Moonlight Medicine: Inoculation (3 page)

“That is unfortunate news. Now the Vulke have a good idea that Evelyn was, in fact, working on a cure and how far along towards that cure she has gotten. How far along have you gotten?”

Evelyn was working on gathering up the last few stray slivers of parmesan cheese with her fork, and had just switched to swiping them up with her finger, which she finished licking clean before she answered. “Not far, but maybe now that I don’t have to do it only on the weekends and sneak around, I’ll be able to focus and make some real progress.”

“Oh, Evie, that’s right, your job,” said David.

She shrugged. “I had a feeling I wouldn’t have it that much longer with…with everything that happened before. When I negotiated a new contract with Dr. Alverez, it included a clause where I agree to sell him my half of the clinic for base market value if I should be unable to perform my duties as the second veterinarian as described, including missing too many days of work. If we get through this alive, I’ll find another. I’ll just put down Dr. Alverez as a hostile reference.”

Roberto shook his head. “Americans are very strange in their ability to joke in dire times.”

“Hey, if we let them take our sense of humor, then the Nazis have already won,” David chimed.

“Nazis?”

David rolled his eyes and shook his head, Kim giggled, and even Evelyn suppressed a small smile. “Never mind.”

4

David and Evelyn spent the next hour or so recapping recent events with Roberto. At first Kim offered the occasional detail, but eventually she fell asleep in the chair and David sent her to bed. When she had been gone a few minutes Roberto turned the conversation back to Kim.

“You are both certain that she is not some kind of Vulke informer or mole?”

Both Evelyn and David shook their heads.

“No way.”

“Impossible, when we found her she was almost dead from an accidental injury in the forest, and the Vulke couldn’t have known or even suspected that we would A, run into her, B, take her in, and C, be able to save her life,” said Evelyn.

“Also, the Vulke tried hard to get to her when we came back from the lab. Why would they try to get her back if she was supposed to be a spy?” David added.

Roberto folded his hands in his lap. “It could have all been a set-up to keep her closer to you by getting you to think her life was in danger. She could be a sleeper and not even know that she is working for the Vulke. We have intelligence that they are rather good at brain washing.”

David sat up taller in his chair. “Okay, then why would they have lured us into helping her if they already had an idea where the lab was? Why not just kill us and have done with it?”

“Your disappearance would have aroused suspicion, but come to think of it, I guess Evelyn has a point. It would be too risky to spend so much time brainwashing her and then risk her dying or being permanently injured and incapacitated if you didn’t find her in time.”

Evelyn nodded towards Roberto. “Thank you.”

“But you understand my concern. It is going to be very difficult to figure out who we can trust, and these strays are dangerous. Not only are they a risk to exposing us, but it is going to be near impossible to tell which ones the Vulke have already gotten to. We may already have ticking time bombs strategically placed in packs thinking that they are helping innocent people.”

“Crap.”

Evelyn frowned deeply. “Wait a minute, I know that movies and TV depict people being activated by a special word and killing without knowing what they’re doing, but we live in the real world. Do you really think that’s possible?”

“I am no expert, but we are not exactly normal people either. Who knows what can be accomplished when a new, unsuspecting Wolfkin is subjected to conditioning while in Wolfkin form. What if the rage can be focused and directed? I am just saying that we need to be careful.”

Evelyn nodded, her brows furrowed and eyes glazed in thought. “Did they use mind control in the last war?”

“Not to my knowledge, but they did not need it then. Their numbers were much greater and there was no Wolfkin Council to oversee things. Some packs had strong connections, but others were even more isolated than they are now. Truth be told, from what I understand, it was a lucky victory.”

The three of them were silent for a moment, all lost in their own thoughts, then David spoke. “Well, we’re united this time, and we have a not-so-secret weapon on our side.”

Roberto glanced up at him and leaned back on the couch casually. “And what, pray tell, is that exactly?”

David gestured towards Evelyn. “Evie. If she can find a cure, then we can deny them their army of strays, unless you think they’ll do their fighting in human form?”

Roberto considered this then shook his head. “No. It is not their way.”

Evelyn opened her mouth to protest, but Roberto held up a hand. “Assassination attempts are one thing, but no, I think for the real war they are going to want to fight with fangs and claws. Besides, it is much easier to track other Wolfkin when one is in Wolfkin form. Despite what you may believe from your own experiences, not all the Vulke are trained assassins. Most are just mindless brutes. The Vulke do not like too many well-educated or extremely skilled members in their lines. It causes too much carnage due to infighting for rank.”

David scowled. “I hope you’re not wrong.”

Roberto shrugged. “I doubt this most recent incident was even officially sanctioned. It was likely a rogue Vulke member acting of their own volition thinking that they would come out of it a Vulke hero. It seems to me that it would have been more advantageous for the Vulke to hold their hand closer and not let on that they were aware of the meeting, and of Evelyn’s revelation of the origin of the strays to the rest of the packs. That way we could have thought that we were acting with the advantage of surprise, when in reality, the Vulke had the upper hand.”

David yawned noisily. “Yeah, we already covered that earlier.”

Roberto checked his watch. “Well, there is much to do, so I will leave you now, but I take it you will need more suitable, long term lodging, preferably close to a new lab?”

Evelyn nodded. “I don’t think that it’s safe to go back to either of our apartments, but we’ll need to keep paying the rents, so that we don’t arouse suspicion. I have a little money set aside, and I’ll have significantly more once the sale of my half of the clinic goes through, but in the meantime I won’t have enough for two apartments. Do you think you can spot us?”

Roberto inclined his head. “As I said, finances are not a concern now. If you provide the keys, I will send someone to collect the bulk of your personal items and empty your fridges and cupboards. I will also provide the two—“

“
Three
. Kim will also need a place.” David held up three fingers.

Roberto sighed heavily. “The three of you with alternative housing under an untraceable company name, and I will have to make some inquiries regarding a new lab for you, Evelyn. It may take a few days, but I am confident that we will not lose too much time.”

He stood and motioned to the bodyguards whom Evelyn had completely forgotten about with their silent and stony presence.

“For now, try to get some rest, deal with your own affairs so that you will be unhindered in your assistance, and know that you have my full support and whatever support I can garner from the rest of the packs. I will contact you here shortly, but we will also have to acquire new burner cell phones for you.”

David and Evelyn also stood and Roberto offered his hand to each of them in turn, and then David let him and the bodyguards out the door. Once David had shut and latched the door, he watched through the peephole then briefly leaned his head against the door before turning and walking over to where Evelyn had slumped back down into her chair.

“How’re you doing?”

Evelyn chuckled a little with emotion and exhaustion. “Fan-tastic. You?”

“I kinda knew that this was coming, but still, it’s a lot. I have no idea what’s going to happen now.”

Evelyn sat up a little straighter. “Well, if what Roberto says is true, we have around three weeks to figure everything out, where the lines of battle will be.”

David’s eyes took on a faraway gleam. “It’ll happen in the forests and the hills, the deserts and moors, and other wild places. Not even the Vulke want to risk exposure to the general public right now, unless we force them to and risk innocent human lives.”

Evelyn nodded with a heavy head. “I think you’re right.”

“Listen, you go on in and take the other bed next to Kim.”

Evelyn snickered. “You’re not thinking of sneaking in with Caroline are you?”

“Hell no, I’ll take the couch. I’m so tired I could sleep on a bench in Grand Central Station the day before Thanksgiving.”

Evelyn stood and gave him a grin. “Alright. Good night then.”

She almost leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth, but at the midpoint altered her trajectory to plant a light kiss on his cheek. She was so tired that she had almost forgotten everything and just done it out of habit. Evelyn hoped that David didn’t notice the adjustment, and he gave no indication that he had as he reciprocated the action.

“Night Evie.”

5

In Evelyn’s dream she was sitting in a fancy café complete with white linens and tuxedo-clad waiters. She was wearing a short, white, summery dress with spaghetti straps and little yellow sunflowers that didn’t really suit her. Her brown hair was free and flowing, lush and curly in a way she never would have been able to accomplish on her own. Across the table from her sat Sara in the same clothes that she had been wearing at the meeting. Her short black hair was in its new, spikey style and she was adorned with her usual assortment of piercings and dark, brooding makeup. Evelyn’s mirth at seeing Sara was marred by the wetness on her friend’s chest from the weeping bullet hole, and the spatters of tiny, red-brown spots on the tablecloth in front of her. The table itself was laid out not with dishes and silverware, but with an array of plastic tubes, pipettes, flasks, reagent bottles, PCR machines, vortexes, and other instruments necessary for the research Evelyn was doing on the werewolf virus,
Languorem luporum
.

“I didn’t think it would be like this,” Sara said giving Evelyn her usual sardonic grin.

“Sara, I’m so sorry!”

“Why? She didn’t miss. I was meant to do this. This is why I became a Wolfkin, to protect the innocent. You’re not a child, Evie, but you do act very childish sometimes, so I made an exception.”

“But not like this.”

Sara shrugged then coughed into her napkin, which came away bloody. “We don’t always get to choose the way. But we should order soon, time is a factor.”

Evelyn looked down at her menu and found that it was comprised of long lines of genetic code. “But I don’t know what I want.”

“I think that you do, but just don’t think it will be good for you.”

Evelyn looked up from the menu and Marcus had appeared at Sara’s side. A crimson trail now dribbled from her mouth in a vulgar stream, but Marcus was a barely recognizable abhorrent mess of burned and bloody flesh. Evelyn spotted bone poking through the muscle of his arm. One side of his face, including the eye, appeared to be melted.

“Well, that’s my ride,” said Sara as she rose and took Marcus’s charred arm.

Marcus smirked at Evelyn and showed his missing teeth. “It’s not your fault.” He pointed down at the table which was now in ruins and littered with broken equipment and shattered glass. “I would take it up with the manager.”

Waving goodbye to Evelyn, Sara and Marcus strolled to a large glass revolving door that exited out into a brilliant yellow-white light. Evelyn wanted to tell them to wait, but the light from the door kept getting brighter and brighter until it blinded her.

Evelyn awoke to the brightness of the bedside lamp of the hotel suite. She rubbed her face, turning away from the unwelcome visual stimulation and groaned.

Kim spoke softly. “Sorry Evie, Caroline came in and turned on the lights a few minutes ago. David tried to stop her, but he wasn’t fast enough. I guess it’s time to get up.”

“Yeah, do you want to shower first?”

“Oh no, it’s alright, you can go first. I didn’t get…I can wait.”

Evelyn had done the same thing that Kim had done for pajamas last night, which was strip down and sleep in the hotel robe. As she extricated herself from a tangle of sheet and blanket, she tied the sash of the robe a little tighter. It was pretty comfortable, but she couldn’t picture wearing it all day or putting back on her stained and wrinkled suit. She glanced over at Kim who was gingerly scooting to sit up in bed.

“Are you still in a lot of pain?”

“Nah,” Kim shook her head, “just was a long day yesterday, and nothing but Tylenol.”

When they had stopped at the drug store the day before, Evelyn hadn’t had her veterinary license with her to get Kim another prescription of more heavy duty pain-killers, and they’d settled on extra strength Tylenol instead to ease her discomfort.

“Oh Kim, I’m sorry. I’ll see about getting you something stronger today.”

Kim shook her head again. “Thanks, Evie, but I’m okay. I don’t want to mask the pain anymore. I’m tough, believe me, as a swimmer I’ve had some massive muscle pulls in my time.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yep.”

Evelyn relented. “Okay. On a totally unrelated note, what would you say to a new pair of pants and a clean shirt?”

Kim giggled. “That sounds great, but how are you going to manage that?”

“Easy. David!”

David took a few moments to get to the door, and when he opened it and saw the women in robes he blushed and averted his gaze.

“Whoa, ladies, don’t let me interrupt anything.”

Evelyn looked over at Kim and rolled her eyes loudly. “We need you to do us a favor.”

“Wow, this is my fourteen-year-old self’s dream come true.”

Kim giggled and Evelyn just shook her head in mock disgust. “Not that kind of favor. Be a dear and head down to the gift shop and buy us some clothes.”

“Clothes? Booo.”

Kim flashed David a wide smile and shook her head at him, amused, but Evelyn really wanted to get into the shower and was rapidly losing her patience. David must have noticed.