Chapter Twelve
They got an escort back out of Dale County, the sheriff’s anger burning hot though he was restricted to lashing out with his tongue and not his gun.
Once they were a mile or so from the county line, they pulled over. Chris helped Danny from the car, turned him around and eased the handcuffs off.
“Give yourself a minute to stretch your arms. Those things can be murder on your shoulders,” he said. Doctor Hollis had gone on ahead, needing to get back to the hospital.
He gathered his team around. “They’re going to want two of us on Danny at all times. And two would be safer if Dale Police decide to take matters into their own hands. I’ll stay with Danny for the duration, so discuss amongst the rest of you and come up with a rota.”
Giving them a few minutes to talk it over, he pulled a bottle of water and a protein bar from the car and gave them to Danny. They sat side by side on an old stone wall as he ate.
“It sounds like the judge is willing to take the time to understand Doctor Hollis’ research,” Danny said between bites. “That’s good, right?”
“It’s very good. It means there are lots of reasons to be hopeful right now.”
“Doctor Hollis told me before, about why I’m getting all the pain. Some of the infection is still there, in my bone marrow, and it’s making stuff that’s getting into my joints.”
“I’m sorry, Danny. It doesn’t seem fair to go through all that and still be suffering.”
Danny shrugged, taking a long swallow of water. He wiped a hand across his mouth, offering the bottle to Chris.
“He’s working on a treatment. And since he knows more about this than anyone, it’s only a matter of time, right?”
Danny seemed so hopeful, so trusting, that Chris didn’t want to wipe all that away just yet. He’d talk to Hollis first, understand what he was doing and why he had those tormented souls in his basement. Danny was in pain right now, but he was nothing like those wolves he saw down there. Maybe there was another reason for that. Maybe they were the result of other, earlier, experimentation before Hollis hit on the treatment he used with Danny.
Will offered to take the first shift with Chris, staying that night and the next before Robin would relieve him the following morning. Chris was glad it was him, needing someone to talk to, another opinion on what he’d seen.
Doctor Hollis insisted Danny go straight to bed and they dosed him with more pain medication, so he was asleep a few minutes later. Chris and Will sat outside in the corridor, talking quietly.
“Let me get this straight. Hollis experimented on born wolves. On kids, no less. He intended to cure them but they wound up living out their lives in agony?”
“I don’t know that for certain. I only know that I saw those wolves down in the basement and they were reacting just like Danny, their bodies bent, screaming in pain. If they’re suffering from what Danny is suffering from, then it looks like Hollis has been trying to fix this for a long time.”
“And Danny knows nothing about this?”
“I don’t think he has any idea. He knows there are other people here, we heard one of them scream, but he’d been understandably wrapped up in his own problems, not to mention his grief.”
“What do you think is causing it, the pain?”
“I think it’s their bodies attempting to shift but lacking what they need to do so. When I touch the place where Danny’s pain is centered, I can feel it changing, bone softening and shifting, muscles and tendons contorting. It feels exactly the same as if you laid your hand on my arm while I shifted, those first few seconds when the human form is breaking down before the wolf form forces its way to the surface.”
“Do you think we could get a copy of Doctor Hollis’ research? I’d like to take it to Heidi and see what she makes of it.”
“That’s a really great idea.”
“Hey, no need to act so surprised. I do have them sometimes.”
“I know. The Omega Haven is a testament to that.”
“Danny would probably do well there, once all this is straightened out.”
Chris thought so, too, except for one small issue he could see. “He doesn’t want to be a wolf, Will, let alone an Omega. I’m not sure his mind would accept that reality.”
Will sat back, leaning his head against the wall. “He might surprise you. Given what he’s survived so far, he must be more resilient than he looks.”
Doctor Hollis was only too happy to provide them with a copy of his research, which Will took with him when he returned to Eden. Robin took his place but seemed content to guard Danny from outside the room. Chris got the sense Danny made her uneasy. Maybe, he reasoned, because she’d been bitten as a child and infected. Knowing someone like Danny was the result of experimentation financed by the government, experimentation that was meant to prevent people like her from existing, would have made anyone a bit antsy.
Doctor Hollis did a second round of tests on Danny and Chris sat outside as they went through the results. He didn’t feel bad about listening in, he was keen to know what Danny actually understood about his situation.
“Your results were a little surprising, Danny. We confirmed crystalline deposits in your knee and elbow as we suspected. No need to repeat the bone marrow aspiration as we know what we’ll find there. One result that is of concern, is that you’re showing shifter proteins again. Those tests have been clear since you were seven and we’d deemed you in remission at that age and cured when you were ten. To have them back now is unexpected. None of the others with your condition have ever shown a resumption in their levels.”
“What does it mean?”
“It may just mean you’re a little different than most, but I think we already knew that, didn’t we? In terms of what we’ll do, I’d like to start a course of anti-lycan serum infusions to stop your body producing those proteins.”
“Do you think that will work?”
“It worked before, Danny. It will work again. Now, how is the pain?”
“It’s a lot better these past few days. I only needed the top up medication once last night.”
“Yes, I see.” There was the rustling of paper that Chris guessed was Hollis flicking through the notes at the end of Danny’s bed.
“That’s excellent. Usually, the need for pain relief increases over time, rather than decreases, but perhaps the recent stressful circumstances were contributing.”
They continued to talk about treatment schedules and Chris left them to it. He didn’t feel right about Hollis’ plans to reintroduce the anti-lycan serum. It seemed like he was starting from scratch again. And if it hadn’t worked the first time, at least, not in the long term, why would it work now?