Tares City

41. Back Against The Wall

"HEY! WE HAVE TO GET JENSEN TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!" Dalton shouts to them.

~

NAOMI REID

Honestly, Miss Reid. It's hard to say," The doctor whispers to Naomi, Avery standing at her side. "We don't fully understand this drug and its effects. Your brother being turned...by what you described... We don't know the first thing about it. The drug that created the thing that changed him or how it'll affect your brother."

"Have you not seen other cases like this? Because we've seen them on calls," Avery interjects.

"On the contrary, we see an abundance in these cases," The doctor replies. "Thing is each case is totally different from the rest. Each case we get is unpredictable. That being said, all the cases have been direct results of the drug. Not a scratch. So I don't know how your brother's case is going to turn out." He says directing his statement to Naomi.

"Best guess is that he'll turn. On the next moon," The doctor says solemnly.

"Into a regular Lycan the thing that turned him, Doc?! There's a big difference between the two!" Naomi says out in alarm.

"I don't know. I'm sorry. This is new for all of us."

The doctor excuses himself before leaving, Naomi and Avery turning to each other.

"It could be okay, Naomi," Avery begins trying to console her.

"Don't even bother Av. We both know it's a shit situation," Naomi grumbles out as tears fill her eyes. "You know, if it was a regular Lycan that scratched him I wouldn't be so worried. We could've made that work. You, Sean, Jensen. But this!... How are we supposed to handle this? What if he turns into what Sean described? A beast that doesn't know itself."

"Nao-"

"I'm going to lose my brother Av!" Naomi says in a whisper. "I think I've already lost him."

Avery pulls Naomi into her arms, embracing her in a tight hug. "We're not giving up just yet. We'll look into it, ask around. Naomi we will figure something out," Avery promises sincerely. Pulling back at holding her at arm's length, Avery cups Naomi's face in her hands. "We will figure shit out. Now wipe your tears and let's head back to Kai."

"Right, yeah," Naomi says nodding, drying her tears. Following Avery, the two of them head back to Kai's room - Avery stopping abruptly has Naomi colliding into her back.

"Jeez Av," Naomi mumbles, stepping up to her side.

"Isn't that Jensen's friend?" Avery whispers to Naomi.

Looking ahead, she sees a stressed-looking Dalton running a hand through his hair. "Yeah," She says, her feet taking her in his direction, her arms locking with Avery to pull her along.

Spotting them approaching from the corner of his eye, Dalton turns to them, his worried expression morphing into one of surprise.

"What a surprise!" He says in shock as he takes in their appearance. "Work brought you here?"

"Yeah. My brother actually. What are you doing..." Naomi begins, her sentence slowly drifting off as she noticed who was in the room Dalton stood at.

"Oh my gosh! Jensen?!" She exclaims, "What happened?" She asks turning to Dalton briefly before rushing into the room. She notices the other two people in the room as she enters, but her focus remains on Jensen as she rushes to his bedside.

"Poisoned," Dalton answers walking into the room as well.

"How serious?" Naomi hears Avery ask as she leans over Jensen, passing a hand along his face. Noticing the slight tremors that wracked his body and the sheen of sweat that coated his skin.

"Who's this?" Naomi hears the female ask. "Who are you to Jensen?"

"What have the doctors said so far about his condition?" Avery pipes in.

"Well, they took some blood to test it. We have no idea what he ingested. Their game plan as of now is pumping his stomach, flushing his system till they could identify what it is and get the antidote. I think they mentioned an inhibitor drugs to help...Or something to that effect," Dalton replies.

"How long has it been?" Avery asks.

"Bout an hour. It was worse in the beginning but he seems better now. Not out of the woods yet though."

"Dalton! Who are these people?" The man in the room asks loudly, making all eyes land on him.

"No need to yell, sheesh," Dalton says to him making Naomi's eyes widen slightly at Dalton's tone and demeanor towards him - Sensing a bit of tension or animosity.

"Naomi," Dalton introduces, pointing a finger at her, "Jensen's girl. And her friend, Av...Avery. It's Avery right?"

"Yeah, it's Avery,"

"Naomi, Avery. This is Clayton and Yara, Jensen's friends. There Lycans too just so you know, Dalton explains.

"Wh-" The woman, Yara, begins but before she could speak, Naomi sees Parker running down the hall - Watching him skid to a halt at the door having spotted them.  "Guys," He calls out with a head jerk, an anxious expression on his face.

With one last passing brush against Jensen's face, Naomi heads to Parker.  "I'll be right back, okay?" She mumbles to Dalton in passing - Him nodding in return.

"Kai's trying to leave, you should go talk some sense into him," Parker says to Naomi.

Naomi nods and heads to Kai's room who was in the process of putting on his jersey.

"Kai, you can't leave yet," Naomi says to him. "The doctors still need to run some tests and -"

"STOP, Naomi. Just...drop it. I'm fine and I'm leaving," Kai says to her roughly.

Naomi steps to him with a sigh, grabbing the palm of his hand and holding it as he tries to move away. "Kai -" She begins.

"It happened when that thing shoved its hand...claw, through the window. It scratched me, but I guess you already figured that much out. Considering you know all about this," He says to her, anger in his voice.

"We will figure this out, Kai. We have Avery and Sean and-"

"THERE IS NO WE!" Kai shouts angrily, hints of a growl in his voice. Naomi stifles a gasp, shocked at his behavior.

"I'm the one going through this. I'm the one turning into some kind of deformed beast. There is no we in this."

"Kai, if you think I'll let you go through this alone-"

"You should!"

"Why the hell would I do that? Leave you on your own at a time like this?"

"Because I can hear your heart rate beating faster and faster by the minute. Are you scared, sis? It seems like you are."

Clearing her throat, Naomi stands straighter. "Your eyes have changed, Kai. And right now, I'm pretty sure you have a claw poking my hand," She begins - Kai looking down at their hands in shock before pulling away.

"My heart is beating faster, yeah. I am scared, Kai. Not of you, but for you. And you're yelling at me right now and taking out your frustrations and anger on me. But I'm not going anywhere. Because you are my brother and I know you're scared and confused. And whatever is going on is messing with your head." Naomi says softly, a slight tremor in her voice as she tries to hold back her tears.

"It'll be better if you just leave me alone Naomi," Kai says with a sigh moving past her.

"Wait," Naomi says as she grabs Kai's arm.

"NO!" Kai growls out suddenly as he shoves her away from him - The force sending her into the equipment behind her.
Naomi feels her back against the wall upon contact, a gasp escaping her.

"What the hell!" She hears Avery shout, running into the room.

"It was an accident! It was an accident!" Naomi rushes out as she gets to her feet. "I'm fine, it's fine."

She looks at Kai standing there looking at his hands in disgust and anger.

"How the hell do you think you can fix this Naomi?"