Once she’s happy with that, she changes gloves again and she and Ella begin cleaning my wound. It’s jagged and wide thanks to the fact that it was a railroad spike that got me, and even now, several hours later, it’s still bleeding. While I’m probably feeling a bit fanciful, it almost feels that with every beat of my heart, blood freely flows. It doesn’t take them long to finish what they started and then Thelma takes her tablet and creates a profile for me.
“Thelma, are you putting in my last tetanus shot information?” I ask.
“Adding your whole medical profile, actually,” she says, not looking up from the screen. “I’m putting in notes that based on what was observed in the field, they may want to do a tetanus titer on you to make sure you don’t need a booster. Especially since you don’t know what was in the water you ended up sticking your arm in once the spike opened your arm.”
“Talk about a crazy set of circumstances,” I reply. “Ten bucks says I end up with IV antibiotics which is going to be a pain in the ass out here.”
“That’s a sucker’s bet,” Ella goads. “And I don’t know why it’s gonna be a pain, it’s not like you don’t have me right here to administer them.”
“Because it’ll mean a damn PICC line. We don’t have covers for them out here, how can I keep working?” I question. I didn’t come up here to sit on my ass and twiddle my fingers, that’s for damn sure!
“We’ve got covers, Cortez,” Thelma states. “But you’ll probably need a couple of days’ rest. Although, I can still use you down here to triage folks. Your skills won’t go to waste, my friend, I promise.”
“Then I guess there’s nothing left to do but to head to the hospital. Ella, are you sure we can use Bubba’s truck?” I ask, turning to my friend.
“Yep,” Polly, his wife says, popping up by the table. “Don’t worry if it takes you some time, either, because we’ve started staying at the firehouse. Bubba feels better having all of y’all nearby in case something happens with Junior here,” she adds, patting her still-flat belly.
Since they’ve been trying for years to get pregnant, I can’t say that I blame him at all. “I appreciate y’all’s help,” I finally say. “It means a lot.”
“C’mon, Fee, let’s go and get this party started,” Ella says.
“They better give me the good meds,” I warn, “because this is the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced, and I had my tonsils out as a young adult!”
CHAPTER
FIVE
Prophet
There’s something about grueling,physical labor that soothes the soul as far as I’m concerned. Thankfully, I’ve kept in shape over the years, so despite the back-breaking labor, I feel good. “So, what’s the plan?” I ask as a guy named Deacon and I take a break to rehydrate.
“We’re trying to get further up the mountain,” he says. “Our job is to make a path so that folks with bobcats can get in and clear away more debris.”
“You live in this area, right?” I question.
“Yeah, I was fortunate enough to be out of town when the hurricanes came through, but as soon as it was safe to travel, I came home to help. My house is completely gone now, but I’m alive, so I’ll eventually rebuild,” he says.
“Sorry to hear that,” I reply, an idea forming in my head. I’m about to say something else when I hear a slight mewling sound coming from a bush. “What on earth is that?” I murmur, walkingtoward the noise. When a tiny orange and white kitten pops out, I chuckle. “Where’s your mama, little one?” I ask the fluffball as I scoop it up.
“His eyes are barely open,” Deacon says, now standing next to me. “Wonder if he’s the only one out of his litter near here.”
“He might have been the only one who survived,” I muse, “and if he was willing to fight that hard to stay alive, he deserves a chance as far as I’m concerned. Got two girls in my life who will treat him like a king.”
“Could be a girl,” Deacon muses.
“This is true, but either way, this little one won’t have to worry about being food for a predator again. Let’s look around and see if we can find anyone else.”
We spend the next twenty minutes searching but come up empty. So, to make sure I don’t lose the tiny, purring kitten, I hand it to Deacon, take off my hoodie and turn it around, then take the kitten back and tuck it into the hood. “He looks cozy,” Deacon says as we make our way to the Ranger we’ve been using today.
“I can feel him purring against my chest,” I admit as I get settled on the passenger seat. “Guess we can let them know this section is ready for a bobcat, huh?”
“Yeah, we’ll do that when we get back,” he says. “Oh, and there’s a rescue group that can probably help with the kitten as far as what to feed it and all that.”
“I’ll check in with them,” I promise.
I feel my phone vibrate in the pocket of my jeans, so I carefully fish it out to see a text from Data.
Data: Where the fuck are you? I’m here and you’re not.
