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"Chance, I don't want to be some freak that's locked up somewhere and studied because I'm different. I've had enough of that already."
"I know, Babe. We'll figure this out," Chance said, pulling me into his lap.
"Mr. Meecham, Everly doesn't want to be an experiment," Jared said. "Can we have someone do the necessary examinations privately. Someone you trust and can vouch for?"
"I can arrange that," Mr. Meecham said. "But Chance and Jared will need to submit to an exam as well. Our concern at the moment is more with you gentlemen. We want to be sure there is nothing harmful remaining in your systems, and we'd like to know what drugs you were given under Dr. Braun's care."
"If there are reasons why my being examined at the CDC would be better for the investigation, I'll agree to that."
"Thank you, Mr. Munroe. That would be an acceptable compromise."
"I'm in," Jared said, before anyone had the chance to ask.
"OK. I'll arrange for a car to pick you two up at the hotel in the morning and take you to the CDC," Mr. Meecham said. "Ladies, I'll contact you with details of where you need to go. I suspect it will be Dallas."
"We have no phones or computers," Cassie said. "You'll need to contact us through the hotel."
"I apologize for not realizing that all your belongings were lost in this mess. I'll have laptops and phones delivered to your hotel. I'll make the arrangements and be in touch."
"Can I go home?" Gracie Layne asked.
"You've given your statement and have no ongoing medical issues we need to address," Mr. Meecham said. "It's fine for you to return home. You've been through a serious trauma Ms. Mason. Please don't take that lightly. If you need help, I can arrange for you to see someone. If you'd like to stay with your sister for a while, I can arrange your travel. I do understand that you have a life you need to get back to."
"Thank you, Mr. Meecham," I said. We'll work out the details.”
He disconnected the video call and the six of us were left sitting in silence. "If you're ready, I'll drive you back to the hotel," Chris said.
XXX
No one said much on the way back. Chris parked the car and walked into the hotel with us. "Gracie Layne, where is home?" he asked.
"Right now, Nashville. I'm finishing up my last semester at Vanderbilt. God knows if I'll ever finish now."
"I can drive you home tomorrow if you want," he said, "before I fly back to Spokane."
"I'd like that," she said.
"Thanks, Chris. I appreciate that," I said.
"No problem. Listen, I know you guys have a lot of stuff to figure out. I can't even imagine how you put this shit behind you."
"Can you make sure we're kept up-to-date on the investigation?" Chance asked. "We need to know there's an end to all this."
"I will share as much as I can," he promised. "Gracie, here's my card. Once you get your new phone tonight, give me a call so I'll have your number, and we'll make plans for tomorrow."
She took the card from him. "Thanks, Chris. I'll talk to you later. I'm going to take a really long bath and drink whatever wine is in the minibar. I think the government owes me that."
Chris headed from the front door, and Gracie headed to the elevator. "Let's grab a drink in the bar," Chance said. "I've got an idea."
"Did you guys want to do dinner later?" I asked as Jared and Cassie started for the elevators.
"Aren't you coming to the bar?" Chance asked. "My idea involves all of us."
"Lead on," Jared said.
We found a table in the back of the nearly empty hotel bar and the guys went to the bar for our drinks. "How are you feeling?" I asked Cassie. "Is the baby doing OK?"
"Seems to be just fine. I'll have a checkup with my OB/GYN when we get home, but all is well. To be honest, this latest ordeal just makes me that much more ready to be done with this part of my life. I can't tell you how sorry I am that y'all got involved in this."
"I just don't want to be turned into a circus freak," I said as the guys came back to the table with our drinks.
"I'm not sure if this is self-serving or not," Chance said. "If it is, I apologize in advance. I'm thinking we get this medical stuff out of the way, and then the four of us head to Dr. Belamy's cabin in Arkansas. We could use your help sorting through the cryptid related stuff. We need to see if there's anything to include in the museum or turn over to our research section. I think we all need to go through the journal Cassie found related to the bigfoot experiments being done at the lab. The best people to sort out who's behind this are sitting right here."
A lengthy discussion ensued. "I'm getting hungry," I said. "Can we continue this over dinner?"
We agreed to regroup in the dining room in an hour. On our way through the lobby, the desk clerk called to us. "Mr. Munroe. Mr. Dickenson. I have packages for all of you." We all walked over to the desk, accepted our packages, and went to our rooms.
As much as I enjoyed our respite from all the anchors that tether us to the modern world, it felt really great to have a phone and laptop again. We also had driver's licenses, credit cards, and bank cards. I felt like I was a legitimate person again. It was freeing to know that I could decide to go out to dinner, or take a cab, or book a flight.