Tainted, Book One: Possessed

38. You Always Get to Kill It

Kerry

The noise wouldn't stop.

"Go away!" I moaned, pulling the pillow over my head.

"Get up!" Hank pounded on the door again. "Gemma needs you!"

Well, that woke me up.

"Where is she? What happened?" Tangled in the sheet, I fell out of bed.

"The hospital ER. August called me. He asked her to go with him to check out this girl who—"

"Shorter, Hank." I tried to wrestle out of the sheet and hobble toward the door at the same time. It wasn't working too well. "I'm up, not awake."

"She's in trouble."

She's in tr—

I spun around, which tightened the sheet around my feet, and made a dive for my phone as I crashed to my knees. Scrolling through my contacts, I hit the first picture I saw who could do what I wanted.

"Why are you awake?" John didn't bother with a hello.

"I need a favor." I finally ripped myself free of the freaking sheet. "'Port me to the hospital ER."

"Are you hurt? Gemma's—"

"In trouble. August called Hank. Get me there now!"

I got up off the floor, threw my door open, and nearly ran over Hank.

"Uh, Kerry, wait." He followed me down the hall.

"I'm here!" John called out.

"Wait, kiddo." Hank was still trying to talk to me, but I ignored him and ran ahead.

"Gigi's started 'porting the others," John said as I skidded around the corner, "and I'll come back for Hank after I—"

"Don't care!" I grabbed his arm and had to concentrate so I didn't crush it. "Go, go, go!"

"Uh, Kerry, you sure you want everyone to see you in your boxers?"

#

Gemma

I held the girl's small hand. Her skin was cold and clammy and her chest rose and fell erratically, but she was fighting.

"Tough little thing, aren't you? Won't quit and don't know how to give up." I couldn't help but smile. "I know someone just like you."

"Gemma, Chief Vickers is coming back." August stood at the edge of the privacy curtain, his head poked out the door.

"Already?" I laid the child's hand back on the blanket and stood. "That was not an hour."

"He looks angry."

I had a feeling I would, too, before the end of this.

I sighed.

It was hard to believe I'd been laughing and talking with my friends less than half an hour ago. Knowing it could be a while before Kerry was awake enough to call, I'd gone to breakfast with them to fill up the time. Then August had appeared in the cafeteria, asking if I would go with him to look at an unusual case in the hospital ER.

Unfortunately, we'd arrived too late for that poor person, but at least it meant we'd been on hand when this little girl had come in. I was all gung-ho to save her, but Vickers, the emergency room chief, was convinced the child was beyond hope.

"I've seen this horror story before," he'd said as he'd scrubbed his hands over his face. "You need a warrior on hand to destroy a shrouder once you separate it from its victim. Otherwise, it will attach itself to you or anyone nearby."