Monster Slayers MC Book 5

Doc’s POV

Manny had both arms up on the dining room table and was laying the top half of his body on it. I touched his shoulder and even though Manny opened his eyes, he didn’t sit up.

“Manny? What’s going on, son?” I asked.

“I don’t know Doc. We just went outside for a little while and just walked the back yard but on the way back I began to get really tired really fast. As soon as we came in the back door, I felt like I was going to pass out. I feel so weak and tired right now.” Manny admitted softly, as if he was exhausted.

“Manny, I’m going to call and talk to Dr. Green. I think we need to send you back to the hospital to get a Renal scan done. Let me get a couple of the boys to come take you upstairs.” I said and left the dining room to go look for Rooster. I knocked on Rooster’s office door and when I heard him call “Come in.” I opened the door and entered his office.

“Rooster, I need some help getting Manny upstairs. I don’t want to scare him but I’ve got a feeling his kidney is not healing the way we had hoped. I’m going to contact Dr. Green and talk to him but in the meantime, Manny needs to be carried back to bed.” I told him. “It might just be that his Iron levels are low but I don’t have the equipment here to test him for that. I know it takes a long time for his ribs to completely heal and that may be part of the problem but it shouldn’t be having this kind of effect and with him having the damage he had to his kidney, makes me worry.”

Rooster got in touch with Hulk, who was working with the prospects in the basement gym, to hurry and come carry Manny upstairs. I ran back to the clinic and got my bag.

Millie was in the clinic when I came back and I said “Honey, I may need your help with Cheryl. Manny is not doing well and she’s very upset. Can you come up to their room with me, please?” I grabbed my bag, made sure I had what I needed and together we hurried back upstairs and into their room to find Cheryl sitting on the side of the bed, holding Manny’s hand, looking very worried.

As soon as we entered the room, Millie told Cheryl, “Come on hon. Let’s go sit over here so Doc can look Manny over.” She led Cheryl over to the sofa by the window and together they sat down, Millie with one arm around Cheryl’s shoulders and the other holding her hand.

I took his blood pressure, pulse, listened to his heart and his breathing as well as trying to hear, if I could, anything happening with his kidney that had been injured.

“Has he eaten today?” I asked Cheryl. I hadn’t been paying attention at lunch time to notice if Manny had eaten or not but did know he had been in the dining room because he had come back to the clinic with me.

“I don’t know. I had just gotten home from school and took a shower then we went over to the shed where he spent about half an hour drooling over the bikes and then we walked the length of the back yard. He seemed fine until we were almost half way back to the house when he seemed to slow down. By the time we got to the back door, he was pale and said he felt weak. We barely made it to the dining room when he said he needed to sit down. That’s when I ran for you.”

“He was in the dining room at lunch time but I didn’t pay attention to whether or not he was eating. Millie went to town this morning so I had my lunch there and he walked back to the clinic with me and I checked him over. He seemed to be fine then and I told him to take a walk because I didn’t think he would be in any danger. Has he been stressed out a lot lately?” I asked her. This was becoming more and more of a mystery.

“Yes. We both have. Our final exams for graduation are tomorrow. We’ve both been studying like mad and I bet it’s even harder for Manny because he’s been taking classes online. Most people think that makes it easier but it’s not really. You don’t get to interact with the teacher or to hear other students’ questions online.

Graduation is in a little over a week and we’re both worried about finding jobs and a place to live if we decide not to stay here. Add to that the fact that we’ve been sleeping in the same bed but haven’t........ Oh goodness. I didn’t mean to say that last part out loud but now that I have, I might as well finish. Neither of us have ever.........well, you know. We’ve been waiting and it’s very frustrating.” Cheryl said as her face went bright red.

“Well, I commend you on that decision and while that may have added to it, I doubt if it’s the primary cause here.” I said, trying not to laugh at their situation. I may be getting old but I still remember what it was like to be young, horny and frustrated. Sleeping together in the same bed as my girlfriend would have been an impossible to live through torture.

Hell, I remember almost constantly having a hard on for one girl or another and of going through a whole large jar of vaseline my senior year of high school, so I had to admire Manny and Cheryl’s restraint for having been sleeping together for almost two months now without having intercourse.

When I had finally met Amy, we had fucked like rabbits the first year we were together but had been careful that she didn’t get pregnant right away. I had been in my final year of residency at the hospital and she had been working at becoming an interior designer. When I finally finished my residency and she had started her own small business in town, we began trying to have a baby.

We didn’t even know she was pregnant and it was the coroner who had told me she had been pregnant. I dove into a bottle for nearly a year until King had found me falling off my bar stool at Bernie’s the night after the hospital had kicked me to the curb instead of getting me the help I needed.

I had done everything I could to save King but he had been a heavy drinker for years and his liver was already pretty much gone. He never told anyone but me that he had been suffering from ED (erectile dysfunction) for several years now. I think that after the death of their oldest son combined with King’s ED, is why Joyce did what she did in fooling around on him.

It was no excuse but Joyce had still been a fairly young and attractive woman back then and was no stranger to looks from other men. The club had been more like a gang back then and the men more neanderthal acting than they are now but at no time has our club ever been anything like the Cobras were or still are. They still have no respect for women and she found that out the hard way. I’m just thankful that Claire managed to escape before she turned 18. Just thinking about what would have happened to her gives me nightmares.

I looked over at Millie, who was still trying to comfort Cheryl and told them. “Watch over him while I go call Dr. Green. He might be able to get faster results to get a scan ordered for Manny than I will. He’s asleep, and I would say that is the best medicine for him right now but I’ll be back as soon as I talk to Dr. Green.”

I left their room and went back down to the clinic and called Dr. Green on his personal number since he had officially retired last month but was still in town. They were selling their house and it was taking time but thankfully the weather had warmed up considerably so his wife wasn’t in as much pain as she had been during the colder winter months.

After several rings, Dr. Green finally answered. “Dr. Connors! I do hope this is a call to tell me that Manny is doing well and ready to get back on a motorbike?” He asked, hopefully.

“I wish it was, Dr. Green, and I thought he was getting close to that but this afternoon he’s given us a start. He went out and just walked maybe 150 yards up and back the property and barely made it back into the house. He’s complaining of severe fatigue and dizziness. I took an xray this morning and all but the rib in metal and the one that was broken completely have healed and the one I can see doesn’t have much longer before it will be healed as well. The metal is interfering with the other one so I can’t tell how far along it is to being healed. His pulse and blood pressure are both good and the bruising is almost completely gone. I don’t have the equipment here at the clinic to be able to do a renal, CT scan or MRI or even an ultrasound so I can’t really look at his kidney, nor do I have the equipment to test his iron levels. Did he have any blows to the head that concerned you while he was there?” I explained.

“No. It was almost all body shots that he had. Has he been eating properly? Getting enough liquids?” Dr. Green asked.

“Yes to both. We have an excellent cook on staff. I know he’s been under a lot of stress due to final exams that he’s due to take tomorrow. Graduation is in little over a week and both he and Cheryl have been stressing about finding jobs and a place to live. They are not sure if he wants to become a prospect here or not. Plus Cheryl just told me that they have been sharing a bed for almost two months now without being intimate. That has got to be frustrating for him to no end.” I told him and heard him chuckle.

“I hear that! He must have some kind of patience that most men don’t. So what do you need from me?” Dr. Green asked.

“Can you still order tests at the hospital?” I asked.

“I’ve retired from there now. I don’t think they will allow it. You will probably have better results than I will. I can’t believe the level of disrespect that I have received since I retired. I’ve only been gone about a month and have tried to follow up with several of my cases and have basically been given the cold shoulder by management. The nurses, especially Kaylee, have been great but management will not respond to me anymore. I’m so glad to be out of there.” Dr. Green shared with me.

“Millie has said the same thing. She worked there for over 30 years and now they treat her like she’s a stranger.” I shared with him.

“My wife and I will definitely be there for your wedding day after tomorrow. Are you nervous?” He asked.

“Not nervous really. Anxious for it all to be over with and now worried about leaving Manny. We are supposed to be leaving on our honeymoon the next morning and will be gone for 10 days.” I told him.

“Well, don’t worry. My wife and I are not leaving town yet. We still have to sell our house here. The deal we thought we had fell through so now we are back to square one and had to put it back on the market.” Dr. Green shared.

I asked him about where his house was located and how much he was asking and before I hung up, I told him, “I may have some buyers for you. A young couple here has been looking for a place within easy driving distance of the club and I’m thinking that price might be right up their alley. I’ll try to talk to them later and if they are interested, I’ll have them get in touch with you. Okay?” I told him.

“Sounds good. Now you go and find out what you need for Manny. Keep me up to date and I’ll be glad to check in on him while you are on your honeymoon. And definitely tell those young people if they are interested in a 3000 sq ft contemporary house then call me and we’ll figure out what they can pay and what I can afford to let her go for. Deal?” Dr. Green said.

“Sounds good to me too. Thank you, Doctor. I’ll be in touch soon.” I said before I hung up. Next I called the hospital and was told that if I could have Manny there at 7 am tomorrow, that they could do the renal exam. I was rather surprised that I did not receive any problems booking the requested exam. I hung up and walked back up to Manny and Cheryl’s room and Manny was still asleep. I explained to Cheryl that Manny would have to go in tomorrow morning to have the scan done to make sure that he is not suffering from his kidney trying to shut down.

“Dr. Conner’s, is Manny going to die? Please don’t hold back with me. I hate bad surprises.” Cheryl said with big tears in her eyes.

“No, honey. I’m not going to let that happen. I’m trying to be proactive and make sure that we know exactly what is happening to Manny inside before it gets too far along. He may still lose his kidney but we want to make sure it’s 100% necessary before we just go in and take it out. He’d be able to live just fine without one but we’d prefer he keep both of them.

I’ve already talked to Dr. Green and even though he is no longer on staff at the hospital, he will take care of Manny if anything happens while Millie and I are gone on our honeymoon. I’m going to talk to Rooster next and see if we can get Manny’s finals moved to either later in the day tomorrow or for one day next week since his test at the hospital is for the same time as he’s set to sit for his exams in the morning.” I told her.

“Doc, can you ask Rooster to get it set up for me to take the finals with Manny? I know I’m not going to be able to take any kind of test tomorrow because I’ll be too worried about him. This is just not normal for Manny. He’s usually so full of energy and life.” Cheryl said, trying hard not to start crying.

“Sure. I don’t think it will be a problem. Just let him sleep for now. I’ll have some dinner sent up for both of you later. If you need anything just yell. Okay?” I told her.

“Okay, Doc. Millie, thank you both so much.” Cheryl said as she walked back over to the bed and picked up Manny’s hand where it was laying on the bed. She sat down next to him and just watched him as Millie and I left the room.

“Hon, what do you think is wrong with Manny?” Millie asked me as we walked down the hall.

“I’m not sure yet. It may be just the stress they are both under combined with the fact that he’s still healing inside. I just don’t have the equipment I need to be able to run his blood work to see if his iron levels are low, which is something I highly suspect. I’m just praying that his kidney is not shutting down but won’t rule it out until I see the test results tomorrow. Are you going to come to the hospital with me in the morning?” I asked her.

“Yes! If anyone tries to give you a hard time, they will live to regret it by the time I get through with them. I wonder if Kaylee is scheduled to work tomorrow?” Millie said.

She went to check on Kaylee’s schedule and I went to Rooster’s office. I knocked and waited for his “Come in” and then pushed open his door. “Hey, Prez. Can I talk to you for a sec?” I asked.

“Sure, Doc. How’s Manny doing? I like that kid. I sure do hope he’s going to be okay.” Rooster said.

“Actually, he’s the reason I’m here. You know they are supposed to take their final exams tomorrow. Well, I’ve just scheduled a renal exam for him tomorrow morning at 7 am. I want to be sure that his damaged kidney is not trying to shut down. Poor Cheryl is nearly a basket case. Is there a chance you can get the principal to let both of them either do it tomorrow afternoon or sometime next week? He can’t be in two places at once and she’s not going to be in any condition to take such an important exam tomorrow.” I told him.

“Yeah, hang on a sec. I’d better call him right now before he goes home.” Rooster said and picked up his phone. He dialed the number and within two rings, the school secretary picked up. “Hey, Hazel. It’s Prez from MSMC. Is Principal Rogers still there?”

“Hey Prez. Yeah, he’s just getting ready to go home. Hang on.” She said and put him on hold. A second later, Principal Rogers picked up. “Hey Rooster. What can I do for you?”

“Hey, sorry to pull this on you so late in the day but Manny Hastings is going to have to have some more tests done at the hospital in the morning and won’t be able to take the exams until either later in the day or sometime next week. Can you arrange for both him and his fiance, Cheryl Preston, to take them here? Poor girl is practically a basket case worrying about him.” Rooster said.

“Yeah, we can do that. In fact it will work out better if he takes them next week anyway. Counselor Raymond had to call out sick today. She’s got the flu. I was going to have to come and do the exam myself tomorrow morning. Now I won’t have to be out on a Friday. How about we schedule it for next week Wednesday at 9 am for both of them. The tests will be proceeding as planned here tomorrow so I would rather not be out anyway.” Principal Rogers told him.

“Sounds good to me. If anything changes on our end, I’ll let you know.” Rooster said and then hung up and told me, “He said both of them can do it next Wednesday at 9 am. Hopefully that will help take some of the pressure off of them.”

“At least it will give them more time to get prepared. From what Manny was telling me last week, this test will be the majority of their final grades. The rest of the time between now and the graduation ceremony is mostly to get books and uniforms turned in, graduation rehearsals and picking up caps and gowns and stuff like that. Man, does that ever bring back memories!” I told him and we laughed together.

“Well, at least I’ll be able to give them some good news today.” I said.

“Are you ready for Saturday, Doc?” Rooster asked.

“Oh yeah. More than ready. I can’t wait!” I smiled at him and then left his office.

I just happened to run into Dixie as she came in from the garden around the patio. It was plain that she had been pulling weeds and digging in the dirt because she was dirty and had a couple of smears of dirt on her cheek.

“Hey, Dixie. Working out some frustrations?” I teased.

“Not really frustrations, just releasing some pent up energy. I love my son with all of my heart but damn he really limits me being able to do some of the things I used to do and it’s wearing on my nerves some, plus I just wanted to get the beds ready for spring planting. I had been planning on having things done already but having Sammy really limits my time, especially since he’s not sleeping during the day as much as he used to.” Dixie confided in me.

“Well, I’m kind of hoping I can ask a favor of you? You mentioned needing someone to make clothes? Cheryl is really stressing about what she would do if she agrees to let Manny prospect into the club. She doesn’t want to be left out or far away from him. Can you find time later to talk to her about it? She’s already stressed about what’s going down with Manny. If she had something to look forward to, maybe it would help lessen her stress levels.” I said.

“Sure Doc. I’m going to get cleaned up and check on my son but then if I can, I’ll stop by and check with them. If not, I’ll check with her after dinner. Okay?” Dixie told me.

“Thanks Dixie.” I said and continued on down to Manny and Cheryl’s room.

I knocked and Cheryl answered the door. Manny was now awake and propped up against all the pillows in bed.

“Well, how are you feeling now, Manny?” I asked as I walked across the room.

“A little better. I guess I just pushed too much, Doc. I’ve barely been out of bed for over 2 months and I tried to do too much all at once. I’m sorry for scaring everyone.” Manny said contritely.

“Let’s hope that’s all it is. I’ve scheduled a renal scan for you at 7 am tomorrow morning at the hospital. We’ll need to leave here about 6 am so that we have time to get you checked in and everything. We should be back here by 10 or 10:30 at the latest.” I told him.

“But Doc! I’ve got to take my final exams tomorrow morning. Can’t we do the test another day?” Manny started to get upset until I held up my hands and said

“Calm down, son. We talked to Principal Rogers just a few minutes ago. He’s going to allow you and Cheryl both to take your finals here at the clubhouse next Wednesday. Apparently Counselor Raymond is down with the flu and Principal Rogers was going to have to be the one to give you the exams tomorrow. He said he really needs to be there to oversee the school but since he had given his word that someone would be here, well, let’s just say it all is going to work out for the best this way.

Now, I know this gives you almost a whole week to study more for the tests but I want you to focus just as much on getting some rest too. Your health is more important than these tests. Tests can always be redone. You only get one shot at life. Right now, rest and recovery has to be your number one priority.” I told him.

“Doc, was Principal Rogers upset that I was going to be out?” Cheryl asked.

“No. He said he understood. He didn’t have a problem with it at all. I think he’s looking forward to graduation as much as you seniors.” I smiled at them.

“Yeah, the only difference is this is our last year in that hell hole. He has to go back to a whole new bunch of not only seniors but new underclassmen. Man, I’m so glad those days are over for us!” Manny said and we all laughed.

Cheryl’s POV

After Doc left our room, I climbed up on the bed with Manny and we lay there just cuddling and quietly talking until Ronnie knocked on our door with our dinner.

I opened the door and said “Hey Ronnie. Thanks for bringing us dinner.”

“Doc said Manny was sick again. Everything okay?” Ronnie asked.

“Not sure yet, Ronnie. He’s going to the hospital for tests in the morning. Hey Ronnie? Can we ask you what it’s like to prospect for the MSMC?” I asked as we set up tray tables for us to eat off of.

Ronnie looked back and forth between us and said “I can’t discuss club business with you but I can give you the basics.” He said and we both nodded. “If you need more details than what I tell you, you’ll need to talk to someone on the executive staff. I recommend Hunter. He’s the most patient one and doesn’t have as short a fuse or as hot a temper as some of the others. I like them all, don’t get me wrong but when I need advice, he’s the one I always go to.”

“So what does being a prospect mean and what’s it like?” Manny asked.

“Well, in addition to having to work a real job like at the garage or on the construction site, you are basically a grunt here at the house. We keep the main rooms and all of the hallways clean, take turns doing clean up in the kitchen, cleaning the public bathrooms, doing linen laundry, taking care of the vehicles, making sure there’s always enough gas, stuff like that. We play jokes on each other and even the members will sometimes get in on the hazing. Especially Joker. He can be a real pain in the ass.

Now there’s also stuff I can’t talk about but if you can pass those things and find it’s stuff you can live with, you have shown your loyalty and you are guaranteed the offer of a patch. Oh and you have to be here as a prospect for a certain length of time. At least three months, I think.” Ronnie told us.

“How did you get involved with the MC?” Manny asked.

“Almost all of us have been rescued or have come from bad backgrounds. My mom died when I was 10 from cancer. My dad was a real asshole. I was the youngest and when the last of my older brothers joined the army and left for the service, I was left on my own and he started focusing his anger on me.

One night he came after me but I managed to get out the door before he could latch on good, ripped my shirt right off my back and was swinging that big assed leather belt at me and I ran for all I was worth but he caught me a few times before I got away and laid my back open, reopening the cuts I already had back there from a beating he had given me a few days earlier. Anyway, I slept on the streets for about a week, friends were helping me out with food and one of them even gave me a change of clothes and let me take a shower one day when his folks weren’t home.

We found the MSMC website online and I begged my friend’s older brother to bring me to town. I went into the diner and Hunter, Boomer and some of the prospects were sitting in there having lunch. I walked over and asked for their help and they took me in. That was about 4 months ago. I’m only 17 so I can’t patch in until I turn 18 and I can’t wait. These guys are more like family than anything I’ve ever known. I miss my mom and my brothers but I’m so glad to be away from my dad.” Ronnie explained.

“Sounds intense. My dad did this to me. He also killed my twin brother and nearly killed my mom but she took us and ran. Now she’s found a good man to take care of her and my sister and I want to make a life here for me and Cheryl. If I ask Hunter about the stuff you can’t tell us, will he tell me?” Manny asked.

“Yeah, I think so, but he won’t talk about it in front of Cheryl. What I’ve told you is basic rules that are not secret. Club business is only discussed with club members. Prospects are not even allowed in Church most of the time. Only when we go to war are we allowed in and that’s mostly so that Rooster doesn’t have to repeat himself when he gives everyone instructions and everyone is on the same page as to what is going down.

The executive staff needs to know where everyone is supposed to be and what they have been assigned to do. If you are doing something you are not supposed to be or not doing what you are supposed to be doing, they will kick your ass! Believe me, if Hulk or Boomer catches you goofing off, they will make you regret it fast!” Ronnie said.

“Who are the “executive staff”?” I ask.

“Rooster is the President. Hunter is the VP. Boomer is the Sergeant of Arms. Hulk is the main Enforcer. Circuit is the head of technical stuff. Eagle is the Weapons Specialist. They are the main ones. Now I’ve heard rumors that they are going to add to that staff but nothing has been set in stone yet.” Ronnie explained.

“They also have “Department Heads” and some of those overlap the executive staff but not all of them. They are what we prospects call “the Warrior staff”. When we go to war, they are the ones in charge of everyone. Their women are almost as powerful as they are but they really don’t have titles except for Dixie. She is the club queen and she can be really scary if you cross her.

When one of the women asks you to do something, your best reply is “Yes ma’am” and hurry to get it done because they have no problem kicking your butt or telling their men that you refused to do something. Besides, they are so nice it’s hard to say no.

Most of the single members are only interested in the sweet butts and hang arounds but more and more they are wanting their own ole’ lady so the ole’ ladies group is growing. Tonight, the sweet butts will be showing up and the bar is going to be swinging until around 2 am, sometimes later.”

By now, Manny and I were both finished eating and Ronnie gathered up our dirty dishes and we told him thanks for not only the meal but the information and then he carried everything back down to the kitchen to be cleaned up.