"Ginger Snaps 4: Heavenless"

48. Answers, II

"How am I here if there is no cure?"

"There is no cure if you're still partially human. The cure needs a lycanthrope metabolism and a lycanthrope anatomy to work. It doesn't work if you haven't fully transformed."

"I guess that makes sense... so what's the cure?"

"You do know that the aconitum genus has more than two hundred species, right?"

Brigitte only remembered a likewise comment from Sam once.

"Yeah... sort of." She said, instead.

"The only known cure is the Southern Blue Monkshood, aconitum uncinatum. It's often overlooked when it comes to lycanthrope treatments. Everybody goes for the name."

"I guess we did, too... but the monkshood wasn't going to cut it, anyway."

"It can work," Amy said, while taking off two more of her earrings, ", but there's a limit to how much it can do. I'm sorry."

Brigitte considered it. Having no choice in the matter took on a whole new meaning with this piece of information, but there was nothing she could do about any of it now. At least, she thought, Ginger was beyond saving, and it wasn't her failure.

"How did you find me?"

"It's easy to trace you to the Happier Times Care Center. I was going to check out where you went anyway, but then this little girl came along and..."

"Ghost." Brigitte's spite became apparent in her hand curling into a fist, which Amy noted with some amusement. Through clenched teeth, Brigitte asked, "What happened to her?"

"She was my live bait to lure you in. You disemboweled her."

Brigitte's fist relaxed and her face was drained of all anger.

"I figured she had either led to your transformation," Amy said, taking off the final two of her earrings, ",or had allowed it, or something. That's inexcusable. Besides, you were already hunting her down when I found her. I needed a lure, and she agreed to it."

Brigitte looked daggers at her, but not for long. She turned away, turned inwards. This wasn't what she wanted, this never was what she wanted, but every time, it came to this. Somebody's life for hers, and for who, exactly? For someone who once had a pact to kill herself, come sixteen. For someone who had once placed no value in life...