I would have thought they'd need all the help they could get. A river had burst its banks due to a deluge that no one had been expecting.
You would, wouldn't you? I'm fed up and Dodge won't stop whining. He knows he's got a job to do, and he's stuck here. Still, he did piss on all the cars. Made him happy.
Niles burst out laughing, drawing puzzled looks from the nurses around him. Clearing his throat, he stared at the screen.
Good for Dodge.
Hang on. They're coming over. Maybe now we can finally get involved in the search and rescue they asked us here for.
Let me know.
Will do.
They broke off contact and Niles stared at the figures in front of him. Time to get back to work.
Hunter was right behind him as they slowly and methodically made their way in a huge circle around the school. It was the only chance they had of finding the missing children and teacher. Roughly thirty minutes later, Tank saw Dodge indicate that he'd picked up a scent. Suddenly, Dodge veered off to the right, even further away from the school and started pulling Tank behind him.
Tank could hear Hunter behind him, speaking into the mic attached next to his mouth — new, improved models — giving Ale their current position and asking the team to converge on their coordinates. Dodge had found something and was eager to follow it.
With some difficulty, Tank and Dodge, with Hunter following, made their way through a dense thicket of brush and trees until they stopped at the edge of what used to be a pond, but due to the heavy rain, had spread out into the surrounding trees. They tread carefully through the branches and debris floating on the water, Dodge stopping every few seconds and sniffing at that debris and the trees around them before continuing forward.
Tank's eyes followed the trail through the shallow, dirty water until it reached the leaf-covered branches of a large downed tree. That's where he caught a glimpse of an adult female holding onto two small children, clinging to the underside of the branches, hanging over the water.
"Dodge. Sit." Tank ordered before giving Dodge his toy. "Good boy." Tank gave Dodge the ‘stay’ signal followed by the command.
He waded through the water and knew when he'd hit the original edge of the pond. The ground became like glue, thick and difficult to move through. He was glad that Hunter was behind when he heard him shout, "I'll let the team know where we are."
"Shit," he muttered, when his feet immediately sank into the thick mud, covered by the dark water.
"Stay where you are. I'll swim over."
Hunter knew what would happen if Tank struggled to move on and dove in chest first, keeping his head above the water, and started swimming towards the woman and two children. The children were crying, and the woman, Tank assumed was the teacher, was struggling to keep all three of them above water.
As Tank moved towards them, a sharp slicing pain cut through his arm. Turning, he realized that some of the branches had thorns on them. "Shit," he muttered, untangling himself from the branch.
"Hunter, watch the branches. Some of them have thorns on."
"Got it."
The branches above were dense and covered with thorns. Making his way slowly toward them in the water was slow and painful, with some of the thorns cutting into his skin. He could feel the thorns in a couple of places, embedding into his flesh. Finally, he took out his knife and started cutting and hacking through the branches.
When he made it to them, the woman immediately handed one of the children to him. "Take her first. She's only five. I'll keep hold of him."
Hunter was close behind and Tank passed the little girl over to him, then turned back to take the boy. "I'll come back for you," he told the woman.
The woman nodded. "Just get them to safety first."
Tank took the boy and slowly made his way back to the edge of the water. He tried to keep him above the dirty water, having seen the numerous cuts covering him. The last thing the boy needed was an infection developing in one of them. Poor kid had gone through enough already.
Hunter got there before him and, after putting the girl down, he reached for the boy. "I'm going back for the woman."
Hunter nodded and took his jacket off, covering both children with it. As Tank moved back through the water, he could hear Hunter update the team on their situation and heard Ale tell Hunter the others were almost to them.
When Tank reached the woman, he glanced around her, seeing how tangled up her clothing was. "My name is Tank. I'm part of Rescue Inc."
"I think you're gonna have to cut them," the woman said, tugging on her clothes.
"Yeah, I think you're right."
Tank took a closer look around the woman, finding several places where she was stuck. He started by cutting her jacket and part of her shirt that had somehow become wound around the branches. It felt like it took forever to cut her free, but when she was finally loose, he helped her cross the water towards Hunter and the two children.
As he moved, he slipped on a submerged branch and fell forward, hitting his head on the trunk of the nearest tree. Grunting in pain, Tank struggled to move. Everything spun around him and he groaned, fighting the need to be sick.
Hands grabbed him and the woman, lifting them clear of the water, and he blinked the water out of his eyes to find Hunter carrying both of them back to dry land.
"Hunter," he mumbled, shaking his head to try to clear it.
"I've got you both. Don't worry."
When they reached dry land, Hunter placed them both on the ground, and immediately pain shot through his leg.
"Shit," he shouted, grabbing the area.
"Where are you hurt, Tank?" Jensen asked, squatting in front of him.
"Thigh. Something stuck in it." Tank breathed deeply through the pain. Jensen cut through his pant leg, revealing a small broken piece of branch stuck in his thigh.
"We can't get a stretcher in here," Jensen said as he cleaned the area and packed it to prevent the branch causing more damage.
"I'll make it. Just make sure they get out."
"Chester and Donnie are here to help as well." As Jensen spoke, Tank watched the two vampires take the children and woman away.
Grunting in pain, Tank let Jensen help him up. "Fuck, that hurts."
Tank hobbled along behind the others, Dodge by his side and Jensen helping him. Every step caused the pain to bloom through his leg, but he kept on going.
Niles
Tank. What’s wrong?
Hurt. Branch in leg. Going hospital now. Even talking this way made everything hurt.
On my way.
Twice he would have fallen if Jensen hadn't grabbed him. The pain was becoming more excruciating with every step he took.
Finally, after what seem liked forever, they made it out of the trees and found that all the ambulances had gone, probably with the two children and the teacher who'd made it out before him. Tank carefully sat on the muddy ground and waited for another one to arrive. He panted, trying to ignore the pain in his thigh and the pounding ache in his head.
"Here, let me see to that." Jensen squatted in front of him and carefully cleaned his head wound. "You'll need stitches and it's going to need more cleaning. There’s some dirt in there and it is pretty deep."
"Great, just what I wanted to hear."
His ears started to ring, and he winced, dropping his head down, his vision darkening at the edges. He suddenly felt sick and luckily managed to roll onto his side before throwing up.
"Don't feel so good," he mumbled before everything went black.
Chapter Eight
When Tank became aware of his surroundings, he immediately realized that he was in a hospital. He could hear the unmistakable beep of the machine that kept track of a person's vital signs. The beep seemed to be keeping a steady rhythm, so he figured he was still alive and recovering well. He sighed quietly when the drugs pulled him under and he fell back asleep.
The next time he woke up, he actually managed to open his eyes.
The machine was still keeping that steady pace, so now he tried to figure out how bad he was hurt. He realized his head hurt, especially the front of his face. When he tried to reach up and touch it, his hand felt like it was encased in cement and he dropped it back to the bed. Carefully, because his eyes and head hurt when he moved, he looked down and saw that most of his arms were covered in bandages and plasters.
Glancing around the room, Tank saw Niles asleep on a chair in the corner and Hunter sleeping in a chair directly in front of him, but on the other side of the room. What the hell? He must have made a noise because Hunter woke up and hurried to the door calling for a nurse.
"Hey, a nurse will be here soon. How you feeling, Tank?"
"Great,” he mumbled. His throat was dry and tacky, and he coughed, trying to loosen it up. Hunter reached over and picked up a plastic cup with a straw in it and held it for Tank.
Tank gingerly lifted his head, and ignoring the pounding through it, sipped some water. The cool liquid slipped down his throat and he sighed in relief."Thanks."
"Figured you'd need it."
"The children? Teacher?" Tank coughed again and this time his throat felt better for it.
"They're good. They were released yesterday."
Released yesterday. Just how long had he been here? "How long..."
"Two days. You were pretty out of it. The docs were worried about the knock to your head, but your tests came back clear. Sorry, Tank. They couldn't find a brain."
"Fucker," Tank mumbled with a small smile.
Hunter grinned. "Bad concussion. You did wake up a number of times but went back to sleep straight away."
Tank tried moving his leg and hissed at the pain. "My leg?"
"Your mate removed the branch, cleaned the wound, and stitched you back up. Don't think the locals are impressed with him when he came in and took over." Hunter grinned again. "I sat back and watched the explosions when he told them straight that only he would be touching you. He did let one doctor help though."
"Shit."
"No shit at all. When they realized you two were mates, they backed off, or maybe it was when Niles got that glow in his eyes. Don't want to piss a vampire off by denying him access to his mate. Especially one who knows how to use a scalpel."
"Has Niles been here the whole time?"
"He hasn't left your side, except to go to the bathroom."
"How long has he been asleep?"
"About an hour now. He's worried he missed something."
"Like what?" Tank mumbled. He could feel the drugs working and he was trying to stay awake.
"Go back to sleep. We can talk later."
"Tell him..." That was all Tank managed to say before he fell asleep.
Tank slept peacefully, and Niles moved quietly around him. He didn't want to wake his mate when he was still healing. The leg wound was causing him some concern. There was still an area of red skin and it was puffy and hot to the touch. He'd missed something.
Checking his paperwork, Niles went and spoke to the doctor on duty, who agreed with his assessment. At some point they'd have to go back in and clean the wound and that would delay Tank's healing.
"The wound was a mess," Doctor MacIntyre said.
"I thought I'd got it all."
"I checked before you closed, and the wound looked clean. The infection is still there so we must have missed a small piece. Let's increase the antibiotics through his IV and reassess later."
Niles nodded in agreement. "Okay, let’s try that."
Niles left the doctor and returned to Tank's room and waited for the nurse to come in with more antibiotics. She was quick and efficient, stepping out of the room less than a minute after she'd entered.
Niles stared at his sleeping mate. His skin was still a little too pale for his liking, but the head wound was healing well so Niles wasn't too concerned over it. The concussion had gone, and Tank was waking more frequently now and was able to answer all questions asked.
His usually spiky hair lay flat on the pillow and Niles leaned forward to run his fingers over it, ignoring the greasy feeling. He was looking forward to helping Tank have a shower when he was well enough for one.
The door opened, and Ale came in, walking over to the bed and looking down at Tank. "How is he?"
"Improving, though the leg is concerning me. I've increased his antibiotics to try to flush the remaining infection out, but I think I'm going to have to go back in and check the wound again."
"Something still in there?"
"I suspect so. I should have gotten it all out the first time."
"I saw the state of his leg when he came in. Don't be too hard on yourself."
"I'm a doctor, Ale. I shouldn't have missed anything."
"Tank also had a head wound that was bleeding heavily, plus thorns embedded in his skin in numerous places. There was a lot going on. I know you're going to beat yourself up over it, so I'll give you two options." Ale pulled a chair over and sat down, sighing as he relaxed back in it. "You can get over it, or I can tell Troy and send him in to speak to you."
Niles blinked. Troy? "Why Troy?"
"He loves Dodge and because Dodge is Tank's dog he likes Tank too. He'll talk nonstop until you admit mistakes happen."
That didn't make any sense at all. Frowning, Niles said, "If Troy loves Dodge, wouldn't he want Tank to stay in hospital, so he can look after Dodge for longer?"
"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But Dodge is missing Tank, and that makes Troy sad and that makes me unhappy. You get where I'm going with this, don't you?"
"You want a happy mate."
Ale grinned. "I sure do, and he isn't happy because that damn dog isn't happy."
Niles chuckled, and Ale joined in. "The things we do for our mates."
Ale shrugged. "You've heard about how we became mated?" Niles winced, but nodded. "So, you'll understand that the last thing I want is for Troy to be hurt and that includes him being upset because of a fucking dog."
"Okay, I understand." As he finished speaking, Tank moved on the bed and he groaned as he opened his eyes.
Niles leaned forward and touched Tank's hand. "Targon."
Blinking his eyes, Tank looked around the room before seeing Niles. "Hey," he muttered.
"Hi. How are you feeling?"
Tank blinked again and rubbed his face with his hands. "Okay, I think."
Tank rolled his head over the pillow and saw Ale. Niles smiled when Tank said, "What’s up? How is the team?"
"Everyone's okay. Just concerned about you, but I hear you're getting better."
Tank grunted. "Can't wait to get out of here." He moved his leg and hissed, causing Niles to frown and glance down at it.
"Your leg hurting?" he asked. He was a doctor and his mate had been injured. He needed to know if he was hurting.
"A little. It'll pass. I think it's because I haven’t been moving. I'm not used to lying in bed for so long. How's Dodge?"
"Troy has him, so don't worry."
"He'll get fat with Troy. Did you hide all the treats?"
Ale grinned. "I'm not stupid. Of course I did, but you know Troy. All Dodge has to do is give him one of his sad looks and Troy will feed him to make him happy."
"Just great," Tank muttered, frowning.
Niles leaned forward in his chair watching the expressions on Tank's face. He could see stress lines appearing and when he reached forward and touched his forehead, there was a slight sheen of sweat. "Are you in any pain?"
He watched Tank swallow and noticed his unfocused stare. "Don't feel so good," he mumbled.
"Ale, get the doctor!" Niles said, as Tank's eyelids fluttered shut.
Feeling his head again, Niles' knew he had an infection. "Shit."
He ripped the sheet of Tank's body and immediately checked the wound on his thigh. Grabbing some gloves, he removed the bandages and sucked in a breath when he saw the wound.
The doctor came in and took one look at the wound then shouted for the nurse. "We need to
open it up and clean it thoroughly. Your suspicions were correct. We missed something."
"I was certain we got all the dirt and debris out."
"We'll make sure this time and we'll increase the antibiotics. Right, Doctor Conway, let's fix our patient."
Chapter Nine
Waking up in the hospital, Tank blinked his eyes several times, trying to focus. He glanced around the room and found Niles at the side of this bed watching him intently. He smiled and leaned forward, his fingers gently touching his forehead.
Tank winced, the pain radiating from the area and Nile snatched his hand away, grimacing.
"Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
Tank swallowed, his mouth and throat dry, and coughed to clear it. "Good," he croaked out.
Niles leaned over, a plastic cup with a bendy straw held in his hand. "Here, drink this. You'll feel better when once you get rid of that dry mouth."
Tank greedily sipped cold water, not even bothered by the plastic aftertaste. God, it felt good. His throat was so dry and his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, so the water tasted like it had been sent from heaven.
When he'd finished drinking, Tank pulled away and nodded to Niles, thanking him. "When do you think I can leave?" He was desperate to get out of the hospital go back home.
"You had an infection in your thigh that we've been treating with antibiotics. Your temperature spiked, but it has remained within the normal range for the past twelve hours. We missed a small piece of wood when we initially cleaned your wound. I'd prefer to keep you in for another twenty-four hours at least and then send you home. Don't want to risk another spiking in your temp."
"The branch?" Niles nodded. "I knew there was a risk when I felt it going in, but getting those kids to safety was more important."
"I knew something had happened. I felt a spike in your levels."
Tank smiled. "Sorry, I don't how to switch it off."
Rescue Inc Collection Vol 3 Page 16
