Chương 21: Guest Room

Crimson lends Willow a hand in arranging the table settings. They kept their voices low to avoid drawing Ash's sharp gaze. He doesn't hold any animosity toward you. His behavior stems from a desire to protect.

"Does he truly despise me, or just strongly dislike me? Would it be wiser to stay silent?

"No, I want you to speak up. Just avoid saying anything foolish. Not that you would. Simply be the wonderfully charming and kind person you've always been. Stay true to yourself. If you exude confidence, he'll take a liking to you." She offered him a gentle reminder. Crimson wipes his palm across his forehead.

"You're going to do brilliantly. I have no doubts." As she heads toward the kitchen, her expression shows she isn't worried in the least. She's absolutely petrified. Crimson sits beside Willow, casting anxious looks at Ash Lily and Mrs. Ash. They proceed to eat. In silence. His phone buzzes. It's Churro trying to reach him again. He declines the call.

"Would you like something besides water to drink, Crimson? We could grab you a beer. Maybe a shot of tequila?"

"Seriously, Dad?"

"You don't drink, Crimson?"

"That doesn't seem to deter many teens."

"No, but it ought to." That elicited a small chuckle from Lily. Teenagers his age still tended to consume alcohol even after claiming they wouldn't.

"Good response. Probably a fib, but nicely handled, Crimson. You might just make it through the evening." He returns Lily's smile, silently thanking the heavens for her.

"Alright, let's switch to a less traditional topic... Willow mentioned you're on the lacrosse team. I'm not very familiar with it. How does the game work?" Crimson nearly chokes on his drink, caught off guard by the unexpected question. Explaining the sport proved quite challenging.

"Are you familiar with hockey? It's somewhat similar, but played on grass instead of ice, and resembles field hockey with netted sticks." Crimson's phone buzzes again. He discreetly pulls it out to check beneath the table. It's a message from Churro: "Call me!!"

"Can you do slap checks like in hockey? That sounds intense. I'm into it."

"Crimson is also quite impressive. Dad attended the first game with me. Wasn't he outstanding?" All eyes turn to Ash to hear his verdict on Crimson.

"He did okay. I suspect the goalie's stick might have been faulty. But yes, Crimson performed well. He just didn't manage to score until the final minutes." Lily observes the exchange between father and daughter with a faint smile. She appears to relish the tension. Willow forcefully sets her glass down on the table. With his enhanced hearing, Crimson detects her racing heartbeat.

"Actually, on reflection, I'll take that tequila shot." Everyone looks at Crimson. A brief, awkward silence ensues. Then Lily bursts into laughter. Ash reluctantly lets a smile slip through. He reaches below the table to grasp Willow's hand. As his fingers lace with hers, her demeanor finally relaxes. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"You were joking, correct?"

Churro is on the phone with Crimson while sitting in the parked jeep.

"What am I supposed to do with him?" At the house, Crimson avoids the dining room area.

"Take him somewhere. Anywhere." Churro looks over at Autzee, who is slumped in the passenger seat. He's breathing heavily, his eyes squeezed shut in pain.

"By the way, he's starting to smell. Like death."

"Okay. Take him to the animal clinic. My boss is gone by now. There's a spare key in a box behind the dumpster in the back." Autzee snatches the phone from his hand.

"Did you find it?" Crimson halts in the hallway, retreating into the shadows to ensure he's alone.

"How the hell am I supposed to find one bullet? They have a million. This house is the freaking Walmart of guns."

"You don't find it, I'm dead." Autzee ends the call. Crimson slowly lowers the phone. He turns toward the door, opening it to the garage. Peering inside, he steps forward when...

"Lost?" Crimson spins around to see Lily at the end of the hallway.

"Just trying to find the bathroom."

"Does that look like a bathroom? Use the one in the guest room." Crimson glances into the dark garage.

"It sure doesn't." He heads for the bathroom door. He puts his hand on the knob about to turn it when he stops. Then blinks. Something has caught his attention. He takes his hand off the knob and turns around. Crimson scans the room, taking a deep breath. There's a familiar scent here. Slowly, he kneels down and reaches under the bed. Carefully, he pulls Lily's black bag out from underneath the bed. The hair on his arm stands up as if electrified. Crimson unzips the bag to find a layer of clothes.

And underneath that: a steel case.

He unclasps the metal case. Inside the bag a row of sit packed in custom foam. One of the slots is empty. Crimson grabs a bullet and holds it up in front of his eyes, which respond by glowing yellow. He's found the bullet. Crimson gazes over the bullet case. On the back is an engraved image of a flower. He runs his finger over it and then gets an idea. He pulls out his phone and hits the google goggles app. He snaps a picture of the Image as the door to the guest room clicks open.

he whips the phone behind his back. It's Willow.

"What are you doing?"

"Just using the bathroom. And now I'm done. So... I'm going back. To the other room." He heads past her, out the door while peering down at his phone. The results rapidly come up on the display. Three words with which he's clearly unfamiliar... Churro looks up from a text message.

"Does northern blue monkshood mean anything to you?" Propped against the wall, Autzee gradually opens his eyes.

"It's a rare form of Wolfsbane. He has to bring me the bullet. Because without it, I'm dead." Slipping the bullet into his pocket, Crimson returns to the dining room.

"I should get going. Thanks again for dinner." However, Crimson reluctantly sits back down at the table when they offered desert. His phone vibrates again.

"Willow was saying you work for a veterinarian." Ash said, cutting the cake he was about to eat.

"I told them how you put the cast on the dog I hit." Crimson glances at Churro's text: "Need to get here now!!!"

"What's your boss think of the animal attacks? Any theories?"

"Everybody's saying mountain lion but that would have to be a pretty large mountain lion. I wouldn't really know because we get mostly dogs and cats at the clinic. Nothing that vicious."

"Never had to deal with a rabid dog? I grew up with a lot of dogs. I saw one get rabies from a bat. It was transferred through the bite. Sad, but kind of fascinating. People think a rabid dog just suddenly goes mad. It's actually a lot more gradual." Crimson shakes his head.

"The first stage is subtle changes in behaviour. They're restless, morose." The room becomes quiet and oddly still while Ash speaks.

"It's the second stage that everyone knows. The furious phase. That's when they attack. And we're talking any moving object. Did you know a caged, rabid dog will break its own teeth trying to chew through the bars? It'll even rear back and snap its own spine. Can you imagine the amount of force it takes to do that?" Crimson shakes his head.

"It's a complete character reversal. This harmless animal turns into a perfectly vicious killer. And it all starts with one bite." Crimson slowly looks from Ash to Lily. She seems almost as if she's trying to contain a smile, enjoying the description of the animal's downfall and demise.

"But it died, didn't it? My grandfather shot it. Because he wanted to put it out of its misery." Willow asked.

"Yes. Because it was too dangerous. Something that out-of-control is better off dead."

Autzee clicks on a light and slowly pulls his shirt off to reveal the gunshot wound is now far worse. veins branch out from open sores while the rest of his arm has turned a sickening yellow"Well, that doesn't look like anything some Echinacea and a good night's sleep couldn't take care of." Churro said, trying to be positive in this situation."

"When the infection reaches my heart, it'll kill me.

""Positivity just isn't in your vocabulary, is it?" Autzee starts pulling drawers open looking for something.

"If he doesn't get here with the bullet in time... last resort." He stops at a drawer, finding what he needs. He pulls out an electric bone saw.

"You're going to cut off my arm."