บท 203: 3. In The Shadows.
It had been a few days and everyone had healed or recovered from their hangover. Colin had promised to take them to see what VENOMS was all about. He had his own place with patients and maybe a pack. When they would see it, they would get an idea of how to help Mimi, if they wanted to. Colin wanted to help, but he didn't want to take Mimi to that place. He needed to come up with a plan of action.
Right now, the pack was still skeptical about the whole syndrome, even though they had sobered up and the results from their spinal taps showed a clear decrease in neurotransmitters from drinking that blood. It wasn't enough to convince them that Mimi's situation was serious.
Colin wasn't frustrated, as this was just another symptom of the syndrome still affecting the pack. This feeling of clinical detachment and forgetting the heart-wrenching pain was all part of it. Time was something they needed, and no matter how much Colin talked, it wouldn't make a difference at the beginning. His clinic was in Ireland, not too far away, so they could drive there.
Despite it being winter, Colin's car was fully equipped to handle the weather. The pack had brought winter clothes, and Damon had put on a sweater that Mimi had knitted. Mariella felt a twinge of jealousy, but she quickly gained control.
They arrived at a big, grey, bulky building that looked like an old office building. Mariella's memories took her back to the first times she interacted with Mimi, during that freaky infection after Damien and Sark had gotten her, and then the whole alpha female thing. Those times seemed so long ago, and Mariella realized how different she had been, so innocent and loving. Even back then, she had some spunk to annoy Damon, but not the same spark that Mimi had from the start. And now, look where they were.
Mariella was snapped out of her thoughts as the door opened, and Damon stepped out. She followed, and she wasn't so sure that Mimi's situation was as bad as it seemed. If she felt less, she could surely handle it. Mimi had always been so controlled with her feelings, so it wouldn't be that different.
Damon remained silent as they followed Colin into the building. The entire pack was present, including Wulfe, Taylor, Tim, and the wizards. The building appeared to be an office building from the inside until they entered a sort of lobby. Behind the desk stood a middle-aged, short, stubby woman who smiled at Colin.
"Oh, you've arrived, Dr. Ferrell," she said. "Do you need anything? Shall I ask Shane to come in and give you a report?"
Colin grunted, rubbed his chin, and replied, "No need, Matilda. Not yet, at least. I just brought the pack to see our guests. It seems that... Mimi has also contracted VENOMS, and they're a bit skeptical."
Mariella noticed Colin had almost called Mimi something other than her name but stopped himself. She briefly wondered if he had a nickname for her he didn't want Damon or her to hear.
Colin led them through the large doors at the end of the corridor and stated, "First, I will show you those who are recovering. You've started to feel what they're going through, so you can see just how bad it can be."
Damon grunted in acknowledgment as Colin continued walking. They reached a fire door labeled "Recovery 3." Colin used his badge to open the door, placing it under the scanner, and the door swung open. Inside, it resembled a hospital ward, but Mariella noticed a large number of staff members present. It seemed that there was a flock of nurses, with almost every patient having a nurse by their side.
One girl sat in a chair, crying, while a nurse comforted her with gentle strokes. A man stood near the window, gazing outside, while another nurse watched him attentively.
Colin spoke telepathically, "These are the ones I might lose. They're going through a difficult phase, and I've tried, believe me, I've tried to ensure that each of them has constant supervision. Yet, I'm still losing them."
He glanced towards a corner of the vast space.
Mariella noticed a pile of ashes and felt a sinking feeling. It was a brutal reminder of what they were capable of.
Most of the patients seemed subdued, and Colin muttered, "Yeah, we'll give them tranquilizers, anything to help them through this. I'm tired of losing so many."
Damon continued walking and then saw a tall black-haired girl or woman standing with her back turned to him. Her posture was so familiar that he couldn't help but take a few steps closer.
There was no one else around, and as the woman turned, Damon was caught off guard. "Lexie, how on earth..." he began, but froze in mid-step as Lexie, the woman he had called out to, grabbed a thick stick of wood.
Her eyes were filled with pain as she looked at Damon and said, "Tell Stefan... I can't take this anymore."
With a grunt, she plunged the stick into her heart. In her eyes, there was this never-ending pain and then relief as the pain stopped. Her face relaxed. She was almost smiling.
Colin rushed over, cursing, "Goddamn it, I'm sorry Lexie. I thought I had saved you."
He reached her just as her body turned into ash, and Colin pressed his head in frustration as the ashes fell to the floor. Damon was in shock, his face a mix of surprise, regret, and a sense of powerlessness. The Salvatores, equally shocked, stood in silence.
Colin brushed off his sleeves, lifted his head, and tersely instructed one of the nurses, "Clear the ashes away and check if she had anyone mentioned in her file."
The nurse tried to stammer an excuse for why Lexie had been able to take her own life, but Colin had already walked away.
Mariella approached Damon and asked softly, "Did you know her? She knew Stefan, right?"
Damon simply nodded. He couldn't bring himself to talk about the past, not in that moment. He had felt Lexie's pain so intensely just before she took her own life, and he couldn't help but feel that he had failed her. Damn, telepathy.
Damon and everyone else quickly realized the severity of the situation. If even strong and composed, Lexie was desperate enough to kill herself so damn bluntly. They wondered about Mimi's state. Who was there to care for her? Where was she? And how could they assist her?
Damon's analytical mind attempted to find a solution, but he knew that in order to help Mimi effectively, he needed to understand this syndrome better. This meant prioritizing help for the others first. By observing what worked and what didn't, they could then determine the best course of action for Mimi. Damon didn't want to impede her progress. If she had made any strides, he would have to let her be, at least until they learned more about this condition.
Damon turned to Colin and said, "We will help. We need to gather information on what methods are effective and what aren't, so we can provide the right guidance for Mimi. She's unique, but this will give us some direction. I don't want to subject her to blind experimentation."
Colin nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. I'll take any help I can get. I also want to raise awareness about this issue. We need more than just me and four other doctors in the world who can assist vampires in this state. Unfortunately, older vampires rarely succumb to this, but the younger and weaker ones do. It's almost seen as a sign of strength if someone can recover from it. However, I'm unsure what happens to a vampire's soul if they overcome this without any help. Could this be the cause of soulless vampires, or is it simply that those without souls can't experience this condition due to their lack of emotions?"
Damon nodded, realizing the magnitude of the task ahead. They had their work cut out for them, but once they started making progress, they would know how to help and be fully prepared to assist Mimi. At least they had now something to do. Damon and Pack called around, telling about this and soon a few other doctors like Will came in too, as well as Samuel and Bran. Mariella brought in several witches from the magic house as well, so there were a lot of people helping and learning as well.
Weeks passed by as the pack remained busy, and they quickly noticed a few important things. Firstly, having ten skilled lust wizards in the pack was incredibly helpful. They understood physical sensations were one of the most effective ways to evoke emotions in the patients' minds. And what was an even more important distraction? They had to distract those who were starting to feel something with physical sensations so their brain would wake up as soon as possible.
Additionally, Mariella and the female wolves were occupied with conversations, brainstorming ways to identify what was significant to each patient. They had to really get to know each patient and then it made them delve into deeper just how to cure, as they were not so clinical, but the patients were becoming even their friends. For example, one girl would always become extremely emotional when she heard a particular poem. When Charles read it to her, she cried and truly felt the emotions it conveyed. They needed to continue fostering these feelings.
They had to be cruel, force the patients to first feel something, then keep the feeling going, by distraction, or anything that they were testing. Of course, they were taking a lot of tests and there was a medical side of this too, but it was all an effort to make this nasty syndrome known whole supernatural medical people all around the globe. Colin and Samuel would write several articles about this in various medical journals, so a lot of doctors would know about this. It was time to end time when they had tried to hide things they saw as weaknesses and instead, be open about them.
Damon and Wulfe, the wizards, had successfully created several calming potions and dental substances that allowed the patients to experience sensations without overwhelming them. Achieving this delicate balance required great care. At first, the feeling would tire the patients out as their brains could not take that much, so you had to keep them feeling as long until they passed out. And after that, the same thing all over again. Time would get longer until their brains could take a lot of feeling and not pass out, but then it was time to keep them distracted, or doped up, so those brains were whirring up.
Samuel, accompanied by his group of scientists, also joined the team to learn from their methods. Bran, using his Marrok power, had to be present as well to assist and heal. The building housed thirteen wards, and they had to distribute themselves to each one to monitor the progress of healing. They diligently observed any setbacks or significant advancements. They taught newcomers, who got in to learn about, what worked and what did not, so they had a lot of help, but like in medicine, the old saying worked. See one, do one, and teach one. That was how they got more people aware and being useful.
Time seemed to lose its meaning, and even though everyone knew Mimi was out there, they remained fully committed to the program; the process required a strict regimen. Day after day, they improved their ability to identify which patients were close to their breaking point, showing the need for additional medications and extra nurses to closely watch over them.
On the other hand, they also celebrated the patients who made significant strides forward. Witnessing their first positive feelings emerge brought immense joy, often resulting in tears of happiness in those patients' eyes. Each life that they truly saved felt so damn good and Damon was so damn sorry that he was not have been strong enough to save Lexie, but maybe she had found peace in rainbow islands if she ended up there.
Damon had had no contact with Lexie for over a few centuries, so he had no idea what she had done all this time. He had never hated Lexie, not at all, and somehow, even though he had not been with her that much, she had been the one helping Stefan, losing her felt.
Lepard sat in the yard, sensing the sorrow that had come with it. He knew it was Bella's choice and that the pack would eventually learn the loss and its meaning. Despite their progress, the time to go and help Mimi had not yet come. Lepard knew she had someone, but he kept it to himself, as it wasn't his place to share. He identified more as a feline than a vampire, with Damon being his father and Mimi being the one who gave birth to him.
However, his true mother was a leopard named Cleo, who had once lived inside Mimi but had her own life once Mimi let her go. Lepard wondered how many lives Cleo had left and how he would feel when she passed. Although they hadn't spoken much, the biological bond remained.
As he watched his reflection in the pond, he noticed features of both Damon and Mimi on his face. It was an honor to see those features, considering the close relationship he had with Mimi. The absence of snow on the ground served as a reminder of how long it had taken to help Mimi and the patients. Lepard sighed, he had a big heart, and he felt so much; he loved Mimi so freaking much, and even he knew she had someone; he yearned to be one who would take her in his arms, keeping her safe as she would deal with a bunch of nasty emotions.
They had an arsenal of treatments and plans, which were being shared with other doctors. The vampires affected by this condition would soon receive the help they needed, even if it meant forced treatment. Those who had recovered were grateful for the care they had received.
It was time for the pack to take care of Mimi, who was the heart of the pack. Despite the hive being burned out, Damon believed that it would be rebuilt one day. He envisioned himself as Mimi's vampire husband, sharing power and creating a new and improved hive together.
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