Perspective Shifts

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When Matt reacted to Rami entering, the vampire noticed and remained a little further away to give him space. Faolan was still perplexed as to how the situation had developed. His parental instinct was present though, and the way his granddaughter lay with Matt was definitely a violation of one of the Rules... but he decided not to say anything.

Joe listened to what Rita said and lifted her head slightly, Matt still smelled like a werewolf... mostly. When he tightened his arms around her she tried to return the gesture, and she succeeded a little. He was hers, no matter what.

"You can h've smmre blood f'you need.." She mumbled. "I w'ntyou tobe 'kay."
Faolan then spoke up, "I'm willing to give some." And then looked at Matt, "It's the least I can do."
This made Joe happy and she even nuzzled Matt on his chest, "th'nks gran'dad. Y're th best."
 
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Matt responded to Joe's offer by nuzzling affectionately at her head, his face buried in her hair. He had a vague notion that this was inappropriate with people watching, and especially Faolan, but right then he couldn't have cared less.

More blood... The words trundled around in Rita's head and bounced off a few things in there. But just injecting him with werewolf blood wasn't going to do any good, they'd done that already and his stubborn heart had rejected it. There had to be a way to focus things down, try and take over his heart by force... Sure, they could inject directly into his heart, there were sure to be intracardial injectors around here somewhere. But shoving unadulterated werewolf blood into his heart might damage it beyond repair. It was already dying. She didn't want to risk dealing the final blow.

"We need to find a way of weakening the vampire tissue's hold on his heart... otherwise adding werewolf blood is just going to kill him a lot quicker," she said to Faolan. She glanced at Rami, standing back, presumably to give Matt the space he so clearly needed. It was just typical that the one vampire doctor they had on hand happened to have some sort of history with the patient. Still, she hoped he'd be able to come up with something, because she was drawing a complete blank.
 
Rami had similar thoughts on the procedure they'd have to follow, but coming up with a formula and such to work would take time. Time they might not have. There was the stuff that they gave a vampire who was going to be transformed, but that was too aggressive. Even changing it to be less so would render it pretty much useless.
"Hmm..." he started thinking. "Yes, without destroying it." and pondered more about the solution.

As Joe lay, enjoying the smell and the closeness to Matt - which was something that she had worried about, thinking it would be too much, but now realised it was actually very nice - she started slipping into unconsciousness...

Suddenly an idea struck and she jolted wide awake, with a stab of pain from the migraine, and cringed but was determined to speak, "V'rus... infct'n..." she almost whispered it. Her breathing picked up the pace, but it was shallow. Memories were rushing in her mind's eye of formulas, papers, tests, blood samples... and it wasn't hers exactly. It was the Voice's, but with it gone the memories had now become hers. Something to weaken vampires, even shorten their lives. Something that would inhibit their ability to change humans into their kind with a bite - effectively even up to 100% in most cases... It was silent and did it's job without being noticed, and was highly contagious.

Reality struck her, now finally knowing what that stuff really did. Her eyes widened... it could work, right?
 
Rita watched Rami's face, but it didn't display the "aha!" expression that she had been hoping for. Great. The doctor's presence was aggravating Matt, and apparently he had nothing to add to the attempt to save him. She sighed. She'd only been working at the facility for a month, and now she needed to figure out a way of fixing their damn procedure.

When Joe jolted awake, Matt tried to hold onto her tightly enough that she wouldn't move and hurt herself. He assumed she had just had the beginning of a bad dream and was about to tell her it was nothing when he heard her whispering about the virus. It took him a moment to figure out what she was talking about, and why. Then he looked up at Rita. "She says the virus will work… the one that's spreading through the clans."

That surprised Rita, and she thought through what she knew of that virus. Sure, they had had cases stagger into the clinic and there was work being done to find a cure, that much she knew. But it wasn't her area, and the whole thing was under such tight lockdown – security or quarantine, she wasn't even sure – that she really hadn't a clue what the scientists working in that part of the facility were up against. Still, she knew that whatever it was, it was bad news. "You want me to inject the mystery virus that's torn the whole clan structure to pieces… into your heart." Her tone was completely deadpan.

Matt had the sense to look a little worried for a moment, and then his expression cleared. "If that's what she says we should do." He hesitated briefly, and then added, "She may have been a little… involved with the thing that invented that stuff, or set it loose or whatever. It wasn't her fault." Something in the way his muscles had tensed warned Rita that if she pushed this issue, or dared to implicate Joe in the damage the virus was causing, he would snap. She sighed.

"All right, but in case you hadn't noticed I don't just have vials filled with dangerous viruses about my person." There was always the option of taking blood from an infected vampire, but she was dubious about injecting any more vampire tissue into him – that was what they were trying to eradicate. "I know they're probably culturing it in the clinic, but I've nothing close to the security clearances to even look at the stuff, let alone take some home with me." She also knew that this stuff was very infectious indeed, and she and Rami would both have to be very careful if they intended to handle it, but she didn't raise that issue. That was her problem, not something for Matt to worry about.
 
Ah yes... the damn virus. Rami'd been hearing of it and also of some of the more worse cases where some maddened vampires fed on each other... He'd also heard that it was a damn tough thing to decipher or even begin to understand and there was no hope of a cure in sight yet.

Joe heard something about an injection and heart, and she tried to shake her head but it only moved a little, "Nno... jusst breaheinn. It'll do... th'rest..." she mumbled, fighting to stay awake. Her eyes wanted to close but she kept blinking them. The last thing they should do was to inject it straight into his heart. It might be too much of a shock and the virus needed to 'blend' in with the blood. It did that by attaching itself to red blood cells, among other complicated biological happenings.

As Joe was still thinking about all this, the word 'home' triggered another memory... of her (or at least the Voice as her) walking around a corner of Faolan's home. Then some digging, and something in a lead box was buried. Some other flicks of scattered memories showed the scent and path being obscured and then she was walking away... She suspected that it might be something that could help. "Home... Augusst's" was the last she could get out before losing the fight against sleep.
 
Rita barely heard Joe's next words and when she did, they troubled her. Controlled injection was likely to be a much simpler task than getting him to breathe this thing in without it spreading, and she glanced up at Faolan. The old wolf was tough, she'd give him that, but could he be relied upon to get a needle through flesh and bone into the boy's heart? They might not need to inject the virus, but the blood that had to follow would have to be targeted right to the 'heart' of the problem. The little pun might have made her laugh if she were less concerned. If the virus was transmitted by air, she and Rami had better be well clear when it got released.

Matt chose this moment to decide that it was time to sit up, and she almost tried to stop him, but his aggression at any sign of movement halted her. He struggled slightly, using one arm to hold onto Joe and the other to lever himself upright. The girl seemed to be asleep. "Home it is, then," he said. He didn't know what 'Augusst's' was supposed to mean, but they'd get to that later. Rita had missed Joe's last words entirely and it took her a moment to catch on… and then she remembered that they'd all arrived in the ambulance. Getting home might be a little bit of an issue.

She turned to Rami. "We need a syringe, something that can handle an intracardiac injection. For the blood. Also, do you happen to have a car around here, or are we taking a taxi?" She almost felt Matt tense up in reaction to the idea of getting into a car with Rami, and certainly heard the growl he let out, quiet but warning. "I'll walk." She considered pointing out that he'd just spent the last few minutes trying to sit up and was in no state to walk all the way back to the house, but a glance at his face told her to think the better of that one.
 
The last two words that Joe had mentioned danced around in Faolan's head. He hadn't heard it too clearly, but it was trying to reach a memory of something important. August? No... Au- He lifted his head in recollection. "Augustus." he said. At the mention of the name, Rami looked at him and saw the old wolf's expression change. He looked troubled.

Rami nodded at Rita's words, and caught Matt's aggression. He can sure hold a grudge. "I'll get the syringe for you, and I have access to a company car." for Matt's part he elaborated, "Practically brand new, but I prefer my bike." for in case Matt's grudge was so big that he wouldn't want to ride in a car that smelled like him.
Faolan, after having made a decision, said with a determined voice, "I'll drive." and then looked at Matt, "You're in no state to walk all the way lad, and I'm sure you'd want Joe with you, right? I can then drop miss Rita off and return the car afterwards. Also, I know where the spot is that Joe spoke of." He didn't exactly know what would be needed for a blood transfusion, but if possible they could do it at home and get it over with.

Rami nodded his consent and then exited the room to get the keys and syringe.
 
Matt's distrustful look was turned on Faolan as Rami announced he would take his bike, and he scowled. Probably he could trust Faolan… probably. Besides, if he was driving then surely the worst he could do would be to crash the car, and Matt was fairly sure he could have Joe out of there before things went bad. In the end he nodded reluctantly at the suggestion, but added, "She stays with me."

He was unable to get to his feet unaided, and when Rita tried to help him, he seemed to grudgingly accept that this was going to be necessary. He wouldn't let her near Joe, though, so she had to go round the back and put her hands under his armpits to haul him to his feet. He was taller than her. There was an awkward moment where she had to try to reposition her elbows without letting him fall, but then he was standing. She noticed him swaying slightly and carefully took hold of his elbow to support him.

"Can you come in the back of the car?" he asked her, and she looked at him blankly. He didn't seem to want anyone near him now, so the request seemed out of character. "To get the rest of the splinters out." She glanced down and noticed that there were indeed still a lot of splinters in Joe's hand – she'd forgotten about that job in all the excitement since they'd arrived. "She could also use something for the pain." Rita nodded, but given that she was a nurse who didn't even work here she doubted she was getting access to any drugs, so she called after Rami, "And painkillers!"

Getting Matt to the exit was going to take a while, especially if he was going to insist on carrying Joe, so she thought they'd best set off. She assumed Rami would find them, given that two-and-a-half werewolves and one-and-a-half vampires shuffling through a hospital like one big happy family could not be a common occurrence. The scent trail they left would be somewhat distinctive.
 
Faolan had no problem with playing the role of taxi driver with Matt, Joe and Rita in the back. He was pretty much quiet on the way home, glancing in the rear view mirror every now and then. Partly because he wanted to keep an eye on Matt's condition and partly to see when Rami would follow. They had decided to drive in intervals since Rami had some doctor things to do.

When they finally got to the house Faolan went ahead to unlock and open the door for them. A minute or two later, Rami arrived and brought his medical case with. It had what they would need, including face masks and gloves for him and Rita in case they might have to work with whatever the virus was contained in. Of course, the vampire made sure to give Matt enough space so as to not cause trouble.
Joe was pretty much oblivious to all of this, now sleeping deeply and soundly and didn't even stir.

"I can show you where the spot is," Faolan announced once they had settled in and then, scratching behind his ear, looked at Matt. "Any chance you know what to look fer? I know my land, but any extra information would help." He was actually hoping Matt would join him, but if not then he'd go alone. Chances were Matt would want to stick with Joe anyway.
 
Rita helped Matt out of the car and into the house. He tried to head for the stairs, but she gently reminded him that it might be a better idea not to do that right now, so instead he set Joe down on the long sofa and immediately collapsed onto the floor alongside it. He was keeping it together well, but she noticed beads of sweat on his forehead and knew that the slow dying of his heart was taking its toll.

At Faolan's question he shook his head, "She's never mentioned this before. At a guess, you'll have to dig deep." He gripped the sofa and tried to stand up, his arms shaking violently, but for once Rita decided to be firm. "You're not going anywhere." She might have been imagining it, but the look in his eyes seemed grateful. Werewolves and their damn refusal to show any kind of weakness… he would have staggered around out there and probably greatly reduced the amount of time they had left to search. She met Faolan's eyes and her look was stern. "I'm sorry, but you'll just have to figure it out. Take Rami. The less Matthew moves, the more time you two have."

There was very little else that she could do at this stage. Joe's hand, free of splinters now, was slowly healing over, and she seemed to be in a peaceful enough sleep. Matt was shivering and pale, but when she touched his forehead, his skin was burning up. She decided the best thing she could give him would be some more aspirin, which had been the only thing she'd grabbed before dashing to her car on the way here. Sure, Faolan had already given him some, but his system had probably metabolised that already. She popped out another pill and handed it to him, but he couldn't put it in his mouth because of the shaking, so she had to do it for him. Whatever the other two were looking for in the garden, they better find it soon, because Matt's condition was not looking good.
 
Rami gave a long whistle as he saw how the tree had been damaged, and smelling the blood on it he didn't have to ask who had done it. They headed past it, to the little fenced area. It was a mini graveyard with two stones, and on the one was the name "Augustus". Faolan stood a moment and looked at it, and then shook his head. Rami put a comforting hand on the old wolf's shoulder, "Don't worry old friend, you got your granddaughter back."
"Oh aye, and I am eternally grateful to you," he said as he looked at his friend.
Rami gave a sad smile, "I'm sorry it didn't work for your boy..."
"Don't be, you tried and he was too far gone anyway." Faolan responded quietly.

It took a few minutes, but eventually they came back with the small casing. Before opening it, Rami handed Rita gloves and a face mask and got some for him as well. He made sure not to breathe, just for in case and whenever he spoke it was maybe one or two words. When they were properly prepped, he opened the casing and inside was a small vial with red liquid. He looked at Rita with raised eyebrows as if saying, "Shall we?"
 
Rita took a very deep breath as she put on her mask, and with any luck that would cover anything she felt the need to say until all this was over with. It was best not to breathe, not with an airborne pathogen floating around. Sure, there was always the option of becoming a werewolf… she wondered if that would work for her. She was born a vampire, but her mother had been a werewolf for some time. That might make her just unstable enough to make the switch. Still, she'd seen people go through that first hand, and she was in no rush to follow them.

She just nodded at Rami's silent question, and helped Matt to sit up straighter and bend forward. Wordlessly she gestured to Faolan, indicating to him to hold out his arm so that she could draw the blood they needed. It would only take a small amount; if this worked, the quantity wasn't really important.

Matt's hands were still shaking way too much to risk taking the vial, so he had to rely on Rami. That worried him… but Joe had said to do this. He might be very distrustful of Rami and even concerned about Faolan's motives, but he trusted Joe. He nodded, just the once – a signal for them to open the vial and get on with this.
 
The room was very quiet, and not even Faolan spoke a word as he held out his arm. His eyes flinched a little when the needle pinched through his skin, but otherwise kept still.
Rami carefully took the vile and held it in front of Matt's nose. Faolan could literally see the scent of it like smoke from a cigarette, but Rami saw nothing as a vampire. He concentrated and made sure to keep an eye on Matt, should there be any bad side-effects.

After a few moments, he carefully held the vial away and closed it again. For extra safety he placed it in the case and closed the lid. He then looked at Rita, his eyes asking how she was doing.

Joe was still sleeping, and her body was healing and replacing the lost blood. The big meal that she had had earlier helped well with that. Unknown to her, her mind was busy and processing everything that had happened the past few days. That included the part where she had focused on the mad memories when Matt had bit her.
 
Matt breathed in through his nose, and his werewolf sense of smell followed its passage through his respiratory system. It was getting to work… but he had no idea how to tell when its job was done. He looked up at Rita, who was done taking blood from Faolan, but her eyes were on Rami and she shrugged very slightly. She had no more idea than Matt what was going on inside his body, couldn't even tell if he'd inhaled the virus.

Matt was monitoring his senses and thought he might feel slightly dizzier now than he had moments before, but perhaps that was just in his head? It was so hard to tell. Seconds ticked by, and the only sounds were breathing and heartbeats: his, Faolan's, Joe's. He swallowed… or tried to swallow. His throat was suddenly very dry. "Water," he rasped, and then, when nobody moved, "Please… water…"

Rita just raised the syringe in her hands slightly, indicating that she was ready to inject him and it was probably best if someone else went to get him a glass of water. Before anyone could move, though, he bent forward and retched violently, although nothing came up. He was clutching his chest now, and she cast a bewildered look at Rami: Is it time?
 
Matt's reactions was the best guess Rami had at knowing if something was working, and nodded to Rita. He then moved to hold Matthew's shoulders to help Rita with her next task.
Faolan had gone to quickly get a glass of water and set it on the table. He moved to the other side of Matthew, "Hold on lad, almost there. You can do this." he said, trying to encourage him. Then helped Rami to keep the lad steady.

Still in blissful sleep, Joe lay. She looked completely serene in the current situation, quite the opposite of how things were around her. As calm as she was, there was a storm brewing within her.
 
Matt needed to sit still, he knew that, but there was something about being held down by two people he did not entirely trust at the moment whilst a third person came at him with a huge needle that activated his squirming response directly. He struggled to calm down and instead of focussing on Rami – Rami who had killed Joe – he tried to remember that he had to do this. The way Rita put it, his only other option was to die.

He was glad it was her holding the needle. He'd met her in a medical context and in that context she'd already saved his life once, by all accounts. Joe had come up with the idea of calling her and that meant that Joe to some extent trusted her too. He managed to still himself as she moved to kneel in front of him, and closed his eyes.

She rammed the needle home with full force, sinking it right through the flesh of his chest until it had pierced his heart, assuming it was long enough to reach. She wasn't a squeamish person but this still wasn't pleasant; nevertheless, she depressed the plunger slowly to reduce the shock. He was very still, and she used some of her stored breath to encourage him: "Well done, Matthew. You're doing great."

She had just about got the needle back out of him when his whole body spasmed, and without the restraints they used at the clinic he curled into a ball. The whimpering sounds coming from him were those of a wounded animal, but he didn't scream. He continued to jerk slightly for a full minute, and then went still, although a persistent whining sound continued to issue from his mouth. Rita looked up, first at Rami and then Faolan. "Well," she said, "I think that's about all we can do."
 
Faolan was glad that Joe wasn't awake to see what was happening. He was also a little surprised that she was still sleeping through all this. His nose was driving him nuts wit hall the smell of distress and pain that Matthew was experiencing. Once it was over and Matt had calmed down, Rami announced that he had to leave as his beeper had gone off. He was a doctor, after all, hobby or not. Faolan had thanked him and asked if Rita would want to stay and see how things go. She could even stay the night if she wanted... and if she got thirsty, he had some fresh blood but it was either from pigs or chickens. Or coffee.
As for Matt, if Rita was fine with it he'd move the lad to (now) his bedroom, and moved Joe to hers. He stayed up for a while but eventually he had to get some shuteye and excused himself.

((Nowwwwwww... prepare fro even bigger wall of text than ever before! As we present a lengthy dream sequence... better get the popcorn and hide the kids.))

"Uhm, this doesn't look like the way home..." She heard Matt say uncertainly. Of course it wasn't, she and Addie were going to take him to a werewolf inn and treat him to his very first steak in, well, probably ever.
She was actually quite excited about it.
"That's because it isn't." She answered him and looked around to see the look on his face. What she saw however, wasn't what she had expected.

The scene had somehow warped and she found herself in a dark scrapyard forest At night. Her eyes darted to where Matt had stood and as she glanced down she saw him laying on the ground, and he wasn't breathing.
"Matt!" She shouted, panic in her voice, as she went to kneel beside him and checked his pulse. There was nothing. Immediately she went for CPR and pinched his nose to blow air into his lungs.
"Hooooooowey, he sure is a goner." She heard a familiar voice say. It was Bucky and he sounded as delightful as ever.
Joe looked up in his direction with a glare-

And found that it was Addie standing there, but his eyes were obscured by his long fringe. His grin wasn't though. "He's gonna diiiieeeeee..." He teased in a low and menacing voice with his head tilted sideways and his hands behind his back.
She ignored him and again blew air through Matt's now blue lips and then moved to press on his chest to get his heart started. 1, 2, --
There was a sickening crunch and she felt as her hands went down too deep, and as she froze and stared in horror she saw her hands were covered in blood, and through his broken chest. Matt's face turned to her and he was looking at her with dead eyes. With a gasp the got up and grabbed her hair as she shook her head, not caring that they'd be coated with his blood... "I... I'm sorry... I was only trying to help. " she said, her voice hoarse. To make it worse there was a gash opening on his throat, fresh blood oozing through it and she heard Matt's gurgling throat gasping for air. All through this Bucky was laughing and said, "Told you so!" Repeatedly.

Joe's defenses kicked in and she became angry. With a snarl she jumped at Bucky and as he looked surprised she bit him on the shoulder. He tried to get her off as he screamed in pain and then with a hard twist of her hand she snapped his neck. His lifeless body fell to the ground, and for a moment it was silent. Joe stood breathing heavily.

Then the silence was broken by soft laughter that grew louder and menacing. Her breath caught and she looked around and then found the source...
It came from Matt... But he looked different somehow. A hand lifted up and tried to reach for her. Then the laughter stopped, and he had a pleading look in his scared eyes, "h- help, Joe... I can't fight-" Then he laughed, no, Bucky laughed again, through him. She took a step back and as her other foot followed suit she felt something grab her ankle. Joe quickly looked down and saw that it was Addie's hand and his neck was twisted backwards to look up to her as he kept his wide, evil grin. "Where are you going, female?"
Something in what he said and the way he said it made her feel ice cold. With a kick in his face she got her foot loose and ran for the trees, or scrap metal-shaped trees.

She looked back to see if she was being followed, but there was no sign of anyone, not even a scent. When she looked around again, she was in a hospital room. Joe stood silent for a moment and then a chill ran down her spine... Someone was standing behind her and it smelled like-
"Matt." she said surprised as she turned around and saw him standing in a shadowed corner. He smelled wrong though, and as he stepped forward she noticed his eyes. They were bright with madness, and hunger... His chest was still split open, and bleeding. Before she could even step back he ran into her to pinned her hard against the wall by her throat which was now bleeding. She let out a strained yelp and felt a flash of pain on the back of her head. To her surprise he reached for her neck with his free hand... And yanked the trinket necklace off. "No!" She protested, but his grip was too strong for her to break, she groped at his arms, tearing at them with her nails, but to no avail. He was looking at her and tilted his head as he grinned, "Guess what? You taste good." he said and then threw her to the ground on her back and had her pinned as he kneeled over her. She tried struggling, but couldn't get loose and he was enjoying every moment of it as was evident in his crazed eyes. "How about another kiss, hmm?" He said and reached down to press his lips to hers like she had done before, but then she felt a sharp pain as he bit her lip and let it bleed. He was overpowering her, but this time she didn't like it one bit.

Joe let out an angered growl and tore her arm from his grip and then got him with a headbutt. As he fell back he laughed and rubbed his head where she had hit him. He still had her trinket in his hand, and she saw him lift it up into view as he looked at her, "Don't hold out on me Joe... You've still got so much left to give." He said and she watched in horror as he crushed the trinket with his hand into a million shiny pieces. They scattered in slow motion through the air and as she watched them, she saw Matt getting up to come after her. She didn't waste any time to turn and run from the ill intent in his eyes. As she ran, she ran in anger and the trees flew past in a blur.

Further off there was a faint light, and behind her she heard laughter and it was getting louder. She picked up the pace as her heart pounded. The further she ran the more familiar the trees looked, she took this as a good sign. When she finally got to the other side of the forest she saw a welcoming sight: her grandfather's house. Joe ran for the door and as she opened it and stepped inside she saw the cat lying in the windowsill. He opened one lazy eye and then yawned before continuing his nap. Joe made sure to lock the door.
"Grandad?" She called through the house but there was no answer. Knowing he'd probably be in the kitchen, she headed there but found it empty. Not even the stove was on and everything was clean. She decided to try for his bedroom and headed out of the kitchen but then something caught her eye. She stopped for a moment and then looked behind her...

On the cupboard was a photo frame, and as she took and held it closer to her she saw that it was her and Matt. He was standing behind her and held his hands over hers affectionately as they were kissing. In the photo she was smiling happily. Joe looked closer at the picture; something about the posture reminded her of a photo of her parents that they had taken, when they had found out that her mother was expecting-

Thud!
A sound from her room above made her look up. As she looked down again the frame was back in its place. She decided to ignore that for now and headed upstairs. She barely noticed that the whole area was becoming very dark... When she reached the top she heard small movements from behind her bed. Carefully she approached it and as she got closer she could almost make out what sounds it were. For some reason this sent her heart racing and her skin prickled... She looked over the bed.

What she saw horrified her to the core and her eyes spread wide as she stood paralyzed, her arm raised to cover her mouth. There was her grandfather, still alive but barely, and his legs were missing from the knees down. They ended in messy red stumps and sitting around him were three black werewolf puppies. They were eating him alive! Oh unholy hell, they were eating him alive! When they finally noticed her and as they looked up, their faces were shrouded and twisted, making them look like demons with bright cyan specs for pupils in black, soulless sockets. The more she looked at them, the more demonic their features became...

In unison they then grinned, showing malformed and very sharp teeth; their little tails wagged as they stood up and waddled over to her. Her response was to step back and then she heard her grandfather's groggy voice, "What... have you done?" She didn't understand the question and shook her head slowly in confusion, "I don't..." But her response was interrupted by wining from the puppies. She looked down slowly and saw their horrid faces and their bloody grins as they looked at her expectantly...
"We wonder what you taste like, mommy." They said in chilling cheery voices. Before she could even react they lunged at her, their sharp teeth bared for murder.

Joe jumped up with an audible scream from the bedroom floor. It took her a moment to realise where she was and she sat quietly as she took short bursts of breath. Her hair and body was covered in sweat and her eyes still wide. She realised that she was shivering, and it wasn't from cold. Her hand went to her neck, and the felt the trinket still there. She swallowed.
Finally calm enough to move, she drew her knees up and she rested her elbows on them. Lowering her head she ran her fingers through her hair and stayed that way as she tried to calm her breathing. She had to clench her eyes shut and bit her lip to keep the sobs in her throat from escaping... Then she realised that something was off... Her hands fell odd. As she lowered them she saw that they were in mid form, shorter and with more nail with the little soft pads also visible. Try as she might, she couldn't change them to human form. She noticed the same thing with her feet. Perhaps if she changed to her full wolf form then she would have more luck?
She tried that... but found that now... she couldn't turn back human! What the heck?!

Look in the mirror...

Was that her own thought? It didn't matter, maybe she could see what was going on, somehow. She got up and walked to the mirror standing beside her closet and with a forepaw tilted it so she could see her reflection. As it tilted down she was met with a horrible sight and her heart felt like it contracted, pulling her chest in on itself, making it impossible for her to breathe.

There was red. Lots of red. Too much red in all forms of death, and she was standing in the middle of it, her coat soaked with it. She now looked demonic with sharper claws and longer teeth, her eyes showing only bloodlust and hunger. She was grinning sadistically and her eyes were glowing brilliantly... and standing next to and in front of her were the three puppies. The more she saw the less she wanted to, but the time seemed to drag on and she couldn't look away fast enough. Then she noticed the other lifeless forms, or at least their parts laying around like scraps of meat on a cleaving board. She recognised them... Of course she recognised them, they were those whom she cared for the most!

Joe couldn't stop a whine escaping her throat, No! What... What have I done?! How did this happen... She screamed in her mind. Her reflection grinned only wider and wider, impossibly wider and then it opened it's mouth as if it's jaw was unhinged. In her side-view she saw a decapitated head's eyes turn to her, then another and another. All the disembodied eyes were focused on her.
And then the reflection's head snapped off, surrounded by black smoke and with it's maw open wide it arched up and engulfed her with hideous teeth...

A high-pitched and loud whining yelp escaped Joe's throat, so intense that it actually hurt. She sat up panting, sweaty all over and her eyes focused in front of her. She was in her wolf form, but hardly noticed it. Shaking wildly she just sat there on her bed, her panting becoming erratic.

She couldn't move, didn't dare for... for fear of still being caught in a nightmare. She knew it had been one, but it felt so real that it had scared her senseless.

What's wrong with me?...
 
Rita sat in the living room, scanning a book. She had grabbed it at random from the shelves and she wasn't really paying attention, her mind spinning over the things that had happened that day. The virus had worked very well and she just wished she knew what it was… the cure for vampirism could be in there somewhere and she might never know. Not that she was proposing that vampires be "cured" and turned human, but if you could bite someone, let the transformation repair their body and then reverse it… it was the perfect cure.

And this is how apocalypse movies start… She heard a slight sound from Matt's room and stood up to go check on him. He was awake, one leg out of bed, and when he caught sight of her he grinned sheepishly. "She's still sleeping," Rita reassured him. "And you're not getting out of that bed."

He withdrew the leg under the covers and sighed. "As long as you're sure she's all right. It's been a tough day."

"It's you I'm worried about." She noticed though that he looked fairly healthy, for someone who'd been through so much. He seemed to be watching her in the anticipation of more words, and she cast around for something to say. "Some day though," she started uncertainly. "I feel kind of like a mad scientist from some cartoon… all these secret viruses and species hybrids." She laughed. "Though there was a point just after I'd ripped your clothes off for the second time today when I wondered if I'd accidentally strayed into the sex industry."


Her words went through a little replay in her head and it suddenly dawned on her that the person she was talking to was neither a fellow nurse nor her cat. She flushed and added, "Not that I'm… I am a real nurse, I promise." Dammit, Rita, you're just digging yourself deeper into this hole… "Speaking of, I was going to ask if you wanted me to call your friend, Addie, in the morning? And let him know you're ok." Another mental replay followed and she hastened to add, "I mean, speaking of being a real nurse, not… yeah. I have his number. Um, I mean, the clinic gave me his number." He was just looking at her, so she snapped, "Go back to sleep, Matthew," but her tone wasn't altogether unkind. She hurried back into the living room and buried her face in her book.

----------

It was a few hours before anything changed. Rita thought she could hear noises coming from upstairs, and then there was a soft sound from Matt's room and he emerged. "Something's wrong," he said, his voice full of concern. "I said go back to sleep… I'll wake you if anything happens." She had barely finished saying that when there was a yelping sound from upstairs, and even though she stood up as fast as she could, dropping the book in the process, he was still in Joe's room before Rita even got to the foot of the stairs.


"Joe?!" He stood motionless at the top of the stairs, staring at her. Slowly he registered that everything was fine, that she was frightened – very frightened – but that she was fine… He took two steps into the room, hesitant, and Rita appeared behind him. "It's ok," he said, trying to calm himself down as he spoke. "I think you've just had a bad dream."
 
Aftershocks were still thundering through Joe's mind as she sat shivering. There was a strange pain in her lower abdomen, and she was pretty sure it was a new kind of pain. Slowly, reality sifted in and her nose picked up Matt's scent. She froze. As she looked up slowly, she was reminded of the part where he had grabbed at her and had then stole her necklace. The necklace held the trinket that protected her from males when...
The hair on her neck and back bristled, and she arched her back as she got up in a defensive position. All the while a low, intense growl built up - it was heavy and her lips curled back to reveal her teeth. Her eyes were glowing and she didn't blink. Her ears were folded back though, and she lifted her tail showing that she wouldn't go down without a fight.

No! her mind screamed, and it came out in an angry bark and she snarled loudly and her jaws snapped at him. The muscles on her body tensed up as she watched Matt for any movement. Not once did she take her eyes off him. She licked her front teeth as she continued to growl... The trinket dangled on its chain, slightly obscured by her neck hair. He was not going to take it... and he was not going to take her.

Faolan had also heard the commotion and he ran to the bottom of the stairs, but stopped when he saw both Rita and Matt standing there. Something in Joe's growl told him to keep quiet. Any sudden movements and all hell would break loose.
 
Matt had the sense to stop dead when Joe snarled, and then, very slowly, he took a step backward. He didn't know what was wrong with her yet, but it was pretty clear she wasn't going to let him get any closer. He'd learned not to push her at times like this, but he hoped perhaps somebody else might be able to calm her down.

It was as he was backing off that he caught sight of the trinket hanging around her neck, and the sight of it triggered something in his mind. A memory, drained of personal involvement but still crystal clear, unfolded in front of him. An old woman, pouring tea. He realised the memory wasn't his own but Joe's, a remnant of what she'd passed to him through blood the day before.

"Why, you're in heat, dear."

"Awhu?" The noise escaped him involuntarily as the memory faded, and a lot of things suddenly made sense. The strangeness of Joe's scent since her change, her grandfather's warning to him… He remembered that the trinket was keeping her safe, hiding the majority of the signs. He was not supposed to have found out about this. And anyway, how could she possibly be in heat? Mel had told him that, according to Rami, she just wasn't set up that way… and if he'd known that she might be, he wouldn't have done any of this. She could have children. She could have the life she had always deserved, the family he had imagined her with, but he couldn't give her any of that. Which meant he wasn't a part of her future any more.

Silently, he turned and bolted down the stairs, pushing past Rita and then Faolan. He needed to get out of the house. He didn't care that she might chase him, or that she was still frightened from the dream… he just had to get away.
 
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