Chapitre 399: 38. All For Love.
I entered the dimly lit reserved bedroom, its air heavy with the scent of disinfectant. The room was stocked with a towering pile of fluffy towels, neatly arranged on a nearby table. I made my way to the bathroom, its cold tiles sending a shiver down my spine as I closed the door behind me. With trembling hands, I changed into my worn-out nightgown, the fabric rough against my skin.
Gathering my hair, I secured it tightly in a bun; the tautness pulling at my scalp. In anticipation of the ordeal ahead, I had already placed a bucket within reach, just in case. The familiar wave of nausea washed over me, a constant companion for the past few days. As my body temperature rose, I felt a chill run through my veins, causing me to shiver.
Turning my attention back to the bedroom, I carefully spread the towels on the bed, creating a makeshift barrier against the unknown. My bucket, now accompanied by several others, stood ready, a testament to my uncertainty about how these toxins would manifest. Concerned and perplexed, Damon watched me from the edge of the bed, his frown deepening.
His voice filled the silence, filled with confusion, "I'm obviously not up to date, so wife dear, please explain. What is going on in this room? Why are you not coming to our bedroom?"
I approached him calmly, clutching the results of my tests and those videotapes in my hands.
Handing them over to Damon, I spoke, "Now, I don't know what will unfold here, but please go. As you can see, I'm not mad, just poisoned. I will try to find a solution. I hoped to extract at least 20 liters of blood, but I managed to gather only about 15 liters. Nonetheless, it will aid me. Once I'm finished, I'll seek Colin or someone capable of continuing my treatment. The collection of unfamiliar metals within me leaves me clueless as to what will emerge and from where."
The relief provided by the painkiller I had concocted from my teeth began to fade, leaving me vulnerable to the relentless throbbing headache and the searing pain coursing through my muscles. Gasping silently, I braced myself for the immense discomfort that awaited. Aware of the profuse sweating that would ensue, I had changed into disposable bed linen, opting for convenience over comfort.
I carefully arranged the towels on the bed with trembling hands, ensuring their coverage extended to the edges. The bucket, now within arm's reach, served as a constant reminder of my deteriorating condition. Waves of nausea intensified, threatening to overpower me. Anticipating potential accidents, I had taken precautionary measures and donned diapers, unsure if I would experience diarrhea or possess the strength to make it to the bathroom for a simple act of peeing.
Damon approached me, his worried gaze fixated on my trembling figure as he crouched down before me. I lay on my side, feeling the weight of my illness intensify.
Despite his concern, Damon maintained a steady voice, laced with a hint of inquiry. "Baby, why didn't you come to me earlier? You're dangerously poisoned now, and the blood you drank won't be enough to save you. I'll have to taste your blood and find the best solution, but you're so desperate to leave this place that the only remedy seems to be sinking my teeth into your neck. The metals have inflicted unimaginable damage on your organs, weakening you. I can see it. It's been two weeks, and there's already irreversible harm. You have eaten little, or even sated your thirst for blood. But don't worry, I'll fix you up."
His smile tightened, conveying determination.
My throat tightened as I swallowed, mustering the courage to speak. "Before you taste my blood, take a sample and smell it. Ensure it's safe for you. Just because I'm poisoned doesn't mean you should risk your own life, no matter how married we are. I'm indestructible. I'll overcome this. And who knows what Bran is planning? Will he force you to abandon me again? I lie here, shaking, aware that my body temperature will rise, causing sweat to wash away the herbs and maybe even the metals. This will be an arduous journey, as muscle pains, headaches, and nausea intensify with each passing moment."
Damon stood up, his expression hardening. "You're not going anywhere. I'm going to confront Bran and present the evidence. If he dares to challenge me, don't worry, my love. I'll remind him of my capabilities as a teacher. Then, I'll gather supplies from the medbay and start exploring the options. Sweating won't rid you of the mercury, we both know that. We need to bind it. And those new metals, need binding too. You can't simply sweat them out. You're far beyond the point where sweating provides relief. I wish I had paid closer attention to you; I would have detected this sooner. This is not good, darling, not good at all."
Damon approached me, gripping my wrist to assess my pulse and examining my eyes. With the evidence in hand, he left, determined to find a solution.
I knew he was pissed, but at the moment, I didn't care. My fever slowly began to drop, and I felt a huge exhaustion begin to creep up on me as the sweat that was starting to flow burned and stung. The pain was not going anywhere; the light hurt my eyes even though I had pulled curtains in front of the windows. My sweat stank. I tried to wipe it off with towels and wrap myself in the towels so that most of it would be absorbed off my skin.
I felt waves of nausea rising now and in good time. And, at the same time, started vomiting. I threw up traces of human blood, but nothing else. Nothing came up but a little stomach acid, which stung and burned my throat. It didn't help with nausea, though at all.
When my temperature was normal, I felt myself shaking again, and then I started to raise it again. I didn't know how long human blood would let me do this, but I tried to hold on. I got up and changed into clean towels because the previous ones were already soaked. My feet were very unsteady, and I was dizzy. I had reserved some Samuel's dehydration solution, to be drunk. I tried to drink it, but it came up violently, with some blood.
My headache was worse because I was now dehydrated on top of everything else. Nothing stayed on my stomach long enough to get time to absorb, even though I tried to bravely sip that awful-tasting solution. I knew I would get through this eventually, but damn it, this was not pleasant at all.
Damon stormed away, his footsteps echoing through the hallway as he made a beeline for Bran's office. Without hesitation, he pushed open the door, the sound of it slamming against the wall filling the room. Bran looked up, his surprise evident on his face. Damon spoke, his voice dripping with venom.
"Now I have no idea what your business dealings are with this pack," Damon hissed. "Are we, Adam and Samuel, just some sort of boy toys you rent out? But let me make one thing clear, Cornick. They are poisoning one of us, Mimi, to be exact. For the past two weeks, those women from that pack have been tainting her food and drinks. She's now in a terrible state, desperately trying to cleanse herself of human blood. But it's futile. Her recovery will be long and difficult."
Samuel's soft voice reached Damon's ears as he stood by the door. "Yes, da, I've noticed it too. How could you try to pimp us out like this? Why do you think I spend my days at the clinics?"
Having overheard Damon's words, Samuel grew increasingly upset. He walked over and snatched the papers from Bran's desk, while Bran took hold of the tape, examining it closely. Samuel furrowed his brow as he read the results, his frustration evident.
Turning to Damon, he asked, "She's using human blood to cleanse herself, but it won't work, will it?"
Damon shook his head in response.
Bran spoke up, his voice filled with disbelief. "I had no idea. This pack has caused nothing but trouble, and yet I invited them here to try to resolve things. But they've violated my hospitality and my rules. This won't end well for them. You two, along with Adam, tend to Mimi. Find somewhere else to go. This is going to get ugly."
Damon nodded, and he looked at Bran, read his mind, and said softly but very dangerous voice, "You had a plan to take Damien out and put him deal with these, right, well that had led only shed session for Mimi. I can sense him better now. He is more or less obsessed with her and not in a good way, so stop it. Don't try to take him out, use him. It leads only tragedy and suffering for Mimi."
Bran said nothing as the men walked away.
Damon said to Samuel. "We need to move Mimi, soon, but first we need to look her over, to see what damage is done and will be my teeth in her neck or something else, she is not willing for me to risk it, she does not want me to even taste her blood as she is so poisoned. I will wash her, stop that cleansing, and bring her to the medbay. You start to think about where we need to move her, to what will be the best place? I grab cannulation supplies too, to see if I get the cannula in her already."
Samuel nodded and walked to medbay with Damon. Damon collected a few syringes and took some drugs in them, cannulation supplies, as Samuel started to get everything else.
Damon said, "I am now going to take care of a young lady and I will bring her here soon enough, hopefully, a little more pain-free and relaxed, goddamn it, why I did not watch her in these two weeks, I am a shitty husband,"
Samuel said, "No, this is Bran's fault. Remember that, no self-blame, no need to give Damien ammunition."
I don't know how long it had been, but then I felt Damon wiping the hair from my forehead and taking my temperature. He took my wrist and measured my pulse again. He looked at me, not so pleased with something.
He said. " That pack was trouble pack and Bran's grand idea was to get Damien to surface so he could direct Damien to teach this pack something but I told him I have been able to sense something from Damien and he or it has an unhealthy obsession towards you, so it would have just ended in shed session. Bran is starting to do something about it now, and you can be sure he wasn't at all pleased with the way his hospitality was treated. This is going to send a message to those members of the visiting pack. But now, my lady. First, I'll take that tube of blood and see what my teeth say, but I can be pretty sure that velvet is in the offing. I have some powerful painkillers with me, too. Let me just make sure that they are safe to give you, that you have nothing funny in your blood. I will help you, baby, like I should have."
He took my other arm and managed to get a blood tube from it. He went into the other room for a moment to sniff. I was less impressed with Bran's not-so-clever idea of using Damien, and it also brought the next set of worries. Damien could be the weapon that Bran might use against me. Not good at all. I started to sweat again. I didn't know how many times had done this already.
I had changed my towels several times and there was an enormous pile of them, just wet towels all over the floor. I was dizzy; I knew I had to get up to change those towels, so I got up, fighting against the darkness that threatened to take over. I was standing, pulling wet towels powerless out of the bed, trying to stay conscious. Blackness was starting to taking over. I was trying to push past it.
Damon came back into the room and strode quickly to catch me, as I was almost fainting.
He lowered me to bed, and said, "First, you're going to get a dental substance to neutralize the cleaning effect of human blood because, baby, that's just too hard. You'll wear yourself out before you get anything right. As you can see, you're already effectively dehydrated, nauseous, and worth maybe 1% of the herbs off. Those poisons are effecting more and more. Now, I don't think you'll run out of 99 percent with that method. And you stay put, not getting up, your blood pressure is on the basement and you were just about to faint, so missy, lay there. I will help you. And I can give you pain relief soon enough."
He bent down and bit my neck with something that felt like water.
My sweating evened out, or I didn't get cold anymore, so I didn't raise my temperature anymore. Damon had walked to one table, and he was drawing something in the syringe. He came next to me, not saying a word when he injected something into my thigh. Next, Damon carried me into the shower and held me upright while he washed me. I was almost out of it as my eyes almost blacked several times. I was limp. He was naked, himself, and sure enough, the herbs on my skin were burning him, too. He finally got me clean, wrapped me in a towel, and put me in the tub.
He said, " Is that pain relief helping at all? I can give you more on medbay. you are about to pass out when your blood pressure is so damn low. You will need a little more intensive care. That bed needs a good cleaning now. I don't know if it needs to be changed basically, but you're there for a while. I rinse and wash myself, and then, baby, we're going to medbay, where an anxious Samuel is already waiting. I will cannulate you before we go in there, so it is easier to give you more help. "
Oh, him too. Fine. A headache made me keep my eyes closed and myself perfectly still and I just tried to bear it. Damon finished his shower and dried off. I could hear the voices. I was tired, achy and trying to hang on. He got dressed and came over to me. I felt him put the central line in.
He asked, " Where does it hurt, baby?"
I gulped and said, "It's nothing but a fucking headache. And muscles, they ache and spasm. The dehydration is making it worse. I'll be fine."
Something in me made me hide my weakness. Or trying to hide it.
I felt an injection in the crook of my arm; it helped somewhat and made me feel very tired, but I was nauseous and Damon gave me a bucket. I threw up pure bright blood quite a load. I moaned out loud as pain tore me through. He was silent, supported me, and wiped my mouth. I was almost out of it, feeling so damn weak. Damon picked me up from the tub, still wrapped in a towel, and carried me in his arms to the medbay, which was upstairs in this house.
He put me on the bed, and I felt Samuel come over to check my temperature. Damon helped me out of the towels and put a nightgown on me. I lay in bed while the men went to work on something. I was tired and still nauseous, my throat was on fire from all the vomiting, and I knew some herb was blocking my healing again. Damon had handed me a bag where I could vomit.
Damon looked at Samuel while he laid Mimi down on the bed and helped her into her nightgown. They were about to go into a little conversation. Samuel kept his expression neutral, but he was worried.
They retired to the other end of the medbay, and Damon said, "What do you think? What are the options? Right now, she's got a terrible headache and muscle cramps, and she threw up pure blood a few liters, so she has thrown up her throat and stomach probably by now. Blood pressure in cellar, anemia, neurological symptoms. I gave her a double dose of our normal painkiller and she was still in agony. I say it's a sleepy time. I have a powerful painkiller that will take away the headache and her consciousness, but I won't tell her that."
Samuel nodded. That was for the best. The poisoning was bad. The worst he'd ever seen on Mimi, and the effects of it, wouldn't all be immediately apparent, even to the outside world. This would not be so straightforward to treat, not at all.
Damon came up to me and said, "Now baby, we are going to start to treat you, and the first thing is to give you fluids. I will give you strong a painkiller, which should take the headache away and help you with nausea and muscle cramps too. And then we'll start looking at that dental stuff I developed, to put them inside you. It should bind some herbs and at least the metals. "
Damon got up from the side of the bed and started walking towards the cabinets, where he began gathering supplies. He was tinkering there in his time and then I heard his steps coming closer.
Then he said, " I am now giving you a powerful painkiller. This will help, and then we will start treating your poisoning."
He connected the syringe to the cannula and pushed the plunger. The pain started to go away, but so did my consciousness. I could hear Damon saying, "Sleep well, love."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone