by Marla Monroe
She needed to call the men on the radios. She dreaded it. They would be so upset that she’d gotten hurt. She checked the wound and was glad to see the bleeding had stopped for the most part. She pulled out the radio and called up the men.
“What is it, baby?” Gray asked.
“Um, you need to come home. That creature was back.”
“Fuck! Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes, but it bit me.”
There was utter silence, and then Clint was on the radio.
“How bad is it, Elissa? We’re on our way home now.”
It sounded as if they were running to her.
“It’s stopped bleeding. I’m fine, guys. Don’t run. You’ll be out of breath when you get here.”
“We’ll be there in a minute. You keep talking to us. We can’t talk while we run.” Gray sounded winded already.
“I’m fine. Really. It’s not a bad bite. I’ve got the first-aid kit out so you can clean it for me.” She continued to talk until they raced in the kitchen door.
Sure enough, they were out of breath, but they immediately knelt and looked at the back of her calf. She wasn’t sure if it was good that she was wearing shorts or not. Had she been wearing jeans, would it have kept the creature from biting through to her skin? Probably not.
“Ah, hell, honey. I know that has to hurt,” Clint managed to get out.
“Really, it’s not that bad. It burns more than anything.”
“Let’s get you on the couch so you can lie down while we clean it.” Gray picked her up and carried her into the other room.
Clint followed them with the first-aid kit. She dreaded the antiseptic. Surely it would burn worse than the wound did. As it was, it wasn’t that bad. That worried her.
“How are you doing, baby?” Gray asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Clint, go next door and ask them to use the radio base station and ask the doctor if she needs to come in or not.”
The other man nodded and hurried out of the room. Elissa heard the back door slam.
“What happened, Elissa?”
She quickly told him about what happened and was glad he didn’t yell at her about being outside when she really didn’t need to be.
“And it was the same creature as before?” he asked.
“Yes and no. I think it was a smaller one than before.” She was almost sure of it.
“Okay, I’m going to carry you up to bed. Unless the doctor wants to see you, I want you in bed with that leg up.”
“Okay. I’m tired anyway. I don’t mind going to bed.”
Gray’s lips thinned into a straight line. He didn’t seem to like it that she was tired. Did that mean something? She couldn’t remember anything from the journals to know if it was some sign. She sure hoped not.
Once he had her settled in the bed, she quickly fell asleep.
* * * *
Clint knocked on the door, hoping he didn’t wake the baby if she was asleep. Cam answered the door. He seemed to know something was wrong. Clint guessed by the look on his face and the fact he was even there.
“What’s wrong?” He stood back for Clint to walk in.
“Elissa was attacked by some type of animal and bitten. I need to use your radio and talk to the doctor to see what to do.”
“Ah, hell, Clint. Sure come on. I’ll show you were it is, and put it on the right frequency for you.” Cam led him to the office and fiddled with the radio.
“There you go.” He handed the mike to Clint.
Clint pulled up town and waited while they got the doctor for him. A few minutes went by, and the doctor finally came on. He relayed what had happened and what the wound looked like.
“There is nothing I can do for it. Puncture wounds can’t be sewn up. As long as you cleaned it very well, you’ve done everything you can, for now. If it gets infected, then you will need to bring her in. Or, if she acts odd, bring her in.”
“What do you mean, odd?” Clint asked.
“Just odd. Not herself. I expect it is going to act as if she has a burn, so expect it to blister some.”
“You’ve dealt with this before, then.” Clint was relieved.
“Not this particular animal from the sounds of it, but with another animal where the saliva acted like it had a type of acid in it. Call me back tomorrow and let me know what is going on,” the doctor said.
“Will do, out.” Clint hung the mike up and turned to Cam. “You heard what happened and what he said. Do you mind if I come over tomorrow?”
“Not at all. We’ll want to know what’s going on.”
Phillip walked in with a worried expression. “What’s going on?”
Cam relayed what had happened and what the doctor said.
“How bad is the bite, Clint?”
“It’s a dozen or so puncture wounds. At least they didn’t tear,” he told him.
“You come on over if you need to take the transport, or just call the doctor.”
“Thanks. I better get back and tell Gray what the doctor said. I really appreciate it, guys.”
Cam walked with him back to the door and let him out. Clint hurried back across the field and inside. He figured they were upstairs and ran up them. When he walked into the bedroom, he noticed that Gray had pulled the chair up to the bed and was sitting in it watching Elissa.
“Is she okay?” Clint whispered.
“I don’t know. What did the doctor say?” Gray asked.
Clint told him almost word for word. “Isn’t it early for her to have gone to sleep?”
“Yeah, but she said she was tired. I’m worried.”
“I want to look at the puncture site again to see if it’s acting like the doctor said, but I don’t want to wake her up.”
“Let’s give her another hour to rest, and then we’ll wake her up to check it.” He rubbed his eyes. “I put a towel under her leg in case it bled some more.”
“I’m going to go downstairs and write this up while I have some time. I won’t want to do it once she wakes back up.”
“Good idea. If she wakes up I’ll call downstairs. Leave the office door open,” Gray told him.
Clint eased out of the bedroom and down the stairs. He sat down in the office and recorded everything in the journal. Then he added to the creature’s description that it had about a dozen or so teeth. All those puncture wounds made Clint wince again. He checked his watch and realized a little over an hour had passed. He hurried back upstairs to wake Elissa up.
Gray was still sitting by the bed with his elbow propped on the arm of the chair. His friend looked older somehow.
“Are you ready to wake her up?” he asked.
“Yeah, don’t turn on the light until she’s awake, though.” He leaned toward her. “Elissa, baby? Wake up for me.”
She didn’t stir. He stood up and shook her slightly. She roused a little.
“Hmm?” She didn’t open her eyes.
“Wake up for me, Elissa. We need to look at your leg.”
“Okay,” she said without opening her eyes.
Gray looked over at Clint who was standing by the light. He nodded, and Clint turned on the light. Together they rolled her over to exam her leg. Sure enough, the puncture sites had puckered up like acid had been dropped on them. What worried Clint even more was that the towel had small spots that looked as if the same thing had happened to it.
“It drained some. Look at the towel.”
“Fuck. I don’t like this. I can’t get her to wake up all the way, and now this.” Gray put his hands on his hips. “What do you think we should do? Keep waking her up, or let her sleep?”
“Well the doctor expected this, so let’s see how she does during the night, and we can talk to him again in the morning.”
They left her on her side for another hour then rolled her back over again. They decided to put a bandage on her leg so that when they got in bed with her, whatever was leaking wouldn’t burn them. They had no intentions of leaving her alone
during the night.
Chapter Twelve
They took turns staying up to watch over her. Both of them were afraid she would get worse in the night. Neither one of them knew what to expect and weren’t about to take the chance that she would stop breathing during the night. Gray couldn’t imagine what he would do if something happened to her. Over the short time the three of them had been together, he had fallen in love with her. He suspected that Clint felt the same way.
If anyone would have told him a year ago that he would be sharing a woman on a faraway planet and fall in love with her, he would have laughed at him. But here he was, sharing with his best friend, and totally head over heels in love with Elissa. No, he wouldn’t be able to bear it if she were to…He couldn’t even think the word.
He checked his watch and realized it was nearly seven in the morning. He checked her forehead again to be sure she wasn’t running a temperature. She opened her eyes and smiled.
“Hey, baby. How do you feel?”
“Fine. Why?” She started to sit up, but he stopped her.
“Don’t get up. Just lie there for me. I want to check your leg.”
“Oh, that’s right. I had forgotten about my leg. I was having the nicest dreams.”
“Roll over on Clint for me. You should wake him up and let him know you’re okay. He’s been real worried about you.” Gray helped her roll over.
“What? Elissa? Are you okay, honey?” Clint immediately wrapped his arm around her.
“I’m fine, Clint. Gray’s checking my leg,” she said and kissed him.
Gray smiled as he loosened the bandage and began to carefully pull it off. What he saw made him wince. Her dozen or so puncture wounds were all puffy and yellow around the edges. He didn’t like this one bit. Forget calling the doctor about what he thinks. They were going to take her to town and let him see her.
“Gray?” Clint asked.
“I’m glad the doctor wanted to see her this morning. They might be infected.” He didn’t want to alarm Elissa.
Clint stared at him. Gray knew he would understand since the doctor hadn’t planned on seeing her until after they talked to him.
“I guess I better get us something to eat while you get her dressed.” Clint hugged Elissa and kissed her before climbing out of the bed.
“Do I have to go to the doctor? Is it really infected?” Elissa tried to lean over and look at her leg, but Gray stopped her.
“Don’t stress it any, Elissa. You might make it worse. Let’s get you dressed while Clay fixes breakfast. You need to eat.”
“I’m really not hungry, Gray.” She waited while he changed the bandage.
Gray pulled the old one off and rolled it up. He wanted the doctor to see it since it had some sort of yellow stuff on it. He would find something to wrap it in once he finished dressing Elissa.
“How about a pair of those short pants you wear sometimes? It would keep from having something over your calf where you’re hurt.”
“You’re talking about my capri pants. That sounds like a good idea. They’re easy to get on.”
He gritted his teeth to find her sitting up in bed. He didn’t want any pressure on her leg. Instead of saying anything, he helped her sit up on the edge of the bed. Since he had undressed her to put her to bed the night before, she needed underwear and the clothes. He carefully pulled her underwear over the bandage up to her knees, then did the same thing with her pants so she wouldn’t have to stand up but once for him to pull both of them up.
“Remember, don’t put any pressure on your hurt leg. Stand on the other one. It won’t take but a second to pull everything up.”
“Okay. I’m ready.” She let him help her stand and did as he said, putting all her weight on her good leg.
“Great. We’ve got your pants on. How about this for a top?” He held up a soft T-shirt he thought would be comfortable without wearing a bra. He didn’t see any reason for her to put one on.
“Looks good to me. I need my bra first. It’s in the top left hand drawer.” She pointed toward the dresser.
“Let’s not fool with a bra today. You’re going to the doctor anyway.”
She grinned. “And here I thought Clint was the breast man.”
He smiled, happy to see that she felt well enough to tease.
Clint walked in with two plates. “I made omelets. We’re out of eggs now.”
“What about you?” Elissa asked, frowning.
“I ate mine while I cooked yours and Gray’s,” he said, smiling. “Here you go. Eat up for me.”
Elissa smiled and took the plate. Gray was anxious to see how much she ate. He wolfed his down, watching her pick at her omelet. It was tasty enough, so he was sure that wasn’t the problem.
“Eat, Elissa. You need it to heal,” Gray told her.
“I’m really not very hungry.” She toyed with her fork.
“Baby, please eat some of it for me. I’m worried about you.” Gray sat on the bed next to her. He had her leg propped up in the chair.
She grimaced but managed to eat several small bites before she shook her head and handed him the plate.
“I’m sorry. I really can’t eat anymore.”
Clint took the plate from Gray. “It’s okay, honey. Gray, I’m going to go get the transport and bring it over here to pick you two up.”
“We’ll be ready,” Gray told him.
Clint picked up Gray’s plate as well and hurried out the door. A few minutes later, he heard the back door slam.
“Okay, let’s get you downstairs.”
“I need to brush my teeth and my hair first, Gray.” She smiled at him.
He sighed and picked her up to carry her to the bathroom. He sat her on the counter and watched her do both. Then he carried her downstairs and settled her on the couch to wait for Clint to return with the transport.
About ten minutes later, he heard the unmistakable sounds of it pulling up next to the house. He picked Elissa up and carried her to the kitchen just as Clint opened the back door.
“Got it ready for us. Cam is calling ahead to let them know we’re coming in.” Clint held the back door open as Gray walked through it outside.
“Good. Did you tell them about last night?”
“Yeah, everything.”
“What about last night?” Elissa demanded.
“You wouldn’t wake up for us, baby,” Gray told her. He didn’t see any reason to keep it from her.
“Oh, I must have been really tired. I remember feeling tired.”
Gray settled them both in the transport, fastening the harness over Elissa then himself. Clint climbed into the vehicle on the other side and started it up again. One couldn’t safely get in and out of it when it was running. They hovered two feet off the ground and took off in the direction of town.
Elissa yawned. “I think I’ll take a nap until we get there.” She relaxed into her seat and closed her eyes.
“Gray, do you think that’s a good idea?” Clint looked worried as he maneuvered the transport around giant trees and odd rock formations that looked as if they had grown there.
“Baby? Can you stay awake for us?” Gray shook her, but she was already fast asleep. “Not going to happen. If she’s still asleep when we get to the doctor, he’ll see how she gets.”
“I guess so.” Clint’s knuckles grew white on the steering mechanism.
Gray knew how his friend felt. He didn’t like it, either. Nothing about the situation was looking good. He hoped the doctor could do something about it. He knew that everything here was new to all of them, and that meant to the doctor as well. He might not know what to do about it. That scared him even more, so he refrained from saying anything out loud. He didn’t think Clint needed anything else to worry about. They were both worrying plenty already.
Two hours later, they emerged from the outlands into the outskirts of the town. He could see people milling around the stores.
“Do you know where the doctor’s office is?” Gray asked.
“Yeah, Cam filled me in on where to go. Plus, there is supposed to be a sign outside the building.” He eased along the street then pointed at the building. “There it is.”
They whipped into a clear spot, and Clint shut down the transport. Two men dressed in scrubs walked outside about the time that Clint opened his door. Gray unfastened his harness then went to work on Elissa’s.
“Baby? Can you wake up for me?”
“Hmm?” She didn’t open her eyes.
Gray cursed as he fiddled with the harness before finally getting it off of her. His door opened, and Clint stood ready to take her when he got her out of the seat. Gray didn’t want to let her go. Still, he passed her off to his friend and climbed out of the transport as soon as they were clear of the door.
“Bring her in here,” one of the men said.
“I’m Jeff Davis. I’m your doctor. This is my nurse, Scott Tibbs. We’ll be taking care of Elissa for you.” He held out his hand to Gray.
Gray shook it, never taking his eyes off of Clint and Elissa as they walked into a large room with a bed in the middle of it.
“Lay her right here,” Scott told Clint.
“She appears lethargic,” Jeff said. He turned to Gray. “Did she sleep the entire way here?”
“Yeah and now she doesn’t wake up, just answers you when you ask her something.”
The doctor leaned over Elissa and checked her eyes with a little flashlight, then checked her mouth, ears, and nose.
“Let’s turn her over so I can see the wound.”
Rick and Clint carefully turned her over on the bed, positioning her so that her feet hung off the end to keep her leg stationary. The nurse pulled her pant leg as far up her leg as it would go, then began to remove the dressing.
“Oh, I brought the first dressing with me in case you wanted to look at it. Be careful with them, there is something on them that burns, I think,” Gray warned them. “There appear to be burn marks on the dressing I have.”
“Looks to be the same on this one, too.” The nurse pulled the dressing off and held it up for the doctor to see.
“Gray, look at this one. Does it look to be the same, and is there more or less drainage on this one?” Clint indicated the dressing Scott was holding.
