tearing right through my
leather jacket and shirt. Teeth scraped bone, and I screamed in
pain when a burning sensation shot through my arm. The adrenaline
that coursed through my body gave me a sudden burst of strength,
allowing me to bring my right leg up between us until my foot was
pressed against the animal’s chest, and I heaved it off of me.
The wolf yelped as it hit the ground several
feet away from me, his eyes wide and panicked, and then several
shots were fired to my right. I heard another yelp from the wolf,
and a spray of red misted the air above its right flank.
This didn’t slow it down, however, so David
fired another shot, but missed when it darted quickly back into the
cover of trees, howling.
“Brooke!” David cried, tearing up the grass
as he fells to his knees next to me. “Jesus, Brooke. Are you all
right?”
“Damn it.” I inhaled sharply through my
teeth, almost hissing, and pushed myself up with my good arm,
trying to keep my left shoulder from jostling too much. “Yeah. I
think so.”
Without warning, David pulled me into his
arms and held me, disregarding my injured shoulder in lieu of his
relief that I was okay. I hissed painfully, and he released me
before helping me to my feet and peeling the shredded jacket from
my shoulder once I was steady. “I-it bit me,” I told him while he
ripped the collar and sleeve of my shirt open so he could get a
better view of my bloodied shoulder. “God, that thing was
strong.”
“Sweetheart, this doesn’t look good.” I
craned my neck to look at my shoulder as David pulled out his
flashlight and inspected the damage. It looked horrible: the skin
broken and torn where the wolf’s teeth sank in, and blood flowing
from several deep and jagged lacerations. “Maybe we should go to
the emergency room,” he suggested, looking at me worriedly and
cradling my face. “It looks like you’ll probably need stitches…and
a rabies shot might not be a bad idea while we’re there.”
Going to the doctor was the last thing on my
mind, knowing that we had a homicide to investigate, and the only
reason I followed David back to the car was because I knew I
wouldn’t be any good to anyone if an infection set in or I started
foaming at the mouth.
On our way, some of our coworkers asked what
happened, and David quickly filled them in before telling O’Malley
to call Animal Control to have the park combed thoroughly for the
wolf that bit me.
“What the hell happened back there?” David
asked as we pulled out onto a main street. “Did you see
anyone?”
I shook my head and looked down at my
shredded shoulder again, wincing when the car flew over a pothole
and my arm bumped the seat roughly. “Nope. Just that damn wolf.”
Lifting my head, I caught David’s concerned gaze. “H-how about you?
Anything?”
He shook his head, frustrated. “Nothing.”
There was a brief pause as David changed lanes and turned right.
“Did you get a good look at the body?” he asked, changing the
subject. It was pretty obvious that he was trying to keep my mind
on something besides my injury.
“Can’t say that I did.” I thought back to
the few minutes I had with the victim before I went off and got
attacked by a wild animal, suddenly remembering something. “There
was a mark on her neck and shoulder—trauma of some sort—but I got
distracted before I could really look at it.”
“I’m sure the coroner will record it, and we
can look over the report tomorrow morning.”
By the time we pulled up to the emergency
room doors of Osborn Medical Centre, the pain had gone from a dull
throb to feeling like a hot poker was being dragged down each and
every tear slowly. Flames shot through my veins like lava, and it
took everything in me to not give in to the pain and pass out.
After throwing the car into park, David
rushed around, opened my door, and helped me out of my seat,
wrapping a protective arm around my waist to guide me through the
entrance.
The waiting room
leather jacket and shirt. Teeth scraped bone, and I screamed in
pain when a burning sensation shot through my arm. The adrenaline
that coursed through my body gave me a sudden burst of strength,
allowing me to bring my right leg up between us until my foot was
pressed against the animal’s chest, and I heaved it off of me.
The wolf yelped as it hit the ground several
feet away from me, his eyes wide and panicked, and then several
shots were fired to my right. I heard another yelp from the wolf,
and a spray of red misted the air above its right flank.
This didn’t slow it down, however, so David
fired another shot, but missed when it darted quickly back into the
cover of trees, howling.
“Brooke!” David cried, tearing up the grass
as he fells to his knees next to me. “Jesus, Brooke. Are you all
right?”
“Damn it.” I inhaled sharply through my
teeth, almost hissing, and pushed myself up with my good arm,
trying to keep my left shoulder from jostling too much. “Yeah. I
think so.”
Without warning, David pulled me into his
arms and held me, disregarding my injured shoulder in lieu of his
relief that I was okay. I hissed painfully, and he released me
before helping me to my feet and peeling the shredded jacket from
my shoulder once I was steady. “I-it bit me,” I told him while he
ripped the collar and sleeve of my shirt open so he could get a
better view of my bloodied shoulder. “God, that thing was
strong.”
“Sweetheart, this doesn’t look good.” I
craned my neck to look at my shoulder as David pulled out his
flashlight and inspected the damage. It looked horrible: the skin
broken and torn where the wolf’s teeth sank in, and blood flowing
from several deep and jagged lacerations. “Maybe we should go to
the emergency room,” he suggested, looking at me worriedly and
cradling my face. “It looks like you’ll probably need stitches…and
a rabies shot might not be a bad idea while we’re there.”
Going to the doctor was the last thing on my
mind, knowing that we had a homicide to investigate, and the only
reason I followed David back to the car was because I knew I
wouldn’t be any good to anyone if an infection set in or I started
foaming at the mouth.
On our way, some of our coworkers asked what
happened, and David quickly filled them in before telling O’Malley
to call Animal Control to have the park combed thoroughly for the
wolf that bit me.
“What the hell happened back there?” David
asked as we pulled out onto a main street. “Did you see
anyone?”
I shook my head and looked down at my
shredded shoulder again, wincing when the car flew over a pothole
and my arm bumped the seat roughly. “Nope. Just that damn wolf.”
Lifting my head, I caught David’s concerned gaze. “H-how about you?
Anything?”
He shook his head, frustrated. “Nothing.”
There was a brief pause as David changed lanes and turned right.
“Did you get a good look at the body?” he asked, changing the
subject. It was pretty obvious that he was trying to keep my mind
on something besides my injury.
“Can’t say that I did.” I thought back to
the few minutes I had with the victim before I went off and got
attacked by a wild animal, suddenly remembering something. “There
was a mark on her neck and shoulder—trauma of some sort—but I got
distracted before I could really look at it.”
“I’m sure the coroner will record it, and we
can look over the report tomorrow morning.”
By the time we pulled up to the emergency
room doors of Osborn Medical Centre, the pain had gone from a dull
throb to feeling like a hot poker was being dragged down each and
every tear slowly. Flames shot through my veins like lava, and it
took everything in me to not give in to the pain and pass out.
After throwing the car into park, David
rushed around, opened my door, and helped me out of my seat,
wrapping a protective arm around my waist to guide me through the
entrance.
The waiting room
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