Mike looked at her and could only say, “Sure. Anything you can do, Missy. Go ahead. How can I help?”
Missy gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, “You’ll know what I need when the time comes. Just stay here with me.” Then she turned and looked at Michelle. And, she focused. She went to a place in her mind that she really hadn’t gone before. Not like this. And, she exercised her will. It was almost as though she were Shifting only instead, she was pushing out her energy. While she’d playfully pushed out energy pulses before, this was different. This was something she felt inside that started slow and built and as she pushed this at Michelle, she wasn’t sending any mere pulse.
The room was suddenly being filled with Missy’s energy, with almost all of it going directly at Michelle. Mike recognized the burst of energy as being similar to what he’d noticed during her Changes only instead of this being a burst or a pulse, it was steady. And, it gradually was increasing, growing stronger. There was no shimmer of light or anything visible. But, Mike could sure feel it and, when Doctor Messina and a nurse came rushing in, it was obvious they were feeling something also.
Mike was a big guy and he stopped them from approaching Missy. “Leave her alone, leave her alone.” He turned back and looked at Missy and he could see that there was clearly something happening to her. She was looking as though she was being drained and he quickly realized that was exactly what was happening. Missy was pouring all of her supernatural energy and power, somehow, into his sister. The energy continued to pour out from Missy in a steady flow and this was something no one had ever experienced before. Both Doctor Messina and the nurse stopped and were just staring at Missy and looking back and forth, from Missy to Michelle.
After more than a minute of this, Mike could see Missy was going to pass out. She wasn’t stopping while she had anything left to give and he now understood why she’d asked him to stay with her. He quickly went over and put his arms around her, just as the last of her energy seemed to flare in a final burst. Missy collapsed and he swooped her up into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. “Doctor? Can we find a bed for my girlfriend? I think she’s passed out.”
The room felt strange, now that her energy had stopped flowing. Aaron had stepped back in just moments before Missy’s collapse and was looking from one person to the next, looking for an explanation. He’d felt the energy too and had come running.
There were several people in the corridor outside the room. They had all felt the strange energy and had tracked it back to the source, the room Missy was in. Michelle’s room. Now that it had stopped, the ones in the corridor were just standing there, waiting to learn what might have happened. When the nurse came out, with Mike following behind carrying Missy, they stepped back. Another room was found where Missy could be set down, lying on a bed. Mike gently sat down beside her and didn’t know what else to do. He was concerned about his sister but he wouldn’t leave Missy for even one moment. He kept holding onto one of her hands, squeezing it tight. He sat and just waited.
Doctor Messina went up to Michelle to check on his patient right after Mike left the room. Aaron followed behind him and stared down at Michelle as well. He noticed right away that she somehow looked better. She was no longer so pale and, without understanding why, his heart was suddenly filled with hope. “Michelle? Michelle? Can you hear me? It’s Aaron.”
The doctor turned to him and said, “She can’t hear you, I’m afraid. She …”
He was interrupted by a voice from the bed. Michelle said, “Aaron? Is it you? Where am I? What happened?” She had her eyes open and she looked around, quickly focusing on Aaron. “Are you okay? I think I remember a crash … did we have an accident? Where am I?”
Aaron rushed up to her and, at the same time, Doctor Messina turned back to stare at her in shock. He told her, “Try not to move, yet, Miss. You’ve been hurt and we don’t want you to experience any further injuries. Can you tell us how you feel? And, can you tell us your name?”
Michelle answered, “My name is Michelle Ryan and I feel very strange. My head hurts. Aaron, come hold my hand.” She slowly looked around and then asked, “Was Missy in here to see me? Somehow, I have this feeling that she’s here.” Aaron immediately reached out and began holding onto her hand as though he’d never let it go again.
“Michelle, our car was hit and you were knocked out. Please take it easy. I’m sure you’re going to be fine, right doctor? This is Doctor Messina. And, yeah … Missy was here with Mike a minute ago. They’ve just stepped outside for a moment. And, your parents will be here soon.”
Later, after a lot of people had all milled around outside Michelle’s room, getting the story in bits and pieces until finally everyone had some idea of what had happened, Doctor Messina finally came out. He’d talked with Michelle and had observed how she’d greeted her parents when they’d arrived and how alert and coherent she now appeared to be; he’d ordered up another MRI. The previous one had definitely shown probable brain damage, no matter what treatment she would have received. Now, if he was going to recommend any treatment, he needed a new MRI. She just no longer seemed like a candidate for surgery but he was not about to assume anything.
Mike’s parents came in to Missy’s room and gave him the good news about Michelle regaining consciousness while he continued to sit there with Missy. He wouldn’t leave her side and told everyone to simply leave her alone. He was sure she’d wake up when she was ready. A lot of people had come in asking about her and he told them all the same thing. Missy would be fine. She just needed some rest. He told his parents how thrilled he was about Michelle and asked them to tell her he’d be in sometime soon. When he heard she had been asking for Missy he wasn’t at all surprised.
Aaron was now refusing to leave Michelle alone and the hospital staff ended up just letting him stay with her. When the time came for her MRI, he accompanied her down and stood outside the room while this was administered. Michelle remained awake and alert but admitted she was beginning to feel tired. No one wanted her to go to sleep until the results of this latest MRI could be evaluated. Finally, a half hour later, back in her room with Aaron again by her side, Doctor Messina came in. Since the news was good, he didn’t have to ask anyone to step outside to hear this.
There was clear evidence that Michelle had suffered a concussion but that was all. No other damage was apparent now and once the swelling went down, she should be okay. Of course she needed to stay in the hospital for observation for a day or so, but things definitely now looked very good. He could only comment this was indeed some sort of a miracle and he’d leave it at that. He really had no other explanation and he wasn’t about to speculate at all with regards to what he’d seen Missy doing. He truly just didn’t know anything about that and was kind of hoping Missy herself might talk about it later.
Missy did finally wake up. Mike heard her words inside his head before she even opened her eyes. Hey, am I still alive? What about your sister? Did I help? Then she looked up at him and smiled. When she saw tears streaming down his face, she reached up and pulled him down, squeezing her arms around him. They both held each other for a long moment and then Mike sat up.
“Yeah, Missy, you helped. We think Michelle is going to be okay now.” Mike looked at her and didn’t know what else to say. There were a zillion things all competing inside his mind that he wanted to say, but he didn’t know which to say first. Finally, he said, “Michelle’s actually been asking for you. Do you feel up to checking in on her now?”
“Sure, I’d love that.” Missy went to sit up and Mike pulled her into his arms once again. After a huge hug, he got up and helped her get up. She wobbled for just a moment and then seemed to get her bearings. Her color had returned and she almost looked her normal self again. Yeah, she was a little drained. But, she was back and he was now so relieved and also so proud of her, he just didn’t know what to do. He figured it was probably time to go out there and pretend like it was no big deal. His girlfriend had feinted. Girls
did that in hospitals all the time, right?
Michelle was resting comfortably when Mike and Missy came in but, without anyone saying a word, she roused herself and looked at them both. Her twin brother and the girl she’d grown to really love, at first because of how much her brother loved her but then, just because Missy was such a great friend to her as well. “Well, look at you two lovebirds … can’t quite keep your hands off one another, huh? Had to sneak off together for a quickie, maybe?” She laughed and suddenly realized their parents were still there in the room. Opps!
Missy chuckled and then looked right at Mike’s parents. With absolutely no embarrassment at all she turned to Michelle and said, “Actually, Mike and I are hoping to do that a bit later on, now that you’ve brought us both rushing in here tonight. You’ve been trying to get us together for so long now … especially since you and Aaron … umm …” She paused and looked around, with the most innocent expression on her face, and then continued, “This was a rather extreme way, though. You have to admit that, right?”
Mike’s Dad coughed and decided this might be a good time to go grab some coffee. He insisted on his wife showing him where they could find coffee this late at night and dragged her out of the room. There were a couple of nurses in the room but they suddenly decided it was getting too crowded and they left also. Then it was only the four of them.
They spent several minutes enjoying one another, teasing and bantering back and forth, but soon it was obvious Michelle was really tired and Mike and Missy said goodbye. Aaron crawled onto the bed and was lying next to Michelle. He had no plans to go anywhere and, before Mike and Missy even left the room, they could see that he was falling asleep also.
Once outside, they slowly walked down the corridor and took the elevator down. Mike didn’t think he needed to say goodbye to his parents and he walked with Missy back out through the exit doors and into the parking lot outside. Drive me home, Mike. Okay? And, just stay with me tonight? Missy didn’t have any energy left and was glad Mike was there to take care of her.
He drove her home and they went up to her room. She told him to stay right there and she stripped out of all her clothes and, with one final glance at Mike, a look that was filled with love, she Changed. Then she lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. Mike went over, locked her door and came back. He crawled onto her bed and curled himself around Missy, now this huge cat who had fallen asleep. Soon he drifted off to sleep as well, thinking how he was maybe the luckiest guy in the world.
Chapter Twelve
May 2018
“So, what more can you tell me about this Carlos?” Missy was back in the coffee shop with Robert Ulrey and had asked for this meeting. She’d explained how she’d been out in the State Forest and had noticed Carlos’s scent out there. She was pretty certain -- since he now obviously must be aware of her -- that he’d be searching everywhere to find her. “How does “P” Branch even know he’s a werecat, anyway?”
Robert could understand her concern. “Well, without giving away too many classified secrets, I think I can tell you that the US Government recognized the need for our Paranormal Branch about forty years ago. Things started slowly but, as resources were provided and with the help from one special individual who joined the organization, our worldwide database was established identifying all supernaturals. That one individual was a supernatural herself, a witch. I can’t share much more than that but she’s gone now, so I can at least acknowledge how she helped us.”
“A witch? So, besides werecats … and, maybe other wereanimals … there are witches too?” Missy raised one of her eyebrows, and then moved it up and down, quietly grinning about this news.
“Yeah. Witches and wereanimals and a few others. But, no vampires or demons. Not that we know of, anyways,” Robert answered. “No aliens, either. Just some people that have supernatural abilities or paranormal abilities. Psychics, clairvoyants, people who can see and communicate with ghosts. People with telekinetic abilities. Some who can start fires. Lots of interesting stuff that I’m not going to talk about. The point, however, is that long ago “P” Branch was able to identify most of these people and their families. There seems to be a genetic component so all these families are now being watched. That’s how Carlos was identified. He was being watched because of his family.”
“Hmmm. So, now my family will be getting watched too, huh?” Missy sighed, realizing that made sense. From now on, all her cousins and nieces and nephews would be monitored, not to mention if she herself were to have any children. Oh, well. At least the government wasn’t trying to lock anyone up in a lab. “From what you’ve told me already, Robert, it sounds like all this monitoring and watching is pretty much hands off. I suppose I should be really grateful you guys have agreed to tell me anything and have helped the way you have with Marco. How is Marco, anyway?
“He’s being a real pain in the ass so we’re keeping him locked up. Maybe I should let you have a chat with him. We’ll see.” Robert had been briefed on how Marco thought he had some leverage and had been refusing to cooperate, but he didn’t want to discuss all that with Missy. “But, you’re correct about our non interference policy. We’ve made an exception for you because of Carlos. Then too, after what you did to those two guys that grabbed Alice -- even though it was justified -- we’d rather help you avoid any more incidents like that.”
Missy said, “Yes, I appreciate that. Having our Plan WP did make the difference this time. So, now you have Marco. I can’t say there was any other option last time … those guys were going to hurt Alice and I just couldn’t let that happen.”
“Yes, we understand that.” Robert had to agree with her. Then he said, “It was decided long ago that we didn’t really want to take any actions beyond monitoring, unless absolutely necessary. The layers of complexity, once we get involved, are very troublesome. As we’re now finding with you and Marco. And, Carlos. Those other guys with Marco were not a problem; turning them over to Armando was easy since they’re not really witnesses to anything supernatural. Business as usual for the FBI.”
Missy said, “Other than how I kicked their butts, of course, but that at least can be explained. Sort of. Since I have all that karate and martial arts training which is not exactly a secret, right? Anyone who reads the local papers can find out all about that.”
“Yes, exactly. And, I understand you’ll be going up for your third degree black belt in karate next month so there will be even more news articles. I hear there are a few reporters out there who have been closely following all your activities ever since that martial arts trophy you won at the Expo in New York. So, I guess “P” Branch isn’t the only organization keeping track of you.”
“Very funny.” Missy smiled at him. “Getting back to Carlos, how were you able to confirm he really can Shift?”
“You mean get all furry with claws and fangs the way you can? Become a cat?” Robert laughed. He still was amazed at what Missy could do, in spite of actually seeing her do it. “We don’t have any eye witness accounts but the circumstantial evidence was pretty conclusive. From back when he was younger, in South America. On two different occasions that we know of, there were guys who got in his way and they were attacked and killed. He slaughtered their entire families, each time, and those kills were obviously done by a cougar or some large cat. He was never a suspect for the local authorities, who of course don’t know werecats exist, but that confirmed things for us.”
“Yes, since you were already watching for behavior like that … Hmmm, sort of similar to how you confirmed I was a werecat, I guess.”
“Yes, Drew had already determined you were something supernatural, showing up like that after two years with all that super strength and athletic ability, plus the way you could heal yourself so quickly. Tell me more about this healing energy you used for Mike’s sister, Michelle. You were starting to explain about that before asking me about Carlos.” Robert had researched their wereanimal database and there was no one else with any healing
ability like Missy’s. When he expanded the search to all supernaturals, a few witches did show up. Now he was hearing she could use that for others?
“Well, I already knew my healing was accelerated by Shifting and I had figured it was because of those energy bursts. I’d been playing around, pushing my energy out, as you know. When I saw how hurt Michelle was, lying there in the hospital, I just knew. I knew I could help her. While I’ve never understood how or why I have this energy -- or how or why I can become a cat -- once I finally managed to use it and Change back? It’s been part of me and I’ve been drawing on it more and more ever since. I can use it for more than just Changing. I guess it’s all about control. I’ve worked so hard, learning how to control all my senses, abilities and instincts.”
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Missy had already tried explaining all this to Mike. How, for her, it was all just part of her essence. She was both cat and human, and in either form, she was now completely herself, one person. Using her energy bursts to heal Michelle rather than for Changing forms was merely an exercise of her will. Her mind could go to special places and she could draw upon her energy, her essence, and use it. She could use it now for all sorts of things. And, she knew she was growing stronger and stronger. Somehow, her energy was increasing and the more she used it, the more she found she had available. She also was finding the time required for her recovery and recuperation was less and less.
She was now able to Shift and then Change back after only one hour. Her total time before Changing a third time was three hours rather than six hours. She never before had experienced that complete energy drain like what had happened when she’d healed Michelle. But, when she had awakened that next day? Still in her cat form, with Mike’s arms and legs entwined around her? She’d just known. Her powers had increased and had multiplied. Maybe love was the source for her energy and the more she gave, the more she got. All she knew was she was suddenly bursting with power and energy, all thrumming throughout her body and completely filling her soul.
Missy Goes to West Point Page 11