Shire Bottom Chronicles

Chapter Twenty-Five

Komazzi stared through the glass window into the room where Cat lay; to the outside observer, she merely looked asleep. Bright red blood pooled beneath her bed, a stark contrast to the white tile floor.

Bane had insisted on bloodletting to treat Cat, claiming they needed to remove the toxins. Blood had stopped draining from her wrists hours ago, but Bane demanded that no one touch her until he returned from wherever he had run off to. Komazzi couldn't help but stay by her side, to try to quell the guilt of his last words to her being in anger. He didn't understand how Bane could leave the one he loved alone while she bled dry.

The door to the observation room burst open, and Bane stormed in, dragging a struggling Galen Echevarria by the ear. Bane shoved the smaller man against the medical cabinets on the far side of the room. Galen scrambled to his feet, flinching as Bane stepped toward him.

"Get washed up and get the transfusion equipment ready, now!" Bane shouted, taking his silk button-down shirt off and tying a rubber band around his arm as he entered Cat's room.

"Yes, sir." Galen hastily scrubbed his hands and put on rubber gloves before he ran into the room. He slipped on the wet floor, and Bane grabbed his neck to prevent him from falling.

"If you don't get this transfusion started in the next fifteen seconds, you're going to be the one on the table bleeding out," Bane said, his fingernails digging into Galen's skin. "Am I clear?"

"I-I don't understand why you didn't have someone else do this. It's not my area of expertise," Galen stammered, pulling the tubes and needles out of the cabinet.

Bane growled dangerously and grabbed the equipment from Galen. He connected the tubes to a machine in the middle of the room and pressed a few buttons. He then carefully inserted one needle into Cat's wrist, and the other into his own vein. The machine whirled loudly, and Bane's blood quickly ran through the tubes.

"I need you to turn this off as soon as Cat's awake. If I pass out before that happens, leave me be," Bane commanded, gritting his teeth as the machine continued to run. His tattooed arm flinched in obvious pain.

"It's not designed to run safely at those settings. We need to turn it down, or you could die," Galen insisted. He reached to change the dial on the machine, but an invisible force tossed him back against the wall. The impact knocked the air out of his lungs.

"What did I say? Don't fucking touch it until she's awake. You are only here to turn it off," Bane snarled, grabbing Cat's hand and squeezing it tightly. She was limp, cold, and lifeless. He could faintly feel a slow pulse. He laced his fingers through hers and mumbled under his breath. A spark shot through his body and into Cat's. She started seizing. Bane's chest tightened as he felt the blood being sucked out of his veins.

Galen leaped forward as Bane fell unconscious, but an unknown force held him at bay.

After what seemed like an eternity, Cat shot upright and let out a loud screech that shattered the glass in the room. Her head turned toward Galen, who slowly backed up, searching blindly for the door. He didn't dare take his eyes off the psychotic looking being in front of him. Her lips curled into a sadistic grin, revealing dagger-sharp teeth. Her pitch-black eyes seemed to absorb all light around them. The blonde's head turned at an unnatural angle as she stared deep into the doctor's soul.

Running his fingers along the wall, Galen finally felt the door handle behind him. He attempted to turn it and came to the bone-chilling realization that it was locked from the outside. Cat rose from the bed; her veins looked like tattoos against her pale skin. Galen didn't have a chance to react before the thin blonde launched herself at him with unholy speed. She tore into his neck, lapping at the blood like a feline drinking milk.