They dropped Kate at school, then headed to the park. Lizzy squealed at the new balloon, and Jack's and her dress were stained with ice cream. Holding Jack's pinky, she wobbled along, her balloon bobbing above.
They laughed together, their eyes meeting for a brief, perfect moment. They settled on a bench, Jack handing her a bottle of milk.
"Mike, Mike!" Lizzy chirped.
"Yeah, Mike, Mike," Jack echoed, smiling.
A sudden wail of sirens broke the moment—an ambulance flanked by two police cars sped past. Jack's eyes followed, curiosity flickering, but Lizzy's voice pulled him back. "Ball, ball!"
"Yes, sweetheart, here's your balloon," he said, handing it to her.
"Balloon, balloon!" she babbled.
"Try saying 'daddy, daddy,'" Jack urged gently.
"Lala, lala!" Lizzy giggled.
Jack laughed, scooping her up. They returned to the car; toys and balloons filled the car, and Lizzy was singing "la la la ba ba" to the radio. Jack joined in, their voices mingling as they drove home, the fleeting sirens a distant echo.
Laughing.
Later that afternoon, Jack swung back to pick up Kate from school on the way home. Kate came running to Jack's apartment after changing out of her school dress.
Elin shouted from the doorway, "Kate! Eat something first."
In the next apartment, Jack was watching the cartoons Lizzy liked, and he'd fallen asleep on the floor with Lizzy on top of him, playing with her new toys.
Kate sneaked in and started to draw on Jack's face. Lizzy liked this so much and laughed, stabbing the toy on Jack's face, waking him up.
Jack rubbed his face and looked at his hand, seeing the colour, "Not again, you little demons."
As he turned his head, his attention locked on the TV news.
News, "Neither the biologists nor the police have confirmed what kind of animal it is. Police are on the search for any clues all over the place. Here is the police head officer, Harlan.
"Sir, what is the situation now?"
Hughes, "We are doing all we can. We have collected the samples and sent them to the biology labs from the body. Nothing to worry about for the being, but be careful not to wander off to the woods till we find the creature. The body is studied as we speak."
Then they cut to some guy in a lab coat, who looked seriously freaked out.
Biologist, "It's weird. The cuts look like a bear did it, but they're too small, like a person's… but with crazy strength. It went right to the bone. And the bite… It's like a monkey's, but it crushed the guy's neck. We found one clear print." He hesitated, like he couldn't believe what he was about to say. "It's a human foot. Barefoot."
"Thank you, sir. But the locals, 'They have heard a very unpleasant voice all over the place last night.' There is a rumour spreading that it was a human experiment escaped from the biology lab—a monster created in the lab."
Jack, hearing all this, sat on the sofa in shock, "What the hell is happening?"
He got an unknown chill all over his body.
Jack picked up the phone and called Antony, "Hey. What's… what's really happening out there?" Jack asked, his voice low.
"Nothing for you to worry about," Antony's voice was a forced calm. "We've got dozens of officers and local hunters, all armed, sweeping the coniferous forest. It's a contained situation."
Antony, "You take it easy, okay? No animal won't go down after a few shots."
Jack, "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."
He ended the call.
But Jack's mind was saying the opposite—it was like his whole body was telling him something was coming, but he forced his mind to calm.