“Oh no. No!” I ran to the passenger side. “Henry!”
“He needs you now! Let’s go!” Nick took on the task of pulling Henry out of the truck. I grabbed his right side, and Nick was on his left. “Claire, we’re taking him to the bedroom.” His eyes were slits of gray, and we were practically dragging him into the house. He was grimacing in pain the entire way. I was so focused on saving Henry that I was oblivious to everything else.
We got Henry to the bed and I shouted, “Claire! Go grab his pack.” She stood still in shock. “Claire! Now! We don’t have much time.”
***
“Henry, stay with me. I’m here.” I stroked the top of his head, pushing his grime-filled hair from his eyes. “It’s alright, lover. You stay with me. I’m going to give you what you need soon.” Henry was clenching his jaw, growling in pain. “I know you’re in there. You have to fight it.” He was breathing short, quick breaths through his teeth. “Nick, what the fuck happened?” Claire slammed the door and ran to the bed, then began hooking me up.
“I don’t know. I saw him rolling and rubbing his neck. He hurt his hand again, and then when we ran out of the building, it was like he reinjured his ribs or something. I looked at him and his eyes were graying.”
With Henry incapacitated, having Sophie around to answer questions would have been helpful. My breath hitched and tears formed in my eyes. I watched Henry rolling in the bed in complete agony.
Claire reached for him to try to stabilize him. “Henry. Henry. I need to know where it hurts.”
“Ev-ery wh-ere,” he groaned out.
“I’m going to try to assess you. Please don’t fight me.” I watched Claire tending to my ailing Henry. I looked down at the needle with the bag attached, willing my blood to leave me faster. I moved closer to him and held my wrist over his lips.
“Bite me.”
Claire looked at me like I was insane. “No! No way! I am not letting him bite you! Are you out of your fucking mind?!”
“No. He could be dying! He needs me. I have to save him. Henry, it’s okay.” He cracked his eyes open, and tears ran down the sides of his face. Then I felt a pair of strong arms yank me back. “Ow! What the fuck?!”
“I will not allow it,” Nick argued.
“You are not the boss of me!” Then I saw his eyes graying, as well. “Nick! What happened in there?” He stood there, fighting himself. A near constant growl was coming out of Henry. We were running out of time. “Where’s Thomas?!” Nick opened the door, and Thomas was standing right outside. He grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him inside.
“Here,” Nick growled.
“Claire, set him up for a vial. This is taking way too long. Nick needs some, too.” Claire pulled out what she needed from Henry’s pack, and hooked up Thomas. I scooted up the bed and tried to comfort Henry as much as I could.
Then there was a knock on the door, which was not what we needed. Everyone went quiet but Henry, who was still writhing in pain on the bed. Claire jumped up, went to the door, and cracked it open just enough to see Addie standing just outside the door.
“Is everything okay in there?” She was concerned. Claire bit down on her lip, searching for the words.
“Umm, yeah. He’s just injured, and tends to be a big baby about it.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, if you need anything…I’ll be just out in the kitchen with Rosa. Please, thank him for me.”
“I will. Thanks.” Claire slammed the door shut, making sure to lock it. She ran over to Thomas and swapped out his vials. She handed me the first one.
“Henry. Henry, try and sit up.” His whole body was trembling and rigid. He cracked open his eyes again. “It’s going to be okay. Here, open up.”
He parted his chapped, scarred lips and I poured the vial down. He swallowed hard, and continued his harsh breathing pattern. I stroked his face gently with my fingers.
“Shhh… It’s going to be okay.” He seemed to have started to calm down, but not enough. Claire pulled off the next vial and tried to hand it to Nick. He pushed it away, and nodded toward Henry.
“But Ni…”
“He needs it more than I do right now!”
“But…”
“Give it to him!” Nick snapped. She handed it to me just as I handed her back the empty vial. I looked at Nick. “It’s okay, Elaina. I’ll be fine until you’re done with that.” He slouched down against the wall. Claire unhooked Thomas, and I poured the last vial down Henry’s throat.
Within a couple minutes, Henry’s breathing had slowed down, and was at a more normal pace. His muscles were no longer contracting, and his growling had ceased. Relief swept over me, but he still needed a good dose. Those vials were just a Band-Aid to a larger problem.