Changes (29 page)

He looked from her and back to the wound. He lifted his left arm over his head, and rotated it in a complete circle above him. It felt fantastic. It felt natural. He could almost swear that it never happened. “It feels better already.” He smiled and sighed. “Thank you.”

She looked at the bullet and let her thoughts fly open. “This might be the answer Jimmy. This might be the way that we can, well, change you back?”

Her beautiful eyes now sparkled. God did he like to see it. “You mean a cure?”

She nodded. “It’s something I should look into. If I can find your healing properties and find out why you’re allergic to silver then maybe somehow I can find a way to prevent you from becoming the wolf. It’s a long shot, but I might be able to pull it off? It’s an idea?” She smiled.

God did he love her smile. “Sounds like a plan?” He chuckled some as he returned her smile. “What do you need from me?”

“Well?” She stood back straight, walked back to the doorway, and stopped. Her mind now flew into every different direction. “If I can isolate the cells, and do some testing with what silver does to the cells themselves, I might be able to stop the metamorphosis before it alters them completely.”

He loved the sounds of her voice, but she now coursed into something that he, quite frankly, didn’t understand, so he interrupted her right then and there. “Rachel?” He smiled, watching her back. “What do you need from me?” he asked again, and laughed when he finished.

She turned around, hearing the laugh and knew the reason for it. She was rambling some now, wasn‘t she? “Well—I need some blood.” She smiled.

“Okay.” He nodded.

“Okay.” She knew that she had to go out to her car to get her bag. She felt sure that she had some needles in it with some vials. At least she hoped she had them. With her mind rushing around like it was, anything could be possible. “I’m going to dress the wound and then go find you something to wear. You look like you’re the same size as Bobby was?” She turned and walked through the doorway again, and disappeared before he could say anything else.

He sighed and smiled to himself when she left. He wasn’t all that sure what he would have done without her. She felt true. She felt right. He felt stronger with her, and that made everything else feel worth it.

It took her only moments to return, carrying a pair of jeans and a dress shirt that she had draped over her left arm. A first aid kit was in her right hand. She handed him the clothes and sat the kit next to him on the table.

He smiled to her brightly.

“Now, let’s get you patched up shall we?” She smiled, opened the case, and removed several gauze pads from it and a roll of tape. She took the pads and covered the wound. She used the tape in pieces and began putting them around the edges of the pads. Halfway through it, she paused, thinking, “I wonder if I should put something on it first for a possible infection?”

He laughed, full and firm. “I don’t think you have to worry about such things?” His smile only grew on his face.

A sight that made her laugh as well. “You’re right.” She blushed.

He loved the color in her cheeks.

She finished the bandage, and stood back up in front of him. “Try on the clothes?” She smiled again. “I’m going to head out to the car for a second while you get dressed.”

Again, she left before he could say another word. Gone, he removed the blanket and stood up from the chair. He proceeded to get dressed, putting on the shirt. His shoulder hurt some, but it felt more like an ache more than anything else did. When he put the left arm through the sleeve, he could feel that it already started to heal. There wasn’t one drop of blood coming through the white gauze. It looked amazing. It felt even better. When the shirt was on, and the pants were zipped, she came back carrying the black bag that he saw her with before. “Do you always carry around needles with you?” He tucked in the shirt.

She giggled some as she put the bag to the table to his left. “I was getting them ready for you, before all of this happened.” She smiled. “I threw them in the bag before I left.” She opened the top of the bag and began to look inside it.

He watched her, and curiosity came up in his thoughts. “What happened last night, anyway?” He didn’t know. He remembered nothing after he felt the eyes.

She took out the first vial and paused with it hanging over the top of the bag. Thinking about his question, she wasn’t sure of how much should answer it, or where to begin.

He could easily see her hesitation. He didn’t like it. “What?”

She placed the vial next to the bag and went back into it for the needles. She didn’t intend to go further. The more she thought about it, the more she wouldn’t want to know about what she did, if it was she that did it.

He could see that she didn’t intend to answer his question, and that made him feel worried. “What happened?” This time he sounded pleading. He grabbed her hand as she removed the needles.

She paused again, and then sighed. She then nodded.

Again, he didn’t like anything he saw from her. Whatever he did, it had to be bad.

She looked from the top of the bag to his face. “You rescued me, and,” she paused again, trying to bring her thoughts together.

“And what?” He squeezed her hand gently.

“Several people were hurt.” She kept it simple, hoping that was going to be enough. She knew it wouldn’t be.

“
Hurt
?” He could tell by the sounds of her voice that there was more to it than that.

“And killed.” She sighed, bowing her head some, and swallowed a heavy heart.

He swallowed his breath. “Killed?” He left the table, walked to the center of the room, and buttoned the rest of the shirt. “How many?” He sighed, maybe winced. He definitely felt hollow, almost sickened.

She sighed again, before she could answer him. “Three. Four were hurt, mostly not bad.”

He spun around and faced her. His heart now pounded hard and a frog danced in his throat. His skull felt numb. He didn’t know what to say or what to think. He could remember nothing of what she said he did. He could remember none of it.

“Jimmy?” She saw the look on his face. It looked like a mixture of both shock and dread. He also looked scared. “It wasn’t your fault Jimmy.” She went to him, stopped directly in front of him, and took his elbows into the palm of her hands. She had nothing but sympathy for what he must be feeling.

“Not my fault?” He felt confused. So much seemed to happen—so much had obviously gone wrong.

She smiled to him with heartfelt nod. “It wasn’t you that hurt those people Jimmy. It was the wolf.”

“I
am
the wolf.” He pulled his arms free from her touch. His right hand went to his face and wiped his brow.

She felt his pain. “That’s why I need to find a cure for you Jimmy. If I can, we can stop it?”

He looked to the back wall and to the counter that ran along it. A thousand horrors ran through his mind. How could he have done such a thing? How could he stop it from happening again? He had to do something. He couldn’t let it happen again. He wouldn’t. Not if he could stop it. He had to try.

“Jimmy?” She reached for him again, and again took his arms back into her hands. “You can’t blame yourself for what
it
did. You don’t even remember what happened, so how could you?”

He turned from the counter and faced her again. “I can’t allow that to happen again. I have to find out how to stop it.”

She nodded, agreeing. “That’s why I need the sample. If I can find a way to help you, I will.”

He sighed and smiled. Hearing her sounded like listening to fine music again. Her voice made him relax. It made him want to cry. It gave him hope. He truly fell in love with her right at that moment. He wouldn’t realize it, until much, much later, but he did.

“Besides.” She smiled and turned back to the table. “You didn’t harm me Jimmy. Somehow, someway, that wolf wouldn’t hurt me?”

He heard her and his eyes widened. “How do you mean?”

She sighed. “With me, he was gentle. He felt strong. He saved me Jimmy. He did.”

He nodded, but he didn’t agree with her. As far as he knew about it, only the three that died were in his thoughts. He now understood. He had to find a way to stop it. He had to correct it if he could. He had to discover everything about it. He had to find others like him. He had to learn about Collins. If he could, he hoped he could learn how to stop it too. He had to do it, because his life, but more importantly, other’s lives now seemed to depend on it.

“Can I have your arm?” She prepared the syringe. When she seemed ready, she turned to him and smiled a full and firm smile.

He nodded, agreeing with the move. If she could help him she would, he knew that. It made some things feel better, if only just a little bit. He walked to the table, rolled up the sleeve on his left arm, and held it out to her over the table.

She took his arm, wrapped a tourniquet, which was more like a rubber band than anything else, and tightened it around the bicep of his arm. It brought his veins to life, so she took the syringe and made her mark. The blood flowed almost instantly.

She didn’t know how many vials she needed, so she took three. She wanted more, but with his wound bleeding like it was, she didn’t want to take anything more than he could stand. After all, he lost a lot of blood, so she wanted to be safe. With the vials in hand, she took them to her refrigerator to store them. When they were safe, she turned just in time to see him leave the kitchen and make his way into the living room, so she followed him there.

“Thank you for the clothes.” He turned from the living room front window and back around towards her.

She joined him in the room.

“Your brothers?” he felt like he needed to ask, so he did.

She nodded. “I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of them.” She shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

He could feel the ache in her heart. “How did he die? I don’t think I ever asked.”

She sighed again, before answering. “Cancer.” She passed him a solemn smile.

His heart ached for her. He could almost hear it beating to him from the other side of the room. “Do what you can.” He nodded and turned to the door. He walked to it and opened it up to the early morning sun. The day looked so beautiful and the air felt so warm. He could smell the hint of dew still somewhat in the air. The sounds of the many birds were singing overhead. He had never seen a beauty like this before.

“Where are you going?” She crossed her arms across her chest, and sighed. She didn’t want him to leave, she hoped he wouldn’t do it, even though, she knew he had to. Everyone thought he was missing, and that meant, they would look for him. Mister Ross was never one to let go of a prize.

“I overheard Ross with Collins. He said that they met each other in New York City.” He turned back to the window. “It’s a pretty good place to start.” He smiled. In his mind a soft whispering voice stated,
You must remember all of it. Remember. Remember me.

“To start what?” She smiled back. She uncrossed her arms and brought them back to her sides.

He shrugged his shoulders. He knew exactly what he was going to do. “I have to find out what I am. I have to find others like me if they exist. I have to find out what to do, and how to stop it.”

She nodded, and understood him. She knew the feeling. She’d been there herself. He had to search for the answers to every question he had. When her brother died, she did the same thing. That led her there. That actually, led her to know him. “How do I find you, if I find out anything?”

He looked back to the porch and to all of the life swarming around her world. Seeing, hearing, and smelling everything, he turned back. He shrugged his shoulders again, and gave her a full smile. “I’ll find you.”

She nodded, understanding everything, but something else came up quickly. “Wait a second?” She turned and left the living room.

He watched her leave.

She came back in only seconds. “Here.” She held out her right hand to him with a wad of money in it and gave it to him.

He looked at it and shook his head. “You’ve done too much already.”

“So have you.” She smiled. “It isn’t all that much, just a few hundred dollars.”

“Thank you.” He looked from it and smiled. He put it in the front pocket of his jeans. “For everything. I don’t know what I would have done without you.” He sighed.

So did she.

He turned and walked outside to the porch and closed the door behind him. He went down the steps, crossed the sidewalk, and headed to the left.

She watched him leave. She went to the bay window and watched him disappear down the street. Watching him, she bowed her head and sighed again. She now knew that she would see him again. After all, her life would never be the same again without him. She knew that. She felt it. She right then, wanted him in her life, and didn’t care what that meant. She would do everything for him. To top it off, she now knew that he would do the same for her.

That’s how it all began. Ravenswood Labs had a lot to answer for, after what happened that night—hell that week. It was all over the TV and all over the news. “How could a lab play with something so dangerous,” was what they were all saying. How could they in deed? I watched it all. I watched it play out, until it became nothing more than just a memory.

Since that time, I’ve come to remember some things about that night. Not a lot, but enough to give me some trouble sleeping. I can mostly remember the blood, the tastes, and the images. I can remember how it felt, but have no idea about what it meant. It only comes to me in dreams. It only comes to me in my nightmares, those images and those feelings. It’s the only time I ever see it. I’m coming to believe that’s when the wolf speaks to me—in my dreams. I just don’t know what it’s trying to say.

I’ve been this—this thing now for a few weeks. I’ve been this monster, this creature, moving on my journey, searching for the answers I seek. What am I? Why did Collins come to Ravenswood? Why did he bite me? There’s so much to ask. There’s so much to say. My search has led me to New York, a city so large that I cannot fathom how big it really is. I’ve been here for days now, walking aimlessly through the night, wondering, groping for anyone that I might see. Were there others like me? I don’t know, but I do know that I have to find out, one way or the other. I have to be sure. I know that there has to be more out there, somewhere.

Walking around the city, searching the endless shadows, I believe that I’ve finally found what I’m looking for. There’s a group of them here. I’ve seen them, and now, I know what I have to do. I’ve got to get to know them. I’ve got to find out what they know about others like us. I have to know who they are, and I hope that they’ll help me find out who I am. If only they’ll let me in? If only they’ll help me? I think they will? I hope they will? I have nothing to lose.

However, that is another story for another time.