War Dog

Chapter 6

The next three days passed in a similar fashion as the first. Soap and Price indicated that Ceri didn't seem to be reacting to them in anyway other than aggressive. The second day had been better for all of us, but on the third she had been worse with Soap and Price. I mulled over quietly what I'd seen yesterday. She'd been slow to warm up to me upon entry to her room, but at my soft coos she retreated slightly and seemed to be listening. Maybe I was just fooling myself. I sighed, pen tapping on the desk restlessly. Price and Soap hadn't mentioned anything about what they'd seen from the camera when I was in the room with Ceri. Maybe they didn't notice a difference in her behaviour. I made up my mind. I was definitely fooling myself. I chucked the pen down on the table and stood up to stretch. The doctor was late today. Something had come up that he had to deal with. 

An urgent knock sounded at my door. I opened it cautiously to find Marcel standing there. "She's back. If you want to meet her properly, this is your chance to do so."

My heart thumped in my chest as I stared at him blankly. My thoughts catch up to my racing pulse. She's back... The thought churns through my mind as I find myself down the familiar corridors. My legs were already moving before I knew I'd made up my mind. I'd been lying to myself when I'd decided I hadn't been making any progress with her. I could feel it in my veins. I'd been lying to myself when I'd decided I hadn't been bothered by the lack of progress. My legs proved that as I practically flew through the corridors, finding myself in front of Ceri's door. For once it wasn't locked tight. It was slightly ajar. Through my thumping heartbeat I could hear voices in the room. They sounded distant and tinny through the blood rushing through my body. 

Knocking on the door, I hear the voices a little louder as one of them calls for me to come in. It's a female voice, sounding rough and tired. It's a low growl that I recognise instinctively. Ceri. I enter into the room and her eyes pin me to the spot. Bright and clear, just like in the photos, but more potent in person. "Ceri," I practically breathe out. Her ears prick towards me and I notice finally she's curled up in her bed, Dr. Cooper knelt beside her checking her vitals and doing some blood tests.

"Ceri, this is Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley with the Taskforce 141. He and some of his team have come over from England to see if you're the right fit for their team."

I notice as her ears flick slightly towards the doctor, a slight annoyance creeping across her face before she masks it away and smiles warmly instead. "Thank you, Charlie." I blink startled. Charlie? Eyes slide across to the doctor, Charlie Cooper? Interesting that she referred to him by first name when everyone else referred to him by title and last name. 

She waves the doctor away. "I'm fine, Charlie. Stop hovering. You'll get the same results as every other time I've been lucid." She pops the blood pressure cuff off her self and she stands up, only to receive a frustrated groan from Dr. Cooper. "Ceri, you need to be resting, damnit." He growled at her and tried to grab at her to shove her back down again. Despite her weary and exhausted movements she side stepped him with an ease that belied she'd done it many times before. 

All I can do is look down at her smaller form as she approaches me slowly. I can see her nose twitching as she scents the air. She leans in close snuffling at me and I remain still, calm. I take this opportunity to finally get to look at her. The collar had been removed, and I could see where it worn her fur thin. Her snout had a couple of silvery little scars cutting into the fur. She wasn't wearing clothes, something I hadn't noticed while she'd been snapping and growling at us, but I was now very aware of. All the other hybrids had been wearing clothes, so I assumed they just didn't bother trying to keep Ceri dressed while she was feral. Her body was pretty much covered by fur anyway. Her chest was completely flat as I discreetly observed her, and now that I thought back to various experiences with the other hybrids, most of the females seemed to be the same with one or two exceptions. Another personal choice? I wasn't about to ask. Instead, I admired her tufted ears as they swivelled and perked up at different things she could hear.