* * *
“It worked! Oh my god, it actually worked! It’s perfect!” I felt tears welling in my eyes as I watched the diseased black cells transform. They were repairing themselves right before my eyes at an extremely rapid pace. Combining the strength of the virus with the vaccine gave it the push it needed to overtake the diseased cells.
It was game time.
I pulled off my headphones and looked over to Ramon’s cell to see his bear lying on the floor, completely still.
“Ramon?” I hurried over to him. The bear’s face was close to the bars and one of his paws was stretched outside the cell. His eyes were closed, and when I pressed my ear close to the bars, I couldn’t hear him breathing. “Oh no…no, no, no, no, no! Don’t do this to me, Ramon, come on, baby!”
I reached inside the cell and pressed my hand against the bear’s chest, doing my best to feel for a heartbeat, but I couldn’t find one.
“Oh, god. Ramon? Ramon? Can you hear me? Ramon! Wake up!” I shook the bear’s paw. It was heavy and gave no resistance.
This can’t be happening! He can’t… I refused to accept it. Hyperventilating and shaking, I grabbed a syringe and filled it with some of the antidote. I’d made enough for 3 doses: one for Ramon, one for the baby, and one to duplicate in case anyone else were to contract the virus.
I ran back to the cell, “This better work.” I reached through the bars for his chest once more; I still couldn’t detect a heartbeat, so I found where his heart would be in relation to a human’s and emptied the contents of the syringe there. I hoped that the closer the antidote was to his heart, the quicker it would work. “Don’t die on me, Ramon…Please…”
I sat against the cell bars, holding his bear paw in my hands, rocking back and forth, willing him to wake up.
Please wake up…Please wake up…Please wake up… I chanted over and over again, tears streaming down my face. Minutes passed and there were no changes. After fifteen minutes, I was sobbing and crying, shouting at him to wake up.
“You can’t do this us! I told you to fight! Fight for us, Ramon! Wake up!” I let go of the bear’s paw and brought my face right up against the cell bars. “I love you, Ramon…”
After minutes more of staring at him, I was sure he was gone. But, before I could turn away, I swore I saw his bear form falter for a split second. I kept my eyes on him, and sure enough, his body was flitting between its bear and human forms.
His body was fighting the infection.
“Yes! Come on, Ramon! You can do this!”
I watched as his bear form disappeared completely, replaced by his handsome face once again. A whole new wave of emotion washed over me. And then he opened his eyes.
“M-Min?” His voice was raspy, and thirst deprived, but it was his, and happiness flooded through me.
“Ramon! You’re back!” I smiled at him through my tears, wishing the bars would vanish so I could collapse into his arms.
“Am I in a holding cell?” Ramon looked around, confused.
“Yes. I’ll go call Trent and Knox to come let you out.” I ran to get my phone, not taking my eyes off of him.
“Hello? Min? Is everything okay?” Trent’s voice was filled with worry and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Everything’s actually fantastic, Trent. I did it! Ramon’s back with us!”
“What? Seriously? Knox and I will be right there!” The phone hung up immediately, and I padded back over to Ramon, who was smiling at me from within the cell.
“I must have gotten pretty bad, huh?” Ramon ran his hand through his hair.
“We didn’t let it get too crazy before we locked you up. You didn’t hurt anyone, so you don’t have to worry.”
“You did it, Min. I’m so proud of you.” Ramon reached through the bars to stroke my cheek. Tears just kept falling and I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t believe he was there in front of me. All my hard work and faith paid off.
“Ramon?” I heard Trent’s voice as he ran into the room, and Knox was right behind him. Trent rushed up to the cell and opened the door, immediately hugging Ramon before he could even step outside.
“Don’t you ever scare us like that again. You hear me?” Trent warned.
When Trent finally let him go, Knox shook Ramon’s hand.
“We didn’t think you were going to make it, buddy. I’m happy to see you’re back with us.”
“Well, then let me through to thank the woman responsible!” Ramon joked, stepping past Knox.
I laughed through my tears. “You almost died and you’re still joking?”
He pulled me into a tight embrace and I held him just as firmly, burying my face in his neck. I didn’t care that he hadn’t showered in days and he was covered in sweat. He was there, in front of me, holding me, and that was all that mattered. I just wanted to melt into him. And just when I thought I would, he pulled away slightly and captured my lips in a passionate kiss.
It felt as if I’d found an oasis after walking through the desert. It was as if we had never kissed before, spreading warmth through every part of me that seeped into my bones. Our lips danced wildly, and we had almost forgotten we weren’t alone.
Almost.
“Ahem,” Knox coughed, interrupting our intimate scene. We pulled away reluctantly and Ramon gave him a look.
“I can’t have a moment with my lady?” Ramon asked.
“You most certainly can, but for starters, you’re buck naked, bro, and as good of friends as we are, I would prefer to not have to look at you for too long,” he chuckled. “Also, we’ve got some business to take care of. The conclave called to answer my request for Cassidy’s trial; they’ve arrived and are ready to adjudicate her case.”
“The conclave?” I asked, confused.
“They are a special council of shifters, representing all kinds, not just bears. Their duty is to pass judgement on clan-related incidents,” Knox informed me.
“Are they going to kill her?”
“Conspiring to eliminate the whole clan and teaming up with the government? It’s fairly likely,” Trent snorted.
I looked over to Cassidy, who was staring at the ground. I knew what she did was wrong, but was punishment by death really necessary?
“I don’t want to go,” I admitted. I couldn’t watch her execution. I knew I had no say in their affairs, but that didn’t mean I had to witness the results of their decision first hand.
“You kind of have to, with your amount of involvement,” Trent winced.
“We can leave before the execution—if there is one,” Ramon assured me, and I nodded at him in agreement.
“Alright, let’s get Ramon some clothes and then we can meet the conclave at the clearing.”