"The Professor is finishing up now," she said. "It's a fascinating creature, whatever it is."
"I just want them gone," Haley said.
Molly nodded.
"Yeah, that's fair. It seems they've caused a lot of harm already."
"So, you believe us now?"
The teaching assistant smiled and pulled up a chair next to Haley.
"I believed you guys from the start. After all, it was Melissa and her friend who helped me bring those eggs over in the first place. I mean, for God's sake, we found them all over some poor RAs room. By the way," Molly turned to Melissa. "Where is Erin?"
Melissa's head shot up and her eyes bulged.
"No," she whimpered.
"She got turned," Haley said.
Molly's entire face fell.
"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry."
Melissa's face was turning bright red. She quickly looked away from Molly and put her head back down on the table. Molly, clearly feeling awkward, turned back to Haley and forced a smile.
For her part, Haley felt like a rubber band being pulled to the breaking point. Her chest felt tight and she could feel her blood pumping in her right temple. Where were all these nerves coming from suddenly?
"Your name is Haley, right?" Molly asked.
Haley nodded.
"Yeah. So how long have you known Professor Pierce?" Haley hated small talk, but she didn't know what else to do. Her friend was melting down next to her and there was an alien autopsy going on in the other room.
"Just since freshman year. She took me under her wing, but she does that for most of her students."
"That sounds nice," Haley said. "To be honest, I've felt kind of lost since coming here. It would be nice to have a mentor."
Molly casually patted Haley's back. Her touch was gentle and reassuring, full of warmth and sisterly support. It was enough to lift Haley out of her gloom a slight bit.
"Well, if you're going into bio, Pierce has you covered. She takes care of everyone in the program. Hell, she is the program! Did you know she's the youngest department chair in the history of the school? For any program!"
Haley could see why. Having only known Professor Vanessa Pierce for a few minutes, even she could see the rabid zeal Pierce had for her subject.
"Actually, I'm an English Major. I'm really not a science person."
Molly let out a short, high pitch laugh reminiscent of a small dog's yip. It didn't match her at all.
"I said the same thing. Then I got roped in," the teaching assistant ran her hand through her short, chestnut colored hair and flashed a bright smile.
"Yeah, I guess anything is possible," Haley said.
At that moment, the door to the lab flew open and the professor stepped into the classroom wearing a triumphant look on her face. Bethany huddled behind her, her eyes wide with awe.
"She's so cool!" The girl mouthed at Haley.
"Come on, you three. I wanna show you something," Professor Pierce said.
They followed her into the lab, seeing the messy, dissected remains of the worm laid out on a steel tray next to a microscope and a beaker filled with bits of green flesh. The strange, sweet smell in the room was even more pungent now, causing Haley to scrunch up her nose as it hit her.
The four of them formed a semi-circle around Professor Pierce, who hunched over the microscope. The professor adjusted the view several times before her face lit up. She popped her head up and pointed at Molly.
"Take a look. Tell me what you see."
Molly peered through the lens and furrowed her brow. Then, after a few seconds of looking, she gasped.
"What is it?" Haley asked.
This whole experience was becoming exasperating. She just wanted Professor Pierce to find a cure and draw a curtain on this nightmare. Instead, the Professor and her assistant seemed giddy like kids on Christmas morning. They clearly did not understand how dangerous these creatures were.
"From the looks of it, this sample has a mix of what look like human muscle tissue cells, earthworm cells, and something else I can't identify. I've never seen anything like this."