Chapter 157
Jamie cleared his throat. He was holding the tourniquet and seemed to be set to get on with it. Looking at Brandon, he asked, “You ready?”
I saw Brandon’s eyes shift, and he seemed to swallow a lump in his throat. Everything was suddenly very real. “I guess so,” he said quietly.
“Wait!” The word was out of my mouth before I even knew I was going to speak it. They all turned and looked at me, and I stepped over to the side of Brandon’s bed. Hesitantly, I said, “Uhm, good luck.”
Brandon looked into my eyes, and I suddenly felt a lot calmer than I had before. I think he did, too. “Yeah, thanks. I’ll see you in a little bit, okay?”
I nodded at him, trying to be as confident as possible. I put my hand on his arm, which seemed more familiar than it should after having only known him a few hours, and said, “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
He didn’t say anything, but in his smile, I saw relief. I hoped I’d be able to keep that promise. Still smiling, I backed away, and Cadence put her arm around me. Brandon’s eyes stayed glued to mine even though Jamie was clearing his throat again, trying to regain Brandon’s attention. Finally, Brandon realized the doctor was waiting for him, and with a nod, he said, “Let’s do it,” and offered up the same arm I’d just been touching a moment ago.
“All right,” Jamie said, tying the tourniquet tightly around Brandon’s arm just above his elbow. I knew I was staring, but I wanted to see everything that was happening. I imagined myself in that bed someday soon, hopefully no more than a year from now, and I wanted to be prepared when it happened. I wanted to be able to tell Emma and Lucy everything, too, so they wouldn’t be nervous when it was their turns. “Go ahead and make a fist for me.” It was hard to tell exactly what Brandon was doing, but I imagined he was doing as instructed. Jamie appeared to be poking around on his arm with his finger, and I assumed he was looking for a vein. He held his finger in a spot he must’ve liked and turned to the table to pick up the first syringe. “Here we go.”
I didn’t blame Brandon for closing his eyes. Part of me wanted to, too. I know I was holding my breath as Jamie inserted the needle and pressed down on the lever, injecting the Transformation Serum into my friend’s bloodstream. There would be no going back now. I wondered if Brandon would start shrieking in pain as I’d imagined my sister must’ve, but he hardly even moved. Once Jamie was done, he discarded the syringe and said to Brandon, “If you’re doing all right, give me a head nod.”
When Brandon’s head rocked up and down slightly, I let my breath go. I glanced at Cadence, and she seemed to also be relieved. I imagined if that had taken all right then everything was probably going to be fine.
Jamie turned back to the table and picked up a second needle. He glanced at the clock on the wall, I imagined out of habit since I was fairly certain he had a clock in his IAC. I thought I remembered hearing he had to wait a couple of minutes to give the pain medication that would make Brandon go to sleep and put his brain in the best state to Transform quickly and painlessly. I didn’t know what might happen if the pain medicine was given too quickly or not at all.
I saw Jamie look at my sister and nod and imagined they were having a side conversation again, and when the doctor smiled at her and Cadence made a humming noise, my suspicions were confirmed. What I wouldn’t give to have an IAC.
It was then that I noticed Cadence had her hand across her midsection again. She turned around and grabbed a rolly chair that had been sitting against a wall and drug it over, back to where she’d been standing between me and Aaron. He looked down at her, a flicker of concern on his face, but Cadence didn’t acknowledge it, so he returned his attention to Brandon, and so did I.
The doctor turned back to his patient and inserted the second needle into his arm. Once the syringe was empty, he withdrew it, placed the tourniquet back on the table, and fastened a cotton ball over the puncture mark with a bandage. He looked carefully at Brandon for a second and then went to the foot of the bed and grabbed the blanket that had been folded down there and pulled it up to his chin, tucking him in. Brandon looked like he was sleeping peacefully, and I began to feel my racing pulse slow down just a bit.
“That’s it,” Jamie said. Walking toward us, he added, “And now, we wait.”
“That's it?” I asked quietly, almost unable to believe that it had been so simple. I’d been expecting something much more traumatic but was thankful that hadn’t been the case. “He’s done?”
“Well, my part is over,” Jamie explained, stopping in front of me. “But the hard part is just beginning. His DNA is undergoing the Transformation process, which takes quite a toll. He’ll be very different when he wakes up.”
“As long as he’s still his sweet self.” I could tell by my sister’s smirk that she was being sarcastic.
Jamie chuckled at her and then looked at me and Aaron before saying, “I can go get a few more chairs from my office if you all really want to wait.”
“I do.” The words came out of my mouth very quickly, and I noticed all three of them had turned to stare at me with raised eyebrows. Deciding I needed to back it down a notch, I added, “I mean, you know. I guess.”
