Shifters: Blood of Dragons (Editing,I promise!)

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

we made camp in a warehouse outside of Tulsa. our supplies were limited, and we were currently in a relatively safe situation,so instead of using our meager canned soup and dried meat supply,we ordered a pizza. Cassidee wasn’t in great shape. she still hadn’t woken up after she fell asleep in the car,and now her breathing was rapid and ragged and she jerked and moaned in her sleep. i was sitting on a stack of two-by-fours, watching Cassidee lash in her sleep when Dylan sat down beside me and offered me another piece of pepperoni. “she needs help.”i said.

“we can’t exactly take her to a hospital.”Dylan pointed out. “i mean,those claws aren’t like anything we can explain away.”

“I know. but she does need help.”I stopped to think and sighed resignedly. “crap.”i said.

“what?”

“i know who can help. he probably won’t,but i know he can.”

“who?”

“I don’t know that going to him would be a good idea,though. i mean,last time--”

“Mary,”Dylan cut in. “who?”

“well,his name’s Merrik. he was a Hunter in the Castlewood house,right up until i almost...killed him.”at the looks on my friends’ faces,i held up my hands. “not on purpose. look,it’s a long story,but he’s a doctor now. he can help.”i looked over at Cassidee,who whimpered pathetically and thrashed around. “and he’s her only hope.”

a man in his mid-twenties was walking on the right sidewalk in a fairly nice neighborhood. Dylan drove slowly behind him,the well-tuned Charger’s engine barely making a sound. finally,i nodded to Dylan,who accelerated enough to drive alongside him. i saw the man’s distrustful look as he glanced at the car. i rolled down the window. “Dr. Dekker?”i leaned my head out the window. Merrik stopped and stared at me, unbelieving. “you? what the--”i prefer not to retell what he said,or what he called me. “are you crazy? it’s not enough you nearly killed me,now you’ve got-- you’ve gotta stalk me?”

“Merrik,i really need your help.”

“no.”he turned away and walked faster. i held up a hand to stop Dylan, who looked ready to kidnap the guy, and got out,running after him. “Dekker!”i called. “hey,Merrik.”i grabbed his arm. in an instinctive move,he whirled around and tried to grab me by the neck. i deflected with my lower arms and twisted them around his,twisting him around and ramming him against a tree. he muttered something about me being nuts. “What do you want, Watchers?”

“i told you,i need your help. yes,i almost killed you when you were at Castlewood,but i bet you don’t remember the part where you set a Monsoon loose on me. i got a little angry. but I’m not here to finish the job.”to prove my point,i let go of his arms and stepped back. he turned to face me warily. “what do you want?”

“a friend of mine is hurt. she was attacked by something and it cut her shoulder deep. I’m--”i stopped and swallowed. “I’m afraid she might be dying.”

he sighed,resting his hands on his hips. “fine. where is she?”

“a warehouse,outside of Tulsa.”

“why me?”Dekker asked on the way to the warehouse.

“you’re the only doctor i know who’s also a former Hunter. and Cassidee would kinda raise alarms in a normal hospital.”

“what does that mean?”

“it means… she needs a doctor,but we also need to keep it quiet.”

Dekker leaned forward. “look,Watchers,”he said,quietly and intensely. “i may not be a hunter anymore,and i don’t even like you--”

“the feeling’s mutual.”i said quickly,hoping to silence him. he kept on,