Wolf's Rain Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Claw ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

A/N: Wow…I didn't mean to be away for so long. Practicing for the SATs, writer's block, computer trouble….This chappie's short but the updates will come sooner I swear!

 

 

Broken Claw

Chapter 5

 

…However, I think you know too much…you've seen us, and now…we must help you forget…

 

Tsume stirred slowly. His body was too thrashed for him to move. He was no longer outside of Cataras, where the alpha wolf and his pack left him. Out of the one good eye he was left, Tsume surveyed his surroundings.

 

From what Tsume could tell, he was in some kind of a lab, with white walls and glass cabinets filled with what looked like implements of torture. A metal fan buzzed above him and shone a bright and blinding light. He was lying down on a bed, secured with leather straps. Whoever had saved him did not want him walking off. He lifted his head, trying to see what the pack had done to him. All that was there were bandages. His right arm, left leg, chest, and stomach were all encased in a heavy tape. His savior wanted him to stay, but also wanted Tsume healed. What did they want now? For what purpose did they keep him alive?

 

…We must help you forget…

 

Tsume could never forget. He had never before come across wolves who were so hostile to not only humans, but also their own kind. Hate burned in their eyes with such a fire that it still burned in Tsume's mind. What could make them so angry, so volatile, that they would try to murder an outsider? Whatever the motive, Tsume had the injuries to show for it.

 

Suddenly, he heard someone approaching. As he heard footsteps coming, Tsume quickly shut his eye, pretending to be asleep. The steps at last entered the room. Tsume stayed perfectly still. The clicking of heels and a stranger scent followed whoever was there. Tsume could sense someone was near him, looking over him as they spoke to themselves.

 

“Patient #698,” a sotto feminine voice said, logging the incident. “Admitted last night at 1:30 AM. No identification present on the body. Shows signs of life and is now in stable condition. Wounds are still taken into consideration.”

 

Tsume then heard metallic clamoring beside him.

 

“I might as well check the right eye…don't want this guy to go completely blind…”

 

Tsume then felt cold fingers at the right side of his face. His eye was forced open as a flashlight was thrusted into his face. Tsume instinctively jerked his head away. As he did, he heard a loud thud. Whoever it was observing him had fallen from fright. They clattered around the bed and pushed a button, causing Tsume's bed to lift him to sit up. Finally, he could see who it was.

 

It was a woman, a human nurse. She had long black hair tied in a bun at the back of her head. She looked very young, around 20 or so. The white coat she wore and the stethoscope around her neck, however, gave her an air of experience. She also had a tawny complexion, in spite of the cold outside, further accented by piercing green eyes Tsume could not help but gaze into.

 

The woman from the store…he thought. He had forgotten other thing about her: she was beautiful, at least for a human anyway. She finally steadied herself and addressed her patient. “I am glad to see you're finally up,” she half-joked. “You suffered quite a bit.”

 

Tsume fell silent. He had nothing to say to her.

 

“Do you know how you got here?” she asked him.

 

Silence.

 

“Perhaps he is a mute….” She said to herself.

 

Again, no response.

 

“All right, I'll start with an easy question. Can you tell me your name?”

 

“…Tsu…me…” he breathed. His throat was terribly dry.

 

“Now we're getting somewhere! Well, Tsume, you were in pretty bad shape last night when you were found. You have lacerations at the chest and stomach, the left leg, and your right arm. Your left eye was almost gouged out of its socket…” She had another question, but had to pause a moment. “…Were you attacked?”

 

No answer.

 

The woman sighed. “It's the wolves again…”

 

“Who…are you…?” Tsume managed to get out.

 

“Oh, I'm Nadeko—Dr. Nadeko Shinishiro,” she said happily. “You're gonna have to stay here for a while, until your wounds heal.”

 

“No…”

 

He tried to get up and leave, but the straps stopped him at once.

 

“And that's why you have straps, Tsume,” Nadeko said.