by R. E. Carr
“A girl who was part of the resistance against the vampires who oppress us all, no?”
“That’s not fair.”
“I seem to remember this same human girl broke into a Biogenesys main facility and gave the finger to an extremely dangerous vampire.”
“But I had you . . . and her—”
“And you still have me, now until the end of time. You will also have the sheriff’s son and pack of lob hombres with you. I think your odds now might even be better. Never fear, mi amor, this particular branch is attached to a clinic – the lab mostly works overnight.”
“Well then, I suppose we should get cracking.”
The following evening, Gail found herself once more in scrubs and a messy bun. Before she could take a step away from the van, Javier handed her a pair of chunky black plastic frames. “I got them from a hipster the other night. I just wanted to see them on you,” he said with a grin.
He gave a huge thumbs-up as she slid them on. Even Kyle nodded his approval before he adjusted his lab coat. His face fell as he read the name on his badge.
“It was the best we could do on short notice, Doctor O’Hara,” Javier apologized, ambling ahead in his blue apron and jeans.
“Kayleigh!” Kyle growled.
“We’re gonna be late,” Gail chided, as she dragged him to the side entrance of the Urgent Care of Greater Nashville and Biogenesys Lab. It was a rather unimposing structure tucked in its own building in front of a strip mall. Gail and Kyle both paused as they found the lab door propped open with a brick, and no sign of security in the tiny lobby that looked straight out of a nineties office park.
A handwritten note read, “Be right back – leave drop-offs on the counter.”
“Not quite the level of security I was expecting,” Gail said, nonplussed.
“Hello?” Kyle called as he saw movement behind the second door. It burst open, and a woman who looked more like a member of a women’s weightlifting team rather than a nurse came barreling out. Gail and Kyle both tried not to stare at the prominent mustache on her lip that was only accentuated by the layers of makeup she wore.
“You the transfers from Fargo?” she asked in a baritone voice.
They nodded.
“Well, get your asses in here. Lakeisha quit on Thursday and everyone else I have is useless!”
“Do you need any paperwork, or us to sign in—?” Gail started.
The giant woman whirled around. “Quite frankly, I don’t care if you are random jackasses here to rob the place. Butterfingers Milton dropped a whole tray of samples, and now I’m in a pissy mood. Our main lab smells like a urinal after a Titans game. I’ll figure out the bureaucratic bullshit later, but for now I’m Pearl and this is my lab. I don’t care if you had seniority at your old place in North Carolina or wherever—”
“North Dakota,” both Gail and Kyle replied meekly at once. Pearl glared at them with a stare far more frightening than any elder vampire’s. They both averted their eyes.
“All the reports are the same across the offices. We don’t get the fancy tablet upgrades yet like the prissy convention in Atlanta, and our biometrics aren’t installed, so use the password Hello-one-two-three to log in to everything . . .” Pearl said. She went on and on about the terrifying lack of protocols before proudly showing off their HIPAA training completion certificate by the break room door. “You, four-eyes, what’s your name again?”
“Abigail Harker,” Gail said.
“Abby, help Milton with the orders. You, Doc Highlander - our regular supervising physician is on vacation, but if you can’t sit on your ass, drink coffee, and sign off on things as well as he does, you have no business here. Now, this is my office,” she said, pointing to a door next to the break room. “I can see when you go in and out of here, and I do time it. If I have to come out of my office for anything other than to get my Coke or to eat my lunch, I will be pissed. Can you figure it out for yourselves from here?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Gail said with a little nod. Pearl did a quick, sexual-harassment-training-unapproved once-over of Kyle, then ducked into her office.
“. . . Did we just walk in here?” Kyle asked incredulously.
By midnight, both Gail and Kyle had working keycards - and had been stuck with a mountain of backed up work. Gail found that her vampiric strength and senses made processing all the data into the system a doddle, but she did find herself tempted from time to time to sample the extra vials on the blood tests. She sat in a terribly outdated room with uncomfortable stools and an equally uncomfortable-looking lab partner. This Milton spent more time searching for things on his phone and playing with his teased mess of jet-black dyed hair than doing any real work.
“Aren’t we supposed to stash our phones either with security or in our lockers?” Gail asked. Milton just laughed, then took a smoke break.
“I could eat him,” Gail grumbled. The security guy out front, Bill, turned out to be equally disinterested in his job. Gail rolled her eyes as she saw him watching porn on one of the monitors instead of lab two. She only had to bat her eyelashes at him once for him to start drooling. He eagerly explained everything he did, including his frequent smoke breaks.
“Oh, does anyone ever use lab two?” Gail asked innocently.
“Nah, we never have the staff. Every once in a while, we smoke a bowl in there if Pearl is off,” the guard said with a little wink. “Say, that wouldn’t be something that interests you, would it?”
Gail just giggled. “Oh yeah, is it OK if my friends stop by sometime? They are new in town like me, and if they could meet some local guys - especially local guys who want to have fun - well, I think it would really help them get settled. Tell me, Bill, are you a guy who likes to have a good time?”
He practically fell from his seat. “Sure, just let me know, darling,” he said, his eyes slightly glazed over.
Gail wandered back to find Kyle had already broken into the other side of the building and taken stock of the medical equipment in there. Javier managed to find them minutes later with a set of master keys for the whole strip mall.
“I think we slightly outclass this operation, mi amor,” Javier sighed. “Other than the giant woman who looks like a clown, not one of these people actually care what happens here.”
“And Pearl only cares that she’s not bothered and the numbers are made,” Gail added.
“I think it’s time for the reinforcements. For once, something was easy.”
25
“You have got to be kidding me, it can’t be this easy,” Paige muttered, as she walked into the lobby of Biogenesys Labs with Steve, Georgia, and Nadia. The guy behind the desk, a slightly chubby young guy with glasses and a terrible complexion, all but drooled as he saw Nadia saunter into the room. She had changed into skintight jeans and a low-cut top, with a bra that defied all laws of gravity.
“Please say that you’re Abigail’s friends,” the security guy practically begged. Nadia nodded, giving him her best vacuous pout. This time, he did drool.
“Think you could just let us in?” Steve asked. The guy behind the counter hit the button without ever averting his gaze from Nadia.
“I’ll think I’ll stay out here and talk to this interesting man,” Nadia said, handing the backpack over to Steve. “So . . . interesting.”
“It’s lab number two,” Georgia said, checking her phone. “I’m guessing it’s the one with the door already propped open for us.”
“OK, maybe it is this easy,” Paige conceded as she entered to find Javier standing on the counter playing with the room’s surveillance camera, while Gail and Kyle set up shop around two lab tables. Kayleigh was on a third computer in the corner, and gave a little wave.
“How did you—?” Paige started.
“Toy dropped me off. She’s taking the wonder trio to that safe house Javier set up. Hopefully they will be picked up and out of our hair by sunrise. I’ve already made us all keys, if you just want to come in through the back next time,�
�� Kayleigh replied, obviously proud of herself.
“Well, what have we got?” Paige asked.
“You have a job,” Kyle said, beaming. “And if you’ll come with me, I have a surprise.”
Paige followed Kyle to the back of the lab and into what looked like a normal doctor’s office. She eyed the set of phlebotomist tools laid out with some suspicion, as well as the paper gown. “Shall we get a few tests over with?” Kyle asked.
Paige dealt with the indignity of changing into a terrible pea-soup-green number, with her tail drooping out the back. Her horror only increased, as she saw the scale a solid five pounds heavier than last she dared check it.
“Oh man,” she complained as Kyle took her blood. “I hate any sort of probing with needles.”
“Not gonna comment,” Kyle muttered. “Now, I don’t have an ultrasound here, but there is an OB/GYN up the street that I think we can break into if we need to. Now do you mind if, you know?”
“The more you talk, the more awkward this will be. Just check everything out that you have to and don’t say a word.”
A few minutes later Kyle left the room so she could get dressed. They quickly hid all evidence, and he took the three vials of her blood back to the lab. As they got to the door, he seized her arm.
“I’m not a specialist in this at all, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to need one, Lil’ Bit,” Kyle warned. “Everything seems OK for now, but without an ultrasound. . .”
“One problem at a time, OK?” Paige asked.
“Very well. Red Rover, Red Rover, send Georgia right over,” Kyle sighed in return. Paige settled into lab two while Georgia disappeared. Steve gave her a look, but said nothing. Gail seemed to be the only one at home as she darted in and out to either cover the main work in the lab, or run tests in this tiny room. Georgia finally returned, her T-shirt on backward and new bandages poking out of her collar.
“Oh Steve, the doctor will see you now,” Georgia called, taking the seat next to Paige. Both women stared at the bag sitting on the table just in front of them. “If Steve comes back, it might as well be a double date,” Georgia said softly. Paige chuckled sadly.
“Pretty much,” Paige sighed. “Welcome to the exciting and wild world of werewolves – science and sitting.”
The science and sitting continued until close to dawn, when Kyle summoned the mostly sleepy crew. “I’ve got the first results. Bear in mind, there is some margin of error considering what we have to work with. First and foremost - we are still learning how Steve seems to have developed a new ability, but we can detect a whole new type of protein in his blood. I’m going to have to run more tests, and we need to keep running searches on what we have logged of the Arce Monstrorum database. Kayleigh—”
“—I’m on it bro. Hey, Latin Lover,” she said pointing to Javier. “I’ll need your mad language skills later.”
Javier saluted.
Kyle continued, turning to Georgia. “You’re not a werewolf. You have the same antibodies in your blood as anyone else who’s been vaccinated. Hell, you have a really strong set of antibodies in there, so I’m guessing that the thrall just wasn’t ready to eat human blood. I will do some more tests though.”
“I’m just glad I’m not gonna get all hairy at a moment’s notice,” Georgia replied. She added quickly, “No offence.”
“None taken. Well, as you can see, we don’t have a lot yet, but I think if we keep working here for a few days, we will get some answers,” Kyle said. “What do you say we sneak out? Steve, can you do your thing on the people here?”
“I’m on it, Red.”
Paige waited until most of the others had sneaked out the back before she nudged Kyle. “Hey, what about me?” she asked.
“You’re definitely pregnant, and there are a lot of vampire cells in your system. I have to run more tests, but it looks like your white blood cell count is up too.”
“Like I have an infection,” Paige said softly. “Somehow, I doubt that is good.”
“We will do more tests,” Kyle reassured her. “Just tell me honestly, how do you feel?”
“Miserable, useless, irritated, and totally fat,” Paige grumbled. “But I think all of those are normal . . . considering.” Kyle gave her a reassuring hug.
Their next couple of days and nights melded into the same routine. They all slept through the day, before taking over the lab at night. Steve and Paige both ended up getting more blood drawn, while everyone carried out their chosen assignments. Once Paige walked right in front of the other lab tech, Milton, who only waved as she limped by with a small tray of samples. Paige, for the most part, helped Gail and Kyle log data, unless Kayleigh needed a break monitoring her screens. By day five of plugging figures into a spreadsheet, however, Paige’s claws finally came out.
“I can’t take this anymore,” she growled. “This is not my life.”
Hair began to sprout from her knuckles and she felt a stabbing pain radiating from her spine. “Kyle!” she managed to choke out before she dropped to the floor. She snarled reflexively as she smelled Gail rushing to help her.
“Can it furball, I’m here to help!” Gail snapped. Paige pointed to her spine. Gail helped Paige onto the exam table, where the werewolf found herself face to face with the bag, the polyester-blend duffle that haunted her day and night. She heard a terrible crack and a tearing sound.
“Kyle, get in here now!” Gail cried as Paige began writhing on the table. More hair sprouted from her skin, and her jaw began to lengthen and strain against her pounding skull.
Paige snarled and clawed at the table, her talons dangerously close to the fabric of the bag. A shadow loomed over her.
“Sorry about this,” Kyle said, jabbing her in the leg. The world began to spin and Paige flopped against the stainless steel.
She awoke in a strange bed with a pounding headache, and restraints on her arms and legs. Kyle let out a sigh of relief as her lashes fluttered open. Paige stared at the IV stuck in her arm and frowned.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
“We nearly had a code moon in lab two. Luckily Steve seems to still have his mojo, so we have you tucked away in the clinic side and no one is asking any questions. They had a setup for infusions too, so I’m trying to top you off, but I also have your favorite,” Kyle said, shaking a can of vanilla protein drink.
He let her right hand loose so she could hold the drink. She barely gagged it down, but her stomach growled until she gulped down two more. Finally somewhat sated, she slid her hand under the sheet and touched her belly.
“It’s bigger,” she said, as she could feel a definite protrusion now.
“But the lump of scar tissue on your back seems smaller and more spread out,” Kyle offered. “That’s something.”
“I couldn’t take it anymore, all the waiting, and the boring data entry. I just lost it,” she said, now pushing the hair out of her eyes. She let out a sigh of relief as she still felt long curls. “I guess I didn’t go all the way then.”
“No, you didn’t, but you began changing with very little warning. Your hormones are way out of whack—”
“No shit!”
“And, I didn’t really stop to consider the emotional and mental toll that all of this must be taking on you, Paige. Anyone would snap—”
“—Let alone a pregnant werewolf,” Paige finished sadly. “I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”
“No, but you missed ripping open Lorcan by a matter of millimeters. Hey, he’s OK, and you, you’ll be OK, so let’s focus on lowering your stress levels.”
As soon as Kyle had taken her vitals and her bag of fluids was empty, she eased out of bed and was pleasantly surprised to find her legs far less shaky than before. She rubbed her back and felt that the lump above her tail had indeed shrunk a bit. Her confidence faded, however, as after only two steps she began to wobble. Her stomach growled as well.
“Easy there, tiger,” Kyle said, catching hold of her shoulders to steady he
r. “Take the night off - doctor’s orders.”
“But what am I supposed to do?” Paige asked.
A shadow moved behind the curtain in her little examination room. The worried face of Toy peered around the fabric. “You are going to come back to the hotel with me, get a good day’s sleep . . . and then, I am taking you for a fun night out.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, your mama and I are taking you out. Old Stevie-Boy can come too if he wants, but it’s going to be fried chicken and possibly a movie. Oh, and drinks for the rest of us,” Toy said, giving a wink to Kyle.
“But—” Paige protested.
“Your poor mother would go mental if she found out you were stressing yourself into a code moon because of a damn spreadsheet. Think of her, even if you won’t think of yourself. Did I give you the baby guilt yet? I can keep going,” Toy said, giving Paige her best puppy eyes.
“Alright, alright! I’ll suffer through a little DeMarco family bonding time and fried chicken. Seriously though, can we really be having fun while—”
“Shorty, I have had to put up with driving vampires around. We have all our resources looking for needles in haystacks, and you’re losing it fast, so yeah, we need to have some fucking fun. Mental health day ordered!”
Kyle nodded in agreement. “Doctor’s orders. One night won’t kill you, kiddo.”
Almost ten hours later, Paige found herself waking up from a solid day’s sleep in a hotel bed. She chugged one of the shakes Kyle had so thoughtfully left in the minibar, before struggling to get into one of the new T-shirts she had bought upon arriving in Nashville. She frowned at just how tight the chest and belly had already become. At least the palazzo pants she had found had a drawstring she could let out. She triple checked that her tail was fully tucked under the waistband before daring to look at her reflection. She was still gawking at her emerging bulge when the door slipped open. Maria rushed to check her hair in the mirror, then smiled at Paige.