Chapter 64
Emmett
What a mess this was. I should have gone to the hospital sooner. I had a feeling things would be bad, but this was worse than what I had imagined. The hospital was loaded with injured people, so many in fact that they literally had no room left. I’m not just talking about beds, but the floor too. I could hardly navigate through the crowded halls to get to my patients.
When I first arrived, I was met with open arms. It was quite nice. But now that I am integrated in, I have no doubt that I have the same crazed look that most of the staff and volunteers do. We needed more organization. Some of the people who were here didn’t need to be and were taking up vital space.
“Who is in charge here?” I asked one of the physicians.
“Our chief was killed by the chupacabras, no one has stepped up to take over.” He answered in passing.
That was the only queue I needed. I headed to the emergency room where most of the crowd was and climbed on top of the reception desk before using two fingers to give a sharp whistle.
“Alright, listen up everyone!” I said in a booming voice. “This hospital is not big enough for the amount of people we have here. In order for us to provide adequate care for your loved ones, I ask any non-essential people to please form two lines by the door and prepare to head towards the training grounds. We will have our guards escort you, though I do believe the pack has been cleared or nearly cleared of chupacabras, so there should be no danger to you in leaving.”
I was met with some sad and angry looks, but ultimately everyone there knew that I was right and began to assemble at the front entrance. As they were doing that, I went around and cleared a number of patients to leave. Those who had already been stitched up, those who received extra b***d, really anyone who has already received the treatment they needed and was stable enough to be discharged.
The warriors who were there looked relieved to be asked to leave. This wasn’t their field, and although they were trying to help, they were mostly taking up extra space and asking a hundred questions that we didn’t have time to answer. Within half an hour, the hospital looked almost like a ghost town. Thank goddess. Now we could actually focus on the patients who still really need our help.
“Help! Please, someone help!” A hysterical voice called, banging on the barricade we still had up.
I quickly ran to the door and started to open it up, checking that it was safe before fully opening the makeshift barricade. We still had not received the okay from Kelly that the kingdom was safe, so we were still acting with caution. Though through linking both Jonas and Thorin, I knew it was almost done if not already done.
“What happened?” I asked, my eyes immediately trailing over to the limp body that was being hauled towards my way.
“He was attacked.” She sobbed. “My mate was attacked.”
I took a quick glance and noticed that this was Kelly’s younger sister, Kelsey, I believe. I have met her a handful of times over the years. She looked just like Kelly, just a bit shorter and far more emotional. I had better not f**k this up.
– – – – – – – –
Kelly
“I think we are getting close.” Keres purred in delight as we hunted down the last Chupacabra survivor.
“Do your worst.”
I could feel her smirking and picking up the pace. Keres lived for this. I hardly cared if she killed their entire race at the moment. I just wanted this to be over with. We eventually came across a large opening, the grass was all matted down as if there had just been a large gathering. The Chupacabra ran around in circles, not wanting to get caught, but also not wanting to leave this opening.
“Little beast thinks he can lead us into a trap.” Keres laughed darkly as she stepped on him, making him yelp in pain.NôvelDrama.Org copyrighted © content.
She quickly shifted, not having a care in the world that she had us butt naked on enemy territory.
“Come out and play!” She said with a smug giggle, digging the heel of our foot into the creatures ribs, earning another pitiful yelp.
As if on queue, what I assumed to be the remainder of the chupacabras and their leader appeared, completely surrounding us. The biggest one, their leader, stepped forward and growled at Keres. We didn’t speak the same language, nor did we need to in order to understand one another. They were snapping their teeth at us, ready to fight, and Keres simply smiled before she ruthlessly began mowing through the chupacabras. I’m pretty sure most of our men just stood by and watched, perhaps in shock or awe or fear, who knows. Either way, it was less of a flight and more of a slaughter. Seemed fitting since they just did the same to my people, just days ago. A leader for a leader. An army for an army.
“Nicely done.” Thorin said as Keres finished off the last of them.
She let out a long sigh before shifting and giving me back full control. I fell to my hands and knees on the ground, heaving for air. Thorin was right there with some extra clothes, helping me cover up.
“Let everyone know it’s safe for them to leave their homes.” I said over my shoulder to the group of warriors who were still staring at me.
Hopefully, they didn’t think their new queen was too much of a freak. Keres is a hard pill to swallow, no doubt. I can only imagine the rumors that will spread after this. Hopefully, it wont be anything too unmanagable. The last thing I need is to have to prove myself to the council when this is technically my birthright.
“Where to next?” Thorin asked as he picked me up bridal style, knowing I was far too weak to even walk right now. It was a miracle that I was even still awake. I usually crashed immediately after Keres gave me back control.
“Hospital, then back to the palace.” I said, resting my head on his shoulder while he and the rest of our group slowly made our way back to the pack grounds.
I fought to stay awake, my body felt like it had just been torn apart, just like it always did after I shifted. Only this time I didn’t have a choice but to stay awake. The weight of the world was on my shoulders now. I don’t know how I will be able to manage this side effect, which is Keres, now that I am queen. Sure, I could continue to take my meds, but I’m not nearly as lethal as when Keres is around. So what? I pray that we never have another attack that requires more force than I can give on my own? Or I let Keres run the roost and see what happens? I already know what happens. She destroys everything.
Then again, everything is destroyed at the moment, so what more could she do? What was I going to do? Where would I even begin? I should probably see if any of my fathers appointed men were still alive; the beta, gamma, or delta. They could probably help me learn the ropes and get the kingdom back on its feet. I should also probably notify the council if they haven’t already figured it out. I would need to reach out to our allies also and tell them of my parents passing, once I get the funeral arrangements in place, of course.
There were so many dead bodies. Some were our people, others those nasty monsters. We would hold a mass funeral for our people, but perhaps just burn the bodies of the chupacabras as we find them. After that, we should hold a mass recruitment and get more warriors trained up in case of another attack. If we have any more enemies out there, now would be the perfect time for them to strike. We would tighten up our borders too, and maybe build a few bomb shelters around the pack in case something like this ever happens again. Our people could have a secure place to wait for help.
Maybe we can add special classes to the high school curriculum, like an emergency class or something. I saw far too many young people lying dead on the ground. We need to better prepare our people. The earlier the better. Some basic medical and maybe even a self-defense class or something.
“We are here.” Thorin said a few minutes later, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Okay.” I nodded, wiggling out of his grasp. Here goes nothing.