Full Moon Rising - 02 by Heath Stallcup Read Free Book Online Page A

cat, he supposed.  Still as stark as before, but Evan had added a small table desk and chair with a reading lamp by his single cot.
    “I like what you’ve done with the place.” He said, not really meaning it.
    “Oh, thank you.  I thought of bringing a flowering plant, but since there’s no light, I really…oh.”  Evan caught the sarcasm, finally.  “Yeah.  Well, it serves its purpose.  I do spend most of my time in the lab, anyway.”  He slipped his shoes on and stood.  “After you, sir.”
    As they reached the elevators, Matt asked, “Would the e ffects of that cocktail last any longer if there was more, or maybe if you made it stronger?” Hoping to extend the relief to his system.
    “Perhaps I could extract more of the effective phenols from the plants and herbs if I used steam and an extractor rather than simply brewing it.  If the concentration were stronger, then it is likely the effects would last longer.”  Evan tapped his chin as he thought.  “I’m not so sure that quantity would be more effective, but rather, quality would be the key to extending the effective…”
    “Whatever you think, doc.” Matt winced as the doors opened.
    “Are you feeling okay?” Evan asked, turning him around.  He clicked on his penlight and checked his eyes.  “Matt?”
    “I’m okay, it’s just…my guts feel like they’re twisting.” 
    “Considering the effects of the moon, I doubt seriously you’ve contracted an intestinal bug…”
    “If I have, it would be the first one in over ten years.” He joked.
    “Oh, yeah.  Good point.”  He checked his pulse.  “Good heavens, Matt.  Your heart rate is through the roof.  I can barely keep track of it.”
    “Sounds about right.  Feels like its beating out of my chest.  I can barely breathe.”
    “Okay.  Let’s see if we can get you calmed a little with some of Doc Peters Canine & Wolf Juice.” Evan quipped.
    “Cute.”  Matt muttered as they exited the elevator.  He all but staggered toward Evan’s lab.  Evan began mixing dried flowers and herbs and something that looked like…well…it looked like a finger dried into jerky until he tossed it into a co ffee grinder and pulverized it.  When he was finished, he tossed all the dry ingredients into a filter bag and placed it into a beaker over a Bunsen burner. 
    “Sorry, Colonel.  No coffee maker here.” He smiled shee pishly.
    “No complaints from me on how you make it, doc, as long as it works.”
    “I added more bane to this mix and a bit more acetyl L-carnitine to help convert choline into acetylcholine in your brain.”  He saw Matt’s face go slack.  “Umm, think of it as a natural form of the ADD medicine Ritalin.  Right now, your brain is fighting your body’s systems because of the wolf’s hormones shooting throughout it.  You’re going to shift tonight and your body is preparing it by flooding it with hormones and…’stuff’, okay?”  Matt simply nodded.  “Your brain isn’t prepared to deal with it all and it is going into hyperdrive, and you simply aren’t used to it.  You need something to ‘calm yourself’ like a child who takes Ritalin.  This is a mixture of bane, to calm the hormones and a natural form of Ritalin to calm your brain, by stimulating it.”
    “You calm the brain by stimulating it?”
    “I know, right?”  Evan chuckled.  “But it works.  I promise.”
    He pulled the beaker off the burner and swished it around.  The infusion was very dark this time and much thicker.  He wafted the steam toward his nose and pulled the beaker back.  “Oh, yeah.  Nice and stout, this time.”  He smiled at Mitchell.  “Let’s hope I didn’t over do it.”
    Matt frowned at him.  “If you did?  Then what?”
    “Well…I’m not rightly sure.  You’ll either sleep until you shift or bounce off the walls like a ferret on a triple espresso.”  He poured the concoction into a coffee mug and handed it to Matt.  “Bottoms up!” he