The Full Moon [boyxboy]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four (Scythe's POV)

It was unlike any room I'd ever seen.

It was the size of a gymnasium with a loft high up where glass revealed an observation room. What concerned me the most was the hundreds of cages that lined the walls down below. They were all along the walls and there were several aisles. At the center of the large room was a white platform that reminded me exactly of a surgical area.

My insides squelched.

Please, Goddess. Please tell me I didn't make a mistake.

Jack wheeled Zaid to the platform before setting up the surgical table, hitting a few buttons, and letting the magic happen. The lights shifted away from the cages and their inhabitants, shining down on the table that Jack switched Zaid to. Zaid was breathing hard again and I rushed over to help.

"Scythe, I'm scared." Zaid managed, keeping his voice low so Jack couldn't hear him. I stood over Zaid, staring down at him as sweat made his dark hair stick to his face, his once bright green eyes turning dark with pain and fear. The scent of it all was thick and suffocating, but I wasn't about to leave.

Zaid needed me.

"We need to hook him up to an IV. He's going to lose a lot of blood. Hook him up to a heart monitor too," Jack instructed as he ripped a white lab coat off a nearby rack before he tore it on, "I need you to put one of these coats on and a mask. He can't risk getting an infection now of all times." I obeyed without hesitation, slipping the white coat on before tugging the mask over my face.

I turned to see Jack getting into a few cupboards, taking out tools and a bottle of iodine, placing them on a cart. My stomach clenched at the sight of the scalpel.

"Stop gawking and hook him up to this machine," Jack snapped, wheeling a strange machine over to me, "It won't put him completely asleep, but it'll make him drowsy. He might complain that he's numb, but it's only natural. Oh, and if you're squeamish, I suggest you don't look. Seeing as this is a male birth, I'll perform a C-section by making an incision just near his belly button and above his groin. It's going to hurt, I'll be honest. But if we can do this right, Zaid might be able to live through it, but you have to listen to me."

I felt hot anger race through my veins at that, but when Zaid whimpered, I knew I had no choice.

I obeyed Jack's orders, hooking up the mask to Zaid's face and watching his eyelids flutter like he was experiencing a dizzy spell. I hooked him up to an IV, grimacing at the sight of the blood in the bag it connected to. I finished by connecting him to a heart monitor. Jack took a brush and dipped it in the iodine before using a pair of scissors to cut Zaid's shirt off.

Beep, beep, beep.

At that point, I stopped looking and locked eyes with Zaid's. Tears squeezed past his eyes, streaming past the mask and down the sides of his face as I cupped his cheeks in my hands.

"You're going to be fine. You'll be okay," I assured, surprised by how my voice shook, "Just keep looking at me, Zaid. Keep watching me. You'll be okay... I promise. When this is over, we'll go back home and rest. I'll make you whatever you want. And once you're healed, we'll go for bike rides all the time, okay? I'll even clean your bike for you ahead of time, I swear."

Don't break down, Scythe. Don't do it. You have to be strong. For Zaid.

Zaid made a choking sound and I gripped his head tightly in my heads to keep him from looking down as Jack began to operate. I leaned in closer to Zaid's face, stroking his cheeks and kissing him on the forehead. Hot salty tears smeared across Zaid's face as he sucked in deeply through the mask, taking in as much of the anesthesia as he could.