Chapter 27 - Bigby

I hear Rosa's voice and open my eyes, wincing at the pain in my side. There are bright lights above me, and a strange-smelling pillow under my head, and distantly, I register the fact that I'm somewhere in the compound.

Rosa is talking to Maisie about the serum and how Varun tested it on shifters. Was I hit with the serum? I try to do a mental catalog of my body and determine if anything feels different.

Surely, I'd know if I was hit.

I reach out, and when I feel Rosa's hand resting on the bed, I clasp it tight, not wanting her to leave.

When her face comes into view, I grin up at her.

"You're so beautiful," I say, " I love you . I know you don't feel the same way, but I need to say it. I want to tell you a million times. I love the most beautiful woman in the world."

"What's wrong with him?" Rosa says, turning her face away, and addressing someone else. Maisie, probably

"Nothing—he was just in a lot of pain, so I gave him some medication. I guess they must make him a little loopy. Everyone reacts differently."

"Rosa," I say, reaching for my girl. My hands go around her waist, and I drag her my way, trying to lift her up onto my lap. That would be nice—having her on my lap. But I can't get my arms to work right for some reason, and she doesn't even lift off the ground. "Ow," I say, feeling another stabbing pain in my side.

"Bigby," says Maisie, coming to my side. She tuts and grabs something from the counter. "You're making it bleed again."

"It's bleeding again? Will he need another transfusion?"

Rosa sounds panicked, and I smile, liking that she's worrying about me. I'm completely fine—though I can't remember why

"Honey," I say, reaching out for her, grasping at her shirt. "Come here, honey, it's okay. Just come here."

Rosa turns, looking at me with an eyebrow raised, and suddenly, I am sleepy. I am so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open.

"What the—" Rosa says.

"Sorry," Maisie says, "You'd mentioned working on the antidote—I thought you might focus better if I just knocked him out."

"Did you use a horse tranquilizer? How much did you give him?"

I blink, my eyelids feel like they're sticking shut. I swallow thickly, thinking I'll just close my eyes for a moment. The last thing I hear is Maisie's voice as everything goes to black.

"He's a big guy…"

***

When I wake up, Maisie is sitting next to me, drinking a smoothie.

"Oh, good," she says, "you're up. Let me check your vitals, quick."

I blink groggily, the bright lights above me stinging my eyes. My body feels a little stiff, but overall, I feel okay.

"Everything looks good," Maisie says a minute later, snapping her stethoscope around her neck. "You are free to go, but you're going to need to come back tomorrow so I can switch out those bandages."

"Where's Rosa? And Kaila?"

"Rosa is in the lab, working, and Kaila is at Aris and Linnea's. She's safe. But you should probably head home and try to take it easy. No shifting until this is healed—I don't want your progress slowed down by the transition."

"Rosa's in the lab?"

"Don't bother her—she might be having a breakthrough on the antidote."

I nod at Maisie but push up from the bench with full intentions to go straight to the lab and see Rosa for myself, making sure she's okay. Maisie gave me some clothes Rosa had brought for me, and I changed out of my hospital gown before wandering down the hallway.

As I near the chemistry lab, I hear loud shouts and increase my pace despite the sting in my side. Rounding the corner, I see through the lab and into the holding room, where Byron is standing outside one of the cells, saying something I can't hear over the screams.

"Percy!" Byron says, his voice cracking, "Please, just calm down! Sit down, take a breath, man!"

Percy doesn't seem to listen; instead, the shouts increase in pitch. The wall of the cell rattles loudly. Rosa is standing in the lab, her goggles around her neck, and her hands by her sides. When she turns and sees me, her brow wrinkles.

There are few sights in this world that genuinely take my breath away. Rosa standing there in her lab coat, her soft blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, is one of them. I file it away to think about later.

Then, I realize she's trying to project to me, and I shake my head, giving her a small smile.

"Did Maisie let you go? Or did you break out?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I ask, leaning close to her so she can hear me over Percy. "What's going on here?"

"He gets like this, sometimes, just breaks into screaming fits. Byron was trying to ask him about the humans who have gone missing, and he just imploded, started hitting his body against the glass, wailing against the cot; we were worried he was going to hurt himself."

"Gods," I mutter, and Rosa reaches out, putting her hand on my forearm.

"They didn't find any serum on him, Bigby," she says, "so maybe it wasn't Percy who took it. I know Olivia was really confident that was the answer, but I'm not so sure. I think everyone should just be extra careful until we figure out where the serum actually is."

"You know I'm careful," I say, stepping toward her, but she pulls back, shaking her head.

"I was there, in the clearing—I came to warn you, and I saw you launch yourself at Percy like that. You might be used to being the guy who barrels in like a tank, but that has to stop now that Kaila has you in her life. I won't allow her to lose a father."

Rosa is right. In our team, I'm always the first one to take a risk, to put myself in harm's way when it isn't strictly necessary. Other than my sister and parents—who all have lives of their own—it never really felt like I had a reason not to.

"You're right," I say.

"I know."

I turn away from Rosa, moving into the room with Byron and Percy.

Percy is sitting on his cot now, his head hung down. He's shaking it slowly, left to right, his long golden curls loose and long away from his face. He looks completely different from the last time we saw him—which makes sense. Even if he hadn't been under the effects of the serum, living in the woods this whole time, he would look different after a few years.

This Percy looks more than different. He looks like he's been through something traumatic—there's a long, thin scar across his left cheek. His eyes are bloodshot, heavy bags weighing under them. More than anything, I want to pull him in for a hug, get him a haircut, and clean him up. But he's already shown what will happen if anyone tries to get near him.

"He won't answer to anything," Byron mutters. "He just alternates between screaming and banging on the walls and going into this…comatose state."

I put my hand on the glass gently. "Hey, Percy. It's me, Bigby."

Percy doesn't react. Byron and I stand there quietly for a moment, and I know we're both thinking about the man Percy was once—bright, energetic, always there to help or crack a joke. It's painful to see him like this now, and to know there's no end in sight.

"Bigby," Rosa says softly, "will you come here."

When I return to the lab, she places something into my hand. A tiny vial of clear liquid.

"What is this?"

"Another antidote. I think it's an improvement upon the last one."

I stare at the liquid, then look back into the holding room. When I meet Rosa's eyes, she's unsure. I know she's already tried one antidote on a shifter, and it did nothing but cause them pain.

"You have to keep trying. It's the only way for us to know if it works."

Rosa nods, then calls Maisie into the room. She takes the new antidote and pulls a dose into the syringe, and I notice her hands are shaking. A shifter named Colin comes to the front of the cell.

"Hey, again, Colin," Maisie murmurs. "Thank you for doing this."

"Someday it'll work," he says, "and I'll be grateful I went through the testing."

After Maisie disinfects the area and injects the liquid, we all watch quietly, waiting for a reaction. Colin moves to his cot slowly, sitting, then laying back.

"How are you feeling?" Maisie asks.

"Okay," Colin says, just before his body begins to shake.

" No ," Rosa breathes, stepping toward the class as Colin's body convulses, sliding off the cot and onto the floor. Maisie starts to unlock the door to the cell, to go in and help, but Byron puts a hand on her arm.

"He could hurt you," he reminds her, "we're under strict orders from Aris that nobody goes in these cells with an affected shifter. Not until they can be controlled or cured."

"I'm aware of that," Maisie snaps, ripping her arm away. "But he is in pain. And he's my patient."

Just as she says that, Colin goes still, his convulsions slowing and stopping. The only sound in our room is our breathing as we watch, waiting to see what happens.

After a minute, Rosa lets out a sob and turns, rushing from the room.