Chapter 26

BUILDING A SAFE PLACE II

Clarissa.

The doctor called for Grandma Carter and suggested that she take most of her medication through IV pipes. She was to remain in bed for months because she had lost feeling in most of her limbs and could no longer speak freely. Elijah stayed by her side at night when I went in to see her twice a day with a change of clothes and meals. The scowl on Grandma Carter's face that was associated mostly with me had lessened, but it was still evident that she was disgusted by my presence. But this was the least of my problems right at that moment. I needed to speak with Jericho and Nolle and share my ideas with them. My head bustled with worry and fear.

That morning, I woke with a pain in my lower back, and I took it as an omen of impending doom. I took a shower and ate a strawberry-flavored pancake. Nolle and Cisca were huddled on the bed and asleep; the sight of them lit up a warmth in my heart. Cisca had grown quite fond of Nolle, and during the day they could be seen tumbling around the house playing and laughing.

I walked up to the bed and shook Nolle, who grumbled and flickered her eyes open.

"Good morning, Nolle."

"Good morning," she replied, rubbing her eyes.

Nolle:

Clarissa woke me up with a worried look in her eyes. Cisca was still hanging on my leg; if I shifted too much, she would be awake in no time and hungry.

"Good morning, Clarissa. Is anything the matter?" I whispered, trying my best not to wake the already stirring Cisca.

"I have a really bad feeling; there's something really important I want to discuss with you." She began; she had already showered, and it looked like she was about to head somewhere. Her brows were furrowed, and she was fidgeting with her blue button-down gown.

"What is it, Clarissa? I hope nothing's happened. How is Grandma Carter?" I pried; there was a feeling of unsettledness in the air.

"Grandma Carter is as fine as she can be, with her paralysis and all, but that is not what I wanted to discuss with you." What she wanted to say seemed so difficult for her to say, and it was already making me scared.

"Okay?" I asked, giving her the cue to spill whatever she wanted to say as soon as possible before I got too restless. Cisca was finally up and sat on my lap, sucking her two thumbs at once.

"I just want to let you know that I'm going out to meet with Jericho. I want you both to be there when I say what I have to say." She said that, then she scooped Cisca, who was still drowsy, into her arms.

"Hey darling!" She said, and a smile broke across Cisca's plump face,

"Hey mummy!" She cried back and fell into a fit of giggles.

"Okay, mummy is going to the hospital now to check on Grandma; I'll be back in a minute. Be good to Aunt Nolle, you hear me?"

"Yes mummyy!" She said that and slid back onto my laps, and Clarissa picked up her bags and left.

Jericho.

Clarissa walked in with a blue button-down dress and blue eyes that seemed steamy with worry. After a few hi's and hello's with her, she begged to see me after she was done visiting Jason's grandmother. Ever since the incident, Clarissa had walked on eggshells around everybody, sometimes pushing too far to impress Elijah and Grandma Carter. It was evident that she still thought the incident was her fault, but it wasn't—tthe doctor herself had complained about Grandma Carter's unreasonable resistance, which had resulted in her helpless state.

I wondered what was so important that Clarissa wanted to discuss with me. I hoped little Cisca was not, but again, she was an adorable child.

After a few minutes, I was seated in my office examining a seventeen-year-old girl whose angry mother had brought her to the hospital. She was pregnant for a boy in her class, and she was scared shitless. Her furious mother, however, was not helping matters by reiterating the vastness of her disappointment. The young girl's name was Alina, and she shook like a leaf throughout her consultation. It was when they left that nurse Kenya announced the arrival of Clarissa.

"Let her in." I ordered, and Clarissa walked in with an empty flask in her hands.

"Have a seat, Clarissa." I said, gesturing to the seat in front of her with both my hands stretched, but instead of sitting, Clarissa smiled and said to me:

"There's no need for that, Jericho; I just wanted to invite you over for dinner today, if you would like to, that is. Cisca has been curious to know where you have been."

Oh, that's fine; I'll bring Nova and the Children along for dinner then!" My Children were bored most of the time anyway; they also needed the fresh company as much as Cisca needed it.

"Oh no! You mustn't; there's something I have to discuss with you and Nolle. You also cannot tell Nova you've been to see me, or she'll be suspicious again."

I understood that, although I hated to keep things from my wife, this was for the greater good.

Later that evening, I gave my children goodnight kisses and told my wife I had to work night shifts at the hospital. I also told her to call my direct line if she needed me and not to bother phoning the hospital because everyone would be too busy to attend to the phones. Surprisingly, Nova was in a good mood, and she took it quite well. She even planted a warm kiss on my cheek before I left.

As I stepped into the night and began to walk, I shuddered. It was a really cold night, and the cold was nibbling at my fingers through my gloves and my toes through my socks and shoes. The streets were almost empty, safe for the few sightings of smitten couples walking hand in hand, talking, and laughing.

When I got to Clarissa's house, Cisca was already cozy in bed. And scanty plates of fried chicken were set on the wooden dining table—wwerewolves had very little appetite for human food. I wondered how the trio had survived thus far without going out on hunts or eating any substantial food.

"Long time no see, Jericho!" Nolle came out of the kitchen with a carton of orange juice in her hands, and she embraced me in a one-armed hug. She smelled like fried chicken; she must have done the frying.

"Long time no see! What's up?" I asked boisterously, and she smiled so hard that her eyes smiled with her.

Nolle:

Jericho was a very fine man; it was a pity he had a wife already. He was very cheerful and so eager to help; the bags beneath his eyes showed how stressed he was, yet he came when Clarissa called. If it wasn't for him, we all would have been caged in a lab by now, and our blood would have been transfused into vials and tagged with vaccines.

When Jericho had eaten enough chicken, Clarissa signaled to me that she was about to talk, and I nodded to show that she had my full attention and support.

"Ahem," Clarissa said, clearing her throat, and clasping her palms together.

Clarissa:

"Yesterday night, as I walked home from the mall, I was walking down Flynn's Street as usual and was about to cross over to our street when I heard a whimper coming from the garbage cans in the dark corner. I went across to find a young girl of seventeen bleeding heavily and trying so hard not to be seen. She smelt of wolves." I began by watching Nolle and Jericho closely enough to read their reactions.

"Jeez, was she a wolf? or attacked by one?" Mille's eyes shone with concern and curiosity already, but Jericho just listened quietly with his hand holding his head up.

"She was a wolf, and before she ran off, she told me she had been hit by a car and the man had come down to search for her. She also told me that she lived with her very sucky father, who had been banished from their pack. That was when I realized how much we could be of help to each other here in the city if we created a network of wolves.