“Okay,” Eva exhaled, letting the stress of the day escape from her body. She looked at her injured hand. Her two broken fingers throbbed with a dull ache above the knuckle, but they were tied up, safe in her makeshift splint. The bandage over her palm was hardened from glue and dried blood. She would have to remove the bandage and clean the wound soon.

Muthr can help me, she thought. It will be perfect. Besteel brings Muthr here. I convince Zin to free her, and we go to the ancient city, where we’ll find humans and live happily ever after.

Exhausted, Eva pulled the blanket over her head and fell into a deep slumber.

Through the skylighted domed roof sunlight shone down on Eva Nine’s face. With a yawn she stretched and crawled out of her drawer bed. She soon realized that the Omnipod was chirping for her attention. Eva scanned the room—Zin was nowhere to be found. “This is Eva Nine,” she said. “Proceed.”

“Good morning, Eva Nine,” the device replied. “I tracked Muthr zero-six’s progress throughout the night, allowing you some rest.”

“Where is she now?” Eva pulled her sneakboots on.

“In this building, at your prior holding location,” the Omnipod reported.

“The taxidermy room!” Eva grabbed the heavy blanket and pulled it over her head, like a hood, and exited Zin’s study.

The vacant corridor leading to the taxidermist’s lab was a short distance. Even so, Eva kept her head down and walked without hesitation for fear of being discovered. She arrived at the entrance to the lab and listened at the closed door.

“There’s someone talking in there for sure,” she whispered to herself.

But who? she thought. If Besteel is in there, I’m done for.

Eva breathed into the Omnipod, “Can you detect the sounds in this room?”

“Yes,” the device replied. “Simply place the Omnipod flat against a wall surface. Then place your ear next to the Omnipod.” An animated three-dimensional diagram illustrated the directions.

“Got it,” Eva said, looking around the empty corridor. She placed the device flat against the door.

“. . . not quite sure what you’d like me to do next,” the taxidermist was saying. “I tried the usual euthanasia, but it had no effect. And it doesn’t speak in a universal tongue, so I have no idea what it’s saying.”

“Hmmm.” Zin was in the room. “Besteel is meeting with Her Majesty to report the exact circumstances surrounding these two. It is astonishing to me that an ancient race has somehow survived against such catastrophic odds.”

“That it is,” the taxidermist replied. “The other one is still in your custody? It didn’t wreak havoc like it did in here?”

“Not at all.” Zin’s voice sounded confident. “We discussed some of its primitive society last night, but it was weary, likely from acclimation here. I am hoping to learn more before we prepare her for display.”

Eva grimaced.