Stephanie got herself together enough to tell Mike they were going to go and see Jason.
"Oh, no, you aren’t. You did this to him. I'm not going to let you anywhere near him."
"How do you know she did this to him?" Beth asked.
Mike spared a glare for Beth, who didn't back down and glared right back.
"Well, for starters she damn near apologized. Also, when I asked Jason what happened, he wouldn't tell me. When I asked about Stephanie, he wouldn't say anything, either." Mike glanced back and forth between the two girls. "Now I don't know exactly what happened, but it is obvious it involved you, Stephanie."
"Look, Mike, I am not going to tell you the reason Jason is in the hospital didn't involve me. Or what happened in your apartment didn't involve me, either. What I can tell you, nothing is quite what it seems and if Jason didn't tell you what happened, it means he doesn't put the blame on me, or he would have said it was my fault. Now, unless you are planning on physically stopping me, I am going to go see Jason." Stephanie shut the car door and waited for Beth to get back in.
For a moment, it seemed as if Mike might decide to take her up on using physical force, but Beth said something to him, and he changed his mind. Stephanie watched as Mike stormed over to grab the duffle bag and head to his car, glaring at her over his shoulder. Beth got into the car and spun the car around to head to the hospital.
"You got an explanation for this?" Beth side-eyed Stephanie.
Stephanie shook her head. Why Jason had a heart attack, she had no idea. You would assume if it was from stress, he would have had it when he was face to face with her when she had transformed into a monster, not hours later. It was a decent chance his heart attack had nothing to do with her at all. Possibly he had an allergic reaction to something they gave him. Or he had a weak heart and it happened to give out. For some reason, she didn't believe any of her possible answers. For some reason, she knew she caused it.
They arrived about ten minutes later and parked. Wanting to get in there and see Jason before Mike arrived, she practically jumped out of the car before Beth had it fully parked.
"Hey!" Beth shouted at her and swiftly followed.
Running inside, Stephanie got to the elevators. All the elevators were many floors up and she didn't feel like waiting. A couple of strides took her to the stairwell.
Beth came around the corner as Stephanie darted into the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time. She would have taken them three at a time, but with her short legs she would have eventually stumbled. Not for the first time did she wish she was taller, so she could run these damn stairs quicker.
Glancing behind, she saw Beth down a flight of stairs from her. Even though Beth was much taller than Stephanie, she was having trouble keeping up. Stephanie opened the door to level three. Taking a second, she yelled into the stairwell. ‘He is on level three — take a right out of the stairs.’ Proceeding down the hallway, she passed eight rooms, before stopping outside the door of the ninth room. The name on the board beside the door read Jason Randal.
Standing in front of the door she realized Mike hadn't told her the room number, yet she knew exactly how to get here. Somehow, she knew Jason was here. Level three could be considered an educated guess given he was a recovering patient, but to know to turn right out of the stairwell and to go eight rooms down and stop right in front of the door... was a little too farfetched.
"Come in, Stephanie," she heard Jason call from inside.
Staring at the door, Stephanie wondered how Jason knew it was her outside, or that there was anyone outside his door. Glancing down the hallway, she saw Beth emerge from the stairwell and glance her way. Before Beth could stop her, she opened the door to Jason's room and entered.
Propped up in bed, Jason watched her as she entered. Her heart hiccupped for a moment upon seeing him, wondering how he would react to seeing her. He broke into a huge smile.
"I am so glad you're alright. After what happened, I wasn't sure… "
Mouth stuck open, she stood frozen for a moment. He was worried about her? She had almost killed him, and he was worried about her?
Running over, she hugged him, hard.
"I thought you wouldn't want to see me again." Burying her face in his shoulder.
"I love you, Stephanie. Why wouldn't I want to see you, again?"
She pulled away from him.
"Umm, I don't know, Jason, perhaps because I turned into a huge monster and almost killed you."
Jason laughed. "Yeah. Well, all women turn into monsters once a month at least, you’re just a little extreme." He smiled. "Oh, hello, Beth."
Peeking over her shoulder at the door, she turned to see Beth there staring at them.
"So, what she told me is true, Jason?" Beth examining his face with her eyes.
Jason studied Stephanie for a moment, searching her face for some hint of how to handle this.
"Yeah, Beth. It's true."
"I need to sit down," Beth moved to the corner where a cushioned chair sat and slumped into it.
Almost instantaneously she sat up straight. "How did you know he was here? The whole time I was following I kept wondering how the hell you knew where you were going. I never heard Mike tell you Jason's room number."
"I don't know, Beth; I was wondering myself. It was as if I knew he was here. I could almost sense him." She turned to Jason. "How did you know I was outside your door?"
Jason cocked his head. "It was weird. I felt you approaching. Ever since I woke up from my heart attack I had a sense of you. It’s the best way I can describe it. I had a sense of where you were, like in the back of my mind. When I thought of you I could get a stronger sense of where you were. Does that make sense?"
Allowing herself to feel with her senses, she could sense Jason’s presence. If she closed her eyes, she could easily point to him in a crowded room.
"Yeah. It makes sense. I can sense you, too. I think I could before, I but was so stressed out over everything happening, I didn't let myself be aware of you." She smiled at Jason, her face reddening slight. Jason returned it.
"Wonderful," Beth moaned from the chair. "Now you guys are more attached to each other. It still begs to reason why all this is happening, whatever this is."
Beth had a point and Stephanie didn't have an answer for her. At the moment, she was too happy to care. Jason didn't hate her. In fact, he said he loved her, despite the fact she almost killed him as a monster. Jason took her hand in his.
"Do you understand anything about what happened to you?"
Shaking her head, she squeezed his hand.
"Well, I can tell you what I saw happen and we can go from there."
Striding into the room, Mike entered, with the duffle hanging from his right shoulder. Taking one glimpse at Jason, his eyes traveled to Stephanie and Beth in the corner. Sensing something important was about to be said, he dropped the duffle and shut the door behind him. "Okay. Let's hear it."
Jason peered up at Stephanie again. It warmed her heart he would check with her if it was alright to divulge her secret with Mike before saying anything. Mike needed to be told. He wouldn't let this go. If she and Jason were together, he would always imply something happened last night which defied explanation. Nodding to Jason, she let him know it was okay.
"We were on my couch when you doubled over from pain. I watched you as your body shattered and remade itself." Shaking his head. "At least, that is the best way I can describe it. I didn't know what to do. I could see how much pain you were in, but there was nothing I could see I could do. I tried to comfort you on some level, but you screamed at me to get away from you. You told me to run, I was in danger. At first, I didn't listen and tried to stay with you." Jason gazed into her eyes. She could see how hard it had been for him to leave her.
"It’s okay, Jason. I told you to leave for a reason," she told him.
"When you say, remade itself, what do you mean, Jason?" Mike asked.
"You saw the movie Americ
an Werewolf in London, right?"
"Yeah. Wait. Are you saying she is a werewolf? Come on man." Mike was incredulous.
"Not a werewolf, because she didn't appear like a wolf, she appeared more like a red fox."
Mike gawked at him, and broke out laughing. "Are you kidding me? Is this a joke? Am I on camera or something?"
They didn't answer him, only regarded him straight-faced.
"You're not, are you? You're serious?"
They both nodded at him. Standing there for a moment, he raised his hands in defeat, and motioned for Jason to continue.
"I didn't run at first, as I said. I tried to hold you and help you through the pain. When you grew claws, one of them punctured my khakis and my leg. I ran. When I ran outside, I was staring up at the apartment window. Suddenly, you came flying through it, landing behind me. When I turned to observe you, I saw you, as I said, were some sort of humanoid fox. You were covered in red fur, except for your chest and abdomen which was white from what I could tell. You were taller than me and frightening.” Shrugging. “Sorry." Jason smiled apologetically up at her. "I thought you were going to kill me. All I could think of was to try to reach you. I called out your name, hoping you would recognize me."
"Just when I thought you were going to slice me into little pieces, my words must have gotten to you. You stopped, and it was like you saw yourself for the first time. Then you ran away. Man, did you run. I don't think I've ever seen anyone move so fast in my life." Jason took a deep breath. "It was the last I saw you."
"From there I ran to the park and into the forest," Stephanie said, taking up where Jason finished. "I didn't know what to do, but I was worried about Jason, so I came back to the apartment, but the lights were out. It seemed like you were gone." She glanced to Jason for confirmation.
"I drove myself to the hospital after wrapping my leg." Jason informed her.
Stephanie continued. "Seeing no one was home, I went back to the forest and eventually fell asleep. I remember waking up at some point to incredible pain, but must have passed out, because the next thing I knew, I woke up, and I was no longer in that form. I was back looking like I normally do."
"Okay," Mike began. "Let's assume for a moment what you are saying is true, and I'm still not entirely convinced it is, but let's say it is, for the sake of this argument. If you were some sort of were-creature like a werewolf, only a fox instead, how did you change. It wasn't a full moon, yet. You still have a week or so before it gets here!"
"Well, Mike," Beth spoke up. "First, since none of us, and I think I speak for all of us here, have ever heard of a werefox before, let’s assume everything we think we know about werewolves isn’t true."
"Fair enough. I'll grant you that." Mike conceded.
"Now, I don't think it's a coincidence after she injured you, Jason, you guys can somehow sense each other," Beth interjected.
"What do you mean?" Mike glanced over at her.
"Well, this is before you got here, but Stephanie walked right to this room. I mean, she didn't ask anyone for directions or a room number, she bee-lined it right here. And it appears your buddy here could sense my girl standing outside his room without seeing it was her."
Mike stared at them both, and as one, they nodded their agreement.
"Well, I think you guys need to tell the doctor or something," Mike told them.
"Are you nuts, Mike?" Beth walked over to the bed, in a form of support. "They will stick them in a lab somewhere. Run some tests for who knows how long. Which is, of course, if they don't throw us all in the loony bin for trying to tell them this story." Beth shook her head. "No. The best thing for them to do is to get out of here as fast as possible, and go on with their lives."
"Okay, you got a point,” Mike said. “But, I also don't think they can go on pretending this didn't happen or it might not happen again. What if Stephanie is sitting in class and she changes into this creature. Who knows what sort of devastation she could cause. Just because she could stop herself from killing Jason doesn't mean she would be able to stop herself, again." Turning towards her. "No offense, Stephanie, but I don't want you at the apartment, again. I'm not gonna risk my life because Jason cares for you."
"Now hold on a minute, Mike..." Jason began.
"No, Jason," Stephanie broke in, "it's okay. I totally understand what he is saying and respect it."
Stephanie wasn't upset at Mike. She understood what he was saying. It was clear she needed to avoid people as much as possible, but she didn't know what she was going to do either. There was no obvious reason why she changed into the creature and without some sort of clue what had triggered it, there was no way to predict if, and when, it would happen again.
"I'm going to go back home. I live on a farm. I can easily get away from people if I need to. I think it's for the best," she said.
"Nonsense, Stephanie, there is no point in not living your life. You don't know if it will happen again," Jason said to her. "Are you going to live the rest of your life in solitude? There has got to be a better way." Jason was regarding all of them in turn, searching for suggestions. None of them had any. Jason sighed.
"Well, there is one thing I agree with Mike on in this. We should get out of here right away." Jason swung his legs off the bed and started to get up.
Stephanie placed her hand against Jason's chest and pushed him back down.
"Your injured, and in no shape to go home, buddy."
Jason smiled. "That's the thing. I wasn't feeling any pain at all anymore in my leg. So, I took the liberty of checking..." Lifting the bandage of his thigh where his puncture wound had been; showing them. It was gone. Stitches were stuck to the gauze as if they had been pressed into it. The leg wasn't red or swollen at all. It was like he never was injured at all.
"You see. I think it would be a terrific idea if we got out of here. I don't think I want to try to explain my miraculous recovery to any of the doctors. Not to mention, I feel fine. In fact, I feel better than fine. I feel better than I've ever felt in my entire life." With the giant smile still on his face, he stood up.
Stephanie frowned. She didn’t disagree with his statement about getting out of here, but about him saying he felt better than he had ever felt before. Because, it was how she felt. Never had she felt more alive, more vigorous, and stronger than she did today. Which she was sure was a by-product of the change she had gone through last night. If Jason felt that way now as well, not to mention their strange connection they had, it was possible he was somehow changed now as well.
It was too much to take in, either way. The first thing they needed to do was to get out of here. Stephanie went to the bag at Mike's feet and grabbed him some clothes and tossed them over.
"We'll wait outside." She kissed him. "Make it quick."
Mike, Beth and she stepped outside the room and waited for Jason to get dressed. She didn't think they would have too much difficulty getting out of here with Jason dressed. It was the patients trying to leave in gowns they would frown upon she imagined.
It didn't take too long for Jason to get dressed and he was with them shortly. They made small talk as they walked down the hallway, keeping Jason on the far side away from the nurse's station. They ducked into the stairwell and made their way out. They agreed to meet at Stephanie's and Beth's place, so Jason went with Mike who followed Beth there.
When they were all in the apartment it was Mike who had come up with a new idea and started the conversation.
"So, Jason and I were talking on the way over, and we are in agreement, you have some form of lycanthropy." Stephanie and Jason sat together on the couch and Mike took the recliner, while Beth occupied the ottoman.
"What is lycanthropy?" Beth asked.
"Lycanthropy is basically what makes a werewolf a werewolf," Jason chimed in. "It was supposed to be some sort of blood disease which caused people to take on the form of a wolf, or in this case, a fox. Which is why, I believe, I almost died."
"So, it was my fault?" S
tephanie cast her eyes downward in shame.
"Not really, sweetie. It was more mine than yours. You told me to get away, and it was I who didn't listen. I held you so I was close enough for your claw to dig into my skin. You weren't conscious at the time." Jason tried to convince her.
Feeling a little bit better, Stephanie asked. "So, why did you almost die?"
"Well," Jason began. "Well, lycanthropy is supposedly a blood disease. So, when you cut me, you infected me. I believe my body attempted to fight it off, and failed. So, in response, it shut down instead. However, the hospital was able to revive me, so I survived the infection… basically."
"So, that means, what?" Beth asked him.
"It means I am now, most likely, the same as her," gesturing towards Stephanie. "I am now also a werewol...er fox."
"Oh, god," Stephanie groaned out. "I am so sorry, Jason. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
Jason patted her hand. "I know you didn't, Stephanie. You had no control over the situation. What I don't understand though, is where you got it from and what triggered the change, since it was not a full moon which caused it." He was doing a fantastic job at making her not feel like a total monster. Even though she was sure this meant she had destroyed his life. No matter what he said, she didn't think she would forgive herself.
"I wish I could tell you something to explain it, Jason. But I have no idea how or why I would have this lycanthropy. I don't think I've seen a red fox, and I'm positive I have never changed into this thing before." Shaking her head, she was frustrated she didn't have any answers.
Mike leaned forward. "Have you ever been hurt, Stephanie? Or sick?"
At first, her response was to say of course she had been sick. But, it occurred to her, she couldn't think of a single time she had been sick. Perfect attendance all throughout high school and there was no time in grade school which came to mind. Never got hurt either. In of itself, it wasn't odd. Lots of people go through their entire life without breaking anything. She had cut herself a few times but those had always healed up nicely. In fact, she didn't think she had a scar.
The Awakening: Part Two (The Lycan War Saga) Page 15
