“Well, amigo, it’s just you and me now.”
I was staring down at a dead body. The shifter that had been infected with the mutated rabies virus that had killed Danielle Peterson was now lying on my autopsy table.
I had watched his health deteriorate and his behavior become even more aggressive—if at all possible—since his capture. It had gotten to the point where he was permanently in bear form and seemed unable or unwilling to change back. The last day, he was just lying on the floor of his cell, his breath ragged and labored. I had known he would die soon. I had been intrigued to see if the virus also affected whether he would shift back to human form after his death, which usually happened in healthy shifters. Or would he remain in bear form because the virus had taken over so much?
My question had been answered by his naked human frame lying before me. I already knew the cause of death, so a forensic autopsy was not necessary, but a clinical one was imperative to figuring out what the virus had done to this man’s insides. I never had to do an autopsy while working at the national park in Mexico, but I had the training and knew what I was doing.
“¡Empecemos!” I exclaimed, grabbing my knife. The first thing I noticed, was that the body was covered in bug bites. The shifter had been out in the wild for who knows how long with no clothes on and I couldn’t be sure he hadn’t brought any with him into his cell where they continued to feast on him.
“Maybe that’s why he was always in such a bad mood,” I laughed to myself.
I made the first incision going straight down from his chest to his pubic bone. The shifter bled black, but I had been expecting that. His blood had gotten darker and darker each time I drew it for testing.
The body didn’t have much fat tissue, so it was a little tough to cut through the muscle to get to the ribs, but I finally managed. I cut through the rib cage as well, cracking it open so his organs were fully exposed, and I was completely shocked by what I saw.
“It looks exactly the same,” I spoke aloud, regarding each organ in my hands. The shifter’s stomach was small and empty. He wouldn’t eat anything, no matter how hard I had tried to get him to. His intestines were barren. His liver was intact, and his lungs were perfect.
Then, I saw the heart.
It had to be the heart; it just didn’t look like one anymore. Now, it resembled a giant piece of coal, hardened and completely black.
“Huh…interesante…” I examined it a bit longer and set it aside, picking up the camera to snap a photo of it, along with the other internal organs to document how the virus had seemingly not affected anything else.
That seems nearly impossible. With the virus taking over the blood cells, what was fueling bodily organs to continue to function? There was no way the virus was smart enough to be able to allow them to function like blood could. Maybe the organs shut down once the virus took over completely?
This virus had me doubting almost everything I knew about science.
I decided to examine the brain next, cutting along the shifter’s hairline and pulling his scalp back, exposing his skull with a noticeable crack in it.
“¿Que demonios?” A crack in the skull would have caused a massive bleed out to the brain and the shifter would have died. I could tell that it had been there for a while; it was not a fresh injury. Why was his skull cracked in the first place?
I used my medical saw to cut through the skull and make an opening big enough where I could remove the brain.
“¡Dios mio!” I exclaimed after almost cutting straight into the brain.
Why is it so close to the skull? It shouldn’t be… I thought, removing the window of bone I cut out and I couldn’t believe my eyes.
The shifter’s brain had swollen to the point where it had almost taken up the entire skull. Removing the piece had only caused the swelling to bulge out from the opening.
How long has this guy’s brain been like this? Any human would have died instantly from brain swelling of this magnitude…
I had to break the cranium completely open to extract the brain. Other than the massive swelling, it was perfectly normal.
“Ah!” I shrieked, dropping the brain onto the table and grabbing my shoulder. I opened my lab coat and pulled the sleeve of my shirt up to see a small bug bite.
“And now you’ve brought them with you? Come on! I didn’t even see anything!” I cursed, checking the area. I still didn’t see an insect, so I just assumed I had killed it when I grabbed my shoulder. Nevertheless, it made me want a shower. Badly.
I decided to wrap up the autopsy; there wasn’t much more I could do anyway, so I took a few more shots of the enlarged brain and stitched up the body.
Hey, man. Still locked up with your boyfriend? I heard Trent’s voice calling out in my head and rolled my eyes. I had been spending so much time on research regarding the shifter, Trent kept making jokes about the number of hours and effort I was putting into it. The guy is dead, you can move on now!
I focused my thoughts to telepathically respond. Well, someone has to figure out how he might have picked up the virus from the environment and how it affected his body. Just in case we encounter it again.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah. You’re all work and no play these days, man. You need a break.
I’ll take a break when I feel like I have done all I can and found out everything there is to know about this.
Did you finish the autopsy? Knox’s voice joined their channel.
Yes, sir. I have the pictures of all the abnormalities. I was going to head home and shower and then request a meeting with you to discuss my findings.
That can wait until tomorrow morning. When you get home, you can still shower and get dressed, but Trent and I will be by to pick you when you’re done.
Pick me up for what?
We’re having a bros’ night out, man! Going to Leary’s for a few drinks! Trent sounded loud and excited.
Yo no se…It’s pretty late guys…
What are you? An old man? It’s only 9pm!
Don’t make me have to order you. Knox’s voice was stern. I sure as hell didn’t want to get our Alpha all riled up, so I finally gave in.
Fine. I’ll need at least an hour to get ready, though.
No one said anything else, and I imagined they were just happy I finally caved.
I loved going out for beers with Trent and Knox, but I just hadn’t felt like it that night. Not like I had a choice anymore, though. I removed my lab coat, pulled on my hoodie, and headed out into the chilly spring night.