Crowned [Sequel to Turned]

Chapter 6: Removing the Mold

Whittaker smiled and took Cole's hand. He was still laying flat on the hospital bed with the oxygen mask covering his face and helping him breathe. "Thank you for your help," Whittaker began to say to the young 'doctor', Kevin, "but I have to ask... Aren't you a bit young to be a doctor and own a hospital?"

Kevin nodded. "I suppose I am. I guess I've always been good at treating medical problems though."

"And he's the best doctor I know." Katey spoke from her corner of the room, where Buddy lay at her feet. "He may be younger than any doctor out there, but he's the better choice."

"You're just saying that because I'm your friend." Kevin said and glanced at Katey, joking mostly and smiling.

"Or because it's true. When any doctor can figure out how to bring back the dead, let me know." Katey said matter of factly.

Whittaker was confused, but figured that since the two appeared to be best friends, she wasn't meant to understand their inside joke. Instead of questioning them further she looked at Cole again. His soft voice began to talk, directed towards Kevin, "Can I go home now?..."

Kevin looked over at Cole and shook his head. "Not yet. You need to allow the oxygen to clear out any bad air still left in your lungs."

"Bad air?... There's such thing as bad air?" Cole frowned a bit and watched Kevin.

"Well... I meant moldy air. You breathed in some mold and now this oxygen is clearing out all the mold and making you better." Kevin clarified and smiled kindly.

Cole nodded. "Ok."

Buddy suddenly barked and dashed out of the hospital room in a blur of black fur, faster than any dog Whittaker had seen before. Katey sighed a bit, "I'll be right back then I guess..." She said and ran out after Buddy.

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Once Katey was sure she was out of sight of the two humans within the hospital room she allowed herself to run faster. She easily caught up to Buddy, faster than any human could run, and kept pace with him. The only reason she was able to do this is because she wasn't human. She lacked a pulse, the need to breathe, and the ability to age, but instead she had aquired the twisted craving for blood. Katey Evans was a vampire and had been for a total of two hundred years now.

Buddy barked and ran, dodging the doctors in the hallways and went out the front doors of the hospital. Katey made sure to avoid running into any doctors, knowing they already didn't like her, she didn't want to make things worse and give them a reason to hold a grudge against her merely because she had ran into them. It was unfair that the only reason she was disliked was the same reason she had no pulse.

There may not be a war between our species, she thought, but that doesn't mean werewolves and vampires get along. And just to her luck, all these doctors were none other than the human-wolf people: werewolves. Not that she didn't like werewolves... They just didn't always like her... At least Kevin was her friend. He disproves the idea that all werewolves hate vampires.

Unsure of where Buddy was even running to, Katey called out to the speeding black wolf, "Where are you going Buddy?! Did you want to go for a run?" In the past, Buddy had taken of running just for the sake of running. He was a wolf after all, and didn't enjoy sitting around all the time. But this time was different.

Buddy turned sharply up to a poorly constructed building and halted outside of a door. It took a moment for Katey to realize it was an apartment building. The number "3" marked the door to distinguish it from the rest of the cookie-cutter doors, which were the same except for the differing numbers. The wolf whined and pawed at the door, careful not to scratch it. Katey merely shrugged and opened the door like Buddy wanted. She had a use a quick bit of magic to unlock the door though, and with her eyes flashing red the door clicked open obediently within an instant. With the door unlocked, it swung open with protesting hinges.

The wolf barked in gratitude and ran through the tiny apartment to the kitchen. The apartment was run down and appeared to have lacked care for many years. From there, he began to paw at the cabinents beneath the sink. Moving over Katey knelt down and opened the cabinents and quickly moved back as her face warped into an expression of disgust. Black, musty mold covered the interior of the sink. It mostly had come from a leak from one of the pipes under the sink, and had been allowed to grow without attention from the years without care.

After a moment of thought, Katey laughed a bit and smiled at Buddy, rubbing his head. "This is Whittaker's and Cole's apartment, isn't it? And I bet this is the mold that made Cole's allergies act up in the first place."

Buddy nodded and barked in response.

A smile spread across Katey's face. "Well, aren't you smart then? You led me right to it." She rubbed Buddy's head playfully and looked over the mold. "I suppose you want me to get rid of it then too."

Buddy bobbed his head down again to nod and sat down to watch her work.

Katey's eyes began to glow a bright red as she looked over the mold. She felt the familiar course of magic stream through her, then, directing it towards the mold she was able to have it all vanish with a few quick thoughts. She remained kneeling with her eyes glowing red as she inspected her work. It appeared to all be gone, so she stood up and allowed her eyes to fade back to their orginal and more normal apperance of blue.

"Let's head back then Buddy, we don't want them to find us here and have to explain." Katey said and then turned to head out the door. Buddy was at her side and remained there for now as Katey opened the door once again. After closing the door, her eyes flashed red once more and the lock clicked back in place as if nothing had ever happened. Then the two turned and began to walk calmly back towards the hospital.