Chapter 14
14
“Anson, the shrew shifter, is cooperating. His scent is the same as the intruder I was tracking earlier. I lost the trail on the side of the street, so we assumed he parked his vehicle there and snuck onto campus,” Agent Stone assured Gabby as the evening nurse, Mya, took her vitals. She looked to the agents, noting the tension between Agent Stone and his partner, Agent Sparks. The ASS agent seemed wound up tighter than the red curls framing her face. Her hazel eyes shifted to Agent Stone’s face briefly before she tapped her stiletto toe on the floor impatiently. There was something they weren’t telling her, and Agent Sparks didn’t seem to agree with Agent Stone keeping that information to himself. Her red lips formed a thin line, as if keeping them tightly together was the only way to stay quiet.
“But?” Gabby raised an eyebrow at them, daring them to tell her what she already assumed. Dr. Grimm was lost to the wind, or whatever that expression was. Hiding the truth from Gabby would do nothing to protect her. She would bet money that Agent Sparks understood that.
The agents exchanged looks, engaging in some sort of silent argument. Eventually Agent Stone rolled his eyes, giving in.
“The lab where Anson said they took you is already empty,” Agent Sparks confessed as she brushed a coil of curly red hair out of her face.
“You didn’t”—Gabby swallowed and focused on her next words—“find his sister?” Gabby remembered the look of desperation on the shrew’s—Anson’s—face before the agents came to the rescue. The mix-and-match bird flock was a group of ASS agents scouting the nearby area for the women or anything suspicious. An eagle shifter—ASS Agent Lee—was able to spot the pair and the man moving in on their position. Agent Lee called in for backup. Then the ground agents came in.
Without Lyla being there, Gabby shuddered to think what she would have done to Anson. Anger and hate had blinded her. Some would think she had every right to take out what Dr. Grimm did to her on Anson. But could she really hate a brother who was just doing what he needed to? He was just like Phin. Phin did everything he could to find Gabby last year.
She shuddered to think how Sandy and Dr. Grimm could have used her brother if they’d gotten to him before Agents Stone and Sparks had. The roles could have been reversed, and Phin could have ended up a henchman of Sandy and Dr. Grimm, forced to carry out their will with the hopes of getting his sister back. Maybe the fact that he was so young helped. Perhaps he didn’t appear useful to the evil scientists. Whatever the reason, Gabby thanked her lucky stars that they didn’t try to use Phin like that.
“No,” Agent Stone said softly, bringing Gabby out of her thoughts “But we’re going to keep looking.”
After asking her to reach out with any helpful information she could recall in the coming days, the agents wished Gabby well and headed out.
While Dr. Grimm was still on the loose, Gabby didn’t feel the fear like she did before. It was in one part because FUC knew about him now. They were actively looking for him. But there was another reason: whatever the doctor did to her, she was much stronger than before. She’d knocked Anson back with just the flap of her new wings. Let the doctor find her now. She’d tear him from limb to limb.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Lyla leaned against the door to Gabby’s hospital room. Her trusty IV bag rolled up next to her.
Gabby stifled a giggle. A miniature tuxedo jacket wrapped around the dextrose drip bag, complete with a white undershirt and matching black bowtie. Lyla turned to look, a pink blush matching her hair creeping up her cheeks. “Well, I know he wasn’t invited to the party, but if I go, he has to go as well. Char was helping me with a tux fitting.”
“I like,” Gabby said, causing Lyla’s face to light up with a wide grin.
Only Lyla would think of dressing up her IV bag for the party, and Gabby loved her for that. They might be stuck in the hospital for longer than they originally would have been, but they were going to make the best of each moment. Especially since it was the day before Huggie’s big shindig, and both Lyla and Gabby were medically cleared to attend.
“So… what had you looking so pensive a moment ago?” Lyla asked, stepping into the room—IV pole in tow—and taking a seat on the bed next to Lyla.
“Phin,” Gabby admitted. “What if Sandy…” Talking was getting easier as long as she kept her emotions at bay. She took a deep breath, centering herself, finding her words. “How awful if they…” Gabby gulped. Lyla watched her with round hazel eyes, patiently letting her finish the thought. “Used Phin. Like Dr. Grimm… with Anson.”
Pain filled Lyla’s eyes. Gabby had learned that Lyla had many brothers and sisters, so the thought would be effortless for her to empathize with. It very easily could have been either one of their siblings in Anson’s place. And it was easy to imagine what they wouldn’t have done to get the evil doctor to release their loved one… Gabby shuddered at the thought.
She scratched at the bandage on the back of her neck. The adhesive pulled her hair when she turned her head. While she was glad to be rid of the tracking device, she couldn’t wait to remove the bandage. She winced after touching the still-tender incision.
Lyla pulled Gabby’s hand away from the wound. “Leave it.”
Gabby crossed her arms across her chest. It was hard to not scratch it. Restless energy bubbled up in her. She was scheduled to visit with her family later. While the agents had notified them of her new changes, Gabby wasn’t sure how it would go. They’d been through so much already.
As if reading her mind, Lyla tried to put her at ease. “They will love you no matter what. This won’t break them.” She put a soft reassuring hand on Gabby’s arm.
Gabby nodded. Lyla was right. Aside from the cut on her neck when the doctors of WANC removed the tracking device, there wasn’t a mark on Gabby—except for the wings. But they didn’t really count as a wound since all the injuries from them developing had healed. They were just new—and a complication toward her re-entering society anytime soon, since they were so very hard to miss.
But she was working on getting used to life with them. Gabby found the most difficult part of living with them was trying to get cozy in bed. There was a reason birds slept on their bellies, nestled into their nests. Gabby considered shifting before bedtime so that she could sleep more comfortably.
That wasn’t all. Even getting through doorways had proven to be a challenge. That was a feat by itself. Gabby kept forgetting to tuck her wings in as she was ushered through the hospital halls earlier. She clipped her wings on every doorframe she crossed. They would take some getting used to. Maybe one day she’d muster the courage to fly with them, though it would have to be limited to the airspace over FUCN’A so that no humans saw her.
Lynn popped her head into Gabby’s room, one pencil behind her ear and one in her mouth. “Are you ready?” she asked between chomps on the wood. Gabby didn’t think it was a good sign if Lynn felt she needed two pencils to chew on during her family meeting. Anxiety roiled the nausea in her gut.
“You got this.” Lyla put a hand on Gabby’s shoulder, reassuring her with a smile as if reading her thoughts.
That was enough to help Gabby feel she could accomplish anything, even another visit with her family.
“Would you…come with…with me?” Gabby asked, wondering if it was too soon to invite Lyla. The two hadn’t exactly put a label on what they were. Did it count as dating if they technically hadn’t gone on a first date yet?
To her relief, Lyla wasn’t taken aback by the offer. “I’d love to.” A warm smile brightened her face.
Introducing Lyla to her family should have been a big deal, but unfortunately, her wings took the spotlight.
“You look badass!” Phin proclaimed, his face lighting up with excitement. “Like a superhero.”
“Phin, don’t swear,” Kristin chastised him, though her worried expression hardly changed. They’d been warned of Gabby’s change before she’d arrived, but still, her mother’s glassy eyes scanned the wings as if trying to see whether it was some sort of prank, like a costume piece strapped to Gabby’s back instead of the new bone, flesh, and feathers jutting out. Being young, Phin probably didn’t fully understand Gabby’s new limitations. She would never fit into a human community again. Not unless the doctors figured out a way to reverse the transformation or a way that she could shift the wings away when needed. Both of which she doubted.
“Wings.” Joe scanned Gabby’s new appendages, though he didn’t appear as worried as Kristin. He smiled at his daughter, his blue eyes lighting up with pride. “Still beautiful.”
“I agree,” Lyla said, drawing a blush to Gabby’s cheeks. She smiled warmly at Gabby’s family in greeting.
This seemed to draw both parents’ attention to the additional visitor. “This is Lyla,” Gabby managed to say. Butterflies churned in her stomach. She hoped her family liked Lyla as much as she did.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lyla. Please, have a seat,” Kristin said, patting the couch next to her. She welcomed her with a grin.
“You’re… patient… too?” Joe asked.
“I am,” Lyla confirmed with a nod. “Hopefully once I get my energy back and they figure out the feather problem”—she waved at the pink feathers in her hair—“I’ll be able to leave.”
“Survived Sandy. Like us,” Gabby said, sitting on the other couch, next to her father, careful her wings didn’t bump into him.
“You’re safe.” Joe pulled Gabby in for a hug, squeezing her hard. “All that matters.” It felt good that Dad was able to wrap his strong arms around her again. It had been so long since he’d been able to embrace her.
“Maybe you could take me flying one day?” Phin clearly thought this was the coolest thing ever. She didn’t fault him for it though. And his positive view of her change helped lighten her mood a little.
Gabby glanced at her parents. Neither one of them would be okay with that. Even if she got used to her new appendages, they wouldn’t let her take Phin more than a few feet off the ground for fear he’d somehow fall. “Maybe.” She wasn’t sure what else to say. She glanced to her mom, hoping for some help.
“She may not be able to fly with them, honey. Gabby hasn’t tried yet. They might not support her weight. And she has more recovering to do before the doctors will let her try.” Mom with the perfect non-committed, vague answer. Kristin made saying no without really saying no an art form.
“Flying isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I hear you’re a mouse shifter. That’s pretty cool! Do you like cheese?” Lyla perfectly changed the subject.
Phin chuckled. “Why does everyone ask me that?” Lyla smoothed it over with a shrug as a sheepish look crossed her face.
“Huggie’s party?” Joe asked, with a raised eyebrow, glancing from Lyla to Gabby. Though he couldn’t fully say all the words he needed to, he was getting good at using non-verbal communication to assist.
“Yes. With date.” Gabby nodded toward Lyla while beaming. She was happy to share this news with them. The excitement bubbled up inside her, bringing a wide grin to her face. Her joyful words cut through the tense mood of the room.
“Wait. You’re a bird, too?” Phin asked Lyla.
“Yes. I’m a hummingbird.” She grinned, brightening up her beautiful face.
“Hummingbirds are small, like me!” Phin said, clearly pleased. “But I wish I had wings.”
“Wish I had whiskers.” It was Gabby’s usual response to when her brother felt left out when she and her dad would bond over being crow shifters, even though Kristin and Phin had plenty of fun adventures together as mice. She pulled him in for a hug.
“I love you, sis.”
“Love you.” Despite the last twenty-four hours, Gabby felt all was right in the world. Dr. Grimm was still on the loose, but he’d given her new strength, and he’d be an idiot to try to capture her again. Hopefully, Anson would prove useful in tracking him down. Dr. Grimm said the shrew had a talent for that. Maybe he’d use it for good instead of evil.
Gabby beamed at her family. They weren’t perfect, yet at the same time, they were. They were just what she needed. And wait a minute… She turned to her dad, who still sat on the couch in his human form, legs dangling over the side and feet planted on the floor. “Not crow?”
Joe smiled. “Control it… better.”
Gabby’s eyes stung with tears. For the first time in a year, her father wasn’t struggling to stay in human form. Earlier this week, he’d made it only a few minutes. “How?” It didn’t seem possible.
He shrugged. “Just clicked.”
Just like how Lynn helped her to talk better, to tap into the part of her brain used for singing. Gabby found it easier to follow the thread, keep the sentence strung together. Maybe not all the time, but more often than she had before. Not every day would be perfect, but they were getting better. No one could deny that. Lyla gently squeezed her arm and smiled. Even she knew what a big step that was.