Page 1 of Guarding the Doctor
Kathryn
“Hey Seth, how are you doing?”
My friend shrugged, uncharacteristically listless. The hospital social worker was usually chatty and cheerful. He looked a little pale, I realized. And did his arms look hairier than usual? I shook my head. It must be the fluorescent lights here in the Emergency Department.
I moved closer, studying him more carefully. His skin looked clammy, his pupils were wide, and his top teeth were protruding over his bottom lip as if his lips were receding. He looked terrible.
“Are you sick?” I asked. “Do you have a fever?”
“I got another shot from the drug trial yesterday,” he said, his voice deep and gravely. “I think I’m having a bad reaction to it.”
“I still can’t believe Dr. Xi convinced you to participate,” I said. “You don’t even have any health issues. It doesn’t make sense to enroll you.”
I wasn’t sure which trial he was involved in. As a research hospital, we generally had a dozen trials going on at any time, all focused on current patients. It was highly unusual for Dr. Xi to recruit an employee to participate, especially a healthy one.
“I need the money,” Seth said. “It pays five thousand dollars, and my girls are taking dance lessons. It’s not like social workers make a lot of money.”
“Seems like She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named could pay for the lessons,” I grumbled. Seth’s ex-wife worked in some corporate job that paid way more than social work.
“We’re supposed to share extracurricular expenses equally.”
I bit my lip to keep from sharing my opinion of his money-grubbing ex-wife. It wasn’t helpful.
He blinked, then swayed on his feet before he caught himself.
“You know what? I’m going to take my break and head down to the lab. Dr. Xi told me to come see her right away if I was experiencing any unexpected side effects.”
I frowned. His voice sounded a little deeper now, and I could swear his face was changing shape. That made zero sense. I was on my third double shift in three days, so I must be seeing things. Clearly I needed to lay off the caffeine.
My pager buzzed, drawing my attention away from Seth. Poor guy probably just had a virus, there were so many of those going around the hospital this time of year.
“Make sure you go home if you don’t feel better,” I told my friend as I walked away. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Four hours and multiple emergencies later I realized that I hadn’t seen Seth come back to the Emergency Department.
“Did Seth go home sick?” I asked the charge nurse.
“He never came back after his break.”
I frowned. That was weird. Seth was the kind of guy who showed up for work no matter what. Logging onto one of the hospital computers, I pinged his pager. He was still in the research lab.
Worried about my friend, I hurried down to the bowels of the hospital where Dr. Xi’s lab was located. The hallway was dim, as if everyone had gone home for the night. Then again, it was just after midnight. I shivered, feeling a sense of foreboding. It was almost like I could feel a malevolent presence in the hallway.
I knocked on the door to the lab and when no one answered, I tried my keycard. It didn’t work. I wasn’t surprised, usually research projects were kept under lock and key. Walking down to the next door, I started to knock again, but then I realized it wasn’t fully latched. Taking a deep breath, I crept into the lab, looking around curiously.
Technically I wasn’t allowed to be in here, but someone was sick. I had an obligation to help if I could. The lab was dimly lit, the overhead fluorescents turned off, leaving just the emergency lighting to guide my way.
“Hello?” I called. “Is anyone here?”
No one answered. Guided by instinct, I headed towards the back of the lab. The main area looked typical, with locked cabinets and stainless steel tables covered with microscopes, centrifuges, and other high-end research equipment. The whole place smelled like antiseptic, and it was freezing cold in here.
Several exam rooms ran along the far wall, each with large windows and doors that locked from the outside. What kind of research was Dr. Xi doing here?
The first two rooms looked empty. I peered into the third, seeing what looked like a dog laid out on the table on its back. Or maybe it was a wolf? Whatever it was, it was huge. And clearly dead. Curiosity had me twisting the lock and entering the room.
I approached the table, wrinkling my nose at the smell of death. The wolf took up the entirety of the table, his four legs stretchedout to the corners. Wait? Was the wolf wearing clothes? Turning on the flashlight on my phone to brighten the space, I saw what looked like the tattered remains of pants covering its waist, part of an open shirt draped over the wolf’s shoulders. That’s when I realized that the wolf’s torso looked almost human. Hairy, but human.
My eyes flew to the animal’s face and then I gasped in shock. The creature’s mouth was open, fangs pressing against very human lips, face twisted in pain. There was a thin layer of fur covering his face, but I still recognized it from dozens of after-work dinners, shared movies, and that time we did a triathlon together.
