© Amber Kalkes 2015
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"Little Wing" By The Jimi Hendrix Experience
*F O U R *
Leaving Brandon in the cabin I'm currently rummaging through the shed trying to find something he can puke in. I can't find much in this dusty dark place other than a lot of gardening tools and some of Nadine's past hobbies. Like the loom I find, because that's a useful skill apparently. Pushing it aside, surprised by how heavy the damn thing is, I spot a large metal bucket on a shelf.
About damn time I found this too because Brandon was looking a little green when I left.
I jump when I feel my phone in my back pocket starts trilling with 'Bad Girls' By M.I.A. Mary, the brat changed it last time she was at my house. Of course me being as wound tight as I have been make everything in the shed jump when I do and when they all land I wince. Some things sounded like they broke when they landed and to save myself the dread I just turn my back to them.
I don't want to know the damage, really I don't.
Digging my phone out I smile a little at the picture. Mary is pressed up against glass so it makes her look like she's trapped in my phone. Its funny but with a crabby egotistical wolf man waiting for me its hard to muster much for a laugh. Really I'm just dreading going back in there.
"Fantastic." I mumble before pushing the green button. "Hello?"
"You didn't call me."
Rolling my eyes I grab the handle of the bucket and head for the shed door. "I've been busy."
Mary scoffs. "Doing what? You said it was nothing but trees and animals out there. Fall in love in a moose already?"
My thoughts go to Brandon at the word 'moose'. He's as big and ornery as one so I'll chalk it up to that. Closing the shed door behind me I push a stick straight piece of my black hair out of my face. I really need a bath.
"Not as of yet but give me time."
"You seem a little high strung, Ruthie. You okay?"
"Yeah." I sigh before frowning. "Why do you ask?"
Opening the door I roll my eyes when I see Brandon again trying to get the chain off the bed frame's leg. He stops as soon as I step into the cabin and glares at me. If looks could kill I would say I'd be mortally wounded right now. Putting the bucket on the table I turn to him to see him about to open his mouth.
Putting my hand over the receiver I hiss at him. "Say one fucking word and I'll leave the wolfsbane in you to rot you inside out."
He bares his teeth at me. "Why should I do anything you tell me to? You're probably working with those fucking hunters!"
"Believe me, puppy, if I was I would have put a bullet between your eyes by now."
He scoffs. "I'd like to see you try. 'You don't kill people' remember?"
I narrow my eyes at him. "Honey, for you, I think I could make an exception."
"Ruth? Are you there? Whom are you talking to?"
Pointing at him at warning I put the phone back to my ear, "Sorry, Mary. Nadine has me taking care of one of pet projects and this one is a huge pain in the ass."
Brandon sneers at me before running a hand through his hair. I watch the muscles in his arm move and salivate a bit. What? He may be a pain in the ass but he's a hot pain in the ass. Which sounds way more wrong than I anticipated.
"Ruthie?"
"Huh?" I ask snapping back into reality.
"I asked if it was another of her stray animals."
"Yeah." I croak before clearing my throat. "A big gnarly one with beady eyes."
Brandon rolls his so called 'beady' eyes before laying his head back against the wall. I notice him clenching and unclenching his hands. Tilting my head I really look at his arms for the first time. They are covered in bruises, scars and scabs from what look to be injection sights. If I didn't know better I'd think he was a junkie and not a man who's just come out of goddess knows how many months of torture. Frowning I get out of my chair and move towards him with Mary still on the line.
"Does it have rabies?" She asks, disgust heavy in her tone.
"Maybe." I answer as I sink to my knees in front of him. Snapping my fingers I ask for his hand which makes him just glare at me. "Hold on a sec, Mare." Pressing the phone to my chest I hiss at him. "Let me see your arm."
"No."
"Dude, you are making this way harder than it has to be. Just give me your arm so I can look at it."
He clenches his jaw. "No."
Narrowing my eyes at him I put the phone back to my ear. "Hey, Mary, can I call you back? The animal is acting up."
"Sure." She chirps back. "Just be sure to be careful. I don't think rabies would be a good look for you."
I laugh a little. "Sure thing. Love you."
"Love you too. Bye."
Hanging up the phone I toss it onto the bed before reaching out for his arm. He takes it back but the movement has him hissing in pain. His breathing becomes quicker and I swear I hear a little sizzling sound. My eyes widen when I see the skin on his arm burn with five small circles from wrist to shoulders.
"What the-"
"Its silver." He pants. "Its implanted in my skin. It was supposed to stop me from shifting but I was able to push past it. My wolf will push them out, just give it time."
"Anymore time with those in your body you won't have any wolf left to help you with anything."
His face twists in rage, "What?"
Getting to my feet I head for the bathroom in search of a first aid kit. We need to get those pieces of silver out before they begin to really poison his blood stream. When that happens his wolf won't be the only thing he'll be worried about wanting to keep alive.
While searching through the cupboards in the bathroom I find a first aid kit and toss it into the sink. Also grabbing some of Nadine's salves, homemade of course, I turn back to the sink. Immediately I get to work on finding exactly what I'll need to get that shit out of him. If I'm not mistaken they look too be solid little silver disks implanted under the skin so...I'll have to cut them out.
Nadine, I think into the abyss, you owe me big time.
Grabbing everything I need in my arms, I look up in the mirror at my reflection trying to gather my will. Staring into my own almond shaped brown eyes I watch my full mouth purse as I let out a steady exhale. Okay, I can do this, I tell myself while trying to ignore how pale my normally caramel colored skin is. If I don't he could lose his wolf and die. That would be bad, no matter how much I want to kill him myself. He is a creature of the goddess and as such should be treated with gentleness and care.
I grimace when I realize how much that last bit sounds just like Nadine's voice in my head. Turning around I push open the cracked open bathroom door with my back to find Brandon looking worse than a few minutes before. He's covered in sweat, his chest is heaving with labored breaths and his eyes are squeezed shut. Figuring it'd be better to be ready I also clumsily grab the bucket from the table before sitting on the floor in front of him.
I start arranging everything in front of me on the hardwood floor when I suddenly feel the weight of his eyes on me. Glancing up I see him watching me with feverish yellow eyes that look more dull than what I've previously seen. That isn't a good sign. Getting up to my knees I clip my hair back from my face and reach out to grab his arm. He pulls it back weakly.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"I don't need your help." He croaks at me.
I glare at him and grab him by the wrist. "Well that's too bad isn't it because you're going to get my help whether you like it or not."
"Stop." He begs quietly making me look up at him in surprise. "Please, don't."
"I'm sorry." I tell him just as quietly, almost a whisper. "But if you don't let me get these out your wolf won't survive the night. And you won't last more than a day without your wolf."
He closes his eyes and I watch as a single tear rolls down his face. Gritting his teeth he clenches his fists at his sides and hits the back of his head against the wall. Letting out a low growl he opens his eyes again and gives me a solitary nod.
Nodding back at him I grab the scalpel in my hand trying to keep it from shaking. Gnawing on my lower lip I lay his arm flat across the blanket in his lap knowing that this isn't going to be enjoyable. Spotting the first burned oval up on his shoulder I move my hand from his wrist to his shoulder to stretch out the skin. Giving him a quick glance I see his eyes are closed again as the sharp end of the scalpel pricks his sallow skin.
Biting hard on my lip I press the edge into his skin and hear him muffle his cry by clenching his teeth. Once the skin is open I grab the tweezers from my line of tools and figure its better to not prolong the procedure. I try to be as ginger as I can as I move the end of the tweezers under his skin but I'm not too sure there's a gentle way to do this. When I feel it collide with something hard I move them so I can grab the silver. Brandon this time fails to stop his pain and cries out sharply as I extract it.
When it's out I inspect it quickly, making sure none of it broke off before tossing it on the hardwood floor. It's only about a dime-sized thing but the damage it's done to Brandon is clear. Since the incision sight is pretty small I hold off stitching it back up and instead just cover it with gauze and tape.
I repeat this nine more times, five in each arm and by the time they're all out Brandon looks about ready to pass out. I don't blame the poor guy; the pain has to be incredible. Removing the gauze I end up putting two stitches in each incision sight and am happy to see that this doesn't seem to be as painful. Though I'm guessing he may just be too out of it to even react to it anymore even if was.
I grab one of the brown bottles of salve in a one of my hands from off the floor and unscrew the top on it. The salve is thick like a gel and is green in color as I weight it on my fingertips. From the perfectly calligraphy written label on the outside it says its Echinacea, or the purple cornflower. From what I remember from years of endlessly stocking at the shop Echinacea is an herb that helps fight infection. And that is something Brandon really doesn't need right now.
As I rub the salve over his skin I see him slowly start to relax. Huh, I guess Nadine was right about the touching thing. When the salve starts to run down I suddenly start feeling that strange tingle up my arm again. Frowning I continue rubbing it in but can't help but wonder what the hell that is.
"Do you feel that?" I ask the half conscious Brandon.
He cracks open his eyes and looks at me strangely, "Feel what?"
"Nothing." I mumble before removing my hands from him and speaking louder "How do you feel?"
"Better." He slurs. "Much better. Thanks, Ruth."
I freeze at the sound of my name on his lips. Tilting my head I just stare at him in complete and utter confusion. My stomach goes to knots the longer I look at him and now I'm sure something is definitely off. Something about him is really getting to me and just like the time in the woods, I don't like it at all.
"What? Can't I be nice?" He tiredly sighs.
I shake my head, quickly pushing my thoughts to the side. "No, it's fine. You're welcome."
Getting up I move to collect all the items and go back to the bathroom. I need that bath and not to mention some time to process. Once I'm about to shut the door to the bathroom I hear Brandon's voice call out to me just one more time.
"Hey, Ruth?"
Trying to ignore the quickening of my heart I answer, "Uh, yeah?"
"Do you think I could have some pants sometime in near future?"
Letting out a sigh, almost of relief, I smile a little at him. "In the near future, sure."
"M'kay." He mumbles sleepily. "Thanks, Ruth."
Shaking my head I shut the bathroom door. Turning around I put my back against the door and let my head lean against it. Shutting my eyes I try to ignore the residual tingles in my hand and focus on putting everything back where I found it. Now the question is, where the hell am I going to find pants in size jolly green giant in these parts?
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So that turn of events probably seemed sudden but he needed that shit out of him...like now. Besides we saw him softening up a bit towards Ruth which was good, I think. Anywhoo sorry about the wait, I finished a story this week and after it I needed a brain break. Those finales really take a lot out of me, I must say.
By the way have you noticed my musical pattern this story? I try to do one every story. For 'Duality' it was all female singers in the alternative/ punk music genres. This story it is all sixties and seventies rock, why? Because its awesome, duh! lol.
Also Ruth to the side---------}
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