Changes (19 page)

She listened, bringing her thoughts back together again. What he said sounded completely ridiculous, that wasn’t in doubt, but when he said something about it healing overnight, that brought her mind back to complete clarity all over again. In fact, it struck her almost like a flash of lightning. She knew what she knew, and she knew what she saw. The healing properties of Collins’ blood made everything become clear all at once. What he said sounded like everything she saw and more. “You didn’t see what bit you?”

He shook his head strongly, no. “It was so dark. I didn’t see anything. Like I said, I thought it was Collins calling for me?”

She sighed, pulling her thoughts around everything. “Do you think Collins bit you?” What she asked kind of made sense. She wasn’t sure if a bite would have passed on the healing compounds that she saw, but it was worth asking nonetheless. It would also explain how different he looked. It would explain a bite healing so quickly. It would explain a lot.

He again shook his head and shrugged his shoulders now as well. “I never saw it,” he paused, swallowed, and continued, “It all happened so fast. I don’t think that it was him though?”

That caught her completely off guard. “If you didn’t see it, how do you know that it wasn’t him?”

He looked from his hands and back to her face. “I just do. It had to be an animal or something?”

“How do you know that?”

His eyes met hers. “It wasn’t a human bite mark.”

Her eyes widened as she tried to pull everything in. Surprise was a great word to use for what she suddenly felt, but shock and awe were two others. “What did you do after you were bitten?”

“I went and put it under some cold water.” He took his eyes off hers and looked back to his hands. “I then bandaged it with stuff from the first aid kit that was behind the counter.”

She nodded, thinking of what to ask next. “Did you go to a doctor?”

He shook his head. “I was too scared to.” He turned and looked out his side window again, and noticed that the house at the corner of the intersection had dark blue paint covering its siding. The windows had shutters around them, and they made the place look like a very beautiful home. “After a few minutes it didn’t seem to hurt anymore, so I just went home.”

She nodded, allowing more questions to come. “You said you got sick Friday night?” She remembered what he told her earlier, so she needed to ask it to him again.

He turned from the window and looked back to her, but didn’t look right at her. “I started to have strange dreams. I woke up feeling nauseous, and then,” he paused, thinking of his skin peeling again, but he couldn’t talk about what happened next. He wouldn’t tell her all of it, he just couldn’t. “I got sick. I then felt fine after that.” It was the easiest thing to say about what happened, and quite frankly, he wasn’t sure if he truly believed any of it himself.

“And the wound—the bite was healed?”

He nodded. “It was completely gone.”

She sighed some, thinking more and more that what she had been looking for might actually be sitting right there next to her the entire time. The healing properties she saw would explain his weight loss. It would also explain his odd behavior. She knew that what she saw had to do something to the person that carried the cells. It had to change them in ways that she could only imagine about what it would do to them. She saw that with her own eyes. The cells were changed into something that didn’t look human. It all fit what he told her and it all fit him. She had to be sure of what she thought about first. She had to ask him if he would help her find out what she needed to know. “Jimmy? I’d like to do some tests on you—on your blood. Would you mind it if I took a blood sample?” She suddenly felt kind of nervous and excited all at the same time. She felt excited by what it could mean, and if she was right, he was the answer to the cure that she was looking for. But if she was wrong, she knew that there had to be something very wrong with her new friend.

He looked at her and felt a sudden sense of relief flow through his mind and soul. It wasn’t so much for what she asked him, but that she was actually offering to help him find those answers that he needed to find. That alone made him instantly lighten from the weight that was now weighing him down. Besides, he couldn’t resist her even if he truly wanted to. “Sure.” He smiled and swallowed his dry mouth as a chill rolled through his body.
She’s going to help me. Thank God, I’m not alone.
His nerves bustled, and his heart exploded. He felt excited beyond words. “Do you want to make it back to the labs now?” It suddenly dawned on him that he didn’t want their morning to end. Not when there was the slightest chance that they could continue moving on with it.

She sighed, listening to his answer and smiled. “Not today. We should get some sleep first, and start out fresh tonight.” All of the fear he showed in his eyes was now gone, and it was now replaced with nothing but pure excitement. Again, it seemed that he really didn’t change all that much after all. She liked that. It made her instantly relax. It made her calm. It made the excitement blow away everything else. He was still that little boy she met that very first night.

He didn’t like her answer, but he did understand it. In fact, he expected it as much. “You’re right.” The morning was growing old and the day was building up steam. Not only that, but they were both tired too. At least he would see her later. Any disappointment he might have felt, with her saying no, vanished with the thought and his excitement poured in all over again. “Tonight then? We’re going to be at the same place anyway?” He smiled.

“Tonight.” She returned his smile.

“Good.” He turned form her and looked out his window again. Outside the world started to turn with life. Everyone started their day.

Together they said little else as she drove back to the labs. Back in the lot, she pulled up directly behind his car and parked.

He turned to her and gave her yet another full smile. “Thanks for the coffee.” He finally blinked.

“See you tonight Jimmy.” She smiled and watched as he reached for the door handle and stood out of the car. He took his thermos off the back seat.

He looked back inside before shutting the door. “Thank you.” He smiled at her one final time.

She offered just another smile.

He shut the door, turned, and watched as she pulled away and headed back to the entrance road. He stayed there until she was gone, and when she was, he turned and walked to his driver’s door, and opened it up. From his position, he could see the front doors to the lobby, and could see someone coming towards him. He sighed when he saw who it was, and watched Gary leave the sidewalk and almost run right at him.

“What the fuck are you still doing here?” Gary felt his chest starting to hurt. In fact, he felt completely surprised. He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that she would go out with him. Why would she? “What the hell were you doing with her?” he almost screamed as he reached the fat bastard’s car. He felt so angry that he almost felt like his soul wanted to escape from his very body. It felt like the telltale sign that he was starting to lose control.

Jimmy opened his back door, and tossed the thermos to the back seat. Suddenly, he felt awkward as heat raced through his chest and up into his face. Normally, he would have felt afraid, but this time, he felt something else entirely. He felt angry. He felt strong. He felt completely and totally pissed off.

“Hey? I’m talking to you, you fat bastard?” Gary came to the other side of the car, and what he saw when he got close enough to him, almost knocked him off his feet. The strange looking rent-a-cop didn’t look strange at all. In fact, he almost looked too healthy to be liked. He looked completely different. He looked strong. He looked powerful. He didn’t like what he saw one damn bit, and it made him fear him all at once.

“You keep trying to don’t you?” Jimmy shot back as his voice grew low. A growl slowly ebbed through his throat and flowed through the air. Feeling it, it felt natural. It felt real. He didn’t give any of it any real thought.

“What did you say?” Gary heard him and couldn’t believe it. The man was mocking him, it sounded just like it.

“You heard me.” Jimmy stood back straight, and shut the back door. He walked back to the driver’s door and stared Gary down. The heat in his neck now flared up into his eyes.

Gary’s eyes widened. “How dare you talk to me that way?” He walked around the back of the car and towards him, and stopped only a foot or so from where the rent-a-cop now stood. Seeing him even closer, made him feel even more afraid than what he already felt. The wimp didn’t look like a wimp anymore, and seeing it made his heart sink low into his stomach, and clench his chest. “How dare you?” His voice cracked some. He didn’t like the sound. He showed his fear. He truly felt it and it was getting stronger, but still he couldn’t back down. He felt like he was being challenged, and he couldn’t let that stand. He had to fight back. He had to stand his ground.

“I’ll talk to you any fucking way I feel,” Jimmy shot back, turned towards him, and stared him down. Inside, the anger kept growing, and he could feel a strangeness coming forward from the back of his mind. It felt like eyes were watching him. He felt almost like they were watching him from behind his own eyes. It felt beyond strange, but he didn’t seem to mind it. He didn’t expect it, but it was there, and he just accepted them. He let them come, and let the eyes move forward.

“Who the hell do you think,” Gary began, but stopped when he looked into his eyes, and almost instantly, he could see his pupils grow large. They almost looked like they were starting to glow. He recognized the look, and he knew what it meant. He also knew he saw them before. Seeing it, his mind flared as his fear exploded over his entire body. “What the hell?” he heard himself mutter under his own breath.

“What’s the matter,
pretty boy
?” Jimmy’s voice edged deeper and almost sounding like a scorn. He could feel himself begin to slip away and could feel the eyes push him aside as they came forward. He began to feel his mind begin to fade, as his voice didn’t sound like his anymore. He recognized the voice, but couldn’t remember ever hearing it before, but just knew that he had.

“What did you say?” Gary’s voice cracked as a whine flew out from it. He heard himself called that before. He recognized the voice. He recognized the words. The fear grew within him with one giant burst of air.

Jimmy’s eyes flared from dark brown to a near bright yellow, and his face snarled up.

Gary’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t understand it. He couldn’t stay as the fear gripped his legs, and they made him back off. He had to get away. He had to let it all pass.

Jimmy watched him back away. He liked what he saw. “I didn’t think so?” His voice grew within its own deepness as he could feel the big bastard’s fear blare from his eyes. He could feel his heart beat hard. He could feel his breathing grow short. He loved the feelings. It felt like power within itself. He turned and climbed inside the car and closed the door.

Gary’s mind went blank as he watched the rent-a-cop climb inside the car. He felt dumbfounded as watched him start the engine and watched as he drove away. He couldn’t do anything but watch him leave. When he was gone, he finally breathed, and he finally blinked.

Jimmy drove out of the parking lot and never looked back. The feeling of being watched slipped away just as fast as it started, but the feeling of power stuck within his soul. He liked the feeling. He liked it a lot. He drove home, and enjoyed the drive. It had been one hell of a good night.

When the car left the property, Gary turned back to the front doors and ran to them with a flare in his steps. He had to be sure of what he saw. He had to know how it started. He had to find out when the wimp was exposed to the freak in the labs. Running through the doors, he ran to the back of the counter and to the single door behind it, just under the stairs. The other rent-a-cop could do nothing but watch him run past him. He pushed open the door and went inside the room without looking back.

“Gary? What the hell are you still doing here?” Reese asked, sitting behind a long counter that ran along the inside wall of the room. All along the inside wall of the counter were ten CCTV screens layered two apiece, one on top of the other. He sat there, watching the world go by outside. He watched Gary with the young chubby guard, and couldn’t believe what he saw. He saw Gary step back away from him. He looked frightened. He looked defeated. He watched the chubby guy drive away, and watched Gary run back up the sidewalk and to the front of the building. Seeing everything, he couldn’t understand any of it. Least of all, he had no idea why Gary was even still there in the first place.

“I need you to go back to,” Gary began, but stopped, trying to force his thoughts to focus on what he needed to know. He felt rushed. He felt winded. He had to pull himself together. He had to think of the time that he needed to check. Slowly, he could remember that he saw the rent-a-cop on Friday morning, and remembered that the chubby guy looked like he always did. It told him the correct time to check. It had to happen before the weekend. That meant that it had to happen Friday morning. “I need you to review the tapes from last Friday morning? It had to happen then?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Reese sat up straight in the chair. The morning had been so quiet, and he didn’t want it to end. He couldn’t understand why Gary was breaking that quiet.

“I’m telling you that something happened Friday morning?” Gary‘s voice sounded demanding. It sounded like it was also trembling some. He felt more than just winded, he felt shocked. He felt ashamed. How did he miss it? How did he not notice it until now?

Reese laughed some, spinning around in his chair and faced him with a full smile flaring over his face. “Of course something happened Friday morning. That’s the night you shot the freak?” He laughed harder. He loved his job a lot, and needless to say, he loved Gary just for killing the freak like he did.

“That’s right?” Gary began, and looked at the screens, as his heart sunk even further in his chest. He was also losing his patience. “Would you please bring up the fucking tapes?” He boomed and growled. He needed them and now.

Reese saw the look, and knew it all too well. He saw fear there. He saw the look of determination as well. “Okay.” He spun back to the counter as he sighed. He went right to the keyboard in front of him and immediately began typing in the command for the computer to go back to last Friday morning. “When Friday?” he had to ask before he could continue with the search.

Gary thought about the question. It had to happen before he killed the freak. It had to happen after he saw the rent-a-cop when he came to work. He knew they started at eleven o’clock, and he also knew that he killed the freak around three, so knowing that, he knew it had to happen in between both times. “Go back before three?” He nodded. He stepped behind Reese. “It had to happen before we found it outside?”

Reese nodded, and typed. The center CCTV screen switched to another view of the building as the tapes from the end of last week came on the screen. “Which camera?” he had to ask next.

Gary again thought about it with only one answer coming up that made any sense. “It has to be out front. That rent-a-cop doesn’t go anywhere else.”

Reese typed in the information. When the screen switched to the time he typed, nothing was on the screen but the empty front doors of the building. Seeing that, he reversed the camera while the screen was still running, causing the view to run in reverse.

Gary watched it briefly. While it ran, he turned around looking back to a tall gray colored cabinet that was behind him, just opposite the door to the room, leaned up against and thought. He let his mind race, thinking about that night. He thought about how he could’ve missed it. It made him mad. It stirred his soul.

“Here?” Reese called out, and stopped the tape. He then pushed play.

Gary heard him and spun back around, took the back of his chair and used it to lean in towards the screen. His eyes searched as he watched. He had to look for anything. He had to see it all.

On the screen, the rent-a-cop came through the front doors as Rachel walked with him, and they both disappeared to the right of the screen. Seeing that bastard with his girl only built up the anger within him. “That fucker?”

 Hearing his friend behind him, saying what he was, only made Reese laugh harder. “Jesus man? You went out what—once?”

“Just keep looking at the fucking thing,” Gary shot back. He wasn’t in the mood to be chided. As far as he was concerned, the freak was with his girl, and she was no one else’s girl but his.

Looking back to the screen, a dark blackish object just barely came into view at the bottom left of the monitor. He couldn’t see what it was, but he didn’t need to. He could tell it anywhere. He knew
what
it was.

“I’ll be a son of a bitch?” Reese saw the thing move behind the bushes. “What’s it fucking doing?” He felt his mind rush with revulsion. He always felt that way when he saw the damn thing. He hated that he had to take care of it. He felt more than happy that it was now dead.

To the screens right, the rent-a-cop came back into view and stopped at the center of the screen, just reaching the sidewalk when he stopped.

“What the hell is he doing?” Reese watched the chubby guy then move slowly to the bushes.

Gary watched the screen closer. He had to get a better look at it. He had to be sure. He had to be absolutely sure that he saw it bite him. The screen looked dark, and he had trouble seeing anything at first. “I don’t think he sees it?” He watched the rent-a-cop move closer to the bushes and looked like he had just bent down slightly towards where he saw it hiding.

What happened next was fast. It happened quite suddenly. The rent-a-cop backed away to the right. He looked like he grabbed one of his hands, as he reacted to something that startled him. He also acted hurt. He also acted scared.

To Gary it looked like something else entirely. He knew what that was. “Move in on the image near the bushes and bring it closer to the wimp’s left arm? Magnify it, and go back a few seconds?”

Reese nodded and complied. He pushed the viewfinder over to the left of the screen, and watched the left hand of the chubby guy as it came inside the box, and he pushed slow motion on the controls. They then pulled themselves a little closer and watched as a dark oval looking object flared out from the bushes and came directly into contact with the chubby guy’s hand. He pushed stop, and then held his breath.

Gary did no such thing. “That mother fucker!” He now knew he was right. Sure enough, with the screen now stopped, the rent-a-cop’s hand was there, and a snout came out of the bushes and took his hand. The thing bit him all right. It all happened just as he thought it did.

Reese looked at the frozen black and white image on the screen and felt his revulsion for the thing come up again in his mind. “I’ll be Goddamned?”

Gary stood back up straight. He felt completely satisfied by what he saw. “Call Ross, he’s going to need to know that we have a new pet for him.” He looked to the screen and to the top of Reese’s brown haired head.

Reese nodded, as he went for the phone that sat next to the computer on his right, and quickly picked up the receiver, and just as quickly, dialed the number to Mister Ross‘s office.

Gary watched him briefly, and turned back to the screen. All he could do was pat himself on his back. He found what he was looking for, and Mister Ross had better reward him better this time around for it.