Moonlight Medicine: Inoculation

  MOONLIGHT MEDICINE: INOCCULATION

  Jen Haeger has a degree in Veterinary Medicine as well as a Master’s in Forensic Science, so she decided to chuck all that and write novels. Having read quite a bit as a youth, she was not introduced to truly spectacular writing until her husband showed her the works of Jim Butcher, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, etc. Both enormous dorks, she and her husband enjoy Science Fiction, Fantasy, Board Games, and RPGs, but also try to get out backpacking every once in a while (much easier to do when they lived in New Zealand). She hopes that you will enjoy this final chapter in the Moonlight Medicine story.

  Moonlight Medicine: Inoculation

  Jen Haeger

  Copyright © 2015 Jen Haeger

  This Edition Published 2016 by Crowded

  Quarantine Publications

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  All characters in this publication are fictitious

  and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead,

  is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced,

  stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any

  form or by any means without the prior

  permission in writing of the publisher, nor be

  otherwise circulated in any form of binding or

  cover other than that in which it is published

  and without a similar condition including this

  condition being imposed on the subsequent purchase.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book

  is available from the British Library

  ISBN: 978-0-9932070-2-0

  Crowded Quarantine Publications

  Again, to my husband Scott. Thank you for all of your countless hours of editing, your support, and, above all, your love.

  1

  Evelyn didn’t even have time to scream before the shot rang out. Transfixed by the glint of the bright fluorescent lights on the barrel of the gun, she closed her eyes as the explosion of the weapon echoed through the newly hushed room. She expected to feel the impact of the bullet and awful pain as the projectile ripped through her body, but instead she only heard a cacophony of screams and shouts. Evelyn looked down at her body. There was no mushrooming blossom of blood soaking through her new shirt, but she couldn’t believe that the assassin had missed her. Another shot rang out and Evelyn was just in time to witness a cascade of gore as the crazed woman, in the middle of a throng of Betas trying to restrain her, blew her own head off. The image was etched into Evelyn’s mind even after she turned away and her legs failed her.

  The boom of the room’s doors opening sounded over the chaos, and then David’s voice cut through the pandemonium. He was calling her name, but Evelyn was distracted by the scene before her. Amidst the forest of legs, those of both humans and chairs, Sara was lying on the floor facing Evelyn with blood dribbling from her mouth and bubbling out of her nose. The girl’s black clothing hid the place where the bullet had penetrated her chest, but the ugly green patterned carpet under her was darkening as it became soaked with blood. As she coughed and more vermillion sprinkles decorated her lips, Sara’s glazed eyes locked on Evelyn’s and she tried to smile. Evelyn found her voice and added it to the clamor as she struggled to regain her footing and pitched herself forwards towards her dying friend.

  “Nooooooo! Someone call an ambulance!”

  Evelyn’s focus never left Sara’s face as she plowed directly into David, who engulfed her and held her tightly in his arms. “Evie, God, are you all right?”

  Evelyn didn’t look at him and tried to break his grapple. “Sara, oh Sara, no!”

  She managed to slip out of David’s arms and dropped to the floor by Sara’s face, and only then did she glance up at a worried and confused David. “Sara’s been shot. Call 9-1-1!”

  David looked down at the bloody girl and then back at Evelyn, tormented.

  “David! Go!”

  At her words his moment of hesitation broke, and turning, he ran back towards the rear of the room. Evelyn returned her attention to Sara and removed her suit jacket to press the fabric to the girl’s chest. Close up she could see the wet stickiness camouflaged by Sara’s gothic attire. Sara coughed again and Evelyn could feel hot droplets of blood splattering the back of her hand. “Shhhhh! You’re going to be okay.”

  Sara shook her head minutely. “Just kick their asses,” she said, then blinked twice and went still as her eyes glassed over and ceased seeing.

  “No!”

  Evelyn tilted Sara’s head back, opened her mouth, and breathed down her throat, then began the steady rhythm of CPR thrusts against her chest. “One, two, three…” She forced air into Sara’s lungs again. “One, two, three…” Just hang on Sara, just hang on. Evelyn sensed others gathering around her, placing hands on her shoulders, speaking in soft voices, but she ignored them. “One, two, three…” Breathe. “One, two, three…” Every now and then Evelyn spied Sara’s dark and dilated pupils, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop. Stopping meant admitting that Sara was dead. Finally, a paramedic grabbed Evelyn’s arms.

  “We’ll take it from here, mam.”

  Something shattering inside, Evelyn collapsed into sobs and let Kim and David drag her away from the body and hoist her into a distant chair. Sara’s blood was in her mouth and bile rose in the back of Evelyn’s throat; she forced it back down with a painful swallow. Though after a time Evelyn was calm enough to notice that a hush had fallen over the room. She couldn’t look up, but instead kept her face firmly buried in David’s shoulder.

  “I hope you appreciate that that girl took a bullet for you. Must’ve seen the gun before the crazy bitch fired.”

  Evelyn recognized Caroline’s voice and she faced the other Beta just as David spoke. “Caroline, maybe now’s not the best time—“

  “Sara was my friend!”

  Caroline looked down at Evelyn, her expression a mix of pity tinged with displeasure. “Evelyn, she might’ve been the best friend you’ll ever have.”

  Evelyn thought that it was a horrible thing for Caroline to say, but she could think of no reply.

  “Caroline, you want to walk away now.” David’s words were ice.

  “Love to, but I can’t. It has been left to me to coach you three on what to say to the police,” she said sourly, tossing her head towards the officers interviewing other Betas in the corner of the room, “and to see that you find yourselves someplace safe for the night.”

  Evelyn peered over and blanched. She hadn’t even realized that the police were present.

  “Why are you being such a bitch?”

  Everyone was shocked by Kim’s interjection and Evelyn’s id smirked inside her head. Caroline did not condescend herself to look at Kim but instead addressed David.

  “Who the hell is she?”

  David answered through clenched teeth. “My bad. Caroline this is Kim, one of the strays that the Vulke created. Kim, this is Caroline, Beta of the Wahya pack.”

  “Pleasure, now answer my question. Why be so mean to Evelyn? She’s the one who figured this all out and almost died telling the rest of you about it. Where were you?!”

  Caroline finally turned to face Kim. “Listen to me, pup, you have no idea what’s going on. If Evelyn here hadn’t called this meeting to show off how smart she was, then Sara would still be alive and the Vulke wouldn’t have a clue that we know what they’re up to. We might’ve been able to handle this without out-and-out war, without endangering innocent people, without a bloodbath, but no, she had to put herself in the spotlight again, and now a lot of people are going to die.”

  Evelyn sat there and her mouth dr
opped open. Caroline was right. Evelyn should have done this less publically. Maybe just met with Caroline and Madeline first and then slowly let other trusted Betas into the loop. All of this mess, including Sara’s death, was Evelyn’s fault. What was I thinking?

  “Oh God.” Evelyn crumpled back into David’s shoulder. “Oh God, David, what have I done?”

  2

  Evelyn barely remembered the police questioning her. Caroline had primed them with a story about a women’s networking group that Evelyn had recently joined and a crazy member who had started shooting randomly. She suspected that the police were a bit gentler with her since Evelyn was so upset by Sara’s death. When they asked her if she was close to the victim, she only managed a nod. After Evelyn, David, and Kim were released from the scene, both David and Kim tried to comfort Evelyn, but she didn’t register their platitudes. She knew the truth, and the truth was that she had made a terrible mistake and many other people were now going to pay for her error. Cursing herself over and over again for her stupidity, she knew she had no one to blame but herself.

  Evelyn allowed David to lead her into a dark Ford Explorer where she sat with him in the back, with Kim in the passenger’s seat, and Caroline behind the wheel. David tried to hold her, but Evelyn pushed him away and stared out the window. She hated herself and didn’t want comfort. The car entered the expressway heading west and lights whirled by in the darkness, but what Evelyn was really seeing was Sara dying on the floor of the conference room. At some point during the drive, she fell asleep.

  When she awoke from disturbing, bloody dreams, they were just pulling into the Soaring Eagle casino. This didn’t surprise her, since that was the headquarters for the Wahya, but Evelyn cringed at the thought of interacting with the new Wahya Alpha, Zachary. He liked Evelyn and David even less than Caroline did. When they exited the car, Evelyn expected Caroline to lead them into the hidden back office of the Wahya Alpha, but instead she led them into the elevator and to the top floor. All were silent as they shuffled down the hallway. Caroline stopped in front of a door labeled the Wolf Suite, and using a key card to unlock the door, ushered them all inside.

  A short hallway opened up into a vast living-room area with an obscenely large television, plush chairs, and an oversized couch. The usual shallow and functional hotel carpeting of bright Native American patterning was absent and instead lush, brown carpeting covered the floor. One whole side of the living room was a wall of windows revealing only blackness, save a lighted fountain down in the courtyard. A large gas fireplace adorned another wall, although at the moment it was devoid of flames. Caroline brushed past the others and picked up a remote from the wooden coffee table. She aimed the device at the windows and thick fabric coverings dropped sluggishly down over them, blocking out the night. Caroline then turned to the rest of them, her lined face drawn in weariness.

  “Zachary doesn’t want to see you until the morning, but Councilman Rivest is on his way, so don’t go to sleep yet.”

  She then turned and stalked off into one of the bedrooms and firmly shut the door. Evelyn felt trapped even though the room was spacious. She avoided looking at David and Kim and seated herself in a chair off to one side. Kim took a place on the couch and David busied himself with turning on the fireplace. At first no one spoke, but once the fire was going, David broke the silence.

  “We should eat.”

  Evelyn couldn’t even contemplate eating, even though the last meal she’d had was sad fast-food nearly twelve hours ago, but she made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. David ferreted around and found the room service menu which he handed straight to Kim.

  “Pick something. I’ll call it down.”

  Kim chose a cheeseburger and Evelyn pointed to the Caesar salad to avoid an argument with David. He called room service and added a club sandwich and some Cokes to the order before hanging up the receiver. Kim picked up one of the magazines from the coffee table and thumbed through it without interest. David went over to where Evelyn sat staring at nothing and knelt down in front of her chair.

  “Evie, it wasn’t—“

  “No. Let’s just wait for Rivest.”

  “But—“

  “Please, David.”

  Evelyn turned away from him as much as she could in the chair, but he wouldn’t leave her side. After enduring as much of his smothering proximity as she could take, she abruptly got up. “You can wake me when he gets here.” She bustled into the second bedroom and shut the door.

  *

  “I’ll come get you when the food gets here,” David called after Evelyn as the door of the second bedroom swung closed.

  He got up slowly and went over to the couch to join Kim. She set the magazine back down neatly on the table, lining up its edges with the one in front of it.

  “Do you think she’s going to be alright?”

  David glanced up at the closed bedroom door. “I don’t know.” He looked back at Kim. “She’s really hard on herself, and this…she thought that she was doing the right thing. We all did.”

  “I think that Caroline’s wrong to blame her. We have no way of knowing who we could trust. The information could have leaked some other way and then the other packs wouldn’t have known that the Vulke knew that the other packs knew what they were planning, and that could’ve been worse, right?”

  Kim said the convoluted phrase with such seriousness that, as morose and guilty as David was feeling, he couldn’t help but chuckling a little. Kim blushed and smiled.

  “Well, you know what I mean, right? At least the battle lines are clear now and we don’t have to sneak around and pretend we don’t know what’s going on.”

  “That’s true.” David rubbed his chin. “We don’t know how things would have played out, but you’re right, we could’ve been in real trouble if the Vulke knew that we were mounting an offensive against them, but we didn’t know that they knew. We could’ve been taken completely unaware. You should tell Evie that.”

  “Why me? Shouldn’t you tell her?”

  David shook his head. “I don’t think that she’ll listen to a word I have to say right now, to be honest with you.”

  There was a knock at the door then, and David rose to answer it. He peered through the peephole and saw that it was a man in a room service uniform with a wheeled tray laden with covered plates. He moved to unlock the door, but then hesitated, thinking that it could be another assassination attempt. As his stomach growled loudly, he figured that if they weren’t safe in the heart of the Wahya stronghold, then they wouldn’t be safe anywhere, so he opened the door to let the man in. The man trundled the cart over to a table with chairs in the corner and unloaded the contents onto the table, removing the lids and showing them each entrée in turn.

  “If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to call down. My name is Jim,” the server said as he handed David the substantial bill.

  David was a bit put off by the cost of everything until he realized that he could just charge everything to the room, and then he added an exorbitant tip for the man before signing. It was an entirely childish thing to do and David reveled in the small amount of pleasure that it gave him. After the man had gone, David went to the bedroom to wake Evelyn while Kim sat down at the table and put ketchup on her cheeseburger. He opened the door slowly and found that Evelyn hadn’t bothered to even take off her shoes or get under the blanket, but lay curled on top of one of the queen-sized beds.

  “Evie, the food is here.”

  She didn’t stir, but her face was wet as though she’d been crying moments before he entered the room. He paced over to the bed and shook her shoulder gently. “Evie, come on you need to eat something.”

  She rolled away from him and continued to pretend to sleep. David sighed, defeated. “Fine, but you are going to have to get up when Rivest gets here.” David went back out into the living-room and shut the door. Kim looked up expectantly, her cheeks full of burger and a dollop of ketchup on the side of her mouth.

>   “I decided to let her sleep until Rivest gets here.”

  Kim nodded and wiped her mouth with the maroon, cloth napkin. They ate a while in silence and were just finishing up their respective plates when there was another knock at the door, this time much more forceful and demanding. David wiped his mouth and jumped up to answer. “That must be him.”

  He peered again through the peephole and recognized the peppered brown hair, the flowing cloak, the burn, and the aura of authority. Rivest was accompanied by two other men who had the air of bodyguards and were scanning the hallway while they waited. David had no idea how the meeting was going to go, but he unlocked the deadbolt, flipped back the security bar, and opened the door wide. “Councilman Rivest, please come in,” David said, motioning with his free hand.

  The Councilman gave David a toothy smile. “Thank you.”

  He stepped through the door with the two bodyguards, and David closed and latched it behind them as Rivest motioned to the two bodyguards. The men nodded and then one began to frisk David while the other went over to the table and did the same to Kim. Rivest then faced each of them in turn. “Caroline assures me that this building is secure, but you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit paranoid having had my last secure building blown into rubble. And please, call me Roberto. I think that since the Wolfkin Council is no more, the formalities can be dropped.”

  “Clean,” said the bodyguard patting down David. He was echoed shortly afterwards by the man checking Kim.

  David was annoyed, but he tried to force down his ire. He had to admit that with everything that had happened in the past few days no one could be too careful. Roberto regarded the whole of the room as the bodyguards moved to secure the rest of the suite.

  “And where are Caroline and our dear doctor?”

  “They’re both sleeping. Caroline is in the master bedroom there, and Evie’s in the other.”