Gifted with Hydrangea (17 page)

“
You’re working yourself up. That will only make things
worse,” Seamus said in a clinical tone.

Alphy
growled again and looked directly at the friend he was all too tempted to let
his bear chomp on. “You didn’t hear Gale break down. I can’t even comfort her!”

“
You are absolutely right,” Seamus said sarcastically.
“I didn’t hear Gale, because I was talking to my beloved, though our link. A
link through which I feel her pain, and hear her pain. I will remind you she
also has a brother to worry for.”

Alphy
let his bear growl again, but he toned it down, feeling moderately contrite.
“I’m sorry, Sea. I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on you. At least you
can talk to your mate without the use of electronics, and you can comfort
Maysa
through your link, which is better than I can comfort
Gal
e.”

Seamus shrugged one shoulder. “True.”

Alphy
reached the end of the isle, and before he turned around, he spotted Ryker
leaning against his mate, and working on his laptop.

“
What did you tell Rye, to help him calm down?” he
asked. “Maybe it can help Gale.”

“
It will not help Gale, I assure you.”

Alphy
didn’t stop his urge to roll his eyes. “Tell me anyway, if it isn’t too
personal.”

Seamus sighed. “Fine. I told him, and
Maysa
, that we do not know if the virus can infect a
vampire, so I could still be all right.”

Alphy
growled, again. He looked down at Sea on his way past. “Ass. Hole.”

“
You asked. Wait, correction, you ordered.”

Yep, my bear is going to
have a chew toy.
Not one to sit idly by,
Alphy
let his mind play over what they knew.
What do we know?

“
So what do we know about this virus? Dumbed down, mind
you,” he asked Seamus.

“
The virus is airborne. It works its way through
humans, killing them within about twenty-four hours, but takes several days, at
least, in a shif
ter
. However, we estimate we’ve been able to double that
time. We’ve been running into many of
the same walls as the original scientists.”

Alphy
paced some more. He reached the end and did an about-face, walking by Seamus on
his trek to the other side of the tent. He rubbed his hands together as he
mulled the information over in his mind.

“
Tell me about the symptoms,” he asked.

“
No symptoms during the incubation time. Once it
reaches maturity, it goes active all at once. Think of it as Christmas tree
lights. They don’t light up until you plug them in. Once the virus activates,
it attacks the body simultaneously from all directions. I’m thinking that the
initial activation triggers nerves in the brain, making the host go crazy.
Humans seem to just thrash about and shout. Not so problematic with their
strength, but for shifters, whose strength is far greater, add that it causes
him to shift, and then go feral, it can be a very big problem.”

“
What about the shifters with that shifting inhibitor?
I didn’t get the impression they were going crazy.”

“
Well, no, they are very subdued and in a lot of pain.
I haven’t heard them speak the entire time we’ve been here. The notes I’ve just
read said that after the initial freak-out, they don’t need any further
sedation after that. The humans as well.”

Alphy’s
brow knitted. “Have you’ve been using the scientists’ notes?”

Seamus huffed, as if it was a stupid question. “Of
course. It has saved us a lot of time, as otherwise we would have taken us much
longer to figure out what we were dealing with.”

Alphy
waved a hand back and forth, as if dismissing him. “What if they’re wrong about
something? They are humans who probably don’t know a lot of real things about
us. They consider us as if we’re animals, for crying out lo
u
d.”
Alphy
held his hand
behind his back as he continued talking and pacin
g.

“
I had a disagreement one time with one of my math
teachers when I was young. He told me my answer was wrong, but I was sure it
was right. I had the problem worked out right there. I was so angry at him, I
bit him.”

Seamus did well not to laugh, but
Alphy
saw him cover his smile.

“
My dad came to pick me up. He listened to me, and I
sat out in the hall while he talked with the teacher. Later, when we got home,
he sat me down at the dining room table. He told me sometimes it isn’t that the
answer is what’s wrong, but the
intel
. He pulled out
the math sheet and walked me through it. It turned out to be my lousy
handwriting that was the problem. I misread the four for a nine, but my mind
was so stuck on the answer, that I didn’t see the problem. If you keep using
the wrong number, you’re going to continue to get the same wrong answer. You
need a fresh look at it.”

Alphy
still paced, but it was more a stroll. He watched Seamus stare at the ground,
and he knew the vamp was mulling this information over seriously. He kept
silent for a good amount of time. He knew Seamus could also speak to
Maysa
through their link.
That is such a helpful ability.
He felt a little bit jealous of his
friend’s connection with his mate.
Hopefully
they can come up with something before I go feral.

His bear continued to push for him to shift, and
Alphy
was too tired to argue with it, so he stripped and
let his bear take over.

*
***

Seamus nearly jumped when he saw
Alphy
shift, afraid for a moment that he was going feral. But
Alphy
let out a big sigh and dropped down onto the floor, as if it was a great relief.
He was even more surprised when he realized
Alphy
was
now asleep.

“
Seamus? What’s going on?”
He heard
Maysa’s
voice
inside his head.

“
Nothing, my beloved.
Alphy
just shifted and is now asleep in the middle of the floor. Everything is fine.”

“
Oh, well, ok then. How are you feeling? I know you.
You will try to hide your symptoms from me.”

Seamus quietly chuckled.
“You are right, but it’s only because I do not want you to suffer.”

“
I already suffer.”

Seamus felt
Maysa’s
grief
and worry for both him and her brother, Quinn. Quinn’s illness was further
along than the others.

“
I feel weak and a little cold, but otherwise I am
fine.”
He looked up as one of the council’s
HazMat
doctors entered the tent, fully geared in his
bio-suit.
“Hold on, sweetheart.”

“
Doctor Rossi, I came in to check on the sedated
shifters, and thought you would appreciate this information.” He handed him a
clipboard, which he accepted.

“
Thank you, Doctor Collins.” It was the chart on the
human scientist he had infected. He noted, in red ink, was written his time of
death. After a quick glance at his watch, he saw it was just five minutes ago.

He kept his eyes on the information in his hands, but
directed his comment at Doctor Collins. “I have to admit that I find this very
unsettling that the virus killed him so quickly.”

“
Yes, extremely. I am hoping they haven’t yet sold any
of the virus to anyone. Can you imagine it accidentally getting out into the
public? It would spread faster than anyone could contain.”

Seamus nodded in agreement. He was still looking over
the information when his body started shivering.

“
You don’t look so good, Doctor Rossi,” Doctor Collins
said, sounding concerned. “I think you should lie down and let me take some
blood samples.” He pointed to the bed he was sitting on.

Seamus would have argued, but getting under the
blankets sounded too good to resist. After his blood was drawn, Doctor Collins
set the vial aside, and began taking his vitals.

“
Your breathing is a bit elevated, and your blood
pressure is as well. I’m going to go take a look at your blood, but I think you
are possibly showing symptoms, which is odd since no symptoms should be seen
until activation.”

Seamus thought it was odd, too, but he kept quiet as
he watched the other doctor’s retreating form. He suddenly felt tired, and
after closing his eyes, faded off to sleep.

****

Alphy
yawned and stretched. He expected to see Seamus when he opened his eyes, but
instead he saw the room filled with doctors and technicians in
HazMat
suits. One of them approached him. He recognized him
as Doctor Collins.

“
How are you feeling?” he asked.

Alphy
shifted. He noticed his shift was slower and more labored than normal, but he
was soon standing, naked, in front of the doctor.

“
Not bad,” he said and looked around. “I take it
everyone has the virus?” Then
Alphy
spotted
Maysa
in a
HazMat
suit sitting by
Seamus, who was lying in a bed surrounded by several techs in suits. Just by
looking at him, it was apparent Seamus wasn’t well.

“
Sea?” he said as he hurried over to his friend’s side.
Someone handed him some sweats, which he put on in a rush, all the while taking
in Seamus’s appearance. He heard Doctor Collins talking to him.

“
As you know, he was infected. It appears vampires are
not immune to the virus, but it is acting quite a bit different in his body. It
is acting more like the flu does in a human body. As for the other shifters in
the room, yes, they all have it, as I am sure you do, too. I would like to
discuss if you wish to be restrained, or sedated.”

Alphy
shot him an angry glare. “Hold up, go back a bit. So Sea will be all right?”

“
We are hesitant to say,” Doctor Collins replied.

Alphy
glance
d over at
Maysa
, who appeared worried.

“
We have hope,” she said. “They think that his body is
creating antibodies to fight it, and if he is, then they may be able to use
them to make a cure for both shifters and humans.”

Alphy
gave Doctor Collins a confused look.

“
Because the scientists were only working with the
knowledge of human and shifter immunities, they were able to make the virus
nearly incurable, but they did not know about vampires. A vampire’s immune
system is far superior to a human’s, as is a shifter’s, but it also works
differently than a shifter’s,” the doctor explained.

Maysa
spoke up. “Think of them as solar power and wind turbines. They each create
electricity, but in different ways.”

“
So same results, just different methods?” he asked
them.

“
Yes,”
Maysa
continued. “Now,
imagine one without the sun, but it is still windy.”

“
Okay, so it’s like his immune system works where ours
fails?”

“
Possibly,” Doctor Collins said cautiously. “His body
is defending itself, but whether or not it will be successful is still unknown.
It is too early to tell. Now, please, I am worried about you going feral. You
are far stronger than any of the others, and I do not believe we can contain
you if you go feral because of the virus.”

“
Wait, now I understand your concern but go back just a
little bit. I thought you were able to at least slow it down. How come Sea is
so sick already?”

“
The virus was more directly administered into Sea’s
bloodstream,”
Maysa
told him. “It sped up the
process. And when I came in here to be with him, he woke up long enough to talk
to us for a little bit. He wanted to be taken off the meds that slow it down
hoping that it will speed up the process, and get
quicker results. He’s worried for my brother and the other shifters who are
further along. And before you ask, yes, he was thinking of me. I did think
about me, and it was because of me he wasn’t going to do it, but I told him I
agreed that it was the right thing to do and that if he didn’t, then I would
remove my
HazMat
suit and expose myself to the virus
to remind him that just because I don’t have the virus, doesn’t mean it won’t
kill me. Sea has it, and if it takes him, I …”