Blood Trials

"Subject Supreme-2, thus far, has been inoculated with 15ccs of quintamine to resist progression back to animal form. Incredibly, one inoculation has lasted serval days, as opposed to several hours in comparison to Subject Logan," Margrethe stated into her tape recorder. "Despite being labelled 'muttblood' by therianthrope customs, Subject Supreme-2 is ideally what a werebeasts would turn out to be. Strulovitch, unfortunately, cannot desist this unnatural infatuation he has with Subject Supreme-2's psionic link with Subject Supreme-1 and vampire-kind at large. His insistence, infuriating; his presence, constant. No wonder the man has no friends."

Ankh released her fist when Margrethe removed the inoculation mask over her face. "You two really hate each other."

"Hematology is a legitimate field of medicine," Margrethe stated. "Telepathy isn't."

"It's psi-chemistry. And psi-chemistry is as really as the stick firmly rooted up her rear," Strulovitch whispered to Ankh. The wolfen chuckled, wiping her mouth. "Tell me more about the buzzing. What does the Source see right now?"

Ridley sighed then hunched forward and closed her eyes. ducked behind Margrethe's desk, closing her eyes. "She's with Morgan and Dane. She's..." Ankh narrowed her eyebrows then squeezed her eyes tighter. "I think she's hiding underneath the patio. Her eyes are closed."

"Hm," Margrethe replied. "They're teaching Morgan to track, no doubt. By now they must've established that the werebeasts are overwhelmed by their new sensory prowess. Especially since they can't go between forms yet."

Ridley steadily stood up, glancing to them. Margrethe whipped her reddish-brown aside. The Source looked around, scampering quietly behind Ankh towards the window. Looking out the tinted glass, she saw the body of water beyond. Manmade; almost bean-shaped. The Source looked around the grounds for anything then tapped her foot erratically. She sighed then turned back into the practice.

Strulovitch stood back while Margrethe took samples of Ankh's blood. "You said something a few days ago," Ankh began. "Something Ridley heard. You said her blood could be a universal cure."

"I stand by my statement," the doctor stated absentmindedly while covering the needle puncture in Ankh's elbow. "If I could get my hands on more, it's possible Subject Supreme-1 could cure cancer. Wouldn't that be the find!"

"Ha," Strulovitch jeered. "There's no money in a cure. Take it from me, Ankh, there is a cure for cancer, out there, but radiation therapy is where the money is. They're going to cure global warming before they cure cancer, or any other ailment. I've been alive long enough to see it."

"That's not really the point I was getting to," Ankh deflected. "The point I was making was that Ridley could still see around here. The entire place is supposed to be surrounded by silver."

"They're rounding it up as fast as possible," Margrethe rebuttalled. Ankh rolled her eyes then looked straight to the Source. "There's only so many place to get raw sil-"

"Use cutlery and jewellery if you have to," the wolfen declared. "And do it quickly, she's here."

Ridley looked aside. In the back of her mind, she heard Sayeed screaming. "They're torturing him."

"Karma," Ankh spat, shoving Strulovitch out of her line of sight. "Ahmed and Calista took me from my parents, now I'm going to take Sayeed from them."

"He's your brother."

"He's nothing," the wolfen bellowed. "You used to vengeful. What happened? A blue-eyed French aristocrat comes along with his 'my sister' routine and now you're a puddle of mush."

"And now he's dead in the ground. With Sebastian, remember him? Taught you to shoot a crossbow, took you on walks."

"And now I want to be something more than someone's pet sister, or sidekick. How do the French say, a bientôt." Ankh tilted her head at Ridley and narrowed her green eyes. "The next time we meet, Riddles, one of is going to die."

Ridley backed away from them and slowly turned to be faced with Morgan, in his primal form. The grey wolfen stood on his hind legs, towering over Ridley, but not taller than Dane. The sunlight caught the brown highlights in his fur when he set a meaty paw on her face. His palm alone was bigger than her face and soothing, despite the tickle on her face. The golden irises were iridescent in the light. In spite the little smile on his snout, Riddley saw the inquisitive behind it.

"I'm sorry, I can't see him anymore," she whispered. He whimpered then sniffled. "I'm so sorry, Morgan." He backed away from her growling, lowly. He panted, not looking away from her. He threw his head back and howled. A deep, raspy howl with his ears pushed back. "Th-that doesn't mean he's dead, he could be--"

Morgan rammed his claws into her chest, pressing her into the brick manor. Ridley gasped. Morgan snarled at her, lifting off her feet. She groaned, gripping his thick wrist. He stared her down, never wavering those gold eyes. She stared him back, tearing up, straining to breathe. Murky grey filled her tank top, dripping down Morgan's fingers too. She strained to pry his paw out her chest.

"Morgan," she gasped. He bared his teeth at her then readied himself to bite. "Sorensen!"

Morgan roared! Morgan flung her aside! Behind him, Dane held up a dart rifle. Ridley wheezed, rolling onto her back. Morgan threw himself to the grass - off the patio - and jerked about. Dane sighed then rushed to Ridley's side. She wrapped her arms around herself, rolling towards him. Morgan barked then crouched. "He's healing way too fast," Dane pointed out. He was watching Morgan ready himself to charge. "That's 50ml of Jakob's homemade neurotoxin. It's enough to immobilise a full-grown camel."

Morgan bolted! Dane held out his arm. Morgan sniffed as he came. The wolfen staggered to a halt. Dane took the brace off and tossed it to the ten-year-old. Ridley squealed, curling up at Dane’s feet. She coughed up a mouthful of grey-tinged blood. Morgan huddled around the brace then tumbled away. Another cough made Dane turn from Morgan to Ridley. He knelt and rested an arm on her back. She moaned, leaning into him.

"We need a new strategy," the Source wheezed. She threw her head back, groaning. Dane lifted her purple top to see the perforations sealing far too slowly. She gritted her teeth, feeling the nerves restore themselves. It was sensational; white-hot fire compressing her chest. Dane sat her up against the patio. "We can't fight them head on. They do too much damage with little effort." Dane looked over at Morgan, wagging his fluffy tail while chewing on the brace. "What did you do to him?"

"Catnip brace," Dane answered, massaging her ribs. "Surprisingly, eating catnip does work on dogs and has a calming effect on them. I notice Sayeed did it when he still had an entire canine unit." Ridley shook her head, shifting his hand up to her diaphragm. She hummed her relief then rested her head into his shoulder. "I wasn't sure the catnip would work, but since it does, I think we're going to need a catnip farm for this fight."

Morgan sniffed the brace before clutching it in his snout. On his hind legs, he walked over to them, collected. Ridley watched him, conspiratorially. Morgan sat down, wagging his tail. He dropped the brace into her lap. "I just thought of something," the Source began. "We have nowhere to keep the children."

"Won't Falk--"

"No, he won't," Ridley cut in. She planted her palm into his shoulder and tried to stand. She blew out heavily, feeling the burn. Even with Dane helping. "Only truebloods and mixedbloods are allowed in the colony. By criteria, that means only goldbloods and blackbloods. Ones like Morgan and Ankh are muttbloods."

Morgan curled his tail. Dane combed his gruff, walking Ridley inside, through the back door that led into the kitchen. Morgan followed them on his hind legs. Falk stood in the parlor with Ryo, a Japanese foxen. A fennec foxen; a small, light-coloured canine with wide, pointed ears. Ryo had long hair tied in a loose, low manbun. Due to this, his cream coat appeared too long for his form. The cream-coloured coat was a contrast to Lance, the Canadian melanistic fox. The melanistic fox was a common red fox with huge black sections of fur over its back, snout and limbs.

The åse - resting on the carpet with Rowan resting on her ribs, sound asleep - blinked her blue eyes at the Source. Calista was brushing the white wolf's fur. The åse shut her eyes then laid into Calista. Her tail was wagging lightly against the carpet, sweeping the dust bunnies about. Ridley sighed, taking in the serene she had disrupted.

Falk too gave a scowl of disapproval. Morgan winced behind Dane and Ridley, shying away from the ikon. His bones started churning. Calista groaned her recoil and Ridley scrunched her shoulders. Morgan retreated out the parlor, presumably going upstairs to join Dominique. Falk didn't lighten up. From following Morgan with his eyes, the leader of the colony turned to the Source. Ridley also looked back to him. "What do we do now?"

"Ridley..." The voice called before the Source could reply. Her lips parted and her shoulders slumped. "... Ridley..." She steeled herself to turn around. She moaned, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Sayeed is dying," Ridley confessed abruptly. Calista stood up eagerly. The Source walked towards the fireplace. "He's vitals are decelerating."

"What do you see," Calista pressed. She started for the fireplace too. The åse caught an ankle in her jaws, pulling the goldblood back. "What's happening to him!"

Ridley narrowly missed the corner of the coffee table. In the cell-like little space, Sayeed laid - sweating, panting - on a hospital bed. He looked to her, pallid as opposed to tanned. "What did they do to you?"

"Now's not the time for small talk," he joked poignantly.

He gave a forced smirk. His breathing grew rapid. Ridley shook her head. She ripped out her karambit knife. She arched the curved blade over her head. "No," Calista roared.

Ridley struck! She gashed her wrist open. "Drink it," she ordered.

"You're not really here."

"Drink it!"

That will do nothing, Ninsun sang pridefully. Sayeed pressed the wrist to his lips, but Ridley couldn't feel him or his sucking. She too started panting. A vain effort. Enough of this. Ridley shook her head, pressing her wrist deeper into Sayeed's mouth. Enough!

She combed her fingers through her hair. "What do I do?"

Stand back and watch, sadly, Onuris answered.

"One of you tell me what to do!"

"There isn't time, Axel," Sayeed declared. Her hands dropped. Sayeed reached for her wrist. Black talons grew from his nails. The bones in his shaking hands started growing, stretching hi skin out. "N..." he stammered weakly. A talon scratched into her skin, making her seethe. "Engine..."

"Wh-what?"

"En-gin," he groaned.

Sayeed clasped her wrist tightly and she grunted. He arched his back. The EKG went rapid. "He's in A-fib," Ridley stated. "Sayeed, look at me. You need quinidine, dofetilide, or propafenone. Where do they keep it?"

"E-engine," he echoed. "Engine." Ridley looked down to her wrist, pulsating erratically from his choking grip. Despite that, she gripped him back. "Engine.... Ridley, Engine."

"Engine," she stated with a nod. "What does that mean?"

"Find..." the door burst open. "Find them, Ridley. Find Engine." Ridley and Sayeed turned to the door to see Ankh, Strulovitch and an assistant. Ankh narrowed her eyes. Sayeed relaxed with his breathing fading. Ridley looked back at him, going still. "Ankh..."

The Source shut her eyes, pursing her lips. The assistant turned off the machinery. Strulovitch sighed and shook his head. Ankh turned to leave. "He was your brother!" Ankh halted. Ankh dropped her shoulders. Ankh left the cell. Ridley looked down to the abnormally shaped hand that was shedding sandy fur. "He was my friend."

Ridley sighed then looked to where stood, only to see Calista. The Source shook her head. Calista caved to the floor, burrowing into the åse's side. Ridley turned into Dane's shoulder. Dane leaned his head into her. Her arms wrapped around his neck. "There's nothing you could've done."

"I know! That's the problem," Ridley roared. "How all-powerful am I, when I couldn't save someone with a solution as simple as a dose of my blood? Sayeed, Tomás, all those children. I could have saved Aimée, Sorensen." She turned and drooped her shoulders. "The near-god status is not as useful you'd think," she mumbled.

"Those glimmers of uselessness are normal. We were taught from a young age, we can't help everyone. That we--" Dane scrunched his eyebrows at her. "You're bleeding."

"That's what happens when you cut yourself, Soren..."

"No," Dane interjected, spinning her around. "You're right-handed; you cut your left hand," he stated, holding up her right hand - still holding her karambit - and showed her wrist. "So, why's your right arm is bleeding?"

"Badr," she answered. "He was going on, and on about engines. It sounded important," she stated. Her gold-ringed eyes looked to the wound as it scarred. She arched an eyebrow at the scar, forming an N. "Engine," she echoed. "N-gine?"

Dane pulled out his phone and started typing. Briefly he was still then flicked his eyebrows. "N-Gen Pharmeceuticals," he stated. "It's a Danish company. He found it." Ridley joined him to read as he scrolled. "'Privately owned'... 'researching and developing new and better medical procedures and systems'... 'teaches a huge amount of people annually'..."

"Hey, look who the major investor is."

"V. E. Wolfensøn II? Yes, yes! Yes, Badr! He found it."

"Look for a site anywhere in Monteiro. Monteiro, France or Monaco," Ridley order as she stepped away from him. "I'm summoning Chasseur and Esmeralda." Ridley turned from the colony and Calista to Dane. "We need a plan of attack and to... no," she breathed.

"'No'? What d'you mean 'no'?"

"I can't be involved in this," Ridley stated.

Ha! Finally, Ninsun voiced.

"Shut up, that's not what I mean," she jeered. She sighed then tilted her head at Dane, feeling Marie and Esmeralda coming into the house, along with Mariska. "Every step from here on out, I can't get involved in. Ankh is still with Viggo. Since I can't sense her, we have to assume she's always watching. Reporting back to them."

"What about the building itself," Falk pressed. "They've lined it with silver."

"Not all of it," Ridley answered. "By now, they've only done the operating rooms, most of the labs and a few offices. Everywhere else is exposed but mostly occupied by therianthropes. It's not a large space but I'm blind to most of it. I tried mapping it out mentally but there's nothing concrete."

"What if they're weaponising silver against you," Marie pressed.

"Pray I don't get shot in the head." The Source looked to Dane behind her. "You need to start planning an attack. And plan it in a way I can be useful without knowing what the plan is."

"Ridley," Mariska called worriedly. "Don't you think you should sit this out?"

Ridley said nothing.

"I think you should," Esmeralda voiced. "Tomás is still fresh and, if you die..." the redblood only looked around to all the ampyra with them uneasily. "I think for every living ampyra's sake you should keep out of this. Stay here. Stay with me, and Rowan, an-and Dominique. She could use your company; you're the only family she has left now."

"No," Ridley declared.

*A bientôt: French for see you soon