Evolution

Evolution: Chapter 32

"I need that bullet, Anders."

The grown man turned his head to her, his gaze defiant. I doubted he'd even manage to stay awake throughout the procedure, he was malnourished and dehydrated, from what I sneakily read on his chart.

Sloane disappeared through one of the doors, coming back with a device in her hands. My eyes took in the smooth black material, "I at least need to see if the bullet shattered." She stated, holding the portable x-ray over his wound, "Do not move an inch."

"I feel fine." He stated, then turned to me with a pleading look, "Can you please just go get Freddie? I miss the kid. Okay?"

Hayden's expression was serious, "Are you sure, Selene?" She asked it slowly, and I could see the concern like a hand around her throat.

"I can smell it!" I insisted, turning to Sloane. Her focus on the screen of her device, "It's in his blood, in that bullet."

The man looked exasperated as he lied back down on the bed, I could tell his patience was running thin. But I smelled something in his blood that wasn't meant to be there. Whatever it was, had a bitter edge to it, making it flag alarms in my mind.

Yeah, time had changed him. I never really knew Anders that well, aside from when he took me hunting with him. Even then, we rarely spoke because we didn't want to scare off the kills. In that time, you could say I got familiar with his scent.

Maybe that's why I found it so easy to pick up on it.

"Hayden, can you take off his bandage?" Sloane asked, although it came out as an order. Her lips were pursed with a razor like focus, "I'm going to need all the visibility I can get. If there's something in that bullet, it's more than likely it would break apart to release it."

Focus changed her features, making them more severe. Her fingers were swift as they tapped and moved over the touch sensitive screen. Lips pursed firmly together, her heart beating just that little bit faster.

Hayden looked deep in thought, her legs hanging over the side of her cot, "They could have put something in the bullet." She thought aloud, lifting her gaze to meet Anders, "We both know it wouldn't be a new tactic."

Anders closed his eyes with a groan, "I just want a beer." He groaned, slapping a hand against his black cargo pants, "You guys have them here, right?"

A slight twitch to Sloane's lips broke the panicked haze for a second. I caught the way her dark eyes flicked towards him for less than a heartbeat. The way her pupils dilated before they snapped down to the screen again.

She was attracted to him. The pheromones were flashing out of her. I opened my mouth to say something, but a sharp pain hit my lower back. My eyes snapped to Hayden, who gave me a pointed 'butt out!' kind of look.

"I'd check the Chimera's." Sloane mused, her laugh awkward as she tried to keep herself calm, "Those kids are resourceful as hell! Trust me, I found more than a couple of party favors down there."

Hayden peeled away the bloody bandage, which one of Sloane's nurses swept away. My eyes followed it fall onto the sterile silver dish, already being poked at by a couple of them. When my ears pricked at a sound in Sloane's chest.

Full lips parted as her brow furrowed, and I knew something was wrong. Hayden caught the look at the same time as me, but Anders knew before us all. A heavy sigh escaped him, and bit down hard on his lower lip.

"Does Freddie know you're back?" I finally asked, turning to Anders. Distracting him from whatever was going on, and he shook his head, "He'll be happy."