[Evelyn Winters]

The thud Jessamine’s body made as it fell to the ground barely registered. All her attention was focused on the loud moaning emanated from Cat as she quickly made her way toward him, agitated but clearly filled with pain. He struggled on the ground, three of his four legs flailing wildly, trying to stand upright. ”No, no, no, don’t stand up.” Evelyn said softly, but despite her protests he made it up on three legs, the fourth, his left hind leg, lay limp, the bone clearly sticking out of the skin, blood leaking from the wound. He let out a hiss, directed at the woman lying on the ground, but it was airy, strained, and he seemed to wince afterward. ”No, no don’t do that.” She pleaded, kneeling beside him. She gingerly ran her fingers over his body. Broken rib, punctured lung, fracture in front left femur, compound fracture in the hind left tibia. He wobbled slightly as he stood, he seemed disoriented. Possible head trauma. She let a sharp breath out of her nose, concerned but seething with anger. He let out an angry meow, again, wispy and strained. ”Shh, don’t say anything.” She said, gently stroking his back. ”I know it’s hard for you, but you just gotta relax.” She quickly reached into her medical supplies and pulled out a syringe as well a small bottle of morphine. She filled the syringe and knelt back down by Cat, gently holding him still as she injected the painkiller into his bloodstream. He struggled a little, but not much. ”I’ll heal you up soon, but for now, just relax, the pain will go away soon.” She reassured him as she helped him lay down, guiding him with her hands. He struggled slightly, but quickly relented, resting his head on the ground. The morphine was quickly taking effect. She stood up. ”I have to take care of something first, but after that I’ll fix you up. And I promise, you’ll get your revenge.” She desperately wanted to begin patching up Cat now, but she didn’t want to risk the venom losing its potency. She didn’t know how it would react to a shapeshifter and she didn’t want to risk anything, not after the woman’s unexpected outburst.

She curled her bloodied hands into fists, her knuckles (or those that remained), turning white as she walked towards the naked woman and stood above her, looking down, face blank but eyes fuming. ”You just wanted to help the cat, did you? That’s what got you into this whole mess in the first place. Well, look what a great job you’ve done.” She lifted up her metal leg and brought down hard on Jessamine’s femur, hearing a satisfying crack as she did. ”I’m so glad you can feel all this.” She stepped over to her side. ”I would never create a toxin that would dull the senses along with movement, what would be the point?” She said before delivering a swift and deliberate kick to the ribs. Enough to fracture, not to break. She couldn’t afford a punctured lung. She was still her test subject after all. ”Don’t worry, there won’t be any permanent damage.” She said. ”Just enough so you know how it feels.” She tilted her head to the side. ”Now, as much as I’d like to keep you in this humiliating position, I think it’s time we wrap this up. We’ve moved past the physical acuity tests, don’t you think? It's time to take you home.” She grabbed the closest heavy object she could find, which happened to be a thick metal rod used for mounting taxidermy, and whacked her over the head with it, knocking her out cold.

She dropped the metal rod, it landed on the ground with a metallic clang as she ran back over to Cat. His breathing was labored and the morphine was dulling his senses, but she could still see the fire in his eyes. There wasn’t much she could do for the broken rib beside dulling the pain, the pneumothorax was minor, it would heal on its own, but she could help with the legs. Complete anesthesia would take too long too long kick in, and she wouldn’t want to risk any further brain damage by knocking him out. She quickly introduced local anesthetic to both of his legs, put on a pair of gloves, and carefully set his tibia back in place, securing it with metal screws and supports. She then sewed up the skin and placed a bandage over the wound before resting a splint alongside the injury and secured the splint with tight bandages. Not ideal, but it was all she had. She then splinted and bandaged the front leg, all the while Cat remained gracefully still. She attributed this more to the drugs coursing through his system than any willingness to be healed. He was always stubbornly independent. Although if it were anyone but her trying to heal him, he would’ve hissed and fought all the way through the morphine and anesthetic.

Once Cat was sufficiently patched up, she walked back over to the unconscious woman and let out a hefty sigh. Her clothes had been torn to pieces during her transformation. She couldn’t transfer an unconscious naked woman to her apartment without raising some suspicion. She would have to dress her in her clothes. They were about the same size, it would work. She changed Jessamine into a dark colored t-shirt and baggy jeans and picked up her wallet and keys. ”I’ll be back soon.” She told Cat. Then, wrapping Jessamine’s arm over shoulder, dragged her out to her dirty red pickup and buckled her into the passenger seat, not bothering to be careful with her wounds. She drove her out to her apartment. To any onlookers, she’d simply look like a sleeping passenger.

Once they got to the building, she parked in the lot and dragged her up to her room, carrying a device that would malfunction any security cameras if they had any. She wasn’t sure but she figured she’d be safe. Once they arrived, she opened the door using Jessamine’s keys and dropped her to the floor once they were inside. Then Evelyn took her clothes off of Jessamine and dressed her in her own, placing the wallet and keys in her pocket. She then dragged her down the hallway and aptly threw her down the stairs. Someone would find her eventually and come to their own conclusions, although it most certainly looked like she’d fallen. It’s much more believable than what actually happened to her.

She walked nonchalantly down the stairs, stepping over the unconscious body as she made her way to her vehicle and drove away, back to the outskirts of the city, down the hidden dirt road and to her trailer. She got out and walked inside to find Cat right where she left him, eyes closed but still clearly breathing, with difficulty but still breathing. She sat down beside him and laid a hand on his back. He moved his head slightly, but otherwise didn’t stir. ”You worry me, you know that?” He let out a low hum. Evelyn laughed. ”I know you don’t me to, but I do.” She scooted closer to him, and he nuzzled his head against her leg. She bit her lip, despite her best efforts a tear forming in her eye. ”I don’t know what I’d do if anything...if anything happened to you.” He let out a low purr as she stroked his back. ”I couldn’t go through that again, I just…” Her voice was choked by the lump in her throat. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. ”I’m sorry, I don’t mean to get all weepy around you. I shouldn’t.” She shook her head. ”I shouldn’t, you’re going to be fine.” She smiled through her red, puffy, tear-stained face. ”You’re going to be fine. And besides, we got ourselves a test subject.”