Lost and Found

Thirteen

Looking from her legs, to Leo, and then back at her legs, Tessa couldn’t muster up anything to say. She’d never seen anything like it before nor had she ever had this happen to her before. She didn’t know how to formulate a sentence that would be beneficial or that would give insight into why she was in such a state.

As she peered closer, there was bruising around each of the boils. She poked at one of them slightly and then hissed in pain.

“Yeah, maybe don’t touch it,” Leo said after a moment of silence. “I called Bre over to–”

The door shot open, revealing a very disheveled Bre, who swooped into the room and stared at Tessa’s legs while shaking her head.

“Not you too!” she exclaimed.

Tess frowned as her eyebrows knit together. “Me too?”

Bre nodded. “Yeah, Alpha has the same thing on his legs! He was fine when you brought him here, but now he has the same infection or disease or whatever this is," she pointed at Tessa's legs. "Happening to him. I’m so sorry that I didn’t think about coming to check on you. I already drew his blood to run some tests, but I’m going to have to do the same to you, Tessa. I mean, if you let me. But, I am your doctor, and I highly recommend it, so–”

Tessa grabbed her hands. She noticed that the doctor was shaking uncontrollably, and she wasn’t sure if Bre was even aware of her own body’s response.

“It’s alright. Of course, I trust your judgment. Run your tests; take all the blood you need,” Tessa said gently. “You seem more upset and worried about this than I am.”

“Well, you’re my patient. I should’ve never let an infection get like this. This is out of control, and I don’t even know what it is!”

Tessa gave her a half-smile. “But, you’ll figure it out. I’m not worried, and neither should you be. You didn’t do this to us. It’s not your fault.”

Bre squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, “Thank you. Apparently, I needed to hear that. Yes, I will get to the bottom of this. You and the Alpha will be cured. I’m a doctor, and a darn good one. There is no riddle I can’t solve. I love puzzles, and this is a body of the body, which is why I became a doctor in the first place. Alright,” she opened her eyes and pulled her hands from Tessa’s to clap them together. “Pep talk over, so I’m going to figure this out.”

Leo gave Tessa an amused look, which caused her to chuckle as Bre grabbed a new syringe from a cabinet in the corner as well as several vials and some tubing. She then tied a rubber band around Tessa’s upper arm, stuck the needle into her arm, and proceeded to fill up the empty vials with her blood.

Grimacing at the pinch from the needle, Tessa looked over at the wall. Somehow, not looking at the process made it more bearable for her, which was a trick she learned from her childhood days. However, this time, she felt different. Her vision swam, and her head felt funny.

Her eyes began drooping as she said, “Hey, I don’t think…”

Tessa’s head fell forward, and her entire body became limp. She had fallen unconscious.

“Damn,” Bre muttered, stopping the process and twisting the lid on the final vial. “Leo, get the fan and a bottle of water.”

Without hesitating, Leo followed directions and did as Bre commanded. Less than a minute later, Tessa’s eyes fluttered open.

“What’s happening to me?” she whispered slowly. “I don’t feel good.”

“Alright Tessa,” Bre said, sitting down next to her. “I’m going to be straight up with you. You seem to be on the same trajectory as the Alpha, however, with slightly worse symptoms. I believe your body is shutting itself down as an infection rages through you. I don’t know what it is or how you both got it, but his blood tests…” she peered down to check the time on the watch on her wrist before continuing. “Should just about be done. Hopefully, it’ll give me some answers and a way to medically help your bodies recover.”

All she could manage was a nod at the doctor’s words. Her body felt heavy, and she was hot. Tessa could feel beads of sweat forming all over her body. Her ears seemed to be stuffed with cotton, making it hard for her to hear what Bre was saying. She wondered why she was trying so hard to fight against the desire to close her eyes and slip into unconsciousness. Sleeping would allow her to escape the harshness of reality.

Almost as soon as she succumbed to her slumber, Tessa immediately regretted it. She found herself once again locked in a cage, surrounded by darkness. A single spotlight shone down on her, as if illuminating how much a failure she truly was.

“See? See how interesting?” a voice said.

Tessa jerked her body around, coming face-to-face with oddly familiar blue eyes and blue, patchy hair. Though, another man stood next to him with a piercing gaze and shrewd, brown eyes. He was taller than the odd fellow, dressed in a navy blue suit, and had a clean-shaven face. His face seemed frozen in a scowl.

“I said no, Darrian. Why did you bring me here?” the man said gruffly.

The man from earlier, Darrian, pointed at Tessa. “Exquisite, isn’t she? Trapped and bound. Must be freed. Must be tamed. Must be–”

“Enough with your riddles. I never have enough time for them. Speak more plainly else I’m leaving.”

Darrian frowned, but stepped closer to her. The cage disappeared, removing the barrier between them. Tessa took a frightened step back. Darrian’s eyes shimmered in an unsettling way when he looked at her.

“One of them. Them. I saw it. My eyes would not deceive. She is them.”

“Show me. If she is one of them, then this does change everything. I will grant your request if you can prove it to me.”

Grabbing her wrist, Darrian pulled her forward, which caused her to lose her balance and fall onto her knees.

“S-stop!” she yelled, trying to yank her arm free of his grasp. “That hurts.”

“Shift. I stop; you shift,” Darrian commanded.

Tessa shook her head and looked up at him with a confused expression. “I can’t.”

He frowned at her. “Why?”

“I don’t know how.”

The other man let out a frustrated sigh. “Darrian,” he began, his voice tight with anger. “You’re making your case harder to believe. You found a broken one?”

“Broken?” Tessa murmured more to herself than to the men.

However, Darrian shook his head. “Not broken, blocked. Past transgressions are the diseased roots that chain her place. To break free of the past, she must transcend. She must accept. She must believe.”

“Darrian,” the man barked at him. “Speak sense. You dragged me all the way here with the promise that I’d see something incredible. All I’ve seen is a terrified, broken girl that you claim is a–”

“Shh,” Darrian interrupted. “Not safe. She’s changing–”

Bright light flooded the darkness all around her, blinding her until she was forced to close her eyes. She couldn’t fully comprehend what was happening to her, but Tessa knew that the light was filling her body. It burned her, and yet, at the same time, she felt invigorated by it. The pain quickly turned to euphoria.

Darrian’s voice filled her head as her eyes fluttered open. She stared up at the ceiling of the hospital room she was still occupying. Though, when she looked around, she was shocked to see both Leo and Bre lying on the floor unconscious. Blood dripped from their noses. Tessa sprang up and out of bed, reaching Leo first. She cradled his head in her lap and was relieved to feel him still breathing. She checked on Bre as well and found her in the same state.

Seeing that the door was open, she peeked her head out and walked down the hallway. The lady that usually sat at the front desk was slumped in her chair, looking exactly as she had found the other two. Tessa felt a chill run down her spine.

Feeling uncertain, she crept around the hospital, though she found no one else, until she opened the only closed door. It was then that she briefly remembered that Bre had mentioned Zane also being in the hospital.

When she opened the door, she found Zane kneeling next to a body on the floor. He jolted when their eyes met.

“What did you do?” he asked.

She opened her mouth to refute it being her fault, but Darrian’s words echoed in her mind, and she closed it instead. Though there was no proof that it was actually her fault, there was also no reason to believe that it hadn’t been her either.

Darrian had said, “This is only the beginning.”