"Chris?" Melissa asked quietly as she approached the side of his bed.
Like me, he had also been wounded by the wyvern in our attempt to capture the thing, but his injuries had required surgery. The stained gauze bandage in the middle of his torso told of his battle, and I empathized with him of the pain.
"Melissa," he said groggily, smiling at her through his sleepiness. "I know you're tired, sweetie, but we need to talk about how to stop this thing, and I think I have an idea."
"It's okay," he said, grunting as he sat up, "I will help where I can. Cassia, how are you doing?" "Well, I understand your pain, but at least I can walk around. How are you doing?" He smiled despite it all.
"I'm alright. I've had worse. Now," he turned, taking Melissa's hand, "what is your prediction?"
"Gold."
Chris looked at her with a puzzled expression, but I could see the wheels beginning to turn in his head. "Of course…" He murmured.
"What-"
A shrill scream erupted from outside the door, and suddenly, lots of people began running past the door. Seconds later, the roar of the wyvern echoed down the hallways, a terrifying noise that immediately made the pain spike in my side in remembrance.
I turned to Melissa and Chris. "…It's here." I whispered.
Chris grunted again and reached between the frame and mattress of the hospital bed, revealing a handgun. "You know as well as I do that if that thing comes in here, we can't stop it." I said to him, watching another woman rush by with a panicked expression on her face.
"Got any wolfsbane tucked away?" I asked. "Unfortunately, no. My supply is stashed in the morgue." Melissa said.
I opened my mouth to speak again when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted movement and ducked away from the tall window in the door. I listened closely, then took my phone out. I quickly put it on silent, then sent a quick text to Theo.
It's here
Melissa squatted down beside the bed to hide herself and I pushed myself in the corner of the room. Chris took a deep breath and acted like he was sleeping, which only made me guess that the creature was looking in or was about to. I hoped it didn't have exceptional hearing like the pack did, because my heart was flying at a million miles an hour.
It was so silent that the ringing in my ears sounded like blaring horns. I didn't even breathe.
But we all jumped to when the creature began pounding on the door. "No," I said, and jumped back in front of the door, attempting to do my best to hold it back. "Guys, quickly, if you can, get out the window!" "There's no damn way we're leaving you behind to save our skins!" Chris yelled, sitting up with much pain and pulling the IV from his arm.
"And I'm not letting three of us die if two can get away, go!" I yelled back, my feet sliding when the creature punched the door again. I could feel the strong wood giving way, and before long, my body would too.
Chris pointed the gun directly at the creature through the window, and it snarled in response. It pounded the door once again, this time creating a hole big enough for its arm. Just as I saw its long claws begin to poke through it, a familiar roar sounded down the hallway, a warning not to reach any farther.
Liam.
Melissa blew a sigh, "The boys and Cora are here." The creature responded in anger, then ran off toward them. We took a second to recoup, and only then did the pain remind both Chris and me of what had just happened. My stitches were screaming, and as I hesitantly lifted my shirt to check on them, I could see damage had been dealt due to the bright red, fresh blood that discolored the bandage. Chris had also covered his wound with his hand, grimacing in discomfort.
"Cass, you may have busted stitches." Melissa spoke. "It doesn't matter right now," I said, wincing as I heard a body collide with one of the walls outside, then growling.
I heard Cora roar at the creature, and was glad that they had joined Liam. "Alright," I said to Melissa, "we need to go see if there's anyone in the near vicinity that we can save." "That sounds like suicide right now." "We have to try. If there is anyone else in that hallway, they could-"
The sound of Corey screaming in pain made my heart stop, and all at once, the battle ended. Without thinking, I opened the broken door and ran outside, finding the pack surrounding him.
The creature was nowhere in sight, which meant it had probably escaped. "Corey!" Mason screamed, falling down onto the floor beside him. With the rest of the pack's bodies around him, I couldn't see what damage had been dealt, but I knew it wasn't good, because I heard Mason sobbing.
"God help us," I murmured as I came closer. Corey was holding his thigh, agony washing over his face. Mason held him upright, his forehead pressed against Corey's temple.
"What happened?" Melissa called from behind me, and Theo realized then that I was there, and hurried over, wrapping an arm protectively around me.
"The…claws…" Corey struggled. "No," I said, tears forming in my eyes.
Mason lifted Corey's shirt, and I gasped. Ropey, green veins were already climbing their way up his stomach, with no signs of slowing down. "No!" I said again, louder this time, and Theo kept a hold on me when I tried to move closer.
"Mason," Corey said. "I'm here," Mason said, holding him closer. "I'm sorry." He whispered. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I buried my face into Theo's chest.
The veins were now crawling up his chest, and I could hear from his struggled breathing that it was getting harder to do so.
"Give me room!" Melissa came barreling from one of the side rooms, and pushed through us. She had a huge syringe, filled with an odd colored mass inside. "The nine herbs." Liam whispered. "Will it work?" Mason asked, as Corey begin to lose consciousness in his arms.
"I don't know, but it's healed him before, and it's worth a try!" She said, pulling the cap from the top and plunging it into his body. She forced the somewhat solid goop inside into his body and removed the needle.
Corey made no move. "Come on," Melissa said, more to herself and Corey than anyone else.
Suddenly, Corey sat up, yelling in pain, but we watched as the green veins began to disappear, slithering back toward the original wound, which then healed completely, as though it had never been there.
"Corey!" Mason said, pulling him into a strong embrace, which Corey returned.
"Melissa," I said, staring at her, and she exhaled deeply in relief, turning to me, "that was amazing."
She smiled, then was pulled into a group hug with the boys.
Theo turned back to face me again, putting gentle fingers under my chin. "Are you okay?" He asked, shifting my head gently to assess my neck and face. "I busted a few stitches when I tried to fight the creature coming in through the door, but all in all, I'm okay. Are you alright?" I said.
"Better now." He said, his face not changing expression, but he leaned his forehead against mine. I gave him a small smile and he sighed.
"Get a room," I heard Liam say under his breath. I heard and felt the growl in Theo's chest, and I bit my lip to stop the giggle that appeared in my throat. "He's just being annoying," I said gently to Theo, softly guiding his face back to mine. "I know. It's the only thing he's good at." He growled, and Liam scoffed. "I saved your ass back in those woods and you know it."
Theo went to reply back, but was interrupted by Chris's question as he came to stand by us. "So, where did the creature go?"
"It ran out the door. We were so concerned with Corey that we let it get away. We need to go hunt for it now." Liam said.
"There's only one way you can stop it. But first, you need to find out who it's looking for." Chris said. "How do you know it's looking for someone?" Cora asked him.
Chris responded by holding up a picture of a man and woman in black and white. They looked fierce, angry, and like they would take on anything. They had dark hair and eyes. "Who are they?" Liam asked.
"The Dorados."
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