peeta and I, but then leans forward to pull the sheet off the cage before jumping back.

Inside the cage is a snarling wolf-like creature with silky waves of blond fur and glowering green eyes are unmistakably human. Dangling from its collar is a tag with the letter W inlaid with jewels.

“This must be his successful experiment,” Jo suggests as we all start to back away.

As we do, my eyes never leave the wolf-like creatures as it snarls and snaps at us, shaking its cage as it tries to get at us.

“Didn’t that report say it was subject M?” I ask. “That’s subject W, probably for wolf.”

“What do you think the M stands for then?” Jo wonders aloud. We hear an answering knock from just beyond the makeshift laboratory.

Peeta, Jo and I turn our lights in that direction and I feel my blood run cold. There, banging the open door of its cage is a large monkey with orange fur. Its fangs are bared and hackles raised. Its claws are as big as Johanna’s switchblade. It bangs the door of its cage making the same knocking sound we heard earlier.

“I think we somehow stumbled onto the island of Doctor Moreau,” Finnick tries to joke, but it falls flat as we back away from the mutts.

Jo already has her switchblade, but the rest of us each grab something from the laboratory to use as a weapon. Finnick grabs a pronged pole that must have been used to control the animals. He twirls it around like a baton, pointing it menacingly at the monkey creature who hisses back at him. Peeta grabs the microscope. It looks pretty heavy, so it could come in handy if the mutt gets too close. I wish I had thought to bring my bow with me, but I settle on one of the large syringes.

We continue to back away, afraid to take our eyes off the monkey mutt, but we can’t keep going back without looking where we are going. “I’m going to turn around to lead the way back,” I tell the others just as my phone light begins to dim. “Damn, my phone is dead too.”

“Great, now we’re down to two lights,” Jo grumbles.

“Katniss and I will face the way back to the stairs,” Peeta offers.

“Jo and I will keep an eye on Rafiki back there,” Finnick adds.

“Sounds good,” Peeta and I both agree as we lead the way. The toys scattered across the floor come into view, so we are getting close to the birds and the way out. I start to breathe a sigh of relief when a loud bang comes from below. I jump and Peeta tenses beside me as the birds start shrieking and squawking and flapping their wings.

“What was that,” I whisper. Louds steps and the flicker of a flashlight tells us that someone is coming up the stairs.

“Someone’s coming,” Peeta whispers back. “They’ll know we’re up here. I left the door propped open with a chair.”