CHAPTER NINETEEN
While Rory was working with a couple of kids on the chest press, Bull took a quick bio break. Standing at the urinal, he saw two guys walk in behind him and head into separate stalls.
At first, he thought nothing of it. I mean if they needed to take a shit he understood the need for privacy. But like all communal bathrooms, you could hear everything and thing he wasn’t hearing was someone having a bowel movement. They were peeing.
Why the fuck would two dudes sit while taking a piss? Even if they wanted privacy, they could have gone into the stall and closed the door, but they’d be standing. Their feet were outward, and there was no doubt they were seated in the stalls.
Bull tried to make his own visit last a bit, washing his hands several times before finally seeing the faces of the two men in the stalls.
What struck him most were the soft features of their faces. They weren’t angular, or jutting, like most male athletes. Instead, their faces had a definitive feminine appearance, their lips full, lashes long and cheeks soft.
“Having a good workout fellas?” asked Bull.
“Oh, yeah,” said one of the men staring at him. His voice was soft, quiet as if whispering. “How about you? You’re one of the new trainers, right?”
“That’s right. Did you need some help with something?” he asked.
“Uh, I…”
“Ken? Butch said we only ask him questions. Come on,” said the other man. The two left the bathroom and Bull followed, standing next to Rory.
“What’s up?”
“I’m not sure but there is definitely something fucked up here. Those two guys over there were just in the bathroom with me. They both took stalls. Both sitting. To piss.”
“Some guys do that,” said Rory shrugging.
“No, dude. It’s more than that,” said Bull.
“He’s right,” said AJ. “Suzette and Riley think the injections they’re giving are transforming genders. They don’t know how it’s happening but they believe some of the men, and some of the women, are changing into the opposite gender. Not all. But some.”
“How do we know?” whispered Rory.
“I can help,” said Tony. “Remember, I can be a ghost when I need to be.”
“Alright,” nodded Bull. “Just be careful.”
“Dude,” he laughed, “how many times do we have to say this. We’re already dead. They can’t harm us.”
Tony walked away, disappearing into the men’s room. A few moments later, one of the men who had been in there with Bull headed back toward the door.
“I can’t find my phone,” he said excitedly. “I just had it!”
“Relax. It’s probably in the stall you were in,” said his partner.
“We need to talk to Butch. I’m having to piss every twenty minutes. I can’t keep up with this.” He stepped inside the bathroom and was inside for several minutes before emerging. Rory and Bull waited patiently for Tony to appear, then jumped a mile.
“You guys waiting for me?” he smirked.
“Fuck!” muttered Rory. “You can’t just pop out at us like that. We’re fucking old. You’ll give us a heart attack.”
“No, I won’t,” he grinned. “I’m no expert but either that is a man turning into a woman, or woman turning into a man.
He was massaging his breasts in the stall and when he finished his business, he stood and wiped like a woman.
I couldn’t even see a penis and grosses me out that I was looking for one. ”
“Had to be done brother and we appreciate it. Have you seen Carter today?” asked Bull.
“No, in fact I haven’t,” said Rory looking around. “We need to find him and his mother.”
“Tell me you adore me,” said Archie smiling at the two men.
“Dude, I like you and all but adore is a bit much,” frowned Rory.
“Well, you’re going to adore me. I put a tracking device in his backpack the other day. The guys should be able to give you a location for him.”
“Finish up here. We’re going to find that kid,” said Rory.
“Mom, you have to go to work,” said Carter curled up on the sofa. “I’ll be okay.”
“This cramping isn’t normal, Carter. Did you poop?”
“Gross,” he frowned. “Yes. I’ve pooped several times. It’s just a stomach ache. Go. I know you need to work.”
“Okay,” she nodded. “Okay. I’ll see if I can’t get off early. Call me or text me if it gets worse.” She kissed his forehead and left the tiny shotgun house they were renting. It wasn’t much but she’d made it home for them.
Carter smiled at his mother, nodding as she left the house. The moment she was gone he curled up in agony from the pain in his gut. It had come on quickly, just a few hours after Butch injected him the day before.
At first, he didn’t say anything to his mother. He damn sure didn’t tell her he was pooping blood. They didn’t have health insurance yet and couldn’t afford a trip to the emergency room.
Butch had instructed him to take a handful of his famous supplements every hour after the injection but he’d ignored it, thinking that he needed to give his body a break. When he called to tell him he couldn’t get to the gym today, he screamed every obscenity at him that he could.
Feeling the need to use the bathroom again, he tried to stand but fell back against the sofa. He didn’t want to soil the old used couch but if he couldn’t get up, it was going to happen. When the knock on the door came, he worried that Butch had come to find him.
“One minute,” he moaned. The pounding happened again and he moaned, doubling over.
“Carter? Carter it’s Rory and Bull.” They heard nothing on the other side of the door and then something they didn’t want to hear. A scream.
“Break it down,” said Bull. Rory reared back, shoving his shoulder into the flimsy wooden door, easily breaking it down. Carter was curled up on the floor, his pants soiled with blood and other bodily fluids.
Rory grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa, wrapping him in it and carrying him to the car.
“It’s rush hour brother. We need to get him to a hospital,” said Bull.
“Shit,” muttered Rory.
“I know,” said Tahlako. “Juan.”
Carter was pretty sure he was hallucinating. One moment the long-haired native was kneeled beside him, the next he was gone and then just as suddenly returned with a man wearing no clothes.
“Get him to the hospital,” said Rory. “We’ll meet you there.”
“Riley and Suzette are waiting with Kennedy and Layla,” said Juan. Before another word was spoken, he was gone with Carter in his arms.
When Rory and Bull stood with Tahlako, Tony, and Archie, they turned to see the shocked face of Carter’s mother.
“Wh-what are you? What have you done with my son?”