Page 44 of Monster

He lifted his head and looked around.

The panther had Luca by the scruff of his neck, dragging the human back into the shack.

“No!”

He’s not strong enough.

Drake rose to his feet and began to race toward the house. The ground began to suck at his feet, drawing him down into the earth.“Damn you! Let him go!”

He was sucked under…

And awoke on the chair. Jaeger hovered over him, an evil glint to his eyes.

“You can’t help him if you’re dead,” Jaeger snapped.

Drake saw something from the corner of his eye. He tilted his head and saw Bull was there—as were the two doctors.

“He doesn’t have much time,” Drake answered.

It grew less and less by the second.

* * * *

Hunting the panther…

“What did you see?” Bull asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“He’s very weak. I didn’t want to leave him there… so I carried him outside.The animals attacked and took him from me.There’s a panther… it dragged him back into the shack.”

“Is he the one who’s imprisoned Luca?” Bull asked, frowning.

“I don’t think so,” Drake answered.“He appears to protect Luca from the other beasts.He guards the shack, but has allowed me past each time.”

“The shack is likely a manifestation of a metaphor.A safe haven in the world he’s created in his mind,” Killian said.

“What is the panther a metaphor for?” Bull asked.

“I sense the cat is part of him,” Drake said.

Bull shrugged. “Technically, wouldn’t all the shifters be a part of him?”

“Wait,” Killian said, heading over to his computer. He hit a few keys. “His DNA results show a big portion of panther in him. It could be the dominant beast.”

“So is the cat truly protecting him… or like Bull said… imprisoning him?” Finn asked.

“I think the cat is being protective,” Drake repeated.

“We can’t know,” Finn said. “Not for sure.It’s not like what’s in his mind is reality.”

“Perhaps you need to separate the man and the cat,” Killian said. “Draw the cat into the woods where the other shifters are.”

“He needs to rest and not go back into that thing’s mind,” Jaeger spat.

Bull glanced at Drake and saw the dark rings under his eyes.The gaunt cheeks… what he was doing was taking a toll. “I have to agree with Jaeger.” The smoke dragon turned to him. “You need rest… you look like hell.”

“No,” Drake said.“I need to help him…I don’t think drawing the cat away is the right thing to do.”

“You could try to free Luca once the cat was gone,” Finn offered.

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