Chapter 12

Topher parted his lips slightly and a gasp escaped his mouth as he finally opened his eyes. He lay on his bed silently, eyes searching as he tried to pick a mental note of where he was, and when glanced at his side, he saw Jane napping on a couch a few feet away from his bed, and he called her.

"Thank goodness, you're finally awake!" she jumped down from the couch drowsily and walked towards him.

"No shit. Where am I? And where's Penny?" he lifted himself by plopping his elbows against the bed.

"Easy loverboy. Penny's fine but you should be more worried about yourself" Jane threw subtle jabs at him.

"No kidding" Topher groaned as he glanced at his side. "So how long have I been out, and how did I get here?" he turned his attention back to Jane.

"Well you've been out for three days, and you were a complete mess when I found you" Jane answered

"Three days?!"

"Yep. And your girl knows what we are now!" she sighed. "She saw you turn, so she figured if you were a werewolf I was more likely to be one too, so she had no choice but to call me for help. She's a good one tho because it takes love, and guts to do what she did for you" she grabbed Topher's hand gently. There was a brief moment of silence between them as he reflected over what she had told him then he spoke.

"So update me. Anything special happened while I was away?" he changed the subject.

"Yea, a lot has happened." Jane sat on the bed to give him a full account of what he had missed. "Thanks to you and your girlfriend, we're on sabbatical." she began.

"Sabbatical?"

"Yea. A human has been involved in this mess between us and the reptiles, so the Paranormal Bureau had to step in. They'd have let us kill each other, make their work easier, but they didn't find it funny when one of their own was involved. So right now they're discussing with both parties to see if things can be settled amicably, although I doubt that's ever gonna happen" Jane muttered the last part to herself

"And how long is the sabbatical going to last?"

"My best guess, a month. Or less. Nobody knows for sure. Things are pretty tense right now."

"So what happens if the peacekeeping fails?" Topher asked, concerned.

"An all-out war! Everything goes to shit. It'd be humans versus werewolves versus reptiles" Jane said the words as if it was no big deal.

"But I still don't get it. The fight's between us and them, why did they have to go after Penny?" Topher pondered the question

"Well, it was bound to happen. Humans are never safe. It was obvious they'd be dragged into this mess. It was just a matter of time."

Candace paced about her living room nervously, peeping through the mirror on few occasions as she anticipated something. She looked bitter with her red puffy eyes which served as a piece of evidence that she'd been crying. She walked about her living room a few more times then dashed towards the window again, a small smile forming on her face when she finally saw an anonymous car driving into her yard, its bright headlamps scattering the darkness that enveloped the night. Excited that the wait was over, Candace rushed to open the door for her guest.

"Thank goodness you're finally here!" She hugged Hendell impulsively.

"I came as fast I could. Where's she?" the druid asked, ready to get into action.

"She's in her room" Candace's voice croaked as she broke into tears again.

"Take me to her" the druid instructed and she obeyed. She took him upstairs and into Penelope's room where they found her lying unconscious on her bed. She looked pale and sick. "How long has she been like this?" Hendell asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Two days now." She answered. "After you came to my office that night, I went back home the next day and found her moody. She wouldn't talk to me. At first. I thought she was mad at me for always being away, but when I tried to touch her, she didn't rebuff me, rather her skin was burning, she was having a fever. I tried talking her into going to a hospital or receiving first aid from me but she wouldn't cooperate with me. Instead, she went to bed and since then she hasn't woken up." Candace narrated.

"Have you tried taking her to a hospital?"

"Yes I did, but after a series of diagnoses, they couldn't find out what was wrong with her. Tests showed that she was perfectly okay, that whatever's wrong with her had to be from up here" she tapped her temple.

"A psychological illness?" Hendell asked for clarification and she nodded in return.