Shifting Life

51. Picking Up the Pieces

The lab's bright lights hurt Jacklyn's eyes. She shielded them with her clean human hand. She wore a white lab coat and nothing else. The floor was cool under her clean human feet. Her long hair was dripping wet. Clean, but dripping wet.

She fought to make sense of what was happening.

Gently, Gabe ushered her into the lab. His grip was firm on her elbow.

"You used a hose," she grumbled.

"Craven used the hose," said Gabe. "Had to get you cleaned up."

His brows were in a troubled knot and he avoided eye contact.

An image flashed in her mind. Hooves stomping in sticky stuff.

Jacklyn opened her mouth.

"If you don't remember, don't ask," said Gabe.

Jacklyn stopped. "You shouldn't be working in magic," she said.

Gabe looked at her with an expression she couldn't read. She was still navigating mostly by feels after shifting into human form. His feels were a mess of pain and frustration with a side of excitement.

"Right," he mumbled, coaxing her by pushing her elbow.

Like a good horsey she moved her feet forward.

Jacklyn blinked. Her eyes tried their best not to tell her brain to process what she saw. She sucked in short breaths. She worked through it, absorbing a glimpse at the time.

White walls. The square steel legs of a large table. Something on the table.

Don't look.

A stool with adjustable seat.

She kept her eyes on the stool until Gabe made her sit down on it.

Jacklyn kept her eyes on Gabe's shirt. She still saw things behind him on the table where a Veronica-shape hovered, but as long as Jacklyn stared at the perfection of the pearly plastic button on Gabe's stomach, she didn't need to grasp the unbearable going on around her.

Gabe said her name. He said it again. He touched her wrist – warm hand, a bit sweaty – and somehow tricked her into looking into his soulful brown eyes.

"I need you to stay with me," he said. "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?"

Jacklyn frowned. She nodded.

"Good, good," he said. "Because we need you."

Jacklyn groaned. She tried to look away, but Gabe steered her chin back and kept eye contact.

"I got something for you," said Gabe. "I need you to be very careful. Can you do that for me?"

One part of her wanted to smack him for talking to her like she was an idiot, the other part had another blood drenched flashback.

Jacklyn bit her lip.

Could be there was a reason for Gabe asking her stupid questions. Jacklyn had no clear memory of what had happened after she speared the Visionary until she entered the lab with Gabe.

Except for the hose.

"Hose," she complained.

"You were—" Gabe pursed his lips around the rest. She felt raw anger sputter in her direction.

"You lost it," said Veronica. "Almost taking everything with you."

There were grimy smudges on Veronica's white business suit. Strands of her white hair hung limply around her sweaty face. She'd been sprayed with a mist of blood splatter from head to toe.