I came to with a spinning head, and feeling as if my skin had been peeled off me. Faint beeping told me I was in hospital, and I groaned as I opened my eyes. "What the hell happened?" I demanded.
I was rewarded with a slap to the face which made me see stars. When my vision cleared, I saw my mother standing by the bed, her eyes blazing as she glared down at me. "How dare you let yourself get kidnapped?" she demanded. "It's your fault so many people died!"
"What the hell happened?" I repeated.
My mother slapped me again. I blinked back tears of pain, determined not to let her muzzle me. "I'm going to keep asking until I get an answer," I said. "You can wear yourself out slapping me all you want; I won't be muzzled."
My mother raised a hand as if to slap me again, but she relented, mainly because a nearby doctor was giving her the hairy eyeball. She sniffed and sat down. "There was an explosion," she said primly. "The special operations team were told to do all that was necessary to ensure the situation was resolved swiftly."
"By killing god knows how many people?" I demanded, horrified.
"It worked," my mother said stiffly. "Your 'friends' are all dead, and those who aren't are in custody." She sniffed again. "You're finished," she added. "I've withdrawn you from school, and when you return home, you will never be allowed to leave the house again until you die. And if you do leave the house, it will be with your father or I. We do not trust you one bit, and after the stunt you pulled, you will be very lucky if we don't chain you up outside like the misbegotten mutt you are."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR52ivTdTt9
The doctor intervened. "That's quite enough," he said firmly. "You can either be civil, or leave."
My mother glared at him. "She is my daughter," she said. "I can speak to her however I wish. You are the one who needs to be civil, or I shall make sure you never work in this town again. Do I make myself clear? Or do I need to disconnect my daughter's life-support machine?"59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEvEtFpcaP
I froze when I saw her hand near the cord connecting me to the machine that was keeping me alive. "Don't," I pleaded.
"Be quiet," my mother said. "You do not deserve to be treated, and had I had my way, I would have signed a DNR form to keep you from returning to life." She barked a short laugh. "But then again, that would have been an escape for you, wouldn't it?" She moved her hand, much to my relief. "No," she said. "I won't let you escape. You will live out the rest of your days doing all your father and I command of you. If you don't, you'll be chained outside and made to eat and drink from a bowl."
The doctor opened his mouth, but my mother froze him solid with a glare that would have put a polar ice-cap on even the most active of volcanos. "Go," she ordered. "Treat my daughter only enough to keep her alive. If I hear you have given her treatment above and beyond your oath, I will have this entire place shut down, and none of you will ever work in another hospital again."
She rose. "You will return home when I deem you fit," she told me. "Not when these 'doctors' deem you fit. I will be given full access to your files, and if I'm denied, I'll have you removed from the hospital and you can recover at home." She turned and left, and I felt my heart sink to the bottom of my toes once more. Life was not going to be any easier now; in fact, it was going to be worse.
"Don't worry," the doctor assured me once my mother was out of earshot. "She can't find out all that happens here, and despite her threats, I will not let you suffer a minute more than is necessary. Your mother doesn't have the pull she claims, but all the same, whatever we do outside the 'basics' will have to be on the downlow. Can you use your healing to speed things up a bit?"
I nodded. "I can do it quietly," I said, grateful for the support.
The doctor nodded. "Good," he said. "I think between you and I, we'll be able to fool your mother quite convicingly. Now get some rest, young lady. You've still got a ways to go, and not even the most hardy of werewolves can rely on their own resources forever."59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe31zsEoNWE
I let out a sigh of relief as sleep claimed me again. But as I drifted off, I knew my peace here would not last long.
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