“Why, of course. I have some money with me to pay…” Abigail pulled a wad of large denomination bills out of her pocket, not being a “purse” person. Emily’s eyes bugged out a bit.
“No. This is on me. Please, do not flash that much money around off base. Not everyone is as honest as you are here in Great Falls.”
Abigail blushed a bit. “I’m sorry. I still act sometimes as if I am in Deseret. There, not only is it public shame to commit a crime such as theft, but if you three crimes then you are exiled. Unless you purposefully do serious bodily harm to another or an animal. Then you are publically shot.” She said it so matter of factly that she did not really notice that the doctor and the tech’s mouths had fallen open in shock.
Emily finally managed to say something. “They shoot people for…hurting animals?”
“Seriously injured, yes. When you purposefully abuse an animal, the Prophet felt the next step was that you would abuse a human. Thus, you stop it in the early stages. Butchers slaughter all animals as humanely as possible, many similar to the Kosher standards of the Jewish religion.”
“Of course,” Wendy interjected. “I imagine exile would probably be an early death for most people, unless they made it to a decent size town in the Unoccupied States and had a skill to sell.”
Abigail nodded her head affirmatively. “In fact, we usually send them over the border with Arizona, toward California. The Prophet said you here should not have to deal with our…garbage.”
Emily grunted. “That might not be such a bad idea for around here. But I digress. Please help me get an x-ray, and a little blood sampling as well.”
“Yes, Emily. Whatever it takes. But I insist I pay for this extra work.”
“Oh, make a donation then. We’ll use it to help homeless and destitute animals. Now, let’s get to work.”
An hour later, Emily was looking at the blood sample under a microscope. Wendy was out printing the x-rays on a computer-connected photo printer. Enough cutting edge computer and electronics equipment had been salvaged after things fell apart in the rest of the United States, that when a power grid was re-established in the Unoccupied States, medical services were soon re-established close to pre-strike levels. The hacked and pirated power and info from the Tschaaa controlled areas also helped.
Abigail sat nearby with Fuzz, who was eating some dog biscuits Wendy had found for him. “You are definitely a ladies man, big fella,” Abigail said as she scratched his ears. “And you are getting horribly spoiled.”
She asked Emily as the vet stood up from the microscope, “Did you find what you are looking for?” Abigail asked.
Emily walked over to Fuzz and knelt down, looking in his face. “You are good friends with Major Bender, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. I came with him from Deseret.”
“Did he tell you about the modifications to the human genome and reproduction the Squids were trying on the trip here?”
“I take it that, in addition to the information Madam President gave during her recent radio and television address, all doctors received more in-depth information?”
“Yes, they did. Which brings us to Fuzz. Colonel Bardun, the astronaut, is an exobiologist. She has helped to, shall we say, ‘map’ what to look for in blood and cell samples that point to the introduction of the organic and nanotechnology materials the Tschaaa introduced to our species. Well, Fuzz here has indicators that he has been also exposed to these modification materials.”
Abigail froze. Her voice caught a bit when she spoke. “Fuzz is, unclean…infected?”
Emily was taken aback for a moment, but then remembered where Abigail had been raised for the last six years or so.
“Hell, no! Just the opposite. He’s as healthy as a horse. Whatever was given him is somewhat different in makeup from the stuff the Squids spread among us. It looks like it was modified specifically to interface with our dog friends. It makes him a superior canine specimen.”
Emily began to scratch Fuzz’s chest. “This big fella has the remnants and scar tissue of numerous injuries that should have left him crippled. But, whatever he received from the Squids or their minions, has given his body the ability to heal in a very efficient manner. Bone breaks left some calcium deposits, just enough to notice, but they seemed to heal quickly and in a manner that makes it hard to see any serious damage. His muscle seem to be of a denser cell structure. Pound for pound, he is stronger than any other dog his size. I think his bite strength is about one hundred twenty-nine percent of that of a typical grey wolf. So, he is closer to what we think a dire wolf would be in terms of strength and build. But, with the longer legs of today’s canine He is part Shepherd, part Great Dane, and part…something else.”
Abigail stared directly into Emily’s eyes. “But he is…okay? Not sick, cancerous...”
Emily could tell that Abigail was suddenly worried sick. Just found someone who was devoted to her, and she to him, and now they may be taken away. She put her hand on Abigail’s knee. “Captain, I do not lie to my patients, nor to my patient’s family. Fuzz here is so damned healthy that he may outlive us all. His intellectual ability may have also been improved. The only question I have is, how did he get all those injuries? And as a side note, just how old is he really? The aging process in his body has been thrown off a bit.”
Abigail had been holding her breath. She let it out, dropped to her knees from her chair and gave Fuzz a big hug. Fuzz gave a signature open mouth dog grin, with a little pant, a “heh” that passes as a laugh in the canine world.
“This is not funny, Fuzz,” Abigail scolded him. “I was worried sick that there was something wrong with you. I don’t share my bed with just anyone.” Abigail realized what she had said a second after it popped from her mouth. She began to turn red.
Emily and Wendy began to belly laugh. Wendy was laughing so hard she had to lean against the wall to keep from falling over. The doctor rolled onto her back, laughing so hard she started to hiccup. Fuzz, thinking it was a new human game, pulled forward, taking Abigail with him and began to lick the vet all over her face. Which started the laughter all over again, this time including Abigail.
About five minutes later, Emily and Wendy had controlled themselves, wiping the tears from their eyes. Abigail was still chuckling a bit as she hugged Fuzz.
“Abigail, if you can give us a good laugh like that once a month, I be willing to have you come in for a free appointment. Boy, I haven’t laughed so hard in I can’t remember when.”
Abigail smiled. “I sometimes say things that come out differently than what I meant. I guess I still have what you would call socialization needs, like dogs do. I was…sequestered to a certain extent in Deseret.”
“Hell. You’re young. I’m close to forty, with crow’s feet that are starting to show. And I still say things that come out wrong.”
A commotion began in the waiting area. A loud male voice, cursing and swearing, the receptionist not backing down. Emily dashed toward the sound of trouble, Wendy right behind her, with Abigail and Fuzz bringing up the rear. The hair on Fuzz’s shoulders began to stand up, and a small whirring growl like a small engine revving up emanating from his chest.
“Fuzz...” He looked at Abigail, as if to say, “Hey, just getting ready.”
A gangly, skinny, twitching and cursing man was standing in front of the receptionist, with a very beat up looking bull terrier mix sitting behind him, ears down as if afraid he would be struck.
“Look, you stupid bitch. She’s a vet. My dog needs a vet. She has to see him.”
The Doctor recognized the troublemaker instantly.
“Mr. Baker. I told you before, I will not see your dogs again. I will not patch them up so you can abuse them again.”
The man called Baker swung around on Emily, glaring at her. “I have friends on the County Council. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll see my dog here and patch him up. Don’t be such a stuck up bitch.”
Emily began to seethe. “Get o
ut. Take your meth-addled carcass out of here. This is my clinic. I decide who I treat.”
Fuzz began to growl. Baker, noticing it, glared at Abigail. “You’d better heel your dog, Missy. Or it may get shot.” His right hand moved a shirt flap so that a butt of a pistol was visible.
Abigail put the flat of hand in front of Fuzz’s face, a “stop/stay” command and took smooth distance eating strides toward Baker. “Excuse me, Sir. But what did you say?”
“I said, ‘Bitch, that you’d better heel...’”
His statement was cut off, as it is impossible to speak when ones adam’s apple is being pulled out of your throat so that you can look at it. With her left hand, Abigail yanked the pistol from his belt. As she let Baker’s adam’s apple go, she slammed the butt of the pistol into his nose. Baker plopped down on his ass, and the bull terrier cringed.
“Baker! Get out!” Emily screamed. “And your dog stays here. I’ll not have another victim of pit fighting and bull baiting on my conscience. Get out! Don’t come back.”
Baker, coughing, choking, rose to his feet. “She broke my nose. This isn’t over, whore.”
Abigail looked at him with cold eyes. “A friend of mine once told me that you should not write a check your behind can’t cover. I think that is good advice…for you.”
Emily heard the ice in Abigail’s voice. She saw a side in the woman that reminded her of Fuzz. Now, he seemed like a big lovable dog. Then, a minute later, he is a being of destruction. Emily hoped she would not see a killing on her clinic floor.
Luckily, Baker managed to get to his feet, tried to stop the bleeding from his nose with his cupped hands. Emily threw him a large cotton bandage. “Here. You’re bleeding on my floor.” Baker caught the bandage and pressed it up to his nose. He turned and left, mumbling to himself.
The residue from the quick injection of a large amount of adrenaline into her body gave Abigail a slight case of the shakes. Fuzz moved up and nuzzled her hand. “I’m okay, big fella.” She scratched his muzzle lightly.
Emily approached Abigail. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Sometimes I get a few shakes, others I don’t. When it’s been a while since I have had to…act, it seems to affect me a bit more.”
Emily wondered if she should ask some questions that bounced around inside her head. Then, the abandoned bull terrier began to whine. Before anyone else could act, Abigail signaled Fuzz to stay put, and then went over to kneel down next to the dog. The scared canine showed its teeth, as Abigail very slowly moved the back of her left hand toward the dog’s muzzle, her eyes averted.
“It’s okay, pup. No one will ever hurt you again. Can I pet you?” Her voice was low, calm. The dog’s teeth disappeared. He sniffed her hand. Slow, steady, she moved her hands to the dog’s head and began to lightly scratch its head. Then, she closed with the bull terrier and gently hugged it. It began to whimper and cry, then licked her face.
Tears begun to run down Emily’s face. She quickly wiped them away. Dammit, she was tough, and had seen it all. She would not blubber like a baby.
“Emily, what’s next for this dog?” Abigail quietly asked.
“Ah, a light sedative, examination, then I patch him up.”
“He won’t be…put down, will he?”
“Hell no. I only put down dogs and other animals if they are in extreme pain with no hope. I’ll find a place for him, even if I have to build another kennel.”
Abigail smiled, kissed the dog’s muzzle, then slowly rose to standing. Years later, when Wendy would tell the story, she would claim she saw a halo like glow around Abigail. She turned back to Fuzz, began to scratch his ears. He gave a little grunt of enjoyment.
Emily made a slow approach to the bull terrier, gently patted its head. It licked her hand.
“Abigail, sure I can’t convince you to desert, come work with me and Wendy? You have a heavenly touch with animals.”
Abigail smiled. “Sorry, but God has a different task for me right now. Maybe later.”
“The door is always open. Now, Wendy, can you help me get our new friend back to an examination table?”
Abigail looked at Wendy and saw she had a sawed off shotgun in her hands. Not just any shotgun, but a high end Beretta over and under with some engraved designs on it, the top end expensive barrels having been chopped off with a hacksaw. Since the first rock strike, functionality won out over looks and collectability every time.
“I see that I had another backup besides Fuzz.”
Wendy smiled. “We girls have to stick together. Besides, Baker and his type have bothered us before. You would have thought that all the meth and crackheads would have died during the Long Winter. No such luck.”
Emily interjected. “We had one dude try to jack us the first week we opened, wanted some drugs. Scared one of the dogs we were examining and had a hunk taken out his thigh. He took off. Wendy got the gun the next day.”
“Did you say something about dog fighting?”
“Yes.” Emily literally spit on the floor in disgusted. “You would think that with a bunch of BEMS infesting our planet, we humans would discover a bit more humanity and morality. No such luck. A bunch of us seem to want to be nasty, evil monkeys until the Squids eat all of us.”
“They fight dogs…in pits?”
“That’s the rumor. And the dogs they have brought here bear the scars of something other than hunting. Law enforcement has been too disorganized and weak to do much more than deal with the big crimes, like rape, murder, armed robbery. Everything else is basically ignored. I hope that new Federal Commissioner Miller can get things percolating, more cops on the street.”
Abigail stood quiet for a moment. Then she spoke. “People caught fighting dogs in Deseret would probably be shot out of hand. May not be legal, but it would just happen.” She glanced at her watch.
“I need to leave. Torbin Bender’s wife, Aleks is waiting on me. We are going to go shopping for Fuzz here, since he had no money and can’t speak human…yet.”
“You’re good friends with Major Bender?” Emily asked.
“Yes. You could say he and his wife, Aleks, have taken me under their wings. I live next to them.”
“Well, he broke a lot of hearts in Great Falls when he up and married Aleks. His good looks and masculinity even started a couple of bar catfights, although the Tschaaa manufactured hormones and such may have had something to do with that also. Too early to tell.”
Abigail laughed. “Yes. Although he’s like more a big brother to me, I can see he might have that effect on women.”
She tried to hand the pistol she had seized to Emily.
“No, you keep it. You may need it on the way home, in case Baker tries to screw with you, with the help of some of his friends. A little evenizer never hurt anyone.”
Abigail examined it. At first, she had thought it was a replica cap and ball Colt Navy Colt. Then she noticed it had been converted to take .38 Special cased ammunition, and was loaded with five wadcutter rounds. Her Uncle Buck had taught her how to play poker, something she never told her parents. He mentioned it was good to have an ace in the hole, both in a game and in real life. Maybe this pistol could be an ace in the hole.
“Okay, Emily. That is probably not a bad idea. So, time to go, I guess.” Abigail stuck her hand out and Emily shook it.
“Abigail, stop by any time with Fuzz here. I mean it. Consider it a social call, not an appointment.”
“Okay, I will. See you later, Wendy. Thanks for all the help.”
Wendy handed Abigail back the file she had brought with her. She patted Abigail’s shoulder. “Watch yourself. And in the folder is a current rabies and registration tag. Keeps people from always asking questions.”
The women said their goodbyes, patted Fuzz one more time, and Abigail took him to her vehicle. Wendy yelled after her. “See you at the Oktoberfest celebration next week.”
“Yes. I’ll be there with Aleks and Torbin Bender.”
Wendy watched Abigail
leave. “Man, she is hot.”
“And, very straight. Besides, you have a very committed lady friend. Lesbians are not exactly overrepresented around here, thanks to the Squids and their lackeys.”
The Tschaaa had pushed the fact that humans should reproduce, and provide more meat. Since homosexuals did not reproduce amongst themselves, requiring heterosexual activity to reproduce outside of artificial insemination, the Tschaaa and its minions, especially now the Church of Kraken, sent the “offenders” to the harvesters whenever possible. Just as all the homeless, infirm, many of the elderly, were quickly taken off the streets, anyone else not willing to try and reproduce were targeted. Thus, flight to the Unoccupied States when possible. Many humans did not make it.
“Well, Emily, I can still look at the menu.”
“Spoken just like almost every guy-friend and lover I ever had. The problem is, they couldn’t keep their hands off the menu items.” They both laughed.
“Come on, Wendy. Let’s clean up and see if we are going to have any more customers. I’ll send Pam home. After Baker, she needs some time off. We can handle the receptionist job today.”
The drive back to the Base was uneventful, no Baker or his comrades showing up to follow her. The gate guard waved her through, saluted the sticker on the front window that designated her not only as an officer but a government representative. Abigail chuckled for the umpteenth time that someone in the old days who would have just finished high school was now an adjunct ambassador. But disasters and wars created their own rules and needs sometimes. And the current situation qualified as both.
Fuzz was snoozing in the back of the SUV, not a care in the world. Sometimes dogs had it so easy.
She pulled up into the driveway next to her place and Fuzz was immediately awake.
Abigail exited the SUV and let Fuzz out of the back. He darted directly to the front door. Abigail let him in so he could fulfill his duties of checking for any beasties and bad guys who may have snuck in while they were gone. Abigail felt sorry for any being that Fuzz ever caught breaking in to their quarters. Just on his second day here, and he had already settled in, and found his function.
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