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“Shit,” she cursed. “On a full-moon night? You’re going to need the full series. ” She stood and went over to the Pyxis to pull out meds.
Meaty sighed deeply. “Protocol says to lock the doors and sit tight. Access to our floor is regulated anyhow—it’s not like they can come barging in. ”
“Even when the Shadows are gone?” I asked Meaty.
Gina interrupted. “The Shadows are gone? What?”
Meaty looked away. “We thought it best not to tell anyone. ”
I didn’t remember getting a vote, but it was spilled milk now. Behind us, in the newly expanded were-wing, the full moon was working on its children. In between howls, I could hear scrabbling claws, digging at tile—and the occasional thump as a wolf-person threw itself at its room doors. I wasn’t so worried about what might barge in, as what was trying to barge out.
“Who’s watching the zoo?” I asked.
“Rachel,” Gina answered, returning with a box of shots. I pulled out my cell phone.
“Do I have permission to call friends?”
“Are you sure they’re friends?” Meaty asked.
“After the night I’ve had, they’d better fucking be. ”
I didn’t call, I texted—Sike, then Lucas. Something’s wrong at work. Can you come?
Sike responded shortly. “On my way. ” From probably phoneless and definitely thumbless Lucas, more silence.
Gina stabbed the first were-vaccination into my upper arm, smack into my deltoid muscle.
“That really freaking hurts. ” It wasn’t the needle so much as the sensation of burning that spread out from the injection site. It felt like being slapped.
“Just be glad it’s not in the stomach anymore. ”
Meaty was checking news links online. “I don’t see anything about our Code Triage here. Gina, start barricading doors. ”
Gina moved behind Meaty, reaching up into the pneumatic tube system like she was searching for a flue. She pulled a metal sheet down, latched it into place, and pulled down a plastic sheet after it. She went from room to room after that, pulling down hidden latches and bars.
“Where’d Mr. Hale go?” I asked her. Charles’s daytimer wasn’t in his room.
“Out for a cigarette, about an hour ago. As soon as he left, that’s when they started howling. ”
From around the bend, Rachel screamed. Gina startled and ran down the hall. Meaty did too. I followed, much more slowly.
“Who is this? Why is he by my rooms?” Rachel asked, pointing at Gideon. Fluorescent light was not doing him any favors. It highlighted the strange curlings of things that shouldn’t have been traveling under his skin.
“Sorry. He’s helping. Honest,” I said, and Gideon walked back over to me, again offering me his arm.
“All of these rooms are secure?” Meaty asked.
“Of course. ”
I could see their occupants in the monitors, the quiet men and women of yesterday, now half human, half beast, all furious. At the sound of our voices in the hall, they redoubled their efforts to come out and play with us.
“It’s too late to give them shots now, isn’t it?” I asked.
Rachel eyed me pragmatically. “Do you want to open up a door?”
“No. ” But speaking of. I jerked my chin at Winter’s locked room. “Did the coroner ever come?”
“It’s a holiday. We called twice,” Gina said.
There had to be connections among everything—the attacks on me, the attacks on Anna, Viktor’s past, Lucas’s future. Either Winter had taken them to the grave with him, or the answer was behind his door.
“Gideon—” I said, and we walked over to Winter’s room together.
I turned on all the lights once we got inside—there was no reason not to see clearly now. I pulled the sheets off the bed, and the smell of necrosis that the weres had commented on was battled by the scent of shit, the final indignity of death, staining both him and middle of the bed like wet cement.
“What are we looking for?” Gina asked me.
“I’m not sure. ”
“Wouldn’t want to have to give you twice the shots. ” She handed me gloves, and I pulled them on. Only another nurse could joke in the face of death, and I loved her for it.
His naked body was free of the bite-mark scars that vampire-sanctioned donors had, zones where too many injuries had left keloided scars, neck, armpit, groin. All his lines were still in the same places, his ET tube too. What was it? What were we missing?
I ran my gloved hands over his chest, down his arms, down his legs, down to his one remaining big toe. I hit the bottom of his necrotic foot, expecting to find it like a rotting overripe tomato.
