by Marla Monroe
“It looks the same pale yellow, and the drainage might be a little less.”
“Good. I’ve dealt with a similar case, but there wasn’t a bite so much as just the saliva burns on the skin of the woman. The animal that made it wasn’t the same, though. That one was the size of a small cat, and looked like a giant rat or muskrat.”
“No, this is a much larger animal. We haven’t seen it. She made sketches and described it in the journals, but I didn’t think about bringing them for you to see.” Gray cursed.
“That’s okay. It won’t help much, anyway. I’m going to do some more cleaning on these bites. This may take a while. You might want to wait out in the hall where there are some comfortable chairs.”
“We’re not leaving her side,” Clint said before Gray could.
They watched as the doctor and his nurse scrubbed and cleaned the wounds over and over again. Elissa never budged or made a face. Instead, she slept as if under anesthesia. It worried Gray that she might not wake up from such a deep sleep.
They worked on her for nearly thirty minutes before they covered the wound with a dressing once again. The doctor turned to them after pulling off his gloves.
“It’s very similar, though different because of the actual punctures from the teeth. They must have been needle sharp to have made such small holes.”
“Why is she sleeping so much, and how long is it going to last?”
“I don’t think the sleeping will last much longer. I think it’s a reaction to the venom, for want of a better term, in the saliva of the animal. It seems to cause them to sleep. It may be how they catch their prey in the wild,” the doctor said.
“Ah, hell. If she hadn’t made it inside, she could have been killed.” Clint ran a hand over his face.
“I’m going to treat her with antibiotics in hopes that they will keep her from getting an infection. I don’t know that they will help since we don’t exactly know much about these creatures. I’m also going to look at the biopsies I took of her wounds. Scott will take you to a room where we will keep her for at least twenty-four hours.”
“She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” Gray demanded.
“I think so, Gray. But I just don’t know what we are dealing with here. That’s why I want to keep her here for a while.”
The doctor took his samples and walked through another set of doors, leaving Scott to direct them where to go.
“One of you can carry her, and I’ll show you the way.”
Gray quickly picked Elissa up and followed the nurse down a long hallway and through another set of double doors. Then he opened a door off that hallway and indicated they should go in. Clint was right behind him.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes to start her IV antibiotics. Why don’t you go ahead and put that gown on her. It should open in the back.” The nurse left them in the room.
“Help me strip her, Clint.” Gray laid her on the hospital bed and began to pull off her T-shirt.
“Elissa, honey. Can you hear me?” Clint asked as he pulled off her shoes.
“Umhmm.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Hmm, fine.” She still didn’t open her eyes, but she smiled.
“At least she isn’t hurting.” Gray figured that was a good thing. He didn’t think he could stand it if she was in pain.
“I guess you’re right. I can’t help but be worried.”
“I’m scared to death that we might lose her,” Gray admitted.
“Yeah, me, too. I love her, Gray. Somewhere along the way I fell in love with her.”
“I know how you feel. I love her, too.”
“The bite area was a little more yellow than it had been earlier.” Clint ran his fingers through Elissa’s hair after they finished putting the gown on her.
Gray folded the covers back after settling them on her. He left both of her arms above the covers. He figured the nurse would need to get to one of them to start the infusion.
Several minutes later, the nurse knocked on the door, then walked in with a tray of stuff. He set the tray on a table by the bed and proceeded to check her arms before settling down to start the IV.
Clint turned white when the other man pulled out a needle to stick her with. Gray didn’t like the looks of it, either. They turned to each other and began talking so they didn’t have to watch. Neither man seemed willing to leave the room, though.
“Just so you know,” Scott said, “only one of you can stay with her. The other one can either go back home and return in the morning, or stay in the dormitory overnight.”
Gray and Clint looked at each other. Gray shrugged. They could figure that out later. It was still early yet. He doubted they would make either one of them leave before the doctor got back to them on the biopsy results.
“Okay, guys. I’ve finished, you can turn around.” Scott’s voice held amusement.
“Do we need to do anything?” Gray asked, looking at the two bags of fluid, one large and one small, hanging from the IV pole.
“Nope. When the antibiotics are done, the other one takes over. I’ll be in and out checking on her anyway.” He left them and carried his tray of supplies out of the room.
“You can stay with her tonight,” Gray said. I’ll come back in the morning and relieve you. We need to rest when we’re not with her, and watch her when we are.”
“I’m not going to argue with you. I’ll keep watch over her.”
“Lean back in the chair and take a nap while we wait on the doctor,” Gray suggested.
Clint took the recliner and leaned it back while Gray sat in the straight-back chair next to the bed to hold Elissa’s hand. He relished the touch and dreaded when it would be his turn to leave.
Chapter Thirteen
Clint woke with a start when the doctor walked in. He’d been halfway dozing in the recliner most of the day. He sat up and leaned forward, hoping the news wouldn’t be bad.
“What did you find out?” Gray asked, standing up.
“Sit down, Gray.”
Clint watched his friend sit over on the edge of Elissa’s bed and hold her hand in both of his. The doctor took the straight-back chair Gray had abandoned.
“The skin around the puncture marks has changed colors to a pale yellow as you noted. It’s not just skin deep. It went as deep as the punctures did.”
“What does that mean?” Clint asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know, other than to tell you that anyone who has been injured by one of the creatures on this planet either has bubbly scars or discolorations. At this point, it tends to depend on if it is a male or female that is injured as to what happens. The men are getting the bumpy scars and the women are getting the discolorations.”
“So what does this all mean?” Clint asked.
“Again, I don’t know. I suspect that there are long-term effects, however, and we won’t know until something shows up.”
“Fuck!” Gray huffed out a breath. “Can you tell us anything?”
“I know you’re frustrated. Believe me. I am, too. I don’t like not knowing what is going on or how to treat my patients. The sleeping will pass, but she will have the yellow skin around the bite marks even after they heal.”
“But they will heal and she’ll be okay.” Gray’s voice sounded shaky.
“This is the first bite I have had. Everything else has been scratches, or the one case of just the saliva burns. I’m going to treat this like the latter, and say that she’s going to be fine. She’ll need more rest than usual for a few days, but should be fine after that. The other case, the difference was that the woman was pregnant, so she continued to need extra rest even after the wound healed.”
Clint swallowed convulsively. “Is there any chance she’s pregnant?”
“We ran a pregnancy test with the other tests and she isn’t.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. As much as he wanted children, he didn’t think now was a good time. Would the poison or whatever it was affect her having
children, or maybe even the child itself? He shuddered to think about that.
“There is one more thing,” Jeff said.
“What is that?” Clint asked.
“The cells around the bite marks have changed to some extent. They have on everyone with injuries from the creatures.”
“Changed? How?” Gray asked.
“They’ve mutated to some extent into a cell I can’t identify. It’s only directly around the bite marks, though. It doesn’t spread, or at least it hasn’t in anyone else.”
“Aw, hell.” Gray ran a hand through his hair. “But you think she’s going to be okay.”
“Yes.”
The doctor patted Gray on the shoulder then stood up and left. Clint could tell that Gray was on the verge of blowing up.
“Maybe now’s a good time for you to go grab something for us to eat. It’s almost three, and neither one of us has had anything to eat since breakfast.” Clint looked Gray in the eyes.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll take a walk and find something to bring back. I’m not sure I can eat, anyway.”
“You need to if you’re going to keep up your strength. We’ve got to be able to take care of her, Gray.”
“Fuck, I guess you’re right. I’ll be back in an hour.” Gray eased off the bed and gently laid Elissa’s hand back on the covers. “Don’t leave her side, Clint.”
“I won’t.”
He watched his friend walk out the door. Gray was taking it hard. Hell, he was taking it hard. He couldn’t stand the idea of something hurting her like this. She would be horrified that she had something foreign in her body. He didn’t know how they were going to tell her when she woke up. They would have to tell her, though. He dreaded it.
A little over an hour later, Gray walked back in with a bag lunch for him. He opened it up and pulled out two sandwiches. He devoured them even though he really wasn’t that hungry. He knew he needed to keep up his strength. He would be there if Elissa needed him. Gray would be, too. He just needed time to assimilate everything.
“Any change?” Gray finally asked him.
“Other than the antibiotic being finished and Scott checking on her, no.”
“Do you think she’s going to be okay?” Gray finally asked.
“I have to believe it, Gray. I can’t imagine what I’d do if she wasn’t.”
They sat there in silence for nearly an hour when Elissa moaned and moved on the bed. Both Clint and Gray got up to check on her.
“Elissa, honey? Can you hear me?” Clint took her hand as Gray stroked her cheek.
She opened her eyes and smiled a strained smile. “My leg hurts.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll go get the nurse.” Gray hurried out the door to find Scott.
“How do you feel other than your leg?” Clint asked her.
“Fine, why? Is something wrong?” Her eyes widened, and she tried to sit up.
“Easy, Elissa.” Clint tried to keep her in the bed, but she was insistent.
“I want to see my leg. What’s wrong with my leg?”
“It’s okay, Elissa. See, your leg is fine. It still has a dressing on it, though, so we can’t see it right now.” Clint realized Elissa thought her leg was gone. He cursed himself for scaring her like that.
“Why do you look so worried, then?” she asked.
“You’ve been sleeping hard all day, Elissa. We can’t wake you up when you go to sleep. It has us worried.”
“Oh. I feel fine other than my leg hurting.” She relaxed some.
The door opened, and both Scott and Gray walked in. The nurse didn’t look the least bit worried, but Gray’s face had a slight pallor to it. Had Scott said anything to him outside?
“Hey, Elissa. I’m Scott, Dr. Davis’s nurse.
“Hi.” She looked over at Clint with a nervous expression.
“Let’s have a look at your leg and see if there is anything I can do to make it stop hurting,” Scott said. “Roll over for me.”
Clint helped her roll over and kept her gown closed while Scott exposed her lower left leg. The nurse gently removed the dressing. They could all see that the entire area around the bite was a pale yellow now. The puncture areas themselves hadn’t drained any more, though.
“Her leg isn’t swollen and there isn’t any more drainage, so that is good. Elissa, I’m going to go get the doctor and see if he wants to give you something for pain, okay? Can you stay like this till I get back?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. My back was beginning to ache from lying here anyway.”
“I’ll give you a back rub, honey. Roll on over some more. Gray, can you keep the covers off her leg while I cover her ass up?” Clint pulled the covers down from her back until they rested just above her ass.
“I’ve got it,” Gray said.
Clint began to massage her back and shoulders. “How’s this?”
“That feels really good, Clint. Thanks.” She moaned when he moved a little farther down her back.
A few minutes later, the doctor walked in with Scott behind him.
“Hi, Elissa. I don’t think we’ve met. You were asleep when they brought you in earlier today. I’m Dr. Jeff Davis.”
“Hi, I’m sorry I was asleep. I’ve just been so tired lately.”
“How long have you been tired, Elissa?” he asked.
“Um, well. I guess just since I got bit. That was yesterday, wasn’t it, Gray?”
“Yes, baby. It was yesterday.”
“Clint, how about you cover her back up and let me check her leg.” Jeff waited while Clint readjusted her gown and the covers.
“Describe the pain for me, Elissa.” Jeff pulled on gloves and felt around the wound with his hands.
“It burns, mostly. Throbs a little when I move it or just start to.” Elissa tried to look over her shoulder at it, but she couldn’t see anything.
“Okay. I’m going to try some medication topically on it and I’ll give you something for pain as well. On a scale of one to ten with ten being the worst possible pain. What would you rate your pain?” he asked.
“Oh, maybe a five. It’s not that bad. I guess it’s a little above annoying.” She made a face. “I don’t want a shot.”
Scott chuckled. “He won’t give you one for a five, Elissa. Don’t worry.”
She smiled. “Good. I probably only need pain pill.”
“I’m going to give you something a little stronger than that, but not strong enough to put you to sleep again. You need to sit up some, Elissa.” Jeff smiled at her and nodded at Scott.
Scott began redressing her leg. He talked to her while he did. Jeff nodded toward the door, indicating he wanted to talk to them outside. Clint looked over at Elissa and realized she was busy talking to Scott about her garden. He nodded at Gray, and they followed the doctor outside the room.
“I suppose you noticed that the yellow discoloration has spread some,” he began.
“Yeah, you said it wouldn’t,” Clint said.
“I said it shouldn’t, and it hadn’t with the other women. I think this is as much as it’s going to spread. It only filled in between the bite marks. It hasn’t gone beyond the original margins, so I think this is it.”
“What else showed up in her blood work from this morning? You haven’t said.” Gray rubbed a spot between his eyes.
“She’s slightly anemic, which I’ve noticed in pretty much all of the women here. I don’t know what it is from, but no one has gotten any worse. I’m going to prescribe iron pills for her when I discharge her home.”
“Anything else?” Clint asked.
“No. That’s it. Try to urge her to eat more meat once she’s back home.”
“Okay, we can do that. We’ve been eating mostly out of the garden without a lot of meat.” Gray looked over at Clint.
“Never dawned on me she might need the meat,” Clint said.
“I’ll check her again before I head to bed and then we’ll see how she is in the morning after her last round of antibiotics,�
�� Jeff said. “I’ll see both of you tomorrow morning around nine.”
Clint and Gray walked back in the room to find Scott sitting on the straight chair talking to Elissa about foods high in iron. Clint sighed. They wouldn’t have to push her too hard to eat meat without telling her why. Scott already had.
“Scott says we’re all a little bit anemic and need to start eating meat for at least two meals a day. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize we needed to.” Elissa frowned.
“Don’t worry about it, baby. We didn’t know, either,” Gray assured her.
“We’ll get more meat while we’re here, honey,” Clint added.
“Okay, I’m going to get the medication Jeff talked about and be right back.” Scott nodded at them and left the room.
Elissa narrowed her eyes. “Okay, what did Jeff have to say that he didn’t want me to hear?”
Clint winced. “Nothing, honey. He was telling us about the anemia and that he would check you again tonight before he went to bed.”
“I know you’re keeping something from me. What is it? Tell me now or I’ll demand that Jeff tells me later. It’s my body.”
Gray cursed and looked over at Clint. “She’s right. We can’t keep things from her.”
Clint realized they were right. “Okay.”
Neither man spoke for a while. Elissa frowned looking up at them.
Gray finally spoke. “Elissa, the area around the bite marks has changed color. It’s a pale yellow.”
“My skin is yellow?” She looked incredulously at them. “I want to see.”
Scott walked back in after a quick knock. “See what?”
“She wants to see her wound. We had to tell her about it being a little yellow,” Clint said.
“Okay. I’ll be right back then. I’ve got a mirror in the other room.” He disappeared out the door.
A few seconds later he returned with a handheld mirror. He handed it to Elissa.
“I’m going to removing the dressing and then you can look at it using the mirror. One of you can hold her leg up so she can see it. I’ll stand at the head of the bed while you do.”
Clint wasn’t sure why until he was the one to hold up her leg. There was a direct view of her panties from his angle. He looked up at Scott. The other man winked at him.
