Moonlight Medicine: Inoculation (22 page)

They piled into the car with Clem insisting that Evelyn go first, and as soon as Clem shut the door, David started the engine and began to back out.

“What took you so long!”

Evelyn slumped in her seat as the adrenaline that she’d been relying on for pretty much the last twelve hours gave out. She was about to go into the whole story about having to find Clem a scrub top and running into Melissa, but then just sighed.

“Complications.”

Kim glanced back nervously into the rear of the car. “Is everything all right?”

Evelyn opened her eyes and nodded. “Fine-ish. Nothing critical.”

Kim’s gaze panned over to Clem, who stared out the window and said nothing.

Evelyn hoped that he was just exhausted and hungry and not still gutted about his lack of control. Of course it was dangerous and scary, but she was confident that with effort and training he would get it back. She would have to have a long conversation with him before tonight, and also figure out what to do with him tonight since setting him up in the janitor’s closet again was too risky and she wasn’t confident about her and David’s ability to control both Kim and Clem. But right now, more than anything in the world, she needed food and a nap. Other worries, like what happened to the two college students, what they would be facing tomorrow night, and the responsibility Evelyn felt for Kim’s life, for Clem’s life, and for causing the Wolfkin war in general, vied for attention in her mind, but Evelyn pushed them all away and concentrated on just the immediate tasks at hand: food, nap, where to go tonight, how to restrain Clem.

Before heading back to the condo, they took a slight detour by the emergency phone where David had left the drugged couple, and though they didn’t see any signs of the students, there was an empty State Trooper vehicle parked nearby. Evelyn consoled her guilt by telling herself that there would’ve been police tape up around the phone if either of the unfortunate students had died. The rest of the ride was quiet and even as they all piled out of the SUV, into the condo and then into the kitchen, no one spoke. Finally, David broke the heavy silence with an attempt at cheerfulness.

“Who wants eggs and bacon?”

“Yep.”

“Me!”

Clem just gave David a dubious look.

“Okay, everyone then. Kim, you wanna help me?”

A small rush of emotion surged through Evelyn when David asked for Kim’s help, but she was too exhausted to maintain it, so instead made herself useful by setting the table and pouring orange juice for everyone. Then she sat at the table and waited with Clem while the heavenly aroma of frying pig flesh filled the room.

“Looks good on you.”

“Hmmm?”

“The scrub top. You could be an extra on ER.”

Clem lifted a hand and rubbed a few of the scars on his face. “Not with these.”

“They would make you a more interesting and memorable character.”

“Naw, my char-acter would make me a more int-ter-rest-ting character.”

Evelyn smiled at him and Clem smiled back in almost a Clem-like way.

“Breakfast is ready,” David declared as he came to the table with the frying pan of bacon. Kim followed with the frying pan of scrambled eggs.

Conversation was limited as they all stuffed themselves full. Kim had also made a stack of toast which quickly dwindled down to crumbs. Clem seemed to be in a better mood after breakfast and insisted on helping Evelyn with the dishes. Kim looked like she might topple over at any moment, so she headed upstairs to nap and David descended into the basement to do the same. Together at the sink, Evelyn loaded the dishwasher while Clem washed the larger dishes and set them on a towel next to the sink to dry. After she was sure that Kim and David were out of earshot Evelyn spoke.

“At least we know.”

“And knowin’ is half the battle.”

“Clem, I know that you think that this is a good reason for you to fight, and I know that you’re feeling better, but if you aren’t in control during the fight, that could hurt us more than help us. We can get you through this. We can get your control back, but not before this battle. There just isn’t time.”

“So what am I agunna do? Hide in a janitors closet and chew on stuffy aminals while y’all are fighin’, bleedin’, dyin’? You cain’t ask me to do that Evie. I won’t.”

“Well, you can’t say that I didn’t try, but if you turn on us…”

“Then take me out. But I’ll be up in front, and I’m pretty sure the sight and smell ‘a’ all ‘a’ them Vulke’ll keep me movin’ forward.”

Evelyn’s voice was spiny with emotion and caught in her throat, so she just nodded.

“What are ya goin’ to do with me tonight? Another stint in the janitor’s box?”

Evelyn finished putting the last dish in the dishwasher and closed the door of the machine. She shook her head. “No. We can’t risk it with the vet students wanting to get in the lab.” She didn’t feel the need to go into great detail about running into Melissa and the girl’s suspicions or Kim nearly eating the two college coeds. “Does the casino have…um…facilities?”

Clem nodded as he placed the rinsed frying pan on the counter. “Aye, but I’d rather not get Zachary involved. That boy rubs me the wrong way and he might throw some kinda hissy-fit and keep me locked up there ‘till the fightin’s done.”

Nodding, Evelyn furrowed her brow as she wiped off the counter with a damp rag. “I have an idea. But it’s not great. Ever hear of the Northville Psychiatric Hospital?”

Clem stared at her. “Um…no, why? Ya gonna lock me up in a loony bin?”

“Yeah, actually. See, the facility’s been abandoned for years and it’s quite a large complex with lots of tunnels. There’s some woodland area around it and most people steer clear simply because. Also, it’s private property and supposedly guarded, but I have it on good authority that it’s just one security guard who’s forbidden from entering the buildings because most of them are now structurally suspect.”

Clem did not look at all enticed by the prospect of spending the night in the old asylum, so Evelyn felt like she had to sell the idea further. Or maybe she was just trying to sell herself on the only half-viable idea for Clem’s restraint.

 “It’ll be perfect, really. We’ll get there early, scope things out. Find a ce- place for you and start the night in there training Kim. If things go well, we’ll go outside for a bit and then come and get you at sunrise.”

“Shouldn’t we be co-ordinatin’ with Roberto and headin’ up to battle site instead?”

“Plans have been set for a while and there isn’t much that we can do until the Vulke finalize the location. We’ll just load the car up and start driving north tomorrow morning. Roberto should be sending out the GPS coordinates a little after sunrise. He’s been monitoring both areas since the Vulke made their suggestions, but he still feels that it’s best if we all arrive separately, in case the Vulke try to ambush us. It’ll be a bit of driving, but David and I both agreed that driving is better than waiting.”

Clem scratched his stubbly chin, considering her words, and then nodded. He looked tired. “We should try to get some sleep too before tonight.” Clem dried his hands and turned to head out into the dining room, but then turned back to Evelyn. “Any chance I can git
you
to sit this fight out?”

Evelyn smiled wryly. “Not a chance.”

“Didn’t think so.”

36

Evelyn slept. It was a tribute to her truly exhausted mind and body. In her dreams she was on a wooded battlefield filled with other Wolfkin engaged in bloody tooth to claw combat. She knew that she should be fighting too, but the war seemed to flow past and around her like she was surrounded by an invisible wall. David appeared out of the fray and was driven to the ground under a pack of four wild-eyed werewolves, and she wanted desperately to help him, but felt rooted to the spot. She called out his name, but a roaring all around swallowed her words, and as the four Wolfkin savaged him, Evelyn had to look away. Tears blurred her vision but then she spotted Clem in the chaos of fur. He looked like a true monster bathed in blood and gore, tearing through other werewolves like they too were stuffed pandas, a senseless rage the only entity behind his eyes. A miniature Wolfkin in a pink tutu and purple tights tried to run past him and he caught her with a snap of his jaws and flung her little body into the air. The werewolf child landed in a mangled heap next to Evelyn; she saw that the small corpse was wearing a dog collar with the name Katie spelled out in sparkly purple letters. Evelyn wanted to close her eyes, to block out the horror, but she couldn’t. Carolyn and Zachary walked unscathed out of the turmoil in human form and Zachary looked down at Katie’s remains coldly.

“Pity.”

Evelyn wanted to leap at him and rend him with her claws, but she was still frozen. Caroline tsked at her. “This is all your fault, you know. The least you could do is help.”

Caroline pointed into the battle. Evelyn’s gaze followed her finger and she watched horrified as a massive Vulke ripped Kim’s head off. “See, Kim’s doing her part.”

Evelyn awoke with the phantom images of Kim’s gruesome death haunting her thoughts, and the taste of blood in her mouth. She fought to throw off the appalling visions as she wrenched off the covers and sat on the side of her bed with her bare feet touching the cold hardwood floor. As Evelyn peered over at Kim’s empty bed, she tried to reassure herself of reality through the chilled floorboards, breathing deeply and swallowing repeatedly to rid her mouth of the bitter taste of iron. When she thought that she could stand, Evelyn rose and swiftly tiptoed to the bathroom, where she locked herself in. Spitting rusty saliva into the white basin of the sink, she turned on the tap to wash it away and bowed her head under the spigot of water. She filled her mouth with the ice cold water and released it back into the sink, then took a long draw, swallowing many times until she had to pull away gasping for breath. She turned off the water and examined her mouth in the mirror of the medicine cabinet, steadfastly avoiding eye contact with her reflection. She had bitten the insides of her cheeks during the night, which accounted for the blood in her mouth, but it still whispered hints of the nightmare. She ran the water again and this time splashed it onto her face to further banish the horrors sleep had wrought. Drying her face with a towel, she finally forced herself to meet her own eyes in the mirror.

“You are going to get through this. We are all going to make it through this.”

Evelyn stared at her reflection willing herself to believe the words. The alternative was simply unbearable and she couldn’t allow it purchase in her mind now. It was too late for any doubts and no time for self-indulgent desperation and fear. From now until the battle tomorrow night she had to be strong and her resolve could not waver. She had no idea how many lives might depend on that resolve. Letting her gaze drop, she undressed and showered, performing each mundane motion with unnatural focus in an effort to shield her mind from unwanted thoughts. After her shower she dressed with similar robotic movements and took out extra clothing for the following day.

Her mind slipped briefly when she found herself considering what one wears into a battle. She settled on green, loose-fitting hiking pants and a black Rush T-shirt that an old boyfriend had left behind in her apartment, and that she hadn’t bothered to give back or get rid of. She also packed a pair of scrubs for after the fighting, and then a pair of jeans and a comfortable longer-sleeved shirt for after that.

Heading back into the bathroom, she packed a small case with a toothbrush and a few other toiletry items. Though she knew that brushing her teeth would likely be the last thing on her mind after fighting for her life and the lives of her friends, not packing these items seemed akin to saying that she wouldn’t be needing them after tomorrow night, and that was like giving up hope. Evelyn gave herself one last stern glare in the mirror and then headed downstairs to face her coming fate.

*

It was odd how all four of them had managed to avoid discussing where they were ultimately going as they packed up the SUV and piled in. She had previously asked Roberto if he wanted her to bring any medical supplies for the post fight, but he’d dismissed the idea, saying that other Wolfkin who were actually practicing medical doctors were taking care of that. It had been David’s responsibility to gather up a few other possibly necessary items for the battle, consisting of mainly camping gear type items. Evelyn had seen him cleaning his gun earlier and, although bringing weapons to the battle was strictly forbidden, she didn’t chastise him.

David was driving and Evelyn helping to navigate from the passenger’s seat, though David pretty well knew where they were going. Kim sat behind David, after Clem ushered her into the car with an old-fashioned bow, then took the seat behind Evelyn. An uncomfortable silence followed them all the way to Northville, which even seemed to mute the pop rock music of the random radio channel that David had selected.

The sun was getting low in the sky when they pulled into the rear parking lot of a strip mall and headed into the wooded area behind. Using a compass and descriptions and diagrams scoured from the internet, the quartet eventually found themselves at a decrepit brick building that was part of the sprawling former psychiatric complex. According to several intrepid blog accounts, the building contained an entrance to the tunnel systems beneath. David halted them at the edge of the woods and scanned the area with a pair of binoculars he pulled from his backpack before they approached the door. It was barred with a rusty chain and a new combination lock. Multiple online accounts of urban explorers claimed that this lock had actually been put there by trespassers to fool the security guards into thinking that the building was fortified. David had brought along a pair of bolt cutters, in case this was a lie, but he optimistically tried the combination.

The lock opened easily and they all bustled inside the building, which had been a laundry facility according to the map, though the first room they entered was bare and sported just one overturned and dented washing machine. The tiles of the floor were cracked and crumbling and the drop-tile ceiling littered the floor, leaving a shadowy cavern of old pipes and wires that yawned above their heads. The air reeked of mildew and old dust, but would have smelled worse if not for the jagged hole in the corner of one of the windows. Graffiti covered most of the walls, including the words “You shall not pass” spray-painted in black above the inner doorway. They didn’t linger in this room, and David led the way to the next over the remains of the door which had fallen off its hinges and now lay in the threshold between the rooms. Kim followed close behind, then Evelyn, and finally Clem.