“I’m not letting any of you die,” she said, pressing the buttons on the remotes rapidly. Cells floated about the room, banging into one another; probes rose up from the floor; the hose began squirting its solvent into the sand-sniper’s empty cell; and overhead lights flashed off and on. At last one button caused all cell walls to ripple, like liquid membranes, allowing the captives within to crawl, hop, and flutter free. The sand-sniper now focused its attention on the freed animals, pursuing them around the laboratory. In the fray Eva snuck around the lab’s perimeter and grabbed her Omnipod before exiting out the lab’s large door, which shut automatically behind her.

She found herself in a dim, lofty, cathedral-style corridor that arced gradually around a bend. Recessed circular doorways were positioned along the length of the hall, and elaborate jellyfish-shaped chandeliers lit the way. The walls of the hall were ribbed with enormous segmented pillars. These pillars were textured in such an organic fashion that it looked as if they were once alive. Eva was but a few doors down from the lab when she heard voices around the bend.

“This way! Hurry, Zin!” the taxidermist said as he rushed toward her. His rattled voice echoed throughout the hall. “We need this specimen contained immediately. It cannot escape into the museum.”

Eva slipped into the shadows of a doorway and held her breath. It was like hiding from Muthr during hide-and-seek.

The two zipped right past her. “It was that unusual bipedal creature. It somehow called to the sniper and commanded it,” the taxidermist continued.

“Fascinating,” Zin replied as they paused at the entrance to the laboratory. “Can you please mist the room before we enter? That should paralyze all within.”

Eva risked detection, peering from her hidey-hole.

“I dropped all of my remotes, including the emergency pillar guard controls!” The taxidermist sounded desperate.

“Pillar guards?” Zin floated back to one of the pillars near the entryway. “That’s certainly one approach to nullify the danger.” He pulled out a dark remote from his jacket and aimed it at one of the pillars. He waved a stubby hand over the trio of lights on the remote.

Eva looked up. From high atop the pillar three glowing slits revealed themselves, and a blatting sound came from within.

“Follow me, please,” Zin commanded as he floated to the lab door.