Read Online Instinct (2010) by Ben Kay - Free Book Online Page B

of hot tears.
    ‘Van Arenn? You OK?’
    Van Arenn had to hack through a series of coughs before he could speak. ‘Just … some CS, sir. And this.’ He pointed to the gash that was still pumping blood down his forearm and over his hand. ‘Hurts like all hell.’
    ‘Go back to the helicopter and get some first aid from Madison.’ He turned to Carter. ‘Any other problems?’
    ‘Nothing out of the ordinary, sir.’
    ‘You got the specimen?’ Carter lifted it up to show Webster.
    ‘Great.’ He took the Perspex cube and headed back to where Laura was waiting further down the slope.
    ‘Dr Trent. I apologize again for the inconvenience. I just hope you’ll understand why we had to introduce you to the situation in this way.’
    Laura raised her eyebrows as if to say And?
    Webster held her look for a moment then brought the container up to her eyeline. It was too dark to see clearly what was inside it, so Laura’s expression remained unimpressed. Little in her job surprised her any more, so whatever this was, it would hardly –
    Carter broke open a fluorescent tube and Laura gasped.
    It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. She had seen the leg,but could this creature really exist, be alive today, in spite of all the science she thought she knew? She wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat, which had become as dry as the desert she was standing in. She wanted to look at Webster for some kind of confirmation, but she couldn’t take her eyes off it.
    A wasp the size of a fist .
    Although it didn’t display the features of any one species, its overall resemblance to a common yellowjacket meant that ‘wasp’ was the only way she could define it. She looked closer, and thought of the leg Bishop had shown her the day before. Again, she was amazed she could make out anatomical elements with her naked eye: the triangular configuration of the eyes; the petiole that divided the metasoma and the mesosoma and made clear the fascinating fragility of that tiny waist; and, most intriguing, the divisions along the antennae that were twitching into life.
    Webster sensed her awe and slowly turned the cube round so she could get a look at the whole thing. It was so perfectly captured in mid-flight it looked as if Van Arenn had snatched it from the air. Bending down, Laura almost pressed her nose to the Perspex, admiring the perfection of the wasp’s taut, brown legs.
    Then, without warning, it burst into life, whipping its wings into a terrifying frenzy. Laura recoiled, and Webster made sure of his grip. He had expected this to happen, but nothing had prepared Laura for what she was now looking at. Sure, it was physically a waspin every way, but somehow the size accentuated its more human characteristics. It was defiant, aggressive and very angry.
    With a nod, Webster indicated that it was safe, so Laura cautiously returned to the side of the cube to continue her close-up assessment. It really did seem to direct its anger against her, ramming its head in her direction and making muted impact noises against the transparent barrier. That fascinated her, but not as much as the view from the underside of the cube: the wasp was deploying its stinger against the Perspex. Even though it could not embed itself, a thin, whiteish puddle of venom collected around its tarsal claws as it touched the bottom before flying into another rage.
    ‘What is it?’ Laura asked at last.
    ‘Let’s get back in the chopper,’ said Webster.

9
    Thousands of miles away in Colinas de Edad, the sun was slicing through the mist that enshrouded the treetops. Although it was now morning, none of the people working nearby was aware of it. Five hundred feet underground, the MEROS facility observed time like a Vegas casino. A few people were in the labs, some were asleep and others were enjoying the recreational facilities: a table-tennis table, a pool table and an extensive but well-used collection of DVDs. Two biologists and an experimental