Blood and Beasts

Chapter 32

Cara had trouble sleeping that night. The wolf was showing its wrath. Each echoing roar through the lakeside cottage seemed to show contempt for the notion of a cure. Cara kept her gun close that night, an unsettled feeling in her gut that the wolf would break out persisted. But morning came as usual without occurrence. Logan stayed in bed, sleeping off and on, only a daze of consciousness when Cara checked on him. She herself went down to the water and walked along the shore for a while, waiting while the sun rose, praying that Daniel would come back today. It wouldn't be a full moon that night, but the one after. It was close, and the closer it was the harder Daniel had to fight.

Cara smiled warmly though as she returned to the basement and saw him sitting against the wall as usual, wrapped in the now tattered remains of the previous day's blanket. She sighed with relief at the sight of him, but he only answered her gaze with a solemn look.

"Daniel...?" she said tentatively, walking past the chair, which was her normal spot and instead sitting against the same wall as Daniel, with the bars splitting them apart. "I'm sorry the tea didn't work. But we can try again. Maybe more of it, maybe a different method of taking the herb. I'll talk to Logan and we'll come up with some ideas." She glanced over at Daniel who was staring over at her with those same somber eyes. He looked down at his lap, rubbing his fingers together slowly.

"I've been thinking a lot this morning, thinking about my parents mostly," Daniel said softly, his eyes moving away from her, looking into the distance. "I'm never going to see them again. Or my sister. Anyone I knew. Life has moved on without me, and that's okay." He licked his lips.

"I've been thinking about what the rest of my life would look like. Its not all bad." At this he gave her a meaningful look and he held that gaze. "But there's no version I can see that doesn't involve a cage."

"That doesn't have to be the case," she interjected. "There's more we can try, we'll figure something out."

He sat up straighter, so he could face her directly. "Cara, I think its time we face the reality of the situation. There isn't a magic cure waiting out there. If there was, someone would know about it, but there isn't, anymore than there's a cure for cancer. I've got a disease. The difference is my disease can hurt a lot of innocent people. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt anyone else, you especially.

"Sure maybe we could keep me locked up here indefinitely, but odds are eventually the wolf will break out. And even if we could keep me secure in here for the rest of my life, what kind of life would that be? What type of life would it be never seeing the sky again, or trees, or eating a proper meal at a table? What life would I have always being separated from you by these bars, never being able to hold you in my arms, or give you a kiss." He glanced down shyly at this. Cara realized she was crying.

"You don't have to give up yet," she said. "We'll keep searching. I'll find a way to save you." He looked back at her, tears forming in his own eyes.

"You did save me. You brought me back from that endless, nightmarish oblivion. You let me be myself again, gave me my humanity back." He sighed deeply. "But it's time now. I need you to... kill me, Cara, please." She stood up and turned away from him, wiping her eyes.

"I can't, Daniel," she whispered.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you. If you bring me a gun, I think I can do it myself. It makes me scared, but I think I can." Cara gasped sharply, trying to regain control of her body.

"No," she said firmly, and faced him again. "I won't leave you to do this alone." She wiped her cheeks again as the tears flowed freely now. "I'll do it, if it's what you really want. But not right now, not today. I'm not ready yet to say goodbye."