Chapter Nineteen
"How long have you been eating, Collie? And especially, how, as your mother, didn't I notice this?"
"Mom." The red-head is scarfing up the last of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Oh, that was so good. Really, mom, why didn't you tell me how delicious everything was before now?"
"Oh, no, you don't! Answer my question first. Oh, finally, his majesty rises, too!"
"Beth. You sound miffed. What did I do while I was sleeping?"
"Your daughter has become human and didn't even bother to tell me." Sniffs Beth.
Two pairs of eyes swing over towards her then at each other, like this was on purpose?
"Geesh, Mom. I didn't realize you were so sensitive. I mean, Ell's been human all his life. Don't I get a chance? Oh, alright." After seeing her father's frosty glance at her, Collie decides she'd better tell them what Uncle Lance had figured out. "I got knifed in the leg that day – you know, the day I blacked out -- sometime in the afternoon, I lurched into what I thought was one of those outdoor urinals. Yeah, kinda disgusting but it turned out someone pushed me into it, cut a little bit of my thigh and put something cold into it. I gotta say it brought me out of the daze but then …"
"Red, someone gave you the compound. Beth, do you remember my telling you how it felt cold at first and then I started warming up as my body came alive again? An amazing feeling. No wonder you're hungry. I must have eaten half a cow my first night."
"Really, dad? So what's Chinese like?"
"Collie, honey. Talk about food later. Do you remember who did this to you? And why?"
"Well, Uncle Lance has a theory about that but it's private until he can check something out. Oh, and I've got to ask Ell something, too. Anyone seen him lately?"
Beth distractedly says, "He went out to meet with Heather Chapman. Said he'd be home around eleven."
"Mom, we've got to call him and warn him off. She's one of them."