Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal

Author:Kristen O'Neal [O'Neal, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quirk Books
Published: 2021-04-27T00:00:00+00:00

21

Panic starts to grip me at the thought of losing Brigid again, but Spencer grabs my wrist and whispers “there,” pointing past the far corner of the grocery store, just into the woods. I can see a bushy tail behind a tree, a creature moving with an uneven gait.

“I see her,” Spencer says, nodding at me. “It’s okay. Really, I’ve dealt with weirder.”

“Have you?”

“Yeah, actually,” he says. “Once. It involves a bunch of drug dealers who taught their pet parrots some deeply disturbing tricks. Another time. For now, I’ve got a small, very expensive piece of insurance we could use.”

He puts the truck in park, hops into the back, and starts rummaging. The wolf takes another step into the tree line, and I roll down the window, leaning my head out. I remind myself of who she really is, hoping some part of her remembers, too.

“Brigid!” I call. “Remember me, Brigid?”

I watch her ears perk up, swiveling in my direction, and she steps back onto the concrete.

“Hey, that’s it!” I grin. “C’mere.”

She watches me, frozen in place. I notice that the fur around her mouth is also matted, sticky and dark. My stomach lurches. She’s had plenty of time for a snack. Spencer hauls himself back into the driver’s seat, looking pleased.

“Bingo!” he says, holding up a gun.

“Spencer!” I hiss. “You can’t kill her!”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. “Priya,” he says, “it’s a dart gun. I’m not going to shoot her. What do you think is wrong with me.”

He pops out the dart. It’s longer than I’d expected, segmented into color-coded parts. “There’s a tracker here,” he says brightly. “In the middle part. It’s really cool tech, unless the animal sits on it. It also costs a hundred and fifty dollars, so we only have, like, two of them. So you have to promise not to tell my boss that I’m about to do this.”

“When would I be talking to your boss?” I ask.

“Yeah, alright,” he says. “Since we don’t have any tranqs on us, unless you’re packing ketamine—are you packing ketamine, Priya?”

“I am not.”

“Okay, so no tranqing. I do know a guy, but I’d get in a lot of trouble if anyone ever found out I was buying tranquilizers off the street.”

“You’re buying tranquilizers off the street?”

“Of course not! I’ve been trying to figure out how to confiscate this dealer’s dog, so I don’t exactly want to give him my business. If you tell my boss I even brought that up I’m burying you in the woods.”

“Now who’s the serial killer?”

“Shut up.”

“What is the plan, Spencer.”

“I’m working on it. I’m not wild about the idea of me using my catchpole, and calling in backup would take a while. So while we’re here: want to try to lure her up into the truck?”

“I don’t think she likes small spaces,” I say.

“What does she like?” he asks. “We are right behind a grocery store.”

I nod. “Okay. Yeah.”

“I’ll stay here and get this dart into her,” he says.

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