Nathan Grundy’s Bloodline
by Catherine J. Link
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Table of Contents parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 |
part 2
“I had to do some shopping, hon, so I thought I’d drop by,” Nathan said to Maddy. He held a bouquet of red roses where she could see them. She was hiding behind the heavy oak door. He could see just half of her face. A flimsy chain lock gave her courage enough to be blunt.
“You can’t come around anymore, Nathan,” she said. Tears fell from the corner of the one brown eye that Nathan could see.
“I’m so sorry, hon,” Nathan said. “I don’t know why that happened. My only excuse is that I have been sick, and even the doctors think the buildup of poisons was messing with my head.”
“I told daddy the same thing, and that’s the only reason he didn’t call the sheriff on you,” she replied. “But he doesn’t want you around here anymore.”
Nathan watched her take off the engagement ring. She held it in the crack of the door where he could reach it.
“Now, I don’t want that. You put that ring back on your finger, woman,” Nat said. He was choking on anger, struggling to keep it out of his voice.
“I won’t marry you,” Madeline said. “I can’t abide violence, and I won’t marry a violent man.”
“What do you mean you’re not going to marry me? We’ve been together since high school, girl. You are already my wife in the eyes of God. The wedding is just a formality. We said vows to each other in the moonlight, remember?”
“Of course, I remember,” she said with a sob. “And I love you, but I’m afraid of you now.”
“I promise you, I’m not a violent man, hon. I don’t normally go around beating people up. You know that.”
“Sorry, Nathan, but you’ve changed. I can’t risk it.” She closed the door and turned the deadbolt.
“I’ll be back, Maddy,” Nathan shouted. “I am not giving up on us.”
* * *
“Dr. Thompson, he won’t go away. I’ve told him you were busy, but he insists,” the female voice on the intercom said.
“Send him in,” Russell replied.
Nathan came bursting through the door, slamming it behind him.
“I’d hate to add a broken door to our contract, Mr. Grundy. Don’t we have an appointment Thursday?” Russell kept his voice calm and pointed to the chair in front of his desk.
“This won’t wait till Thursday. Do you know what I did yesterday?”
“What did you do?”
“I beat the hell out of my future father-in-law just because he said something I didn’t like.”
“Well, what did he say?”
“That’s not the goddamn point,” Nathan said, pacing in frustration.
“Have a seat, Mr. Grundy.”
Nathan sat.
“Have a glass of water,” Russell said. He got up and went to an antique side-board and filled a glass, then passed it to Nathan. He resumed his seat, grateful to have the enormous desk between him and this unpredictable patient.
“I didn’t come for goddamn water. What are you going to do? Whip up a sandwich next?”
“What caused you to assault your father-in-law?” Russell asked, keeping his voice calm.
“He made some remark about Maddy not being very smart, and it made me go nuts. I beat on that man like he was my worst enemy.” Then Nathan let out a little chuckle.
“What’s so funny?”
“Absolutely nothing. It’s just that Maddy’s presence was the only thing keeping me from doing murder, and now she wants nothing to do with me. Who’s going to keep me sane, Doc?”
“You will keep yourself sane, Nathan. And I will help you. This looks bad now, but never give up.”
“Don’t you worry about that. I’m not a quitter. That’s not in my bloodline.”
“Tell me,” Russell said, “about your bloodline.”
Nathan smiled. “That would take a lot of telling, Doc. I’ll just say we have some in-laws and outlaws. Men hanged for horse stealing, and the lawmen who hanged them.”
“What were your parents like? Tell me about them.”
“Mama was just Mama,” Nathan replied. “A sweet woman who loved her family. She died too young, though; cancer got her. And Daddy, he was a miserable bastard after that. He loved Mama, but she was the only thing in the world he did love. The rest of us didn’t matter.”
“Was he abusive?”
“No, mostly because he didn’t even pay us enough attention to give out a whipping when we needed one. That job fell to Grandpa.”
“You were close to your grandfather?”
“Yeah, I suppose, but he taught me all the wrong things. I didn’t get many whippings, because he thought all the bad stuff I did made me a real man.”
“Sounds like a character. Is your grandfather still alive?”
“No, he’s passed. A man said something he didn’t like, and Grandpa went after him with his fists. Jacked him up. The man came back later with a gun.”
“I see,” Russell said.
“Where are you going with your inquiries? I’m out of control because of my bloodline? I beat up someone like my Grandpa did, so none of what’s happening to me now is my fault?”
Russell thought about denying it, but Nathan had him nailed. “Yes. I have a possible theory. I was wondering if you had something in your gene pool that made you genetically susceptible to rage.”
“Well, I may have come up out of Georgia dirt, Doc, but I have been living an upright life. I work hard. I don’t steal, not since I was a kid, and I don’t hurt people. I am not my grandfather.”
“No, of course you’re not. Still, we must consider all the possibilities. If there is something out of the ordinary happening, we don’t want to miss an obvious cause.”
“If there’s something happening?” Nathan asked angrily. He got to his feet. “If?”
Russell leaned back in his chair, out of Nathan’s reach.
“I can hardly see in the daylight anymore, but my night vision is fantastic. Sometimes I can see sounds, Doc. Can you do that? I can smell fear, too. It’s coming off you in waves right now. Do you know what you smell like to me? Like you just peed down your pant leg and flooded those expensive Italian shoes you’re wearing. Did I make you wet yourself, Doc?”
“Calm down, Nathan.”
“I don’t think I can do that. I’m not good at staying calm anymore, and that’s just one of my many changes. I never did have much hair on my chest, but you should see it now, Doc.”
Nathan began removing his clothing. Russell started to tell him to stop, but he changed his mind.
“There’s new hair on my chest, and on my back. Hell, I can hardly find my pecker to pee anymore. And look at my face, Doc. It’s not even 3:00 pm, and I’ve had to shave twice today. My nails are growing...”
Russell got up and came around the big desk. Nathan stood naked before him, and he was fascinated by what he was seeing. The chest hair was thick and black, looking more like animal pelt than human hair, as was the hair over the pubis. The growth on Nathan’s arms and legs was long and coarse. Nathan’s toenails had thickened and had begun to curve forward, looking for all the world like claws. The nails on his hands had not yet begun to change, but Russell figured they would.
“I remember your eyes being blue. My records say your eyes are blue.”
“They’re sky blue, like my momma’s.”
“Not today. They seem to be darkening to brown. Turn around, Nathan.”
The hair on his back was thick and pelt-like, but more alarming than that was the curvature of Nathan’s spine. His neck seemed to have shortened and he stood hunched forward.
“What the hell is going on, Doc?”
“Put your clothes back on.”
Nathan grabbed Russell by the front of his shirt. He pulled him so close their noses were almost touching. Russel could feel Nathan’s hot breath on his face; that breath smelled gamey, like an animal’s.
“Tell me what the hell is happening to me,” Nathan growled.
“You have undergone some alarming physical changes, it’s true, but there are genetic mutations that can be quite extreme, and they often run in families. I need to study your situation before I can give you solid answers. Violence will not help, Nathan, so turn me loose. And put your clothes on, please.”
Nathan let him go. Russell went to his sideboard and poured himself a double shot of Scotch. He bolted it down, then poured another.
“Pour me one of those, Doc, if you don’t mind.”
“Later. We’ll finish the bottle together. But for now, I need your blood clear of alcohol,” Russell said. “I’m going to do some tests.”
* * *
Copyright © 2018 by Catherine J. Link
