The sound of a saw filled my ears, and a wave of pain crashed into my consciousness. I grabbed my head with my hands, trying to cover my ears and escape the maddening trill of metal. I didn't manage to see anything clearly anymore, shut my eyes, and Darkness seemed to take over once again. It pulled me back with force, away from the disgusting scene. Everything was happening too fast. The mirror kept drifting farther and farther away until it became a small shimmering dot again.
"What are you doing? No!" I screamed, addressing the ephemeral observer who had interfered. "Bring me back! Bring me back!"
"Asya, calm down," someone shook me by the shoulders. "Listen to my voice. Breathe. Come on: one, two..."
But I didn't listen. It felt like the Darkness was speaking to me, and after what I had seen, I had to fight no matter what. The treachery with which it lured me into its web no longer had power over me. Serene oblivion was a tempting bargaining chip, but how could I accept it, leaving another to the mercy of who knows what?
My cheek burned from a blow, and my head jerked sharply. The bright light hurt my eyes, but just a moment ago, everything was fine? Instinctively I tried to cover my face, but something prevented me from raising my hand.
"Asya?" a coaxing voice called me again. The speaker gently touched my shoulder. "There, that's better. Quiet now, dear. Quiet."
Someone's fingers stroked my head while the person murmured like a mantra, "Quiet, quiet." A sharp smell of bleach and an unnatural sour chemical fragrance hit my nose, reminding me of time spent in a hospital ward. Squinting cautiously, I tried to make out something, anything, but my eyes refused to adjust.
"Dad, turn off the light. She can't even open her eyes."
There was a click, and the lamp above me immediately went out. I managed to open my eyes, but I couldn't see anything clearly — everything was blurry. After blinking a few times, the picture started to clear. Now I could distinctly see the surgical round lamp hovering above me. Slightly turning my head, I caught Diana sitting right next to the bed. Meeting my gaze, my classmate gave me a sad smile.
"Well," I began, but a thousand thorns seemed to pierce my throat, forcing me to speak softer. "What happened? Am I in the hospital?"
"You don't remember anything, right? You felt bad at school," Diana said with the movement of a loving mother as she brushed a strand of hair from my face. "Arthur said some nonsense in his usual style, and you got so angry. We were really scared: you jumped on Arthur right in the hallway! Nobody had time to react, and it all happened in front of Dasha and Tanya. Arthur will, of course, erase their memory, but if more people had been around, you wouldn't have gotten away with it. Stas told us to take you to your father, but even on the way home… I don't even know how to describe it. Asya, it was like you started transforming. The whole car was filled with a crackling noise, as if bone was breaking in two. You were trembling all over, my God…"
Diana winced and then shook her head, as if trying to forget what she had seen, but the image was firmly imprinted in her mind.
"Daughter," Dr. Smirnov placed his hand on Di's shoulder, "these details won't help Asya now. Go out and freshen up."
"Dad, but…"
"I have something to discuss with Asya," he said firmly, responding to Diana's protest.
She obediently got up and left the room, casting me an apologetic glance as she went. Only now did I notice that in the middle of the room, which looked more like a museum hall, stood a hospital couch, on which I lay, along with medical equipment. To my left was a stand with devices that periodically emitted quiet beeps. From my right hand extended a transparent tube leading to a glass flask on a holder. Drops of clear liquid slowly fell into the dispenser.
"What are you giving me?" I managed to ask as my eyes scanned the room and I noticed a mirror. It was the same oval shape as in the dream.
"This is saline," Dr. Smirnov sat down on the chair freed by Diana, and I felt uneasy being alone with him. "When Diana brought you in, I gave you a sedative. It acted quickly, and soon we transferred you here. Sorry, I didn't even have time to change after it happened, and then I was afraid to leave you alone."
He shrugged, pointing to himself, and only then did I notice Vladimir was in regular clothes: jeans, a blue V-neck sweater slightly darker than the jeans. No hint of the usual hospital uniform with which I associated the elder Smirnov.
"Usually Stanislav or Maxim help me," Vladimir's eyes widened momentarily as if suddenly remembering something. "But it seems today I managed on my own."
His lips stretched into a polite smile. He patiently waited, looking straight at me, but there was no warmth or care in his gaze like I saw from Diana or Stas. Dr. Smirnov looked friendly, but a chill radiated from him. It was hard to tell whether Vladimir was truly wearing a mask or if my mind, shaken by the vision, was planting a seed of suspicion. Such a strange and dark nightmare — no horror movie could match the feeling. I wished I could forget it like a bad dream, never remember again, but the mirror in the room troubled me. It pulled me in, inviting me to touch it, to check if the familiar Darkness was already on the other side. To confirm that everything that had happened was just a product of my mind. Then I saw in the reflection a working chair covered in expensive leather. The moment I noticed it, something inside snapped. There are no such coincidences. The mind could not have painted an image it did not know with such precision. No. Something was wrong here. I had never been in this room before, so how could I know what Dr. Smirnov's chair looked like?
My thoughts were interrupted by a muffled hum and a strange sound that resembled a human scream underwater. Muted, barely audible. At least, that's how victim screams were voiced in movies. I stared at Vladimir, waiting for an explanation, but he only gently stroked my palm, and I had to force myself not to pull away. Whether distrust was caused by my mind playing tricks or not, I couldn't reveal myself easily until I understood what was really happening.
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
"Does this sedative you gave me cause visions?"
"Hallucinations, vivid dreams, anxiety, depression, dizziness, vomiting, arrhythmia, bowel disorders, diarrhea — quite a lengthy list, like all drugs of this kind."
I was stunned by what I heard. What did it mean? Why could medicines meant to help cause new symptoms instead of solving old ones? Righteous anger and a flood of questions rushed through my mind, but out loud I asked only the main one:
"Then why did you give it to me?!"
"I'm afraid if we had delayed, you would have already transformed into a wolf. Your brother is very tied to his emotional state with the approach of the full moon. As far as I know, werewolves learn to better control their feelings and monitor urges as they age. You should talk to your father about this. Konstantin has personal experience with this, unlike me."
It took a moment to grasp what I'd just heard.
"Wait. You mean I can transform at any time?"