by Mel Todd
Cass focused on the cameras, but if anything, the killing of the leaders removed darkness from the area and people where moving around and smiling.
She stayed out of the way, happy with her cameras, and enjoying getting to watch these people. JD especially. The topic of the poison came up and how to cure it pulled her attention back to the mindscape. There were no cameras there, so she just listened, not saying anything.
They had decided that the only way to defeat the poison was forcing themselves to shift back and forth until the cells containing the poison had been destroyed. But it wouldn't be easy.
When McKenna said Cass, would go through the forced changes after Toni, she spoke up.
~Why me next?~
It seems like I should be the last, I’m the least useful.
~Because I have to be last, and watching you hurt is going to be hard on everyone, but we need you and Toni strong enough to watch over us when Perc and JD go through this. They are both protective of you. They will be able to comfort you while I’m being a class A bitch.~
The idea of JD protecting her felt oddly right and she couldn’t help but laugh.
~And the other reason?~ Trying to lighten the atmosphere and push back the fear that clawed at that back of her throat.
~Being mean to JD is easy? And I can do that without feeling guilty?~
McKenna’s response had her snickering as they continued to banter, and she thought maybe she’d helped a bit.
Listening to Toni change had to be one of the hardest things she’d ever done. She wanted to be sick, to cry, but this form didn’t support either of those desires. Instead she just sent positive thoughts and reassurance to her via the link.
[The poison is gone. Now she needs food and rest.]
Cass didn’t know if she wanted to cheer or run in terror because it meant she was next.
~JD, can you get some clothes for us? Raid bedrooms. Cass, head this way. Perc, can you go take over for Cass?~
The words felt like a death knell, and the inability to show emotions on her face felt like a godsend. She locked down her emotions as she got up and headed for McKenna.
You need to make it home, for Helena, the kids, hell even for the lichen. You won’t let this beat you.
She kept telling herself that as she walked into the room and had to hold back, aghast as she saw the emaciated human Toni and fear gripped her.
I’ll never live thought this. I’m going to die.
20
Past the Brink
An odd argument is being floated through the scientific communities. While the request for shifters to come forward and allow tests to be run on their blood and other cells is known, what is just now coming to light is an argument in one of the major labs working with the Shifter condition. The scientists who have donated blood and other organic materials want to own the patents on anything that is discovered with their tissues. This has created an uproar within the community as this idea breaks previously established patterns of work. ~ TNN Science commentary
~You saw Toni, I take it?~
McKenna’s words jolted her out of the panic that had locked her legs and mind.
~Yeah. She looked bad.~ She swallowed and tried to appear brave. ~Am I going to look like that when we are done?~
[Most likely worse. From the information garnered, Toni had already had some poison removed. You will likely need to do four more shifts than she did.]
Wefor’s words caused a shudder to run through her body and she wanted to curl into a ball and scream.
McKenna argued with Wefor as Cass tried to convince herself she could do this. She thought her knees might buckle when McKenna changed her mind.
~Cass, we’re going to wait on you. JD, get in here. You have muscle you can lose, Cass is so thin this might kill her. Cass, eat all you can for the next few hours, any calories at all. Sugar, fat, everything you can. If you don’t have the energy ready for the bots, you’re going to die.~
Oh gods, they’re scared I’m going to die. It isn’t just me panicking.
She forced calm into her voice. She couldn’t do anything except try. It was this or die a slow painful death, the poison already making every movement ache down to her bones.
~Okay, I’ll grab food and watch the monitors while I eat. Time to binge I guess.~
Cass fled, grabbing food and emotionally barricading herself in the room. The idea of watching JD do this made her want to scream, so she shoved food in her mouth and focused on the monitors, trying to not react to the pain that washed through the mindscapes through each shift. Instead she sent her faith in him, her desire for him to be okay, and she didn’t think about anything else as she gave him emotional energy even as she prepared to die.
Words of caring, not letting him feel her fear - she sent all of it through their bonds. ~We aren’t going anywhere, JD.~
She kept eating even as she felt him struggle, eating until the idea of food made her want to throw up, but she kept eating.
[Clean. The poison is gone.]
Cass sagged in her chair, pain washing through at that action, but relief balanced it. JD would live, Toni would live. That mattered more than her own life. McKenna had to live, she had a child waiting at home for her.
A strange peace settled over her. She’d leave loved ones behind but they would survive without her. The others mattered more.
Food passed into her mouth without any conscious thought, aware of the need to stuff herself, the mindless action continuing at a constant pace.
Listening into the conversations between the others, Cass answered McKenna’s question about time. She’d been aware of the time stamps on the cameras.
~Four hours, twenty minutes, give or take. Do your exchange with Perc, then get him here to watch the cameras. I’m seeing some movement and we had probably better be ready to deal with it. Perc has the most mass, and he is the scariest of us at this moment.~
Her words came out almost confident, even as peace washed over her. What would be, would be.
~Headed your way, Cass. Get here and get it done. You’ve been eating?~
She tilted her head at Perc’s words and looked at the decimation of the tray of food she’d brought, the stomach that protested at every bite even as her gut churned.
~Of course. I’ll show you what I’m seeing.~
It took a minute or two to show him, and then, tumbler of supercharged soup in her hand, still almost full, she headed towards McKenna her heart thudding a fast tempo beat.
~Ready?~
Cass looked at McKenna she spoke and snorted in half amusement.
~No but dying and this pain also sucks. So, let's get this over with.~
She shrugged and pulled her human form towards her, a brief surcease of pain as she changed back into human. Impressed that she hadn’t lost the tumbler, she took a long drink trying not to gag.
"Feels weird to be human again."
It did, so long as an animal and then that half form, it almost came as a relief to flow back into the animal. She took a deep breath, already feeling the need for energy claw at her. Humanity came back, feeling a bit better than before, but she’d sat down to take a drink. Looking at McKenna hurt too much, so she just shifted to her wolverine, then back to human. Pain lashed at her and she could imagine the little bots cannibalizing her body to fuel the changes. Tears spilled down her face ignoring every effort to prevent them.
"Hurts. Really hurts."
~I know. You can do it. Change.~
The orders slapped at her and she nodded. A jerky motion because she couldn’t figure out which commands to send to the body she currently inhabited. The wolverine resisted, but she pulled it to her and then lay there her body heaving with stress. Everything hurt. She felt like she been pulled inside out.
~You can do it, Cass. Come on.~
McKenna’s words drove her, she heard Wefor say something but all of her focus was on finding the human, the human that didn’t exist in anything except pain at this moment.
/>
The change stopped, and Cass lay there, everything focused on breathing. She knew she must be crying because she could feel water running into her ears. Pain wracked her entire body and she felt her muscles twitching with the level of it, unable to even sob because breathing hurt too much.
She sensed more than felt McKenna cut her and test her blood. It didn’t matter. All that existed was pain.
~Cass, can you hear me? You have to change, twice more.~
Oh gods, no. I can’t do anymore, I can’t even breath. I can’t do this.
~Let me die.~
The thought seared her mind, and she reached for it, death would be a release, death would mean the pain that caused her entire body to convulse would stop.
~No. Change.~
The words wrapped around the parts of her that weren’t Cass, and they responded. She screamed as the change occurred, her world blacking out for a moment as her body became animal.
Once again something outside her grabbed the other parts of her and pulled. Pain exploded through her, and then peace.
21
Path Home
A patent for new cancer drug based off a lichen found only in the Hidden Valley section of Pennsylvania has been filed. The baseline results filed with the patent look interesting. While the filing company will not develop it, rumors of a bidding war are already circulating to purchase the patent and follow up on the development of a drug. If this new drug is as effective as initial research indicates there may be another tool to fight cancer. ~ Side note in a science journal.
"Cass, wake up."
~Cass, wake up.~
The words echoed down a long tunnel as awareness filtered back in. After effects of pain laced through her body and she realized she still lived.
~You’re a demanding bitch.~
Her thought came out unfiltered and she almost passed back out from the pain of even thinking.
"Drink this and I’ll let you go back to sleep."
I wonder when she shifted to human.
The thought was faint, but it took too much effort to care.
~Kay~ she managed to think. Her throat hurt, and she didn’t know if she could even speak right now.
Liquid started to pour down her throat and even though it tasted good, drinking required too much effort and she struggled.
~Can’t, need rest.~ If she tried to swallow anymore, it would all come back up.
The world disappeared again, and she slept, aware of warmth and arms around her, but mostly she let the pain fade away.
Time had no meaning, but when she woke she felt better and needed to pee.
JD stood next to the bed and looked down at her.
"Hey. How you feeling?"
His eyes were warm and there was a touch of panic in his mindscape.
~I’m cured?~
"You died. But yeah. They restarted your heart, and the poison is gone."
Her mind caught on that.
I died.
She lay there waiting for panic, fear, shock, something. But all that existed in her brain was acceptance.
"Huh." Cass shook her head and sat up slowly. "Want to help me up? I need to pee and then eat. I never thought I’d hate eating before."
JD rumbled a low laugh as he helped Cass out of the bed.
"I completely understand."
She looked at him as he moved. He’d lost a lot of mass. Though compared to her he still appeared huge.
Amazingly, she stood and her legs supported her, which she really hadn’t expected. "Where are the others?"
"McKenna and Perc are still resting. Toni’s watching the monitors right now. Everything is quiet."
"Okay. Let me hit the bathroom and get some water then I’ll take over the monitors."
Clothes had been found for her. She used the bathroom with relief and shuffled into the security room with the soup broth in her hands.
"Hey, how you doing?" Toni asked turning and looking at her. "You scared us."
Cass half smiled. "Scared myself. It sure puts monthly cramps in perspective."
Toni choked on a laugh. "You’re an odd duck, but you’re pretty cool."
Cass ducked her head and tried to smile.
"No really. You got pulled into all of this, a complete stranger, and you knew we didn’t trust you, but you still held your own. You didn’t whine and you tried your best. I know a bunch of people that would never have done that. I’m not glad you got caught up in this but I’m glad if someone had to be, it was you."
She felt her face heat and shrugged. "I’m glad I got to know you guys, though I wish it had been under other circumstances."
"Oh, I get that. But at this point you’re ours. You’re pack." Toni smiled at her and slipped out the door leaving Cass standing there feeling like a sledge hammer had just been taken to her soul.
The rest of that day and the next she hid in the room, participating when needed, but her heart jumped when they left, putting the compound behind them. She’d lost so much weight her ribs showed as well as her hip and collar bones. She hated it. Her curves were a thing of the past, but food required so much effort to eat that she had to force herself to swallow each mouthful.
Wefor had told them it would take a month or more to put the weight back and they probably needed to resist changing unless needed to give their bodies time to recover.
The ride to Bogota was a haze. She napped a lot. They all did. Though McKenna, JD, and Perc seemed the strongest, Cass didn’t have any envy. She couldn’t imagine doing those last few changes on her own.
Climbing out of the jeep, she looked at the embassy and wanted to smile. Home. Home was so close she could almost taste it. Cass just wanted to go home and see her family.
Getting in the door proved more problematic than she expected, and Toni losing it was completely understandable. Cass did everything she could to support the distressed woman. The idea of finally knowing if your loved ones were still alive ate at her, but to not know if your children had been killed? Cass pushed the thought way back. If she dwelt on it, she’d scream.
She listened to Toni talk to her kids, and then McKenna, and marveled the relief and lightening of mood that cascaded through the mindscape. When the phone was passed to her she fumbled it, her hands suddenly clumsy. McKenna and Toni gave her encouraging looks and the rest of them pulled to one side of the conference room to give her an illusion of privacy.
JD sent her a pulse of comfort and caring that helped a bit more.
Cass had to type the number twice, the first time she hit too many numbers with her trembling fingers, but the second time it was correct, and she held the phone to her ear as Helena’s cell rang on the other end.
"Yes? Who is this?"
The sound of her sister’s voice, a voice that sounded stressed, but not devastated, had her eyes closing in relief.
"Helena, it's me Cassandra… Oh gods, is everyone okay, no one has hurt you?"
"OH MY GOD!" The screech had her pulling the phone away from her ear and giving a half laugh. "Where have you been, what happened, are you okay, where are you?" Helena's voice poured out and she could hear others in the background exclaiming.
Cass put her head down on the table and just enjoyed her sister’s babble.
"I’m fine. It’s a long story but I’m coming home. I’ll send you the flight information as soon as I get it. Are Oswald and the kids okay?"
"Yes, of course. Oswald is already back at work. We found out what happened to you about three days ago. The police contacted us when you didn’t show up to work on Monday and your boss realized your car was still there and one of your shoes. I’ve been so worried." Her voice broke on those last words.
"Me too. Look I’m coming home, I have a lot to talk to you about, so just wait until then okay?"
"Okay, but you’d better tell me everything. I’ve been so worried. Even Brun has been worried."
Cass laughed at that. "Yes, worried I’d come back."
"Cassandra!" Helena’s vo
ice was sharp, and Cass laughed more.
"I love you all. I’ll be home soon."
"You’d better."
Cass hung up the phone and looked at her weird friends—no her weird family.
"They are just fine. Only heard I hadn't shown up to work on Monday. They had drama going on and didn’t realize I was gone. No strangers, no threats."
They all smiled, then Perc called, and Cass settled back to deal with bureaucracy.
22
Epilogue
Ready for the next Space X sort of contest? SETI has announced a contest that if you can decode a possible message from the stars you may win a hundred thousand dollars. They haven't announced the safeguards that will make sure you actually interpret it. If you like cryptology , if you actually want to know what aliens are saying, you might as well toss your hat in the ring, assuming aliens are real. Me, I bet it says something like 'we are coming to probe you.' ~ Late Night Commentator.
Everything went as slow and convoluted as Cass had expected. The wheels of the government never went the way you wanted them to, but they managed to keep the hard drive out of anyone’s notice. She gladly let McKenna deal with the idiots trying to use them as pawns.
Cass spent the plane ride home sleeping and munching on snacks. They all felt like food was their enemy and nothing sounded good, but Wefor kept pushing them to eat and let the nanobots help rebuild muscle.
JD stayed next to her most of the time, and she’d fallen asleep on him twice. He didn’t seem to mind, and she wouldn’t argue.
The trip all seemed strangely surreal until they walked into the baggage claim area and she started to scan for Helena, for actual proof of her family being okay.
Toni’s shout of "THERE!" had her head whipping around and alighting on the familiar figures of Helena, Oswald, Troy, and Laila all standing there waving and bouncing.
Cass headed straight for them, not at a run, but with sure strides soaking in their presence, their reality.
