Jun 2017
She arrived at the burning two story house just as sirens could be heard off in the distance. This was not an affluent part of the city and there were some homes which had been abandoned. This was one of them. The windows had been boarded up but the bank had not been able to dispose of the property for more than a year; it had been broken into and invaded by the city’s homeless. These were the street people who often were either selling or using drugs. Or, manufacturing them. From the scent coming right at her, she knew this fire was a meth lab which had exploded. And, she could smell human bodies inside. Crap!
There was a crowd gathering in the street and she hopped out of her car and ran towards them. When she approached, running barefoot and wearing only a swimsuit, she realized how ridiculous her appearance must be. But, once she began hearing what one woman was yelling in an excited voice, she didn’t care about herself.
The woman was crying, “My little boy is in there! My little boy is in there!” She kept trying to push her way past two men but they were holding her back. The flames had engulfed the entire second floor on the front and half the roof. They were spreading very quickly. The men were trying to convince the woman to wait for the fire department.
From what the neighbors were saying, Missy learned there were at least a half dozen people who had been staying there, off and on. This woman’s boyfriend was one of them. He was supposedly watching her nine year old son while she’d been gone to the local grocery store. No one could say who was now in the house but apparently no one had seen either her boyfriend or the nine year old. Missy ran up to the woman and asked, “Where inside the house was your son?”
“In the back, but on the second floor. I don’t see him out here anywhere. I have to go in there and find him!” The woman was very distraught and the two men holding her looked at Missy and shook their heads. It was obvious they considered it suicide for anyone to attempt going in there. From their expressions, they were not really very optimistic that the fire department would be able to save anyone. The place looked too far gone from the explosion and how the flames were now spreading.
Missy didn’t waste any more time. She quickly slipped past everyone and broke free from the crowd, running up to the house. She ignored all the warning yells and ran around to the back. The explosion had been in the front apartment but smoke was pouring out from all the windows out back and from the rear door, in spite of everything being mostly covered up. She found a downspout and began climbing up the side of the house. When she was high enough she leaped over and grabbed the bottom ledge of a second floor window, several feet away. She was drawing on her cat as this was not a leap which any human could do. With the added strength from her cat, she tore the plywood away from the window and then smashed in the glass.
Smoke came pouring out but the sudden flow of air into the room did not result in any backdraft or flashover or any further explosions. Missy scrambled inside, getting several cuts from broken glass as she did this. She was using all her enhanced senses, but the smoke was so bad she really couldn’t use her nose any more. There had definitely been the smell of human bodies when she’d been out there on the street but inside, she couldn’t smell anything very clearly. There was just too much thick smoke.
Moving very quickly, she crawled along the floor and searched the room. No one was there and she could only hear the roar of the flames, so enhanced hearing wasn’t helping her much now either. But she could still see clearly enough. She reached the doorway and crawled through into the hallway. The fire was spreading all around her but she crawled forward, over to another doorway. She went into that room, which also faced the rear. She found the boy lying on the floor, already passed out from smoke inhalation. No sign of the boyfriend. After a quick search, there was no one else in the room and she grabbed the boy and went back out. Dragging him behind her, she went back into the first room. When she reached the window she had entered, she picked him up and leaped straight through while holding him in her arms. She dropped about twenty-five feet to the ground below, still holding onto the boy.
It was a hard landing on rough ground and she definitely felt something break in her left leg. But, she’d been able to protect the boy. She immediately began CPR and, after about thirty seconds, the boy began coughing. She helped him sit up and checked him over for any injuries or burns. Then, because the house was in danger of crumbling on top of them, she picked him up and moved further away. Ouch! Yep, she’d broken something in her left leg. She was bleeding from several cuts but only one of them seemed very deep. This was from her right forearm, halfway down, and blood was pumping out from an artery. She tore up a shirt she found hanging on a clothes line and managed to use that as a tourniquet along with a wooden stick she found lying on the ground.
She then kept asking the boy if he was okay but he seemed too groggy to really respond. He was still breathing on his own, however, which she knew was a good thing. Looking up, she saw the house collapse with the second floor and roof caving in onto the first floor below. The fire trucks had arrived out on the street and she heard police sirens as well. Water was suddenly being sprayed from several fire hoses and a few minutes later, she saw a couple firemen walk around to the back. When they spotted her and the boy sitting there, one of them began yelling into his headset and raced over. She stood, picked up the boy and handed him to the fireman. She asked that the boy be given some oxygen immediately.
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Twenty minutes later, she was out in front of the house, watching the ambulance leave with the little boy. His mother had shrieked wildly when she’d seen the fireman carrying her son out from behind the house. She’d raced up and when her boy had looked up at her and smiled, she’d gone to pieces. The EMT’s had finally managed to pry her away and administer oxygen to the boy, whom they’d strapped onto a gurney. Then, he and his mother had been loaded into the ambulance, which had left for the hospital soon afterwards.
The fire was now under control and the firemen had avoided having it spread to any of the other homes. The house, however, was not yet safe for entry. It wouldn’t be until the next day before they’d find and identify the bodies of those inside. There would be four, including the boyfriend. All had been in the front apartment when the explosion had occurred. Not much else would ever be learned. The boy would recover just fine but would have no clear memory of what had happened. He’d not remember Missy very well or know how she’d managed getting him out. One minute he’d been sitting on the couch, watching TV, and the next there’d been an explosion. There’d been the noise and then all the smoke. Then waking up in the back yard, but that was just a blur.
Missy was being given first aid by EMT’s from a second ambulance which had arrived right after the first one. She was wearing an oxygen mask while they bandaged up all her cuts. She’d let the firemen bring her out on a stretcher, due to her leg injury. She’d then been transferred onto a gurney but had not been loaded into the ambulance yet. The crowd was trying to gather around her but there was a policeman who insisted everyone stand back. One of the firemen who’d carried her out had stayed there and was asking the EMT’s if it was possible to get any statement. A photographer from the local news was taking all sorts of pictures from every angle he could manage.
Missy removed her oxygen mask and told the closest EMT that her left leg was broken, somewhere below the knee. There was now a lot of swelling and a very dark area all black and blue. She said, “I’m hoping it’s only a fracture but maybe an x-ray will show if it needs to be set or anything, right?” His nametag showed his name was Murray and he assured her they’d be checking that out at the hospital, first thing.
When the fireman heard Missy talking, he came forward and asked, “Miss, are you okay? Can you tell us anything? What happened back there?” He was looking at her injuries and could see from all the smudges that she’d been inside the building. She definitely reeked from all the smoke. He was wearing a head set and she could actually hear the voice on
his headset speaking to him. Someone had interviewed the people out on the street and several bystanders had reported how she’d raced off and disappeared around the back of the house. He was getting briefed about that and was being directed to get her story, if possible.
Since she had the broken leg, she realized they’d know she’d jumped out the window, so she may as well explain that part of it. “I’m okay, now. Thanks! I went inside and found the boy passed out on the floor in one of the rooms upstairs. I jumped out the window with him and got these cuts … and … I guess my leg’s broken.” With that, she put the oxygen mask back on and laid back on the gurney. Murray figured that was more than enough and with the other EMT, they picked up the gurney and pushed it inside the ambulance. She again pulled off her mask, sat back up and called to the fireman, “Hey, can you call my Mom? That’s my Toyota over there and maybe she can have someone drive it home for me. My name’s Missy McCrea.” She gave him her phone number and he assured her he’d take care of things for her.
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At the hospital, she refused any pain medication and insisted they x-ray her leg as soon as possible. The nurses had examined her, making her strip down and then put on one of those hospital johnny gowns. She wanted to know if her bones needed to be set. She knew how quickly she always healed up and didn’t want them to have to break anything later in order to set the leg properly. She’d been cracking bones all the time, mostly her ribs or sometimes a clavicle, only no one else really knew about that. Fractures, like those she kept getting during her sparring bouts, would heal in just a day or two. This time, something had really snapped inside and she wanted some medical help.
Doctor Harold Lisiewski was staring at Missy and trying to understand what the EMT’s had explained. This girl had jumped through a second story window, carrying that boy whom he’d seen brought in. She reeked of smoke, had numerous bandages for cuts she’d received and he could see her lower left leg looked pretty bad. She was barefoot and he wondered whether her feet might also have damage since, according to the girl herself, she’d landed on them.
She came in wearing only her lifeguard bathing suit and from what the nurses told him, there were no other apparent injuries beyond the numerous cuts. But he was worried. She wouldn’t take medication and didn’t seem bothered by the pain which by now was probably excruciating. If she was going into shock, she might not be feeling things all that much. Or, the pain in her leg might be masking other pains. Either way, if there were any internal injuries, she simply might not be noticing. The more he considered her situation, the more concerned he became. While they were all focused on her leg, she might bleed out from some internal injury. Going out a second floor window, with a child in her arms … she’d managed to protect that kid well enough. But, who knew what damage to herself that may have resulted in. That boy had looked like he might weigh eighty or ninety pounds.
He made a quick decision and ordered a complete CT scan. That would show everything and provide assurance there really was no other injury to worry about. Her broken leg would show up clearly, so if they needed to set any break, they could do that easily enough afterwards. But, if any more serious injury showed up, they could rush her into surgery. He wasn’t all that worried about her leg. Better to be safe and make sure there wasn’t some life threatening situation to deal with.
So, Missy had her second CT scan, this time at the hospital in Lynn. While the one at the hospital in Virginia had not shown any internal injuries or broken bones, this one was different. There were no internal injuries, which was certainly very good and a big relief for Doctor Lisiewski. And, sure enough, Missy’s fibula was broken and needed to be set. Her tibia was fractured as well, but did not need to be set. Her feet were okay, which was somewhat surprising as they had really absorbed a significant impact.
But, what had the doctor and his team all staring in amazement were the numerous other fractures which showed up. These had all healed, and the bone was denser at each location. Bone grows and strengthens under pressure but weakens when barely put to use. While breaks and fractures might temporarily become stronger due to the healing process, the surrounding areas become weaker due to not being used during that healing process. Typically, therefore, the strength of the bones will end up being about the same.
Missy’s bones, however, showed evidence that during the healing process, the bones were still being fully used throughout and thus where these fractures had occurred, she really had ended up with stronger bones. “How can that be possible?” asked one of the interns. “I realize she probably wasn’t wearing any cast, but wouldn’t the pain have prevented her from putting any pressure on these bones?”
Doctor Lisiewski said, “Normally, yes. So, perhaps this girl doesn’t feel pain and can ignore any discomfort during the healing process. That might explain how these fractured areas have now become stronger. But, how the hell did she manage to get so many fractures? If they’d happened all at once, there’s no way she could have ignored them. But, if at different times, she’d have to be cracking a rib or something else at a very unusual rate. Surely she’d know … I suppose we’ll just have to ask her. Let’s see if she has any explanation.”
When the doctor and his team came into her room, Missy asked them about her leg. Did it need to be set? She was relieved at what they explained were her injuries. A fracture and a break, and only the break needed to be set. She was quite happy they would now be setting her broken fibula, which they said was the smaller of the two bones going from her knee to her foot. Then they explained they’d be putting her leg in a cast.
“Oh, no! Please don’t do that,” Missy said. “Just set the bone and wrap my leg in an Ace bandage, okay?” She knew she’d be fully healed once she returned home and Shifted a few times. Changing to her cat form and back again would always heal things for her and she wanted to be good as new by Monday. She may need to do that at least a couple of times but she could call in sick for one day, and then she had the weekend off. Plenty of time.
She’d learned those energy bursts whenever she Changed were definitely quite healing. That had been why she’d recovered so quickly that first time, down in Virginia. Walking out of the hospital only three days after being brought in on a stretcher had been her first experience with rapid healing from Shifting. Thinking how those Changes also helped burn away any body fat, she began smiling to herself. Her metabolism was indeed special. She could bulk up in shorter and shorter periods of time. Muscle memory. She only needed to increase her exercise routine and add more calories. Good thing she really loved to eat!
Then, of course, she could make a few Changes, back and forth, and strip away all the body fat. She’d now learned how to balance things very, very well. How much to eat. How much to exercise. How much to rest. And, she’d noticed something else very interesting lately. Unlike two years ago, she could now Shift forms and the time required before she could Change back was only two and a half hours. She’d then have to wait three and a half hours, or about six hours total, before Shifting again. Her body apparently needed six hours or so for recuperation, before Shifting that third time. But perhaps she could continue reducing how long she waited in between only two Changes.
Realizing she’d been daydreaming, she looked back at the doctor. “My not having a cast isn’t going to be a problem, is it?”
Doctor Lisiewski was watching the way Missy just sat there, actually smiling to herself. Daydreaming. He didn’t quite know what to think about her. He said, “Young woman, please don’t argue. You need to keep that leg immobilized for the next six weeks. Now, we’d like to put you under when we set this leg for you. Do you know if you have any allergy to anesthetics?”
Missy laughed. “Oh, I don’t have any allergies, doctor. I’m not allergic to anything. But, you’re not going to give me any anesthetic. Please, just hurry and set my leg, okay? Then we’ll discuss that Ace bandage. Just hurry. We don’t want to have it heal before you can set it, right?”
The
doctor looked at her with a somewhat incredulous expression. “Are you one of those people who don’t feel pain, Missy? We saw some things on the CT scan which suggest you may have fractured some bones before, but somehow ignored that. We, ah … we were wondering if you knew. I mean, do you have any idea how many times you’ve fractured your ribs?”
Now, Missy smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Those showed up on that CT scan, huh? Oh, well. I hope my secrets will be safe with everyone here, doctor. Please don’t make a big deal about this, okay?” Although this conversation had been only with the doctor, there were several others in the room with them, listening to all this. She now looked at all of them for several seconds and then continued, “About the pain? Actually, I do feel the pain. I probably experience pain even more than most folks. I have this heightened sensitivity thing going on. But, I choose to ignore it. Since I heal so quickly, it really doesn’t matter because then the pain goes away. So, it’s only for a little while. That makes up for my heightened sensitivity thing, see?”
Doctor Lisiewski said, “But, that doesn’t make any sense. You can’t just ignore pain like that.” He stopped to consider all those fractured places which were evident on the CT scan. Maybe she didn’t realize her own condition. Perhaps she had no idea how many times … and, what was she doing, anyway, that it kept happening? “Do you even know when you crack a rib, Missy?”
“Sure!” Missy laughed. “Every time. But, it’s only been these past two years. Since I came home and began sparring. Before that, I don’t think I ever broke anything.” She could see he was not getting this yet and she didn’t want to delay things any longer. She wanted her leg set. “Look. Please just set my leg for me, okay? I break bones almost every week. It happens when I let those guys throw me around so much at my martial arts club. Sparring. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? So, my leg? Please?”
Now, an intern spoke up. He suddenly remembered why her name meant something to him. “You’re that girl who was missing from soccer camp. Then, you came back two years ago. Right?” He remembered what else he’d read about her. “You won that mixed martial arts title last year.” He blushed suddenly, remembering the photo he’d downloaded. “Ah, you were bigger then, I think, so I didn’t recognize you.” Her hospital gown covered her scars, which he definitely would have recognized, since he’d stared at that photo several times, fantasizing.
Missy the Werecat Page 25
