by Jen Haeger
Kim shook her head.
“It’s a good one. Anyways, it basically says that you could drive yourself crazy worrying about every possible thing that might happen. We trust you. You’re brave and strong and intelligent, and you’ll own this. Just remember who you are, stay focused, and I think that you’ll be fine.” Evelyn squeezed Kim’s shoulder. “And if you’re not, I’ll just tranq you.”
Kim smiled and snorted, but Evelyn was only half-kidding. She decided that it would probably be a good idea to drop by a vet clinic tomorrow and buy some injectable sedative for both Kim and Clem just in case.
“Now, we should get home and get some rest. A well-rested werewolf is a less cranky werewolf. And this is going to sound really cheesy, but tonight before you go to sleep, try to picture yourself changing and seeing the world through Wolfkin eyes, but also through Kim’s eyes. Does that make any sense or do I sound like a babbling idiot now?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll try it tonight and let you know in the morning.” Kim furrowed her brow. “Or rather, I’ll try it this morning and let you know this afternoon.”
“Right.”
They both got up and walked over the gate to hop over again when Kim touched Evelyn’s shoulder. “Evie, I…you’ve been so nice to me, and I, I don’t want to hurt you…”
“Shush. You’ll be fine. I told you already. I trust you. Nothing more to discuss.” Evelyn grabbed the fence rail with both hands and heaved her body over the gate.
Kim reluctantly followed.
28
Evelyn got to sleep a little after four and woke up around eleven. She still felt the grainy fog of sleep clinging to her, but having so much to do, she brushed off the last languid strands of slumber and sat up in her bed. For once, Kim was still asleep, so she had to try not to make too much noise as she put an outfit together and tiptoed out the bedroom door and over to the bathroom to shower. At the top of the stairs she paused to listen for David and Clem and heard low male voices, but couldn’t make out any specific words. She continued on to the bathroom, and turning on the hot water for a long shower, she hoped that the water heater would have time to recover before Kim needed it.
As the water sluiced over her, she struggled to make peace with what was coming. While she knew that it was impossible to stop worrying about the outcome of the test with Clem, teaching Kim control, and the battle with the Vulke, she strove to step back from the web to see the hidden design and purpose. Evelyn had long been a proponent of the idea that everything happened for a reason, even if that reason was difficult or seemed either unachievable or hopeless. She brainstormed the higher purpose that this might all serve. Maybe the Vulke would prevail only to be slaughtered into extinction by a new breed of werewolf hunters. Maybe after the other packs defeated the Vulke this time, they would finally realize the danger that Languorem luporem presented to mankind, and would either put all of their efforts into eradicating the virus, or just allow themselves to naturally die out.
It could be that her own involvement in the Wolfkin world served as a wake-up call to Wolfkin all over the world to stop treating the virus as a religion. Evelyn imagined a reality where David had not become infected, and thus she had not become infected herself, but also one in which she had never met him. Hot salty tears blended with the hot water when she thought of a lonely, empty life without David. Of course, in that reality she would have no notion of what she had missed and would likely still be working day-in and day-out at the clinic, dodging Sylvy’s blind dates, and waiting for Mr. Right. The Vulke might still have gone to war, they might still have figured out werewolfism was a virus…hell, they may have known it was a virus since before I even met David. Maybe the only difference would be that I’d be dead and the good Wolfkin wouldn’t even have the possibility of a cure going for them.
Evelyn glanced down at her pruning fingertips and contemplated the sanity of standing in the shower hypothesizing alternative realities, when the realities of this world were breathing down her neck. Turning off the water, she stepped out of the shower, dressed, and went downstairs to face her authentic life and genuine problems. She had a perfunctory breakfast and chatted a little with Clem and David, but had to get to a veterinarian’s office quickly, so that she would be ready for the evening and still have time for the four of them to sit down and talk. Evelyn came up with the idea just before she fell asleep that it might be helpful for Clem and Kim to discuss control issues during the change. She wanted to get back in plenty of time to facilitate that, especially since Clem, whose mood had seemed to be improving, was back to having a black cloud over his head.
Evelyn headed to a nearby clinic that she knew from her years as a veterinarian, one whose owner was a doctor whom she had interacted with on a couple of occasions and who had a good reputation overall. When she entered the clinic she put on a cheerful and light-hearted air, telling the receptionist that she was a vet from over at Country Acres and that they had run out of Domitor, a reversible veterinary anesthetic agent, due to a screw-up by their office manager. She asked to borrow some, and of course pay for it, showing the confused girl her veterinary license and acting like there was nothing at all unusual about the request. It helped that the clinic was busy, because that way Evelyn never spoke to the vet himself. The receptionist jotted down notes about her request, then skittered back into the clinic to ask the vet what to do. About five minutes later she reemerged with two little boxes in a clear plastic bag, and Evelyn paid her eighty dollars for the sedative and its reversal agent.
Evelyn couldn’t keep up the ruse that she needed it for her clinic and still ask for syringes, so she decided she would just acquire some at the vet school and make sure things were set for Clem’s containment that night. After parking, Evelyn dug an extra lab coat out of the back seat, and then headed into the clinic via the side door she was used to. She strode with purpose down the halls until she reached the blood donor ward, where the teaching hospital housed the greyhounds used for canine blood transfusions. Evelyn knew by experience that unless there was a canine emergency, the ward was typically deserted save for the gentle and lovable dogs. Evelyn swiftly searched the drawers and cupboards until she spotted some five milliliter syringes and stuffed her pockets with five of them. She then went over to the two dogs in the ward and gave them both some much appreciated love in the form of scratching behind their ears.
Once her petty theft was complete, Evelyn proceeded down to the lab, checked the janitor’s closet, and turned on the wireless camera and receiver. She was jumping down from the bench, when her phone buzzed in her pocket, sending a shock of vibration into her hip bone and making her leg spasm. She had put the phone on silent mode when she went into the vet clinic to avoid drawing attention to herself, so she wasn’t surprised that she had missed a call. She figured it was likely David wondering where she was.
Evelyn plucked out the phone, but saw that the call wasn’t from David and she didn’t recognize the number. Pressing the button to listen to the message, Evelyn fat-fingered the PIN twice before gaining access to the voice mail.
“Hello, Dr. Eisenhart, this is Melissa, from Dr. Jonson’s lab?” Evelyn almost dropped the phone—she’d forgotten all about Melissa. “I was just wondering when you wanted to draw my blood again to make sure the antivirals are working. I’ve felt pretty much fine except for a little stomach upset from the medication, I think. Please let me know when you want to meet again to get that sample. Thanks.”
Freaking out, Evelyn jabbed at the cell phone to call David.
“Evie, I was just going to call you, where are you? I thought that we were going to have a powwow with Kim and Clem this afternoon.”
“David, I really screwed up. When I went Up North to get Clem, I completely forgot about the poor vet student who infected herself. I have no idea if the antivirals prevented integration into her DNA, and she could change tonight!”
“Oh crap.”
“Oh God, oh God, oh God, what are we going to do?”
“Maybe I can contact Roberto and he can have someone, I don’t know, pick her up and contain her?”
“What if she doesn’t change?”
“Right, ummmm…”
Evelyn’s mind was racing. “Wait, I have an idea. We were planning on changing in Baker Woodlot anyway, so I’ll just have her meet me at the lab for a blood draw early this evening before sunset, and if she’s feeling sick I’ll suggest that we go outside for some air. You can watch us outside, and if she looks like she’s changing, we’ll bustle her out into the woods with us.”
“Evie—“
“I know, I know, it’s a terrible plan and a ton could go wrong, but I just don’t know what else to do. I’ll call her right now and set it up. I just hope that she doesn’t have any big plans for tonight.”
29
Fortunately, Melissa was free to come into the lab at around six-thirty that night for the blood draw. It was cutting things close, since sunset was scheduled for just after seven that evening, but Evelyn couldn’t do it earlier because she wasn’t sure that she would be able to stall Melissa long enough to be sure that she wasn’t going to change, and any later might mean that Evelyn changed in front of her. Evelyn was so worried and upset that she didn’t even want to go back to the condo, but eventually David convinced her that there was nothing more that she could do about the situation until that evening. However, when she did get back, she opted to bow out of the control discussion with the rest of them and went up to her room to lie down and be alone for a while.
Evelyn was alone in a stone jail cell with a life-sized stuffed panda that was trying to eat her. She called for the guards and finally Melissa sauntered down wearing a police officer uniform. Evelyn begged Melissa to rescue her from the ravenous toy, but Melissa just smiled, showing a mouth full of white wolf teeth.
“What have you done for me lately?”
The evil stuffed animal bit into Evelyn’s arm.
Evelyn jerked her arm away and screamed.
“Evie, wake up! Are you okay?”
Kim was standing over Evelyn’s bed, her face clouded with fear and concern. Evelyn inhaled a shaky breath before replying. “Yeah, yeah sorry, bad dream.”
Kim gave her some space and bowed her head. “Yeah, I had one of those last night too. I’m sorry, but David said it’s six and that I should go wake you up.”
“Right. Almost time.”
Evelyn forced herself not to dwell on everything that was about to go wrong, and got up to dress for the coming transition. She grabbed a pair of low rise jeans, a simple black T-shirt, and a running bra that was easy to get on and off. She turned around to find Kim watching her anxiously.
“Do you have something similar? You can really wear any type of pants, but you do run the risk of ruining them with your tail if they go up too high. Also, you want an easy, comfortable bra and a looser shirt that you don’t mind getting too dirty.”
“Yeah.”
Kim began to go through her drawers while Evelyn took her clothing into the bathroom to change. She tried not to look at her reflection in the mirror as she dressed because she was mad at herself for being so stupid and forgetful about Melissa. She was dealing with a girl’s life and if Melissa had become infected and transformed without supervision there was no telling who she might have injured or killed. It highlighted for Evelyn just how selfish she had actually been lately, and she was disappointed in herself. Praying that she would have a chance to make up for her poor behavior, Evelyn hoped that Melissa’s DNA was clear of Languorem luporum.
She found a hair tie and put her hair back in a stubby ponytail, splashed water on her face, and deliberately stared into her own eyes in the mirror.
“Evelyn, get a grip and stop thinking about yourself for one minute. You don’t have the luxury of being mad at yourself and feeling sorry for yourself when other people are counting on you. Suck it up.”
It wasn’t much of a pep talk but it worked a little, and really, it would have to do. Exiting the bathroom, she went downstairs to connect with David and Clem before they left. Clem was stubbornly standing, leaning on his cane, and David watched her come down the stairs with a face riddled with anxiety. Evelyn smiled and gave them both a thumbs up.
“It’s almost go time. Kim will be down in a minute. Does everyone know the plan?”
Clem shrugged, but David stepped up.
“Kim and I are going to wait on the fringes of the vet school parking lot with a clear sight to the door you and Kim use to get to the lab while you take Clem down to his own personal Wolfkin suite and get him situated. Then you’re going to chat with Melissa and draw her blood while watching her for signs that she is going to change. If she shows no signs, then fantastic, you’ll join us, and we’ll enjoy a lovely night in the woods then let Clem out in the morning and all go to IHOP for breakfast. Right?”
“That’s the gist.”
Kim came down the stairs wearing slick workout pants and a Nike “Just Do It” T-shirt.
“Then let’s get to it.”
Evelyn tried not to let her nerves show as they drove into campus and parked the car. Clem was a little conspicuous with his cane, but his worn jeans and flannel shirt placed him firmly within the realm of the clients of the livestock side of the hospital, so they didn’t get too many second glances. The basement was devoid of activity as they ambled to the far corner to lock Clem in the modified janitor’s closet. He didn’t speak as they walked and Evelyn, distracted by her appointment with Melissa, couldn’t think of anything to say. She unlocked the door and turned on the light, and Clem shuffled in and picked up the stuffed, black and white panda from inside the sink.
“So this is the test, huh?”
“Yep. Leave Mr. Snuggles be and you’re good. If Mr. Snuggles doesn’t make it through the night, then we’ll have to go through our control issue sessions, but only in reverse.”
“Evie, I don’t know if I can do this.”
“We’re going to get through this, Clem. Just like we did with me.”
She gave him a soft hug and then quickly turned to shut and lock the door before he could see the tears of doubt in her eyes. She pulled hard on the door handle to confirm that it was firmly latched, then wiped her eyes and headed towards the lab for her meeting with Melissa. When she got to the door and tried the knob she found that the lab was unlocked, so she straightened her back and entered the lab with an air of professionalism. As she suspected, Melissa was inside waiting for her, and upon a cursory inspection the girl showed no outward signs of illness or discomfort. Flashing a polite smile, Evelyn extended her hand.
“Ah, Melissa. Thank you so much for coming. How are you feeling?”
Melissa shook her hand, but didn’t return the smile. “Why did you shut down the lab tonight? It doesn’t look like much is going on.”
Evelyn didn’t let the girl’s chilly attitude throw her. “Oh, we couldn’t get started until a bit later than we were anticipating. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience. Let me just get things set up, and then we’ll get you out of here and on with your night. Any fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, night sweats, or headaches?”
Evelyn went to a drawer and retrieved a well-labeled box containing the blood draw supplies. Melissa leaned back in the desk chair she was sitting in and shut her eyes. “Nope. Nothing like that. Only a little bit of an upset stomach, and that was always about five minutes after taking the antivirals. I started eating some yogurt before the morning and afternoon dose and that helped.”
Evelyn cut a length of tape, set aside a cotton ball, and then began labelling blood tubes. “Good. So, how are classes going?”
Melissa didn’t open her eyes. “Fine. Musculoskeletal is a challenge but I like it.”
Evelyn finished her prep and cleared her throat to get Melissa’s attention.
Melissa opened her eyes. “Ready?”
“Ready. Are you feeling tired?”
Melissa shambled over to the other chair, flopped down into it, and ro
lled up the right sleeve of her long-sleeved T-shirt. “Yeah, I haven’t been sleeping that well lately.”
Evelyn swallowed hard as she tightened the tourniquet. She hadn’t slept well in the days preceding her first change into a Wolfkin either, though she had also thought that she was coming down with the flu. “Nightmares, insomnia, or just waking up feeling unrested?”
“Latter two.”
“Hmmm.”
Evelyn swabbed Melissa’s arm over her vein with alcohol and then picked up the Vacutainer, slipped it into the vein, and popped on the first blood tube. Her eyes darted from the filling tube to Melissa’s face, but the girl didn’t look faint or uncomfortable, just sleepy. Evelyn filled three tubes, then loosened the tourniquet, pulled out the needle, and taped a cotton ball over the venipuncture site. As she removed the tourniquet, Evelyn glanced at her watch. It was only six forty-five, so she didn’t want to let Melissa go just yet as there was still a slight risk of her changing.
Melissa pulled down her sleeve and sat up in the chair. “Is that it?”
“Actually, if it’s all right with you, since I have you here, I thought that I might do a quick physical exam too.”
“I guess.”
Evelyn was not at all prepared to give the girl an exam lacking her stethoscope, otoscope, and any thermometer that might be acceptable for a human to use, so she had to think fast and improvise. She set the tubes of blood aside and started by palpating the lymph nodes on either side of Melissa’s neck. They felt normal, so she placed a hand on the girl’s back. “Take three deep breaths and let them out slowly.”
Melissa complied even though there wasn’t really anything that Evelyn could deduce from the procedure, unless perhaps Melissa had full blown tuberculosis.
“Good.”
Evelyn removed her hand, stared into Melissa’s eyes, and held up her index finger. “Now follow my finger with your eyes please.” Evelyn moved her finger up and down, then back and forth slowly in front of the girl’s face pretending to examine the coordinated movement of her eyes. “Now cover one eye with you hand, then remove it and cover the other eye.”
