Five
Jane, Sanada, and Harold had spent the whole day in search of the caveman without any luck.
“I want doughnuts and a coffee. Its late, I’m cold, and I’m old,” whined Harold.
“You didn’t have to come along,” said Sanada.
“Of course I was going to come along. I’m the head of the university. Its my duty to oversee this. Can you imagine if people thought we failed to do anything to stop him? He's our specimen. We’d all be jobless due to negligence.” Harold’s face grew beet red as he spoke.
“We wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for you.” Sanada waggled a finger at Harold.
“Me? Why me?”
“Think about it. You accepted to take in the caveman.”
“That hardly means this is my fault.”
“You’re also the one that invited Professor Anderson down to the lab. He’s the one that thawed our killer out.”
“Tha-” started Harold.
“Let’s not forget something. Jane and I had every reason to be there. Jane is the head of biology, and I’m the head of history. So, we would be extremely interested in the specimen, as both our fields would benefit from the discovery. But Anderson is mathematics. Its got nothing to do with him. If he never knew about it in the first place, we wouldn’t be here now.”
“That is a completely stupid way of looking at it,” yelled Harold.
“And for my final point. Anderson is a prick. Nobody likes him, why does he teach there?”
“Can you two shut up. Listen to you both. Carrying on like a bunch of idiots. We need to figure this out before all those journalists start barking at us because we keep delaying the special news.”
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“Sorry,” said Harold.
“Sorry, Jane. What’s our next move?”
“We’re getting coffee and doughnuts. We need to stay up. If anything happens, I want to make sure we can immediately respond.”
“Is there any way we can be more proactive? We’ve been driving around for ages, and gotten nowhere.”
“Not really.” Jane turned up the radio to catch the news.
“This just in. Panic has gripped the local drive-in. It’s been reported that someone ran through and attacked and killed quite a few people. Witnesses claim the attacker is a large, burly man wearing furs and wielding a stone axe. It’s believed by authorities, that this man is the same one that slaughtered and ate a woman’s entire chicken coop.”
“That timing is a stroke of luck,” said Sanada. “So, where to?”
“Home. Dylan knows to go back if something goes wrong.”
“What about my coffee and doughnuts?” complained Harold. He suddenly took interest in looking out the window when he saw Jane’s eyes.
***
Jane’s car had barely come to a stop when she raced inside her home. Sanada and Harold were close behind.
“Michael! Dylan! Adelina! Frankie!”
“Mum, mum. Calm down, we’re right here.” They were all gathered around the television, watching a movie.
“I heard what happened at the drive-in. Are you all okay? Is anyone hurt?”
“Mum, it was wild crazy. There was this heaps tall guy. He ripped through the screen with his axe, Frankie noticed it first. He jumped around on the cars and started attacking people. It was wild.” Jane had placed a hand on each of Michael’s shoulders and waited for him to finish.
“Are all of you okay?” she asked again.
“Yeah mum. Aside from some nasty scratches to my car, the four of us are all fine,” said Dylan.
“Oh, good evening, Dylan, Michael. Been a while since I’ve seen you both,” said Sanada.
“Hi, Mr Sanada.” Dylan and Michael replied in unison.
“Mum, what’s going on?” asked Dylan.
“We had a caveman brought to the university. Perfectly preserved in a boulder of ice. It thawed out, and he got out. And now he’s killing people. I’m just so glad all of you are safe.” Jane gave Michael a hug, before going to Dylan. She also hugged Adelina and Frankie.
“Are you gonna kill him?” Frankie asked. “Wouldn’t be easier to let the cops handle it?”
“Kill him? No,” exclaimed Harold. “He’s the most important scientific find in a long time, and maybe ever. The university needs him alive. No, my boy, we’re going to rescue him.”
“Can we help?” Michael asked.
“Of course not. I need the four of you to stay here, safe. Adelina, dear, have you already contacted your parents to let them know you’re here and safe?”
“Yes, I have, Mrs Craig.”
“Good. Please, don’t try and get involved Michael. Its dangerous. If you do, I’ll dock a whole month’s pocket money.” She kissed him on the forehead. “Love you all.” And with that, the three adults were gone.