Frowning under his helmet, Kai recommitted himself to not thinking about his cousin like that. Unfortunately, he had a feeling he’d be reminding himself to not think about her in that way for a very long time. He purposefully tried to think about anything other than the way Jessie had laughed last night, or the way she’d run a hand back through her curls, or how she’d shown her never-ending concern for him by asking if he needed anything else before she left. Failing miserably at pushing her out of his head, Kai eventually made it to the outskirts of the state park.
Winding his bike up a steep hill, Kai noted that the base of the mountain was still thankfully clear of snow. He slowed his bike as he came upon a series of plain, gray buildings. The researchers inside were clearly more concerned with the wildlife around them than aesthetics; the buildings were low, squat rectangles that stood out in harsh contrast to the spectacular nature bursting around them. Kai smiled as he turned his bike off and removed his helmet. A thick green forest butted up against the back of the buildings, and he could easily picture himself spending countless hours in them, tracking migration patterns, studying the local plant life, and maybe even helping to capture and tag some of the animals.
Just as he was swinging his leg over the Honda, he heard a voice calling, “Hey, you the new guy?”
Kai propped his helmet on his bike and turned to see a guy around his age approaching. The man had a shaggy head of medium-brown hair and the beginnings of a very nice Grizzly Adams type beard. He also looked like he hadn’t showered in about two weeks. With the wide smile on his face as he stepped up to Kai, it was obvious that he was happy to see him.
As Kai nodded and told him that he was indeed the new person, the man’s smile turned exuberant. He extended his hand. “Oh, good. Fresh meat. We’ve been running a little lean. Everyone will be so excited that you’re finally here.” He eyed Kai up and down after they finished with their handshake. “Especially Missy.” He laughed, and his eyes were suddenly mischievous. “She’ll be ecstatic that you’re here.”
Kai tried not to read too much into that and gave the man a polite smile. “My name’s Kai Harper.”
He nodded, like he knew that. “Right, yeah, I’m Louis. That’s Louis with an ‘s’. I don’t do that weird, my name ends in an ‘s’, so change it to an ‘e’ and call me Louie, thing.”
Kai bit his cheek. The smart-aleck in him wanted to immediately call the man Louie, but he didn’t know him well enough to mock him, yet. Kai had the distinct feeling that Jessie would have mocked him anyway. The thought made him smile.
Louis extended a hand to the largest of the gray buildings. “Your new habitat will be here.” Giving Kai a wry look over his shoulder as Kai followed him, he added, “We’ll get you a team shirt, so you match the herd, and a GPS unit, so we can track your movements in the wild.”
Louis smirked at his own joke, and Kai lightly shook his head. Researcher humor. His dad used to do that when he was younger. Chronicling the life of a five year old human child like he was Dian Fossey and Kai was a gorilla in the mist.
Looking down at Louis, Kai noted the teal polo he wore with the name of the center in the upper left corner. Louis paired it with khaki slacks, slightly muddy around the knee area, and a black belt that looked like some type of superhero utility belt. Gadgets and gizmos hung off it in various places: a cell phone, a satellite phone, the aforementioned GPS unit, hopefully containing a detailed map of the mountains on it, and hanging off one hip, what appeared to be a tranquilizer gun. Kai didn’t think it was necessary to carry a tranq gun around at all times, attached to the hip like Han Solo or something, but he figured Louis enjoyed feeling like some Indiana Jones type explorer.
They walked through the double doors of the building, and Kai was hit with the smell of purified, recycled air. It reminded him of a lab, and he instantly felt at home. Growing up with parents who were big on environmental science, Kai had a healthy respect for developing theories and either proving or disproving them. While most kids’ only real science experience was making baking soda volcanoes, Kai had assisted his mom and dad in an actual lab. When he was ten, he’d even helped his dad carbon date some fossilized palm fronds. It kind of made baking soda volcanoes seem a little…mild.
As Kai’s eyes swept over an informal gathering area, where a couple men were sipping some coffee, and a blonde woman was eating a bagel, he spotted someone intently studying him, like he was a newfound species or something. She had frizzy hair and a face full of freckles, and was lifting and lowering her glasses, like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Confused, Kai looked around, but there was no one else; she was definitely staring at him.
As Louis proceeded to explain to him what the various rooms were—dining hall, bathrooms, spare bedrooms, labs, library, offices, etc.—the woman hopped up from her chair and walked over to them. Her amazed look still firmly on her face, she shook her head as she approached Louis.
“And what did you find, Louis?”