by Marla Monroe
* * * *
Boyd tried holding her still, then finally climbed out of bed and wrapped the blankets around her. Keeton had gotten out of the bed earlier to locate another blanket and hadn’t gotten back in. Instead, he’d pulled on jeans and was sitting in the chair across the room.
“She’s sick, isn’t she?” He stated the obvious.
“Yeah. I’m going to get a glass of water for her. Get the Tylenol out of the bathroom. We need to get her fever down.” Boyd walked out the bedroom door still nude.
Keeton got up and grabbed the Tylenol from the medicine cabinet. He shook out two pills then sat the bottle on the bedside table. He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Boyd to return. He didn’t know what to do to help her. He wasn’t good around sick people. All he knew right then was that he was scared for her.
Boyd walked back in with a glass of water. Keeton took the glass and held Ashley’s head up. He put the pills on the back of her tongue then poured the water in her mouth. She swallowed reflexively, but still didn’t act as if she knew him. He laid her back down and sat the glass on the bedside table.
“What else do we do?” he asked Keeton.
“We wait and we pray. Other than that, I don’t have a clue.” Boyd stretched out on top of the cover.
“I’m going to bathe her face and neck with cool water. It can’t hurt.” Keeton got up and walked out of the bedroom to grab a bowl or something to put water in. He returned with a washbasin. He filled it full of cold water and took a cloth from the bathroom. Then he wet the cloth and ran it across her face and down her neck to her shoulders. The more he bathed her, the less she thrashed. Finally, she calmed down enough that Boyd decided they needed to bathe her entire body.
“It seems to lower her temperature, and that keeps her still,” Boyd pointed out.
They freshened the water and pulled back the covers to slowly bathe her from head to foot. Finally, her fever began to come down and she began to sweat. They bathed her until she stopped sweating. Boyd covered her body with a fresh sheet while Keeton emptied the washtub and returned it to the kitchen.
“Should we cover her with a blanket, too?” Keeton asked.
“Yeah, but I want to look at her bumps. I was just waiting on you before I changed the dressing,” Boyd explained.
“Okay, let’s do it.” Keeton pulled back the sheet to expose her lower leg.
Boyd peeled back the dressing to find that the bumps had opened and were draining. They looked red and inflamed. Keeton winced at the thought of her in pain from them.
“Should we clean them?” Boyd asked.
“I don’t know, but I don’t like the look of them now. I say clean them.”
Boyd nodded and got up to get supplies. Keeton sat on the bed and pulled her hair back from her face. He realized that somewhere along the way he’d become attached to her. He cared for her deeply and the idea that she could die frightened him. He’d never been scared in his life, but he was scared now.
Boyd returned with a soapy cloth and the peroxide. He wore plastic gloves as he wiped over the wounds with the cloth. Ashley kicked her leg as he tried to clean them. Keeton finally held her leg still until Boyd had thoroughly cleaned them with both soap and water and the peroxide. He patted the area dry then covered it again with gauze and tape.
“I’m going to put all of this in the washer and scald it. I’ll be right back.” Boyd carried the contaminated cloths and towel downstairs.
Keeton rearranged the covers so that she was covered against the chill in the air. He sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand over her forehead, pleased that it was cool to the touch. By the time that Boyd had returned, Keeton was feeling a little more in control again.
The two men climbed on top of the covers fully dressed and dozed off and on for the rest of the night. Keeton kept checking to be sure she was breathing okay. He was worried she would end up sick again. He didn’t want to not be able to help her if she needed it.
“You awake over there, Keeton?”
“Yeah.”
“If this is acting like that thing on Danny’s shoulder did, then there is something about this planet that is toxic to us. We need to figure out what it is so we can avoid it from now on.”
“We should get word to the town about this and let them work on it. Maybe we can go tomorrow. I would like to take Ashley to that doctor in town and let him look at her if she’s well enough to go.” Keeton had been thinking about that for the last few minutes anyway.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll sure feel better if someone looks at it besides us. Maybe someone in one of the other areas has had a run-in with them and knows more about them.” Boyd seemed to think of something.
“Why weren’t they on our list of animals?” Boyd asked.
“Did you notice that none of the animals they listed were considered dangerous? They were all safe according to them. They didn’t list any that were dangerous like that praying mantis thing or this super rat.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I guess more people would have backed out if they had, but it sure puts us at a disadvantage not knowing what to expect,” Boyd complained.
“Soon as it’s light outside, I’m going to run over to talk to Danny and Andrew before they get out on the range. We’ll need to borrow their transport, and they need to know about these things,” Keeton said.
“Good idea. I’ll stick close to Ashley while you’re gone.”
The two men fell silent again. Keeton worried that Ashley would be worse in the morning and they wouldn’t be able to take her into town. He would also like to have a picture of the things, but neither of them had a camera and he sure as hell couldn’t draw. He was just as sure that Boyd couldn’t, either.
Finally, after another hour of dozing and thinking, Keeton could see the first rays of the sun peeking through the curtains. He rolled over and laid a hand across Ashley’s forehead and found it cool to the touch. He sighed and carefully climbed out of bed so as not to wake the others up. He dressed quietly then left them still in bed sleeping.
He locked the house behind him and quickly saddled his horse. Soon he was galloping across the field. The early-morning sun illuminated the way despite the mist nearly obscuring the ground. Once he made it to the gate, he dismounted and led the horse through it before closing it behind him.
Keeton walked the horse toward the house and wrapped the reins around the hitching post before climbing the steps to the back porch. He only had to knock once when the door was opened by a lovely woman.
“Morning, ma’am. Is Danny or Andrew up yet?”
“Come on in. They’ll be right down,” she said.
“Thanks, ma’am, but I’ll stay out here until one of them can come out. Thanks for inviting me in, though.”
“I’m Rachel. Which one are you?” she asked through the screen door.
“Sorry, I’m Keeton. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Who are you talking to, Rachel?”
Keeton heard Danny’s voice in the background.
“It’s Keeton, Danny. He wants to see you.”
Danny’s body filled the doorway as he wrapped an arm around Rachel’s waist.
“Come on in, Keeton. No need to stand out on the porch.” He swung the screen door open.
“Um, maybe we should talk out here,” Keeton said, lifting his eyebrows in hopes that Danny would understand.
“Sure. Rachel, baby. Go get Andrew and ask him to come out here.”
“Is something wrong?” Rachel demanded.
“We just need to talk about the ranch, baby.” Danny urged her forward and then stepped outside on the porch.
Once Rachel had left, Danny turned to him. “What’s wrong?”
“We got home last night to find that some super rat had gotten in the house and attacked Ashley. She didn’t think it had done anything to her, so we hunted it down and found three of them in the cellar. They’d gotten in the cellar from outside and found a hole inside the pantry to get insi
de the house. We killed them and buried them.”
“What did they look like?” Danny asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
“Like a cross between a large rat and a muskrat. They were the size of a small cat.”
Andrew opened the door and stepped out on the porch. He closed both doors behind him.
“What’s going on?”
Keeton filled him in on what he’d told Danny so far. The other man looked grim.
“Something else to have to worry about on this damn planet. They sure as hell hadn’t explored it very well to have missed so many dangerous animals,” Andrew fumed.
“Thing is, I need to borrow your transport to take Ashley in to the doctor if she’s well enough to go this morning. Something from the rat’s mouth got through her jeans and she started out with a few small bumps, but they grew and turned a yellowish color. Then they broke open, and she got really sick last night. We want the doctor to look at her.”
“It bit her?” Andrew asked.
“No, there were no teeth marks. It’s like something from its mouth seeped through her jeans onto her leg. It looks similar to Danny’s scar, I think.”
“You’re welcome to the transport, of course. You definitely need to take her into town for the doctor to check her out,” Danny told him.
“I figure we needed to warn the town about the varmint as well. Maybe someone else has had a run-in with them and knows something about them,” Keeton said.
“Let us know what you find out when you get back.” Andrew clapped him on the shoulder.
“We hope Ashley will be fine.” Danny handed a key to Keeton.
“Thanks. I hope so, too. She wasn’t awake when I got up to come over here. I’ll be back later tonight to tell you what we find out.” Keeton pocketed the key and shook their hands before heading to the outbuilding where the transport was kept. He felt like time was important to getting Ashley to that doctor. The urgency followed him all the way back to the house. It peaked when Boyd met him at the door with a strained look on his face.
Chapter Six
“What is it,” Keeton demanded.
Boyd winced. “She’s worse. We’ve got to get her to that doctor. I’m worried about her.”
“I have the transport so we can leave whenever we get her ready. What’s going on?”
“She woke up with a fever again and talking out of her head. I’ve given her more Tylenol and managed to get more water down her, but she’s shaking all over now.” Boyd looked frantic.
“We’ll get her ready and head straight to town now. Why don’t you put a blanket in the backseat, and then we’ll carry her out and you can hold her in the back where there’s plenty of room for her to spread out.” Keeton hurried upstairs to check on Ashley for himself.
She was thrashing on the bed under all the covers. Her face was damp from sweat and possibly tears. He just stood there for a minute trying to determine what to do. He didn’t know the first thing about taking care of someone sick, much less a sick woman.
He jumped into action and wrapped her up in the blanket and carried her downstairs, where Boyd had just put the blanket in the transport.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” Boyd told him.
“Climb inside, and I’ll hand her to you.” Keeton waited while Boyd climbed in then handed Ashley over to him. Keeton locked the door and climbed in the front to head them in the right direction. Ashley was quiet during much of the ride, but just outside of town, she woke up.
“What’s going on? Where are we going?” Ashley tried to look around but Boyd had her in his arms, wrapped up in the blanket.
“We’re in town. We’re taking you to the doctor. You’ve been sick, baby.” Boyd readjusted her coverings.
“What’s wrong with me, Boyd? My leg hurts.” There were tears in her voice.
Keeton was glad Boyd was holding her. He wouldn’t know how to take care of her if she cried.
“Baby, we don’t know for sure, and that’s why we’re going to the doctor.”
“We’re here, Boyd. Hold on. I’ll be around to help you out.” Keeton jumped out of the transport.
He opened the back door closest to Boyd and Ashley. Keeton took Ashley when Boyd handed her to him. Then Boyd climbed out. Only instead of taking Ashley back, he hurried to open the door.
A man walked out from the back when they walked inside, and hurried them to the back.
“We’ve been expecting you. Danny called to let us know what was going on.” He had them lay her on an exam table and began removing her covers.
“Wait! I don’t have any clothes on under here,” Ashley screeched out.
“It’s okay, I’m a nurse, and the doctor is used to seeing women without clothes. We’ll put you in a gown. How’s that?” he asked.
He grabbed a hospital gown and held it up to her as he removed the blankets from around her. Keeton immediately put it on her as soon as he could to keep her from crying. There were big, fat tears in her eyes and he couldn’t stand to see them. Boyd gave him a knowing look, but Keeton ignored him.
As soon as she was covered, the doctor walked in. He looked to be around thirty years old, but had a much older look in his eyes. He shook their hands and walked over to where Ashley lay on the table.
“How are you feeling right now, Ashley?” he asked.
“I feel okay. Really tired, and my leg hurts.”
“Okay, let’s look at your leg.” He lifted just the lower part of the blanket and her gown to reach her left leg.
He had the nurse bring the garbage can closer and removed the dressing. Ashley whimpered when he gently pulled the gauze off her wounds. He discarded the soiled dressing and examined her leg. The nurse brought over a stronger light with a magnifying glass on it. After a few minutes, he asked for some supplies and the nurse went to gather them up.
“What is it?” Boyd asked.
“It’s similar to the wounds on Rachel and Danny, but different, too. Since theirs broke the skin, there was more involvement, but less of this burn-type injury. Hers look more like acid burns. I’m going to say that whatever did this has an acidic type of saliva.”
He used the supplies the nurse gathered and looked to be taking samples. Keeton had to look away. He couldn’t stand seeing him do it.
“I’m going to take some samples and look at them under the microscope to see what else I can figure out. Until then, I’m going to clean them like an acid burn and treat her like she has a bacterial infection as well.”
“What does that mean?” Boyd asked.
“She will stay here overnight and receive a few doses of antibiotic. I want to make sure we take care of anything in her bloodstream as well.”
“I don’t want to stay overnight. Can’t I go back to the house and take the pills?” Ashley asked.
“I’m going to give you IV antibiotics because they work faster and are stronger. Then you’ll go home with a bottle of antibiotics to take at home.” He started an IV on her and the nurse hung a bag of something.
“Let’s see how you do in the morning, and if you’re better, you can go home.” The doctor turned to the men. “One of you can stay, but the other one will have to leave after nine. There isn’t enough room for but one of you.”
“Boyd, you’ll stay. I’ll go home and check on the horses. Then I’ll come back in the morning and pick you two up.”
“Please bring me some clothes,” Ashley said with tears streaming down her face. “You aren’t leaving yet, are you?”
“No, baby. I’m going to wait around for a few minutes till they get you settled in a room.”
“Which we’re going to do now,” the nurse said. “Why doesn’t one of you carry her for me? We’ll put her in a room in the main house downstairs. It’s where we keep people for a few nights when we need to.”
Boyd gathered Ashley up in his arms and the three of them followed the nurse through a series of doors into another part of the building that looked to be a house. He indicated a roo
m and held her IV as the men settled her on the bed. Then he hung the IV on a hook on the wall above her.
“There’s water in the big cup there, and we’ll get you something to eat in a little while. If you need anything, the buzzer on the side of the bed will call me.” He pointed to the button on the bed.
“Thanks,” Ashley said.
“Are you comfortable?” Boyd asked, sitting on the only chair in the room.
“I’m fine. Keeton, will you hold me please before you leave? I wish you didn’t have to go.”
Keeton looked over at Boyd, who grinned and shrugged. He carefully sat on the edge of the bed and drew Ashley into his arms, being careful of the IV in her hand. She clung to him like a lifeline and buried her face against his chest. He swallowed, not knowing what to do. So he patted her head.
After several minutes, he gently pulled away and stood up. “I better get going, Ashley. I need to settle the horses and let Danny and Andrew know what is going on. I’ll be back in the morning with your clothes so we can bring you home.”
“You promise?” she asked.
“I promise.”
He settled a hand on Boyd’s shoulder. “Take good care of her. I’ll see you two in the morning.” Then he walked out of the room.
By the time he was back at the transport, there were tears in his eyes. He hated leaving her there. It didn’t seem right. She belonged at home with them. Damn that fucking rat.
Keeton fired up the transport and turned it around to head for home. It would be a long, lonely trip and an even longer night. He just prayed that she could come home tomorrow. He already missed her.
* * * *
Boyd took Ashley’s plate when she was finished eating and left it on the tray by the door. He’d had two sandwiches for lunch, but she had gotten soup and crackers. They didn’t want her eating much yet since she’d been sick.
“Did you get enough to eat, Ashley? That wasn’t much.” Boyd smoothed down the cover over her lap.
“It was plenty. I wasn’t very hungry.”
“Do you feel sick?” he asked.
“No. I feel fine. I mean, other than my leg stinging, I don’t feel at all sick anymore. I wish I could go back to the house.”
