Sunday May 12th Pt. 8
“Cass, as much as you don’t want to, we can’t let him leave.”
“I know.” His response is barely heard but it’s enough to cause him to struggle.
“Please, Colton. Submit to me, son.”
Cassius remains calm and gentle as Colton pushes against him causing a new series of yelps to start before collapsing, sobbing softly.
“I’m sorry Colton. Your mental health is worse than your physical health. I can not let you go. Not until you’re healed and making appropriate adult decisions. I will work with you. Your input is important and will be considered but right now you’re in a really bad situation that needs the support of a gentle leader.”
He pauses as he keeps his touch gentle but predictable.
“Based on your response to me I believe you have had such a leader before.”
“Sir?” I can barely hear Cole as he attempts to speak.
“It’s okay to tell me what you need.” Cassius encourages softly.
“Your arm. The one around my back.” I can hear the hesitation in his voice.
“You sound uncomfortable, son. It’s okay to tell me.”
“The arm that's on my back. I’d much rather it be lower. I’d rather you be on my butt than my back.”
His statement is rushed with an edge of panic still within it.
“I’m sorry.” Cassius reacts immediately, lifting his arm and moving it lower.
They stay like this for several minutes waiting for the young man to calm.
“What happened to him?” Sheila is the first to break the silence.
“He doesn’t remember.” I respond as Cass continues his gentle side to side swaying.
“How does he not know?”
“Based upon what little he could tell me, he woke up in the hospital about a week ago. He was told that he had been through a battle about a month ago but was never told of his injuries. Something spooked him bad enough that he ran and has been wandering the streets for three or four days. He doesn’t know where he started and has no knowledge of being a werewolf so figuring out the pack he comes from is going to be difficult.”
“Not that I’d send him back but that information does need to be found.” I nod at Cassius’s request.
“It will take some patience considering the panic attack he just had heading into the clinic.”
“Colton.” Cassius brushes his hand through Cole’s hair. “Are you calm enough to go inside? It is very important that we get some X-rays so we know what kind of help your wrist needs.”
He slowly lifts his body from Cass following the lead Cassius’s relaxing hold provides.
“I’m sorry.” He whispers as Cassius nods.
“It’s okay. We can tell that you have gone through a lot for a very long time. You are allowed to move freely as long as you don’t run. Your wrist will not heal until it is properly aligned.”
“I’m scared but I won’t run. I’ll go inside. Will the X-rays hurt?”
“No.” I try to reassure him as he starts a slow walk my way. It seems that his panic attack has completely depleted his energy.
“The reason I introduced the idea of a shot is because I have to remove the brace and put you in different positions to cover all the bones. The X-ray is not painful but moving your arm may be.”
“Are they necessary?”
He speaks towards the ground after stopping two feet from where Sheila and I stand.
“While my empathic powers allowed me to sense that it was misaligned, I can’t see where everything is at. Doing that rough alignment in the field did provide you some relief but it’s not complete and I’m not willing to attempt the same thing again. That was very painful and I’m very grateful that you endured it without harming me.”
I’m surprised when he nods.
“How did you know he wouldn’t?”
“Honestly, I didn’t but I was hopeful, based on what I could feel, that trusting him would allow him to trust me.” I try to explain to Sheila.
“I need you to head back inside while we get him in the clinic. It would be very helpful if you could verify the medical room is clean. The medication I’ve given him makes him sleepy and without knowing his rank I don’t want him without monitoring.”
She nods with a smile and a light kiss, heading back inside as I guide Colton towards the door. I pull my keys out as we approach. I’m genuinely surprised when the jangle of the keys causes him to wince in pain. While he may be acting calm as he enters the clinic his anxiety is obvious as his eyes dart around the room. It’s only as I watch him that I realize he has navy blue eyes.
‘Cass, make certain that I write in his file that he has pup blue eyes.’
‘Doesn’t that mean he’s a feral?’ He asks a lot more relaxed than I thought he would.
‘No, pup blue eyes always appear in individuals that have been abused from an early age. While many wolves who have gone feral have met that terrible fate, not all abused individuals go feral and not all ferals have been abused.’
“In here.” I direct him gently not knowing how he’s coping with the environment. “If you sit in the wheelchair I can push you where we need to go. It’s only been about three hours since you took that Vicodin. While I do expect it to start wearing off, it's still strong enough to make you drowsy.”
It’s a relief when he takes my hints and sits in the chair.
“Be still.” I keep everything about me calm as I bend over his legs and verify that the brakes are off.
“Cass, can you go ahead of us and open the door to the x-ray room?”
He nods silently, turning lights on as he goes. I speak briefly to Colton before getting behind him, instructing him of what I need from him while I move him in the chair. Fortunately he’s too tired to put up a fight.
I work quickly to get him situated but the X-rays do prove very painful by the time I’m done. I help return the brace to his hand but his sensitivity has increased to the point that he struggles to have it on him. I pull Cassius into the side room to show him the X-rays.
“I know you’re not a doctor but what do you see?”
I have pulled up a random but normal x-ray of the same body part for comparison.
“This one appears normal.” He immediately points to the random one.
“You are correct. Can you tell what’s wrong with Colton’s?”
“The small bones appear compressed. From what little you can see of the small carpal bones at least three have fractures but I can’t tell if they are healing or not. Actually, look at the long bones of his arm. Tons of fractures.”
“Definitely need Dr. Hamilton’s expertise in orthopedics but the fractures in his arm appear to be scars from previous breaks. The fractures in his wrist are harder to tell. He also has bone scars in his hand.” I point out several fractures in his hand and fingers.
“Would this constitute proof of abuse or torture?” He looks at me as he points to the X-ray.
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