Page 60 of Thicker than Blood

I help Enyo upstairs as he seems to get sicker with each step. He hasn’t actually vomited yet, but I’m more than a little worried.

“Uh, did Jagger feed from you?”

Enyo nods. “You think that’s it? He took too much?”

“Blood loss would make you weak and dizzy, and it would happen right away. It’s been several hours since you took the vaccine and at least thirty minutes since we left Elias’s place.”

“No clue then. You feel fine though, right? You took the vaccine too.”

“Yes, but I’m starting to think there’s something different about when I take it. I just don’t know what yet.”

“Oh god.” He moans, gripping his stomach. “Cramps.”

“Shoot.”

I manage to get him upstairs and into my office, where I help him lie down then hurry off to get him some bottled water. When I return, Enyo is sweating heavily and breathing hard. I help him drink the water, but he acts like it’s hot tea and can barely handle it.

“I wonder if I should give you the anecdote.”

Enyo shakes his head. “Not taking anything else.”

“Geordi?”

I turn sharply towards Meredith’s voice. What is she doing here?

“Stay here, okay, Enyo?”

He nods, curling up in the fetal position.

I hurry into the main lab to find Meredith. “Hi.”

She tilts her head. “What’s going on?”

“Uh, nothing. Enyo has a stomachache. Can I help you?”

She glances around the lab. “Where is Ronald?”

“I have no idea. Is he supposed to be here?”

“I dropped him off early and gave him materials to read. I assumed you’d be in soon.”

“I haven’t seen him. I was… taking care of an errand and then I picked Enyo up and um… Is it hot in here?”

“No. It’s never hot in here. Are you okay?”

Grabbing my collar, I flutter it to create a slight breeze. “Just warm.”

“Are you and Enyo coming down with something?”

“Always a possibility.” I should come clean. I really ought to. “Um, Mere, I have something?—”

I’m interrupted by the sound of Meredith’s cell phone trilling. She raises her index finger to me as she answers. She focuses her serious gaze on me, her expression morphing from indifference to annoyance to… is that fear?

She hurries over to the bank of windows and pulls up a blind. “Fuck.”

I walk over too and peer out, shocked by the chaos happening on the street below. Cars sit in a tangle as their drivers shout at each other, while several people seem to be making out right on the sidewalk in front of everyone. I look over across the interaction to see a pile of men who seem to be wrestling, but then one of them starts pulling his clothes off and it morphs into something that should be happening at Paradiso, not on the main street in town.

“What’s going on?”

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