Chapter 9 Cont. an unexpected discovery

.......They both dropped the subject and Mama came to sit with them.

Katrina came out of the bathroom showered, in her clothes from the night before. Once in her bedroom, she reached for the sticker-covered medical bag she kept in her dresser. She ran her finger over the stickers before she pulled a sterilized syringe and needle out. She carefully filled the syringe, tapped the bubbles to the top before squirting them out and plunged the needle into her lower back, just above her underwear. The Doctor told her she didn’t have to administer the shot there, but her shoulder was always sore for the rest of the day when she put it in her arm.

She changed into a turquoise tank top and a clean pair of worn jeans. She stood in front of the mirror tussling her hair with her fingers. She would let it air-dry; it became naturally wavy that way. She took a step closer to the mirror and stared into her eyes. Today they were light blue with speckles matching the color of her shirt. They were telling her she was happy; when they're dark blue--almost gray--she's having a bad day. She assessed her mood to compare and decided her eyes never lie. Her lips widened into a big smile and she went out into the kitchen. She was feeling better already, not only from the meds, but from being surrounded by good company.

Mama had a cup of coffee and a slice of quiche for her at the table. She said good morning to everyone and found it odd Jerrid was acting funny: looking between her and Chris suspiciously. She brushed it off and asked Mama if she had already taken her bread to the Cafe.

Mama nodded, “I was going to go over to Clint’s but I knew I would be better received back here with breakfast made for you drunks.” She smiled and giggled to herself.

They all looked between each other. The one day Mama doesn’t go over to Clint’s is the day he probably needs her the most.

Mama stopped smiling, “What? What’s wrong?”
Everyone waited for someone else to answer, finally Jerrid spoke: “Emily escaped last night.”

“Escaped?” Mama stood up and moved away from the table, scrimmaging around the apartment for her purse.

“Well, no, not escaped,” Jerrid continued “She got out of her restraints and walked up, out of the basement and into the living-room where Clint was watching TV.”

“Oh my, Oh my,” Mama continued searching for her handbag, even though it was in the same spot she always puts it: on the desk by the front door.

“Mama,“ Jerrid shouted. She spun around and stopped still. Chris and Katrina were watching Jerrid intensly, waiting for him to deliver the whole story. “Listen, she was hungry and was acting a little like an infected; She didn’t say anything other than growls and she was panting heavily. Clint trapped her in a blanket so she couldn’t scratch or bite him and got her back into the basement. She was acting wildly so she didn’t get her restrained again, but she’s locked in the basement. Doctor Stevensen was called but he didn’t answer.”

“I’ll stop by his office right now. Poor thing; Clint probably hasn’t gotten any sleep.” She found her purse and opened the door.

“Mama, wait, I should come with you. I can give her another dose,” Katrina started to get up from her chair but Mama stopped her,

“Don’t worry about it Trinket, stay and eat. You can come by later, once we can maybe get her restrained.” Mama closed the door behind her.

Jerrid’s phone rang on the coffee table, he walked over to grab it. Chris glanced at Katrina who was too busy eating her quiche and bacon to notice. They ate in silence until Jerrid walked back over. “I have to go,” Jerrid grabbed his coat off the chair. Katrina looked at him quizzically. “Greg found an animal—a deer or something-- in the woods. He can’t tell if it’s just another animal attack or, you know what.I have to go check.”

“Were the eyes missing?” Katrina asked.

“Only one, and it was found a few feet away with only a puncture in it.”

“Well then it can’t be an attack; they wouldn’t leave the eyes like that.”

“The one we found the other week had his eyes still in. I don’t know what’s going on. It’s like they’re changing.” Jerrid looked at Chris, “You wanna come kid?”

Chris was torn; he could go with Katrina to Clint’s, or to see the end product of a feeding frenzy. He couldn’t forget about Glen either.

“When are you going to Clint’s?” He asked Katrina.

“Right away.”

“Can I meet you in about an hour?”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you at the café.”

Jerrid yelled from the door: “Kid, come on, I gotta go. I have to stop by my house first.”

“Okay, coming. Just let me grab something.” Chris ran back into the bedroom to get his wallet and keys. He saw his camera and hesitated before snatching it off the desk. When he came back out, Katrina was putting their dishes in the kitchen sink.

“Thanks. I’ll see you in an hour or so.”

Katrina nodded “I’ll wait incase you’re longer.”

“Okay, thanks.”

When Chris met Jerrid, he was waiting in the hall, staring at his former apartment’s door. As soon as Jerrid saw Chris, he quickly turned to leave the apartment building.

“Do you want me to drive to your place?” Chris asked.

“No, I just live by stumps, above the hardware store. It will take us two minutes to walk there and Greg’s going to pick us up at the edge of the forest.”