The Fifth Element

Chapter 9

I awakened to find myself lying in a hospital bed. I blinked and squinted, making out an IV jabbed into my arm. I shuddered. Needles freaked me out like nobody's business. My hand shook as I reached to take it out, but a firm hand stopped me. I blinked once more and saw Nathan looking down at me, worry creased into his forehead.


"Let's not, Sky," he told me, rubbing my palm with his thumb.



"I'm to..tally fine," I muttered, pushing myself up. My vision became blurrier and I winced, and not just because I was dizzy. I mean, a hospital gown, really? If I had gotten up, I would've been almost naked. Plus there's that awkward opening near the trunk, if you catch my drift.



"I like that dress on you," Nathan smirked. I scrunched my face at him in return.



"I bet it'd look better on you," I wiggled my eyebrows and instantly regretted it. Did I go to a Metallica concert last night or something? Oh, right. I was too busy getting tackled in wolf-hybrid football. "Where is everyone?"



"Right here," Nathan pointed to himself. "It'd look kinda suspicious if everyone else showed up. I mean, a severely injured girl and a few bruised up teenagers...unless you wanted us to tell them we were fighting a rival gang."



I laughed at the irony. "So what's the 'real' story?"



"Car accident. I lost control and veered into the woods when another driver forced me off of the road. I had to get you to the hospital quickly and I didn't have a working phone, so I carried you here," he recited as if he had memorized it.



"Impressive!" I replied.



"You think? Peri helped me come up with that one," he winked. I chuckled and nestled back under the covers.



"Glad to see that you're conscious. How are we feeling?" A woman wearing scrubs and a white coat asked as she siddled into the room.




"Better," I responded quietly. Nathan nodded and I winced a bit as I tried to follow suit.



"I'm going to give you some painkillers for that headache," the woman told me.



"Okay," I agreed, feeling a bit conscious. My head ached like crazy when that Nightmorph had pounced on me. But my head hurt in a different way now. It felt more like little sparks and I would see stars when I closed my eyes.



The woman injected some type of painkiller into my arm with another needle (Ugh!) and I felt an immediate sense of ease. That feeling didn't last long though.



I heard Nathan sigh as the woman began to melt. Okay...that's enough Nightmorphs. Tone it down a notch, please. Nathan grabbed my arm and yanked me out of bed. I had ditched the weird sensation in my head but...


"Oh, nu-uh! I am wearing a hospital gown! You expect me to run in this?" I said stubbornly, digging my heels into the ground.



"Now is NOT the time to be worried about fashion...or a little breeze," Nathan groaned. The woman melted into a puddle that touched Nathan's shoe and burned the toe. Acid.



"Fine," I succumbed and ran alongside Nathan. When we reached the exit, we dashed through and heard a loud alarm go off. We didn't stop until we reached the foot of a bridge, where Nathan draped his jacket over my shoulders. I held onto the back of my hospital gown for dear life.



"You're alive!" Lex popped out of a shady spot underneath the bridge and I jumped back in surprise. She squeezed me until I was sure I would pass out again. In fact, I still saw stars when I closed my eyes. Thanks, but I don't really feel like seeing the Milky Way in the daytime...



Jem and Peri appeared as well, looking relieved. The relief didn't last long however and I saw Peri gasp as Nathan's eyes widened.



"What?" I asked. "Please don't tell me I have something on my face because I really don't-"




"Holy crap!" Lex screamed. Jem clamped a hand over her mouth.



"Hey!" Jem protested as she proceeded to lick his hand to get his hand off.




"Sky..." Nathan undulated slowly.



"You're a wolf!" Peri spat out in surprise.




"Whaa?" I glanced down at my...paws? Peri was right! I was covered in blonde fur. I yelped in fright before returning back to my normal, human form. Son of a biscuit eating bulldog...I was a monster. Then it hit me like a 300 pound wolf.




"The injection!"




"That! That!" Nathan shouted, pointing at me as if we were playing a game of charades and had tag-teamed to guess the answer.




Peri closed her eyes. "I've heard of these cases. But they're extremely rare...Shapeshifters are especially wanted among Nightmorph creators. They can be manipulated to take on the form of animals as well."



I sprouted cat ears. "I want pancakes!" I wailed. "And pants!"



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Sorry that this chapter had to be updated a few times. XD I've been busy and worn out but I'm super excited because I'm going to the Xx concert at the House of Blues this weekend! Yeeha! I'm also currently watching How I Met Your Mother and feeling happy finally because I got a bunch of hugs today and got carried around school by my friend Brendan. Also, I just made a batch of pancakes and am eating them for dinner. :3 Keep on reading and if you haven't already seen this: I will post pictures of the characters and have you vote on which pic you like the best! Have fun and keep the comments/votes/ reads coming!