Way of the Wolf: Shifter Legacies 1 (7 page)

Now Janice and Hoberman were debating angrily over the best course of action to take, and ignored his pleas that they call Alex.

“Please,” he said forcing the covers off his sensitive legs for the tenth time. “Oh goddess, you know he can help me.”

“You are quite mistaken, Doctor Lephmann,” Hoberman said. “The lycanthropy serum was administered immediately after surgery whether you knew it or not. It has a less than stellar recovery record as you know.”

“The vaccine then,” he panted, accepting some water squirted through a tube from a plastic bottle by a nurse. He swallowed the precious liquid and coughed a little. “Janice, help me.”

Janice’s eyes were glistening with tears that did not fall. She had a hand covering her mouth to prevent the useless platitudes she would normally offer a patient. Nothing she could say would help.

“He’s right, David. The series won’t work.”

“Please call him. Just call him!”

Doctor Hoberman turned to Janice. “This debating does no one any good. I’ll take this case. You have other patients to see.”

Janice made to protest, but David’s imploring look stopped her from uttering the words. She nodded, but not at Hoberman, and left the room. Hoberman took the squeeze bottle from the nurse and sent her on an errand. David was left with the man he wanted least to be alone with.

“You see now that my words regarding the monsters was true. You
do
see that don’t you?”

“There are many kinds of monster. Not all are non-human. You know the vaccine could work.”

Hoberman made a face. “I might have strong views where non-humans are concerned, but I would never stoop so low as to allow you or anyone to be made over into one of those creatures. Have you heard nothing I’ve said?
I want them gone.
I certainly do not want more of them created! I admit that the vaccine has worked on occasion but only after the serum has been administered and run its course. It has never worked alone—
never.
”

“I don’t believe you,” he said fearfully. If Hoberman was correct, even Alex could not save him. “You’re lying!”

“Why would I?”

David refused to answer because he didn’t know what the answer might be.

* * *

Alex Brauer entered David’s room in a whirl of activity. Three nurses from Mercy Hospital followed him into the room and immediately took charge of David’s care. The nurse with the squeeze bottle was gently but firmly moved aside. Angry voices were raised, but to no avail. She was escorted out of the room.

“I’m calling Doctor Hoberman—” the closing door cut her off.

“Lynne,” he said peering down into David’s eyes. He was semi-conscious and unresponsive. “Draw the blood and get it back to the lab. I want you to wait for the results. The moment you know, call me. You have my number.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Lynne murmured, already setting up. She was extremely careful with the needle and wore gloves. No one took chances with lycanthropy. “Do you want a full work up?”

He shook his head. “Tell them what we’re looking for. I need to know
yesterday.
The rest can wait until later.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Lynne said and gathered up the blood sample. “I’ll call the moment I know for sure.”

He nodded and Lynne left. Margaret was taking David’s blood pressure, and Anne was investigating the room’s thermostat. She turned the dial up, and the air conditioning shut off.

“Blood pressure is elevated,” Margaret said. “One-forty over ninety—not dangerous.”

Elevated blood pressure was one symptom of lycanthropy. Anne unpacked the box they had brought with them. She brought out four heavy duty restraints that were designed to withstand a lycanthrope’s strength. They were wide and padded to prevent injury to the patient, but the main difference was the manner of their construction. The wide nylon straps were reinforced with braided steel wire on the outside.

“Give me one of those,” Alex said and took the offered strap to secure David’s left arm. Anne removed the standard restraints from his legs and replaced them with the new stronger ones, but David’s right arm was heavily bandaged. “Remove the dressing. Let’s have a look.”

“Right,” Anne said and fetched a pair of scissors.

“His temp is up,” Margaret said. “One hundred and eight.”

Alex hissed in frustration. Lycanthropes weren’t human—they
looked
human, but they weren’t. One hundred and eight degrees would kill a human, but it was normal for shifters. Their metabolisms ran at a higher rate; it was one of the most important indicators he looked for when diagnosing lycanthropy.

“We might be too late,” he said grimly.

Anne finished uncovering the wound and paled. “When did Doctor Revell say they brought him in?”

“Last night, why?”

“You better have a look.”

He examined the wound. “Those stitches are ready to come out.” He looked sadly at his friend. “He has it, no question.”

“Too far advanced?”

“I think so. We can’t wait for the blood work up. We have to chance the vaccine. I’ll take the stitches out so you can restrain the arm.”

He quickly and expertly removed the stitches and watched in fascination as the tiny wounds slowly closed. He was not sure it was even worth trying the vaccine. There was no question in his mind that David had lycanthropy, and there was no cure.

He frowned, trying to decide the best course. “We might learn something,” he murmured and took the syringe from Margaret. “Small comfort for him, but at least I can say we did all we could.”

Anne nodded and took the now empty syringe for disposal. Margaret placed the other two doses in the series on a tray and placed it beside the bed. Alex nodded his thanks, and peeled back David’s eyelid.

He looked back at Anne. “Get another line into him—fluoperazine-triphosphate.”

Anne nodded. Fluoperazine-triphosphate was a drug used to help suppress the change in lycanthropes. It was a tranquilliser of the same family as major tranquillisers, but it had only the one use.

“Hang it up, but don’t introduce it just yet,” he said watching the procedure.

A short time later, Janice Revell entered the room. She nodded to the nurses and joined Alex at David’s bedside. “Hoberman ordered me out. How is he?”

“He’ll live.”

“The serum didn’t work?”

“No. I’ve given him the first dose of the vaccine, but I doubt it will work. If I’d been there when they brought him in…” he shrugged. “We were too late.”

“Hoberman,” Janice snarled. “David begged him to call you, but he wouldn’t and I waited too long.”

“Don’t blame yourself. The vaccine works on maybe ten percent of cases. No one knows why it fails on some and succeeds on others. The research budget is almost non-existent.”

They watched and waited. David began thrashing around and mumbling to himself. No one could make out the words. When the time was right, Alex administered the second and third dose to his struggling friend, but if anything, it seemed to make him worse.

“Have you ever seen this before?” Janice said in horror as David’s struggles became more violent.

“Once,” Alex admitted. “It’s rare for them to fight it this hard.” He rubbed his arms as his short hairs lifted. It often happened around shifters, he didn’t know why. It was if he stood in a draft, but he knew it wasn’t anything so mundane as that. The room felt stiflingly hot to him, yet he knew David would find it pleasant. “There are different kinds of shifter you know?”

“I know nothing about them.”

“Few people do, or care to. I know a few things. Shape shifters have always been with us. There are wolves, tigers, even bears—though they are quite rare I believe. There are reports of attacks by other kinds, but not in recent years. The so-called werewolves are the most well known. Nowadays we call them shifters no matter what their other form happens to be, but they don’t see themselves as the same. They associate with others like themselves and rarely with other types.”

“They live in packs?”

“Exactly. Shifter communities live within the pack structure—wolves with other wolves and so on. Some are stronger than others, though any shifter makes even the strongest human appear weak. As with mundane wolves, they have an alpha pair that rules the pack.”

Janice looked sideways at Alex. “How do you know all this?”

“I’ve made it my business to know. I work with non-humans all the time—” he broke off when David’s thrashing subsided. He moved forward to examine him.

David opened his eyes and glared around the room. “Release me,” he growled not sounding anything like the man Alex knew. His eyes shone gold; the inhuman light was a strong indicator that he was about to shape shift.

“Now would be a good time, Anne,” Alex said urgently.

Anne nodded shakily and opened the tap on the I.V leading up to the bag of fluoperazine-triphosphate. A quarter turn was adequate.

David watched the procedure intently. “Anne…” he said haltingly, but then the beast rose up and took him again. He reared up fighting the straps. “
Release me!
” he roared.

“What is going on here?!” Hoberman yelled as he entered ahead of a troop of people wearing the uniform of hospital security. David continued bucking and rearing against the restraints. The bed was lurching with the force of his movements. “This man is my patient—”

“This
man
is a colleague of ours!” Janice said angrily. “He begged you, Hoberman. He
begged
you to call Doctor Brauer, but you wouldn’t.
This is your fault!
”

Hoberman’s eyes flickered with uncertainty, but then they hardened. “Nonsense. I did my best for him, but the serum was ineffective. There is no one to blame.”

“I agree,” Alex said and Janice glared at him. “If anyone is to blame, it’s David’s attacker. We will never know if my presence would have prevented this.”

“Of course it wouldn’t have,” Hoberman said in exasperation. “The serum was administered the instant we knew that David had been attacked by a shifter.”

“Release me!” David howled and fell back to the bed one last time. His eyes slowly changed until they no longer glowed. “Alex,” he panted. “Take me out of here. For goddess’ sake help me.”

“I will,” Alex said firmly.

“You can’t do that!” Hoberman said fiercely. He turned to the security men. “I want these people removed from the premises. They do not work here, and they certainly have no license to take my patient.”

The security men shifted uncertainly. “Sir, he’s a shifter. Are you certain he should be here?”

Hoberman hesitated.

David took that moment to speak. “He can’t hold me prisoner—there are laws. I discharge myself into the care of Doctor Brauer. I want to go to Mercy Hospital.”

“There you see,” Janice Revell said. “We can’t hold him.”

Hoberman was angry at the defiance, but it was obvious he did not really want to win the argument. Alex well knew Hoberman’s views. Keeping David here went far against them.

“Very well. I’ll sign the discharge papers and on your own head be it,” Hoberman said to David. He glared at Janice. “See me in my office before you leave this evening.

Janice nodded a little uneasily. “I’ll come by at the end of my shift.”

Hoberman waved the security guards away, all of whom looked relieved. No one wanted to see what a shifter was capable of first hand. With one last glare at Janice, Hoberman followed them out.

“We need a few things,” Alex said. “A gurney and stand, an ambulance—”

“I’ll get you whatever you need.” She clasped David’s hand. “I should have come with you to Mercy.”

“Maybe you still can.”

Alex nodded. “We need as many good people as we can get.”

“Jan is good people,” David said and closed his eyes. They flickered open again. “Thank you for helping me. Hoberman is going to be pissed.”

“I don’t give a damn,” Janice snarled but David didn’t hear her. He had finally succumbed to his exertions and was sleeping soundly.

* * *

4 ~ Mist

David sat brooding in the dark of his room at Mercy Hospital. A week had gone by since he’d discharged himself and affronted Hoberman. Seven days in which Alex ran tests that both of them knew would lead nowhere. The serum had failed. The vaccine was as good as useless—worse, Alex told him that his reaction to it had been more than a little odd. There was a chance that the vaccine had made his condition worse, though neither of them knew how it would manifest or even if it would.

He stared at his arm. He wasn’t really seeing it; he was seeing it as it had been. It had been shredded, maybe even beyond recovery, but now it was whole. There wasn’t even a scar. He was full of crackling energy, and it frightened him. He had never felt so alive, so full of vitality. He was horny as hell.

He jumped to his feet. He had to do something even if it was just pacing, but as soon as he began moving, something else intruded. The I.V was still in his arm. He knew that without it he might slip into the change, but he was sorely tempted to remove it and take his chances. There was no cure for lycanthropy, and he had to face what he was at some point. Why not now? He hesitated a moment longer then closed the tap. He braced himself, but nothing happened. He stared at the I.V trying to feel if anything was different, but he felt the same—maybe a little nervous, a little apprehensive. That was to be expected though surely? He unpicked the tape securing the line to his arm. With another slight hesitation, he removed it and waited for something to happen. Nothing did. With a grim smile, he began his planned pacing. It was at least one way of burning up some of this excess energy.