Midnight

Time that mattered

Jason wandered through the hospital, watching elderly patients be led through the halls, people with ailments waiting to be looked at. He crossed his hands behind his head, following the signs to the maternity ward, where his mother was. His dad had wanted them all there, he had something to tell Jason. Probably what the girl was to be named. Sighing, his mind drifted back to Rachel, as it usually did. She hadn’t returned his call, or even picked up when he did. Was she that upset? It wasn’t his fault, and they had been separate before. Just never this long. He almost wished she could have been here with him. Stupid him, she hated hospitals.

Heading up the stairs, he was almost run over by a gurney, with a girl on it, her hair covering her face. Long brown hair…..Shaking his head, he continued up the stairs. A lot of girls had long brown hair. But did a lot of girls have friends that were holding each other in the entrance, eyes haunted? Fear slowly crept in as Jason headed toward the group. If it wasn’t them, if it wasn’t her…then he could laugh at himself. All his questions were answered when the small redheaded girl turned around, her eyes red from crying, and threw her arms around him, the crying starting anew. Tanya stared ahead as if in shock, her newly turned blue eyes staring into nothing as Greg held her, his own eyes closed. Be careful what you wish for…….

*********

Still hearing the story, and the report from the doctors, Jason still couldn’t believe it. Whoever had been shooting had been aiming at Tanya, and Rachel had stopped it. In stopping it, the bullet collapsed her lung, reducing her oxygen intake. The doctors had managed to get the bullet out and to stabilize her, but she was in a coma, unable to come out, because her brain couldn’t handle anything else besides keeping her alive. She would be this way forever.

Now it was up to them, whether to let her slide into the abyss of death, where she should have gone, or to keep her alive in hopes she could be cured. Never could any decision have had the weight upon it that this one did. To give up all hope, and to try and move on, or to hold on, for something, anything.

Tanya had fallen into an exhaustive sleep as Greg held her, his eyes on the wall opposite him. Shia had collapsed in a chair, stroking back Rachel’s hair ever so gently, her green eyes full of sorrow. Jason himself was in the chair opposite. “What do we do?” he finally asked them, breaking the silence. They all knew what lay ahead, and they all looked up at him.

“I want to hold onto her, for just a bit more.” Shia murmured softly. “Until we‘re sure…” her voice cracked, and she bit her lip, her chin quivering. Tanya slowly opened her eyes, the pretty sapphire blue contrasting her pale skin and blonde hair. “I think so too.” she murmured. “At least then we will know, if we wait.”

“I don’t think she would want this. She would want us to let her go.” Greg answered, still stroking Tanya’s hair. She slowly closed her eyes, and for some strange reason, Jason’s heart ached. “Then we shall hold on.” he murmured, getting up. “I‘ll be back, I have to go.” They all nodded, and Shia even offered congratulations on the baby sister. It barely registered as he made his way back to his mother’s room.

His father looked up, holding the little life in a pink blanket. “Ah, Jason, there is something we need to discuss. ” His mother looked up, then took the baby, shushing her gently and cradling her as his father walked up to him. “You may have noticed some changes in you. Your body changing, your thoughts becoming different.”

“Dad is this the whole puberty thing? We take a class in school. And I know. So we‘re all good then.” He began to back out the door, but his father stopped him. “That‘s not all. There is a genetic problem in our family, a sort of side effect.” His mother tried to smile, but her eyes were worried. “It turns out differently in every generation.” she murmured, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “Your father had the good luck of being unable to sleep. But you….you‘re going to be a shifter, like your grandfather, and his mother. Like your friend Rachel.”

The words fell on a silent room. “What do you mean?” he asked with a laugh. It was a forced laugh, even on his ears.

“Your friend Rachel becomes a panther. You will become a wolf, as your grandfather did.” His father seemed proud, his mother apprehensively so. “What…you mean I‘ll be like….a werewolf?”

Jason managed to choke the words out. His father shook his head. “You will become a wolf, through and through. I‘m sure Rachel can instruct you in the ways. You will become this way because of-” He never got to finish, because the look in Jason’s eyes was ready to kill. “Because those creatures are impure, am I right?” he hissed. So this made sense. “You tried to kill Tanya.”

“The girl needs to be put down before she kills you all. She‘s not who she was anymore.” His mother answered gently. It was all Jason could do not to retch. So they didn’t know the consequences of their actions. Not yet. “What are you naming the baby?” he asked as he walked out.

“Rachelle. After your friend.”

The door slammed. Jason made his way to the bathroom, managing to be calm. He locked the door behind him, slid to the floor, and let the few tears he had fall down his face. The cruelest irony….This made the future clear to him. They would keep Tanya safe, keep Rachel alive, and he would bring up his sister to be a warrior, not one like him, but one who could be gentle and passionate as well as cool and unfeeling. This was his choice.

End.
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Thanks to whoever even looked at this thread, that's the only reason I kept this one up.