I loved that sound. It squeezed my chest and thumped on my heart whenever I heard it.
I could tell she was in serious trouble as soon as she spoke. She sounded sick. But not regular sick. I’ve worked with patients on the brink of passing. There’s a giveaway in their voice, a resigned knowing that even they’re sometimes not aware of that carries in their tone.
She didn’t have long.
I hastily threw a bag together, stuffing in an array of antibiotics and antivirals.
On the way down the staircase, I hesitated in front of the floor that housed my lab. If I adjusted a few settings, the work I’ve put in over the past two weeks would be saved. The adjustments would take about an hour.
She needed me. I didn’t have an hour.
I was in the parking garage in record time. I snatched my helmet from where I kept it on a hook right inside the door and raced to where I parked my preferred mode of transportation. I put on my helmet and revved up the motorcycle before peeling out into the purple dark that comes from the still hour of the night and lack of the Houston skyline that once upon a time would have chased it away. I’d been to Tucson once before if you count stopping at a Waffle House on the way to Phoenix as “been to.”
I got on the exit for Interstate 10 and kicked the bike into the next gear. The freeways were mostly clear of cars so it would be a straight shot. All she needed to do was hold on a little longer.
Chapter 18
Him
I’d heard about the dogs but they were something else up close and personal. Three German shepherds circled around her. The tufts on the back of their necks ruffled and low growls were emitting from their throats.
The lowest kind of growling. The kind that meant business. Not the loud, distractive barking of a bluffer. It was a warning that the next step I took meant sacrificing my jugular. I backed away slowly, frustrated. I could see her lying inside the doorway to the room on her side. Her face was halfway smushed on the floor, bending her nose. That’s how I knew she was out out and not just sleeping off some painful headache.
I growled my frustration back at the dogs, then turned on my heel and stalked out of the house. I remembered seeing a sign for the zoo at the South Kino Parkway exit and I hopped back on my bike and backtracked to that street.
The Reid Park Zoo wasn’t terribly big and it wasn’t long before I found what I needed. Tranquilizer gun.
I filled my pack with some darts, slung the gun across my back and drove back to the house.
Once inside, I was able to take the first two dogs down easily but while reloading for the third, he leapt at me and his razor teeth sunk into my arm. My cry of pain was inhuman. It was even invamp. The beast literally ripped a chunk of my flesh out with his mouth. I used the force of my leg to land a foot in his neck, aimed, and shot a dart into his shoulder. He still wasn’t down, so I scrambled backwards. There was no reloading. I couldn’t feel my left arm.
Luckily, he staggered before he could reach me a second time and then slumped to the floor. I breathed a sigh of relief.
I untied a bandana from my pack and tied it off on the wound to staunch the bleeding.
Making my way to her quickly, I knelt beside her and repositioned her head so she could breathe easier. It didn’t help. Her breath still sounded labored. The left side of her face was drooping significantly. I felt her forehead and skin. No fever. There were vomit stains down the front of her shirt. Her elbows and arms were crusted with blood. So was her back, I could see, when I lifted her shirt.
I glanced down and saw thin lines of blood trailing from the door to where she lay.
She dragged herself here. To call me.
I tried to breathe through the grip that tightened my chest.
Focus, Alex , I thought. It had to be something she ate. All the symptoms pointed to botulism. Which meant her muscles were slowly paralyzing. I needed to get
I could tell she was in serious trouble as soon as she spoke. She sounded sick. But not regular sick. I’ve worked with patients on the brink of passing. There’s a giveaway in their voice, a resigned knowing that even they’re sometimes not aware of that carries in their tone.
She didn’t have long.
I hastily threw a bag together, stuffing in an array of antibiotics and antivirals.
On the way down the staircase, I hesitated in front of the floor that housed my lab. If I adjusted a few settings, the work I’ve put in over the past two weeks would be saved. The adjustments would take about an hour.
She needed me. I didn’t have an hour.
I was in the parking garage in record time. I snatched my helmet from where I kept it on a hook right inside the door and raced to where I parked my preferred mode of transportation. I put on my helmet and revved up the motorcycle before peeling out into the purple dark that comes from the still hour of the night and lack of the Houston skyline that once upon a time would have chased it away. I’d been to Tucson once before if you count stopping at a Waffle House on the way to Phoenix as “been to.”
I got on the exit for Interstate 10 and kicked the bike into the next gear. The freeways were mostly clear of cars so it would be a straight shot. All she needed to do was hold on a little longer.
Chapter 18
Him
I’d heard about the dogs but they were something else up close and personal. Three German shepherds circled around her. The tufts on the back of their necks ruffled and low growls were emitting from their throats.
The lowest kind of growling. The kind that meant business. Not the loud, distractive barking of a bluffer. It was a warning that the next step I took meant sacrificing my jugular. I backed away slowly, frustrated. I could see her lying inside the doorway to the room on her side. Her face was halfway smushed on the floor, bending her nose. That’s how I knew she was out out and not just sleeping off some painful headache.
I growled my frustration back at the dogs, then turned on my heel and stalked out of the house. I remembered seeing a sign for the zoo at the South Kino Parkway exit and I hopped back on my bike and backtracked to that street.
The Reid Park Zoo wasn’t terribly big and it wasn’t long before I found what I needed. Tranquilizer gun.
I filled my pack with some darts, slung the gun across my back and drove back to the house.
Once inside, I was able to take the first two dogs down easily but while reloading for the third, he leapt at me and his razor teeth sunk into my arm. My cry of pain was inhuman. It was even invamp. The beast literally ripped a chunk of my flesh out with his mouth. I used the force of my leg to land a foot in his neck, aimed, and shot a dart into his shoulder. He still wasn’t down, so I scrambled backwards. There was no reloading. I couldn’t feel my left arm.
Luckily, he staggered before he could reach me a second time and then slumped to the floor. I breathed a sigh of relief.
I untied a bandana from my pack and tied it off on the wound to staunch the bleeding.
Making my way to her quickly, I knelt beside her and repositioned her head so she could breathe easier. It didn’t help. Her breath still sounded labored. The left side of her face was drooping significantly. I felt her forehead and skin. No fever. There were vomit stains down the front of her shirt. Her elbows and arms were crusted with blood. So was her back, I could see, when I lifted her shirt.
I glanced down and saw thin lines of blood trailing from the door to where she lay.
She dragged herself here. To call me.
I tried to breathe through the grip that tightened my chest.
Focus, Alex , I thought. It had to be something she ate. All the symptoms pointed to botulism. Which meant her muscles were slowly paralyzing. I needed to get
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