Chapter 87 – In Search of a Cure

Delia decided to allow Lucas to attend the prom so he wouldn’t feel like an outcast.  So far, no one at school knew about his ‘affliction’ and it would give her time to talk openly with Valerie.   

Delia needed to let Valerie know she was going to move to Riverview and tell her why – well except for the part that she was now 22 instead of 72. Valerie was no stranger to the supernatural so she would understand. 

As soon as Lucas left, she called Valerie. Valerie unexpectedly brought the whole family with her.  

Delia was thrilled to get so see her granddaughter and reached out to give her a great big hug which Angelica wasn’t so eager to receive. She thought Angelica favored her father much more than Valerie. 

Delia just laughed and let her go find the toy box in the play room.  She promptly found her favorite toy and entertained herself.  

Walter even brought his Cello and practiced while she and Valerie talked. 

“Mom, I know something is up. Spill…” said Valerie as soon as they were alone and out of earshot of the rest of her family.

“It’s Lucas.  I found out what was going on with him.  He has Lycanthropy. I saw it with my own eyes.  He changed Valerie,” explained Delia.

“Ly-what? Are you seriously saying what I think?” she asked incredulously.  

“Yes, Val, your nephew is a werewolf.  Evidently Glen was afflicted and passed it on to Lucas. That is why his eyes were well, different.  According to my research, they don’t fully begin to change until the onset of puberty. That is why we never knew before.”

Valerie gasped, “You SAW him change? My God! Mother! How awful.  So, okay…so… what does this mean exactly?”

“We had an argument.  He became really angry and involuntarily changed right in front of me. I watched him transform. It was quite frightening and I think painful for Lucas. He didn’t understand what was happening to him. I calmed him down and he gradually changed back. I have researched this Valerie and the cure can only be found in Riverview.  I want to move there with Lucas. Once he is cured, he can have a fresh start – and – well - I can stop seeing your sister at the bottom of the pool every time I walk outside.”

“Mom, you could just sell this house and move to a new one here.  Please don’t run.  Promise me, that before you do you let me see if I can snoop around the hospital and find out if there is another way to cure him.”

“Valerie, we don’t have much time. The full moon is tomorrow.”

“What does that mean?” asked Valerie and then as the realization of what Delia just said hit home, she continued “You have GOT to be kidding. He turns when the moon is full and don’t tell me, he howls at it?”

Delia just shook her head yes. “He will turn, not so sure about the howling. I will give you three days Val.  I already have a down payment on a house in Riverview.  I can cure him if you can’t. He will be forced to change again before I can help him and it breaks my heart and scares me. He may not be able to control himself.”

The full realization that they would be gone in 3 days hit Delia and she gave her son-in-law a tearful hug.  She loved him for making her daughter so happy.   

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Delia was nervous. She knew today was the day that Lucas would change. 

She went over to tell him to be sure to come right home after school but Lucas was on the phone.  She waited for him to finish his conversation only hearing one side of it. 

 “Yes, Martin…..okay……right.  That is fine.  See you at school.  Bye.” 

When he hung up, Delia went over to him.

“Was that Martin?” she asked.

“Yes” was all he said not volunteering any additional information about their conversation. 

She felt bad knowing that in two more days they would be leaving and he was finally making friends so she didn’t try to pry further.  She felt like she walked on eggshells around him now not wishing to upset him again. 

“Oh, can you do me a favor and come home right after school today…”

“Sure,” he said before she could finish her sentence and give him a reason to potentially avoid an argument.

Delia was relieved.  “Thanks. See you this afternoon.”

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The hours and minutes dragged on while she waited for Lucas to return from school.  It took everything she had not to jump in the car and go get him. 

When he arrived at home right on time Delia grabbed him in a bear hug she was so happy that he kept his promise and came home without issue.

“MOM!  What?  I need to go get my swimsuit on.  Martin and I are going to take a dip in the pool before starting on our science project,” said Lucas as he wiggled out of her arms.

“Martin?  Martin is here?” asked Delia now in full panic mode.

“He will be here any minute,” replied Lucas as he ran up the stairs. 

Delia was stunned.  It was already getting late.  She didn’t know what ‘time’ the change might occur.  She had to get to Martin and send him home before it was too late. 

Before Martin arrived, Lucas ran downstairs and busted out the back door.  Delia called out to him and he said, “Martin is waiting in the backyard.”  Delia’s heart sank.  She had hoped to intercept him. 

She ran after Lucas, but it was too late.  Lucas headed straight for Martin with Delia on his heels.  Then he suddenly stopped and screamed. 

 

With Martin watching, Lucas went through the transformation, screaming and all.  Delia quickly put herself between her grandson and his friend hoping that Martin wouldn’t see what Lucas had become. 

Fortunately Lucas had walked back towards the pool and away from Martin.

“Hi Martin, as you see, Lucas isn’t feeling well. Maybe you can come back tomorrow to work on your project,” said Delia with as much poise as she could muster. 

“Mrs. Schlick, Is he, uh okay?” said Martin, his eyes wide.

“Yes, he just needs to rest, now run along. He will call you tomorrow.”  As soon as she finished another howl came from Lucas.

Much to Delia’s relief, Martin turned and bolted as fast as he could.

Delia found Lucas sitting outside after Martin left.  She breathed another sigh of relief.  He seemed to be fairly calm.

She sat down as if everything were quite normal and began to try to talk to her grandson now in full wolf form. 

“What’s wrong with me Mom?  I can’t seem to change back.  I thought you said I was over this!” he accused. “I am hungry. I really need to eat, NOW!”

The moon came out it as it became completely dark and the moon glow seemed to intensify his hunger. 

Lucas got up from the table as Delia just watched helplessly. From her research, she knew he wouldn’t be able to change back to normal until the next morning.  She felt sorry for him. There must be others like him.  For sure there were in Bridgeport.  She had no one to help him through this.

Lucas went straight to the kitchen and raided the refrigerator.   Delia could only watch in horror as he lapped the food from the plate.

When he was finished he jumped up and growled at her for more. 

It was going to be a long night she thought. She had to keep him in the house.  Finally he tired out and went to bed.  However, Delia didn’t get much sleep. 

Tomorrow she would talk to Lucas when he was back to normal and let him know what was really going on. 

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Delia managed to make it through the night in one piece.  Once Lucas finally went to sleep he slept all night and woke up in the morning back to normal. 

Now was as good of a time as any to talk, especially since his classmate had seen him change.  Lucas may not want to go to school and she wouldn’t make him. 

They sat down and Delia began to tell him the story.  “Lucas, you know that I am not really your Mother, right, that I am your grandmother and your mother died when you were but 2 years old?”

“Yes, so what?  As far as I am concerned you are my Mother. What does that have to do with anything?” 

“Your father must have been a Werewolf and passed that on to you.  Victoria, your mother, never would tell us who your father was.” Delia felt bad lying to him about his father, but she didn’t want him to go hunting for Glen to get answers. She certainly wasn’t going to look for him. 

“Are you joking? Werewolf? That is lame. I am not some freak of nature. It is just some sort of allergic reaction or something.  We can ask Aunt Val to find out. She is a doctor.”

“Well, it can be cured.  And I have already asked Aunt Val to help but she doesn’t think she can.”

“Wait, she buys into this werewolf stuff?  But, you said it could be cured. Why can't Valerie do it?  Why not?”

“I already have plans for us to move to Riverview. We can get the cure there.  That is the only place that has it.  And, I don’t think it would be a good idea to stay here any longer since Martin witnessed you changing.  Crazy people might want to hurt you.”

“Well, shit! This just sucks!” said Lucas.

“LUCAS! Your language!” cautioned Delia.

“Sorry, Mom.  But damn….you just told me I am a friggin freak show and I think I am starting to believe you.”

Delia sighed.  “You are NOT a freak Lucas. I am sorry you are going through this. We will fix this.  We are going to see Valerie this afternoon and if she can’t do anything, we are leaving in the morning. 

“Holy shit,” whispered Lucas to himself.

“LUCAS!” yelled Delia. 

“Yeah, yeah...”

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When Valerie got home Delia and Lucas went to her house.  Delia hoped she had a cure.  As soon as they got there she wasted no time asking.

“No, mom, I am so sorry.  What little I could find was all rumor and urban legends.  I guess the supernatural beings are very good at keeping themselves hidden from us ‘regular’ humans."

“Lucas’ friend saw him change," sighed Delia, "We would have had to leave town regardless. Poor Lucas. Lost his mother and father and now he has to deal with being a werewolf.” 

“You told him?”

“Yes, I had to. He was confused and upset. Maybe you can talk to him. He seemed better knowing that you believed it.”

“Okay, I will but I am not sure what I can do.”

“Just let him know that he is okay and you love him.”

“Hey Lucas, Mom tells me you are moving to Riverview.  They have the plants there that can cure you,” said Valerie.

“Yes, just call me freak-n-stein,” he mumbled.

“You are no freak. Maybe you can get your grandmother,er- mom, to tell you some stories later. There are other supernatural beings and she is actually a very good mystic,” and Valerie gave him a conspiring wink.

“Huh? You believe all this supernatural shit - uh stuff I mean?”

“LUCAS!" she exclaimed at his language. "Yes, I do. But it is our secret. Walter and Angelica cannot know anything. Deal?”

“Deal,” said Lucas.

“Now, let’s eat.  Walter will be up in a bit and will want to play a game of chess with you before you have to go. He will certainly miss you.” 

Angelica had just arrived home from school so they all ate and chatted for awhile. Delia didn’t want to leave. She would miss them dearly. But as she had always done in the past, this was not for her, but for her grandson.  She owed this to her daughter to make sure he was okay and had a good life. 

A few minutes later, Walter came downstairs, still in his PJs.  He had worked the late-late show and didn’t get home until nearly 3:00 am.  Walter had been a father figure for Lucas’ young life so far and they enjoyed sparring over a friendly chess game.  One last game before it was time to go.

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Moving day had arrived. Delia had glass of wine waiting for the taxi to arrive and took one last look around her home in Roaring Heights. She had really hoped this would be a good move for them but it had turned tragic when Victoria drowned. Now it was time to move on. She couldn’t stay no matter what. She had consumed the last vial of Youth Potion and made herself younger than her daughter so she could take care of Victoria's son and now he needed her more than she ever dreamed possible.

The taxi honked and she and Lucas climbed in. Next stop, Riverview.

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