by Tigertalez
Seeing Dex suddenly appear beside him, grabbing another of the medical duffels, didn’t scare or shock him, but seeing Dex’s entire front drenched in blood, did. He could also tell by the blood around his mouth and covering his chin, that it was a painful death for whomever he had attacked since Dex was mated and couldn’t drink it, and he was also pretty sure it was done in malice. “Is that from the guards?”
Seamus hurried behind following him as Dex responded. “Yes, and it wasn’t painful enough. Prepare yourself, Seamus. I know people like you and I are toughened better than others, to handle what you’re about to see, but I can’t believe these shifter victims are still alive, let alone sane. It’s…” Dex shook his head, not finishing, and Seamus didn’t think he had to. He got the message loud and clear.
They tore up the steps in the darkened stairwell, lit only by emergency lights, until they reached the third floor.
Normally extreme medical conditions wouldn’t have bothered him too much. He was, after all, a professional. He had seen and done many things that would be difficult for most to handle, but what he saw nearly had him gagging. The only way for him not to gag, was to throw all of his focus on the patients that were before him.
In a large laboratory room, there were two rooms connected to it that were obviously holding cells, about eight by ten. But it didn’t have a toilet or sink even. There were no beds, or blankets, or anything. There were, however, three shifters in human form in one, and four in the other. The floors did have drains, and by the stench, they were to let the urine and fecal matter wash down by a hose that was currently rolled and hung on the wall between the two rooms. All were naked and huddled together for warmth, and comfort. Their bodies were filthy, and bruised and malnourished, some more than others.
Around the lab were stainless steel cages that housed other various shifters. Many of them were sick, and all of them were in the same condition as the ones in the two rooms. They were filthy, lying in their own waste, and malnourished, a few even emaciated.
“And this isn’t all,” Alphy said as he came up beside him. “There are more on the floor above, but the worst are in the basement. Doctor Cady was sent down there to them. Aaric called Doctor Wilkins to give him a heads-up what he’s in for.”
Looking around, Seamus agreed. Shaking away his shock, he approached the ones in the rooms. “My name is Doctor Seamus Rossi. Please don’t be afraid of us. We are here to rescue all of you.” Seamus tried to think over his words carefully before using them. These victims could easily associate him with the evil humans, even though they might know he wasn’t. He dropped his bags on a table and reached in and grabbed several of the silver emergency heat blankets. He handed them out and began going around the room to some of the worst cases, trying to get them stable enough for transport.
Being an alpha, Alphy tried to give them the strength and support of his presence. It was natural for most shifters to find comfort in a structured leadership. “We are going to transport everyone to a triage we set up at a hotel not too far from here. Those of you in shifted form, if you could stay in that form a little longer, it will be easier to carry you out of here and transport you.”
Seamus hooked up IVs to the most serious cases, but after a quick preliminary exam, deemed everyone else stable for transport.
On the fourth floor, he was sickened to see the surgical rooms. They were unclean, with old bloodstains that were still smudged in places along the surgical beds and equipment. The shifters were huddled in a corner of a prepping room. He noted dark skin on three of the five people. “Are any of you related to Maysa?” he asked. He hoped if they were, they would appreciate something more positive to focus on.
Two women began crying. One man held them and looked up at him. “She’s our daughter, and sister to this one.” He indicated the women in his arms.
The slightly older one turned to him. He could see heavy bruising on her face. “Is Maysa okay? Where is she?”
“She’s back at our hotel where we have set up a triage for all of you. Let me take a look at all of you to make sure you are ready enough for transport and then you can leave this place, and go and see her.”
Of the five huddled, three were women. Seamus handed the women the last three emergency heat blankets and after deeming them stable, let some of Aaric’s men, who were guarding them, to escort them safely to the vans while he set out to see if Doctor Cady needed any help.
After descending the stairs, he stepped into the cold and poorly lit hallway. The smell of death lingered through the space. It wasn’t from the new corpses that he had passed and stepped over, killed obviously by the invading troops. No, this was the stench of rotting corpses. It almost masked the scents of pain and blood. Seamus headed right, searching for anyone to help, or direct him to where to go and help.
There were large rooms on one side that were heavily covered in feces, urine, and blood. In two of the rooms, he saw the dead corpses of shifter victims. One was in shifted form. He would have been a large and majestic lion, but his form was nearly starved and the mane and fur that was still on his body, were dull and matted. Sores littered his body and had become infected, and patches of his fur had been cut off. He also noted that the lion was missing his canines. I hope he wasn’t awake when they took those, he thought as he saw evidence that showed the lion had been alive when they were extracted.
The other dead victim was a woman. He was haunted by what he saw. She was naked, and from the damage he saw, especially between her legs, she had suffered a great deal before she died. Her hands were cuffed above her head. The skin around her wrists was worn raw and bloody. One of her shoulders was dislocated. Dark bruises wrapped around her arms, neck, breasts, pelvic area and inner thighs. Some of them were recognizable handprints. Her ankles were swollen, and on them were sores that were gangrenous. What saddened him the most was how long this woman had been dead. Where the lion was dead for at least twenty-four to no more than forty-eight hours, this woman had only been dead for maybe three hours. She had suffered and died as they were waiting comfortably, in their hotel room.
Before he could lose his composure, he hurried out of the room and looked earnestly for someone to help. Seamus rushed to the door he heard voices in. Looking in, he saw Doctor Cady leaning over a large black cat, who looked to be in almost the same condition as the lion. He had one of the men holding an IV bag while the doctor was splinting a back leg. He looked up as Seamus entered.
“Good, you’re here. There are still two more in other rooms I have yet to stabilize. They are on the other side, back past where you might have entered from. Fabian and Pierce and some others are watching over them.”
“On my way.” Seamus slipped out and jogged down the hallway. He had spent plenty of time with the vampires from the Toronto coven that had stayed with them after Slate rescued his mother and sister. He recognized Fabian and Pierce as he drew near, but not the others. Fabians door was the first. “Pierce’z feerzt.”
Stepping through the doorway Pierce was protecting, he entered a room with a female okapi. “Wow, those are rare.” She was bloody and thin, and it was obvious she had two injured hind feet. She was lying on the filthy floor, bloody urine pooled around her striped haunches.
“Hello. I’m Doctor Seamus Rossi. I’m part of the group who is going to get you out of here. Can you shift?”
Tired eyes barely registered him. Pierce talked to him as Seamus slowly made his way closer. “I’ve been trying to talk to her, but she hasn’t moved at all.”
Seamus examined her and hooked up an IV, talking calmly to her the whole time. Because he couldn’t get her to shift back, he had to enlist the help of several of the vampires to help carry her. It wasn’t that she was that heavy, but because of her injures. He needed several hands to hold several parts of her steady. In spite of the disgusting filth, he was proud that not one of the men complained.
As they passed the room Fabian guarded, Seamus noticed Doctor Cady was in the other room,
tending to the other victim, who was in his human form. Bruises littered his skin, and were nearly black in some places. Seamus noticed swelling on his face but couldn’t observe more because they had passed the room.
Because of the okapi’s size, they had to have a whole van to themselves with no other victims.
Dex rushed forward and helped the driver open the doors wide enough for them. He updated Seamus. “The vans have been speeding between both points transporting the victims and coming back for more. Doctor Cady is with the last victim, but we’re going to take the bodies of the other two, too. There’s no bloody way we are leaving them behind. Alphy is already back at the hotel. Tell him the hackers are downloading everything off the servers and then they’ll upload the virus Ryker gave them. Once they’re done, the rest of us will return.”
Seamus was already in the van, situated beside his patient. “I’ll let him know.”
Once at the hotel, Seamus and the men went up a service elevator. The owner of the hotel, being a part of Aaric’s coven, had arranged it so no one would even accidentally view their comings and goings. Reaching the room, they maneuvered through the double doors of the suite and headed for a large blanket that was spread on the floor.
Seamus briefly spotted Maysa helping other victims. A small part of him was relieved to see her safe, especially after seeing the deceased female victim earlier. His body responded to her, strongly, yearning to go to her and taste her. His fangs shot a painful ache through his gums, insisting he sink into her, but he had patients who needed him more. The cries of pain matched the scent that filled the room.
He noticed her parents and sister were in one area, watching her with pride. Alphy came up to talk to him as he started putting some of the men to task, to help clean the female okapi up.
Alphy squatted down closer to the shifter. “Wow, an okapi. Hi, sweetheart. You’re safe now.” He reached out and stroked his hand over her neck right behind the ears. Seamus saw her close her eyes and relax. He tensed for a moment, thinking she was dying as her breathing slowed, but realized she was just relaxing. Alphy looked up at him. “She’s not very old. Fully grown in her shifted form, but I think she’s still underage.”
Seamus nodded. He was guessing the same thing. “How many total?” he asked, looking around.
“Thirty-three. I’ve been talking to several of them. So far every one of them who would talk wants to take refuge in our pack.”
“How are we going to get them all back home? I see several who aren’t shifted into their human form and their animals are pretty big. How did you ever get a rhino up here?”
Alphy chuckled. “Luckily, he was willing and able to walk, but he’s still not comfortable enough to shift.”
“I’m wondering if some of them can’t shift. The drugs I smelt were heavy in the air, and I didn’t recognize them.” Seamus continued to work on the girl as he talked.
“Yeah, could be. Gale told me Maysa’s scenting abilities were messed up. Bronya is flying our new jet to the local airstrip here. With Tyler’s and Raymond’s added, we should be able to manage the transport. Raymond said his guys can catch a commercial flight back home since it’s a really short flight.”
“Raymond is the one who I contacted to help me buy all my equipment. Without him, I would have had maybe only enough to make an exam room. And with all the medical emergencies we’ve had, all that extra equipment has been a literal lifesaver. We need to come up with a way to show him our gratitude.”
“I know. So how many more to come?”
As Seamus gave Alphy Dex’s message, Gale had approached. She had heard what they had said about Raymond and commented on it. “We can find Raymond his beloved,” she said cheerfully. “We have the luck enough. One of the guys from around here thinks that the cute little spotted bunny is his beloved. Only she won’t shift.”
“So is he going to accompany us back to Bancroft or is he going to keep her here?” Seamus asked.
“Good question,” Gale answered. “I’ll go ask in a minute. I had an idea. With so many shifters going back home with us, why don’t we set up manufactured homes, temporarily, in the areas of the old houses until the more permanent homes can be built?”
“That just might work. Those spots are already designated for homes, and Betty had assured me that all of them had plumbing and electric, so we can tap into them. That is an excellent idea, Honey-bear.”
“And maybe others would like a treehouse, like Nix’s,” she added.
“Treehouses?” Aaric looked shocked and just a little bit confused as he approached.
“Yes, we have a falcon shifter who has a mate who’s also a pilot. They decided to hire that treehouse guy from Washington to build them a treehouse home. It’s also going to be a tower for the runway we’re putting in.”
Aaric laughed. “You certainly are ambitious.”
Seamus and the other two doctors worked with the others, cleaning and attending to the victims. There were several who just needed food, water, and rest, and those were sent to Gale for help. But many had infections and other ailments and injuries that took time to asses and treat. It was odd to him, as shifters had such great healing capabilities. Seamus was grateful at least, to have his beloved working beside him. She helped him clean, dress wounds, and administer antibiotics. Although rare, all paranormals were capable of developing infections, especially with more aggressive strains of pathogens.
Doctor Wilkins, along with Doctor Cady, Alphy, and the local coven leader, Aaric, approached him during a large breakfast that was being served right around sunrise. The victims were being served first.
“I had some of the men take samples of everything they found,” Alphy informed him.
Doctor Wilkins added, “Yes, and I also instructed where to take the two shifter bodies. I’m going to perform an autopsy to sample what was in their systems, if anything. I’ll send both you and Doctor Cady the results,” he said.
“Thank you,” Seamus and Doctor Cady said in unison.
Doctor Wilkins continued. “I would also like to ask that you keep me apprised of all of this. I feel connected to this new battle. I want to help with whatever needs to be done about this.”
“Thank you, Doctor Wilkins,” Alphy answered him. “We will keep that in mind.”
Aaric agreed. “If you need anything, you can call me. I will welcome an alliance with you.”
“Thank you, Aaric. That is most welcome.”
“Good, because I have a favor to ask of you.”
Alphy chuckled. “You have been instrumental in helping us, so you can ask just about anything.”
“I’ve been talking to Max who thinks one of the shifters is his beloved.”
“Yes, Gale had mentioned it,” Alphy answered.
“Well, I’ve talked at length with him. We believe that she might be too sick about the idea of living here after what she had just endured. He would like to ask if he can join your pack. We have been told you do not turn any away due to race or breed, that you would accept a mixed mating, even.”
“Yes, I wouldn’t have any problems accepting them, but I would think Raymond would, too. Why would he want to join my pack instead of Raymond’s coven?”
“We talked about that. We believe she will feel out of place in the Toronto coven since she would be the only shifter, and perhaps pitied for that and for this.” He briefly looked around at the victims before continuing. “And with all of the other survivors headed, at least for now, to your pack, we thought if she was around the others, it might help her connect with people who had been through the same thing.”
“It sounds logical. What does he do?” Alphy asked.
“He’s an electrician. I’ve heard you had a lot of construction work needed, and he can help with that.”
“Take me to him so we can start talking out the details. I’d like to head out of here tonight,” Alphy said as he and the coven leader walked away. Doctors Wilkins and Cady informed Seamus what had to be done with e
ach shifter. Even though notes were made, hearing what they had to say helped to get a broad view on all the victims.
Seamus was rechecking the okapi when Maysa came up to him, accompanied by her parents and sister. “Hi, sweetheart.” He leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek before facing her family, but he already knew something was wrong. Not only could he see and smell how upset she was, he could feel it. “What’s the matter?”
“I had one other sister and a brother. They said they went missing three nights ago.” He noticed her lip tremble and tears welled in her eyes. “If I had been…”
“Stop,” Seamus interrupted. “We’ll find them. Beating yourself up about something you have no control over won’t do you or anyone else any good.” He gave her another hug before pulling back. “Now how about you properly introduce me to your parents and sister? I’m afraid I didn’t get a chance earlier.”
Nodding her head while wiping her face dry, she turned in his arms. “My parents, Dave and Judy Sutter, and my sister, Becca. This is Doctor Seamus Rossi.”
Seamus smiled slightly, careful to hide his fangs, and reached over to shake their hands. “I’m pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise,” her father said. “Maysa said her sense of scent isn’t working properly but that she believes you are her mate, and you believe she is your beloved.”
“That’s correct.” Reaching into his pocket, he handed them his cell. “Have you had a chance to call anyone yet? Maysa had talked briefly to her aunt just before we left to come here.”
“Oh, no, we haven’t. Thank you.” Her family accepted the offered cell and walked away to another corner. Seamus wrapped his arms again around his beloved. Breathing in her scent, he began to relax.
They were still standing near the okapi patient when Alphy approached him. “We are waiting until after dark to load up onto the planes and head home,” he said. “We’ll need the darkness as cover to move some of these shifters in their animal forms. Especially that rhino.”