him the night before. He vowed to himself that when things settled down that he would start exercising more and reading less. Tara was always pushing him to be more physical, but Maddix was never much for athletics. That was his conclusion anyway. Who really knew what he was into? Not being able to recall his past made it hard to argue with Tara.
After getting dressed, Maddix made his way to the library. The earthly smell of fresh coffee smacked him in the face. Tara was already pouring two cups that she had laid out next to a silver-serving tray containing warm toast and muffins. Maddix's growling stomach reminded him of the delicious dinner that they never got to have.
"Good morning," Maddix muttering, picking up one of the full coffee mugs. Holding to his face, he gave the warm beverage a deep inhale. It was just what he needed to clear the cobwebs from his brain. With so much on his mind, Maddix had barely slept during the night.
"I made it stronger than normal. I imagine you need it as badly as I do."
"Yes," replied Maddix, sipping generously. "Probably the worst night of my life. Ironically, considering the circumstances, I didn't have those dreams, at least."
"Getting mauled by a werewolf was probably enough of a nightmare."
Maddix nodded in response, mouth full of coffee.
A knock coming from the adjacent office's door interrupted their morning banter. They both looked at each other with fraught expressions. What could possibly be next? Maddix was almost afraid to answer the door and find out, but answer it he did.
Maddix breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the smiling face of Ephrain Ketter wearing his apron and protective sleeves. Under his left arm, he carried a big book with what looked like a grasshopper on the cover.
"Aren't you supposed to be opening shop?" asked Tara, stepping in behind Maddix with her cup in hand.
"Yes, but it's not like they're beating my door down. I found some information on your bug friend." Ephrain held up the large book with a grin. It was an old science book about exotic insects from around the world. After letting himself in he dropped the aged tome onto Maddix's desk.
"What did you find?"
"Well," said Ephrain, as he flipped through the worn pages, "the wings themselves match different varieties of wasp, but the coloration is more closely related to the South Asian variety of jewel wasp."
"South Asian? How the hell did it get here?"
"Can't help you there, but I can say, these are a nasty breed of a bug. The jewel wasp reproduces by stinging a cockroach in the brain and turning it into a zombie. Then it lays its eggs inside it, and the larvae eat the poor sucker from the inside out. Vicious bastards."
Maddix stared at the pictures in the book. The size proportions were off from what he had found on the Statsnys' property. By his best estimates, the wasp they were looking for was at least double the normal size. "Must be something in the water for it to get so big. Have you been doing some illegal experimentation?"
Ephrain laughed. "Wasn't me, I swear. Seriously, though, this isn't my expertise. Maybe ask Herr Doctor about it."
"Oh hell no," said Tara. "That man is sick. Besides, I doubt he would willingly help."
"Maybe," Maddix replied, gobbling the last bite of his muffin, "this would be something he'd have an interest in. After my last talk with him he is probably dying for some scientific work."
The last conversation wasn't pleasant for Maddix. Deryck Himmelreich arrived in Malevolent some decades ago. Everyone knew the story about the resident Nazi war criminal that performed the most diabolical human experiments ever known in recorded history. Never a member of the Nazi party himself, but he aligned himself with the Third Reich just to gain access to their vast resources and no restrictions.
Shortly after being condemned to Malevolent, rumors circulated that he had begun rounding up zombies from the forest and performed experiments on them. This caused
After getting dressed, Maddix made his way to the library. The earthly smell of fresh coffee smacked him in the face. Tara was already pouring two cups that she had laid out next to a silver-serving tray containing warm toast and muffins. Maddix's growling stomach reminded him of the delicious dinner that they never got to have.
"Good morning," Maddix muttering, picking up one of the full coffee mugs. Holding to his face, he gave the warm beverage a deep inhale. It was just what he needed to clear the cobwebs from his brain. With so much on his mind, Maddix had barely slept during the night.
"I made it stronger than normal. I imagine you need it as badly as I do."
"Yes," replied Maddix, sipping generously. "Probably the worst night of my life. Ironically, considering the circumstances, I didn't have those dreams, at least."
"Getting mauled by a werewolf was probably enough of a nightmare."
Maddix nodded in response, mouth full of coffee.
A knock coming from the adjacent office's door interrupted their morning banter. They both looked at each other with fraught expressions. What could possibly be next? Maddix was almost afraid to answer the door and find out, but answer it he did.
Maddix breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the smiling face of Ephrain Ketter wearing his apron and protective sleeves. Under his left arm, he carried a big book with what looked like a grasshopper on the cover.
"Aren't you supposed to be opening shop?" asked Tara, stepping in behind Maddix with her cup in hand.
"Yes, but it's not like they're beating my door down. I found some information on your bug friend." Ephrain held up the large book with a grin. It was an old science book about exotic insects from around the world. After letting himself in he dropped the aged tome onto Maddix's desk.
"What did you find?"
"Well," said Ephrain, as he flipped through the worn pages, "the wings themselves match different varieties of wasp, but the coloration is more closely related to the South Asian variety of jewel wasp."
"South Asian? How the hell did it get here?"
"Can't help you there, but I can say, these are a nasty breed of a bug. The jewel wasp reproduces by stinging a cockroach in the brain and turning it into a zombie. Then it lays its eggs inside it, and the larvae eat the poor sucker from the inside out. Vicious bastards."
Maddix stared at the pictures in the book. The size proportions were off from what he had found on the Statsnys' property. By his best estimates, the wasp they were looking for was at least double the normal size. "Must be something in the water for it to get so big. Have you been doing some illegal experimentation?"
Ephrain laughed. "Wasn't me, I swear. Seriously, though, this isn't my expertise. Maybe ask Herr Doctor about it."
"Oh hell no," said Tara. "That man is sick. Besides, I doubt he would willingly help."
"Maybe," Maddix replied, gobbling the last bite of his muffin, "this would be something he'd have an interest in. After my last talk with him he is probably dying for some scientific work."
The last conversation wasn't pleasant for Maddix. Deryck Himmelreich arrived in Malevolent some decades ago. Everyone knew the story about the resident Nazi war criminal that performed the most diabolical human experiments ever known in recorded history. Never a member of the Nazi party himself, but he aligned himself with the Third Reich just to gain access to their vast resources and no restrictions.
Shortly after being condemned to Malevolent, rumors circulated that he had begun rounding up zombies from the forest and performed experiments on them. This caused
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