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After the snake, we fed the fledglings. Again, I dropped the food in, using gloves. Hand-feeding them is only done in an emergency. With the birds, letting it fall into the nest also mimics the way Mama Eagle would do it.
"They look ready to leave soon," Daniel said.
I nodded. "Dad said we might take them to the wildlife center next week."
The birds were almost ready to fly, meaning they had to go to the center, because I wasn't equipped to help them learn that. Someday I would be, but for now I stuck with nursing duty.
"This guy looks ready to go soon, too," Daniel said as he peered into the marten's cage. "Wow. Has it really only been a week?"
"Less. Believe me, she has a long way to--"
I stopped. The marten had woken and reared up against the side of her cage, nose wriggling madly. When she saw me watching, she chirped, then started racing laps as she waited for food.
Daniel laughed. "Someone's definitely feeling better."
"That's not--" I peeled off the gloves. "That's not possible. It should take days before she's even walking."
"You're just too good a nurse. You need to go visit your grandma, let your dad and me take over, slow things down."
It's true--the animals don't heal as fast when I'm not around. That sounds like bragging, but we saw it every time I went away. Daniel knows how to do all the stuff. So do my parents. But when I'm gone, the healing process slows.
Dr. Hajek, the Salmon Creek veterinarian, says some people are just natural healers. She sometimes calls me into town to help with pets that're in a lot of pain--I calm them down so she can do her thing, and in return she volunteers her time with cases of mine that need serious medical attention.
Still, as good as I am, there was no way the marten should have been racing around her cage. When I said that to Daniel, he only shrugged.
"Obviously she wasn't as badly hurt as you thought. Hate to break it to you, Maya, but you can be wrong."
"Dr. Hajek did the diagnosis." I leaned over the cage. The marten reared up again and chirruped at me. "That bolt went into the right haunch and--"
I stared at the marten's haunch. The skin was bare, where Dr. Hajek had shaved it. Underneath, the only sign of injury was a pale scar crisscrossed with dark stitches. When I'd checked the marten yesterday morning, I'd thought she was healing fast. But the wound had still been there.
I reached into the cage.
"Um, Maya?" Daniel said. "Gloves? Those teeth and claws are like needles. You're the one always telling me ..."
I didn't hear the rest. It was as if my hand was being pulled into the cage against my will. The marten didn't even flinch, just sat there and waited, dark eyes on mine, calm and trusting.
I touched her wounded flank. Pain ripped through my leg and I stumbled back.
"Maya!"
Darkness enveloped me. I inhaled the scent of pine needles. My leg throbbed. My heart raced so fast, I panted for breath.
"Pop goes the weasel!" a boy yelled.
Another guy laughed. Footsteps pounded the dry earth so loud they sounded like an oncoming locomotive. A single thought filled my head. Escape. I pulled myself along, dragging my injured leg over a carpet of dead needles--
"Maya!" A warm hand grabbed my chin. "Come on, Maya."
I gasped and blinked. I was sitting on the floor. In Daniel's lap. I bolted to my feet so fast, I elbowed him in the stomach.
"Thanks," he wheezed. "Next time I'll let you hit the floor."
"What happened?"
"You fainted." The corners of his mouth twitched. "I believe swooned is the correct term. It's not nearly as romantic as it sounds, you know. More like a deadweight collapse. With drool."
I wiped my mouth and looked around, still getting my bearings.
