Greykin Valley

| 4 | Debrief

"Wait!" Jackson insisted, trying to reach Wilson as a man picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

But Sebastien grabbed his arm and stopped him from following. "You'll get to see your friend later. You're needed for debriefing."

Jackson stood there and watched the medical team carry Damon inside the double doors at the end of the helipad, and then looked at the man carrying Wilson. He went through a different pair of doors, taking away Jackson's best friend before he'd even had a chance to talk to him.

"The rest of you will follow Commander Frances here. He'll take you down to a room we've prepared for you all to clean up and rest in."

Tokala stepped forward. "Don't you need us for debriefing, too?"

"Yeah. You'll be summoned one by one. For now, go rest."

"What about our Alpha?" Alastor asked. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Can we see him?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah, isn't there a waiting room?" Dustu asked.

Sebastien opened his mouth to speak—

"Lalo needs help, too!" Julian announced.

Everyone stepped aside, revealing Julian and Lalo. Lalo lay on the floor, panting and struggling to breathe.

With a quiet sigh, Sebastien looked at Commander Frances. "Make sure that guy gets down to medical," he said, pointing at Lalo.

"Yes, sir," the commander said.

Sebastien then pulled Jackson with him as he headed across the helipad. "Don't worry, all right? Your Alpha will be fine. We've got the best medical team anywhere else in the world."

"Why can't I just...go with him? You can debrief me after," Jackson complained sullenly as Sebastien led him through the double doors and down a wide, white, empty hallway.

"You can't watch a surgery, kid. You can go to the waiting room after we're done with Heir Lucian and Lord Caedis, though."

Jackson kept a despondent frown as he followed Sebastien into an elevator, and when Sebastien let go of him, Jackson crossed his arms. His heart was beating hard, and his legs trembled as his anxiety constricted him tightly. He wanted to believe what Sebastien told him, but knowing Damon was moments away from bleeding out horrified him—it made him want to scream. All he wanted to do was be with him; he wanted to see him. But he wasn't going to get to do that for a while, was he?

He turned his head to look at Sebastien. "Can I just...see him for a sec, please?"

Sebastien sighed and looked at him. "Look, kid. He's going to be fine. The surgeons here have saved me from much worse than a knife in the back, all right? I promise you. Now, just focus on what you're gonna tell the boss man."

Jackson frowned. "What?"

"We saw some weird shit tonight, man. So, I'm gonna warn you now, Lord Caedis might flip a table or something."

His frown thickened. "What...you...you mean the people zombies?"

He nodded. "As far as we knew, the cadejo virus couldn't turn humans or humanoids into undead. A mature demon's immune system fights the virus off, and it just kills humans. But as far as the human fact goes, it seems like shit's changing."

Jackson took a moment to absorb what he said, and when the elevator arrived, he followed Sebastien out. "Wait, so...if a demon's immune system fights the virus off, why not just use whatever part of a demon does that to manufacture a cure?"