TEKULA: SUBJECT ZERO

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"I CAN DO this," Quinn whispers to herself. It is now the day after her rather disheartening meeting with Veronica and Theseus, and she is more determined than ever.

She pulls black gloves over her shaky hands, squeezing them as she does. She has already donned a black hoodie (one of Spencer's), dark washed jeans, and her sneakers. She completes her spy-ish outfit with a blue beanie, which has a pom-pom. She can't find her black one, so blue will have to do.

After Veronica and Theseus decided they wouldn't help her, she decided she didn't need their help anyways. Still, she finds it hard to believe they could be so selfish. Did they not care about the truth? Did they not care about what could be locked deep in the depths of that ominous base? Were they really going to just turn a blind eye to the obvious threat of werewolf super weapons?

Quinn bristles just thinking about it. And she had thought so highly of them... No, she must remind herself that no one can be trusted. Everyone is out for themselves and frivolous things such as trust and comradery don't exist. There is no place for weakness. You either bite or get bitten. Quinn plans to bite back.

She works a nylon rope through the loops in her pants, cutting off the extra with a pocket knife. She ties a knot in the front and hooks a carabiner through it. She gets the sinking feeling that this won't work, but it has to. She has no other way to get in the facility except this way. She can only hope she is strong enough to hold on...

Quinn is startled by a steady knock on the front door. She frowns, wondering who it could be. It's not like she ever gets visitors. Especially not this far out in Wendigo land. She chuckles to herself. She shuffles through the house, a little self-conscious of her current attire.

She opens the door to see a rather concerned looking Joseph Parker.

"Uh, hello?" She asks, not exactly sure why he is here. He normally only checks in on Thursdays.

"Hi, Quinn. How are you?" He asks slowly.

"Uh, good?" She replies shortly, leaning against the door frame.

"Listen, uh, I had noticed you had been pretty quiet recently. I just wanted to know if you were okay."

"I'm fine," she snips. She really doesn't have time for this. She glances down at her watch, noticing the time... time she's running out of.

"Okay, well, that's good to know! My wife actually wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight, if that's okay. She has been wanting to meet you--"

"I can't, actually," Quinn is quick to interject. "I actually wasn't... erm...  feeling well?" She asks as more of a question than a statement.

Joseph glances down at her attire, raising a brow in question. Quinn shuffles anxiously. Please, don't ask, she mentally pleads.

"Are you sure you're alright? If there's something wrong--"

"No!" She says a little too loudly. She bites her lip, huffing out a breath. "No, uh, I'm fine." She sighs internally. "Listen, Josie," she uses the nickname she gave him. "You've been really nice to me, and have done your best to help me adjust to living here. I understand that I haven't really been very appreciative..."

She trails off. This isn't where she really wanted to go with this conversation, but she needs to get him to leave somehow. She may as well be nice about it.

"But thank you," she finishes. "You've been really kind."

Joseph smiles brightly. Perhaps she was a good kid after all? He goes to respond, but she cuts him off just as he opens his mouth to speak.