For a moment, Dr. Greenwood studied me and I started to feel uncomfortable, but I held her gaze. With a nod, she removed the final layer.
I’m not certain what I expected but it wasn’t what I saw. My hand was almost covered in the remains of betadine. The line of stitches ran from the base of my index finger to the lower right edge of my palm. There were a lot of those tiny, neat stitches. I knew they hid even more sutures under the skin.
“Well, I have to admit. I do great work.” Dr. Greenwood smiled at me. “When that is fully healed it will be hard to tell the scar from regular palm creasing. How does it feel without the bandaging?”
I wriggled my fingers, relieved to see them moving. It wasn’t that I had any expectations that they wouldn’t move but, there’s that writer’s brain thing again. “It hurts. I think it hurts more now but the honest truth is, I think that’s just because I see it and my brain assumes it should hurt. Does that make sense?”
“Perfect sense.” Dr. Greenwood thanked the nurse and accepted a gauze pad soaked in saline. “I’m going to cleanse the area, but it looks great. No signs of infection, not too much swelling either, which means someone is keeping that hand elevated even without the sling I ordered.” Dr. Greenwood gave me a hard stare.
“Uh yeah, sorry about that. It just felt really confining. I told them that I would wear it for naps and sleeping.”
The doctor worked swiftly while she talked with me. There was more talk about the healing process and that she was going to keep me at least one more day for IV antibiotics. Then she surprised me.
“Tori, I was hoping we could run some tests on the animal that you were working with when this happened. Would you mind if I sent someone out to collect samples?”
“You know I live about forty minutes away, right? Is it really that important?”
“I think it is. Surely you’ve noticed more and more diseases are mutating from the animal population to humans. Things like swine flu, and of course things that can make you sick just from ingesting the meat. I would feel a lot better, as your doctor, if we followed up.”
I thought back to when I was cleaning my kill. There had been something odd about it. “You know what, go ahead. It’s in a cold storage shed behind the cabin.” I gave directions and handed over the key to the storage unit. After a moment, I agreed to hand over the key to the cabin as well. After all, I didn’t have any clothes to go home in either and Dr. Greenwood was kind enough to suggest that her assistant could pick some up for me. This was not an average hospital, not with this kind of service.
JUST AFTER MY dinner had been cleared away, I started getting stomach cramps. I didn’t think much of it at first. I wasn’t used to hospital food, even if had been pretty good all things considered. After about half an hour and two trips to the restroom, I rang my bell.
Beth, my nurse from the previous evening had just come on shift and answered my call for help. She took one look at me from the door, reset the bell and rang it again. In the next instant a voice came through the speaker.
“It’s Beth. I think it would be good idea to call Dr. Greenwood and get her in here. Also, get in touch with Dr. Mueller, please. Have her come down here if she’s still in her office. Otherwise, ask her to come back to the clinic. Send someone in with the shot too.”
“On it.” The speaker cut off audibly.
“What’s wrong? I just called because my stomach is pretty upset. I’m hoping you have some Pepto-Bismol or something. You don’t need to bother anyone for me.” As I said that, I gasped as another wave of pain swept through my abdomen.
“Actually, we’ve been watching for symptoms like this. You’ll be fine. One of the nurses is drawing up a shot now that will give you some relief.”
“More drugs?” I groaned.
“’Fraid so. Here we go.” Beth looked to the door as it swung open.
A second nurse, wearing green scrubs the color of an evergreen came in with a syringe and alcohol pad. He opened the pad, swabbed the IV port and injected the contents of the syringe into me. Whatever it was, I felt relief within moments.
“Wow. Thank you, both. Next time I argue about a shot instead of Pepto, just slap me.”
Beth chuckled as the nurse left the room as quickly as he had arrived. “I’ll make a note in your chart. As to the rest, sorry, in cases like yours this is all standard protocol. I know Dr. Greenwood was in her research lab so it might take her a few minutes but she’s going to want to know what happened.”
“Yes ma’am. I surrender to your wiser and more capable hands.”
Beth left the room but she left my door half open and I could hear murmuring from the nurses’ station just down the hall. I was starting to feel a bit sleepy and I wasn’t sure if it was the magic shot or if I was just worn out. I gave in and shut my eyes.
IT SEEMED TO be a trend, me waking up to find people standing over me. This time, it was Dr. Greenwood and someone new. The new woman was in a lab coat as well, but she was a bit taller than Greenwood. She stood at least five feet ten inches, but possibly even an inch or two taller. She had a swimmer’s build, that broad-shoulder-into-a-narrow-waist look. And she dressed better than Dr. Greenwood. Instead of scrubs, she wore a tailored skirt suit of some kind that screamed class and control.
I pushed the button that would raise the head of the bed up so I could look at them both from a more comfortable position. “Hey, Doc. I don’t think they needed to call you for an upset stomach. Sorry about all the fuss.” I turned to the new doctor then. “Not that I’m not grateful for you coming to see me too, but I assume you’re something to do with gastrointestinal stuff. I’m fine, that shot they gave me cleared things up even if it did knock me out for a bit.”
It was only when I stopped talking that I figured something out. Neither doctor had spoken. Dr. Greenwood had seemed the type to introduce a colleague and she certainly had greeted me each time she arrived. Nothing, not one word since I opened my eyes.
“What’s going on? You two look pretty serious. Did you find something out about the buck from your sample? I didn’t eat any so even if it’s sick, I’m assuming I should be fine, right?
I admit it. I started to panic. I raised the head of the bed to a fully upright position. Here’s the thing though. I. Do. Not. Panic. Ever. Really never ever in my adult life can I recall an instance of panic. I live in the freakin’ middle of the woods by myself. I’m really not prone to anxiety attacks of any kind. Something was seriously wrong from their expressions.
“Out with it Doc, I’m starting to get scared. Am I dying or something?”
Dr. Greenwood cleared her throat and gestured in the direction of her associate. “Sorry, this is Dr. Kerstin Mueller. She’s on staff here and I asked for her to consult with me about your case.”
She stopped talking and the two doctors exchanged a glance before Dr. Mueller spoke. “Hello Ms. Monroe. May I call you Tori?”
“Call me anything if you’ll tell me what has you two so serious looking.”
“Well, I’m actually a specialist on staff here at The Center. I do a lot of work with teenagers but I also work with the occasional adult case as well.”
I interrupted. “Do I have something that usually affects kids? Did I get leukemia or something and you found it in the blood samples from me?”
Dr. Greenwood tried to calm me. “Nothing like that, Tori. We’ve simply been trying to figure out how best to approach you with the news. We did a bit more than take a sample from your chill room. We actually went with a refrigerator van and brought the entire body back here. I was with the technicians and it was my choice. I’m also the one who went into your house to bring your clothing to you. Relax back a bit, you’re looking flushed.” Dr. Greenwood pushed my bed control to lower my head a bit and put her other hand on my shoulder.
“Okay, great, thank you. I don’t know why you went yourself but I appreciate it a lot. I’m a little weird about people being in my space when I’m not around.”
�
��Don’t worry, I left everything alone other than packing a bag with some clothing and toiletry stuff. The thing is, I’m going to have to keep you here a while longer than planned.”
“What? Why? You said two full days post-op. I should be leaving tomorrow. For fuck’s sake, tell me what is wrong with me.” Now I was starting to lose my fear and it was replaced by anger. I’ve never liked being bossed around.
Dr. Mueller intervened and she spoke in measured and calming tones. “Tori, there wasn’t exactly something wrong with the deer you killed. However, there was something different than you might have expected. Normally, this would have been written off as a loss to the community and nothing else would have come of it. However, with you cutting yourself and having your open wound exposed to so much of his blood…” She paused and glanced at Dr. Greenwood, then locked her brown eyes on mine. “I’m sorry to tell you, you’ve been infected with a fairly rare virus.”
I sagged back against the bed and closed my eyes. All sorts of dramatic thoughts raced through my brain. My writer’s mind was working at full-tilt. Was it a biochemical weapon that had been tested on animals by the government? Or could it be something that mutated because of climate upheaval or pollution?
“Go on, please. Tell me the rest. How long do I have? How bad is the treatment?”
I felt a cool hand on my right arm. I opened my eyes to find the still serious brown eyes of Dr. Mueller focused on me.
“You will go through some changes in your life and diet. In fact, the reaction to your dinner earlier was an early sign of those changes. Your entire body will be different before this is settled but we can and will help you every step of the way.”
Dr. Greenwood took ahold of the bed rail. “This is outside of my field of practice but not outside of my research. I actually have a very good grasp on what the physical ramifications will be and I will make myself available to you as needed to go through them with you.”
“And I’m here to help you through this as well. My specialty is psychiatry and before you ask, no, you will not lose your mind or become crazy. However, the adjustments may be taxing and trust me, you will need someone to talk to who can understand what is happening to you, both mentally and physically.”
I wish I could tell you what happened next but I’m told that I had a grand mal seizure that lasted several minutes. Change isn’t always easy.
Chapter Four
“WHAT HAPPENED? WHERE did everyone come from?” There were two nurses and two other people in my hospital room, and I felt like crap. “One minute you guys were being shifty about telling me stuff and then I got a headache and everything went dark.”
Dr. Greenwood signaled to the other people in the room to leave, and just she and Dr. Mueller stayed. When I tried to sit up, they both motioned me to stay in my reclined position.
“You had a seizure, Tori. It was what we call a grand mal, a full body seizure. There was no indication other than you fell quiet and then started to convulse. Have you ever been diagnosed as epileptic?”
“No, I’ve always been pretty healthy other than occasional sporting or other accidents.”
“I suspected as much. I just had to verify.”
Dr. Mueller took over. “Listen to me, this is perfectly normal considering your exposure rating. There was something unusual about that buck, you were right. What I’m going to tell you will sound like a fiction story but it isn’t. I promise you.”
Dr. Monroe moved a chair to the bed and sat down with me, now at eye level. “There are people in this world who are different, who have two natures.”
“Like bisexual or something?” I asked. I was tired and getting worried.
“No, not exactly. They can become whatever natural animal is associated with the viral strain they carry. There are several variation of the virus. Some people are born with it and then, on rare occasions, humans who are otherwise single natured can become exposed to the virus.”
“If I wasn’t so tired, I’d accuse you of punking me. I can’t find the angle. I’ve never met either of you and my coming here was random, an act of chance. What’s the bottom line? Do I die soon?”
“I’m going to help you deal with this, Tori. That’s my job here. I’m the one who helps our youth as they learn to shift into their nature-based form. I’ve also helped those who either choose to be exposed because they mate with one of us, or they are exposed through an accident, like you.”
“Us? You’re telling me you turn into an animal? What, do you howl at the full moon?”
“I understand your skepticism, Tori, I do. I’m one of the people born into this culture but, due to other issues, I am not able to access my animal side. My parents both do and are white-tailed deer when they shift.”
I felt the bile rising in me. I suddenly understood that not only had I killed a someone, not just an animal, but that I may have done so in the past. Had I eaten someone? My body rebelled.
“I’m going to be sick.”
Dr. Greenwood brought a basin to me just in time. The dry heaves continued long after any remaining food had been purged from my system. Finally, the spasms released me and I rinsed my mouth out with the cup of water I was handed.
“Sorry. I don’t know how to handle this at all. What’s going to happen to me? Am I in trouble for what I did? I didn’t know, I swear it.”
Dr. Monroe turned to look at Dr. Greenwood. For some reason, the lack of answer made me panic further.
“Seriously, I understand if someone wants revenge or something but I never would have done it if I had known. I’ve never hunted for sport, only food.”
“First, relax, you aren’t in trouble. Humans have killed our kind before by mistake. They would have no way of knowing since we keep our existence secret. Second, I think it’s time we get on a first name basis. We’re going to spend a lot of time together over the next few weeks at a minimum. Call me Kerstin, and Dr. Greenwood has a first name too, though she sometimes forgets it.”
Dr. Greenwood rolled her eyes but rejoined the conversation. “Yes, I have one. Please call me Stacy.”
“Do you turn into a deer too, Stacy?” I was filled with guilt, trepidation, and a million other things, but my writer’s curiosity had kicked in.
“No, I don’t. My nature spirit is a wolf. A timber wolf to be specific.”
“You’ll have to excuse her. Wolves are rather proud creatures.” Kerstin grinned at Stacy.
“Jealous much? Is it my fault that deer are such a plain and drab brown?”
“And which has been hunted closer to extinction?”
The debate was obviously a common one between the two… women?
“You said humans before like those that have this dual nature aren’t human. What’s that mean?”
“There is a lot to learn and you will learn it here at The Center, with our help and the help of others. Shifters that are born that way are something of an offshoot of humanity. Those who gain the ability through virus exposure essentially mutate into something more than human, though we aren’t certain if they truly become someone who is genetically modified to our species or not. That’s part of my research here. There are also those who have the genetic marker but not the virus. They have an easier time with accidental or chosen exposure.” Stacy’s answer added more questions.
“So a hand surgeon by night and a geneticist by day? Seems a bit strange.”
“I actually studied to be a geneticist first. Many of us hold dual roles to hide in plain sight. Surgery had always interested me, especially the differences in different species with hands. So, it provides my human cover as well as proving useful.”
“I don’t know what to say or do now. Am I going to be a deer? Do I have to do something or does it just happen?”
“We'll cover it all, slowly. Take some time, adjust to the things you’ve learned today. I’ll be by to see you tomorrow morning and again in the afternoon. If Stacy here clears it, I’ll take you for walks and show you around The Center. Let’s fo
cus on small steps, all right?”
“I’m reeling. My mind is literally reeling and you want me to take small steps? Why did I have a seizure? Why was I sick earlier?”
Stacy stepped in again. “The seizure was most likely caused by the spread of the virus through your system. It might happen again but it shouldn’t be as severe. When you’re in here alone, you’ll be wearing a monitor just in case.”
I nodded in understanding but I kept silent, waiting for the answer to my earlier illness.
“The stomach issues, that’s tougher to explain but I’ll try. Since you were exposed to the deer virus, you will become part of that subset. As you probably know, the deer species eats a mostly vegetarian diet and their digestive system is different than a human’s. Those born with the virus have a hybrid of the two. Instead of one stomach chamber like a human, born deer shifters have two chambers. Since they don’t live in the wild there isn’t the same digestive pattern needed. However, while in deer form, they will graze and have need of additional digestive time.”
“When I ate a normal human dinner that included chicken I got sick. Does that mean I’m being forced into being a vegetarian?”
“Not forced, no. Your body might demand some changes. You may feel a desire to increase your vegetable intake and decrease in meat and other processed products. Especially processed food products.”
“I’m, well, before this I was a carnivore, a serious carnivore. I like veggies and stuff but I also love cheese and other foods.”
“We’ll work out what your system can tolerate as you continue to find your way. Let’s go with what you start craving. If you are craving it, the odds are you can tolerate it.”
Kerstin checked her watch and said, “I’m sorry, I have an appointment. I’m going to take off but I’ll be here no later than midmorning tomorrow. I’m going to need a bit of the morning to clear out some of my schedule. We’ll get you through this, I promise.”
Stacy chimed in. “I need to get out of here as well. The nurses have my number if there is a medical emergency, otherwise, I’m going to have them put the monitor on you and give you something to help you sleep as well as something to help your system accept the changes that are happening. Sound okay?”
Stranger Than Fiction Page 4